After much demand -Much, MUCH demand, it seems - here I present the final chapter of Obedience! I am terribly sorry for the long wait, I assure you my summer has been very busy. Acting classes, movies, parties, fairs and the like...but man, I can't believe how popular this has gotten! I am really touched...thank you so much for all the reviews, you guys keep me strong! Enjoy!

The next morning, the monks, plus Jack, headed for the dining room, their stomachs growling for the anticipation of breakfast.

"Hey, Kimiko." Raimundo snapped, glaring over at her. "Make sure to tell your pet not to steal any of our food today."

"First of all, he's not my pet!" Kimiko pointed her finger in Raimundo's face, eyes narrowed. "Second of all, he wouldn't have to steal anything if you learned some manners, and shared!"

"Come on, guys, it's too early to fight." Clay groaned, rubbing his temples. Omi silently nodded next to him.

Kimiko huffed, and then grabbed Jack's hand. "Who's arguing? I'm not arguing." Jack blinked, following her with a look of confusion on his face. Both were blushing, though, from the small skin contact. However, Kimiko was far too annoyed to thin about it…or much of anything, as shown when she bumped into Master Fung. "Eep!" She backed up, and looked up, embarrassed. "Sorry, Master Fung."

"It is quite all right, Kimiko. I'm afraid we'll have to wait for breakfast…we have a bit of a situation on our hands." Master Fung addressed all the monks, making sure they were paying attention. He dug into his sleeve, and extracted a small piece of paper. "I found this on one of the shrine doors last night. It seems the Forest Guardians you encountered want Kupido's Arrow back, at all costs."

Omi leaned in to read. " 'Dear Monks. We have your dragon. Give us Kupdio's Arrow, and we'll give him back. Have a nice day! Love, MelMel and LumLum.' "

"Courteous, I'll give 'em that." Clay rolled his eyes. "But we can't just hand it over!"

"Of course we shall not." Omi replied. "We shall go to this forest, and show these foxes who is leader!"

"Who's boss, Omi." Raimundo groaned.

"Leader, boss, and president!"

Kimiko ignored the slang lesson, and looked to Jack. "You can stay here if you want."

Jack shook his head. "No way, I wanna come! You might need some help, and I want to be there for you, Kimiko! Always!"

Kimiko's cheeks flushed a bright pink, and she looked away shyly.

"There is still the matter of transportation." Master Fung reminded them.

"No sweat!" Jack called out, and then dug into his trench coat to extract a black and gold cell phone. "I can have one of my machines transported here in seconds, and we'll be on our way!"

As Jack made the call, Kimiko looked at the arrow sticking out of his back. Somehow it seemed to pierce her worse than it did Jack…

Each monk was allowed one Shen Gong Wu before they made their trip to the forest. It wasn't long before they were walking in the familiar path of darkness and shrubbery, using only their instincts to guide them.

"This is most excellent!" Omi announced, walking ahead. "Jack is on his first rescue mission! It is once step closer to making him a permanent monk on the side of good!"

Jack rolled his eyes, picking out dirt from his ears. "Is he always on?"

Clay suddenly stopped where he was. The others did the same, staring at him.

"What is it?" Raimundo asking, looking around for the foxes.

"Do you sense the Guardians?" Omi whispered.

Clay nodded, and then grabbed the nearest tree. He suddenly began to shake it, and there was a small shriek. In the next second, MelMel had fallen out of the tree, and smack on her face. "Owies."

Kimiko gasped, and looked at her western companion. "How did you know she was there?"

Clay pointed at the small instrument in MelMel's hand. It was a kazoo. "Heard her playing."

Before the others could groan in the absurdity of the situation, the second fox leapt down, holding a small cage. "MelMel! What have I told you about playing the kazoo?"

MelMel thought about it, sitting up. "Um….ooh, ooh, uh, never do it, right?"

"Yes, that's right." LumLum sighed, and then faced her foes. "So you've come. Good choice, I was getting hungry for scales!"

In the bamboo and metal cage, Dojo grumbled, resting his head on one hand propped up by one elbow. "I tried to grow myself out of it, but apparently Guardians are very handy with their woodwork. Nice to see you guys!"

MelMel stood up, brushing dirt off of herself. "So, when you give us the Arrow, we'll give you the smelly dragon!"

"Hey, I don't smell!…Much…"

"We came here to take him back, and give nothing back!" Kimiko growled, getting into a fighting pose. "We challenge you to another Xiaolin Showdown! This time, winner takes all, and it ends there!"

"Wait, they don't have any Shen Gong Wu." Clay suddenly interrupted. "It wouldn't be fair."

Dojo whipped our the Rules of Xiaolin Showdown book from seemingly nowhere, as always, propped on his reading glasses, and searched. "Nope, it's okay, as long as the battle is over a Shen Gong Wu item, and neither party uses any Shen Gong Wu item. Page 782, section A."

"So be it." Snarled LumLum, stepping forward. "We accept your challenge! You and the boy with too much makeup verses me and MelMel!"

