Chapter 7: Chameleon
Stifling a yawn, Rory walked by the obstacle course in the temple grounds as she went to meet up with the others. It had been a few weeks since the last Shen Gong Wu had gone active, leaving the team with plenty of time to train.
At Master Fung's request, the five gathered in front of him, and he crouched in front of the chest he'd brought with him. They exchanged looks wondering what his lesson for the morning would be.
"In today's training, we will divide the Shen Gong Wu among you," he opened the chest and gold light flooded out. "The exercise is called-" Master Fung stopped as Omi raised his hand quickly. "Omi?"
"Xiaolin Surprise!" Omi declared loudly.
"Sounds like an appetiser!" Clay commented to the others with a grin.
"You're gonna make me hungry again," Rory groaned.
"This is an advanced training technique that relies on a powerful inner force we call-"
"Oh!" Omi raised his hand, interrupting the teacher again. "The instincts of the tiger!" he declared. Master Fung closed his eyes, trying to continue on.
"Which is- Omi?" he addressed when the boy waved his hand in the air again eagerly.
"The ability to predict your opponent's next move," Omi answered as Raimundo mimicked him with a roll of his eyes.
"Yeah, like you can really read minds or something!" he grumbled.
"I knew you'd say that," Omi smirked at him. His confidence had Raimundo wavering, now looking uncertain.
"You...you did?" he asked, making Omi burst out laughing.
"No, I am only as you say, pushing your arm," Omi taunted, swinging Raimundo's arm as the taller boy suddenly looked exhausted.
"Pulling his leg," Clay corrected patiently.
"Oh, my badness," Omi nodded seriously as he let Raimundo's arm go. A moment later he grabbed Raimundo's leg, and he yelped, almost overbalancing before glaring at Omi. A loud sigh made them look around as Master Fung couldn't keep his composure and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Omi…" he said softly, but the warning was obvious. Omi quickly released Raimundo and straightened up, looking serious. "To harness the tiger instinct, is to know what will happen before it happens," Master Fung explained, before Raimundo tried to shove Omi. However, Omi ducked instantly, and Raimundo hit the Monkey Staff. It flew over to Master Fung, who caught it easily. "Like so," he said simply, shooting the pair another warning look. "Omi, Clay, take your places in the sparring circle," he instructed.
"This'll be fun," Raimundo smirked as the other three watched from the sidelines. Clay and Omi bowed to each other, before turning away as Master Fung placed the pile of Shen Gong Wu beside them.
"Choose your Shen Gong Wu," Master Fung instructed. As soon as he backed away, Clay whirled around.
"Eye of Dashi!" he threw a bolt of lightning at Omi.
"Monkey Staff!" the lightning shot straight past where Omi was standing, as the boy now swung by his tail from the beam above. Clay's eyes widened as the lightning bounced off the wall and straight back at him.
"Look out!" Kimiko cried as they dove for cover, narrowly avoiding it. Clay gasped and ducked too as it came back at him.
"Woo-ee Omi, you sure are quick on the draw," the Earth Dragon praised.
"Thank you, my friend in the two-gallon hat," Omi grinned as he jumped down. A large tuft of fur now lined his usually bald head, and ran along his hands.
"That's ten-gallon hat," Raimundo corrected.
"Not anymore," Kimiko commented, and Clay realised that while he'd avoided the lightning, his hat hadn't been so lucky.
"Ouch," Rory winced as Clay lifted it off his head and sighed.
"Winner advances. Aurora," Master Fung called on Rory to challenge Omi next. "Choose!" he shouted when they stood back-to-back.
"Monkey Staff!" Rory grabbed the staff and raced at Omi with heightened agility.
"Indigo Pyramid!" Omi held up the blue and orange Shen Gong Wu as it started to glow. Rory skidded to a stop, deciding instead to drop the Monkey Staff. It clattered to the ground in front of Omi, and her features returned to normal.
"What?" she blinked, shaking her head. "Okay, really don't like that thing," Rory considered. "Nice one, Omi," she smiled, and he grinned back.
