Hi, everyone, I'm back! I know some of you have been looking forward to the chapter and I hope to satisfy you once again. Before we start, I want to give a quick thank you to Hina714 for an idea I'm going to use in this chapter, she's been a big help to me during my time writing the Xiaolin Dragon King series. Now, I won't keep you waiting any longer, we'll start the chapter now. Enjoy! Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OOC.

The Xiaolin Dragon King: Second Arc

Chapter Nine: Dream Stalker

Juno sidestepped the dark blue glass-like blade of Raimundo's Wudai Weapon. She raised her Xiaolin Dragon Blade and hit the blade, pushing the other back a couple of feet. The redhead charged at him, slashing the blade of her weapon at him. Raimundo held up the Blade of the Nebula, having it block the attack.

"Not bad, Raimundo, not bad." Juno complimented, pushing her weapon against his. "Your technique has improved quite a bit."

"Yeah, well, what kind I say, I've got a good teacher." the Brazilian said with a small grin as he was getting pushed back. "Who also taught me some interesting tricks, too. Blade of the Nebula!"

In a flash, the Wudai Weapon went from sword form to nunchuck form. The small typhoon that held it together sent out a strong gust of wind that sent the female warrior flying into the air. Juno straightened herself out while in mid-air and landed on both her feet.

"Oh, that was clever." she praised, smiling at the monk. "Very good, Raimundo."

"That's not all I got." Raimundo said before throwing one of the nunchunk ends at her.

The end circled around the redhead, the typhoon growing and encasing her in a sphere of wind. He moved the end of the nunchunk he was still holding and lifted the sphere into the air. Then he slammed it downward to crash to the ground. Before it could touch the ground, however, the sphere suddenly broke apart, the wind blowing out in all direction.

Raimundo was blown away and fell on his back. He looked up and saw the blade of Juno's guandao coming right at his face. His Wudai Weapon quickly turned back into a sword and his blade collided with hers, sending sparks flying. He struggled against the other's weapon as it pushed against his.

The Brazilian lifted up his leg and tried to sweep at her feet, but Juno saw it coming and jumped to dodge. Then she did a flip over his body and landed behind him, her back to him. Raimundo got to his feet and slashed his Wudai Weapon at her, but the redhead held up her Xiaolin Dragon Blade and blocked the attack with its pole. Then she lowered herself down and swiped her feet across his legs, knocking him back down to the ground.

Juno placed her foot on his wrist, making him release the Blade of the Nebula, and touched his neck with the tip of her weapon. The two stared up at each other silently.

"I win." the female warrior smiled brightly.

Raimundo groaned and pulled his head back. "Dammit, you are seriously too good."

"Maybe so, but you are getting better." Juno told him, pulling her weapon and foot back. "You and the others have indeed gotten stronger, I'm very proud of you." she smiled at him as she held her hand out to him.

The Brazilian looked back at her and smiled back, taking her hand and letting her help him to his feet. "Thanks, Juno. And I can't take all the credit, you really are a good teacher."

"Yes, I know." the redhead said proudly. "But I think that'll be it for training today. You kids did great, as usual." she looked at where the other monks were sitting on the ground.

"Thank you very much, Master Juno." Omi said, standing up along with the others and bowing to her.

"Training with you is also a rodeo." Clay remarked.

"Tell me about it." Kimiko added, smiling. "By the way, why was he here?" she pointed to where a certain Heylin warrior was sitting on a nearby bench, reading a book. "He doesn't usual come around for our training."

"Chase was little curious on how far you kids have come along." Juno told them.

"Doesn't seem that much invested to me." the cowboy said.

"Trust me, he was paying attention." the redhead smiled.

"Oh, yeah? Well, what did you think about my turn, old man?" Raimundo asked the taller man. "If you were paying attention, I would love to hear your thoughts."

"I'll admit, you and your fellow monks have become stronger than before." Chase said, eyes still on the book. "However..." he closed the reading material and looked at the Brazilian. "When you take a stance with a sword, your feet should be planted firmer on the ground. Also, you could have landed a more successful hit if you got your attack from earlier around Juno rather than encasing her in a sphere and giving her the chance to blow the wind away with her powers. Lastly, you could have knocked her off balance if you got your feet around her ankle rather than swinging a kick at her." he stood up. "Would you like to hear anymore of my thoughts?"

"Uh..." Raimundo replied with dumbfounded expression. "I-I think I'm good, thanks..."

"Have it your way." the Heylin warrior looked at the other monks. "Any of you want to here what I thought about your turns?"

"No, thank you." they all replied in unison.

"Oh, don't give them such a hard time, Chase." Juno said as she came over to her husband, kissing his cheek. "I'm going to go take a bath to get the sweat off me. You wanna join?" she gave him a suggestive look.

"If I ever refuse that offer, please give me the mortal potion and kill me." he told her.

The redhead chuckled and wrapped her arms around his. "See you kids at dinner." she said to them as they walked away.

"Man, I never knew two people could be so lovey-dovey." Clay remarked.

"That's for sure." Kimiko said. "But it's actually quite sweet, especially when Chase is on the evil side."

"I have heard that love changes people, perhaps there is truth in those words." Omi spoke up.

"Hey, guys." Raimundo called, holding his Wudia Weapon out in front of him. "You think my feet are firm enough in the ground?" he looked down.

"You're seriously taking Chase's advice?" Clay asked.

"Why wouldn't I? Like Juno, he's got years of experience on us. And, judging from the analysis he gave me, he knows what he's talking about."

"You know, Rai, I kinda can't help but notice something." Kimiko said.

"Beside how handsome and charming your boyfriend is?"

"Yes, besides that." she admitted, blushing a little when he called himself her boyfriend. "I noticed that you seem to be trying to... get closer to Chase."

"What do you mean?" the Brazilian looked at her.

"Well, you almost always seem to be asking him for advice on different things. And you try to strike up conversations with him that are about sports, girls, other guy stuff. Something you would talk with your dad about."

"Yeah, I've noticed that, too." Clay realized. "Does seem a little strange, considering we're on two different sides."

"Well, we have a mutual enemy we're trying to get rid of." Raimundo told them. "Besides, he's not a total bad guy, I think."

"Rai, do you... see Chase has an actual father figure?" Kimiko asked.

"What? I-I mean, huh?" the Brazilian stammered.

"We get it, though, it's sorta the same for us, even if it was a joke at first. For Clay and I, he's like a second dad. But, for you and Omi, it's like he's a for real father to you."

"Yes, he does fit the role of a strict, but caring father quite well." Omi nodded. "Though, I am sure your own father would be rather sad to hear you are replacing him."

Raimundo said nothing, looking at the ground again with an unreadable expression. "I... I don't have a dad."

The monks blinked in surprise.

"I do not understand." Omi said. "Did he pass away?"

"No, he... What I mean is..." the Brazilian sighed, a little frustrated. "It's just really complicated, okay?"

The other two male monks looked at each other as Kimiko walked over to her boyfriend. She placed her hand over his, making him look at her. She gave him a kind smile and look that said that it was okay, that he didn't have to talk about it if he didn't want to. He smiled back at her, already starting to feel better.

"Thanks, Kimi." Raimundo said, leaning down and kissing her head.

"Anytime." Kimiko told him. "How about we go and get ready for dinner, we've all worked up an appetite."

"Sounds great." he took her hands in his.

They smiled at each other once more before they walked to where their fellow monks were.

(Later that night)

While everyone was asleep in bed, Guan was meditating in the main training hall of the temple, Dojo snoring away on his shoulders. As he was meditating, six dots began to glow on his forehead. His eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet, taking a stance and shocking the dragon awake.

"Don't you know it's bad luck to wake a dragon?" Dojo asked groggily. "You want a curse on your head for eternity?"

"We must the others." Guan told him, dots still glowing. "I sense a great evil nearby."

"Oh. Oh, well that is just perfect." the dragon groaned, sliding down to the floor. "Now I'll never get back to sleep knowing some great evil could be around any-"

He was cut off by a sudden loud, deep growl that came from a large shadow that was coming around the corner. Dojo screamed as the shadow got closer, expecting the worse. However, it was just a yawning Clay that came through the door. The cowboy exhaled as he put his hat on his head, his breath invading the dragon's nostrils.

"And they call dragon breath bad." Dojo remarked.

"We thought we sensed great evil." Omi appeared out from behind Clay along with Kimiko, all of them still in their pajamas.

"Join the club." the dragon pointed towards the Master Monk.

"Hey, you all sensed that great evil, too?" Juno came in with Chase, still dressed in her sleeping yukata. "Chase, have you been having evil thoughts again?"

"Not entirely." he replied. "Most of my thoughts are about you and I doing-"

"It is way too early for this." Kimiko cut off the Heylin warrior.

"We must search the grounds for any signs of trouble." Guan told them, the glowing dots on his forehead going out.

"Agreed. But, first, where is Raimundo?" the Xiaolin Dragon King questioned, noticing the absence of the monk.

"Raimundo! Arise your shine!" Omi shook his fellow monk awake in his room. "There is great evil!"

"Are you sure it's not just Chase having evil thoughts again?" Raimundo yawned. "And are you sure it's great evil? Because if it's just regular evil, I'm sure you can handle it without me." he turned his back to the other and pulled the covers closer to him, trying to go back to sleep.

