Need more updates. I'm so sorry for the long wait. Really. I HATE not being able to update, but I've been really, really busy and I haven't had much time to work on this. So I hope you'll find this chapter satisfactory. I've had, unfortunately, writer's block. Blech.

And yes, I AM gonna kill my favorite character. (Starts crying suddenly) How dare I. But it has to go with the plot, doesn't it? That's why I have to do this.

--

Clay pounded his fist into the floor, attacking Chase once again. Chase easily dodged it. Then he had a strange look on his face, and his whole body was glowing with intense black light. It seemed as if he were trying to summon something. Then, the earth began shaking all around Clay. Out of the dirt, something made of rock was elevating higher and higher… Clay realized what it was. A mountain was rising right out of this section of the underworld!

"Nice try, young monk, but does it measure up to this?" Chase asked, looking satisfied at the terror that covered every inch of Clay's face. Clay shuddered as the mountain bashed into him, and his body shook onto the ground violently as the towering mountain faltered and began crashing back down- at him. He had no prayer of surviving. He knew that now they would never defeat Chase. He closed his eyes and waited for his demise.

"Orb of Tornami- WATER!" Omi shouted over the sound of the crumbling rock. Clay could barely hear Omi, and he waited for the pain to come. It never did. Instead, Clay heard the sudden blast of water, like the waterfall he had once visited back in Texas. He wondered what it was, but didn't dare to move or close his eyes. He suddenly heard a gigantic boom of rock, thousands of tons crashing all into one area. He was flabbergasted. Was it possible that he was still alive? He opened his eyes and saw a hole where the rocks had fallen. Somehow, he was saved.

Omi walked over to Clay and gave him the thumbs-up sign. "I used my Orb of Tornami to help move the rock over there," he explained breathlessly. "Are you hurt, my good friend Clay?"

"No," Clay said. "But back when the rock was comin', I durn reckoned I was finished." At this, Omi shook his head. "I would never let that happen to you," he said kindly. Clay smiled. He owed Omi big time. But would he live long enough to pay him back?

Chase was still standing in front of them, looking bored. "Did it have to take you that long just to get that mountain to move?"

"Do not insult me-or my friends!" Omi said angrily. He made a move towards Chase, who was still staring at him blankly. His faced was filled with an expression of bored apathy as he looked directly into Omi's eyes.

"I can say what I want," Chase said. With sudden and breakneck speed, he slammed his leg into Omi's stomach. Omi gave a scream before he flew straight into a gigantic rock, clutching his stomach wildly. His face looked terrible and agonized as he hit the rock, causing it to crumble and his big head to hurt enormously.

"Omi!" Clay said without thinking. He ran to his friend to aid him, finding Omi unconscious. Omi was sweating profusely, and he looked weak and tired even from a distance. Clay felt pity for his friend.

Clay turned to Chase. "Globe of Eienko- Earth!" he shouted. He had never tested this power before, and unsure of what it would do, but wouldn't anything be worth it to destroy this terror?

Chase had a sudden look of apprehension. "What are you doing?" His voice sounded, for once, frightened. But what was it that scared Chase?

Clay raised the globe higher and concentrated on using his energy. Suddenly, everything began spinning. The rocks flew from their locations until Clay was standing on pure space. They flew all into one area- the center of the underworld. They piled up, over and over again, along with the canyons and mountains. Clay could feel something pulling him as well, but it was not strong enough to completely move him over. He saw that Chase, too, was standing his ground.

After about a minute, both Clay and Chase saw what had formed from the mysterious globe that Clay had used. A monstrous structure towered above them, a structure in the shape of neither something from Xiaolin nor Heylin. It was majestic, yet also so strange. A single stone pillar had been formed from the rocks that had been absorbed, although they didn't look like rocks anymore. It was an object of purest white energy, yet also the darkest glow. Clay and Chase both looked in wonderment at this strange pillar. What did it do? As if in response, the pillar lifted and came to Clay.

"This is amazing," he said, staring at it with marvel. It landed right above his hand. He suddenly realized that Chase was still fighting him. He gave Chase a steady, fierce gaze as he shouted once again, "Globe of Eienko!"

In an explosion of light, the pillar zoomed at Chase. Chase gave a strangled cry as it hit him, and it broke into pieces when it touched him. Chase was hurt and more vulnerable now, and then a strange thing happened. An extravaganza of color flooded the realm, and a spirit with markings like an Indian chief appeared. His gaze was cold as he went straight through Chase, whose face wrinkled with pain. Then Eienko disappeared.

Chase was clutching his chest and sweating. He gave Clay a terrible look, a look that meant he was no longer playing with him or mocking him. He sliced the air with something red, and Clay felt a searing pain through his entire upper body, and realized that somehow Chase had sliced right through his body. He gave a cry and fell, unconscious on the ground.