"Kimiko, your turn," Master Fung told the Japanese girl, who patted Rory's arm and moved past her. "Choose!" he instructed.
"Third Arm Sash!" Kimiko spun and lashed out the extending Sash.
"Mantis Flip Coin!" Omi flipped over the attack, bouncing around the grounds as the Third Arm Sash followed him, only for it to slam into Raimundo instead. He grunted, and fell into the pond with the fake crocodiles.
"Oops! Sorry Rai," Kimiko ran over and held out her hand to him to pull him from the pond.
"You gotta learn to duck, partner," Clay laughed, holding up his ruined hat.
"Looks like you've made a friend," Rory teased, seeing the fish hanging out of Raimundo's robes. He looked down at it, only for it to start flailing, slapping him in the face with its tail. He pulled it out quickly, staring at the black koi as it continued to flail.
"Winner advances. Raimundo," Master Fung called over to gain his attention.
"Omi's instincts against my street smarts? This'll be fast," Raimundo smirked as he tossed the fish back into the pond.
"For who, exactly?" Rory whispered to Kimiko and Clay, who both grinned.
"Choose," Master Fun called.
"Fist of Tebigong!" Raimundo leapt at Omi with the Fist of Tebigong raised.
"Two Ton Tunic!" Omi activated the bulky armor that covered almost all of his body. The resulting thud echoed, and everyone winced as Raimundo bit back his cry of pain. The Fist of Tebigong vibrated as he fell to his knees, clutching his wrist.
"Ouch," Clay winced.
"With a capital O," Kimiko nodded.
"That had to hurt," Rory sympathised as Raimundo glared at Omi.
"L-lucky guess! I wanna go again!" Raimundo demanded.
"As you wish," Master Fung nodded. Recovering enough to stand, Raimundo turned away from Omi, who hadn't lost his confident look. "Choose!" as soon as Master Fung spoke, Raimundo grabbed from the pile of Shen Gong Wu.
"Tangle Web Comb!" Raimundo threw the vine-like hair at Omi, who turned and raised a hand.
"I'm good," he said, not moving. Before the vines could reach him, they stopped and turned on Raimundo, wrapping around him tightly.
"Good to see that happen to someone else," Kimiko muttered, remembering all too clearly when he'd made fun of her for failing to use the Tangle Web Comb correctly.
"Maybe we should go through his things," Rory suggested with a grin, making her giggle.
"You chose nothing?" Raimundo demanded as Omi and Master Fung approached the frustrated boy.
"No," Omi smirked as Master Fung took the Tangle Web Comb. "I knew your frustration would lead to your own defeat," he said smugly. Master Fung pulled, and the vines unwrapped from around Raimundo. He yelled, spinning until Clay and Kimiko caught him.
"Excellent training session," Master Fung praised as he returned the Shen Gong Wu to the chest and left.
"Maybe I'm missing the point," Raimundo considered as his vision stopped spinning and he stood up. "We're never gonna go after each other, and Jack's only got one Shen Gong Wu!" he pointed out.
"A pair of Chopsticks that can shrink him down to the size of a grain of rice," Kimiko giggled.
"We could take him out with a fly-swatter," Clay laughed as well.
"Well, let's just hope that when another Shen Gong Wu activates, he doesn't beat us to it again," Rory shrugged, but was smiling faintly as well. With the collection of Shen Gong Wu they'd gathered, they'd be hard to beat.
After dinner, Rory lay on the mat that made up her bed, staring up at the letter in her hands. For the first time since they'd arrived at the Xiaolin temple months prior, she'd gotten a letter from her parents, and despite their words about how they missed her, Rory found that she wasn't homesick in the least. That said, she did still miss her parents, and their letter had caused that to sink in.
It had been all go from the start, with Wuya being freed and the Shen Gong Wu waking on the day they'd joined the Xiaolin monks, and between their hunt for the Shen Gong Wu, and their training, there'd been very little time to think about those they'd left.