"Orb of Tornami!" the short monk used the Shen Gong Wu to send out a flood of water.

"Woah! I'm up! I'm up!" the Brazilian yelled as he was swept out of his room by the flood.

The group looked over nearly the entire temple, but there was no trace of any great evil.

"Nothing appears to be missing from the vault." Kimiko informed after looking.

"We've got nothing, too." Raimundo said, Dojo on his shoulders. "Except some lack of shut-eye action." he yawned loudly and stretched his arms.

He was suddenly elbowed hard in the side.

"Did that wake you up?" Chase asked.

"Yeah... just what I needed, thanks..." the Brazilian replied, rubbing his side in pain.

"We couldn't find anything either." Juno told the others. "Nothing even close to being related to great evil beside Chase."

"Look, I have found a clue!" Omi was crouching down and looking at a small puddle of red liquid that was on the ground. "It looks like... blood."

The female warrior came over, knelt down, and dipped her finger into the puddle. Raising it to her mouth, she licked the substances off of it.

"Juno! Ew!" Kimiko cringed.

"Relax, it's not blood, it's ketchup." the redhead told her. "But where did it come from?"

Then more drops of the red substances fell on the ground from the sky and the group looked up. They saw a certain cowboy sitting on top of one of the temple's buildings, eating a sandwich.

"Clay, you're dripping ketchup!" the Japanese girl called up to him.

"Sorry about that." Clay apologized. "There's something about looking for evil that really works up a fellow's appetite."

"You woke me up for false alarm evil?" Raimundo complained, turning around fast enough to knock Dojo off his shoulders.

"It was better to be safe than sorry." Juno said as he walked a few feet away.

"Yeah, well, it's better if Rai gets his sleepy time." the Brazilian retorted before he settled down on the ground, going to sleep.

"It probably would be wise for all us of to get some rest." Guan told the others. "To better prepare for the unrest." he walked away.

"You call that a proverb?" Dojo questioned from Omi's shoulders now. "Fung-man could do better than that in his sleep." he crossed his arms. Then his expression turned sad. "I miss puppy-eyes so."

Then he heard a sound and jumped down Omi's one piece pajama in fear. However, it was only a single mosquito that flew by.

"Well, you kids head back to bed." Juno said, grabbing the sleeping Raimundo and easily carrying him in her arms. "I'll tuck Raimundo in before he catches a cold. Goodnight."

"Night, Juno." the other monks replied as she and her husband started heading towards the Brazilian's room.

As they were walking, the mosquito that scared Dojo suddenly flew right in front of Juno, buzzing around her face. Since she couldn't squash it with her hands as they were still holding Raimundo, she blew it away with a strong gust of wind from her mouth.

"Remind me to tell Guan to set up more bug-zappers around the temple." the redhead told Chase as they kept walking.

After the mosquito was blown away, it flew over to the building that housed the Shen Gong Wu. It landed on the door, squeezing through a crack that was in it. Once inside, it flew up above the empty space that was surrounded by the spiral staircase.

"Moby Morby!"

The mosquito transformed into a human-sized Hannibal Bean, who fell down the space and landed at the bottom of the vault. Next to him was the door he slipped through and a lever that looked like a hand holding a red orb.

"I must thank my hosts for being so accommodating." he grinned as he pulled the lever.

The demon laughed evilly as the pillar storing the Shen Gong Wu rose up behind him.

"There we go, all tucked in." Juno said after setting Raimundo down on his bed and pulling the covers over him. "Aren't they just so cute when they're asleep?" she smiled, moving the old teddy bear that was on the bed to be in his arms. "Goodnight, Raimundo." she leaned down and kissed his head.

"Aren't you a little too affectionate with your monks?" Chase asked, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Getting jealous again?"

"Maybe a little."

The redhead chuckled a bit as she went over to him. "Relax, you know my feelings towards them are purely maternal. But it kinda makes you think, doesn't it?" she looked back at the sleeping monk. "We probably would have done the same with Mei if we got to raise her, you know?"

"Yes, I suppose so." was all Chase said, watching the Brazilian as well. "It is unfortunate, I know you would have been a terrific mother towards her over the years."

"Thank you." she gave a small smile. "And I know you would have made a great father." she kissed him for a moment. "I'm going to back to bed, you coming?"

"I'll join you in a moment."

"Okay, but don't keep me waiting, you hear?" Juno told him before she walked down that hall.

Chase watched her leave for a moment before turning his attention back to Raimundo. "A great father, hm?" he said to himself, a small trace of what looked like uncertainty in his eyes.

He stared at the sleeping monk for a while longer until he pushed himself off the doorway, following his wife back to bed.

(The next night)

As everyone was fast asleep in bed, Omi was sleeping upside down on his head while holding a meditative pose. Then his dots glowed on his head and his body slumped forward, face-slamming into the wooden floor, waking him up.

The short monk groaned as his dots disappeared, pushing himself up to his feet. He walked himself outside the buildings where his room was, stepping out into the open. He was completely unaware of the giant, sapphire-blue jellyfish-like creature that he stopped in front of us. Yawning, he turned around to look at the creature with a sleepy expression.

He stared at it for a moment before his eyes went so wide that they became one. The jellyfish monster roared from its horizontal mouth, revealing the row of sharp teeth it had and making the bald monk scream loudly.

Juno's eyes snapped up and she quickly sat up in the bed she was sharing with her husband, who just woke up when she did.

"What's the matter, Juno?" Chase asked groggily, his eyes still closed as his arm was around her waist.

"One of the kids is in trouble." she said with absolute certainty.

"Again?" the Heylin warrior sighed. "I suppose this is what they call motherly instinct."

"Fearsome monster!" Omi stepped back from the creature, holding his hands out in front of him, ready to attack at any moment. "Stop at once or suffer a humiliating defeat!"

The giant jellyfish hit him with one of its large tentacles, sending him crashing into the wall of one of the buildings.

"Alright... you have been warned." the short monk groaned, trying to pull himself off the wall but couldn't.

The creature roared and started to come towards him when Juno, Chase, and Guan came outside, all of them holding their respective weapons. The giant jellyfish turned its attention on them and flung its tentacles at them. The trio dodged and jumped out of the way of the attacks, the redhead landing right by Omi and pulling him off the wall. She jumped again from the tentacle aimed at them and landed beside the Master Monk and Heylin warrior, setting the short monk down on the ground. Guan lowered the end of his spear and allowed Omi to jump on it, flinging him towards the monster.

"Puppy Craving Turkey!" the short monk shot out a kick, but was deflected by a tentacle.

"Man Cooking Goose!"

"Monkey Reading Shakespeare!"

Juno and Chase attacked the creature respectively, but they couldn't manage to land a hit on it.

"Hamster Yanking Chain!" Guan stuck the tip of his spear in the ground and spun his whole body around on the pole before throwing himself at the giant jellyfish.

He managed to land a kick on it, but the monster's tentacles soon wrapped around him.

"Guan!" Juno yelled as he tried to keep himself from being put into its mouth.

"Coming at you, partners!"

Omi turned around and saw Kimiko and Clay rushing their way. The cowboy threw his Shimo Staff and he caught it in his hand.

"Shimo Staff!" the short monk transformed his Wudai Weapon into a longer version of itself and swung it at the jellyfish, hitting it in the face and making it release Guan. He jumped out of the way of the tentacles aimed at him.

"Arrow Sparrow!" Kimiko threw her bird-shaped projectiles, which immediately caught on fire.

"Big Bang Meteorang!" Clay threw his Wudai Weapon.

The two attacks collided with the monsters, but neither of them had any affect on it.

"Hey, has anyone seen Raimundo?" the Japanese girl asked as the American caught his boomerang-like weapon.

"I have a pretty good idea where he is." Juno said.

As she thought, the Brazilian was still fast asleep in his bed, the covers kicked off of him while he holding his stuffed bear.

The giant jellyfish threw its tentacles at the group, who quickly dodged them. Omi landed on one of the tentacles and was tossed into the air when it was lifted up. He flipped around a few times in the air before he landed on his feet, right on top of the monster.

However, he soon found himself slipping, accidently letting go of his Shimo Staff. He grabbed the fin that was on top of its head, trying to keep himself from being caught in its sideways mouth. Guan jumped up and stuck his spear in the creature's jaws when it opened them again, keeping it's mouth open. The monster shook itself, trying to get the spear out, and made Omi lose his grip on its fin, sending him flying right into Clay and Kimiko. They hit the wall of one of the buildings and fell to the ground in a huddle. Before they could get up, a tentacle wrapped around all of them and lifted them up.

"Kids!" Juno yelled as they were being pulled towards the monster.

Guan jumped up to help, but the giant jellyfish used its other tentacle to pull out the spear in its mouth and throw it at the Master Monk, knocking him to the ground.

"Anyone else feeling like a rat in a snake cage?" Clay asked as he and the others struggled to get free of the tentacle.

Then the creature opened its mouth widely and pulled them towards it, ready to eat them.

"Hey, my kids are not edible!" Juno shouted at the monster. She slammed her foot on the ground and a piece of the ground shot out. Then she sent it hurling at the creature, getting it lodged in its large mouth before it could put the monks between its jaws. "Chase, now!"

