Chapter 16: Shard of Lightning
Rory's heart hadn't stopped pounding, not since she'd taken the Golden Tiger Claws and run off. She wasn't quite sure where she'd gone, but she'd needed away from the Xiaolin Temple to finally be able to breathe.
Master Fung's words kept ringing in her head, and she'd felt sick since realising her parents had known all about it, and kept it from her. Even when she'd gone to the Xiaolin Temple, they'd kept it from her. They hadn't trusted her with the truth, and that thought only riled her up more.
Sitting down in the grass in the field she'd wound up in, Rory threw herself back to lie on her back and stare up at the sky. Something about how blue and cloudless it was only served to irritate Rory more. It seemed even the weather was celebrating Wuya's defeat.
So much of her life had been spent in what she could only consider as confinement now. Home-schooled, learning martial arts from her parents, barely interacting with the outside world save for the people who'd either worked for her parents, or been brought in for Rory's dance lessons.
"What a joke," she spoke aloud. "Hidden away or protected, it's daft either way," Rory glared at the sky as if it was the cause of her problems.
Her anger didn't fade as she lay there for some time, even with her music on. She knew she needed to return to the temple at some point. She wanted to return to the temple, but the idea of facing her friends made her stomach squirm. They all knew the truth now, and she's seen their faces. Worry and fear were all she'd seen. Not that she'd blamed them. She'd felt the same. Even if they'd come to be almost like family to her, she needed some space.
Raising a hand and holding it as if against the sky, Rory wondered how it worked. She'd felt Raimundo's transition to the Heylin side, but when Wuya had been defeated and the world returned to normal, his presence had vanished too. 'Would becoming evil be the same for me? Or would it be instant?' she wondered, and instinctively grasped at the white strands in her hair, thinking about the flash of a dream, with her double.
No turning back. That's what Master Fung had said. One slip, and she'd be evil forever. Rory frowned. 'But I don't want to be evil. It's never even been a consideration,' she thought, reminded of both Raimundo's and Wuya's offers to join them. Even when the other option had been death, she refused. 'Hiding me away...it's like they didn't trust me to make the right call,' Rory sighed, letting her hand drop over her face, shielding her from the sun.
Too wrapped up in her thoughts, Rory didn't sense the presence nearby until a strong wind kicked up.
"Huh?" she moved her hand, still lying on the ground as she watched Jack land, letting the blades of his helipack disappear. "Damn, is this thing still acting up?" he grumbled, slapping a hand to the device in his hands.
"What are you doing here?" Rory frowned, finally sitting up. Grass stuck to her hair, but she ignored it as he shook the device he was holding.
"Looking for the new Shen Gong Wu," he answered as it beeped loudly, pointing at Rory. Confused, he looked at the girl still sitting, looking just as confused.
"There's no new Shen Gong Wu here, at least not that I'm aware of," Rory answered, keeping the Tiger Claws in the front pocket of her hoodie.
"Dammit," Jack grumbled, before pausing. "Then what are you doing here? Where are the rest of the losers?" he asked, looking around suspiciously as if expecting them to ambush him.
"Back at the Temple, I imagine," Rory said. She hoped they were still there, and hadn't tried to track her down. "It hasn't even been a day since Wuya's been sealed away. You're really already back at it?" Rory shook her head, having expected their enemy to be fast asleep for at least a full day.
"Hey, you know the drill: evil doesn't sleep," she frowned when he sat down beside her.
"Then you'll have a hard time explaining the snoring you did when Wuya was free," she retorted. Jack didn't even look embarrassed, but glowered at her. "There's no new Shen Gong Wu here," Rory told him again, annoyed that he was sticking around.
"You're so grouchy, Rapunzel," he complained. "Figured reversing the end of the world might make you lighten up. Why aren't you relaxing after all that?" Jack asked, suspicious that she really was hiding a new Shen Gong Wu.
"You're so nosy," Rory grumbled, glaring down at her feet as she pulled in her legs. "I needed some space," she said simply.
"I'd need space if I lived with that chrome-dome too," Jack nodded as if he understood.
"It wasn't Omi. It wasn't even Raimundo," Rory couldn't stop the words spilling from her mouth, even if it was to someone who had been on the opposing side since they'd met. "People have been lying to me for so long, and like a sucker I went along with it. Listened to how I should be. And now I'm pissed off and I don't know what to do about it," she put her hands to her head. "And now I'm even more pissed off because you're the one I have to talk to about it," Rory groaned, and fell back into the grass.
"Wow," Jack blinked rapidly, before laughing. "You're more messed up than me!" he declared, before pausing. "Wait," he thought about what he'd said, and to his surprise, Rory laughed.