"Am I a bad daughter?" Rory wondered to herself, setting the letter down and staring at the ceiling. At first, when she'd been invited to join as the Dragon of Light, she'd wondered if she'd fit in. After all, it was her first time away from home, and she'd spent very little time around other people. But now she had no desire to return home, and she'd been worried when the letter came that her parents wanted her to go home. Especially when they knew she'd been travelling the world.
"Hey, Rory!" she sat up as Clay called in to her.
"What's up?" she answered, and he nudged the curtain aside. He wore a new hat now, and she wondered just how many he had spare.
"You wanna join us for a couple games?" Clay invited, holding up a pack of cards. Rory grinned.
"Sure. Are we betting or…?" she asked as she stood, and he moved to let her out of her room.
"Raimundo's insisting that we do. Hope you've enough snacks to wager," Clay said as they joined Raimundo in his room.
"Yeah, cause I'm hungry," Raimundo smirked as they sat down.
"No Omi or Kimi?" Rory asked, seeing they were missing their Fire and Water Dragons.
"Last I saw 'em, Kimiko was showing Omi filters on her camera," Clay answered as he started to shuffle the cards.
"That'll keep them occupied for a few hours," Rory laughed, and the others nodded. They all knew how easily distracted Omi was with technology. "What we playing?" she asked as Clay dealt out their cards.
"Let's play some Blackjack," Raimundo grinned. Rory nodded, glad that it was a game they'd already played. She hated showing how unknowledgeable she could be about certain things that seemed like common knowledge to Raimundo, Kimiko and Clay.
"I hope you're ready to lose," Clay told him as he lifted his cards.
"Save the trash talk for the next time Spicer's around," Rory told him as she did the same, scattering pretzels in front of her as her chips. As they started to play, the letter from her parents was the farthest thing from Rory's mind.
Rory woke later than Raimundo the next morning, groggy and still exhausted. After getting dressed for the day, she wandered out into the grounds where Raimundo, Omi and Clay were already up and about.
"Agility, timing, balance!" Omi listed as he jumped through the looping lasso that Clay was spinning for him. "These are the traits of a great warrior!" he declared.
"And the Tiger Instincts, right Omi?" as Clay pulled the lasso tight, Omi leapt up out of it before he could be caught.
"Naturally," the boy smiled proudly.
"How about a good night's sleep?" Rory yawned as she shuffled over to them, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"That does help, yes," Omi nodded seriously, peering at her. "But it seems that in particular has eluded you," he commented, and Clay nodded.
"Yeah, you look more worn down than my granny's slippers," he commented, and Rory shot him a tired glare.
"Gross, thanks," she grumbled, making him smile slightly. "I couldn't sleep right. I woke up around midnight feeling off, and just couldn't get back to sleep for ages. Kimiko was making a load of noise too," Rory complained, running a hand through her hair.
"Are you feeling any better now?" Clay asked. Rory nodded.
"Yeah, I'm just tired now. I just can't figure out what woke me up," she sighed.
"Perhaps it was your own tiger instincts!" Omi exclaimed, and Rory managed a small smile. When Raimundo's whistle reached them, the three looked over to see him setting up a small table with three cups.
"Being a lucky guesser, guess which cup the candy is under," Raimundo addressed Omi, pulling a wrapped sweet from his pocket. They approached, and Omi peered closely as Raimundo hid it under a cup and put another cup on each side of it.
"Feck sake," Rory sighed, shaking her head as she sat down too.
"If you're right, you keep it. If you're wrong, you owe me," Raimundo continued, ignoring Rory's grumbling.
"Now you wouldn't bamboozle our buddy here just because he put a heap of hurting on you now would you?" Clay asked Raimundo innocently. Omi grinned, sticking out his tongue at the Wind Dragon. Raimundo didn't respond, and instead started to move the cups.
"Keep your eyes on the cups," he told them, moving them at rapid speeds that had Rory's eyes blurring. "That's my plan," Raimundo held out a hand to invite Omi to pick. The boy looked unimpressed, and pointed at one of the cups. Raimundo's smile faded, and he lifted the cup to reveal the candy. Omi grinned, taking it. Raimundo then took another from his pocket and started moving the cups even faster.