The Heylin warrior ran forward and jumped, slashing the blade of his Kwan-Dao Sword down on the tentacle holding the trio. It was sliced off and the monks fell to the ground, quickly picking themselves up as the giant jellyfish shattered the piece of earth in its mouth with its teeth. It roared loudly as it advanced on them, regrowing a new tentacle to replace the one that was cut off. The group took stances, ready to attack again. However, before it could do anything, the monster jellyfish disappeared into thin air, almost like it wasn't there in the first place.

"It has vanished." Omi stated the obvious.

"Where did it go?" Guan questioned.

"It's not invisible, I can't sense its presence anymore." Juno said, looking around the area. "But it is strange."

"Blade of the..." Raimundo suddenly came running out, brandishing his Wudai Weapon in one hand while he held his stuffed bear in his other arm. He slid to a stop when he saw that there was no fighting happening. "Nebula."

"Uh, you're a little bit late to the square dance there, Rai." Clay told him, straightening out his hat.

"What can I say, he probably just knew better than to mess with me." the Brazilian smirked.

"Or your wittle bearsie-wearsie." Kimiko teased, pointing at the teddy bear he was still holding.

"I told you his name is Ninja Fred, and he's only a good luck charm!" Raimundo declared, holding the stuffed animal over his head to keep it from her line of sight.

"Master Juno, who could have been behind this mysterious attack?" Omi asked the redhead.

"Take your pick, we've got a list full of enemies." she said. "It could be anyone."

"Yes, and they'll most likely try to attack again." Chase added. "And that thing just might succeed in eating someone next time."

"Perhaps we should start with the first person on the list." Guan suggested.

"You're right, we'll start in the morning." Juno told them. "Right now, let's get to bed."

"No argument here." Clay yawned. "Fighting monsters this late at night sure wipes a cowpoke out."

"Come on, Rai, no need to be embarrassed." Kimiko told her boyfriend as they headed back to their rooms. "It's cute you still have a teddy bear at your age, I've got a ton back home in Tokyo."

"Good luck charm." Raimundo corrected her.

"By the way, Juno, who is the first person on your list of enemies?" Chase asked his wife as she picked up a sleepy Omi and held him in her arms.

"Well, it's someone you don't like." she told him.

"I don't like a lot of people." he pointed out.

"True, but this one scream higher than most."

"Are you kidding me? That idiot is at the top of your list?"

"He's caused the most trouble for us, I wouldn't put it past him to somehow got a monster to attack us. Like I said, we'll check it out tomorrow. Right now, I'm going to put Omi to bed, you can go on back the room."

"Very well." Chase said. "Honestly, I do hope it is him and not a certain someone else."

"Yeah, me, too." Juno agreed before she walked away to put the now sleeping Omi in his room and regular, upside down sleeping position.

(The next day)

The Xiaolin Warriors were riding on a transformed Dojo's back, flying through the skies and heading to where the first person on their enemy list was.

"Ugh." Raimundo groaned after lying back and trying, and failing, to get comfortable on the dragon's back. "Would it kill you get some reclining seats, Dojo?"

"Please return all complaints to their full shut up position." Dojo sassed back. "As we approach our final destination, Jack Spicer's lair."

"Nice one, Dojo." Juno complimented as the boy genius's house came into view and they headed down.

When they landed, the first thing they noticed was the trail of black smoke coming from the side of the house.

"Looks like we're not the first ones to stop by." the redhead remarked as Dojo shrunk down to his smaller size and slithered up to her shoulders.

The group headed towards the smoke just as it cleared and revealed a large hole in the wall that lead into the lair. Inside, it look like a fight had taken place. There were broken Jack-Bots littered everywhere along with destroyed pieces of machinery. Whatever happened here, it sure made a mess.

"Looks like some evildoer could use a cleaning-bot." Kimiko said as they walked inside. She stepped on one of the destroyed Jack-Bots that had a camera attached to it.

The camera came to life and a video started to play on the wall in front of the Warriors. The video counted down to one until it showed Jack holding a long staff.

"Don't make me bust you up, little man." the boy genius said as he started to shout and use the staff badly.

"Love to see this on the big screen." Juno remarked, eating some popcorn from a bowl she was holding and sharing it with Dojo.

As Jack was still using the staff, something busted through the wall behind him. The redheaded boy screamed when he saw the roaring, sapphire-blue jellyfish monster.

"Look! It is our monster!" Omi pointed.

"So it wasn't Jack who sent it after us." the redhead said.

"Come on, blast him, already!" Jack ordered his robots.

The group watched as the boy genius, unsurprisingly, run away scared as the Jack-Bots attacked the creature. The scene changed to him opening two doors that were on the floor and jumping down the hole inside it. As he was closing the doors, his fingers got caught between them, causing him to whimper painfully.

The Xiaolin Warriors heard the same whimper from off-screen and looked down, seeing that Clay was standing on the trap door that Jack's fingers were still caught in. The cowboy stepped back and opened the doors.

"I surrender!" the redheaded boy cried, covering his face with his hands. "Take whatever you want, just don't do me ugly! Don't do me ugly!"

"Easy there, cowpoke." Clay told him, making him open his eyes and look at them. "We ain't gonna hurt ya."

"Without reason, anyway." Juno added as Dojo finished the rest of the popcorn.

"Oh, sure." Jack said sarcastically. "You just get your monster to do your dirty work. By the way, congrats, very impressive evil."

"But we have also been attacked by this beast." Omi explained.

"Woah, woah, then who..." the boy genius trailed off as he looked at the still playing video. It showed the giant jellyfish shooting out a blast of bright blue fire from its mouth, hitting a Jack-Bot and turning it blue, making it fall to the ground. "Um, did my Jack-Bot just turn blue?"

"More specifically, sapphire-blue." Kimiko said, pointing at the pile of sapphire-blue robot statues that were in the nearby corner.

"There is only one creature I know with power to turn things into sapphire statues." Omi added.

"And we know just who has that creature." Juno narrowed her eyes.

(Later)

"There's one thing I don't get." Clay as Dojo landed down in the inner grounds of the temple. "How did Hannibal Bean make the Sapphire Dragon look the way it does when it attacked us? Isn't it suppose to be, you know, a dragon?"

"I believe we can answer that question."

As the group was climbing off the dragon's back, they saw Chase and Guan heading their way.

"We checked the vault earlier, and it would seem our Shadow of Fear is gone, as well." the Master Monk informed.

"Oh, this is definitely not good." Juno said as Dojo shrunk down to his smaller size, slithering up to her shoulders.

"I wish someone would clue me in." Raimundo spoke up. "I've barely seen this thing everyone's so scared of."

"That's because the other person behind these attacks is also you, Raimundo." the redhead pointed at him.

"Huh?!" his eyes widened.

"No, Raimundo cannot be responsible for the Sapphire Dragon's attack!" Omi quickly defended his friend. Then he looked at him a moment later. "Why Raimundo, why?!" he shook him by his robes.

"You guys are one taco short of a combo plate on this one!" the Brazilian pushed the short monk back.

"I'm not saying Raimundo is hurting us on purpose." Juno told them. "But he's become am unwilling pawn of Hannibal. Remember when you kids told me about the time Jack used the Shadow of Fear against you? You mentioned Raimundo's biggest fear was some jellyfish-like monster, which is what the Sapphire Dragon currently looks like."

"Somehow, Hannibal Bean slipped by our defenses and stole the Shadow of Fear." Guan added. "And he used it to enter the world of Raimundo's dreams. Digging, probing for his inner most fear."

"After he found what disturbed him the most, he used the Moby Morpher to give the Sapphire Dragon its form." Chase said. "Releasing an unstoppable monster that will rain chaos every time Raimundo falls asleep."

"You mean the bean-dude is rattling around somewhere in my head?!" Raimundo yelled. "That's messed up, yo!" he hit the side of his head, as if hoping that would knock the demon out.

"Remember that the creature only disappeared after you woke up." Juno told him, grabbing his shoulders. "Hannibal knows that if he can increase your fear, they will grow strong enough to destroy us all. We have to find a way to keep that from happening."

"Yes!" Omi jumped up and grasped one the redhead's arm, hanging from it. "The solution is most simple, Raimundo must never sleep again."

"Not exactly..." the Brazilian yawned. "A long-range plan there, Omi."

"I reckon that if it's Raimundo's fear that's feeding the critter, we've got to get his fear out in the open." Clay said.

"And put it to rest so he can." Kimiko added.

"Hey, even if it's you, Kimi, I don't you or any wanna-be head shrinkers poking around in my brain." the Brazilian stated.

"Raimundo's right, kiddies." Dojo jumped to his shoulders. "Leave this to the professional armchair psychiatrist, slash, advise guru." he put on a pair of glasses. "There, there, Dr. Dojo hears your fear." he took the monk's hand, stroking his palm. "Hmm, you have soft hands for a boy."

Raimundo smacked him off of him.

"We'll figure this out." Juno reassured the Brazilian. "Hopefully before you die from lack of sleep."

"I don't think saying helps, Juno." Chase told her.

