Uploaded: 24th June 2004


Chapter 2: The Journey Begins

As the Xiaolin warriors rode atop Dojo's back, they could see how much the world had been affected; everywhere they passed had the same taint of darkness, the same withered trees, and the same icy waft of evil. The mood matched that of their surroundings: a gloomy depression hung over the group like a dark cloud. Nobody seemed to want to say anything. Omi had a sad, pensive look on his face, certainly looking dumped in the downs.

Kimiko had calmed down somewhat, and had tried using her mobile phone to contact her family, but no network sign was coming up. She tried using her laptop, and then her PDA, but nothing seemed to be working. She sighed deeply. She was worried about her family, wondering what they would make of the dark skies, but, annoyingly enough, her thoughts kept wandering to Raimundo.

Ever since they – Clay, Kimiko and Rai – had joined the Xiaolin temple six months ago, she'd sometimes wondered about Raimundo's commitment to their cause. He hadn't always taken the Shen Gong Wu quest as seriously as he should have, but he'd been willing to make up for his mistakes. At least in the past, anyway... She'd tried to comfort him when he hadn't been promoted to Xiaolin Apprentice, but, as usual, he'd been stubborn about it, refusing to be consoled.

But she'd never have even dreamt that he would have sided with Wuya. What was he trying to prove, anyway? That he was better than them? The look that she'd seen on his face had confirmed her thoughts: his smirk had said, "Who's the great one now?" Well, he certainly had a long way to go if he wanted to show that he was worth anything to her. She uttered a low growl. They were enemies now. Nothing would change that.

Clay had the same feeling of disgust and anger, and all of it directed at Raimundo. He now looked as angry as Kimiko had at the battle scene, and, if he was being honest with himself, he had felt very much the same way as Kimiko had. He'd just hidden it better. But really, they had every right to be angry. After everything they'd been through, how could Raimundo have done this? How could Rai have betrayed them like this? Rai had played some mean tricks in the past, but this was worse, far, far worse. There was no way in hell that he'd ever forgive him for this one. Not in a million years.

Omi was staring at Dojo's back with a somewhat dumb-faced, stunned expression, as if what had happened hadn't quite sunk in yet. Why has Rai done this? Omi wondered. Was it all his fault? He had been the one to push Rai away during their new training session, after all. Omi sighed sadly. Just like the moon high above them, Raimundo's spirit had been cast in shadow. An eclipse of the heart. And it wasn't just about Raimundo. They'd failed. They were supposed to have protected the world from becoming covered in darkness, but they'd failed. And now they had to return to Master Fung and tell him how, despite their best efforts, Wuya had been restored. Omi hoped against hope that Master Fung had a good back-up plan, because it was going to take more than three inexperienced dragons to defeat her.


Although the whole world had been covered in darkness, the group of mountains surrounding the Xiaolin temple was in full colour. The valley in which the temple stood was full of life; green-leafed, robust trees stood strong and proud; beautiful flowers bloomed defiantly in all their splendour; birds chirped as brightly as the morning sun; and in the middle of it all was the Xiaolin temple, a beacon of light in the sea of darkness. Understandably, the three humans were taken aback by this stark contrast. Dojo told them it was because the temple grounds were protected by good chi magic.

However, not even this sight could raise their morale. In fact, the three friends returned to the temple in such low spirits that Master Fung didn't even need to ask what had happened; he could tell from the expressions on their faces. Dojo looked particularly preoccupied; his gaze was distant and he was lost in serious thought.

"I am most ashamed, Master," said Omi, his head bowed dejectedly. He still felt that he was to blame for what had happened, especially since he had hesitated to fight Raimundo when the Brazilian had stolen the Serpent's Tail. "We have failed. Wuya – has been restored."

"Yeah," added Clay, letting all of his previous anger go with a deep sigh. "We tried to fight her, but we couldn't even get close."

"You battled with Wuya?"

"Briefly," Kimiko said, "but she was too strong, so we ... ran away."

"You did the right thing, young ones."

Kimiko had a brief moment where she actually identified with how Raimundo had felt when they had been told to flee from Mala Mala Jong. What was the point of all their training if they were just going to run away every time the going got tough?

Master Fung must have had some sort of secret mind-reading ability, because he said, "You are not yet ready to fight Wuya. While it is true that you have all trained hard for these past few months, you must know that you should only fight battles you know you cannot lose. There is nothing to be gained from fighting a battle if you know you are going to lose before you even start. And you must remember that winning is not everything. Sometimes not losing can be just as favourable as a winning victory."