"You're the master of self-burns, I'll give you that," she told him, already feeling a little better after getting the words out. He watched her, confused by her behaviour, before shaking his head.
"You're just as weird as the other Xiaolin losers, Rapunzel," he told her seriously.
"Yep," she accepted the comment readily, knowing it was true.
"Well, if you ask me-"
"Who said I did?"
"You're already doing what you should do if you're that mad," Rory sat up, not understanding what he was saying. He smirked. "Rapunzel, you're hanging out with your enemy. If that's not rebelling, I dunno what is," he pointed out. Rory blinked at him rapidly, before laughter escaped her.
"I can't believe it, but you're right," Rory laughed hard at the realisation. Of all the people to be sitting with right after finding out the truth, it had to be someone happily on the Heylin side. 'I'm a damn idiot,' she thought to herself. Finally, she calmed down, and took a breath. She then tilted her head. "Oi, what's with you giving advice? We're enemies again, remember?" she pointed out, reminding him of his declaration when they'd parted ways.
"You being all sulky takes the fun out of winning," Jack shrugged. "It's way more fun to gloat when you're mad, Rapunzel," he smirked. Keeping a straight face, Rory reached over and flicked his nose, making him yelp and put his hand to it as it stung.
"Rory," she corrected. As he glared at her, Rory stood, and stretched. "Well, I won't thank you this time. I know you did it for your own selfish reasons," she smirked at him over her shoulder, and watched as he huffed, sticking his now red nose in the air.
"Damn right," he declared.
"Oh yeah. I might not have been entirely honest," he looked at Rory, and his eyes widened when she slipped the Golden Tiger Claws onto her hand. "There's no new Shen Gong Wu here. Golden Tiger Claws!" she slashed through the air, opening a tear.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, but as he got to his feet, she jumped through, laughing, and vanished.
Time passed quickly after Wuya's defeat, even without any Shen Gong Wu activating. The five Dragons resumed their training, accepting Raimundo back without question. However, the new information about the Dragon of Light had surprised them all, but not as much as Rory's sudden change.
When she'd returned to the temple after vanishing for hours, she seemed oddly upbeat. Kimiko struggled not to get mad at her, having been worried sick. She was then caught off-guard, when Rory asked her for a favour, and she was more than happy to oblige. Rory's dress-sense had changed almost entirely, and as time progressed, she became more open and less reluctant to speak her mind.
Now, almost two months since Wuya had been sealed away, the five stood in the main hall, each wielding a Shen Gong Wu of their choosing.
"Stand on your marks!" Omi called, holding up a stopwatch. "Set yourselves...commence with chores! Gong Yi Tanpai!" the small boy yelled, and the group sprang into action. "Third Arm Sash!" Omi activated the blue Sash around his waist, using it to help scrub the floor as he cleaned the windows.
"Lotus Twister!" Kimiko turned her arms to rubber, stretching them under the couch to clean out the rubbish and dust that had gathered there.
"Monkey Staff!" Rory leapt up into the rafters, hanging by her tail as she dusted up high where they normally couldn't reach.
"Jet Bootsu!" Clay joined her in the air, dusting the lights and pillars.
"Shroud of Shadows!" they all looked to the kitchen, where Raimundo was meant to be cleaning the dishes. "All done!" he declared a minute later.
"Excuse me?" Omi peered in. Raimundo turned and shrugged.
"Just because I'm not a Xiaolin Apprentice, doesn't mean I should have to wash your dirty dishes," he defended. They all sighed at his attitude. Even after everything, Raimundo was still lazy when it came to his chores.
"Come on, Raimundo," Kimiko was still cleaning out under the sofa. "The sooner we finish our chores, the more time we have to hang," she pointed out as he left the kitchen.
"Yes! Although, I might choose a different activity," Omi told her.
"It's an expression, Omi," Kimiko chuckled.
"Looks like Rory has that activity covered anyways," Clay grinned. Rory was dangling upside down as she listened, and gave a thumbs up before jumping down and landing the right way up. Instinctively she tried to tuck her hair behind her ear, only to brush the ends of it. With Kimiko's help, she'd cut most of her long hair off. Her hair was now shorter at the back, barely reaching the back of her neck, while her fringe hid her right eye and two blue pins kept the rest out of her face.
"I'd only recommend it with the Monkey Staff anyways," she spoke up, holding the Staff lightly in her hands. They continued to clean while Raimundo did the bare minimum of chores around them, and before long they were finished up.
"Hurry up Clay, I'm done!" Kimiko shouted as Rory joined the girl, letting her monkey features vanish.
