Uploaded: 18th December 2004
Warning: there's some strong swearing, and Wuya's quite evil here.
Chapter 11: Dead of Night
Dust in the wind …
Wuya easily disintegrated the gun of the thirty-year-old man she'd just killed. He thought he'd had her right where he wanted her when he had brandished it. It had been amusing to watch his face drop as he realised she could deflect his shots … Such an easy target. The humans of this time would be even easier to dominate than those of fifteen hundred years ago. They relied far too much on their technologies. Like Jack, they were helpless without them. She climbed onto her Huai-Ren, feeling another large rise in her chi energy … Soon … soon she would have her powers back.
She flew high across the city, looking down at the chaos beneath her. People were rushing through the streets and through the middle of roads as cars without energy were jammed tight in long queues … It should have been day, here; and unsurprisingly, the unnatural darkness had frightened the common humans, while those with authority struggled to restore order. And in the darkness of day, a few had resorted to breaking shop windows, looting whatever was worth stealing …
The Huai-Ren landed, inside a small alleyway, and Wuya jumped off, walking a tiny distance to the end and looking out onto the main road. As she drew a Huo symbol in the air, creating a tiny ball of light in her hand, she couldn't resist one of her smirks. She'd hardly been back for one day and already she was causing widespread panic.
They haven't even seen me yet, she thought. They don't even know why they're running …
She gave the glowing ball to her Huai-Ren to hold in its beak, still watching the people run. They were scurrying around like frightened mice. The question was … which one should she pounce on next?
The problem solved itself. Dodging a right punch from behind, Wuya grabbed the arm of a would-be mugger and twisted it painfully behind his back.
"Shame on you," she said, smiling, "attacking a helpless lady from behind …"
The thug swore as he tried to escape Wuya's hold. She was a lot stronger than she looked. " 'Cept, you ain't so helpless, are you?"
"You'll do nicely. Nu Wa won't mind if I pick you off, surely."
"What the – ? Let go of me, you fucking bitch!"
"Temper, temper," she scolded, talking in his ear. "Now … I can kill you quickly, or I can kill you slowly. It's up to you …"
"Ha, I've seen a lot worse than you, darling. You don't scare me."
She laughed quietly. "Misguided fool. Sun Chi Lantern." The little lantern glowed white, allowing her to borrow his chi energy. She twisted his arm again, flipping him over onto his back and he immediately sat up, but she traced a Wood symbol, and several vines grew magically out of the ground, pulling him back down to the ground and restraining him.
He was definitely scared now. His voice shook. "W-what the hell kinda freak are you?"
She bent down next to him, smiling, with her head cocked to the side. "Oh, don't tell me you're scared, darling. I'm only doing you a favour, really. You're just a human, trapped in the mediocre cycle of life and death that Nu Wa cursed every creature on this planet with. And I'm about to break that cycle for you."
"W-what are you talking about?"
She held her hand over his ensnared body on the floor. Her hand glowed a dark purple colour.
"W-what's going on?"
"Xiqu jing," she said. His body glowed grey; and she began to absorb his jing …
Jing and chi were connected. Jing was used up to make chi energy. Having an infinite supply of jing equated to having an infinite supply of energy … But you couldn't absorb jing from a living entity without taking away their chi energy first; and Wuya knew no spells that could remove a person's chi energy. Yet. If Fengqu could find a way to do it, then there had to be a spell for it too … but until she could figure it out, the Sun Chi Lantern would do nicely for absorption purposes.
Absorbing jing was like drinking alcohol – it was best done in moderation. Too much at once, and you'd become stone-drunk on power; too little, and you wouldn't feel any effects at all, which made it pointless. Wuya liked to absorb jing very slowly though, despite that fact; she had ample jing to spare, having done this many times before. She couldn't access her large supply rightnow because she'd been out of action for so long. By slowly absorbing once again she hoped to be able to kick-start her own supply into action …
So, Wuya was deliberately taking her time with her victims tonight. The man screamed as his essence was slowly, cruelly drained from him. And this time, she could feel a giant surge in her energy levels … Finally she could feel her powers returning. The accumulated jing and chi she had stolen had galvanised her own jing and chi into action.
And she cackled. Now she could kill the Chosen Ones …
When Wuya was finished there was nothing left but a pile of dust on the floor.
Dust in the wind …
"End-end-end-end-end-end-end-end-end-end –"
"Quickly-er. If we do not hurry, Wuya may attack-er."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah … you've only told us about a MILLION times …"
"This is ridiculous. I am not travelling all the way to Ping-jing. Do you know how FAR that place is? Not to mention all the FOG we have to travel through …"
"Best place to be at a time like this."
