Heylin Dragon
By: Aubrie1234
After a day or two, Jack began warming up to Senshi again, which the dragon was grateful for. That meant things between them were repairing. Jack had also begun trying to teach himself some martial arts to compete with the Xiaolin monks, now that he didn't have to worry about his neuropathy. Senshi had offered to help and Jack had accepted, the human realizing that having Senshi help him would be best. The dragon knew how to fight well and instinctively and was really the only one he could turn to besides his robots. Chase had quickly given up on teaching him anything and there was no way Wuya or the monks would help him. It was just the two of them, with the Jackbots instructing Jack on movements and Senshi helping the human perfect them.
"This is the ude gaeshi, or arm reversal." said the humanoid Jackbot before performing the move on another humanoid Jackbot, "This is a sacrificial move, so be careful when you use it. Related to the..." As the Jackbot gave other facts and instructions, Senshi watched as Jack practiced trying the movement, not wanting to use force until he was sure he was getting the move right. Senshi had noticed how fast and powerful Jack was, even though he was human. He almost seemed on equal level with the Warriors and the digimon had been told that they were much stronger than the average human. There was hope for Jack yet.
"Okay, I think I wanna try it now." Jack stood up from the last practice of the move. He nodded to Senshi and the digimon nodded back. Hopping off the chair he'd been sitting in, he floated in the air and digivolved to Ginryumon. His size in Rookie form wouldn't be able to help Jack much but in his Champion form he was the right size and lithe enough to help Jack work out the kinks in his moves. He'd figured out that he could finally digivolve now, but how far could he go? He didn't want to try it just yet, since there was no need, and so just kept it to himself.
"Ready?" Jack answered by charging forward and pushing against the digimon's chest. Senshi immediately pushed back and Jack used that force and moment to send the digimon flying over his body, dropping to the ground to do so. Even if there hadn't been any mats, Senshi wouldn't have been hurt. Back in the air in seconds, the dragon gave a smile.
"You're getting better."
"Thanks." Jack smiled back as Senshi helped him to his feet. The digimon de-digivolved back to Ryudamon and yawned.
"I think we've done enough for today." he said.
"Yeah, it's getting late." Jack agreed, then dismissed the Jackbots. They would work again in the morning. Jack sent Senshi to bed while he went to shower. The dragon was glad that Jack was starting to trust him again, if slowly. It was progress, at least. As he listened to Jack sing in the shower, something occurred to Senshi that he hadn't really thought about before. He'd have to ask Jack about it when the teenage genius returned, curious about his thought. As the albino came in, rubbing the water out of his hair with a towel while another hung around his waist, Senshi wasted no time.
"What's with the symbol on the Jackbots?" Jack paused.
"What do you mean?"
"The grey little mask thing that's on the front of all of them and on your helipack. What is that?"
"Oh, that?" Jack went back into the bathroom and brought his helipack with him. The mask Senshi spoke of was also the clip between the four straps, "It's something I made. It's based on african masks for good luck. I put it on all my robots so that they might have a chance to have good luck, all of us having good luck together." The albino gave a sigh, "Never seems to work, though."
"Maybe not always, but I'm sure it works sometimes. And Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for talking with me again." Jack paused.
"Can't stay mad at you forever." he mused, "But this doesn't mean I trust you any more than before."
"I know that. I'm just glad we're talking again." Senshi curled up on the bed, "'Night."
"...'Night." Senshi opened an eye, wondering why there'd been hesitation in Jack's voice, but there seemed to be nothing wrong. The digimon didn't dismiss the word, though, even as he drifted off to sleep.
"Get up!" Jack was hissing as he shook Senshi awake.
"Wha-? What's going on?" Senshi yawned as Jack bustled around. It was still dark out, why was the redhead trying to get him up?
"A new Shen Gong Wu! We're going out to get it!"
"You want me to come with you?" Jack paused.
"I'm going whether you're coming or not, I just thought you might wanna come."
"Sure I do, just give me a second." Senshi stretched and ran out of the room after his human friend. Soon after the jet took off and they flew to Armenia to find the next Wu.
"How many Wu are there? I don't think I've ever asked you before."
"Wuya once said there were hundreds of Wu hidden all over the place." Jack said, "But look at those mountains!"