(Meanwhile, inside Raimundo's head)

"So we've figured out the little game, have we?" Hannibal Bean said in amusement as the image he had conjured up of the group vanished.

"No, please..." the small voice of a nearby shadowy figure, concealed by fog, pleaded. "Leave them alone."

"Pathetic." the demon sneered. "Perhaps you need to be reminded of your place." he walked off as the figure disappeared.

(Back with the Xiaolin Warriors)

A visibly tired Raimundo tried to keep his eyes open and to keep from falling asleep.

"During my shift, I shall be keeping you awake with a mysterious, ancient training technique known as..." Omi held up an object. "Dodge the bucket of ice water!"

"Huh?" the Brazilian's eyes enlarged after hearing what he said. Before he could react, he was splashed in the face with the very cold liquid, which froze over his head until the short monk broke it apart with a karate chop. He shivered.

"You may need some practice." Omi said. "And, with time, I'm sure you will be as good as me. Orb of Tornami!" he used the Shen Gong Wu to refill the bucket. He gave a mischievous grin before Dojo came over and pushed the bucket down, having it roll away. "Hey, come back!" he chased after it.

"Now then..." the dragon put on his glasses as he slithered over to the Xiaolin Dragon of the Wind. "Let's get to the bottom of your problem, shall we?" he jumped to his shoulder. "Missing our mommy, hm? Or, perhaps, bed-wetting." he pointed at the puddle of water that was left over from the icy water from earlier.

Raimundo grabbed him and dropped him into the puddle.

"Oh, how Freudian." Dojo remarked as the Brazilian walked away.

"Come back, bucket!" Omi was still chasing the bucket around. "I won't hurt you!"

Time to use another method for staying awake.

(Later)

"Come on, Rai, work it like you own it!" Kimiko told the taller monk as they were both playing the dancing game, Dance Armageddon, stepping on the arrows under her feet as they appeared on the screen, music blaring loudly.

"I think I'm just gonna..." Raimundo yawned. "Just freestyle, Kimi." he laid down on his stomach, pressing the arrows with his finger instead.

The Japanese girl looked at him and went to turn up the music up, trying to keep her boyfriend from falling asleep. The sudden change in volume did startle him awake more.

"Oh! Oh! I got it!" Dojo slithered over. "Trouble with a stuffed animal, those things can get so creepy, you know?"

The Brazilian smack his hand down on the dragon, pinning him down.

"Come on, Rai, he's just trying to help." Kimiko knelt beside him.

"Well, can he help without trying to psychoanalysis me?" he snapped.

The female monk gave him a kind, patient smile. "I know it's rough on you, but try to hang in there a little longer." she put her hand down on the his, the one that wasn't holding Dojo down. "I'm sure we'll figure out a way to fix everything soon." she leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips.

Raimundo smiled back at her, tired though it looked. "You know, that actually woke me up a little. Maybe you should do it again." he winked.

Kimiko giggled a bit. "Dummy." she said, but went ahead and kissed him again.

"If it's not the stuffed animal, then it must be-"

The Japanese girl smacked her own hand down on Dojo's face, silencing him while she and her boyfriend were kissing.

(Later)

"Okay, mug number ten, coming up."

"Juno, I think the coffee is starting to lose its effect." Raimundo yawned as the redhead poured more of the drink into his mug, sitting at the kitchen table. "At this rate, my blood will turn into coffee."

"I could give you something to stay awake." Chase said, sitting across from him and drinking his Lao Mang Lone Soup. "Although, even after we fix you, I can't guarantee that you'll ever sleep again."

"I'll keep that in mind." the Brazilian rubbed one of his eyes. He took a sip of his coffee, it was really starting to lose its kick.

"You're really toughing it out, Raimundo." Juno told him. "I promise, when we deal with Hannibal and the Sapphire Dragon, you can sleep for as long as you want." she rubbed his head.

"Hmm, thanks, Juno..." Raimundo mumbled tiredly, his eyes beginning to close from the pleasant feeling of her affectionate touch.

The Heylin warrior leaned over and flicked him as hard as he could, right between the eyes.

"Ow!" the Brazilian held a hand to his face. "That hurt!"

"It kept you awake, didn't it?" Chase retorted. "We might have to resort to more violent methods in order for you to keep your eyes open."

"I'm not into pain." Raimundo told him, rubbing the spot he was flickered.

"I know, but we might not have much choice at this rate. However, I know you're working hard to stay awake, so keep at it, alright?" he leaned over and and ruffled his hair a bit.

The younger man blinked in surprise as he looked at the Heylin warrior. Chase soon realized what he was doing and leaned down, clearing his throat a bit and looking elsewhere.

"Uh, thanks..." the Brazilian said, fixing his hair. He hoped the couple couldn't see the small smile coming onto his face.

"I've got it this time." Dojo suddenly jumped onto the table. "Daddy issues, right?" he pointed at the Xiaolin Dragon of the Wind.

"W-What?"

"It makes sense if you think about it. You have complicated feelings for your father and are hoping to find a surrogate in-"

Raimundo dumped his mug of coffee on the dragon before he could point at the Heylin warrior. "I don't have daddy issues!" he got up from the table and stomped out of the kitchen.

"Don't you think you're getting a little too personal, Dojo?" Juno questioned as she waved her hand to collect the spilled coffee.

"Hey, do you want him to be cured of his fear or not?" he retorted before getting off the table and going after the monk.

"Should we be concerned that he might end up killing Dojo?" Chase questioned.

"Probably." the redhead said. "But now that it was mentioned, I've heard Raimundo talk a lot about all of the members of his family, except his father."

"You think Dojo was right about him having issues with his father?"

"Maybe, but I try not pry into things people don't want to talk about. If he wants to discuss it, I'll wait until he brings it up himself."

"Yes, you might be right." Chase said.

"I always am." Juno winked at him.

He smiled a bit as he wrapped one of his arms around her waist, pulling her into his lap. Burying his nose into the skin of her neck, his other hand entwined with hers. Juno smiled as her free hand came up to run her fingers through his hair, feeling him kiss the back of her other hand.

"We'll stop Hannibal, just like we always do." she told him.

"Yes, I know." Chase said as he held her close to him, inhaling her scent.

(Later)

The sun was starting to set and Raimundo, sitting on a bench that was on one of the verandas, was really starting to feel exhausted. He could barely keep his eyes open. Who knows how much longer he'll last.

"I know just what you need to feel better." Clay came over and patted his friend's shoulder. "Sqaure-dancin!"

Raimundo whimpered a bit as the other went to go turn on some music from a stereo, not liking where this was going.

The cowboy grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Swing your partner, dosey doe! Bend the line, circle left, circle right, left square through!" he tossed the Brazilian around like a ragdoll until he grip slipped, sending the other monk flying into a wooden support beam. But he didn't notice and kept dancing.

Raimundo quickly got down the nearby stairs to get away.

"Post-thumb sucking depression?" Dojo slithered over, causing a vein to throb on the monk's forehead. "Tell me, when did you suck your thumb last?"

The Brazilian grabbed the dragon in a tight grip. "Look, the only problem I'm having is with a nosey dragon!" he pointed in his face.

"A breakthrough!" Dojo choked out, making the human loosen his hand. "Now all we have to do is find this nosey dragon and-" he cut himself off when his body started to twitch and go out of control. "I've got a seven-point five Shen Gong Wu alert! We've got to get going!"

"I'll stay here with Raimundo and keep him awake." Clay announced after hearing what the dragon said. "You round up the others and get the Wu!"

The two didn't notice the mass of darkness slipping out of the Xiaolin Dragon of the Wind's ear, just as he finally fell asleep.

"Now where were we?" the cowboy said when Dojo slithered off. "Oh, yeah." he grabbed his fellow monk, forcing him awake. "Square dancing!"

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Chase asked Juno as she was getting ready to leave for the new Shen Gong Wu.

"I'm sure, Clay might need help in keeping Raimundo awake." she told him. "So I'll be counting on you while we're gone."

"I understand, just come back soon."

"We'll be back before you can even say Lao Mang Lone Soup." the redhead smiled at him. "Also, don't hit Raimundo to keep him awake."

"I promise not to hit him too hard."

"I'll take it." Juno chuckled a bit, kissing him for a moment. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay." he smiled at her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Take care."

"You, too." she waved at him before she went to join the others in the middle of the temple grounds.

"Might as well go see how those two are doing." Chase said to himself, heading to where the two male monks were.

"Right arm turn, wheel around, wrong way there, dosey doe!"

"Clay, change of plans!" Kimiko came onto the veranda, holding the Longi Kite, and stopping the cowboy from dancing with the Brazilian, though it was more like being tossed around on the latter's side. "It's an earth Shen Gong Wu that's gone active!"

"Sounds right up my element." Clay said, letting go of Raimundo's arms and letting him drop to the floor.

"Juno, Omi, and Dojo already took off, but you can catch up with them on the Longi Kite." she handed him the Wu. "I'll watch sleepy-boy."

The cowboy smiled and high-fived the female monk, putting the Kite on his back. "Longi Kite!" he quickly took off into the air to go after the other Warriors.

When he was out of sight, the Japanese girl let out a dark grin. She went over to the stereo and stomped her foot on it, cutting off the music.