Everyone nodded, remembering the lesson they'd learned when Omi had sent the Golden Tiger Claws to the centre of the earth to prevent anyone from using them. Though it had been a shame to lose such a useful Shen Gong Wu, the fact that the forces of darkness couldn't reach them either had been victory enough for the Xiaolin warriors. The Tiger Claws were, of course, now in Raimundo's – and Wuya's – possession, something they would have to bear in mind in the upcoming future.

"So ... what should we do now, Master Fung?" Clay asked.

"You must take all the Shen Gong Wu and leave the temple."

"Again?" said Kimiko.

"Yes, Kimiko, and you must leave at once. Wuya will most certainly come after them, or send some of her minions. This temple is no longer a safe place to keep the Shen Gong Wu, and we cannot allow her to have possession of all the Shen Gong Wu, because, as you know, there will be ten thousand years of darkness if she does."

"Okay," she said uncertainly, "but how long for?"

"For as long as it takes. Whatever happens, you must stay away from here at all costs."

"But ... will you be okay? What if Wuya shows up?"

"Do you not understand? That is precisely why you must leave. Do not worry about us. It is imperative that you leave here and never return."

"So ... we'll never see you again?"

Fung breathed out heavily, a deep sigh, and said thoughtfully, "Master Dashi went out in the world and trained hard, gaining experience and techniques from all over the world. You may only be Apprentices right now, but I believe now is the time for you to go out and do the same. I think you are ready to face the challenges of the outside world. You have all shown yourselves to be very resourceful in the face of danger, and I have no doubt in your abilities.

"All is not lost, young Dragons. As long as you keep the flame of hope lit brightly within your hearts, and continue to fight with determination and spirit, you will triumph in the end, I am sure of it."

Kimiko smiled slightly, feeling a little better – and maybe a little braver – after Fung's pep talk. Clay said, "So where should we start?"

"There are many warriors opposed to the forces of darkness. You should seek them out, if you can. And there are several temples, other than this one, which are better protected against dark magic."

"You can only be thinking of the eight elemental temples?"

"Indeed, Omi. If you can find the temple of your corresponding element, the guardians may allow you to train there, in light of the current situation. Dojo, do you know of their location?"

Dojo, who had been strangely quiet and withdrawn throughout the entire conversation, suddenly snapped back into life. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Elemental temples? I don't know where they are. Master Dashi trained at the temples before I met him. Um, SilverClaw would know, but I haven't seen her for centuries. We'll start by looking for her, I guess."

None of the three warriors had heard of anyone called SilverClaw before this, not even Omi, but before anyone could ask, Master Fung motioned for them to get moving.

And so, the next hour or so was spent preparing for their journey. Kimiko had packed most of her various gadgets, none of which were working at the moment (due to magical interference, Master Fung told her). Omi, used to living a simple lifestyle, had very few personal possessions, although he did have a picture of his parents, which he asked Kimiko to carry for him. Clay, rather unsurprisingly, elected to carry the food supplies along, as well as his belongings, which included his stash of Country music CDs (even though his portable CD player wasn't working either), his fishing rod, and five of his best looking ten-gallon cowboy hats (which all looked exactly the same to the outside observer).

When their bags were packed, the group headed towards the Shen Gong Wu vault and began collecting the Shen Gong Wu they had acquired, and bringing them to the top of the stairs.

"Let's see," said Omi when they had brought them all above; Kimiko had decided to write down a list of all the Shen Gong Wu they owned on a sheet of paper, while he and Clay placed them inside a large chest. "We have the Two Ton Tunic," he said, "the Shroud of Shadows –" (there was a pause as Kimiko wrote this down) "– the Longi Kite, Sword of the Storm, Monkey Staff, Helmet of Jong, Fist of Tebigong – "

"Hold on a sec," she said, scribbling furiously. "... Sword of the Storm ... Monkey Staff ... Helmet of Jong ... yeah, go on."

"Jet Bootsu, Sapphire Dragon – " (this was kept safely inside a smaller box) "– the Sun Chi Lantern ... Orb of Tornami, Heart of Jong, Tongue of Saiping ... Third-Arm Sash, Eye of Dashi, and ... the Star Hanabi."

"Eye of Dashi, Star Hanabi. Got it. Is that all of them?"

"Yup," said Clay, closing the chest. "How many's that?"

"Uh ... sixteen, in total."

"We must take care not to lose them," said Omi, frowning seriously. "We cannot afford to make any mistakes, especially where Wuya is concerned."