Kimiko looked over at Jack, bit her lower lip, and then faced the foxes. "Fine. The winner gets Kupido's Arrow and Dojo! The game is now a race! The first one to reach Dojo's cage is the winner!"

"We accept!"

"XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN! GON TEE YEM PAI!"

Once again, the battlefield changed to suit the game. This time, there was only a single tree, which everyone was standing in. The Xiaolin boys were nowhere to be seen, and there were two long, thin branches sticking out into the far distance, with Dojo's cage and the Bow at the very end. However, the ground could not be seen…which meant, if you fell, you'd be falling for a very long time, and then dead. Or just in lots and lots and lots and lots of pain.

MelMel stood behind LumLum on the first branch, and Jack stood behind Kimiko on the second. Kimiko gulped, and began tiptoeing on the branch…balance was key. Jack imitated her movements, while the foxes, with their big feet, had a more difficult time standing up straight. They were forced to cling onto the branches with their paws, and drag themselves along. As minutes passed, Kimiko and Jack were getting ahead of the foxes.

LumLum growled….her pride was at stake! She suddenly lashed out her tail, snapping it across Kimiko's legs. She yelled in surprise, and wobbled forward, falling on her hands. "No fair!" She barked, glaring at her enemies. "You can't use your tails!"

LumLum grinned, and proceeded to crawl forward. "That wasn't mentioned in the rules. All's fair when you're a Guardian of the Forest!" With that, the held on tightly to the branch, letting go with her feet. She began swimming around, kicking Kimiko and Jack.

Jack did his famous feminine scream, falling on his face on the branch and clinging for dear life. Kimiko struggled to dodge the blows, jumping left and right while struggling to maintain her balance. She gulped again, and grabbed Jack's hand. "Come on, we'll get knocked off at this rate!" She began walking again, Jack steadily behind her. The foxes, however, proved to be relentless, picking up speed in their branch-crawling. Hanging by their hands, they continue to kick at Jack and Kimiko, determined to knock them off.

Kimiko, wobbling, looked over at Jack quickly. "Do you still have your helicopter backpack?"

"I never take it off!" Jack replied, while narrowly ducked under a tail.

"Turn it on, and fly to the finish line!" Kimiko yelped, jumping to the left to avoid a kick.

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine, just go!"

"Whatever you say!"

With a push of a button, Jack's backpack-copter went to work, but before he could even hover an inch, MelMel's foot smacked him in the back. Giving a startled cry, and flailed forward, collapsing on top of Kimiko. Kimiko yelped and tried to shove him off, but doing so made her lose her grip…

…and there was a sudden 'pop' noise.

Jack blinked, and stood up straight. He looked left, and then right…for the life of him, he had no idea where he was! "How'd I get here?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Kupdio's Arrow!" LumLum suddenly yelled, pointing with her tail. On the branch, behind Jack, was the Arrow. "MelMel's kick must have popped it out!" She made a furious grab for it, but got a hold of the branch instead. Now she was stuck, a paw on each branch. "Gah! I can't get up! MelMel, help!"

MelMel was peering over the branch. "Hey, I think the girl fell."

"SHUT UP AND HELP ME!"

Jack blinked again, thinking. Hearing the word's 'Kupido's Arrow' jostled something…and then everything came forward in his head. His normally pale cheeks went a crimson red, blushing terribly. He began flailing around, screaming. "I don't believe this! I hugged her and followed her and told her EVERYTHING! Oh man! What kind of villain am I? I fed her and protected her and listened to her and-"

It was only then that Kimiko's own screaming reached his ears. He looked down, seeing the female plunge into the darkness. Now was his chance to get rid of one of those Xiaolin monk pests…

He's a human being after all, he has some rights!

To obtain one more Shen Gong Wu….

Just because Jack can be a gentleman doesn't mean you have to get so jealous!

To get his revenge at last!

I guess even evil boy geniuses have deep thoughts too…

LumLum looked down, watching Kimiko plummet. "Hmph. She was a worthy opponent…" Suddenly, a gust of wind slapped her face, going downwards. "What the-!"

Kimiko felt herself getting sick, her voice losing its strength as she screamed. She shut her eyes, having all kinds of regrets, and knowing her end would be coming. Her screams echoed off, fear escalating….this was it…

"Oof."

Kimiko was still. Something had happened, but she couldn't tell what, exactly. Now she was rising rapidly, instead of falling, and there was something warm around her. She opened one eye, and then, in shock, opened the other. To her complete and total shock, she was in Jack Spicer's arms, as he used his helicopter-backpack to fly up. "Wha…Jack?"

Jack, his cheeks redder than the monk's robes, refused to look at her. "Listen, you were nice to me when I was at your shrine, so this is just payback, nothing more." He ignored Kimiko's shocked stare as he made his way over the branches, soon flying right for the finish line. "And when this is over, as far as I'm concerned, this never happened! You got that?"

Kimiko blinked, and a smile spread across her lips. "I got it, Jack…thanks." She adjusted herself to give him a hug.

Jack's cheeks were now as red as Dojo's flame breath. "I get it! I get it! Enough! You do that again, and I'll drop you!"