Raimundo yawned as he sat up. "So what's the stay awake plan this time, Kimi? I'm always up for another make-out session, but I can't promise I'll be super responsive this time." he turned his head to face her.

Through his tired eyes, he saw that her face had taken on a nasty grin and her eyes were different, but familiar. He blinked, his mind not fast enough to process what was going on. By the time he had figured it out, Raimundo had collapsed to the floor, the desire to sleep finally overtaking him.

"Moby Morpher!" the female monk held up the Shen Gong Wu on her arms and turned into a certain, bean-sized demon. "Sweet dreams, dear boy." Hannibal Bean laughed evilly as he landed next to the fallen Brazilian.

"So you finally decided to show you ugly face again?"

He turned and saw that a certain Heylin warrior glaring at him.

"Well, I had to do a little improvising." the demon said. "Though I didn't quite except you to stay behind while your wife goes after the Shen Gong Wu. Speaking of Juno, I'm sure she'll make a lovely sapphire statue." he gave a dark smirk as he pulled out a Shen Gong Wu that had shrunk along with him.

"No, you don't!"

"Shadow of Fear!"

Hannibal Bean's body turned into a mass of darkness, making Chase's fist hit the floor he was standing on previously. The mass traveled over to Raimundo and went right into his ear.

"Dammit." the Heylin warrior cursed. He grabbed the younger man shoulder's and started to shake him. "Raimundo! Raimundo, wake up!"

But the Brazilian didn't wake, too deep asleep as the demon in his head searched around in his head.

(Meanwhile, with the Xiaolin Warriors)

"The Shadow Slicer is a lesser known Wu." Dojo told the trio on his back as they flew pass a large sign that welcomed them to a zoo. "It create a hologram of the holder that eludes the enemy."

"I would very much like to create a hologram of me to elude my enemy." Omi said, closing the mystic scroll they were looking at. "Or just to admire." he grinned.

"Isn't that what mirrors are for?" Juno questioned as Kimiko rolled her eyes at her fellow monk. "Anyway, Dojo, where is the Shadow Slicer?"

"It could be in any one of these zoo habitats." the dragon replied, looking down at said habitats.

"Oh, please don't be in the monkey cage. Oh, not in the monkey cage." the Japanese girl said to herself.

"Over there, on Monkey Mountains!" Omi pointed.

"Sorry, Kimiko." Juno said to groaning girl as Dojo flew towards the habitat.

They didn't notice the shadowy figure that past by outside the habitat as they landed on the relatively large island that was surrounded by a moat, housing large stones and trees that had tire swings and other toys for the monkeys to play with. As the group got off the dragon's back, they saw the Shadow Slicer nestled at the base of one of the trees.

"Do not worry about stepping on monkeys, Kimiko." Omi told the female monk as over a dozen monkeys poked their heads out from behind the stones to look curiously at the trio. "You are safe here with Master Juno and I."

"We'll just grab the Wu and go." Juno added as Dojo shrunk to his smaller size.

Suddenly, the monkeys started screeching and throwing balls of mud at the ones who were trespassing on their habitat.

"It's not the monkeys I'm worried about!" Kimiko yelled as they tried to keep themselves from getting hit by the mud balls.

"I really hope it's just mud they're throwing at us, if you know what I mean." Juno said as Dojo was hiding behind her legs.

At that moment, a certain boy genius flew down among the monkey horde on his Heli-Bot.

"Monkey Staff!" Jack used the Shen Gong Wu and his appearance became more monkey-like.

"Great, the head monkey just arrived." Juno remarked.

"How can you expect to win if you're afraid to play a little dirt?" the monkey boy started throwing mud at them along with the other primates.

The female warrior got in front of the monks and dragon and held up her hands, deflecting the mud balls since they were both a part of the earth and had water in them.

"Chumps, meet chimps. Have a great family reunion!" Jack screeched as the monkey horde rushed towards the group.

"This is just like with the Green Monkeys from last time." Juno commented as she and the others started running from the primates.

As they were doing that, the redheaded monkey boy used the tail part of the Monkey Staff to pull the Shadow Slicer into his hand. "Ta-ta, losers!" he let out a screeching laugh as he tossed the Wu up and down.

Suddenly, a hand appeared from above him and snatched the Shadow Slicer out of his, much to his shock.

"Yeehaw!"

Everyone looked up and saw a certain cowboy flying in the air. The sudden appearance of him made the monkeys run away, backing off the group that was chased to the end of the island.

"Most timely assist, Clay." Omi said as his fellow monk landed in front of them, deactivating the Longi Kite.

"You sure scared those monkeys out of their skin." Juno remarked. "But shouldn't you be watching Raimundo right now?"

"Oh, I left him back at the temple with..." Clay trailed off when he saw the female monk. "Kimiko?"

The group looked at each other and realization quickly came to them. "Hannibal Bean!" they yelled in unison.

Suddenly, one of the monkeys swung by overhead and snatched the Shadow Slicer out of the cowboy's hand.

"Hey!"

The primate landed on a log, screeching in victory along with Monkey Jack and the other monkeys.

"We'll have to deal with this first." Juno said. "Chase is back at the temple, so, hopefully, he'll be able to stop Hannibal before he can-"

A blast of blue fire suddenly collided with the monkey holding the Shen Gong Wu. When it was gone, the small primate was now frozen as a sapphire statue.

"What in blue blazes is that?!" Jack pointed in the direction the fire had come from.

Everyone turned and saw the giant, sapphire-blue jellyfish monster appear outside the habitat.

"Okay, forget what I said earlier." Juno told the monks.

The creature started firing more blue flames from its mouth, hitting another monkey and turning it into a statue. Everyone else scattered to avoid getting hit. If the Xiaolin Warriors ended up like the primates, there would be no stopping the Sapphire Dragon.

(Meanwhile, in Raimundo's head)

The Brazilian opened his eyes and found himself laying on the ground. He sat up and saw that he was in some kind of cave with lines of fog floating around.

"I must have dosed off." he thought aloud, getting to his feet. "Well, as long as I'm here, might as well see what goes on in my head." he smiled, not noticing the shadowy figure behind him.

Raimundo walked down one path of the cave, which seemed to go on forever. When he came to the dark end of the path, there was bright flash of light that blinded him for a moment. Blinking his eyes, he saw that he was now standing in a vast room.

"Wow." his eyes took in everything that was in the room.

A flat screen TV, basketball hoop, a pool table, all kinds of video games, a large skate ramp that had a skateboarding butler holding a pizza box, and a lot of other stuff that a young man could want. At the end of the room, there was a long flight of stairs that lead to a fancy chair, which had a giant golden 'R' above it.

Raimundo was so occupied by everything, he still didn't notice the small figure hiding in the trails of fog lingering around. When he looked up at the elevated chair, his eyes widened when he saw someone standing beside it. He soon smiled when he saw just who it was.

It was Kimiko, dressed in the kimono she wore on the night they went after the Golden Tiger Claws, her hair done in the exact same bun. She looked as beautiful as he thought she did when he first saw her, though he played it off with his usual teasing.

The Brazilian walked over to the flight of stairs, not surprised she was on his mind, she usually was nearly all the time. However, before he could take a step up the stairs, he noticed something. Kimiko was dusting off the chair with a fan she was holding, but when she held up it back up towards her face, she was replaced by a certain Heylin witch, now wearing the kimono.

"What?" Raimundo took a step back in shock. He didn't know why Wuya of all people would be in his dreams, but he would very much would like to have her out of them.

"Hello, Raimundo."

He turned to where the small voice had come from. He saw that the room had been completely covered with fog, blocking everything from view. However, he could just make out the small shadowy figure that in the fog.

"Who are you?" the monk squinted. "If you're my fear, you don't look so scary."

"Then why are you afraid?" the figure asked as it moved behind a tall mirror that was in a gold frame with an 'R' on the top.

"What makes you think I'm afraid?" Raimundo retorted as he stood in front of the mirror, taking in the reflection that showed a taller, muscular version of himself.

Then the reflection shrunk down to the size of shadowy figure. Only now, the figure could be seen clearly as a small boy with brown, spiky hair and green eyes, holding a teddy bear.

"Because I know you." the boy said, stepping out of the mirror. "I am you. I'm the part of you who's... afraid." he hugged the bear tightly.

The Brazilian looked down at his hand and saw he was holding the same stuffed bear, but it looked older. Then, in a flash, he and the boy were standing in Jack Spicer's lair and he was wearing the boy genius's coat for some reason.

"You're not me!" Raimundo told his inner self. "You're just some figment of my dreams!"

"Looking at ones self can be most frightening when you don't like what you see." another, more familiar voice said out of no where.

The monk looked down at the stuffed bear he was still holding and saw that its face had changed into a certain demon's. "Oh, man, the last thing I need is you in my head!"

Hannibal Bean laughed, making the Brazilian throw him to the side. He was heading for the sea when the human-sized version of himself jumped out of the water and caught the stuffed bear in his mouth, landing back in the water. Raimundo blinked and realized he was now on the beach, in a pair of swimtrunks, while Tubbimura was sunbathing on a towel nearby.

"Get off of me, Tubbi!" the outline of Jack Spicer poked out from under the fat ninja's skin.