--

In a sheltered but uncomfortable and cramped cave, Raimundo gasped for breath. After all he had been through, it shouldn't have been a surprise that even standing up was going to be exhausting. And he had actually summoned all of his power. He felt proud of that, at least. But he knew there was nothing to be proud of. The fight wasn't over yet, and he had already become obsolete in his own wariness. It was horrible to see your friends fighting, fighting to the brink of death, while you just stood there, unable to do anything. He felt like a weakling.

"Rai! Are you okay?" Kimiko's voice rang out into the silence. It was full of concern for him, and he could hear Kimiko shuffling around to him. He fell into her arms and gave her a weak sliver of a smile. He looked at Kimiko's face, worn with dust and bruises. It was a sorry thing to see. He averted his eyes, looking at the ground.

"I-I'm fine," Raimundo said. His heart still beat with a greater speed than ever before. He knew that he was too tired to talk anymore, but pushed past the limits anyway. "Th-thanks for caring about me."

"After all you did for me? Are you insane?" Kimiko squeezed Raimundo tightly, grasping his arms and pulling him into her lap. "I'd never abandon you. You took care of me and never hurt me, even though you were desperate with injuries put on you by me. You…you could have killed me, but from what happened, I could tell that you would rather die than to do that. That's something I could never forget."

Raimundo felt warm inside, knowing what Kimiko thought. He again spoke, although his voice was softer. "How did you feel inside there? Hopeless?"

"I guess it was that way. I kept trying to break through to you, to do something, but… well… it didn't work. I was only able to penetrate once. I felt really…helpless. Panicked and desperate." Kimiko looked sober as she said this. Raimundo had never known that Kimiko could actually be one hundred percent serious, because she had always been like any normal, cheerful and energetic girl. But somehow, it didn't feel like a comfort. It felt strange, like there was some kind of burden on him. Raimundo turned his head and smiled, just a little. Then he felt pain stab through his back, and the rough feeling of something hard land on him.

"I'm sorry, but you were just breaking my heart," Chase said, his thin voice leaded with mocking. He stepped on Raimundo again, this time sending Raimundo even further down onto Kimiko's lap. Kimiko gave a cry of protest and slapped Chase, right at that moment.

"You fool," Chase said, his anger barely concealed. He took a metal-gloved hand and pounded it across Kimiko's face. For a second, nothing really happened under Chase's cold glare and Kimiko's reaction. Then Kimiko's face wore a certain bewilderment to it, and she felt it very suddenly and painfully. She clutched her face, squirming with agony. It hurt her badly, and she fell on a heap on top of Raimundo.

"You don't ever say that to an evil master," Chase said, his eyes glinting in the darkness. He moved from Raimundo and Kimiko's views to show that both Omi and Clay were tied up on rocks, struggling to get free. He smiled viciously at Kimiko's wide eyes and Raimundo's empty face.

"You didn't," Kimiko whispered in a soft voice. She was still holding her face, and rubbing on it.

"While you two were, shall I say, flirting… I managed to defeat them both. It was challenging, I admit, but with my experience and training…" Chase waved it off.

"When I get my hands on you…" Kimiko's voice was leaded with anger. She stood up too quickly, and ended up falling down again. "Argh…"

"You can't even stand up. How will you fight me?" Chase inquired reasonably.

"Crap," Kimiko said angrily. She couldn't get up again, and her knees were still shaking. Chase gave her a sneer and walked away.

--

At the other end of the room, Omi and Clay were still struggling with the ropes that held them tightly. "How do we escape?" Omi asked desperately.

"I dunno, pardner," Clay said, his head hung. "This is horrible."

"Yes," Omi said. "I am afraid we have been defeated by Chase Young."

"I guess so," Clay said, shaking his head. "Why'd it have ta go like this?"

"Yes, my friend. I know," Omi's words were full of regret. They kept silent, because in some way both of them felt that they needed to. Then, Omi's face suddenly lit up with unquenchable hope.

"I've got it!" Omi yelled loudly. Clay looked at him quizzically. "Ya got what, pardner?"

"The way to defeat Chase Young- yes, of course! We had the answer all along! Those four Shen Gong Wu of the legendary warriors, remember? Master Fung said that when all four were combined, there would be some kind of power never seen before! If we could release that power, who knows what could happen?"

"That's it! You're a genius!" Clay exclaimed.

"Just one problem," Omi said. "How do we get to them with our arms and legs binded?"

--

Yeah, it's over. Cliffie ending again. I think cliffhanger endings are cooler, though, so why not? Thanks for keeping with me, everyone. I know I've been a VERY bad girl recently.