Yay for my reviewers- Bunny Raven Rulz, The Psychologist, Saphire Stars, Soraetowaru, xSwtLilAngel666x, Negitive Zero, Flapdoodle-Rhadamante and Amoral Butterfly…oh and sorry you don't like it Raimundosbabygurli…but I warned you it contained fluff, homosexuality and it was rated M so I don't know why you would waste your time. I guess that's just how you are. Ah well! On with the fic!
Chapter 10
Clay was lying on the ground, growling and placing a hand on his throbbing arm. When he opened his eyes, they stared in wonder at the unfamiliar surroundings. Nearly stunned he pushed himself up from the ground and stood. A gust of wind blew, kicking up little cyclones of sand and watched them slowly disintegrate. Clay brought an arm up to protect his eyes, but they remained forward set on the endless ebony desert, staring at the setting sun of shining silver, releasing fading pastels of grey.
Clay walked over to one of the black cactuses. To his horror, blood came streaming out of the side when he slashed it with a pocket knife.
Then, looking to the colorless horizon he realized where he was. A darkened, messed up version of the Texan desert…his home.
He could hear the sable Earth speak in a silent voice…an ominous whisper. Almost warning him that something was terribly wrong.
"Come back home, eh boy?" asked a deep gruff voice.
Clay whirled around and saw the tall figure of his father, towering over his son despite Clay's superior height to a normal kid his age. Most of his father's face was covered in a big brown mustache and his own ten-gallon hat looked more like a twenty gallon.
"D-Daddy?" Clay breathed in disbelief.
"Come back to Texas with your tail between your legs after cryin' in front of your boyfriend."
Clay was flustered when he mentioned the word 'boyfriend'. Clay's father spit at his ankles, making him wince in shame.
"You're never gonna become a man if you can't control your emotions, Clay!"
Clay clenched his fists and ground his teeth flat, but he didn't dare growl.
As much as he hated to admit it, his father was right. Clay's worst fear had finally bared its fangs- losing control…of everything. His emotions, himself, his own selfish desire for Rai's body…
Clay started to get a large lump in his throat and his eyes began to turn red when he thought about Rai…but he'd rather die than cry in front of his father, prove that he was weak a second time, lose control again.
Clay remembered the last time, the only time, that he cried in front of him.
He was but a boy of eight, who foolishly wanted to herd the cattle by himself to prove he was on his way to becoming a man…to make his father proud.
He tipped his hat back, prepared his rope and mounted his horse. He scanned the herd that was in the fenced field, currently eating some grass. He reminded himself that to get the cattle moving, you had to make one of the bulls move first. They had about five bulls, but Clay decided to start with the smallest one first, because he had never handled bulls before and he wanted to start off slowly so he could get the hang of it.
He grabbed his rope, made a lasso and threw it forward, praying that it would wrap around one of its horns.
And he succeeded!
Clay shouted for joy and gave the rope a small tug. At first, the bull didn't respond. But when Clay tugged harder, it shot two glaring, red eyes at Clay, full of anger.
"Uh-oh…"
The bull started to turn around and kick its heels in the dirt. The bull was breathing heavily, its eyes fixed on Clay. It was ready to charge.
"Definitely not good!"
Clay kicked his horse in the side to make a daring escape, but he soon regretted his decision when the bull came charging after them, with a flaming rage. Clay kept ordering his horse to go faster, but no matter how fast they went, the tip of the bull's horn was always touching the horse's tail. The field was a circle shape, so that's the path they had to run: a circle. They had to go around in circles
Clay didn't think this bull was ever going to give up, but then he remembered his father's words: if a bull is angry enough, it will run itself to death. Clay winced. He didn't want to kill the poor creature, yet he didn't want to get killed himself either!
When the bull realized that all they were doing was running around in a circle, it changed direction, making it go right in front of Clay's horse!
The horse stood on two feet and knocked its rider off, sending Clay flying into the ground. The horse made a fast getaway, leaving Clay on the ground…helpless, to face the wrath of the bull.
It fixed its eyes on Clay, grunting and kicking its huffs again. Glaring at him, staring the unaided boy down and burning its way deep inside of his fearful blue eyes.
Taking steps back, it was preparing to charge. Clay gulped and remained on the ground, for he knew that it was pointless to run, when it could catch up with a horse.