Then Raimundo saw Juno, Omi, Kimiko, and Clay some yards away, all of them in their swimsuits and building a sandcastle together.

"Hey, guys!" he headed over to where his friends were. However, instead of getting closer, he saw that they were getting farther and farther away from him, not even seeming to notice he was there. The harder he tried to run to them, the more distance there was put between them.

Suddenly, the sand in front of him shot up into the air, making him fall back. He crawled away as the sand took the form of Hannibal Bean. He kept backing away until he hit something soft.

Raimundo saw that he was now sitting in a movie theater, dressed in his normal clothes. As he calmed down, the screen in front of him played a video of him during the time he had faced PandaBubba's goons. Jack was a few seats behind him, munching on a handful of popcorn.

Then a cup of soda was held out in front of him, making him look at the seat beside him and seeing Kimiko. When he took the drink, she leaned her head on his shoulder, watching the next video that showed him during his Shen Yi Bu Dare with Tubbimura. As they were watching the video, Raimundo moved his arm to put it around his girlfriend.

However, when he touched her, something didn't feel right. Looking beside him, he saw that Kimiko was replaced by a jellyfish. He screamed and pulled his arm back, screaming again when he saw his inner self in the seat that was on his left.

"I can feel your fear go stronger." Hannibal Bean's face appeared in the lid of his cup.

The Brazilian quickly threw it away. Then he felt something touch his shoulder and he looked to his right, sitting the demon now sitting in the seat the jellyfish was in a moment ago.

"Perhaps you'd like to see its powers at work. Shadow of Fear!" Hannibal Bean held up the Shen Gong Wu with one limb and pointed at the screen, replacing the video of him and his monk celebrating after they had first defeated Wuya.

The screen now showed a monkey habitat, where his friends were dealing with the Sapphire Dragon.

(With the Xiaolin Warriors)

More and more monkeys were being turned into sapphire statues as they tried to run away. Juno poked her head out from behind a rock and saw the Shadow Slicer laying the ground. She jumped out from behind the rock, pushed herself off a log and went to the ground, sliding towards the Shen Gong Wu. She touched it, but a tentacle did at the same time she did, making it glow. The female warrior looked up at the jellyfish monster.

"Hello, Sapphy. Remember me?"

The creature responded by slowly changing its form and towering over her as the Sapphire Dragon. It snorted out a puff of dark, sapphire-blue smoke from its nostrils.

"I'll take that as a yes." Juno smirked. "Last time I saw you, I made you go back into your dormant stage after Dashi realized just how dangerous you were when he made you. Been quite a while since then, hasn't it?"

The Dragon seemed to narrow its eyes at her, letting out a low growl as it moved its face closer to hers.

"Anyway, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

"Uh, Juno..." Dojo poked out from behind a rock as the monks came over. "I don't think the Sapphire Dragon is big on Wu."

"Maybe not, but he is a Shen Gong Wu himself." the redhead pointed out as she and the Dragon stared each other down. "We'll wager the Orb of Tornami against yourself. How does that sound, Sapphy?"

The Sapphire Dragon pulled its head back. Then it let out a loud roar and one of the sapphire monkey sprung to life and went to its side. Then the Dragon breathed out blue flames in two different directions. In a moment, a sapphire rhino and grizzly bear joined it. Looking back at the Xiaolin Dragon King, the sentient Shen Gong Wu seem to throw her a smug look.

"Okay, did that thing just call a Cosmic Clash Showdown?" Kimiko asked in disbelief.

Dojo put on his glasses and pulled out the Xiaolin Showdown rulebook, looking through it to see if what the Dragon did was allowed. Turns out, it was.

"Boy, for a dragon that's just a part of Raimundo's imagination, that lizard knows it showdown rules."

"The game will be Jungle Judo." Juno told the Sapphire Dragon. "First team to be tossed out loses. Now, let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!" she declared as it roared.

In a flash, four zoo habitats lifted off the ground and went into the air. They all combined together and had different platforms. Clay was on the desert platform with the rhino, Kimiko in the jungle with the monkey, Omi with the grizzly bear in the forest, and Juno with the Sapphire Dragon on the ice platform.

"Gong Yi Tanpai!" the four Warriors yelled, starting the Showdown.

The Sapphire Dragon shot a blast of blue fire at Juno, who jumped out of the way to dodge.

"I covered you in soot once, I can do it again." she stated.

She held up her hands and shot of a blast of fire at the Shen Gong Wu. The Dragon shot out its own fire again, colliding with hers. The two fought against each other, trying to push the other back. Then the sentient Wu moved the end of its tail towards her and wrapped it around her ankle, lifting her up into the air and hanging her upside down.

The Sapphire Dragon shot more blue fire at her, but Juno held up her hands again and a great blast of water came out. The attacks made contact and steam came out of the middle of them. Keeping one of her hands up, the redhead pointed her other at the ground and a chunk of the ice platform broke off. She flung it at the Shen Gong Wu, hitting it in the face and making it stop its attack. Her water hit it next, forcing the Dragon to release its hold on her. Juno straightened herself out and landed on her feet.

"Hope that puts your fire out for a while." she smirked at it.

The Sapphire Dragon glared at her. Then it flung its tail at her, trying to hit her. The female warrior jumped and dodged the attack. However, just when she went into the air to evade the tail, it quickly came back around and hit her dead on, knocking her into the ice wall. When Juno recovered and looked back at the sentient Wu, it shot its blue flames at her. She moved to the side to dodge, but she wasn't quick enough and her left hand got hit by the flames. She cried out, pulling her hand back at fast as possible.

"Well, this puts me at a bit of disadvantage." Juno said, looking at the sapphire blue that covered her entire hand. It felt heavy, but, luckily, it wasn't spreading to the rest of her body. "You really don't like me, do you, Sapphy?" she turned her gaze to the Sapphire Dragon.

It responded by snorting out smoke from its nostrils.

"Yeah, you're not my favorite Shen Gong Wu, either."

(Back inside Raimundo's head)

The Brazilian was currently sitting on a couch of a living room, watching the showdown his friends were in on a TV screen in horror. Next to him, Hannibal Bean was reclining back with a bowl of chips laying on him, a remote in one of his limbs.

"Poor Raimundo." the demon taunted. "The last to move up to apprentice." he ate one of the chips. "Even lost his way to the dark side for a time."

Raimundo gritted his teeth and glared at him, but gasped when he saw that he was replaced by a red skeleton, which got right into his face.

"Always so afraid." the skeleton said in Hannibal Bean's voice.

As he laughed, the monk got off the couch and ran out of the living, finding himself running down a tunnel with train tracks.

"You're afraid that you may never be good enough to be the leader Juno wants you to be." Hannibal Bean's voice sounded out.

Raimundo came to a stop when he saw someone appear in front of him. It was Juno, just standing there and staring at him with a cold expression. Then she turned her back to the monk and started walking away.

"No, Juno, wait!" the Brazilian went after her, not wanting her to abandon him.

Suddenly, a train whistle echoed from up ahead. Then a bright light appeared in front Juno and engulfed her, soon taking on the form of Hannibal Bean's face. Raimundo screamed as the light got closer to him.

(Back in the real world)

A sleeping Raimndo groaned, his body moving around as sweat dripped down his face from his nightmares.

"Nothing is waking him up." Chase said to himself. "If I don't do something soon, Juno and the others will be..." he looked at the young man. He thought for a moment before an idea came to him. "That might work, I just hope it's not too late."

The Heylin warrior placed his hands on either side of the Brazilian's head. When a dark green light glowed on his hands, Chase closed his eyes and concentrated. His Heylin magic would allow him to project himself into Raimundo's dreams, but he would have to find him in order for his plan to succeed.

(Back in Raimundo's head)

"I'm not afraid, really, I'm not."

"I beg to differ, boy." Hannibal Bean's voice made the monk open his eyes. "You're afraid to disappoint the one you respect the most."

Raimundo saw Juno's back in front of him, heading for a nearby door.

"Afraid that she'll abandon you..."

The Brazilian reached for the redhead.

"Just like your father did."

Raimundo came to a stop, his hand now stretched out towards the back of an older man with brown hair. "Dad..." was all he could say, his eyes wide with shock. He saw him move closer to the door. "Dad, wait, don't go! Please!" he pleaded, but he was ignored. The monk could do nothing as he watched his father go through the door, which slammed shut behind him.

He looked at the floor beneath his feet, eyes brimming with unshed tears. His father had left. Just like he did all those years ago when he was a little boy. His father had just walked out the door and never came back, not a single word about him ever reaching him over the years he was growing up.

"You never got the approval or attention you needed from your father." Hannibal Bean's mocking voice echoed in his ears. "Because he didn't care to stick around long enough to give you any of that. Isn't that why you've been seeing Chase Young as a surrogate for the father you never had? You want him to fill the void your father left in you all those years ago."

"No..." Raimundo shook his head, trying to keep his tears from falling. "No, you're right."

"Perhaps I am. After all..."

The Brazilian lifted up his head, now finding himself starting into a mirror. Only the reflection staring back at him only showed half his face. The other half belonged to Hannibal Bean.

"Who would want a son who's afraid that he's not good enough to be a Xiaolin Warrior?" the reflection laughed harshly.