"Yeah." Senshi agreed, "But I've seen bigger."
"Oh really?"
"And weirder. There's this canyon in the Digital World where buildings are coming out of its sides. It's really cool but it's usually infested with Dokugumon."
"I'd love to see that." Jack banked the jet to the right, "I'm setting this down outside of town so we can get our bearings and figure out where to go next."
"And we got here just in time." Senshi pointed into the sky, "Look." Jack glanced up and frowned.
"Great, the Warriors just got here. Let's hope my new skills in martial arts and your digivolution help us out." As soon as the jet was down and the Jack's phone was synced with the Detector, they were off. There was no telling where the Wu was and they had to get to it before the Warriors did. But of course, since Senshi wasn't exactly normal to have around, they had to stick to the rooftops for the most part and discussed what to do next time they had to go into a city together.
"I'll bring a disguise and we can put it on you and you won't look too much out of place."
"I don't know how you'd hide my tail and face, though."
"We'll see about that." They kept moving. As they did so, Senshi began to hum.
"Three lights are lit but the fourth one's out, I can tell 'cause it's a bit darker than the last night's bout..." Senshi hummed. Jack grinned and joined in, singing the next verse as they jumped from roof to roof with the help of their respective powers.
"I forgot about the drought of light bulbs in this house so I head out down a route I think is heading south." Jack sung, "But I'm not good with directions and I hide behind my mouth, I'm a pro at imperfections and I'm best friends with my doubt..."
"And now that my mind's out and now I hear it clear and loud, I'm thinking 'Wow, I probably should've stayed inside my house.'" Senshi sung with him. They continued humming TOP songs as they moved on until they heard the monks speaking. Quieting, they hunkered down on the edge of a roof to listen in.
"I know it's around here somewhere..." Dojo was saying, "I just don't know where."
"And why not? You're supposed to know where they all are!" said Kimiko.
"It's been 1500 years, so sue me!" The Warriors kept moving on, walking in the streets below. Once they were gone, Senshi and Jack turned to one another.
"Nice rapping." Senshi commented, "Especially on Kitchen Sink and Levitate. Too fast for me."
"It's not a forte of mine but with some practice I can sing along just fine. Snow's where it's really at for me." Senshi raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" Jack nodded.
"Before I started building robots, I was always asking my mom for things to do, like having knife-throwing lessons. She had me learn ice-skating instead. It actually got me into winter sports and I've won a few Showdowns thanks to those skills." Jack shrugged, "Never did anything else with them though."
"Maybe you'll have to use them this time, with these mountains so close." Senshi glanced back, "Who knows what the Showdown will be like."
"Yeah, but let's keep going and find it first so we don't have to do a Showdown." The dragon nodded and they kept following the signals from Jack's phone. Eventually they had to go down to street level when they saw the glowing Wu perched on top of an awning. It looked like a golden badger, crouched and ready to attack. Senshi and Jack reached for it, only for it to also be touched by none other than Raimundo and Omi.
"Why does this keep happening to us?" Senshi groaned, the four standing on the unstable awning.
"For once, why don't you just let me leave with a Wu? Can't you just let that happen?" Jack whined.
"Sorry, Jack, no can do." said Rai.
"And we will be taking our Wu back, too!" Omi said.
"But what's the challenge?" asked Senshi. The humans glanced around until Rai came up with an idea.
"Race to the top." Rai pointed, "The Wu's gonna be on that light post up high and whoever gets to it first wins. We wager the Reversing Mirror and Star Hanabi. You?"
"Woozy Shooter and Lasso Boa-Boa." Jack gave a confident grin.
"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!" Immediately the Wu floated out of their hands and the light post began lengthening, growing taller and taller. The sidewalks broke up and curled around the post, leaving some space in between them and the post. The buildings trapped them in a round arena as the ground gave way, stretching down into fog and a bottomless pit. Because the sidewalks were too steep to stand on, awnings and windows poked out of the buildings for them to stand on. When things had settled down, Senshi looked up and gulped. The Wu was a long way above them.
"Gong Yi Tanpai!" Immediately Omi and Rai were hopping from windows and awnings.
"See if you can go up between the sidewalks." Jack said, taking out the Lasso Boa-Boa, "You have the Woozy Shooter, either get to the Wu first or undermine the Warriors."