"The cup on the left!" Omi decided without hesitation. Raimundo's scowl was growing as both Clay and Rory were giggling.
"Triple or nothing!" Raimundo insisted as he lifted another. Omi nodded, and Raimundo moved the cups so fast that he was left breathing heavily. "Prepare to cough up candy!" he growled.
"Are you suggesting that I have stored candy inside my mouth?" Omi asked, confused. "That would be most unsanitary!" he exclaimed. Rory yawned, too tired to clarify.
"Pick a cup!" Raimundo shouted, and Omi pointed at the one in the middle. Grumbling, Raimundo lifted the cup and threw the candy at the boy. "Here. Enjoy the tooth decay," he said as Omi's smile widened.
"Hey fellows!" they jumped as Kimiko seemed to materialise nearby. "What up Raimundo, those shoes are really nifty!" she declared.
"Nifty?" Raimundo frowned at the outdated word.
"At least she's chipper after keeping me up half the night," Rory slumped into Clay, yawning again as Omi ran over to the girl. He whispered to her, and she shrugged, saying something quietly back before walking over to the others. Omi frowned at her, confused.
"Is that a new hat, Clay?" Kimiko asked, voice louder than usual as she beamed at the cowboy.
"Yep. The one I was wearing yesterday got hit by lightning," he reminded her, still mourning the loss of his hat.
"Well I hope you get hit by lightning every day! Because you look super keen!" Kimiko declared brightly.
"Keen?" Raimundo repeated.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this talk is outdated even from where I'm from," Rory yawned again.
"Thanks...I think?" Clay said, unsure of what to make of her words.
"So let's grab some Shen Gong Wu and start training!" Kimiko declared.
"No way, I can't mentally cope with Shen Gong Wu training today," Rory denied, and Clay patted her head.
"Besides, we only use the Shen Gong Wu when the Master says so," Omi reminded, chewing on one of the pieces of candy he'd won from Raimundo. Kimiko was quiet for a moment, before her unusually bright smile returned.
"That is correct! That is why he's the Master!" she agreed. "Well, I'll take a stroll then. See you later alligators!" with that, Kimiko turned and walked away.
"Something is very wrong with Kimiko," Omi told them, looking worried.
"You think so Omi?" Raimundo asked with a faint smirk.
"I know so!" Omi nodded. "My Tiger Instincts tell me!" he insisted firmly, adamant that something was wrong with Kimiko.
"Rory, you getting any weird vibes from her?" Raimundo asked, and the girl's eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm not your detecto-bot, Rai. Unless she's evil - which she isn't, by the way - I'll get nothing from her," Rory told them. "And even then I dunno how that works," she added with a shrug, grouchy from so little sleep.
"See? Kimiko's just playing us," Raimundo stood, not believing Omi's 'Tiger Instincts'. "I dunno what she's selling, but I ain't buying," with that, Raimundo walked off.
"Don't fret about it Omi. Who can understand girls anyway?" Clay asked, and Rory lifted her head to glare at him. Laughing a little, Clay stood and walked off as well.
"Sorry Omi. She's a bit...peppier today, but I dunno," Rory stood up. She walked away, leaving Omi to his thoughts.
Any hopes of having a quiet day was dashed for Rory, as Dojo grabbed the group after a new Shen Gong Wu went active.
"The Helmet of Jong," she read, opening the scroll as Dojo flew through the sky. "Gives you eyes on the back of your head. Huh. I'd swear my mam was the same way," Rory considered.
"I presume you get to keep your eyes in front as well," Omi grinned as he, Raimundo and Clay laughed. Kimiko was oddly quiet, and stared blankly ahead. Rory glanced at her, starting to wonder if Omi was right.
"Look alive gang, I got Shen Gong Wu shivers!" Dojo shuddered as he shrank down.
"And so, we begin the search for the Helmet of Jong!" Omi declared as they stepped into one of the large huts. Nobody was around, leaving them free to investigate.
"What are you staring at?" Raimundo grumbled when he found Kimiko looking at him instead.