And without a second's deliberation, the bull began to charge.
Fear and hopelessness ate away at Clay's heart and all he could do was scream. Scream let his tears fall, for he knew that after this, he would either be dead or barely alive.
Suddenly, the beating of the hooves started to turn away from him and the bull shrieked in anger from a distance.
Clay opened his eyes and they immediately widened in disbelief. About two feet away from him, the bull was roped by his father, who was pulling with all his might to subdue the creature.
"Daddy!"
Clay's father struggled with the rope and the jumping bull. But when it was worn out, it was finally subdued and brought back with the rest of the herd.
Clay remained on the ground in deep thought. If his father wasn't there to save him…if the bull still kept charging…
Clay started to cry again, trying not to think of the horrible possibilities, but he couldn't help it. He hugged his knees and cried there, until his father came by.
"Boy? Why did you go and do something like that?"
Clay looked up and stared weakly into the hard eyes of his father. His bottom lip quivered and he was shaking all throughout his body.
"I…I just wanted to prove myself."
Clay didn't dare look up, and prepared for the worst as he curled himself up into a ball. But surprisingly, his father's voice was not raised.
"Proving yourself isn't trying to accomplish a task that you know you can't do, but to have the right balance and control to work your way up. Maybe someday you can rope bulls, but not now. Remember that Clay. Control is the key. Use it. And don't fail me."
Suddenly, he could see his father fading into a darkness that appeared out of nowhere!
"Don't fail me…"
Those words kept repeating in Clay's mind but he ran to where his father was going.
"Daddy! Where are you going!"
Clay tried desperately to catch up, but just as he reached out his hand, he stumbled to the ground and found nothing. Just the sand of the desert and his father's final words to him echoing in the dark abyss.
"You let me down, boy."
Clay woke with a start, sweat pouring out of his temples and he found his cheeks wet and tearstained. After he wiped his eyes, he noticed that he was in his room, shirt-less and his arm and ankle were heavily bandaged.
"Ah, Clay. You have awakened."
Clay took a fleeting look over his shoulder and saw Master Fung standing in the doorway. Clay scrambled to his feet and bowed.
"Master, I'm terribly sorry about the walls. I was-"
"Please." Master Fung interrupted.
"I know what happened. You can help Raimundo with the repairs if you are able to."
Clay almost jumped when he mentioned Rai.
"W-Where's Rai? Is he ok? I didn't hurt him, did I?"
"He is just fine, Clay. In fact, he started the repairs two hours ago."
Clay looked at the clock across the hall.
"11:32. Amazing! Rai up before noon!"
Clay tipped his hat back and smiled.
"I'm gonna go help Rai with the repairs."
Bowing to Master Fung again, Clay limped down the hallways to get to the place where he went on a rampage. Clay thought back to his dream again. He HAD broken his vow…let his father down…lost control and almost destroyed the temple…and…what if he hurt Rai?
Clay squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to hold the tears in, to rid his mind of the last horrifying image. But he was saved from his own imagination by the most beautiful voice he had ever heard.
"Hi Clay!"
Rai appeared from behind the wall and kissed Clay quickly. He was flooded with relief to see that Rai was ok.
"C'mon! I finished the first wall while you were sleeping. Sure you're up for it?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec. You can go. I'll catch up." said Clay, limping down the hall again.
"You sure about that? You look pretty beat up."
Rai gave him an innocently sympathetic look while Clay turned away sadly.
Why should Rai still care? Isn't he afraid of me?
"What's wrong, Clay?"
Clay looked up at Rai again and said the words he had been meaning to say for quite some time.
"Rai…I'm sorry…"
Rai arched a brow. "For what? For crying? Everyone cries, Clay. I mean, screw what your Dad said, its pretty natural-"
"No. Not that, Rai." Clay cut him off.
"I'm talking about before that…when I was…was…um…"
Now Rai understood. He went up to Clay and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Clay, that wasn't your fault. I wanted to do it too…but…I just got scared. You weren't going too fast. That's what I wanted, Clay. Honest."
Clay looked into Rai's sincere eyes in astonishment. He…he wanted to do it too?
Clay captured his lover into another kiss, a passionate, long one this time. To say that he thanked Rai for accepting his apology.