"Me too! I'm doner than a rack of ribs at a Texas Barbecue!" the cowboy declared as he flew after them. Omi joined them outside by the obstacle course, with Kimiko swinging on one of the fake swinging axes, and he showed them their time before sitting with them.
"Now that we have mastered the art of battle, and Raimundo has trapped Wuya in a puzzle box, perhaps chores are the only use we'll have for the Shen Gong Wu," Omi considered.
"It does make our life easier, using them this way, but…" Rory trailed off.
"It sure was a lot more fun when we had someone to fight against," Clay continued for her, and the others had to agree. They weren't even sure if more Shen Gong Wu would activate without Wuya's presence.
"Still waters may blanket the greatest of unseen hazards," Master Fung warned as he approached them.
"There he goes again. Can someone get me a translator?" Raimundo asked.
"Just because it's peaceful now, doesn't mean that a bigger threat isn't out there," Rory told him, leaning against one of the beams. Raimundo grumbled under his breath, wondering why nobody just said what they meant. Master Fung then revealed the Shroud of Shadows in his hands, and moved it to reveal the stack of dirty dishes. Raimundo's eyes widened as their teacher gave him a look.
"Oh...that's where those dishes went," he gave an awkward laugh as he went red, looking away.
"Overconfidence can be more dangerous than a lack of confidence," Master Fung warned as he dropped the plates into Raimundo's arms. The boy scrambled to balance them all before they fell.
"We kicked evil's butt! Why can't we just kick back for a while?" Kimiko asked, swinging on the axe.
"Stop everything!" Dojo shouted, racing over. "Did you tell them about the new Shen Gong Wu?" he asked Master Fung.
"I was just about to," the man said as they all straightened in surprise. "The Shard of Lightning is a most interesting Shen Gong Wu," he pulled the scroll from his sleeve and opened it.
"How do you guys manage to keep so much in your sleeves?" Rory asked as they gathered around.
"It gives the user the power to travel and the speed of light, but only for short flashes of time," Master Fung explained what they watched on the scroll's animated circle. "And they are deceptively large," he added, looking at Rory. She smiled a little at his response. While she had been angry at him for keeping the truth from her, she had somewhat forgiven him in time, still admiring him as her teacher.
"Let's go get that Shard!" Dojo cheered, just as excited to get out as they were.
"Oh darn. Now I won't have time to finish my dishes," Raimundo smirked, not even trying to look like he meant it.
"They will be here when you get back," Master Fung told him as the rest walked away, all of them missing him drop the stack of plates by mistake, causing them to shatter.
To Rory's dismay, Dojo's nose led them straight into a thunderstorm.
"The Shard is there!" he pointed, before shaking his head and sniffing again as lightning flashed. Rory jumped, before a shiver ran through her. She frowned, finding it familiar, but didn't understand why as no presence came with it. "No, over there!" he turned again. "No, there!" Dojo pointed in another direction.
"Can't you focus yourself?" Kimiko asked as they didn't seem any closer to narrowing down the Shard's location. "Which is it?" she asked.
"You are not scared, are you Dojo?" Omi realised.
"Me? Scared of a little electrical storm?" Dojo laughed, only to scream when lightning flashed again. "You know, lightning is always drawn to the tallest object," he considered, and immediately flew down to solid ground. "Which in this case is me!" he yelped. As he landed and shrunk down, Rory tucked him into her large woollen cardigan.
"Don't worry, we can be scared together," she soothed.
"I am willing to bet my bottom that is where our Shard is," Omi pointed to the top of the cliff, where lightning kept striking.
"That's your 'bottom dollar'," Kimiko corrected patiently.
"That makes no sense at all!" Omi declared.
"Let's check it out!" Raimundo suggested, but Rory caught him before he could move towards the cliffside. "What?" he frowned at her.
"Her," Rory pointed as Katnappe walked into view, smirking at them. Rory then frowned, almost sure she felt a second presence. "Wait, is that-" before she could figure it out, thunder boomed and she flinched.
"Well, well," Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Look what the Katnappe dragged in," she drawled as the blonde in a catsuit hissed at her.
"Me-ow," she flicked her hand, and a familiar purple spirit appeared over her shoulder. They all jerked back.
"Wuya?" Omi gasped, all of them stunned to see the powerful Heylin witch back in her spirit form wearing her mask.
"You didn't think I'd stay in that puzzle box forever, did you?" Wuya laughed as she floated over to them. Rory stood taller despite the storm, glaring at the witch.
"Could have stayed in there for another 1500 years at least," she told her. Wuya just cackled, before lightning struck the top of the cliff. Rocks broke off, and they saw something flash with light at the top.
"The Shard!" Clay gasped.
"Stop them!" Wuya shrieked at Katnappe.
