Raimundo panted and trudged along the sand, wobbling almost as poorly as the old lady with him. The heat of the sun baked his skin, and the foreign hunger clawed at his soul, but he persisted nonetheless. The flat desert landscape eventually dipped and rose into a barren mountain ridge. However, the green in the distance never seemed to come any closer, and his partially melted brain started to wonder if he had been hallucinating it the whole time. All the while, the old lady hummed at his ear, blissfully incognizant of the blistering temperature.
"D-don't worry," he muttered, voice cracking from his dry throat, "we're, uh, we're almost there. I'll break up a cactus or something, and that will get you water, and then... uh... I'll figure it out from there, okay?"
The old lady beamed up at him. "Oh, what a nice young boy you are! But no thank you, dearie! Cactus water is toxic, you know!"
Their stilted walk came to a stop. Squinting blankly into the horizon, Raimundo pressed his mouth into a thin line. "Uh. No. I didn't know that." He peered around for any noticeable landmarks, but nothing looked familiar. They weren't at Cactus Creek or anywhere near that saloon from yesterday. He gritted his teeth. It was one thing for him to be lost; he had run away from the monks last night with every intention of disappearing. But he wasn't about to let his own failings kill an innocent stranger. "I wonder if I could, uh, if I could fly up higher, maybe spot a town or something."
Before he could muster the resolve to peel her bony fingers off his arm and summon his element, he heard an odd rattling sound at his feet, a noise that began to amplify all around. Out of the sand slithered dozens, then hundreds of beige rattlesnakes, piling atop each other while they surrounded Raimundo and the old lady. Within seconds, thousands of them circled the two, filling the mountain ridge with hisses and rattles.
At the sight of so many little living things within arm's reach- easy targets- Raimundo licked his lips before he could stop himself. He clamped his mouth shut, and his limbs quaked like a flimsy cage holding an angry bear. Something hot, foreign, and slimy slithered around his insides, wanting to grab, to bite... He forced out a hoarse cough and glanced at the old lady, who smiled serenely at him. "Okay," he said. "Okay, don't worry about them. They're just snakes. Clay says snakes are cool. Even the venomous ones will leave you alone if you don't bother them, they're not evil-"
He took a sharp breath when one of the nearest rattlesnakes reared its head back, and he snatched the old lady off the ground right before it lunged at her ankles. "Wind!" he shouted, and the resulting dust cloud sent him lunging straight into the air, holding the lady in his arms. "Then again," he gasped, "cacti and paintings aren't supposed to be evil, either, but that didn't stop them yesterday."
The lady hummed and nodded, though her complete lack of fear left Raimundo doubting that she had any idea what was going on. He landed higher on the ridge, far from the snakes, and the snarling hunger struck like a punch to the gut. He bit his lip and hunched his shoulders, and he tried to set the old lady down, but it was like a drowning man giving up an oxygen tank. He was dying, he needed to kill, and she was right there...
"What are you waiting for?" a deep voice asked. Panting, Raimundo squinted up high, and Guan's silhouette stooped on a precipice between him and the sun. Resting a bulky elbow on his knee, Guan sneered and said, "I tried to help you before. I offered you the Ying Yoyo, which would have removed the evil from your soul. You rejected my offer, so why are you fighting now? This was what you wanted, wasn't it?"
Arms quaking, Raimundo finally found the resolve to plant the woman's feet onto the ground and release her. One of his twitching hands grabbed at her shoulder to keep her from wandering off, and he stepped between her and Guan. Teeth bared, he said, "You weren't trying to help me. I don't know what you were trying to pull, but I know it was a trick. I'm your enemy. You and me, we're not on the same side."
"Oh, but we are, Pedrosa, whether you want it or not." Guan stood, blocking the sun and casting Raimundo in his shadow. "You have an infection residing in your soul that no Shen Gong Wu can remove. You spent your childhood cooperating with it, justifying its desires, making you just as rotten as the reaper itself. You are trying to resist it now, but it has had years to build its strength. In the end, you will fail."