"Just my bestest-bestest buddy ever: Raimundo!" Kimiko declared, giving a thumbs up.
"Whatever," Raimundo rolled his eyes, turning away.
"Bestest-bestest buddy?" Rory repeated as she stood beside Raimundo.
"I'm telling you, she's just trying to psyche us out," he shook his head.
"Do you really believe that, or are you just saying it because Omi said he felt something was off?" Rory challenged him. Raimundo's eyes went wide at the sharp accusation, and Rory went red as she realised her words. With a huff, she turned and kept searching.
"There it is!" Dojo went rigid and pointed at the statue. "The one and only Helmet of Jong!" he said as they ran over and saw it sitting on top of a massive fallen statue.
Before they could retrieve it, music filled the air, making them frown.
"What is that?" Raimundo wondered.
"I suppose that's a better tell than this weird ability I have," Rory sighed, feeling the familiar sensation. "Who else could be playing such obnoxious music?" she asked.
"You really are tired," Raimundo couldn't help but say, earning a glare.
"It's trouble alright," Clay nodded.
"Trouble it is!" Jack appeared from a hole in the roof with a loud laugh. "See? Very evil entrance. Theme music helps!" he turned to Wuya, who groaned.
"You're wasting time!" she shouted at him.
"Am I?" he asked, and turned to look at the group below. "What do you guys think of the theme from Jack Spicer: Criminal Boy Genius?" he asked them.
"Good hook, but I like something you can dance to," Dojo spoke up.
"It's not so much evil, as a way to not catch us off guard," Rory told him, earning a scowl.
"See? Get the Helmet of Jong!" Wuya screeched at Jack, who raised his hands in defence.
"I'm going, I'm going!" he grumbled, flying down towards the Helmet. Before the others could react, Kimiko leapt over their heads and up to grab the Helmet of Jong at the same time as him. Jack smirked at her. "Kimiko, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! My Changing Chopsticks against your Third Arm Sash. First one to grab the Helmet of Jong wins!" he challenged.
"I accept your challenge!" Kimiko declared, still as loud and bright as before.
"Never heard her talk to Spicer with anything but contempt," Rory considered, arms folded as they all watched from below, confused.
"Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!" they shouted, and their surroundings began to change. The fallen statues began to move, standing up straight and growing in size. Far above, the Mask of Jong still glowed golden. "Gong Yi Tanpai!" the two called before starting to leap from statue to statue. With another laugh, Jack used his helipack to take to the sky, avoiding the climb.
"Third Arm Sash!" Kimiko shouted, and Jack screamed, forced to drop to avoid the claws that lashed out at him.
"She's got it!" Dojo shouted as they watched Kimiko leap to the final statue and climb up, with Jack close behind her. However, at the last second, she slipped and fell backwards, disappearing into the mist as Jack flew up and grabbed the Helmet. The hut returned to normal, and Clay ran to catch Kimiko.
"I got her!" he reached out, only to be slammed to the ground as her weight took him by surprise.
"Ay girl, what happened?" Raimundo asked, helping Kimiko up as Clay groaned from the ground.
"Yeah, you had the Helmet practically in your hands!" Dojo said while Rory helped Clay to his feet, looking concerned.
"I...um...tripped! Oops!" Kimiko gave a weak smile and shrug. Omi scowled, but stayed uncharacteristically quiet.
Trying not to let the loss of the Helmet of Jong get to them, the Xiaolin warriors returned to the temple. Kimiko had disappeared off, which Raimundo credited to her loss, and focused on trying to beat Omi in more games of luck.
"I win!" Omi declared as Raimundo lifted the card Omi was pointing at to reveal the Ace of Hearts. Undeterred, Raimundo tried again, shuffling the cards. Omi pointed to another card, revealing the same card. "I win again!" Omi grinned.
"Face it Raimundo," Clay was laughing as he lay back, using a saddle as a pillow. "He's all over you like stink on a skunk," he teased.
"The master isn't through yet!" Raimundo declared as Rory leaned against the chest of clothes and continued her sketch. "Got you, don't I?" he asked after shuffling again, and Omi sighed.
