Uploaded: 13th October 2004
Chapter 8: ... and the dragon falls ...
Previously Wuya had thought that Raimundo had been easy to satisfy, but now she found that she had been hasty in that judgement. As soon as they had returned to her palace, Raimundo had slumped into a lying position on the large sofa, chucking the Serpent's Tail to the floor, the large frown on his face reflecting off the shiny World Cup. She stared at him with the mild, amused curiosity of a cat.
"You look ... displeased," she said, and, to his complete annoyance, he saw that she was still smirking. She seemed ... eager, but it was a cool, controlled eagerness. There was no denying that she was waiting for something to happen, but what that was ... nobody knew.
"Displeased?" he exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. "Of course I'm displeased! You drag me half way round the world to get this Horn of Qilin thing, and in the end you don't even care that Jack's got it!"
"Well, you're the one who lost the showdown. But it doesn't matter that we lost this particular Shen Gong Wu."
"But I thought it could destroy your Huai-Ren."
"Yes," she nodded, "but I'm not worried about that." She turned to leave, waving a hand impatiently, a signal for him to leave her alone. "Now run along, child. I'm growing tired, and I have some things I must do before I retire for sleep."
Raimundo slowly walked to her, the anger plain to see on his face. "I'm not a child, Wuya."
This statement caused her smile to return, and she once again looked at him with that calm but expectant gaze. "Indeed ... but if you wish for people not to mistake you for one, then perhaps you should not act like one."
What is she thinking about? Raimundo couldn't help but wonder, for the umpteenth time. Why does she keep staring at me like that? He licked his lips, split and with dried blood.
"You think this is funny, don't you?" he said, then, his anger growing stronger. "Me getting angry over a tiny little thing, while you just stand there as if you know everything in the world."
Wuya said nothing, but continued to give him a cat-like stare, and Raimundo felt a deep rage inside of him welling up, waiting to be released. When he had been walking through those caverns, he had been having confused thoughts about his decision to leave the Xiaolin temple, but he had been willing to fight the others if he had to, especially Omi – his anger had always been directed at him more than Kimiko or Clay. But Omi had come by himself ... not primarily to fight, but to apologise, and that had mixed Raimundo up even more. He wasn't used to people apologising to him.
Omi had taken a big risk by coming all alone for the Horn of Qilin, knowing that Wuya – who had beforehand effortlessly fought the warriors – would also be there. If Omi was willing to try so hard to make amends, then that might have meant he had been willing to forgive him as well. And if that was the case ... maybe Kimiko, once she had cooled off for a bit – maybe she would have forgiven him too?
Raimundo might have seriously considered forgetting about being on Wuya's side and just went off alone for a while if he had taken a minute to think about all that, but his stupid angry pride had pushed all those thoughts to one side, and he'd foolishly rushed to fight Omi, and now ...
Now Wuya was pissing him off, because she wasn't telling him anything. How on Earth could she expect him to do what she wanted if he didn't know what it was she was after? Just like in the cave, he could feel his anger clouding over his doubts, except this time it felt ten times worse. He didn't know why, but it was as if all the emotions he had been feeling recently had been mixed up all over his body and had intensified ten-fold; he felt like a can of fizzy drink that had survived a few rounds in a washing machine. All it would take for his anger to burst now was someone to open the can.
"You're just like everyone else," he said quickly, his words all spilling out at once – "always quick to assume the worst of me. Omi was always telling me how much more superior he was to me, and Master Fung never appreciated all the hard work I did ... He never even thanked me for saving him ... I thought you were different – but you're just like them – you think I'm good for nothing and can't do anything myself – that I need nothing but help – "
"Did it ever occur to you that they might be right? That you really do require assistance but are just too stubborn to admit it?"
"I'm not USELESS!" he yelled, and before he could stop himself, he swung at her with his right fist. Wuya caught his fist in mid-motion with her left hand, and sharply pulled him up close, bending down slightly so that her face was mere inches from his own.
"I never said you were, child," she said softly, her golden tiger clawed hand crackling with sparkling energy; her body rigid with superiority; suddenly he could feel an immense power – her presence – radiating from her body – and at that point Raimundo knew he was in BIG trouble.
"You're lucky I'm in a good mood right now, Raimundo," she said quietly, still smiling, but her voice as chilly and as dangerous as a harsh Arctic blizzard. Raimundo shuddered involuntarily, a sweaty fever of fear running right through his body. "Because ... I have killed for less. Far, far less."
She continued to observe him, taking in the terrified, shaky look on his face. And then she pulled him up even closer, and whispered in his ear, "Am I scaring you, Dragon of Air?"
He swallowed hard and nodded slowly, trying desperately to get away, looking like a frightened animal caught in a hunter's trap, but her grip on his hand was too strong. She started to draw two symbols over his forehead with her right hand, a criss-cross of lines that he couldn't see; but he could already feel the heat from the writing seeping down, through his head, spreading throughout his entire body.