Before the foxes could get on their feet, Jack and Kimiko had crossed the finish line. In a whirl of green and brown, everyone was back on the ground, the trees were normal sized, and all the monks were present and accounted for. Jack quickly tossed Kimiko out of his arms before the monks could see. The boys quickly ran over to Kimiko. "We were all the way on the ground and we didn't get to see a gosh darn thing!" Clay explained, helping Kimiko to her feet. "What happened?"

Kimiko beamed up at them. "We won!" She cheered, smiling at Jack, who refused to look anywhere other than the ground.

LumLum stood up, and sighed. "You and the boy won. We officially admit defeat this time…the dragon, and the Arrow, are yours." She slipped a key out from her clothes, and unlocked the cage.

Dojo happily flew over to a small stump, where the Arrow lay, and picked it up. "Free at last, free at last! Thank the good ol' monks, I'm free at last!"

Kimiko suddenly plucked the Arrow out of his small hands. "Hold on. I think we should let the Guardians keep it."

Everyone's mouths gaped open in shock. Raimundo choked, trying to find his voice. "After all that, you're just going to give it to them!"

"We can't trust ourselves with it." Kimiko sighed, placing it in MelMel's hands. "If we're annoyed with one another, one Arrow would make us a willing slave. Mad at Master Fung for the chores he gives us, annoyed at Dojo for…being Dojo, and it really wasn't fair to use it on Jack. These Guardians were able to protect it all these years, I think they could do it again."

MelMel burst into a huge smile, and hugged Kimiko tight, nearly crushing her ribs. "Awww! Thank you so much! We'll take good care of it!"

LumLum rolled her eyes, but cast a smile of her own. "You are a very interesting type of human, Miss. You and your companions may come to our sacred forest whenever you please."

"A happy ending for all!" Omi concluded, clapping his hands. "Now we may all go home and spread this most wondrous news to Master Fung. Come along, Jack!….Jack?" Omi looked around, but there was no sight of the evil boy genius.

"Come to think of it, when the match ended, I didn't see the Arrow in him!" Clay stated, scratching his head. "Did the Guardians knock it out?"

"Looks like that's the case." Kimiko replied softly. "…Let's go home. Master Fung will get worried."

With a final goodbye to the foxes, the children climbed on top of Dojo, and flew off.

Later that night, Kimiko was sitting out on the shrine steps. Her eyes were on the stars, her mind in a place far away.

"You okay, Kimiko?"

Kimiko blinked, and turned her head back. Omi, Clay and Raimundo were standing behind her. She gave a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Wanna sit with me?"

Omi and Clay sat to her right, and Raimundo sat to her left. "Listen, Kimiko." Raimundo said, after a few seconds of silence. "We've been doing some thinking. Maybe we've been a little rude to you…"

"A little?"

"Okay, okay, we were jerks!"

"But we're going to be a whole lot nicer to you from now on." Clay added, chuckling. "If Jack controlled by Shen Gong Wu can be nice, we can be too."

"Indeed." Omi nodded. "You have our word that we shall treat you as a better friend."

Kimiko smiled. "Thanks guys…" She trailed off, looking back up at the sky.

"Something on your mind?" Raimundo asked, tilting his head.

"I was just wondering…" Kimiko whispered. "…When we've gathered all the Shen Gong Wu, Jack won't have anything to help him take over the world….so maybe he won't be a villain anymore. We can be friends."

Clay smiled warmly. "That's a nice thought, Kimiko."

Omi pinched his face, trying to sort that out. "Oh…so when we kick Jack's butt, it is merely to aide him in friendship!"

"That's one way of putting it, Omi." Kimiko chuckled, shaking her head, and hugging her friends. "But, yeah…tomorrow is another day for another Shen Gong Wu to show up…and another step to seeing that friendly Jack again." As for Kimiko herself, she was rather anxious to see that day, but willing to wait it out…

"I've been waiting here for forever, Jack!" Wuya barked, seeing her human assistant enter his evil liar. "Don't tell me you've come back empty-handed!"

"Pipe down, you floating nightmare!" Jack sat, slamming the door behind him. "I've had a bad day as it is! That stupid Arrow finally came out of me, and I remembered what a complete doofus Kimiko made me into!"

"Did you at least get Kupido's Arrow?" Wuya crossed her ghostly arms.

"No, I did not get Kupdio's Arrow." Jack mimicked, shaking his head. "I lost it, along with my dignity!" He crossed his arms glaring at her. There was no way he was going to tell her how much fun he had…

"Well if you're that upset about it, why don't you go back and use the Arrow on Kimiko?" Wuya suggested in a shriek.

Jack blinked, letting his imagination wander…Kimiko following him everywhere, Kimiko praising him with sweet swords, Kimiko being the one to catch him when he tripped and hug him so very, very close-

FWUMP!

Jack had fainted, his face as pink as bubblegum. Wuya waved a ghost arm over him, and sighed, rubbing her mask face. "Next time, I need to get an accomplice who still believes girls have cooties."

The End.