"– End-end-end-end-end-end-end-end-end –"
"We must hurry-er …"
"Why can't Bai Hu come here?"
"He had more important things to take care of."
"Like WHAT?"
"Like your brother, for starters."
"Psh. What a rip."
"Quit complaining, you whiner. Get a move on!"
"Shut up."
"– End-end-end-end-end-end-end-end-end –"
"WE MUST HURRY-ER!"
"Calm down there, 'Yote."
"You don't understand-er! I can sense it-er – the –"
"Xing xing jing thing is out of sync – yeah, WE KNOW. Flamin' heck, you sure have a one track mind."
"Yes-er … but Wuya has returned to full power-er … I can sense it-er."
"…"
"…"
"Jeez. Well, you're just full of good news today, aren't you?"
"– End-end-end-end-end-end-end-end-end –"
"And will someone please SHUT THAT DAMN PIXIE UP? SHE'S DRIVING ME INSANE!"
Raimundo sat outside in the cool night air, next to one of Wuya's grey stone guardians, perched along the high walls that made up the perimeter of Wuya's palace. And there he sat, brooding, thinking of ways he could get back at his former friends. Perhaps it was just as well Wuya had placed the Yizhi spell to control him, otherwise he would have just left … He growled, looking for a second like he was going to leave and find a way to reach the Xiaolin warriors so that he could get some kind of revenge, but then he relaxed. He was to obey the Great One, and she had told him to wait here in her palace. How boring …
Or maybe not … He squinted his eyes; there, down below, he could see a group approaching the steep hill, from the air. Was the palace being attacked? It was hard to see in the darkness, but there were five of them; two larger flyers, two riders, and a smaller flyer.
"Intruders," whispered the stone guardian, and it stood up on all fours. Raimundo climbed onto its back, and it leapt effortlessly down into the palace grounds, on the inside of the walls. Several Huai-Ren were hissing and snarling; they had sensed the chi energy of the intruders.
"Perhaps you should return to the palace, Dragon," the stone lion told its rider.
"No way! Let me handle this!" Raimundo said. He was just itching for a fight. If he couldn't take out his pent-up rage and frustration on the Xiaolin Dragons, then he could, at the very least, fight off these intruders.
"What? But – "
He smiled at the stone lion. "Trust me …"
The guardian relented. Wuya had told all of her palace servants to obey the young human's commands – within reason. "Do you not at least want the Shen Gong Wu?"
"I want to see how I measure up against them without any Shen Gong Wu. And the Empress will be back soon …"
"Very well … Let's see what you can do …"
The lion exited through the large gate. The intruding group had landed, and the lion broke into a gallop, running along to where the path to the palace ended, down the hill to halt the group's progress. It was dark and chilly, and the five creatures tensed collectively as Raimundo and the lion approached them.
The lion called: "Halt!" and they all came to a stop.
There were indeed five. The golden lion-bird anzu, Oro; the three headed chimera, Blaze; the brown feathered harpy Aria; the dark brown-grey furred werewolf, Hunter; and the tiny goblin, Sando'ip, carrying a small lantern in his hands. But, of course, Raimundo didn't know their names.
The smallest flyer, the harpy, Aria, stuttered nervously. "Erm …"
"Yes?" Raimundo drawled, confidently leaping off the stone lion. "Can I help you?"
"A human?" hissed Oro, feathers bristling in surprised anger.
"Is … this … where we can find the Heylin witch Wuya?" asked Blaze, the chimera. He was giving Raimundo a suspicious look with all three of his heads – just what was a human doing all the way out here, anyway?"
"It sure is … but if I were you, I'd skedaddle. She's not gonna wanna deal with a loada weirdos at this time of night."
"Impertinent whelp!" snarled Oro, looking furious. He hated humans, and had only been able to tolerate Tubbimura because the ninja – fat though he was – was very skilled at his job. "What's your name, boy? I want to know who it is I've crushed to death!"
"Raimundo, Dragon of the Wind," he proclaimed with a flashy bow.
"Xiaolin Dragon?" asked Hunter, the werewolf.
"I left the Xiaolin temple yesterday," Raimundo replied. "I serve the great Wuya now."
"I've never heard of a Heylin Dragon," said Blaze. "You're lying!"
Raimundo gave a crooked smile. "Oh, I'm not … but I'd be perfectly happy to wipe the floor with you bozos if you really wanna scrap."
"Show-off brat," said Oro. "You think you can take us all on?"
"Of course! Come get some!"