She's going to kill me, anyway, Raimundo thought in a rush of panic. She's gonna do away with me, just like Omi said – she doesn't need me any more – she's going to kill me slowly, and painfully, and she's going to enjoy doing it –
But then she relaxed, and released the tight grip on his hand. He backed away slowly. She still watched him closely. And then Raimundo could feel the effect of the magic – whatever it was she'd done, it had healed his bloodied lip, and he could no longer feel any of the bruises he had sustained from his fight with Omi.
What he could feel now was confusion, again, and fear. A great deal of fear. He had tried to attack Wuya ... What on earth had possessed him to do such a thing? He hated being called a failure more than anything else, but whatever issues he had with his past, he shouldn't have been taking it out on Wuya, of all people.
He looked down at the ground. "I ... don't know what came over me," he said, his voice barely higher than a whisper. He really didn't know what else to say. Why the hell was he feeling so moody all of a sudden?
Wuya had to resist the urge to chuckle, because she knew exactly what was wrong with him. His emotions were being thrown all over the place because he had been hit by the darkened beam ...
The Horn of Qilin was best described as the antipode-causing Shen Gong Wu that worked in one direction – for the side of Light. It was of the Water element, and so it worked best on water. But its uses weren't limited to purifying water; its effects changed depending on what it was used on. It could rekindle a failing fire, revive a dying forest; bring light to a place of darkness. It could even calm a raging storm if used correctly. On a human's heart, it worked by intensifying positive feelings, such as hope and love, and burying the bad.
But the opposite was true when the Reversing Mirror was used; and Raimundo's feelings were being twisted, his dark emotions strengthening while his positive ones slowly being suppressed. Like a drop of coloured dye dropped into a glass of water that would slowly but surely change colour, Raimundo's feelings were gradually darkening.
What a stroke of luck it had been that the Horn of Qilin had been the first Shen Gong Wu to activate when she had regained her human form ... Jack had taken the bait – he'd used the Horn just like she knew he would. And now Raimundo would be so easy for her to manipulate ... His defences would be lowered drastically as his elemental alignment shifted, teetering over the edge, that fragile balance between Light and Dark ... and with the Yinying spell she would give his alignment a forceful push over that edge, into the abyss of evil ...
She was both pleased and amused with the way the Horn was affecting him, but at the same time, it was progressing much faster than she had thought it would. It would be better to take things into her own hands very soon indeed, because she had the feeling that Raimundo was having doubts. He may have been full of dark emotions, angry with his former comrades now, but blind pride would only take him so far. She was quite sure that, deep down, in his heart of hearts, Raimundo didn't really have what it took to be truly evil. And since the Horn of Qilin's magic only amplified feelings that were already there ... she would need to interfere with the Yinying spell soon, sooner than she had planned. Tomorrow, perhaps?
She looked at him again, and he remained submissively silent. Maybe she had gone a bit too far, but she revelled in causing fear and terror in others, and old habits died hard. She hadn't meant to scare him that much; she'd just wanted to let him know who was in charge. Fear could be a powerful negative emotion too, and the last thing she wanted was to scare him off before she could carry out the Yinying spell she'd planned. Without the Sun Chi Lantern, she would still need him in order to perform the Xiqu (absorb) spell at the Wind Temple, and that was assuming she could find the Wind Temple.
So, at great length, she let her expression become more serious. "Look," she said in a much warmer voice, trying hard to sound apologetic, "I really don't know what you want from me any more. And frankly, I don't care. As long as you don't try to stop me, or get in my way, you may do as you wish. Just – try to refrain from attacking me. Surely you must be aware that I do not show a great deal of patience towards those who displease me."
He heaved a quiet sigh. "What I want ..." he whispered, more to himself. "I ... shouldn't have lost the showdown. Even if Jack had his inventions, I shouldn't have lost. I've been training for so long, but it feels like I've accomplished nothing. I'm not sure what I want any more, either ..."
Raimundo was showing great signs of confusion and regret now. The Horn of Qilin had magnified this, and she frowned at him. She had been right after all. Obviously he had not been as fully committed to joining her as he'd let on. She'd offered him anything he wanted, but he was still not happy. And she didn't want him trying to escape before tomorrow.
What does he really want? she wondered. What is it he's really after? There was a way to find out. Raimundo was untrained, really; and also, because of the Horn's magic she would easily be able to enter his mind, even though she was now in her physical form.
She smiled, as she suddenly thought of a way she could keep him from escaping. The Yizhi (Will Control) spell ...Not a spell she had performed often in the past, due to its very low success rate ... but with the Horn affecting him so drastically ... it might actually work on him.
And then, she made a decision. She was tired, and both her moshu energy and her chi energy were depleted, but nonetheless, she would carry out the Yinying spell on him right now.