But suddenly, they broke off once they heard a noise coming from down the hall. Both of their hearts raced. Did anyone see them?
It was dojo. Just slithering down the hall and minding his own business.
"Hi kids. Did you finish the walls yet?"
Rai and Clay looked at each other uneasily and stared down at Dojo.
"Um…Dojo? You didn't see anything, did you?" whispered Rai.
Dojo's eyebrow arched.
"What are you talking abou-WHOA!"
Dojo started to twitch and roll around on the ground and he jumped slightly.
"Heads up, guys! A new Sheng Gong Wu just activated!"
Kimiko and Omi came running in as if on cue. Kimiko was already dressed for the occasion with a pink tank top and blue jeans, with her brown hair down. Omi was just excited that there was a new Wu active. Both warriors huddled next to Clay and Rai as Dojo opened the scroll. The dragon in the center swirled around and vanished, and when he disappeared, the black stick figure was holding a circle shaped object. Then the stick figure looked inside the circle and it showed another stick figure walking around inside.
"It's called the Seer's Orb. Whoever possesses this Wu has the ability to see what other people are doing even when they're thousands of miles away."
"So it's almost like a crystal ball…only it's a Sheng Gong Wu." said Kimiko.
"Exactly."
Dojo went to his huge form and they soared into the sky. Flying through the parting clouds, Dojo was heading southeast.
"This is my chance to get my medallion back. I WON'T screw this up!" thought Rai confidently.
Soon they were flying over the ocean. Dojo's shadow was a thin, black line that could be seen just barely on the sapphire sea. The sun's rays of light made it silvery, almost like a veil. Rai looked over at Clay, who was sitting in front of him. The ocean reminded him of Clay's eyes.
"Here we are, guys." said Dojo, curling his tail and heading down to an island. When they landed, all they saw was a bleak shore and a small jungle in the center of it. Dojo returned to regular size and wrapped his body around Clay's hat. They went straight into the jungle and headed in the same direction until they were in the middle of the jungle, not knowing where they were.
"Any idea where we're going, Dojo?" asked Rai.
"I can't tell which direction it is! This is such a small island and it's very close!"
"I guess this means we'll have to split up." said Kimiko.
"Indeed. We will put a blanket on the Earth so Jack Spicer doesn't steal the Sheng Gong Wu!"
"Um, I think you mean 'cover more ground', partner."
Clay headed north, while Kimiko took south, Rai headed east and Omi went west.
Clay pushed his way through the bushes and twigs that scratched at his bandages. He had to tie them back on at one point. Dry blood was caked on his arm, but the center was still open. He continued to search the tropical jungle for the wu, but all he could see was dirt, trees, leaves and fruit. It seemed like he was out there for hours. The sun was further to the west, meaning that it would be sunset soon. When the orange shards of light beamed through the leaves, Clay decided to take a rest. Limping for hours to find nothing and wandering nowhere seemed pointless; sometimes he had to remind himself why he was out here and why he was walking around aimlessly. He didn't see any of the other dragons anywhere, or any signs that they were at a certain place. But he just knew that they were somewhere on the island, probably feeling the same way he was. Clay tipped his hat forward and sighed. He wasn't going to find a thing.
Suddenly, Clay jumped back into consciousness again when he heard the sound of propellers and an infamous evil cackle.
"Well, well, well! Only one loser this time? Where're your little friends, Clay?" smirked Jack Spicer, with his Jack-bots hovering overhead.
"I…I don't know." he said, still keeping his head up and getting into a fighting stance.
"But I won't need any help to defeat a snake like you!"
"Make that two snakes!" said a voice from behind Jack's back.
Clay looked up and saw another Jack Spicer, his clone they met in the Shard of Lightning episode.
"Would you like to do the honors, Jack?" asked Jack referring to the clone.
"Sure, Jack. JACK-BOTS! ATTACK!"
About six of seven Jack-bots went for Clay at once. Clay let one intense blue eye show from his hat and prepared for his attack while staring his metallic opponents down. Clay held his foot and slammed it into the ground.
Raimundo was still searching under several leaves when he heard a voice in the distance.
"SYSMIC KICK! EARTH!"
"Clay!" Raimundo raced to the direction where he heard his friend's voice, hoping he would get there in time so he wouldn't miss another Showdown.