Beads of sweat dripped down Raimundo's face, though it was barely from the heat anymore. He forced his fingers to loosen their grip on the woman's shoulder, fighting a sudden urge to break her frail little bones. "No Shen Gong Wu can remove it..." he murmured. "So you're a liar, and I was right. The Ying Yoyo wouldn't have fixed me, even though you promised it would."
Guan shook his head. "You have it all wrong, Raimundo. The evil in you isn't holding you back. The good is. It's making you weak, hesitant, and full of guilt. Even now, it's keeping you from doing the one thing that could save your life." He gestured to the old lady and wrinkled his nose. "What can this woman offer you? What reward are you expecting? Do you think the monks will forgive you for what you've done, that they'll welcome you back into their temple after you tried to hurt one of their own? They see you for what you really are, and so do I." He smirked. "You cannot change. You never will. You can fight all you want, but you'll be fighting alone."
"That's where you're wrong, Guano-man!"
A vaguely monkey-shaped shadow passed overhead, and then Jack Spicer dropped onto the ridge between them, helipack buzzing and tail lashing. After briefly beating his fuzzy fists to his scrawny chest, he bared his teeth and said, "That's my Beta Brawn you're messing with, and if you're messing with him, you're messing with me!"
His monkey screech echoed shrilly across the ridge. Guan wrinkled his nose and asked, "Am I supposed to find your puny little taunt intimidating?"
Jack planted his goggles over his eyes and pulled them right back off, wiggling his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, which one of us still has two intact eyes again?" Tossing the Monkey Staff from one palm to another, he pointed at the wooden monkey statue at its top, where the broken blade from the Spear of Guan was tied to its tail like a decorative feather. "And which one of us has your stick of honor, your little jabby stabby? That's right, it's me: Jack Spicer!"
Guan's lips curled back, and his enraged shout gave way to a bellowing roar. Spikes burst from his spine, his torso expanded, and his fists engorged into giant lobster claws. Jack side-stepped closer to Raimundo, but for once, he didn't scream. The old lady continued to hum obliviously, and when Jack and Raimundo bent their knees and raised their fists for battle, Guan's deafening roar thundered across the desert.
Dojo's ear tufts flicked at the distant sound. "Sounds like trouble."
"Ain't nothin' in Texas that makes a noise like that," said Clay with a nod. While Dojo swirled leftward, Clay opened the briefly discarded map. "Looks like we're headin' straight for Rattlesnake Ridge."
Dojo drifted down, swiftly approaching a rising cloud of dust and sand. Below, two small figures grappled with a large one, all while a fourth toddled around at the edge of the battlefield. Dojo landed just as Guan smacked Raimundo and Jack away with his tail, sending both the teens to skid against the rocks. Guan hissed and pivoted to face the fourth person: a strange, humming old lady who seemed unaware that a fight was happening at all. With a victorious growl, Guan stomped toward her.
Clay sprang from Dojo's back. "Seismic Kick, Earth!" He landed and slammed his heel into the earth in front of him. A trail of rocky spikes erupted from the ground, leading in a path to Guan until the final stone shot up and into his underbelly. Guan stumbled and rolled, and while his massive limbs flailed, Clay raced to the old woman. Touching her arm, he carefully turned her to face him and asked, "Are you alright, ma'am?"
"Oh, hello there!" she said, revealing a handful of teeth in a wide smile. "Have you seen the nice young boy helping me? I seem to have misplaced him. My eyesight's not so good these days."
While she spoke, Omi and Kimiko leaped at Guan, and Omi shouted, "Orb of Tornami!" Water blasted from the sphere in his hands, cascaded upon the Heylin warlord, and soaked into the dry earth. Guan barely flinched, but when he tried to stand, the mud at his feet held fast.
Kimiko pulled the comb out of her ponytail and called out, "Tangle Web Comb, Fire!" Flaming tendrils whipped out from the Shen Gong Wu and wrapped around Guan's closest pincer. As his limb scalded under the fiery tendrils, Guan gritted his elongated teeth, and with a powerful heave, he yanked his legs out of the muck and clambered onto drier ground. Clamping his free claw across the comb's tendrils, he snapped them into pieces, and the fire evaporated into smoke.