She approached him slowly, with a kind of predatory gaze on her face, and he looked up at her apprehensively. She was giving him the cat-ate-canary look this time, and it was giving him the creeps, even more than the Huai-Ren had.
What does she really want? he wondered nervously. What is it she's really after? And ... what have I gotten myself into? He was beginning to wish he'd just let her leave the room and go off to do whatever it was she had been going to do ...
"Keep still," she ordered as she stood beside him, taking his chin in her hand. Raimundo was forced to stare through fire, into endlessly dark eyes. He tried to look away, but he just could not – her eyes held nothing but an ancient darkness, and had the hypnotic, pulling effect of a black hole.
At first he could see nothing but a bleak blackness, but then he could feel her strong, powerful presence again, this time piercing through his thoughts. It was a fierce torrent of purple, her pure will forcing its way into his mind ... He could see the yi character ... the character meaning idea, or intention ...
And then, all at once –
– a wild blur of memories –
"You'll never be as good as me. You might as well crawl back to the dirty little hovel of a shoebox you called home –"
zhi ... the character meaning aspiration or ambition ...
"I knew your frustration would lead to your own defeat –"
– a cacophony of voices –
"I thought you were brave, Raimundo ... Most people would have run from Mala Mala Jong ..."
yi ... the character with the meaning of restraint ...
"Never forget who you are ..."
– a muddled scramble of events –
"We think you should train at the Xiaolin temple –"
zhi ... the character meaning to control or overpower ...
"You need to get your head out of the clouds and into the real world, Raimundo!"
And then –
It all stopped; he was back in Wuya's palace once more; she had stopped, and had released him.
She was frowning at him. "Not having any regrets, are you?"
He stepped backwards, blinking at the question, still shaking off what he had seen. Wuya sounded just a tiny bit angry now, but he wasn't sure exactly what she meant, since he had been regretting a lot of things in the past week or so. And she knew this, because she'd just read his mind again. A rhetorical question, then? More like a trick question ...
What Raimundo didn't know was that she had done more than read his mind this time.
She started glowing with a pinkish purple aura, which, in a strange way, reminded him of the way she'd looked when she'd been a ghost. There was that same presence, except this time he could see it clearly now, as well as feel it.
"No matter," she said to him, taking one step towards him, now smiling widely because she knew that the Yizhi spell had worked; and the cruel grin on her face caused him to shiver. "You, Dragon of Air, are about to have a taste of true evil ..."
Raimundo was now wishing he hadn't been such an idiot and given Wuya the Golden Tiger Claws.
He tried to run, as she knew he would once she had revealed her true intentions. She calmly fired a purple stream of energy straight into his chest, in the same place where he had been struck by the Horn of Qilin. He immediately froze; but the Yizhi spell was very different to the Ting spell. Instead of being completely frozen, only his body had been paralysed, and it was not a complete paralysis, either. His arms and legs just dropped, feeling ... heavy, all of a sudden, as if he no longer had the power – or will – to move them. She had obviously done something to his free will whilst reading his mind, which she had now triggered off by shooting that beam at him.
She gave him a "you can't leave now" look, holding her hand slightly above his forehead, and waiting until he glowed a vibrant green colour before removing it. He tried to move again, struggling against the spell's hold on his body. It was a half-hearted struggle, though. A tiny, but growing, part of him, which had never been there before, told him that he was hers to manipulate – that he was, in fact, hers. She really must have done something to mess up his mind, but ... he didn't find that as disturbing as he did a minute ago ...
And, without a will of their own, his jaws opened. Wuya sharply sliced the air in front of him open with one finger, drawing the characters yin and ying in front of the black hole that appeared. He stood impassively as a conical wavering of whispering shadows emerged from the hole, pouring inside his open mouth, filling his throat. He was only vaguely concerned about Wuya's sinister cackling while he was forced to swallow darkness ... It felt cold and empty, a bitter, icy wind that dug its talons, tearing its way into his very soul, embedding itself in his heart, his core, his lifeforce – and he screamed.
Or he tried to scream, but his mouth was so full of evil that he found he couldn't. So it came out as a muffled, but terrified, whimper.
"Re-lax ..." she commanded in a strangely pleasant voice.
And Raimundo relaxed. He felt ... sleepy, and no longer felt like putting up any resistance ... his eyelids fell ...
Wuya caught him in her arms as he lost consciousness, smirking broadly as the lights from both their auras died away.
Sleep, child. For when you awaken, you will be completely mine ...
Notes:
moshu – magic
yinying – shadow
xiqu – to absorb or assimilate
yizhi can mean (amongst other things)
1 – will/determination (noun)
2 – to control, inhibit, suppress (verb)
3 – to cure/heal (verb)
Depends on what characters and intonations are used. The Yizhi spell that Wuya did on Raimundo allowed her to control his will. Yi and zhi were also the healing characters that Wuya wrote on Rai's forehead, the ones he couldn't see.