Instantly, walls of earth shot up from the ground and pierced the Jack-bots, sending them flying to pieces. That attack left an effect as the ground continued to shake after the attack was completed. Birds flew out of their trees and animals went nuts, trying to find a place to hide.
Clay continued to destroy Jack's robotic army with an assortment of Tai-Chi techniques and added in a little excessive force so the Jack-bots were turned to scraps. But still, more and more kept coming!
Clay went down onto one knee, panting and sweating his brains out. "How do I fight an infinite army of robots!" he said, clenching his fists in frustration.
"With me! TYPHOON BOOM! WIND!"
Clay took a fleeting look over his shoulder and saw Raimundo, his hands clapped and gusts of wind flying out.
"Raimundo!" Clay cried gleefully, thankful that he had some help. Raimundo winked at him and ran over to his friend.
"You ok? Your wounds didn't re-open, did they?"
"No, thankfully."
"Throw me up in the air again. Remember when we did that last time? It was a good plan!"
Clay smiled and cupped his hands so Rai could put his foot on it.
"Alright…GO!" Clay shouted, throwing the Dragon of Wind up in the sky to kick the airborne Jack-bots to pieces.
The Jack-bots that flew down to the ground and raced toward Clay. Clay got into a stance again.
"This is it…we're gonna finish this."
"EARTH!"
"WIND!"
The two warriors fought and fought, sending each bot to the scrap pile one by one. Using the power of their elements and their skills as Dragons, they continued the feud. Raimundo stayed airborne for quite sometime, trying desperately to stay in the air so he could defeat as many Jack-bots as possible. Kicking a Jack-bot into another Jack-bot, they exploded with a huge crashing noise. As they fell down to Earth, Raimundo could see Jack Spicer's face through the smoke. He was panicking, biting his nails and staring wide eyed at him and Clay, seeing his army get defeated so mercilessly was more than he could bear. The other Jack however was just staring blankly, not knowing what to do in this particular situation. What if Jack were to realize that he was next on their hit list? He would surely faint. Rai smirked and made more bots crash and fall, motivated by the utterly terrified look on Jack's face.
Jack Spicer continued to panic, but then his clone's head just hatched an idea.
"I'll go look for the Sheng Gong Wu! That way, we won't be defeated!"
Jack beamed at his brilliant creation.
"Great idea, Jack! Go down there and find the Wu!"
"Right!"
And with that, Jack's clone went down to earth on his helipack to find the Sheng Gong Wu.
Clay was still smashing them with much force and little movement, which suited him just fine. He was able to defeat more than several at one time, and not doing a bunch of little techniques like Raimundo.
But when he smashed another pile of robots, something didn't feel right. They were on this island to find a Sheng Gong Wu, not defeat the Jack-bots. Clay looked up to see that Raimundo was still beating up the hunks of metal mercilessly.
"I better go look for the Wu. No bots are coming down anymore and I won't risk Jack finding it first. Rai can handle the rest by himself."
Clay walked away, leaving Rai fighting in the air and demolishing the remaining robots. Instead of choosing to get lost in the jungle, he went to look on the shore. Clay searched under leaves, sea shells and dug a little in the sand, but he couldn't find that blasted Seer's Orb!
He was just about to give up and see if Jack had it, but then something caught his eye. A blue gleaming light under a leaf about twenty feet away.
"There it is!" he shouted, running as fast as he could to the blue object. He was absolutely SURE that was it!
Jack's clone saw the light too and he was determined to get it for the forces of evil and darkness, but not his original copy.
Jack was still hovering, wondering why his clone was taking so long, and then he saw them, some feet away and below going toward a blue dot.
"The Sheng Gong Wu!" shouted Jack, putting his helipack to maximum speed as he swooped down the grab the wu. He did NOT want to miss this! But he didn't realize that Raimundo heard his every word and saw the little blue object off in the distance.
"No!"
Rai dived down to Earth and ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the wu.
"Just a little farther…"
"I HAVE to get it before Clay!"
"I'm gonna get that wu!"
"Not if I can help it, Spicer!"
"YES!"
Four voices shouted at the same time. Four hands were on the Seer's Orb. Four people in a Xiaolin Showdown: A Xiaolin Showdown Tsunami!