Guan lunged for Kimiko, who skittered back with her fists raised, but before he could reach her, Raimundo landed on his back. Grabbing onto a spine, Raimundo front flipped over the top of Guan's head and slammed his heels into both of the monster's eyes. A pained screech escaped Guan's jaws, and his pincers blindly clamped at the empty space over his head. Right before one of the pincers could close around Raimundo's torso, Raimundo scuttled out of the way, and Clay called out, "Lasso Boa Boa!" He flung the Shen Gong Wu over Guan, and it wrapped around Raimundo's waist. Clay yanked, tossing Raimundo far from Guan's reach and bringing him to land at Clay's feet.
With a cough, Raimundo sat up, but he visibly tensed when he and Clay made eye contact. "Dude. Did you just save me?"
Clay pursed his lips. "Just 'cause I ain't happy with you doesn't mean I want history repeatin' itself." Freeing Raimundo from the rope, he tipped his hat back and pointed a thumb back at Guan. "Try not to get your throat slit this time, ya hear?"
He couldn't tell if Raimundo's answering expression was a smile or a grimace. Before Clay could decide, the old lady piped up from behind him, "Oh, there you are!" She toddled to the two and pointed at Raimundo, who scurried back. "There's the nice boy that was helping me!"
Clay glanced back and forth between the two, and he raised an eyebrow at Raimundo, whose teeth were bared and hands were shaking. "You're helpin' her?" His eyebrow rose higher into his hair when he noticed Raimundo's rapid breathing and hunched shoulders. "Then why are you-?"
Raimundo broke his frenzied gaze away from the woman and gasped out, "N-no, Clay, listen. You were right about me. Master Monk Chase was right." He stumbled backward, gripping his hair. "There's something wrong with me, something in me, and- and- now that I'm not doing what it wants on my own, it's... awake, or mad, or something." A trembling finger pointed at the old woman. "It's trying to make me attack her, and I don't want to- You gotta keep her away from me- Get her, and get the others, and have Dojo fly you guys out of here-"
"What 'bout you?"
Raimundo's voice cracked when he took another step back and said, "I gotta stay out here, man. I can't be near people anymore. I'm too dangerous, too-"
"Evil." Guan's shadow cast over the two of them as he rose behind Raimundo, who could only clench his teeth and yank at his own hair. Jack dove down from the sky with a monkey screech, and Omi and Kimiko lunged on Guan's back, but the warlord swatted all three away like gnats. Skulking behind Raimundo, he said, "It's just like I told you, Clay. Raimundo is a monster, just as Heylin as I am." His remaining good eye swiveled to glance at Kimiko. "It looks like your girlfriend paid the price for your silence. At least you finally came to your senses and cast him out, though you were a fool to return."
Kimiko's face flushed, and her fingers leaped to the bruise at her throat. Jack, however, clambered back to his feet, buzzed back into the air, and shouted, "Wait a minute, it was Guan's idea to get rid of Raimundo?" Mouth dropping open, he spun to face Clay. "You're listening to Guan? You're trusting Guan over Raimundo, over me?!"
Raimundo dropped to his knees, and through labored breathing, he said, "Clay... didn't... cast me out. I left... on my own." He gulped and blinked the sand and tears out of his eyes.
Guan huffed. "So Clay has learned nothing then." Creeping around Raimundo to start circling Clay, he said, "You refuse to make a decision, refuse to lead, hemming and hawing while others take action for you." He stepped behind Clay, who spun around to face him. "It doesn't matter. Raimundo will succumb to the darkness before too long, and Hannibal Bean will welcome him to the side of evil with open arms."
Behind Clay, Raimundo murmured, "No, he won't."
Guan lifted his horned head, and Clay glimpsed back at Raimundo, who stepped back up onto quaking legs. Tears still dripped down the dust on his face, but Raimundo scowled up at Guan with his shoulders squared. "There's a big difference between you and me, Guano-man: whether I'm evil or not, I don't want to be." He took a shaking step forward, then another. "I'm not going to sell my soul like you did. I'm not going to give up like you did. Maybe I can't change, but it won't stop me from trying every minute of every day." Reaching Clay's side, he glared up at the Heylin warlord and said, "I'm done being evil! No matter what, I'm going to fight evil until the day I die!" He threw his arms outward, slammed his hands together in front of his chest, and shouted, "TYPHOON BOOM, WIND!"