"Not like I have a choice." Senshi examined the Wu he was given before Jack was gone, flying up with his helipack to get to the monks. Senshi gripped the Woozy Shooter before flying over to the sidewalks. The space between the spirals was large enough for him to slip in and so he poked his head in. Immediately there was a rumbling from above and Senshi took his head back just in time as a surge of energy cascaded down. Looks like there was no way he was doing that, then.
"Hey!" The dragon looked up and saw a window crumble under Raimundo, giving away under his weight, but he managed to stick the landing on an awning below. Seems that not all windows and awnings were stable. Senshi used his flight to catch up as Jack tried to use the lasso to drag the monks off course while they were in the air and having to dodge the fire of the Star Hanabi. Senshi tried to aim the Woozy Shooter but the Warriors were moving too fast for him. He flew up to Jack.
"Switch with me? I know I can't hit them, they're moving too fast."
"Then see if you can lasso one." Jack switched their Wu. Senshi twirled the lasso, trying to aim, and threw it , crying, "Lasso Boa-Boa!" Immediately the lasso turned into a snake and attacked Omi.
"Star Hanabi!" Omi used the Wu to deflect the snake but it gave Jack enough time to aim.
"Woozy Shooter!"
"Reversing Mirror!" Rai came in at the last second and deflected the purple smoke back at them. Senshi dodged but Jack wasn't so lucky.
"Jack!" Senshi tried to help steady the human, who now didn't look so good. There was a smile on his face but he was giggling like mad and it didn't sit well with Senshi. It was also around that point that Jack's helipack began to putter out, running out of fuel. The dragon's eyes widened and he tried to guide Jack to an awning or window, but the teen was too heavy for him to hold up for too long and so he'd have to resort to digivolving.
"Ryudamon digivolve to… Ginryumon!" He curled around Jack protectively and landed the two of them on a firm window. Jack was still giggling.
"That was so cool!"
"Snap out of it!" Senshi pleaded then looked up. It was at that moment that the Warriors grabbed the Wu and the Showdown was over. As everything went back to normal, Senshi and Jack still on the awning while Rai and Omi were on the ground with the Wu, Senshi couldn't help but feel a surge of rage at their cheers. Making sure Jack wouldn't move off and get himself into trouble, Senshi flew down to them.
"Woah!" The Warriors got into fighting stances, not having expected this.
"We won, you don't have any right to steal the Wu!" said Raimundo, "And how did you change form?"
"That's not why I came down here." Senshi growled, ignoring the question, "Neither of you looked back to make sure Jack was okay after making him woozy like that. He would've fallen if I hadn't been there! He could have died and none of you even care."
"The Showdowns never kill anyone." said Clay.
"Actually..."
"Dojo, do you mean to tell us we've been risking our lives every time we do a Showdown?!" Kimiko exclaimed. The green dragon winced.
"It's only happened once or twice a long time ago. I never thought to mention it since no one's gotten seriously hurt!"
"Well, next time, think a little more carefully before you try doing something like that!" Senshi snapped, "Next time I might not be there! What then?! Jack hasn't been getting stronger and stronger like you guys! Keep that in mind next time you fight!" And with that, Senshi went back to Jack.
"Pretty lizard!" He hugged Senshi.
"Yeah yeah..." Senshi took Jack in his arms before flying away, heading back to the jet. By the time they got back, the effects were wearing off. Jack was holding his head and groaning by the time they finally landed.
"What hit me?" He looked around, "We didn't win, did we?" Senshi shook his head.
"No."
"Well, you win some, lose some." Jack gave a downtrodden sigh.
"You nearly died!" Senshi was incredulous, "You would have fallen to your death and all you can say is that?!"
"Hey, before you came along, I went through worse Showdowns than this. One time I was even competing over an active volcano. You don't have to worry about me." Senshi dedigivolved but was still giving Jack an incredulous look.
"That doesn't make me feel any better..." Jack rolled his eyes.
"Get used to it." The redhead turned and climbed in the jet. Senshi climbed in after him and they returned to the mansion. But when they returned, Senshi was on alert. There was something different in the air again and he growled, standing in front of Jack protectively. Jack glanced around as well, wary and wondering what Senshi was sensing. He glanced at his watch computer, only to find it unresponsive. None of the electronics were responding at all and it had been a miracle the jet had still been working enough to fit through the hole. What was going on?