Oro growled as he ran at Raimundo, but the Dragon of the Wind easily rolled out of the way. He leapt up high, using his Wind element to get to a height that would otherwise be impossible to reach otherwise, and performed several forward somersaults before skilfully landing on the ground. Avoiding the chimera's fiery breath and a blow from the werewolf's sharp paw was no problem for Raimundo either; he even managed to smile tauntingly at the anzu while doing so.
Oro seethed. "You … I'll tear you apart, human!"
There was a low growl from the stone lion. "Be careful, Dragon."
Aria, who had not taken part in the attack, looked at the stone guardian in confusion. "Maybe he's telling the truth," she said uncertainly.
"A likely story," snarled Oro.
Blaze's snake head hissed at Sando'ip. "Give us a hand, you miserable little goblin!"
"All right, all right, keep your hair on …"
Sando'ip reached into one of his little pockets – a bright flash worked well on humans – and took out a tiny silver ball. He chucked it, so that it landed at Raimundo's feet. Raimundo was taken by surprise; there was a sudden explosion of light, which blinded him. He couldn't see anything, and he covered his eyes protectively. A strike from the left knocked him to the ground. The light disappeared, and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, one of the chimera's paws at his throat.
But he smiled, a very dark look in his eyes. "Oh-ho-ho … You got me … But you should leave now … I'd hate to see what would happen if you're still here when Wuya gets back. She doesn't take kindly to unexpected visitors, see."
"Oh? You should be more concerned about your own safety, Dragon of the Wind."
"You might want to get off me, then, before you're killed."
"By a measly human? I think not!"
Suddenly, it was a lot brighter in the immediate area; and a bit warmer, too. Raimundo had the gall to laugh right in Blaze's face. "Too late. You're as good as dead …"
"Release him, at once," another voice said, and everyone looked to their left. "Or pay the price for crossing me."
Blaze blinked, and stepped quite meekly off Raimundo, who smirked back at him. Wuya had returned, having used the Golden Tiger Claws, it seemed. She was standing next to the vulture Huai-Ren, still wearing the Sun Chi Lantern around her neck, and she was holding a small red bubble of energy in her right hand, just like the one she'd conjured inside the Horn of Qilin cave to keep warm and light the way. Raimundo could sense her presence again, and now he knew what it was he was sensing – her chi energy.
Blaze looked at her warily … so this was one of the Moshu-Ren, or magical folk, that DarkClaw had described. History told that they had been all but wiped out by the extremist General Li Jin, and Li Jin had been a servant of Nu Wa … so it was no wonder that Wuya wanted to do away with Nu Wa.
Wuya carefully placed the fire bubble on the lion guardian's head, and gave the other creatures a fierce glare. "You are all trespassing!" she boomed.
Sando'ip and Aria flinched; Hunter's golden eyes blinked in surprise. Oro wasn't too bothered; but he frowned when he saw the look on Blaze's three heads – surprised worry. He'd never seen him look so worried. It was because Blaze could sense her power, too. Now Blaze knew what had happened to the missing jing elements of Wood and Lightning … They were inside her …
"We came to ask for your assistance, great sorceress," Oro began, not really fazed, since Sando'ip had met her before, and, like Blaze, he had been unimpressed by DarkClaw's description of her; but his voice was still quavering around the edges nonetheless.
But if Wuya knew Sando'ip before, she wasn't showing any signs of recognition now. "You dare make demands of me? I've never heard such insolence!" she thundered.
Without warning, the ground began to shake as she summoned the elements of Lightning and Wood. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled; trees grew everywhere, and the five creatures found themselves overwhelmed by thick, twisting snake-like vines.
"Wait," Oro pleaded, "we can help you!"
"Silence! I have no use for a pathetic group of incompetent misfits!"
She fired lightning from her hands at the nearest ensnared creature, the harpy. Aria screamed, writhing in terrible agony. The vines released her pale body, which dropped as a lifeless heap to the floor. Blaze bit back a yell as he saw her body drop – she was dead.
Raimundo calmly walked to the struggling Blaze, a triumphant smirk on his face. "I told you to leave … But you didn't listen …" His voice took on a dreamy, sing-song manner. "And now you're going to die … What a shame …"
Wuya wasn't so amused. She walked towards the next nearest creature, the goblin Sando'ip, with murderous rage in her cold eyes.
"Please," he choked desperately, the vines slowly squeezing the life out of him. "You – told – me … how – to – reach … the – Pi – xie – vill – age – "
And now it was Wuya's turn to blink in surprise. Everyone gasped for air, as the vines, for the moment at least, stopped their strangling. Wuya looked at the goblin more closely. "Oh! I remember you now … Yes … you were trying to steal Shen Gong Wu from Jack's house …"
That's what she remembers him for? thought Oro.