At his command, a cyclone erupted from between his palms, blasting across the sand and smashing into Guan. As wind cascaded across the field, Guan stumbled and landed on his back. Omi front flipped over him and shouted, "Tornado Strike, Water!" Rivulets of icy water coalesced at his fingers, and as he slashed his arms down, the water stabbed down like blades across Guan's underbelly.
Omi landed on Guan's other side, and Kimiko charged forward. "Judolette Flip, Fire!" She leaped into the air and swirled forward, and ribbons of flames wrapped around her legs when she landed upon one of Guan's flailing pincers. Guan snapped his jaws, but she sprang out of the way before he could snag her.
Jack landed and spread out his arms. "Titanium Bolt, Metal!" At his command, the helicopter blades of his helipack broke apart into dozens of pieces, all turning to point at Guan. When he punched the air, the blades shot out and punctured Guan's exoskeleton like dozens of gleaming, silver bees. Guan roared and finally managed to roll back upright. Jack muttered, "Oh boy." Then he shrieked, scrabbling backward as Guan galloped toward him. Guan lifted a massive pincer and smacked it right into Jack's skull, sending him flying across the desert sand.
"Jack!" Raimundo shouted. A gust of wind sent him soaring to Jack and catching him, and his heel dug into the sand to slow his lunge before he turned around and flew back to the rest of the group. He skidded to a stop, but when he realized he had landed near the old lady, he gritted his teeth. Clay watched him flinch away from the woman, clutch Jack tighter, and slowly turn away from her. All the while, the woman hummed and wandered aimlessly in a small circle, helpless and oblivious as a newborn calf.
Despite the save, Jack could only groan and clutch his head, too dazed to speak before he went limp in Raimundo's arms. Clay scowled up at Guan before bending his knees in a battle stance and saying, "Dojo, get Rai the Sword of the Storm."
Raimundo, Omi, and Kimiko all spun their heads to stare at him. Dojo popped out from Omi's sleeve, dug into his ear, and pulled out the shrunken Shen Gong Wu. Taking a moment to flick off the earwax, the dragon tossed it to Clay with an odd, proud little smile. Clay caught the tiny sword, grew it to full size with the Changing Chopsticks, and held it out for Raimundo. When the teen could only gawk, Clay dipped the brim of his hat and said, "I reckon we oughta work together to win this fight, partner."
Guan sneered and rose to full height. "You'll accept his help? You'll take him back? After what he did to your own teammate?" He stomped toward them, snapping his pincers and letting drool drip down from his open, toothy jaws. "You are a fool, Clay, though not as foolish as I was to think a doormat like you would have potential." He lowered his massive horned head until he was inches from Clay's face. "You may be the Dragon of Earth, but it is clear that you are the weakest at heart."
Wrinkling his nose against Guan's breath hitting his face, Clay shrugged. "Maybe you're right. I thought stickin' to my guns made me strong, but I ain't gonna bulldoze over my own team's opinions anymore." Around him, he heard a faint clattering sound, and he felt bits of earth and rock begin to press against his closed fists. "I'm changin' my mind. And if changin' my mind makes me weak, then call me a bloomin' baby bunny rabbit." He raised an arm, and the floating chips of earth thickened around his fists, coating it like a stone glove. He braced his legs, swung his fist, and shouted, "WUDAI EARTH!"
His fist collided with Guan's face with an earsplitting crack, and a seismic wave echoed across the desert landscape. The force sent Guan flying across the sand. Omi's, Kimiko's, and Raimundo's mouths dropped open. Guan's brown exoskeleton scraped against the ground as he crashed a football field's distance away, and he toppled to a stop. His massive limbs trembled when he stood once more, but after sending the Xiaolin monks one last hateful glare, he slammed his tail into the sand. Into the rising dust cloud, he disappeared.
As the battlefield emptied and the sand settled, Kimiko managed to pick her jaw up off the ground and say, "Whoa."
"Dude," said Raimundo, eyeing Clay's fists, "were you going easy on me last night?"
