Chapter 71: Scavenger Hunt, Literally.
Raimundo
paused before turning back around. He swore he saw something move,
quickly and silently. Though no one would be doing that except someone
on the dark side.
Was Kimiko?... Raimundo slapped away the thoughts
and hurried back to the water fall. Hoping Kimiko was there, greeting
him with a warm smile. Or at least a small one.
"Omi, have you see
Kimiko?" asked Raimundo as he jogged through the mud. Omi stared back
at Raimundo, with something close to fear in his eyes. "Chase took her.
I know he did, my friend. He did all this. He plans to kill her
tonight. I know... He told me." Omi slouched and continued to try and
wake Xian up, still failing. Raimundo processed this info. Kimiko,
gone? No way. Chase did it? Was this actually Omi and not some evil
minion? I don't know.
Now Raimundo felt all alone. If he couldn't trust Omi, the one he saved the world with, then who could he trust.
"I'm going to the land of No Where." Raimundo said shortly, feeling
slightly like Kimiko. She did leave with a few curt words, but he would
not be so careless!
"Why Raimundo? I must come with you. Two monks are better than one."
"No.
You can't. Watch the others, I'll be back." Raimundo muttered, almost
using the same words Kimiko used on him. The only difference was that
his voice cracked. How could she be so strong in a time like this? If
Raimundo was going in the Land of No Where, he could definitely take
care of himself. But he never went anywhere without the team tagging
along with him. And now since he was a Dragon, maybe he is as powerful
as when they were all Wudai Warriors, together. He learned so much at
that time, and it's all just memories...
And now everything was
going down the drain. Couldn't he have just killed Chase when he had
the chance? When the days were carefree, and the side of Evil perished?
Then there was Kimiko, the world to Raimundo. The one thing that wasn't in grasp now, the one person that would lead Raimundo into doom.
Once Raimundo and Kimiko were out of the picture, then Xiaolin would loose. Wuya would come back. The Evil would rise, and the darkness would descend, as fast as it came.
Not even the breeze blew when Raimundo made his way over to Chase's domain. Everything was so dead, it even brought shivers to Raimundo's spine. He was passing by the place where Wuya's castle used to stand. And to think the Land of No Where was so close...
Running wasn't helping him. His breath
was sharp and rigid, and he didn't have anything to even stop Chase IF
he had Kimiko. Which he most likely didn't... But Raimundo was taking
that chance! Nothing bad was going to come of it. Raimundo was going to
kick Chase's butt if he showed up, and if Kimiko was there, then he ran
all the way over here without worry. Or with worry.
Raimundo stopped
to catch his breath; even with his fit body, you couldn't go running
around the full time. Even though the sun wasn't shining, it beat down
on Raimundo. Making everything so difficult.
Raimundo,
without knowing it; had just walked into the Land of No Where. Yes, he
could tell by the way the light didn't come through the clouds, and the
way the trees swayed, when there wasn't any Wind. The major thing was
that the place smelled of Death. Shuddering, Raimundo sat down on the
dirt, which was an unusual color of grey. The land was so barren, not
even something could live there for a day!
"No one to talk to, maybe
Omi followed me along the way to keep me company?" asked Raimundo,
talking to himself. Turning his head, he saw that fog had closed in on
his path. Now it was hard to find a way back if he got back. When?
"Never.
Ever, ever, ever..." His mind seemed to tell him. Raimundo was starting
to believe all Omi said was a big, fat, lie. And that he was a fool to
believe a person that couldn't even get slang terms right! What a fool.
"Indeed." My, what a rude mind he had.
Kimiko was trying to mind read him right now, but Chase was a step ahead. Once he convinced Raimundo to...
At the Lair of Chase Young...
Kimiko watched as Chase stepped out of the room. Time for escape. What could she use? No elemental powers, and no mind reading. Totally hopeless.
Glancing around, she saw that there was a series of knives on the wall. Kimiko shook her head and examined the ground instead. Hm. Very nice. He seemed to like the style 'Blood red tiling, with actual blood!'. Biting her lower lip, Kimiko tried to move again.
For a cage, Chase had put a dark magic shield around Kimiko. Barely moving, Kimiko put her face in her hands.
By now, Chase had already mumbled his plans under his breath. Kimiko could pick out 'make Raimundo come' and 'kill him first.' Then kill herself... And then take over the world. That was his plan. Pretty short and original.
Knowing she didn't have much time, Kimiko stopped thinking about her doom. Something in this room, or cage could help her. Kimiko picked at the floor. Solid. How about the wall? Crumbling... Chase didn't put up a shield around the wall? How dumb was that?
She punched the wall, scratching her wrist and fingers.
Again. Blood. Again. The wall crumbled a little. Making a hole small
enough to look through. This lead to... The main entrance? When was
Chase not watching? When did he not sit down on his throne and watch
the door? ("Kimiko? Where are you?") Again, Raimundo's voice.
