The Balance in Love, Lies and War.
Main summary: A long time ago the elemental spirits fought a half-demon and their war changed the balance of the world. Now, when the half-demon returns, the balance is once again distorted, except this time the stakes are higher. As the warriors question if their fate is in their own hands, the world around them unravels, and one little girl tries her best to stop destiny.
Timeline: Starts three years after the whole 'Raimundo betraying the temple, Wuya getting her body back and Omi going back into time and getting a new puzzle box to save the day thing'. Disregards any other episodes/seasons after that.
Rated: T for violence, language etc but chapter 18 is rated M for sexual/violent content
Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown or its characters. I only own the plot of this story and the characters I have made myself.
Additional notes: Chase Young in this fic, it should be noted, is not the exact same Chase Young you see in the show. I'm warning you now, as he will act differently, although I do try and put as much of his wonderful character in as possible XD
Prologue:
'Reciting the Old Words'
The beasts hissed, their iridescent eyes glinting in what little light there was in the room. A sinister smile flashed in the darkness. Stood proudly in the centre, a pedestal held a weary looking book, the pages yellowed with age, edges crumbling. It was a very important book. A man stood before it, staring at it's open pages, unable to turn over the wrinkled paper, reading and rereading the same lines over and over again in his head.
Slowly, the sun escaped the grey April clouds, the pillar of light surrounding the man and the pedestal brightening, his hair glowing green and black, amber eyes focussed. He cleared his throat softly, the beasts quietening and began to read from the text slowly, his voice echoing in the expansive room.
"In the beginning of the world, there were six spirits: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light and Darkness. They had no names but those. However, the sisters of Light and Darkness, eventually became the Spirit of Balance, of Zen when a black demon from the depths of Hell forged their souls into one. This caused much distress among the almighty spirits, but it was all forgotten when something far more disastrous occurred. A mere mortal fell in love with the spirit of Balance."
"She was never aware of his affection as the poor mortal's efforts were destroyed by the Wind and Water spirits, but he soon grew impatient and hurt. Deciding that he must prove himself worthy of her love, he travelled the globe in search of great power, desperate for a chance. His search ended when he met the Demon King and his Queen. The demons offered the mortal powers beyond his wildest dreams, powers that could make him greater than all of the spirits combined. So tempted by the King's offer, he foolishly sold his soul in exchange."
"Of course, losing one's soul is the greatest price to pay. The mortal became a half demon, not man, not monster, the line between blurred. He drank a special potion to keep the monster deep in his heart, but his body was no longer his own. With this new power, he travelled to the spirit's realm only to find that the Wind had stolen his love away, her heart now his. The half-demon had never been so angry."
"And then the greatest and longest war that time has ever witnessed began."
"They fought for years, the once mortal no longer bound by human constrictions such as mortality. However, soon the half demon bored of such forward tactics and used his awesome power to create terrifying beasts of ice, mud, lava, lightening and darkness to torment the spirit's precious Earth. This made them weaker, so weak that they began to panic."
"Having no choice left, the Spirits used great warriors whose blood contained elemental magic to share their power and consciousness with, fighting against the evil once mortal and his armies of vicious beasts. This tactic won their war and forced the half demon back into his hovel of a life, but there were great consequences to their actions. As they fought together, their emotions and their souls became far closer than expected, the mortals acting on the spirit's emotions instead of their own."
"The love between the Wind and the Zen flourished, the mortals falling in love as well, but the Fire could no longer contain her jealousy and tore the group apart with the games she played with the Earth's heart. As if they were not broken enough, the Water's pride destroyed them all over again; his final act in the bloody war they fought broke more than just hearts."
"In the final stages of war, the Water mortal refused to assist the Zen as she battled a monstrous creature alone, suffering from heavy injuries and barely able to keep up her sword. As the monster moved in for the kill the Wind sacrificed himself to save her, taking the blow meant for her. It was his undoing and he was destroyed instead of her."
"Death waited not a second to steal his soul away. With the Spirit still trapped in his mind all seemed lost. But the Zen Warrior could not let him die, for even if they were broken she loved him more than anything else in the world. Desperate, she ran to the one being who she knew could bring him back safely to her. The once mortal, half demon. Begging, pleading, the Zen was desperate for a way to revive him. She offered him her life, her love, her body, she offered him all that she could give, for the Wind was her entire world. The half man only asked for a link to her mind."
"It is still unsure why he asked for this. Perhaps the King of Demons sat next to him, whispering dark deeds into his ear to secure a black future. Perhaps he took pity on the woman, for a long time ago his cold, black demon heart had once loved a part of her. Perhaps he thought that by showing her he could act kindly, he would be forgiven for all he had done. Whatever the reason, she agreed eagerly and the deed was done. When she returned, the Wind had indeed been revived, but he was not the same."
"Denying her love, insisting their emotions had been manipulated by the Spirits, the Wind rejected the Zen, shattering her heart. Unable to bear the pain, she left without a word, leaving no hope of contact, never to be seen again. The half demon shrank back into the shadows, wounded from his loss and the war ended for good."
"The warriors eventually returned to the lives they had led before, walking their own paths away from each other, each as miserable as the last. But they soon aged. When death threatened them they agreed to meet one final time. However, one warrior never came. The Zen did not return to them."
"The four remaining warriors moved on. Together they created the Xiaolin Dragons, training them to use their powers to protect the world from darkness. Eventually the original dragons died the spirits never heard from again. Whether they wait deep inside the warriors for the Zen or if they returned to their realm is unknown."
"The world continued on. With the Heylin witches appearing to wreak havoc, the Xiaolin Dragons forgot their old enemies. Many forgot the half demon even existed. The Spirits and the Zen never returned and like the half demon, they were forgotten, no longer history, not even a legend or a myth, just a barely audible whisper in the wind."
"This is the last record of the Zen Dragon, Kaida Balance. Like her story, she and her weapons, the Kaida's Tear and the Silver Sword, have been forgotten."
Finished, the text looked incomplete, a space at the bottom big enough for one more name. Prompted by a grin and a pair of crimson eyes in the darkness, the man tossed his hair back, clearing his throat.
"It is time. Mortals of old names and Spirits in new hosts, hear this now. Let the balance be broken once more and let the final warrior awaken. I, half demon, half man, Chase Young, the Demon King's instrument, awaken to finally take back what is mine." As if his words had great power, in the final space of the book, green writing sped across it, a poltergeist finishing the tale.
'Kaida Sakura Balance,
2nd Xiaolin Dragon of Zen,
1504 years after Wuya's entrapment.'
Chase Young smiled. In the darkness, a tall silhouette stood over him, those dark red eyes filled with malicious laughter. The silhouette's mouth opened and although the whisper that came out was soft and quiet, the great cats that stalked around the room endlessly, hissed, creeping back, the sinister edge of a blade cutting through the air mercilessly.
"So it begins…"
A/N: Rewrite number one!! I hope it's better than the original which you will NEVER be seeing again... In my defence... that was written over three years ago...