"No, the Ace is in your sleeve," Raimundo's face fell. "I only hesitate because I am thinking of Kimiko again," Omi admitted as Raimundo let the card fall from his sleeve. "Or perhaps I should say, the one who calls herself Kimiko," Omi corrected himself.
"Your Tiger Instincts are keen bro, but your theory about Kim is…"
"Buggier than a June Bug?" Clay suggested when Raimundo couldn't think of a description.
"Yeah. It's buggier than a June Bug," Raimundo nodded.
"I hate to agree with them Omi, but I don't know how she could be an imposter," Rory admitted, setting down her notebook and pulling her legs in close. "Yeah she's acting a little weird but...I'm not getting any evil vibes from her," she said as Clay swiped the book to look at her work. "Maybe she's just having an off day?" she suggested.
"Yeah, like Little Miss Cranky over there," Raimundo jabbed his thumb at Rory, who scowled at him before taking her book back from Clay.
"No! I am sure of myself on this matter! But if you will not listen, perhaps Master Fung will!" Omi decided, storming out.
"Poor lil fella. Guess all this is starting to get to him," Clay sighed.
"Hopefully a good night's sleep will help everyone," Rory sighed, and Raimundo grinned.
"For someone in particular," he teased, and Rory went red, hiding behind her book again. He seemed thrilled by her snap at him earlier, showing that she wasn't as quiet as she seemed.
"At least you finally accept Omi's Tiger Instincts," she commented quietly.
"Yeah, it only took a huge loss of candy on his side," Clay grinned, making Rory giggle as Raimundo's smirk dropped and he made a show of cleaning up the cards.
"Think I'm going to get an early night," Rory decided, closing her book and getting to her feet.
"You must all come quickly!" as she made to go to her own section, Omi burst back in and she groaned. "You will see!" Omi urged them to follow, and reluctantly they did so, following him back to the Shen Gong Wu vault. "You see? You see, you see, you see?" Omi babbled as they stepped inside and found Kimiko emerging from the vault, carrying Shen Gong Wu in her arms.
"I see but...I do not wanna believe!" Clay exclaimed.
"Nifty! I should have caught it at nifty!" Raimundo groaned as Rory rubbed at her eyes, stunned.
"But how? She's not evil, I don't think?" she asked, baffled by the sight.
"Imposter! Show your true form!" Omi ordered furiously. Kimiko's eyes started to glow, and her hair stood on end.
"How about if I show you this instead?" she swung out an arm and it extended, tripping up Raimundo, Clay and Rory while Omi dodged. He kicked out, and Kimiko went flying backwards with a cry.
"Yeah!" Raimundo cheered as they got up.
"A robot?" Rory realised as she saw the extended metal arm. "I can't sense evil robotic imposters?" she demanded to herself. The fake Kimiko lay still for a moment, before jerking up suddenly with a smirk. She swung out hard with her extended arm again, hitting Rory. The girl cried out, hitting a pillar hard.
"Rory! You okay?" Raimundo called as they ran over to her side, but she didn't respond.
"Fist of Tebigong!" Kimiko yelled, lunging at Omi with the Shen Gong Wu.
"Two Ton Tunic!" Omi smirked, and the Fist of Tebigong slammed into it, throwing the robotic Kimiko backwards. Rory then shot up, eyes opening, before she swayed and fell backwards again.
"Whoa, easy there," Clay stopped her as she groaned.
"Spicer's around somewhere…" Rory groaned, her vision spinning and her head aching from the blow. "It's probably his robot," she realised as they looked around for any sign of Jack.
"Eye of Dashi!" the robotic Kimiko fired several lightning bolts at Omi, who dodged each move. He ran along the walls, and the others were forced to duck when lightning came their way. Clay groaned as he straightened, seeing his hat was caught in the crossfire.
"Man, that's the second hat this week!" he groaned. "Now I'm mad!" he growled.
"You two help Omi, I'll be fine," Rory insisted, sinking down against the pillar. They nodded, turning back to the fight.
"Wind!"