"Kitties, attack!" Katnappe held up her backpack, and her pure white kittens leapt out and hissed. Kimiko managed to dodge them, but the others weren't so lucky.
"Oh you - shite!" Rory howled a curse as the kitten's claws sank into her lower back. As she flailed, trying to throw the cat off her, there was a loud splash as Kimiko tossed Katnappe into the water.
"Shoo!" Dojo managed to unhook the screeching cat and tossed it away, and Rory sighed with relief.
"Cheers Dojo," she said, before lightning flashed and he yelped, diving back to safety, making her smile. Rory's head then lifted as another presence reached them.
"Jack's here," she warned Clay, who'd managed to pull the kittens from his legs and tossed them away. Soon, they heard the telltale buzzing, and Jack appeared from the other side of the cliff with his robots.
"Wuya," Jack scowled at the sight of the witch, before seeing Katnappe spitting out seawater. "You teamed up with this soggy excuse for a furball?" he demanded. With a shriek, Katnappe leapt up and smashed through one of his robots.
"Looks like everyone was invited to this rodeo," Clay grunted.
"Yeah, but I'm the one who's going home with the prize," Jack declared.
"There is no way for you to defeat the mighty Xiaolin warriors!" Omi warned, glaring up at him. "Tornado Strike, Water!" controlling the water behind him, Omi sent the wave at Jack. To his surprise, Jack slapped a hand down and cut through the water with ease, and when Omi leapt at him to attack, he easily dodged.
"Out of my way, oh great bald one," Jack grabbed him by the leg and tossed him aside.
"Not so fast!" Clay shouted as Jack started making his way towards the cliff. "Seismic Kick, Earth!" Clay used his lasso to stop him, but Jack just smirked and started to spin in circles. The force yanked Clay in, and Jack reversed it on him, restraining Clay in his own rope. With a cry, he fell in the mud.
"This is too easy!" Jack taunted them while Kimiko untied Clay quickly.
"Okay, I know that it's been a while, but something is definitely wrong here," Rory commented, but as she took a step forwards to fight, thunder rumbled and she flinched backwards.
"Jackbots, attack!" they were surrounded by robots, and immediately began to fight them off.
"Nope!" when one robot flew after Raimundo, who was climbing the cliffside, Rory leapt up and kicked it back down to the ground. It shattered on impact, and she landed in time to see another rushing her. Rory then grinned, and spun around it, kicking it straight into the rocks before dropping to the ground when another flew at her.
Rory's smile dropped when the ground shook, and Raimundo's scream reached them. Looking up, she and Clay yelled, diving out of the way of the boulder falling towards them. Jack's laughter echoed, and they turned to see him flying off with the Shard of Lightning.
"Later, Xiaolin losers!" he taunted, and he vanished in a flash of light.
Omi grunted, struggling to catch a feather that floated down in front of him. Normally he wouldn't have had any trouble, but he was distracted. They all were.
"Master Fung was right. We have underestimated our enemy," Omi spoke, leaping to another narrow pole to catch more feathers.
"What's with Jack?" Raimundo asked, still surprised that Jack had beaten him to the Shard of Lightning.
"I'll tell you, he was pretty impressive," Clay admitted reluctantly as he caught another feather.
"Even his disses seemed to be better," Raimundo agreed.
"Although I do not like it when Jack commences with the garbage talk, even I must admit 'Great Bald One' was a good diss. Ouch," Omi grumbled, balancing on one hand.
"How did Jack suddenly get so good?" Kimiko wondered.
"Something just seemed off about it," Rory jumped to another pole as she felt her balance starting to go. "I know it's been a while since we've gone head-to-head over Shen Gong Wu, but for Jack to suddenly be showing us up like that?" she shook her head and caught another feather.
"But you didn't sense anything off, right?" Clay asked. Rory frowned, and shook her head.
"Honestly, between the storm and Wuya showing up, I might have missed something. But I don't know," she admitted, and sighed. "Maybe he did just get better," Rory said, unsure.
"He must have been practising while some of us were using Shen Gong Wu to get out of doing the dishes," Omi commented, glaring at Raimundo. The Dragon of Wind didn't respond, sulking at the accusation.
"If we want to beat Jack, we're going to have to practice," Kimiko declared, only for Raimundo to sneeze loudly, and the gust of wind he created shoved him backwards to collide with the others. They all cried out, falling, and feathers scattered in the air again.
"Yeah...practice a lot," Clay agreed as they all glared at Raimundo.
After cleaning up the feathers, the five divided up to spar with Shen Gong Wu, determined to improve themselves. While Raimundo and Omi fought nearby, Clay, Kimiko and Rory sparred in a free for all.
