Notes: There is a slight mention of blood in this chapter. It isn't anything graphic yet, although there may be more graphic descriptions in later chapters. I'm posting this here just to warn readers in advance.
Chapter 2: Found
As Jack silently walked through the Shen Gong Wu vault, he kept thinking about how lucky it was for him to arrive when the Xiaolin monks were away. Despite his usual clumsiness, he was easily able to sneak in this time, using only a few of his Jack-Bots to distract any guards.
"Now, where is the Heart of Jong?" he murmured quietly to himself, searching through each section of the vault.
Finally, after searching for a few minutes, he found it. He left the other Shen Gong Wu, knowing that he probably had little time. If his plan went well, he would be back for it anyway. Jack lifted the heart up, staring at it gleefully as he thought about his plan.
Yes, he knew that there were certainly ways that his plan could go wrong. Jack remembered that one of his robots had ripped the Heart of Jong out of its body because it didn't like being human. Would that happen to his new robot?
He shook those thoughts out of his head. No, he couldn't think like that right now.
He began to head out of the vault, being as quiet as possible. He grinned once more when he saw that he was almost there, and another step closer to his victory.
Then a spider dropped down in front of his face, and he screamed, dropping the Heart of Jong on the floor. He quickly covered his mouth, hoping that nobody heard his startled scream and the loud thunk of the Shen Gong Wu hitting the ground.
Instead of panic and anger from the residents of the Xiaolin Temple, there was nothing. The silence that he was greeted by was almost eerie.
After a moment, Jack picked the heart up and began his escape once more. He didn't have time to think about how strange it was for things to be this quiet. He needed to get back to his lab to put his plan into action. So he took off, not looking back as he took his prize.
Following Dojo for about an hour took its toll on the already exhausted Xiaolin monks. When Dojo had mentioned that the injured dragon was nearby, they thought it would only take a little while to get there. They were wrong. The only person who remained optimistic was Omi.
"Fear not, my friends. We'll be there soon, I'm sure of it," he said, attempting to soothe the frustrated group.
His words did little to ease the tension. After all, everyone had been on their feet for most of the day, and now they had to worry about an injured dragon. That and the fact that Dojo claimed that he was too tired to fly them there left everyone other than Omi in a bad mood.
Dojo moved quickly through the many plants surrounding them. It seemed that most of the area near the abandoned town they had discovered was full of plant life. All the living creatures here were animals of some kind, with the only sign of human life being that fountain in the town.
"I think she was over here," Dojo said.
He made his way through a section of large bushes, and one of the branches whacked him in the face. Raimundo, Kimiko, Omi, and Clay all had leaves covering them after walking around so many trees. They had no better luck than Dojo, with each of them being hit by a branch or thorny plant at least once.
Finally, Dojo picked up the scent of blood. He rushed there, pointing out the dragon lying down near a large rock. Like he said, she was bleeding.
"See? I told you she was here!" he exclaimed.
The others groaned, knowing that Dojo had led them in a circle at least once after losing track of the scent.
The dragon had purple scales, and a mane of pink hair down her neck. She was small like Dojo, yet looked like a different species of dragon than him. While Dojo was a Chinese dragon, the female dragon was a western dragon. She had wings on her back and four legs.
Most importantly, she was hurt, and needed help. The female dragon was unconscious, and looked like she had been that way for a little while. A large, bleeding gash was on her side, and her tail looked a little crooked. It must have been broken somehow. Her head also had a bleeding injury that would need attention.
"I felt that the Shen Gong Wu was this way, but then I lost track of it when I picked up the scent of something else. Then, I found her like this! I was going to wake her up, but I felt an ominous presence and-" Dojo began, only to stop talking.
He froze in place, feeling the same presence. The others felt it too. Even Omi, who had remained calm for the most part, was unnerved by this strange feeling.
"I don't like this. It feels like we shouldn't be here," Raimundo said, looking around.
He felt like he was being watched, yet there was nothing there.
"I agree with Rai. But we can't just leave the dragon here like this!" Kimiko said, shivering from where she stood.
Clay slowly stepped forward and lifted the female dragon up, being careful to not aggravate her wounds.
"Let's get her out of here," he said.
The others agreed. They all wanted to get away from the ominous feeling that was washing over them. Something wasn't right here, and despite their strengths, it felt like they wouldn't be able to handle it.
The group quickly left, bringing the injured dragon with them so that they could care for her elsewhere.
Notes: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter. The next one will be out whenever I get the chance to write it. If you have any comments, suggestions, or critiques, feel free to post them for me to read! Thanks again!