"Earth!" the two ran at the fake Kimiko, catching her by surprise and snatching the Fist of Tebigong and Eye of Dashi from her. Omi caught them in the air, and tossed them back down below into the Vault. Using the Tangle Web Comb, he then grabbed the Monkey Staff from Kimiko and tossed them below.
"I hate to be rude, but you are all acting very naughty!" her hands shot out, crashing into Raimundo and Clay. They groaned as they were slammed into the wall.
"You cannot hold us all!" Omi shouted, and Kimiko's head whirled all the way around as Rory stood too, ignoring her spinning vision. Two more hands shot out from under her robes and both Omi and Rory were shoved back, pinned to the wall. "Or maybe you can," Omi groaned.
"You just had to goad her," Rory complained, still unable to figure out where Jack was. The blow to her head had made it hard to focus.
"You four put up a nifty fight! But now, I-" she stopped, looking around at the strange noise. The wall suddenly exploded, and Jack's small airship flew in with Kimiko piloting it. She crashed into the robotic version of herself, and crashed it into the other side of the wall. They stared for a moment, before running over to the rubble as Kimiko burst out.
"Kimiko! I am so glad that you are back! I have been telling the others for days that you were not-" he stopped as another Kimiko burst from the wreckage. "Not yourself…" Omi finished.
"She's the imposter Omi!" the first Kimiko shouted, and the other ran over, shoving her aside.
"No, she is!" the two began fighting.
"Omi, help!"
"Don't help her, she's nothing but a cheap knockoff!" the two yelled.
"Boy...how are we gonna solve this one?" Clay asked, supporting Rory as they watched the two fighting.
"The Instincts of the Tiger, Omi!" Raimundo nudged the shorter boy. "You can do this!" he encouraged with a bright grin. Omi nodded, thinking about it, before letting out a loud scream. He landed on one of the two girls, squashing her down. For a moment, nothing happened, and then a bright explosion rocketed out, and the head of the robot landed nearby as both Omi and Kimiko were left scorched.
"Nice job Omi," Kimiko groaned, falling over as the others approached.
"How did you know which one was the real one?" Clay asked.
"Tiger Instincts, awesome!" Raimundo declared with a thumbs up, now a believer.
"Actually…" Omi blushed. "That time, I guessed," he admitted, and they all stared in horror.
"Guys?" Kimiko called, having crawled over to the edge of the stairs down to the Vault. "Where's all the Shen Gong Wu?" she asked. They hurried over to peer in, finding nothing left of what Omi had tossed back in. None of them saw the tiny Jack Spicer fly out, laughing as he escaped through the gaping hole in the wall with a sack over his shoulder.
"This is most unfortunate," Master Fung commented as they looked for signs of any of the Shen Gong Wu left behind.
"Gone...they're all gone," Raimundo breathed, horrified as Clay walked back up with a shake of his head. Rory sat at the top of the steps, finally able to see clearly after Master Fung had tended to her injury.
"Not all of them," Kimiko smiled as she opened one last drawer.
"The Mantis Flip Coin!" Omi gasped as she revealed the remaining Shen Gong Wu.
"That ain't much," Clay admitted.
"It was Spicer," they looked up at Rory, whose head was in her hand. "I could sense him nearby while we were fighting the fake Kimiko, but I couldn't figure out where he was. He must have gotten down here during the commotion and stolen all the Wu," she sighed.
"But how did he do it?" Omi asked.
"Yeah, Jack ain't the slipperiest of snakes out there," Clay nodded, just as curious.
"We would have seen him for sure," Raimundo agreed.
"Unless he was the size of a grain of rice?" Rory demonstrated with her fingers.
"The Changing Chopsticks!" they chorused together.
"At least we still have one Shen Gong Wu," Omi reminded them, trying for a confident smile. "That is all we'll need to stop Wuya and Jack Spicer," he said, and they managed to smile back, won over by his confidence. They'd built up the collection before, and they'd do it again.
This one was interesting one to write. I had a few different ideas on how to do it, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
Let me know what you think!
Please review!