"Come on, show me what you've got," Clay goaded. When Kimiko ran at him, he grabbed his chosen Shen Gong Wu. "Mantis Flip Coin!" he flipped over her head, as well as Rory's when she lashed out as well, swinging the Monkey Staff. Kimiko didn't slow down as she headed straight for a wall.
"Serpent's Tail!" she passed through the wall instead of colliding with it. She then leapt up onto the wall, only to see Rory throwing herself at her. Kimiko dodged quickly, and Rory leapt to a pillar nearby, swinging from her tail to dodge the counter attack. Kimiko then turned back to Clay to challenge him again.
"You're fast, but are you fast enough to catch me?" Clay grinned, however as he flipped the Mantis Flip Coin, it vanished, and he crashed to the ground. Rory shuddered.
"Wait, is that-" before she could finish the sentence, the Monkey Staff vanished from her hands, and she cried out, falling to the ground. "Guys-" Rory tried to shout a warning, only to see Kimiko slam into the pillar as the Serpent's Tail vanished from her hands. Ignoring her aching body, Rory got to her feet and hurried over to Clay as he searched for the Mantis Flip Coin. "I think Jack's here," she warned, pulling the cowboy back to his feet.
"But how did he get our Shen Gong Wu?" Kimiko asked as they looked around.
"He has possession of the Shard of Lightning, does he not?" they turned to Master Fung, who had been watching their practice.
"What?" Kimiko asked, confused.
"As soon as the user brings forth the power of the Shard, he can move so fast that no-one can see him," Master Fung explained patiently. "But the powers of the Shard only last as long as a flash of lightning," he added as they frowned.
"So what's a flash of lightning to us, is a lot longer to him," Rory considered, before hearing Raimundo yell. They turned, seeing him with a bucket on his head as his clothes were soaked through. Rory immediately ran to the bridge where they'd been fighting, sensing that Jack was still there. When she spotted him, however, she stopped, eyes wide.
"My pants! My shoes! A squirrel?" Omi blinked, finding that he had also been messed with. "A squirrel!" he screamed, dropping the squirrel.
"Uh, guys?" Rory called over her shoulder.
"Wait, there are two Jacks?" Raimundo demanded, seeing Jack and his double standing in front of Rory.
"My head is filled with such confusion," Omi groaned.
"Wait," Rory frowned, looking from one to the other. She focused on the second. "Robot. He built himself a twin," she realised.
"Another robot?" Kimiko groaned, remembering her experience with the Chameleonbot.
"You caught on faster than I expected, Rapunzel," Jack smirked. Rory's eyes narrowed. "We're going to take all the Shen Gong Wu!" he announced.
"And there's nothing you losers can do to stop us," the two high-fived, before grabbing the Shard of Lightning. It flashed brightly.
"Shard of Lightning!" they yelled together, and vanished.
"Unbelievable!" Kimiko groaned.
"But how could they both use the Shen Gong Wu at the same time?" Omi wondered, confused.
"As long as they are both touching the Shard when it is activated, they can both use its power," Master Fung explained grimly. There was a flash of light, and the two reappeared with the rest of the Shen Gong Wu.
"We got your Shen Gong Wu!" They laughed.
"I know it's one of those 'shutting the barn door after the horses have bolted', but...we really need a padlock for the vault," Rory groaned.
"Shard of Lightning!" the two Jacks yelled, and in a flash of light, they were gone once again.
"What's the damage, Omi?" Rory called down into the vault. Omi walked up the steps, looking grave after his inspection.
"Jack and his evil robot twin have taken most of the Shen Gong Wu!" he announced, and they all groaned.
"Remember!" Dojo emerged from Omi's robes. "It is better to have lost a Shen Gong Wu, than to never have won one at all," he told them.
"No it isn't!" Kimiko argued, disagreeing with Dojo's attempt to sound wise.
"I didn't have much time to prepare," he admitted, before shuddering. "Wait! Another Shen Gong Wu has activated!" the dragon announced.
"Excellent!" Omi grinned. "This is perhaps our last chance to defeat Jack! And...uh...Jack!" he declared, hesitating towards the end.
"Then let's get out there," Rory cracked her knuckles, ready to start their Shen Gong Wu collection all over again.
Dojo's nose led the Xiaolin warriors to a forest surrounded by mountains far from civilization, but they found they were second to arrive as Jack and his robotic twin stood near where they'd landed.
"You may have defeated us once-"
"Twice. Just to be accurate," Omi corrected Kimiko, and her temper rose as the boy smiled innocently.
"Whatever," she scowled.
"But that doesn't mean you're going to win against us now!" Raimundo finished Kimiko's declaration for her, leaning on Omi's head and making him groan.