Omi pressed his hands to either side of his awestruck smile. "I never knew you had such wondrous powers, Clay!"
Clay shook the rocks and dirt off his fists, frowning a little. "Yeah. You and me both." For a moment, he could only study the callouses on his palms, avoiding the eye contact of the others. Then a tune-deaf humming sound had him turning back to the old woman, who was still toddling in a circle nearby. Tilting his hat back, Clay said, "Well, now that we got that problem outta the way... Raimundo, care to explain who this is?"
Raimundo ducked his head and took a half-step away from the woman. "I don't know. She just kinda showed up and asked me for help." He shrugged and eyed her carefully, but his teeth did an odd gnashing movement that he didn't seem aware of doing. "I think she's lost."
Dojo clambered onto the top of Omi's head. He squinted at the old woman, and then he gasped and flailed his little arms. "Wait a minute! She's an omen: the old singing crackpot! If she's here, that means the Bird of Paradise is coming!"
"The what?" asked Kimiko.
"The Bird of-" Dojo's voice faltered when an immense shadow passed overhead. The group peered upward. An elegant, enormous bird dipped and drifted in a lazy circle around them. It was more colorful than any species Clay had ever seen before, certainly not native to Texas. Its scarlet, teal, and neon green feathers shimmered in the harsh sunlight as it spread its wings and dropped down before them, easily as tall as Clay and with a wingspan as wide as a car. As it folded its blue wings to its sides, Dojo gestured to it and said, "Uh, yeah. There you go."
The bird dipped its head down to peer at the monks, and though its beak did not open, it spoke. "Greetings, Xiaolin Warriors. I have watched you from afar. Your quest to obtain your Wudai Weapons has been most impressive, as was your defeat of the evil Heylin Warlord." The green feathers on its chest puffed proudly. "I am the Bird of Paradise, here to reward you with gifts beyond your wildest dreams."
"It's true!" said Dojo, bobbing his head. "Whoever finds the Bird of Paradise is granted powers they have never known!" He put a clawed finger to his chin. "At least, that's what Chase's book of omens says."
Omi gasped. "Most amazing! Perhaps our quest will not end in failure after all! The Treasure of the Blind Swordsman may have been useless, but instead we have found the Bird of Paradise!"
Clay tilted his head. "I mean, more like it found us." He squinted at the bird's black eyes, trying to figure out why they seemed familiar when he had certainly never seen an animal like this before.
"Mystical bird," said Omi with a dignified bow, "could you help us unlock the secret to the Dragon X Kumei formation?"
"Indeed, I can, mighty warrior." The bird gave a graceful toss of its head, and its frilled feathers glimmered. "I can grant you any wish you want. Power-" It nodded to Omi, "independence-" it glanced at Kimiko, "recognition," it pivoted to Clay, "anything you wish... Oh." It paused when its gaze reached Raimundo. "Who is this?"
Clay followed the bird's line of sight. Though Jack was still unconscious in his arms, Raimundo was panting, sweat dripping down his forehead while he gripped his friend like a lifeline. His teeth grated together, and his limbs trembled. Omi trotted to his side and said to the bird, "This is Raimundo, the Xiaolin Dragon of Wind!"
The crazed gleam in Raimundo's eyes faded just long enough for him to glance down at the smaller monk, looking astonished to still have that title. The bird, however, recoiled its neck and, "Xiaolin Dragon? No." It narrowed its dark eyes. "I can see into your soul, little beast. I know what you really are."
Raimundo took a shaky step backward, face crumpling. The little old lady toddled to his side, and he flinched away from her and squeezed his eyes shut. Clay started cautiously walking toward him, but he kept his eyes on the bird when he said, "What do you mean?"
The bird snapped its beak and let out a hiss. "I sense darkness in his heart. He has done terrible things. I can smell it on his hands."
"Raimundo will not harm you!" Omi said, jumping between the teen and the bird. "He has renounced his evil ways!"
A pained, helpless noise escaped Raimundo's throat, and the bird said, "Do not be so certain, little one. I can still sense his deepest, darkest cravings. He is rotting inside. I can smell it." The bird bowed its head to the other three. "I am sorry, Xiaolin Warriors, but I will not grant wishes to anyone whose heart is impure."