"We'll be okay," said Kimiko. "We've done this before when Mala Mala Jong attacked, remember? And we managed to beat Mala Mala Jong too. Master Fung's right – we can do this. We just have to have a little faith in ourselves, that's all."

"And a little patience, too," added Clay.

"Yeah. We'll just have to train hard at these temples, and then we'll kick Wuya's butt. I mean, Master Dashi managed it, and he was all by himself."

Omi nodded, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that this was all his fault. Still, they had a job to do, and standing there thinking about the past wasn't going to help anyone, least of all him. "Let us leave, my friends," he said with a sudden rush of determination. "We must observe the side of brightness, for we still have our Shen Gong Wu, and – "

"– 'Look on the bright side'," interrupted Kimiko. "It's 'look on the bright side'."

"Uh, correct. Anyway, we must not give up until Wuya is defeated!"

"Yeah!" cheered Clay and Kimiko.

Master Fung smiled and wished the dragons luck, as they cheered and prepared to leave. There was nothing more he or the other monks could do now but wait; but he somehow knew that the Xiaolin warriors would not let him – or, indeed the entire world – down. If they believed in themselves, there was nothing they couldn't achieve. They would succeed – not because they needed to, but because they wanted to.


It was quite late in the afternoon, though if you were to look outside at the darkened sky, you wouldn't have been able to tell. Raimundo was using the Serpent's Tail to fly through walls, busy searching the palace for Wuya. Just after he'd stolen the Serpent's Tail and gone for a joy-ride through the skies, he'd taken the chance to use the Golden Tiger Claws and steal some breakfast from an unsuspecting café owner in France (which was why the Xiaolin warriors had been able to catch up to him). That had been earlier this morning, though, and he hadn't eaten anything since. Wuya had told him to take a look around while she performed a few other spells, but while he had been impressed with the sheer size of the place, he couldn't stop the rumbling in his stomach from distracting him.

He landed, walked out of a small room, through a doorway, across a stone bridge, and into a decorated hallway, silently gazing at the elaborate pictures, patterns and designs on the walls as he did so. Granted, they were mostly in blacks and greys, but, for some reason, he just couldn't help staring at these. They reminded him of a room he'd previously been to, so he decided to use the Golden Tiger Claws to teleport there.

He found Wuya in the middle of a large circular room, which had more of the weird designs on the walls, and two large iron doors leading out in opposite directions. However, there was a change from the last time he had been here: on the floor in the centre of the room was a large circle pattern, with several Chinese symbols dotted around the outside.

Several streaks of dark purple light flew around the room, moving like dancing comets in the wind. They converged into one at many points across the room, solidified and, before his eyes, turned into grotesque black monsters. Some had curved horns on their heads, some had bat-like wings; all had sharp teeth and claws.

"Go," Wuya commanded simply, and the monsters of darkness flew and ran through the walls as though they were all carrying Serpent's Tails. But Raimundo was too hungry to care about where the monsters were going.

"Hey, I've got a mega-sized bone to pick with you," he said, crossing his arms.

"Oh?" she said, raising an eyebrow in slight amusement.

He looked annoyed, and he flailed his arms about animatedly as he spoke. "I'm bored stiff! What do you do for fun around here? And I'm hungry, too. You said I could have whatever I wanted if I helped you out, but I haven't seen anything yet."

Wuya sighed, and then walked up to the nearest door. She traced an invisible symbol in the air in front of it, and recited something in Chinese. The huge door opened to reveal a large, luxurious and lavishly decorated room filled with brightly coloured furniture. There was, among other things, a brand new pool table; a long buffet table with delicious-looking cakes, sandwiches, fruit, biscuits and other foods; a crystalline chandelier hanging from the ceiling; an enormous, puffed up sofa; and outside, through see-through doors, there was a swimming pool filled with tempting, clear blue water.

"Ha-ha! Excelente!" exclaimed Raimundo, punching the air in a playful manner. He ran towards the table and looked very much like the proverbial kid in a candy store. He walked all the way around the long table, mouth wide open in anticipation as he decided what to eat first, while Wuya looked on, somewhat amused. Some people were so simple, and it required so little to please them. She turned to leave, but then he said (while munching on a chicken-leg), "Where do you think you're going? You promised me the World Cup too!"

"Hmm..."

She walked over to a small coffee table beside the sofa, drawing some symbols over the top of it. Seconds later, the golden World Cup appeared on the table.

"Whoa," breathed Raimundo, forgetting about his hunger for the moment and also walking to the table. He stared at the trophy for several moments, simply transfixed by its... golden-ness. He could not believe he actually had the World Cup!

"Is it real?"