"Oh yeah? Well we have more Shen Gong Wu!" Jack taunted.
"And all the good one-liners!" his robotic twin added, and the two pulled faces at the group.
"Gods almighty…" Rory sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Just try to catch us!" the two challenged. "Jackbots, attack!" the bronze-coloured robots flew in to attack them, and the five split away from each other.
"Seismic Kick, Earth!" Clay slammed his boot to the ground, causing it to break open in a massive crack, and the rubble slammed into the robots that got too close to the new chasm.
"Judolette Flip, Fire!" Kimiko yelled, and dove out of the way of the robots that tried to attack her. She then threw her hands up, and flames burst up and melted the robots around her.
"Typhoon Boom, Wind!" Raimundo channelled the power over wind that he had finally unlocked right before turning to the Heylin side. With a yell, he clapped his hands together, sending a shockwave of wind that smashed into the robots, shattering them to bits.
"Tornado Strike, Water!" Omi started to spin as he controlled the water, creating a spinning pillar of water around him that rose high into the sky. It then dropped down, smashing through the robots.
While the other four used the moves they had been honing since Wuya's defeat, Rory still hadn't managed to figure out how to control her element of Light any further. However, she didn't fight with any less determination, and instead started to incorporate what she'd learned from dancing into her moves instead. Ducking under a robot that flew over her head, she moved around it and spun, kicking it into another robot.
"Jack's gone after the Shen Gong Wu!" she shouted a warning to the others.
"We've got this! Go after him!" Kimiko told her, throwing more fire that was extinguished by Omi's water attacks before it could do any damage to the forest around them. Rory nodded, not hesitating to throw herself into the forest, running after Jack and his copy.
As she gained ground on him, two more entered the reach of her detection capabilities. One was dark and heavy, making Rory grimace as she was reminded of Wuya's brief but harsh reign of terror. The other was a strong feeling of wanting, a selfish feeling, and Rory put a hand to her lower back.
"I hope she doesn't have her kittens with her," she muttered to herself. The scratches were still healing.
"You can't leave, we had a deal!" Wuya was screeching as Rory reached them. She ducked behind a tree, watching as Wuya tried to stop Katnappe from leaving.
"Hey, Ghost-Face, I quit!" Katnappe spat back at her. "Nothing is worth having to listen to the Whiny Twins in stereo!" she declared, and lashed out at Jack and his robotic double. They both yelped and ducked under her claws, glaring as she stalked off.
"Perhaps I was too hasty in moving onto an alliance with Katnappe," Wuya considered, floating over to the pair. As they turned twin glares at her, Rory looked around, and spotted something silver on a branch above. "You and I make a pretty good team," she told Jack.
"Have you no shame?" Rory couldn't help but smirk as Jack scolded the witch. "I don't need you, I've got him," he pointed to the robot standing beside him. Rory climbed the tree she was hidden behind, using it to move to another tree. She swayed, crouching low on the branch.
'I miss the Monkey Staff already,' she gulped as she climbed higher.
"What do you say?" Wuya turned to the robotic Jack, hoping to sway him instead.
"I do the speaking for both of us!" The robot was cut off, and Jack missed the glare sent his way. "The Shen Gong Wu is ours!" They scrambled up into the tree, but as they reached for the new Shen Gong Wu, Rory landed on the branch and put her hand on it as well.
"You have to win it first," she challenged as they scowled at her.
"Rory!" The others arrived to see the standoff.
"That's not fair!" Kimiko complained as she looked up. "It's two against one!" she pointed out.
"No it's not!" the robotic Jack smirked. "I'm a solo act now," he announced. Jack's eyes widened.
"What?! I thought we were a team!" he protested, upset that his creation had betrayed him.
"So I'm showdown-crossing you," the robot shrugged. "That's what evil partners do," he pointed out.
"Looks like you programmed him too well," Rory couldn't help but laugh. Jack looked crestfallen.
"What now?" Raimundo asked as they watched from below. "It's a three-way-tie!" he complained.
"Well, Dojo?" Clay called on the dragon, who jumped up onto his shoulder. "I reckon it's time to check the rulebook," he said. Dojo opened the book quickly.
"Ah, here it is! It's called a...Showdown Trio. Kinda obvious," Dojo muttered the last part to himself.
"Well then," Rory rolled her eyes. "I challenge both of you to a Showdown Trio. Last one standing gets the Wu," she challenged. "I wager the Tongue of Saiping," she held up one of the only Shen Gong Wu that had been left after the theft in the vault.
"I wager the Shard of Lightning," Jack held up his choice.
"I wager the Shroud of Shadows," the robot announced.