"Come out right now!" Senshi snarled, "What do you want?" Suddenly, a large yellow eye blinked in the darkness. Jack yelped as it was joined by two smaller ones and a huge being stepped out of the shadows. It was gray with a black-horned helmet and red wings. No mouth could be seen and two of the three eyes were in its clawed hands. Senshi growled. It took a step forward and pushed aside the table with ease.
"Katana Attack!" The sword bounced harmlessly off the monster's chest. This wasn't good. The monster frowned, or as much as it could with one eye.
"You know, I'm kinda disappointed you don't recognize me." it spoke, even though it had no mouth. It was a deep male voice, resonating and dark. Senshi blinked and tilted his head..
"Wait, Impmon?!" The monster brought its claws up and made a gesture as if he was tipping a hat.
"That's my name, don't wear it out." Senshi grinned.
"Wow. You've certainly gotten yourself into a high position!"
"You know this guy?" Jack squeaked. Senshi turned to him.
"Oh, right. Jack, this is Impmon. Or is it Ghoulmon now?" The monster digimon shrugged.
"I go by either." Impmon held out a claw, "Nice to meet you!" Jack stared back at the eye in his palm and just shook one of the claws.
"Pleasure." he murmured, "Is it you that I have to blame for deactivating all my electronics?" Impmon looked sheepish, tapping his claws together.
"A little, yeah."
"Why are you here? How are you here?" Senshi asked.
"The computer." Impmon frowned, "I'm glad I found you but you have to come back."
"Why?" Senshi frowned, "If this is about him, I'm not going back."
"He's not doing any damage but it feels like he's tearing the world apart looking for you!" Impmon said. Senshi shook his head.
"Please, just don't. I'm not going back to him and I don't want you to tell him where I am. For once, I'm living my life without his judgement! I love it here. Please don't take this away from me." Impmon was silent, arms crossed. He gave a sigh.
"Fine." he huffed, "I'll do my best but I can't guarantee anything."
"I'm not asking you to." Senshi hugged one of his muscled legs, "Thank you." Impmon pat the dragon's head.
"You owe me one." After the hug, Impmon turned to Jack's main computer, "Also, sorry about trashing your stuff." Before Jack could say anything, the digimon touched the screen and it lit up before, in a flash, Impmon disappeared. As soon as Impmon was gone, the lights came back on and everything was whirring again. Jack turned to Senshi.
"What did he mean by all that? Who are you running from?"
"Not important." Jack raised an eyebrow. Clearly the dragon was lying but if he pushed, Jack knew that Senshi still wouldn't elaborate and so he left it be. Senshi had his secrets from his life in the Digital World and Jack respected that. He had his own secrets too. As it was, he began double-checking that all the robots and other things were back online. From the reports, it was like a mixture of power-surge and interference had been in the building since Impmon was there. Had the digimon put off such strong power he shut down everything around him? Then why hadn't it happened with Senshi? Was it because Senshi wasn't strong enough yet or something? Whatever the case, it seemed there was nothing Jack could do to prevent another event like this if another powerful digimon decided to visit. He could only wonder what was going on and who Senshi was running from...
Notes:
Impmon - Vilemon - Mummymon - Ghoulmon (Impmon's digivolution if you were wondering how an Impmon could digivolve to Ghoulmon)
Jack really does have some sort of left-field ability with winter sports. The few times we've seen that in action (Ring of the Nine Dragons and Screams of the Siren) he was very good at the Showdowns, winning one of the two. He also has good reflexes because of those sports and likely would've been a great martial artist if he wanted to. He's training now in the story so that he can catch up to the monks.
I imagine, with how tough some of the Showdowns are, people must've gotten hurt a lot and maybe even died a few times, yet none of these guys show much fear in the face of the Showdowns.
The canyon with the buildings is real and is in the episode The Gorge of Deception! from Digimon Data Squad.
I realize that the Honey Badger is a Wu from Chronicles, but it's also a unique Wu because it has no counterpart from the original series. After I run out of unique Wu to use I'll put in some of my own if need be.
Now, please read & review!