"You do not have to give us anything!" said Omi, palms out. "We merely ask for your assistance in mastering the Dragon X Kumei formation!"
The bird shook its head. "I do not assist anyone associated with evil, and so I cannot help you as long as you call Raimundo your ally."
Kimiko trotted after Clay until all three monks stood between the bird and Raimundo. Omi bit his lip and looked back at Raimundo, who panted out, "Guys, it's okay. Y-you need to leave me out here a-anyway. Take the- the- omen lady, and take Jack," His voice choked on what might have been a sob, "and just get out of here. Or, or, or, I'll go. You stay here, and the Bird of Paradise will help you out, and you can be W-Wudai Warriors, and... everything will be fine." His torso leaned forward a bit like he was trying to pass Jack over to Clay, but his fingers only clutched the teen's clothes tighter. Pressing his cheek into Jack's hair and forcing a smile, he said, "D-don't worry about me, okay?"
Clay, Omi, and Kimiko glanced at each other. Jack mumbled something, and a few of his fingers twitched, but he still didn't wake. Clay rested a hand on his hip, and he puffed out a long breath. Kimiko pulled a few strands of hair out of her face, and Omi turned to the Bird of Paradise and said, "We are most sorry, Mr. Bird, but if those are your terms, then we shall have to pass."
The bird's black eyes widened, and it tilted its head. "You refuse? You doubt me?"
Omi squared his shoulders and took a protective stance. "Raimundo is our friend. I will not abandon him again, not as long as he wishes to remain at our side."
"I don't know if we can trust Raimundo yet." Kimiko peeked back with hands on her hips. "I'm still kinda scared of trusting him, to be honest. But I'm not gonna let my doubts hurt him."
The two turned up to Clay with slight tension in their postures, and their apprehension made him wince a bit. He shook his head and put his thumbs in his pockets. Drumming his fingers, he said, "The thing is, I already 'bout made up my mind about Raimundo. Guan tried gettin' into my head, and I almost let him. But if Raimundo wants to get better, then I reckon I oughta let him try. If a stubborn bloke like me can change, then so can he." He tilted his hat back, and half his mouth curved up. "And all things considered, I ain't about to let a random bird tell me what to do."
The bird stood frozen and unblinking, feathers slowly puffing up. Clay heard halting, unsteady footsteps behind him, and then he felt Raimundo's head press into the back of one of his shoulder blades. The teen sniffled, but Clay didn't dare turn to him, not in the face of the bird's bizarre body language. It spread its wings and opened its beak with another hiss. The three Xiaolin apprentices tensed and stepped into battle stances, shielding Raimundo and Jack, but then the bird slapped its wings against the ground, smoothed its feathers, and said, "Very well. You are all making a terrible mistake, but far be it from me to stop you." It spun in place, and Omi had to dodge the whip of its tail feathers. "But you were warned once, and I will warn you once more: beware the traitor that still dwells among you."
The bird took to the air, casting another dust cloud that engulfed the monks. Clay raised his arms, coughing at the dust in his face and lungs, and behind him, Raimundo gasped, "W-wind!" Fresh, clean air pushed the dust away, and when the other monks stopped wheezing, they turned just as Raimundo dropped to his knees. "You guys... You..." Tears stained a path down the dirt on his cheeks when he said, "You picked me? After everything I did?"
Omi puffed out his chest. "We are Xiaolin Warriors. We defend our friends, and we fight against evil. Against Guan just now, you vowed to do the same." He plucked the forgotten Sword of the Storm off the ground and held its handle out for Raimundo. With a smile, he said, "You never answered Jack's question long ago. Do you want to be a hero? Do you wish to be a Xiaolin Warrior, a Dragon of Wind?"
Raimundo gulped, and though his body still trembled like something was fighting him underneath his skin, he nodded. He reached out to touch the offered Shen Gong Wu, but then his hand paused, and his gaze flickered up to a gleam high in the plateaus. The other monks spun around, and the glowing object popped out of the rocks and soared to the group. Omi gasped. The new Wudai Weapon arched up, and as its light faded against the harsher sun, a curved blue sword dropped into Raimundo's outstretched hands.