"I changed my mind, I want the Shroud of Shadows!" Jack decided, whining.
"Too late, it's already mine!" his double snapped. Rory wondered if she should have just left them to it, now stuck with the two in the middle of their split.
"Let's get this over with," Rory shook her head. "Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!" the tree began to shake, and all three barely remained on their feet as the tree grew much larger, rising into the sky as they were surrounded by branches that formed a circular, closed off arena.
"I can't see!" Omi cried as they were stuck on the ground, unable to watch. Inside, Rory stood opposite the two Jacks.
"Gong Yi Tanpai!" As soon as they all shouted, Rory launched herself in and spun, kicking both and knocking them aside. Both recovered and rushed her, but Rory just spun out of the way, keeping her balance on the uneven ground. The two slammed into each other, glaring.
"Watch where you're going, Jack!"
"No, you watch where you're going, Jack!" the two bickered. Rory then took a step back, folding her arms and watching as they threw weak punches and kicks, trying to overpower each other.
"I know your every move before you can make it! Face it, you can't defeat me," the robot taunted.
"At least I've still got the robots on my side!" Jack defended, only to hear the cheers of his robots as they peered inside, and to his horror they weren't cheering for him. "You can't trust people, ghosts, or robots," he declared. "Fine! I don't need anyone's help," Jack decided.
"Showdown Trio my arse," Rory muttered.
"Shard of Lightning!" there was a flash of light, and Jack vanished. There was a loud crunch of metal and wires being ripped apart, and the robotic Jack fell as Jack held the head in his hands. "Oh, I'm so scared of you," he taunted the head, who glared.
"Shroud of Shadows!" Rory put a hand to her face when the robot's body vanished.
"Hey, where'd he go?" Jack questioned, only for an unseen force to slam into him. He broke through the thin vines, and shrieked as he barely managed to catch himself. He looked up as the robot fixed his head, and kicked him. Jack fell with a shriek, landing in the mud.
"You're next, Rapunzel," the robot turned to Rory, who sighed.
"About time," she straightened up. She rushed him, kicking the robot backwards. He stumbled, barely staying on his feet. "It's Rory. Get that into your metal head. My hair isn't even long anymore," she pointed out. The robot just smirked as he recovered.
"Shroud of Shadows!" he vanished, and Rory backed away.
"Feck…" she muttered, looking around. She cried out as she was slammed into the side, and heard it crumble behind her. His laugh made her temper boil, and she lifted a leg, slamming her heavy boot into what she assumed was his gut. The invisible robot grunted and fell backwards, and she cursed again before running to the hole and leaning out. "Oi, Spicer!" she shouted down. "Fancy some revenge on your traitor robot?" she called as he wiped mud from his clothes.
"Huh," Jack considered it for a moment. "Sure," he agreed.
"This lad is basically supposed to be you, right? What would you do if you were invisible?" Rory asked. Jack was quiet for a moment as he thought about it.
"I'd sneak up on your left to kick you," Rory jumped and kicked out, and her foot hit metal.
"Ow…" the robot groaned as there was a thud.
"Then I'd sweep kick you under your feet," Jack's words reached her, and she flipped to dodge the attack. "And if that didn't work, I'd climb up to the top to attack from above," Rory leapt up, and her hand caught the Shroud of Shadows.
"Hey!" the robot protested as he was revealed.
"Thanks for the help," Rory called with a laugh as the robotic version of Jack landed. When he glared at her, she smirked. "Hey, double-crossing goes both ways when you're both evil," she smiled at him. "Tongue of Saiping!" Rory used the Shen Gong Wu she'd wagerered. Robotic Jack screamed as birds flew in, starting to batter him from all around. "I could use some extra help!" she called into it as Jack swatted at the birds. Loud shrieks echoed, and monkeys burst in, chasing the robot around.
"You're cheating! I'm outnumbered!" the robot wailed, only for the monkeys to suddenly scatter. He looked around, only for Rory's shoulder to ram into him. He stumbled backwards, and when his foot found air, he screamed again, falling and hitting the ground hard enough to explode. Rory rubbed her shoulder as the tree returned to normal, and the other three Shen Gong Wu appeared in her arms.
"I don't know what you did, but it was great!" Kimiko declared as they ran over to her.
"Yes, you were most effective in that battle," Omi praised as Rory shifted the Shen Gong Wu in her arms. She smiled, ears tinging pink.
"Honestly, they did most of the work," Rory admitted, glancing over to Jack as he looked down at his destroyed robot. "They were too busy scrapping over Robo-Jack betraying him that they just ignored me," she laughed.
"Great job all the same," Clay told her, patting her shoulder.
"Yeah, we'll get the Shen Gong Wu back in no-time," Raimundo nodded.