Sando'ip was still gasping for air. "Yeah, and you helped me get the pixie dust – for which I'm very grateful, by the way!"
"Hmm … "
Wuya smiled a terrible smile, and there was an awful silence – it was clear she was pondering whether to kill them or not.
Sando'ip threw caution to the winds.
"You're looking for SilverClaw, aren't you?"
Abruptly, the vines dropped Sando'ip to the ground, but Wuya immediately jerked him up and held him up closely. "Do you know where SilverClaw is?"
"Well, not technically –"
"What?"
"But – but – a couple of my friends do! They used the pixie dust you stole to put her to sleep!"
"Oh they did, did they?"
Sando'ip nodded vigorously. Wuya let go of him, and he let out an "Oof!" as he crashed to the rocky floor.
"Don't tell me you're going to spare them?" Raimundo asked, disappointment in his voice.
Wuya tilted her head sideways. "I haven't decided yet … I don't need them. Not really."
"We can help you – but only if you'll let us," said Oro, not quite meeting her eyes as he tried to get himself out of the tangled mess of vines. "Sando'ip can find SilverClaw …"
"And what's to stop me disposing of you once you've served your purpose?"
DarkClaw had been right about her, Oro realised suddenly, with a cold stab of fear. Completely ruthless …
"The humans are ill-prepared for an invasion from the Heylin side …" he replied carefully.
"Yes, I'm aware of that. Who are you all, anyway?"
Hunter was too scared to say anything – which didn't surprise Oro anyway. Sando'ip was still sitting on the floor, also scared. Blaze and all of his heads were staring dolefully at Aria's body, so Oro answered for them.
"We are … the last of the Heylin magical creatures. Our kind are all imprisoned in the Dwarves' land under Nu Wa's orders. We attempted many break-ins, but we're no match for the Dwarves' ingenious defences and tough Drorpion guardians. We need help to free them."
"I don't know why you thought you could just come here in the middle of the night and expect me to help you …"
"If you help us gain our freedom, we will all submit to your rule," Oro said.
Wuya scoffed. "What, all of you? Hmm, it doesn't matter whether you do or not. I intend to take this world by force anyway, but if you're going to serve me willingly, I suppose it would make it easier for me ...
"Very well," she said. The vines disappeared into the ground, and the creatures were freed. "I will help you. But I expect nothing less than absolute obedience from you and your kind. I'm going to attack Nu Wa. I will not stand for anyone in your ranks who opposes me."
Hunter and Sando'ip nodded. "Suits me," Oro said. "I've always hated Nu Wa. Anything that disrupts her perfect little world is fine by me."
"It's getting late, your Highness," said Raimundo. "Shouldn't we be heading back?"
Wuya nodded, but Oro couldn't hold back a growl. "You'd trust a human – a Xiaolin Dragon, no less – but not us?"
"The boy helped me get my body back, so – yes."
"You're really lucky, y'know," Raimundo muttered to Blaze.
Blaze frowned at him. "My friend is dead …" he whispered harshly. "I would NOT call that lucky."
Raimundo smirked back. "Aw, too bad …"
Blaze was fast, but Wuya was faster. Blaze tried to swipe at Raimundo, but Wuya once again summoned the Wood element, this time calling upon a huge tree out of the earth to restrain Blaze within its branches. Blaze breathed fire and managed to burn his way out, but he jumped back and whimpered as a bolt of lightning struck the spot where he'd been standing.
"Desist, now!" Wuya said sternly, looking serious and sounding angry again. "The Dragon of Air is under my protection. If so much as one hair on his head is harmed, you'll wish that I had killed you …"
"But … why?" Oro asked.
"Not that it's any of your business, but he is my apprentice."
Raimundo exchanged his arrogant look for one of confusion, giving her an "I am?" look. This was the first time she'd mentioned anything about this to him …
She gave him the slightest of nods, and then addressed the others. "I've agreed to help you, but I must warn you: anyone who angers me will be punished most severely."
The four creatures nodded, and Blaze knew that they'd made a horrible mistake …
And Wuya, too, wondered briefly whether she was making a mistake, taking them in like this …
But then again, maybe having the world's magical creatures at her command wouldn't be such a bad thing after all …
Kimiko sighed a sad sigh. She couldn't help wondering what Raimundo was doing right now. Was he all right? Was Wuya treating him right? And then she frowned. Why should she care? Raimundo was the one who betrayed them …
"Don't worry, Kimiko," Clay said from behind her, thinking she was sighing for Omi's sake, "he'll be as good as new in no time."