The
problem was, whenever Kimiko screamed in her head, he never heard her.
She slumped against the wall and peered through the hole again. Chase
wasn't there. But when could the time be precise? What time was it?
Kimiko looked at her watch. 12:00. That meant... It was the afternoon
already? Then Chase was eating. Eating what?
Kimiko took this
chance to bang against the wall again. More was coming off, and her
whole arm could fit through the hole. Then Kimiko froze. Someone or
something was at the front door, making a loud thundering noise.
Scared out of her wits, Kimiko hid her head from the view of the hole. And she hoped whoever came in didn't see her.
Raimundo
came through the door, looking around for any sign of Chase. The place
was the same as he left it. Nothing was touched. There were no more
cats roaming around, for the four Xiaolin monks had already brought
them to justice. But were there any left? As far as he could see, the
place was falling apart. But Chase was still alive. Raimundo saw him on
the day the Temple was burned, and it couldn't be anyone else.
"Rai!" His head shot toward the direction of the voice. Kimiko?
"We
have to leave now!" she cried, picking away at the rubble. "Where are
you?" "Over here! There isn't much time!" Raimundo finally spotted her.
Then he realized this was too easy.
"Indeed."
That wasn't the voice in his head. Hurriedly, Raimundo took Kimiko in
his arms. Chase. He was here, somewhere, waiting; until he could pounce
for the final kill. "Right again, Raimundo. Here I am. Ready for the
perfect moment." Chase appeared in a snap, right in front of his
throne. Kimiko released herself from Raimundo's arms. She got into a
fighting pose. No.
"You can't Kimiko! You're-"
"I have to. Even for the sake of the other child." True. She was pregnant. But she wasn't enabled to fighting. "Aw. Isn't that sweet. Kimiko is having a child. Too bad it'll never see the light of the sun, or the darkness of the night."
Chase began to spar with Kimiko.
Raimundo, coming
to his senses; rushed over and blocked every attack for Kimiko.
When Chase hit, Raimundo took it. Nothing hit Kimiko, but she was
hurting on the inside, from seeing Raimundo taking all her shots.
In
a few minutes, Raimundo was feeling his own blood seep through his
clothes. He couldn't keep up with his. His hands were getting numb from
continuous blocking, and Kimiko tried to get a few kicks in, but
Raimundo guarded for her. "I can take care of myself, Raimundo!" Kimiko
whispered, when she saw him struggle to keep dodging.
"I can't let the baby get hurt, and I can't let you get hurt either!"
Chase smirked and threw Raimundo to the ground, not even breaking a sweat.
Raimundo coughed up blood. He had to protect Kimiko. Had to protect Kimiko... Chase did something unexpected.
He offered a hand to Raimundo to get up. And in the other he held a knife.
"So. Raimundo Pedrosa, Dragon of Wind of the Xiaolin Temple. I have a request." Chase dragged Raimundo up by the collar of his monk robes. Raimundo spat blood on the floor and sneered.
"Whatever it is, no."
"I'm
sure you'll like this, Raimundo. I make Kimiko safe, and you join the
dark side, as you did long ago. Kimiko stays here with you. Or me."
Again,
Raimundo shook his head. "I'm not going to do anything like that.
Kimiko would never be safe with you. You can't force her to even stay
over here."
The grip on Raimundo tightened. "Did you think I was giving you a choice? You'll get the power you always wanted."
Raimundo made no sound, nor did he make a face. Then he replied, "I never wanted power, I wanted Kimiko."
Kimiko
stared. This wasn't happening. She was the bargain. If Raimundo didn't
speak fast, then he'd be dead. If Kimiko walked in the way, she'd give
her life.
"Stop this, Chase Young. No good can come out of this.
Wuya is dead. You're the only thing that's evil that's alive. There's
no way you can do anything, even if you do get Raimundo on your team."
Kimiko argued, pulling Raimundo to her side. For some reason, Chase
didn't fight back.
He started to laugh manically.
Raimundo
groaned and stood up, bringing Kimiko to his chest again. She didn't
care if she was getting stained with his blood, she was at his side,
and this one moment was going to determine what was going to happen to
the Xiaolin side.
"You know what Kimiko? You're sharp. You didn't pick up one thing. He will join my side."
Kimiko hugged Raimundo and hissed, "He won't go voluntarily, not without me. I love him, and you can't and won't tear him away!" Then she began to cry.
Raimundo
wiped away he tears and kissed her on the lips. That warm feeling took
over her. Her arms encircled his neck, while his played with her hair.
All thoughts of being in Chase's domain were forgotten. This was all
that mattered. Love. The thing that life was meant for.
Then she knew... This might be their last kiss.