"What?"

Wuya appeared distracted and disinterested, not quite sure what the attraction was to what she thought was a boring game. Raimundo seemed to be a touch obsessive when it came to football – but then, a lot a guys were, she reasoned. "What do you mean?"

"Is it real?" he repeated without taking his eyes off the object. "Or is it just something you conjured up?"

Wuya was suitably offended. "Of course it's real!" she huffed haughtily. "You told me you wanted the original World Cup trophy that was in FIFA's possession, and not the replica. A simple teleportation spell allows me to transport any non-magical, inanimate object to wherever I want in this palace – as long as I know exactly what it looks like. You showed me a picture of it and even told me its specifications – 18-karat solid gold, 14 inches high, two-ringed malachite base. It's definitely the real one."

Still looking at his reflection in the trophy, Raimundo asked, "Could you teleport soccer players here?"

"It... is much more difficult to transport living creatures, especially those with high amounts of chi. Living beings have a will of their own and so, unlike inanimate objects, they can resist the magic, even if they possess no magical powers. But, there are other ways..."

"Sweet..." He jumped into the sofa and slouched down into a comfortable position. "I could get used to this." He stared to fantasise about how great it would be to have his own football squad comprising of the world's greatest players.

Wuya turned away again, happy to leave the boy to his own devices – she had things to take of. But at that moment, she felt a strange force appear from far off – the unmistakable energy signature of a newly active Shen Gong Wu. Her eyes glowed an eerie yellow colour.

"Raimundo."

Raimundo, too busy thinking how cool it would be to have the likes of Ronaldinho, Zinédine Zidane and Raúl on his dream team, didn't notice anything.

"Raimundo!"

When she received no response, she bent down next to him and yelled right in his ear: "RAIMUNDO!"

He leapt ten feet into the air, and dangled from the chandelier in what, Wuya thought, was a comical rendition of Jack Spicer in full-on monkey-mode.

"Don't do that to me!" he yelled. He leapt down and landed gracefully on the ground. "What is it, anyway?"

"I'm sensing a new Shen Gong Wu – the Horn of Qilin."

"The Horn of Chee-lin? What's it do?"

"It's a cleansing Shen Gong Wu. It has a purifying effect."

"Purifying? So it works on – what – water?"

"Yes."

"Not really of much use to you, then," he remarked shrewdly. After some thought, he added, "Unless you used the Reversing Mirror, of course."

"Indeed. Anyway, let's get going."

"Hold on a sec. Did you say, 'Let's', as in 'let US?"

"Yes. You're coming too."

"What? But I'm starving! I just spent the whole afternoon looking for you! Gimme a break already!"

"Quit complaining!" she snapped back angrily. "The faster we get going, the faster we'll be back." Good help really was hard to find. All Wuya wanted was a reliable, competent minion that obeyed her orders straight away without asking any questions. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently it was. "Whaddaya need me for?" he persisted, looking a little annoyed himself. "I did what you wanted – you're back to normal now. So you should just forget about me and go after all the Shen Gong Wu yourself."

"Look," she said slowly, and it was clear she was trying very hard to keep her temper under control, "I need you to come along for this particular Shen Gong Wu. It's all part of my plan."

Raimundo gave her an odd, confused look when she didn't elaborate further. She must have come up with a plan really fast – but then she knew about the hidden effects of the Shen Gong Wu better than anyone else, except Dojo (and perhaps Master Fung). What was she planning to do with this Shen Gong Wu, then? Use it with the Reversing Mirror and darken the Earth's seas and oceans?

He stared at her intently, trying to figure out what she might be up to, but she frowned back at him impatiently, a dangerous scowl that caused him to quail slightly. Here was someone who had defeated his former friends with considerable ease; someone who could make buildings and monsters appear out of thin air, just like that. Who knew what else she was capable of? The last thing he wanted was to make her mad.

He relented. "Fine," he sighed, giving Wuya the Golden Tiger Claws, "but I'm taking one of those egg-and-bacon sandwiches, otherwise deal's off."


Qilin – a Chinese mythical creature. It has a horse-like body, but it has a dragon's head. Most of them have a singular horn, but I've seen pictures of qilin with two and with four horns. It has a scaly body, and what looks like an ox's tail.

Americanisms: I tend to mix up British and American terms, even though I'm British. Generally speaking, in narrative I'll use the British term but in dialogue I'll use the American one.

sweet(s) – candy

In the narrative I used the American word for sweet. Go figure. But we do call candy "sweets" in the UK.

mobile (phone) – cell phone

football – soccer