"Thanks guys," Rory grinned.
"Time to commence with chores!" Omi announced as they stood in their quarters. Once again, the place was a mess, as their usual hangout spot when they weren't training.
"Shard of Lightning!" the five activated the Shen Gong Wu and began to clean.
"Same speed for us, but plenty of time to chill after," Rory grinned as she put rubbish into a bag.
"We will be victorious over grime!" Omi declared confidently. "And Raimundo? No more disappearing acts," he told the Dragon of Wind, who was sweeping dust back under the sofa.
"You'd think the punishment Master Fung gave you for breaking all those dishes would have taught you something," Rory commented, crouching beside him to help dust.
"We better hurry! Master Fung is almost here!" Kimiko warned. Master Fung walked in, seeing everything being cleaned in abrupt flashes, before the five lined up in front of him.
"Three seconds, excellent time," he praised, and they all smiled, trying to look humble. "That leaves you the rest of the day to complete the other tasks on my list," Master Fung unrolled a long scroll that trailed past them.
"Whose bright idea was it to use the Shard to save time?" Raimundo growled. Omi looked up at his friends as they all glared at him, and he offered a nervous smile in response.
Grumbling to himself as he salvaged parts from his destroyed robot-self, Jack ignored the quiet complaints from his other robots, who had been cheering on the traitor during the Showdown.
"No loyalty at all," he grumbled. A small breeze ruffled his hair, but he didn't even notice, tossing aside a fried circuit board.
"So that was your super secret project," he glanced around sharply to see Rory approaching, hands behind her back. Jack gave her a wary look, before turning back to his work.
"Back already? Gonna try steal some Shen Gong Wu while you're here?" he asked, and flinched when she flicked his nose.
"Of course not," she said quietly, leaning on the table. "You know I'm too 'nice' for that," Rory used air quotes to emphasise the word 'nice'. She groaned, stretching. "Gonna kill Omi. Had us use the Shard of Lightning for chores, which left plenty of time to clean the rest of the temple," Rory complained, reaching out to poke at one of the circuit boards Jack had salvaged.
"If you're gonna be here, make yourself useful," he told her, nudging her hand away.
"You get so bossy when you're working on this stuff," Rory told him. For a moment, Jack was quiet, focused on his work despite her standing there.
"Didn't think you'd show up again after Shen Gong Wu started going active again," he admitted, testing the strength in some of the metal plates.
"Me neither," Rory shrugged, straightening up to turn and walk away. "But I was bored, and Kimiko and Raimundo are scrapping again," she hopped up onto one of the tables and lifted a robotic arm to examine it.
"At this rate, you might as well join my side," Jack turned, and ducked when she threw wires at him. "Hey, I just organised them," he whined, collecting the scattered wiring.
"You know the deal by now," Rory said lightly, irritated by his comment.
"So touchy," he muttered, sticking his tongue out at her. Rory did the same in retaliation.
It hadn't been long after their talk, the day Wuya had been - briefly - imprisoned. Rory had shown up in his lair, using the Golden Tiger Claws, and just...wanted to talk. Of course, she'd thrown several things at him when he'd commented on her hair, but once she'd calmed down, the two had talked while he worked on his robots.
Jack was still entirely confused as to why she showed up and wanted to just lurk around. They'd fought more than he did with any of the other Xiaolin warriors, and still she insisted on hanging around. He was evil and had no intention of changing, even after their team-up to defeat Wuya.
Rory was also not entirely sure why she kept returning to hang out with their enemy. If the others knew, they'd lose their minds. Especially if they knew it had only started after she'd learned the truth about her potential for the Heylin side. But...he was someone to hang out with that she was able to choose to hang out with. Even if they did get on each other's nerves a lot.
But, somehow, they'd managed a neutral ground. Rory didn't interfere with his work, and Jack didn't send his robots to attack her and steal the Shen Gong Wu she carried. And, they'd seen when the Shard of Lightning and Silver Manta Ray had gone active, they'd remained firmly on opposing sides.
'Plus,' Rory jumped down from her perch and walked over to help collect the wiring that had gone everywhere. 'While I'm here, I don't have to think about this whole Dragon of Light thing,' she thought to herself. Her parents had written her several letters, made aware that she knew the truth, and she hadn't replied to them. Her anger with them was still lingering. "So, what are you doing?" she asked once the wires had been cleared.
"Salvaging parts to use on my next project," Jack started to ramble about his work, and Rory listened intently, as the two began a strange friendship, despite remaining enemies at the same time.
It's around here that some of the Showdowns may change - Omi tends to take most of them, which annoys me, so Rory at least will take a few of them.
Hope you liked it!
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