Still in Raimundo's lap, Jack blearily opened his eyes and mumbled, "Yo. Cool sword, dude."
Omi withdrew the Sword of the Storm and practically threw it back to Dojo. "Of course!" He rushed forward and grabbed Raimundo's shoulders, almost kneeing Jack in the ribs as he went. "It was you all along, Raimundo! That was why our Dragon X Kumei formation never worked. You were the missing piece! Our team doesn't have four members; it has five!"
Raimundo's eyes grew round, but the triumph and joy in Omi's eyes didn't quite reach him. "But you gave up the Bird of Paradise." Avoiding Omi's gaze, he turned the blue sword back and forth, watching the sunlight reflect off its sides. "It could have granted you any wishes you wanted, and you rejected it because of me." He let his arm drop to the dirt with his Wudai Weapon, and he hung his head. "I'm not worth it, you guys."
"Do not be so sure, kind stranger."
In a burst of light and color, a second pair of enormous wings opened behind Raimundo. Omi stumbled back, Raimundo spun around, and all the monks gasped. A new bird, white and pink and pastel blue, stretched her wings where the old lady once stood, gazing at the monks with gentle eyes that shimmered with what could have been magic or cataracts. She folded her wings with grace and said, "Forgive me for the wait, young warriors. I had to remain hiding until the Heylin impostor had retreated."
"Imposter?" Omi's fingers covered his mouth. "The other bird was a fake?"
Clay rested his hands on his hips. "I knew there was somethin' fishy about its eyes, somethin' familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it."
The bird ruffled her wings a bit, and a cascade of sparkles spread out across the sand. "I've come here to pay back your kindness for protecting me," she said. "I am the real Bird of Paradise, and though the quest you embarked upon may not have gone to plan, you have all shown what was in your hearts. I am here to arm you with the kind of power that comes from within, that can never be taken away." She craned her head down so she was level with each of them as she spoke. "You have shown inner strength-" Clay blushed and pulled down his hat, "courage-" Kimiko smiled, "loyalty-" Omi beamed, "tenacity, and-"
She turned from Jack to Raimundo and paused. She squinted a little bit harder and took a step closer, enough for the teen to touch her beak if he wanted. Raimundo released Jack from his grip and stood slowly, and her head lifted with him. She blinked and pulled away. "Ah, forgive me. There seems to be something... blocking you."
Raimundo trembled and said, "L-lady, uh, ma'am, I'm sorry, but- It's not safe for you to stand this close to me. I'm, I'm not-"
"If you'll give me a moment, please," she said, approaching once more. "This may tingle uncomfortably." Her head lowered, and her long beak prodded his chest. Raimundo clamped his fists to his sides. A panicked, bizarrely savage noise escaped him, and he bit his lip shut. Then, before their eyes, the bird's thin beak pierced Raimundo's chest.
Clay took a sharp breath, Kimiko grabbed at the Shen Gong Wu in her hair, and Jack tried to scramble to his feet. Omi, whose dots glowed on his forehead, did not move. He and the others watched as the bird pecked at something within Raimundo, who let out a weird, dying growl that suddenly went silent. The Bird of Paradise pulled away entirely, dragging along with her a thick, matted string of blackened gunk, stringy and clotted and filthy. With a final, wet little popping noise, it came away from Raimundo's body at last, and he sank to his knees, breathless and weak.
The bird allowed the impurities to splatter into a pile before her. "There we are," she said, taking a step back. "Goodness knows you must have had a hard time fighting that. Your kind heart is likely the only thing that kept you from falling completely to darkness. It isn't every day that you have a brush with a reaper, after all."
The black sludge hissed as it sank into the sand. Eyes wide, Raimundo pressed a hand to his chest, which wasn't even bleeding. Jack stumbled to his side, ignoring the swollen lump on his own head when he dropped to his knees next to the other teen. The bird lifted her head and said, "I hope to have assisted you in your quest, Xiaolin Warriors. Always remember: your greatest gifts come from within." She spread her wings and gently floated upward, humming a tuneless little melody that echoed across the mountain ridge as she drifted and disappeared into the sunlight.