She looked down at Dojo's scaly body, thankful that Clay couldn't see her deep frown. It was cold, and she was tired. Her mind was drifting towards Raimundo again … but it was Omi she should really have been worried about. It had been Rai's choice to leave, after all … but did he really know what he was doing? After Dojo's recount of what had happened in the Horn of Qilin's cave … Kimiko wasn't so sure. She would have to ask Omi about it when she healed, since Omi was the one who fought him …
After a pause, she said, "Aren't you worried, Clay? What about the rest of our families? Wuya attacked Jack's parents without any hesitation …"
"Wuya wouldn't know where your parents are," said Dojo. "I'm sure Master Fung has sent word to them advising them what to do. Besides, if I know Wuya, she'll be looking for SilverClaw, like we are. She might not even bother with us right now, if we're lucky."
"Well that's nice," said Kimiko sarcastically. "We're not even worth the bother."
Jack's voice crackled over the radio. "How far is this Ping-jing place? We've been flying for ages."
"Not far at all," Dojo responded. "But the sooner we get there, the better."
"Good," said Jack, " 'cause I've got things to do."
"Is being a dork high on your list of priorities, Jack?"
"Shut UP, Ashley!"
"Hey!" Dojo yelled. "That's my ear you're shoutin' in!"
"Uh, Dojo, what's THAT?" said Jack suddenly, over the radio.
"What's what?"
"THAT!"
Kimiko and Clay looked to the right and saw one of the most bizarre things they'd ever seen in their lives. It was a large purple and white tiger floating on a green carpet. The tiger had a golden aura surrounding it. It came closer.
"Should I get the Shen Gong Wu out of the chest?" Clay asked.
"Don't bother!" the tiger said cheerfully. "I'm a friend, not an enemy!"
"Oh yeah?" said Jack suspiciously, pushing a button on his controls. Ten different guns opened out of various compartments on his plane and swivelled to face the tiger. "Because these guns need testing out, and you've been the first guy we've seen for ages … I'm feeling a little trigger-happy."
The tiger guffawed. "Bwhahaha! I'd love to see you try and catch me!"
"You're on, fur-face!"
"Wait a minute, he looks familiar …" said Dojo.
The tiger flew a little closer to Dojo. "Dojo! I haven't seen you since you left Ping-jing! You've sure got a lot to explain to your father … but I'm glad you're safe."
"Who ARE you?" Jack demanded.
"Bai Hu?" said Dojo.
"Guardian of the west?" said Kimiko.
"Yep, that's me! Good thing I found you, Dojo. We were all worried that Wuya might have got to the Chosen Ones first, especially since the Horn of Qilin became active."
"But how did you find us?" Jack asked, over the radio.
"Horn of Qilin," Bai Hu replied. "You guys are lucky Wuya hasn't attacked you yet."
Jack snorted, on the radio. "Oh yeah? She sent her fang-faced freaks to trash my house and steal my Shen Gong Wu."
"Well," said Bai Hu, "she's just got her powers back, so she just might try again."
"What?" said Dojo. "We've got to get to Ping-jing right away!"
"Just how many people can sense this Horn thing?" Jack asked.
"I can sense them, and Dojo and Wuya can … but that's about it … Fengqu only made them so that only Dojo, Wuya and I could them."
"What?" said Katnappe, on the radio. "Why would anyone want Wuya to sense them?"
"It's a long story. But enough chit-chat! We've gotta get you guys to Ping-jing, pronto!"
With a mighty paw, Bai Hu slashed the air, and a purple portal appeared from nowhere – just like a Golden Tiger Claw portal.
Clay and Kimiko exchanged glances.
"Does that lead ta Ping-jing, Mr Bai Hu, sir?" Clay asked.
"You bet it does!"
"All right!" exclaimed Kimiko. "Short cut!"
Dojo flew inside, and Bai Hu followed on his magic carpet.
Jack hesitated.
"What are you waiting for, Jack?" Katnappe asked. "Fly inside already!"
Jack complied, but not without complaining.
"UGH! Why couldn't this guy have found us before?"
Notes:
fengqu – humour, wit
Bai Hu – white tiger. Guardian of the western point of the compass.
I forgot to put in the last chapter: I Ching. (pronounced yi jing)
I Ching – The Book of Changes, an ancient Chinese book on the Taoist philosophy, describing yin-yang amongst other things.
Oh, and while I'm at it … Here's a couple of Italian translations.
oro – gold
aria – air