Raimundo could do nothing but watch helplessly as the reflection kept laughing. Kept laughing at him and how pathetic he was.

Suddenly, a fist came out of nowhere and slammed against the mirror, breaking it and the now silent reflection into pieces.

"Damn parlor tricks."

The monk looked and blinked in disbelief at who he saw standing next to him. "Chase? I.. What are you are doing here? How are you here? In this another trick of Hannibal Bean?" he reached out to pull at the other's face, but his hand was slapped away before he could touch him. "Ow!"

"How can you let yourself be fooled by that idiotic vegetable?" the Heylin warrior asked him, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, you're the real Chase, alright." Raimundo said, rubbing his hand. "But how did you end up here?"

"I used Heylin magic to project myself into your dreams. Simple, really."

"Doesn't sound like it. So you're going to fight the bean-dude and kick him out of my head, right?"

"Actually, rather than me, you're the one who has to defeat Hannibal Bean."

"Me? But how can I when... when I'm too scared." Raimundo looked down at the ground, feeling ashamed for admitting such a thing to Chase of all people.

"Everyone is scared of something." the Heylin warrior told him. "It's how you deal with your fear is what really matters. Juno is scared of large insects, but she manages to get past that in order to help the ones she loves."

"Yeah, but I doubt someone like you has anything to worry about." the Brazilian said. "You can't even die."

Chase stared at him for a moment. "Just because I'm immortal, doesn't mean I'm not afraid of certain things. For example... I'm afraid of Hannibal Bean."

"You are?" Raimundo responded, looking at him in disbelief.

"More specifically, I'm afraid of what he can do. I'm afraid he's going to once again kill Juno, who I'm afraid of loosing all over again, and so on. But instead of being worried about these fear and letting them control me, I do whatever I can to make sure they don't come true. And you can stop your fears by facing them in order to protect those that you care about."

He turned around and the Brazilian followed in suit, seeing that they were now standing into a great hall of a temple. Standing a few yards from them was Raimundo's inner self. The little boy was crying and holding his stuffed bear close to him.

"H-He made me tell..." he said. "I-I was scared."

Chase went over to him and knelt down beside him, placing his hand on his head and rubbing it in a comforting manner. "It's alright." he said in a gentle tone that Raimundo had only heard him speak to Juno in. "It's not your fault, the vegetable's face can scare bats out of a dark cave."

The little boy laugh out a small laugh, his tears stopping. Then Raimundo came over, crouched down, and hugged his younger self.

"Yeah, you're not to blame for what's going on." he told him. "There's only one person who's responsible for all of this."

Then they heard a sound and saw a laptop slid over to them. On the screen, it showed the showdown between the Xiaolin Warriors and Sapphire Dragon was still on-going.

"How does it feel?" Hannibal Bean asked, appearing from the shadows with his usual nasty grin. "Knowing your growing fear is your friends' doomed?"

Chase glared at the demon and stood in front of the two. Raimundo looked back at the laptop screen and saw Clay get pushed off his platform by the sapphire rhino. However, as he was falling, he threw a lasso around its neck and pulled it down with him. In the jungle, Kimiko grabbed the sapphire monkey's tail and dragged it off the tree it was on, falling off the edge of the platform. It grabbed her ankles, but she didn't let go and the two tumbled down into the space below.

On the forest platform, Omi dodged the clawed paws of the sapphire grizzly bear before they could slice him. He jumped up and landed on the animal's shoulder, grabbing its round ears. The grizzly roared and tried to shake the short monk off. However, Omi manage to maneuver it to the edge of the platform, making it fall off and sending them both down into the space.

Only Juno and the Sapphire Dragon were left.

Hannibal Bean laughed evilly as a wall of fire appeared behind him. Chase took a stance, ready to attack.

"Chase, it's okay." Raimundo stood up. "I'll handle this. After all, you said the best way to protect the ones I care about is by facing my fears."

"That's true, I did." the Heylin warrior dropped his stance. "Very well, the show is all yours now. Make sure you kick his ass good enough."

"Trust me, I plan to." the Brazilian declared, smacking his fist into his palm.

Chase looked at him and gave a small smile. "Good luck." he said before he vanished into thin air.

"Thanks..." the monk felt a smile spread on his own face.

(Back in the real world)

Chase opened his eyes and removed his hands from the younger man's head.

"It's all up to now, Raimundo."

(Back in Raimundo's head)

"You really think a boy, who's afraid of failure, can beat Hannibal Roy Bean?" the demon questioned.

"Okay, maybe I am afraid about not being good enough." Raimundo said. "But I also know just the cure."

He did a backflip and landed on a tall rock pillar that was in the middle of the ocean, now shirtless with black pants. He put his hands together and held them out in front of him. The sky was covered in dark clouds, bolts of lightening flashing brightly.

"I am good enough." the Brazilian declared to the demon that was on another rock pillar that was some feet away from his.

"You must be joking." Hannibal Bean laughed. Electricity crackled around him and his form began to change, taking on the appearance of the final boss of the Goo Zombies 4 showdown that Kimiko was in before.

This wasn't going to be easy.

(At the showdown)

Juno used her power over wind to keep the Sapphire Dragon's flame from hitting her, blowing them back at the one who shot them. The sentient Shen Gong Wu quickly slithering out of the line of fire before the reversed attack could touch it. Fighting with one hand incapacitated wasn't totally easy for the female warrior, but she had managed to do just fine with holding her own against the Dragon. Although, if she didn't think of something soon, the rest of her body will turn into sapphire just like her hand.

"No worries, Juno, I'll take over from here!"

Hearing the familiar voice made the redhead look up and see that two rock pillars had just appeared out no where.

"Raimundo?" Juno blinked when she saw the Brazilian on one of the pillars, Hannibal Bean on the other.

Before she could question further, she was hit by the Sapphire Dragon's tail and sent flying. She regained herself while in mid-air and landed on her feet. When she looked back at the pillars, they were gone.

"I don't really get what's going on, but do what you have to do." the Xiaolin Dragon King told her monk, knowing he was able to somehow hear her.

She jumped away from the blue flames aimed at her.

(In Raimundo's head)

Hannibal Bean lunged at the Brazilian, making him jump from his pillar and fall down to the ocean below.

"It isn't just fear, it's the truth!" the demon went after him.

The ocean was replaced by solid ground that Raimundo landed on. The second he did, he started running, avoiding the large, clawed hands his opponent tried to crush him with.

"You're not good enough!" Hannibal Bean stretched out his arms and caught the monk between his hands. "And now your friends will pay the price for your weakness!"

"Wudai Star Wind!" Raimundo's body turned black with a silver outline, pushing the hands holding him away with a surge of power. "You're the one who's going to pay the price! For picking the wrong Warrior to mess with!"

He flew forward, hitting the demon with both fists and knocking him to the ground, clouds of dust kicking up. The Brazilian landed on the ground and turned towards the dust clouds, just as Hannibal Bean stood up again. He shot out a long tongue that wrapped around the monk, pulling him towards his mouth.

(At the showdown)

Juno was jumping and dodging as many of the blue flames as she could. However, the Sapphire Dragon was not letting up. It threw its tail at her, making her evade it by jumping into the air.

The redhead cried out when she realized that her right foot got hit by the Shen Gong Wu's flames. The body part, now heavy sapphire, forced her to fall down and crash land near the edge of the platform. Turning on her back, Juno saw the image of certain monk appear in the ice wall in front of her.

"We can't lose!" Raimundo declared before his image disappeared.

The Sapphire Dragon came and towered over Juno, opening its mouth to release one more blast of fire to turn her completely into sapphire.

(In Raimundo's head)

"I am a Wudai Warrior!" Raimundo was using his hands and feet to keep Hannibal Bean's teeth from chomping down on him. "And I am the best!" he managed to jump from his opponent's mouth before he could be snapped in half. He landed on the ground and turned. "Wind!"

He shot out a powerful blast of wind, the end forming into a large fist. The attack hit the demon right in the chest, dissipating when it made contact. Behind him, a large, fist-shaped imprint appeared in the side of a mountain.

Raimundo looked down and saw his inner self standing next to him. "Wudai Star Wind!" they said in unison and the little boy's body turned the same as his, floating off the ground.

They both held up their hands and shot out strong blast of wind. The combined attack was so strong that it lifted Hannibal Bean off his feet and sent him flying back.

"Nooooooo!" the demon yelled as he was sent hurling into a dark hole.

(In the real world)

Hannibal Bean was still yelling when he flew out of Raimundo's ear, landing roughly on the floor.

"Why that no good, insolent, son of a-"

Someone clearing their throat made the bean-shaped demon stop and turn around.

"Hello, there." Chase greeted, smirking with his hand outstretched toward him.

"Oh no." Hannibal Bean said with wide eyes as a blast of dark energy shot out of the Heylin warrior's hand.

The attack hit him dead center and sent him flying out of the veranda and into the air outside. As he was falling to the ground, the Ying-Ying Bird flew by to catch him on its back. The bird quickly headed in the direction away from the temple, flying away as fast as it could.

(At the showdown)

Juno was holding up her hand, using the wind to keep the Sapphire Dragon's flames from hitting her. But the sentient Wu was getting closer to her, forcing her move back. However, if she went any further, she would fall off the platform and lose the showdown.

