Chapter 05: Simple yet Complicated
Traveling by classical dragon, the four monks sailed through the sky in search for the 'Voice of Tao Tsueng'. At the front of the enormous lizard, Clay dreamt of roping cows leaping over the moon. Buried in Dojo's tail was Omi, bound and gagged by the 'Tangled Web Comb', courtesy of Raimundo. The Brazilian prayed that the thick teeth of the comb would keep the bald monk from continuing to ask about his Wudai aura. Somewhere in between the Texan and Chinese monks was Kimiko with Raimundo sitting right behind her.
The pair rode silently, both at a lost for words. Kimiko wanted not only to thank Rai for his concern earlier, but also to keep up the guessing game, which the rebel apparently did not want to be subjected to. Raimundo, on the other hand, was struggling not to blurt out his inner-most feelings: his love for her and desperate need to have Kimiko in his life.
A faint "Thank you" dropped him from his mind's fantasies and thoughts to reality, if being miles in the sky on top of a floating gecko can be considered reality. He looked down to see Kimiko blushing furiously and his own face followed suit shortly after.
"It's nothing." was the reply in a voice that would not have been heard had Kimiko not been 3 inches away.
"Rai," the girl started. Raimundo flinched every time she said that. The nickname wasn't unbearable, but it was something he could hear without the need to "spill his internal organs" as Omi might say.
She continued on, "What does you Wudai aura mean? If it's important to you," each word got progressively quieter, "then I'd like to know about it."
She finished the sentence in a tone that a dog would struggle to hear. But the whisper was carried by the wind and brushed Raimundo's ear and his heart as well. For the second time that day, his arms found their way around Kimiko's waist.
"I'll tell you someday…" he whispered into her ear.
Embraced by her best friend, Kimiko wanted nothing more than to remain soaring through the crowds in Raimundo's arms. But a sudden downturn and their ride's spiraling toward a British pasture. In the midst of the grassland was what appeared to be a stack of stone slabs constructing a circle.
"Stonehenge: dead ahead!" the dragon exclaimed.
"The 'Voice of Tao Tsueng' is connected to Stonehenge?" Kimiko asked, still groggy from her rude awakening from her thoughts.
"'Connected to it?'" Dojo wondered, "If I recall, the 'Voice' is the purpose of Stonehenge. During the Dark Ages, Stonehenge was used to magnify the power of the Shen Gong Wu and channel vast armies of spirits. But when the Wu went dormant, so did the rocks."
After Clay was awaken and Omi was freed from a curled set of teeth, the monks walked warily among the stones, in mortal fear of immortal spirits. In the center of Stonehenge, the monks saw light reflecting off a circular glass. The 'Voice of Tao Tsueng' was in their grasp. But as they approached, a swarm of Jackbots rained from the sky, although not as ominous as they once were.
"Wudai Orion Formation!"
Donning their Wudai silhouette skins, the monks leapt into battle. Omi swept the plains with his "Wudai Neptune Water", crushing and rusting all Jackbots leveled with the ground. Clay, however, decided to fight kung-fu cowboy style, using his earth gloves and boots with no other help from his element. Bot after bot found its own head in its hands or at least a few feet away as the Texan brawled his way through the horde. But a new herd of bronze robots stampeded him and trampled the mini water monk. But with a sudden burst of energy, Omi split the sea of Jackbots like Moses, although he had no idea who Moses was. Clay, tired of flailing his fists, sucked the remaining grounded robots into the earth's surface.
Miles above them, Raimundo was working on the Jackbots smart enough not to head for the ground. He diced them in half with razor winds, tearing through the Jackbots faster than Clay through a Thanksgiving turkey. His Wudai form blended him into the baby blue sky, save for the black filling of the aura.
Still on the ground, Kimiko watched Raimundo hooting as he rip through Jack's poor excuse for an army. The Brazilian boy's blue made her feel conflicted: it was enigmatic, yet familiar…
She broke her gaze as Jack Spicer broke her concentration.
"This Shen Gong Wu is mine!" the 'Evil Boy Genius' declared, "See you later, Xiaolin Losers!"
"Jack, why do you want to call ghosts?" Kimiko asked from the ground.
"GHOSTS!" Jack shrieked. Screaming his lungs out, Spicer dropped the Wu and flew off into the distance, fearful that contact with the 'Voice' unconsciously summoned specters to haunt him.
"That was easy…" stated Kimiko, catching the Wu as the other Wudai Warriors gathered around her and exited their Wudai transformations. The Shen Gong Wu looked like a circular mirror with a purple frame and crimsons tassels on its left and right sides.
"I thought the 'Voice of Tao Tsueng' would look more like the 'Tongue of Saiping'?" Omi questioned.
"Yeah, this is about as different as Jesse and the family pig." said Clay.
Raimundo smirked. "You're pretty blind if you think those Shen Gong Wu are THAT close."
Steam shot out of Clay's ears, but Kimiko interrupted before the two could squabble.
"Mirrors are spiritual and mystical tools in Japanese mythology." she answered.
She looked into the mirror Shen Gong Wu and saw her own sea-filled eyes shining back at her. A thought crossed her mind, but she dismissed.
There was no way someone like Raimundo would fall for someone as plain as herself…
But she couldn't fight the euphoria that came hand-in-hand with the idea.
"So you retrieved the 'Voice of Tao Tsueng'. I expected no less."
The monks whirled around to come face-to-face with none other than…
"Chase Young!" Omi exclaimed, his fury unrestrained, "Master Fung warned us you might come for the Shen Gong Wu. But you will have go through us first!"
"As easy as that sounds, I have come for reasons other than the mirror. At the current moment, I must speak with Raimundo."
"What do you want?" Raimundo demanded.
"I'd watch your tongue if I were you, young monk, especially when I could rip you away from your greatest treasure right now…"
To Rai's horrified face, he continued, "Yes, Wuya and I were able to deduce what it was that made you so powerful. And while we both have plans to exploit it, Wuya has much more…personal reasons to start early…
"Now that she's joined Hannibal Bean, I am certain that Hannibal knows as well, and possibly that nitwit Spicer. And the farther words travel, the more complicated things become."
"What do you want?" Kimiko asked hotly for Raimundo this time.
"To give you a warning. Eventually, both Wuya and I will return to make way for the Heylin side, starting with the removal of Raimundo and what he cares for most."
Raimundo stepped in before Kimko could argue; The fire within her was growing beyond even her control.
"You wouldn't dare!" He roared.
"Oh, wouldn't I?" Chase responded in a voice as casual as if the were talking about how sunny it was. "You will have plenty of time to prepare before I strike, although I cannot say the same for Wuya and Hannibal. Grow strong enough to defeat them and elevated your powers to the next level! The challenge will be worth the wait…Perhaps you'll surpass even Omi…"
And with those words, Chase Young vanished into the wind, leaving Kimiko, Raimundo, and Omi embittered by reasons unique to each of them…