Just as it looked like that was about to happen, the Sapphire Dragon suddenly disappeared in a flash of blue light. Juno blinked, slowly putting her hand back down.

"Does... this mean we win?"

In the blink of an eye, the habitats were back to how they were before and the Warriors were standing outside Monkey Mountain.

"We won?" Omi blinked.

"Looks like it." Juno said as she was holding the Shadow Slicer, sighing in relief when she saw that her hand and foot no longer had sapphire on them.

"But how?" Kimiko questioned.

"I'm guessing dumb luck." Clay scratched his head.

"No, I think we may have had a little luck from above." Dojo said, spreading his arms out towards the night sky.

The others looked up and blinked when they saw a certain Brazilian, larger in size, among the clouds with a younger version of himself.

"Hey, guys." Raimundo greeted with a grin. Then he stretched his arms over his head, yawning. "We've had a long day, need to catch some Z's. Oh, this is my inner self, I couldn't have done it without him. I mean, without me. Chase had a hand in it, too, but I'll explain that later."

"Anyway, sweet dreams." little Raimundo waved at everyone.

The group could do nothing but wave back at them, not sure how else to react to what they were seeing.

"I really don't get what happened today." Juno said after the two Brazilians disappeared. "But at least we're not sapphire statues, am I right?"

Dojo turned to her to say something, but lost the words when he saw the Sapphire Dragon silently slither up behind the female warrior, towering over her and the monks. He started hyperventilating, trying to point at the sentient Shen Gong Wu, but his arms were moving around too wildly to do that.

"What is the matter, Dojo?" Omi asked the panicking dragon.

"Looks like you've seen a ghost there, partner." Clay remarked.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Dojo." Juno told him, handing the Shadow Slicer to the shortest monk. "Calm down, whatever it is, I'll take care of it." she smiled at him.

Dojo nearly lost all of his breath when he saw the Sapphire Dragon open its mouth, about to hit the redhead with its blue flames. However, before a spark could even ignite in its throat, Juno suddenly spun around fast with her hands stretched out. Great blast of fire came out of her palms and collided with the Sapphire Dragon. After a moment, the female warrior put her hands down and the flames disappeared. The Shen Gong Wu was frozen in place, covered in soot from the fire. Then it shrunk down to its dormant state.

"Told I would take care of it." Juno said to the gaping dragon and monks as she went over and picked up the soot covered statue. "Better luck next time, Sapphy." she smirked at it. "Now then, let's go home, I'm suddenly very tired." she yawned.

(Early the next morning)

Raimundo opened his eyes when he felt the light of the sun hit his face. He sat up and yawned, stretching his arms over his head. He never felt more well-rested.

"Man, I feel great." he said to himself.

"Glad to see you're back to normal."

The Brazilian jumped at the sudden voice, turning his head and seeing a certain Heylin warrior nearby, in a meditative position with his eyes closed.

"Have you..." Raimundo blinked. "Have you been there all night? Don't tell me you didn't sleep?"

"I stayed around just in case Hannibal Bean tried anything else." Chase replied. "I managed to get some sleep when all was calm. By the way, he left something behind."

The monk looked and saw that the Shadow of Fear was resting near him. He also noticed that he had a blanket over him, along with his stuffed bear.

"You looked quite peaceful in your sleep, I didn't feel like moving you." the older man said, as if he could read the other's thoughts.

Raimundo stared at him in surprise, but then smiled. He stood up and went over to sit next to the Heylin warrior.

"Hey, I just want to thank you for what you did." he told him. "I really appreciate your help."

"Well, we can't afford for anyone to suffer from insomnia or mental breakdowns." Chase replied.

"Heh, yeah. Still, thanks a lot."

The two sat in silence until the taller one opened his eyes.

"Raimundo..." he started. "About what Hannibal Bean said in your dreams, about you seeing me as a surrogate father."

"Oh, man, you heard that?!" Raimundo exclaimed, burying his face in his hands in embarrassment. "If you're going to laugh at me, just get over it now. Or, better yet, just kill me."

"I'm not going to kill you, you idiot." Chase told him. "But I'm not going to laugh at you, either. I admit, I was quite surprised when I heard it, I've never thought that anyone would see me as a substitute father."

"You're making fun of me right now, aren't you?" the Brazilian mumbled into his hands.

"I'm not. However, I think you could do better than me."

Raimundo lifted up his head and looked at the older man.

"People on the Heylin side aren't known for their parental affections." Chase continued. "I... I'm not sure if I would have been a good father to Mei. And, since she died, I never got the chance to find out just what kind of father I would be. That's another thing I've been afraid of, being a terrible father to her."

The monk said nothing at first as he stared at the Heylin warrior. "You know..." he started to say. "I think you would have been a pretty great father." he told him, remembering the part of his dreams where the other had comforted his inner self. "I mean, you're already such a great husband to Juno. Sure, you've done some bad things, but your reasons weren't totally evil. And, you've got something other people of the Heylin side don't." he smiled at the taller man. "You're able to love someone else. So, yeah, you would have been an awesome dad."

Chase looked at the Brazilian, a look of mild surprise on his face. Then he gave a small smile and turned his head. "That actually means quite a lot." he said, lifting up his hand and ruffling the other's hair. "Thank you."

"Anyway time." Raimundo grinned.

"And you know something else?" the Heylin warrior stood up. "Your father is fool, because he didn't stick around to see what a fine warrior his son turned out to be."

The monk stared up at him with slight shock. But he soon smiled to himself, happy with the compliment from the older man.

(Later)

"I desperately need to wink at someone forty times." Omi yawned loudly, holding the Shadow Slicer as he and the other fatigued looking Warriors slid off an also tired Dojo's back and onto the temple grounds.

Clay also gave a loud yawn. "He means forty winks, but I'm too tired to tell him."

"Let's just put these things away and go to bed." Juno said, holding the Sapphire Dragon as Dojo shrunk down to his smaller size. He tried to slither up to her shoulders, but didn't have the strength to do it.

Then the group heard someone whistling cheerfully. They turned and saw a perky, and well-rested, Raimundo heading their way with Chase.

"Good morning, everyone." the Brazilian greeted when he stopped whistling, holding the Shadow of Fear. "Boy, let me tell you, best night sleep I ever had."

"Good for you..." Juno replied groggily as her body slumped forward, making her husband grab her shoulders before her face could meet the ground.

"You know, I used to really doubt my ability to hang with you dudes." Raimundo continued. "But now that I've proven my greatness, I can't wait to get started! Right after morning training, let's find some evil and mix it up!" he rubbed Omi's head for a moment before making him spin fast in a circle.

"You know... I think I miss the slacker Raimundo." Kimiko said, feeling pretty annoyed with her overly chipper boyfriend.

"Raimundo, I think we're gonna skip training for today." Juno told the monk, touching Omi's head and making him stop spinning. "We're really tired and need to rest up."

"Yeah, but-"

The redhead grabbed him by the front of his robes and pulled his face towards him. "There's something you should know about me, Raimundo. If I don't get enough beauty sleep, I get very cranky. And, trust me, you won't like me when I'm cranky." she said through gritted teeth, her tired glare somehow terrifying. "Got it?" she pushed him back, making him fall to the ground.

"Crystal clear, ma'am." he groaned from his position.

"Juno, while you and the others get much needed rest, I can handle training Raimundo for the day." Chase told her. "That is, if you're okay with that." he looked at the younger man.

Raimundo sat up and looked at the Heylin warrior. "Yeah..." he said, soon smiling. "I would really like that, thanks."

"Do whatever you want, I don't give a damn." Juno handed her husband the Sapphire Dragon. "Just put this away for us, first. Or don't. I really don't care right now."

"I'll come and check on you later." Chase said as the Brazilian got to his feet and took the Shadow Slicer from Omi.

"Wake me and you die." the redhead warned, heading to the building where the rooms were with the monks and dragon.

"Man, she is super cranky when tired." Raimundo remarked.

"Yes, it's best not to agitate her when she's like this." the older man told him. "Anyway, we'll put the Shen Gong Wu in the vault and start on training. How does that sounds?"

"Sounds great." the shorter man grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I must warn you, my methods will be tougher than Juno's." Chase said as they headed to where the Shen Gong Wu vault was.

"No problem, I'm sure I can handle whatever you throw at me, old man." Raimundo replied cockily.

"Don't get cheeky with me." the Heylin warrior responded, putting his hand on the other's head and pushing it down a bit.

But the monk was laughing as the taller man started ruffling his hair, seeing the small smile on his face.

Juno noticed their interaction and couldn't help but smile, despite how tired she was. "They really look like father and son, don't they?" she said to herself.

The redhead watched them a moment longer before she continued making her way to where her room was, wanting to collapse on her bed and not the ground underneath her. She desperately need her beauty sleep before she sliced someone's head off.

To be continued...

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please let know what you thought about it in the reviews. I'm also going to let you all know that I plan to post a Valentine's Day one-shot for the Xiaolin Dragon King series before I post the next chapter of the Second Arc, so look forward to that. Thank you all for reading, and I hope to see you next time. Until then, take care everyone!