Oscar: Hey, Kaisa! I'm back!

Crickets: chirp chirp chirp chirp

Oscar: ... (sees CocaOil with note on it) (reads note) It says that Kaisa is coming right back... and this CocaOil is for...me! Yes! Oh... and Wes Janson turned out to be a fake hologram... she's probably not too happy about that...

Kaisa: Oscar! You're back! (dodges the various objects that are getting hurled at her for not updating for a long time)

Oscar: Yep

Kaisa: Let's answer reviews, shall we?

Call the Winds - Wow, thanks a bunch (gives cookie)

silverblade919 - The. Long. Awaited. Update. Is. HERE! please update your fanfic too!

Issa - Don't poke me with that pencil, PLEASE! It just reminds me how much homework i have to do! lol

person - Yeah, i know i had Kimiko a bit ooc...and Omi a little too mean... I guess that's what happens on your first XS fanfic... or at least, that's what happens to me

TobiasHawk13 - Nup, this won't be aRaiKim, so don't worry. I'm sorry RaiKim fans...

Everyone else, thank you for your reviews/suggestions/ect. Cookies all around!

Oscar: Kaisa does not own Xiaolin Showdown. But she DOES own the SGW that appears in this chapter.

Kaisa: Onwards!

So they really don't trust me…, Raimundo thought sadly. He had hung back and overheard the others' conversation. And I know that Kimiko is going to tell everyone about whatever she saw in my head.

So they really don't trust me…, Raimundo thought sadly. He had hung back and overheard the others' conversation.

He glared inwardly. Why did I have to come here? I just screwed everything up. I should have at least listened to Master Fung when he told us to stay with the Shen Gong Wu when Mala Mala Jong attacked. Then none of this would have happened.

"What is wrong, young one?" Master Fung asked as he walked up to Raimundo.

Raimundo scowled, wondering how the heck Master Fung could always know when something was wrong. "Oh, nothing, it's just those dudes"—he indicated the others—"don't seem to trust me whatsoever. And it's not like I blame them, but…" He paused, looking down. "I just screwed everything up when I went to the Heylin side."

"I see."

"Yeah, I know you see. Because I was being dumb."

"I did not say you were dumb, Raimundo. You did come back, after all," Master Fung pointed out.

"It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have turned that one day. I should have just gone back to Rio."

"You still would have come back. Do you think I would let one of the Chosen Ones get beaten to death?"

"What's that supposed to mean…?" Raimundo asked warily. Master Fung didn't know about his past in Rio, did he? He didn't know anything about Armando or Kye or any of those guys, right?

"Raimundo, I know what happened when you ran away to your hometown a few days ago. I know those young men—"

"Beat me senseless? How do you know that?"

"I know a lot."

Raimundo glared slightly. I wonder exactly how much he knows about me and everyone else… "Well," he began nonchalantly, "I don't care if you know that. I don't care at all."

"But you would care if I told the others."

Raimundo narrowed his eyes. "So what if I did? I just don't want them knowing about it, okay? And it's not like you're going to tell them or anything."

"Of course not," Master Fung responded. "But right now I want you to clean that cut."

Raimundo looked down to his reopened cut, seeing that it was still bleeding. His leg was throbbing painfully as he limped back down the halls to his room, which was where he had stashed some more bandages.

He had barely taken three steps when he received a…flash.

What! No, not again, please not again…, Raimundo thought as he once again relived the moment he found his parents dead. How many new gory details could he find? That seemed to be the name of the game. He blinked, trying to get rid of the vision, but nothing was working. Nothing until it ended.

When he finally could see the regular world again, all he saw was the floor. He was on his knees, looking to the floor, and Master Fung was beside him.

Raimundo growled as he ripped off the medallion around his neck and threw it across the room.

"Are you alright, young one?" Master Fung queried.

And when Raimundo didn't answer, Master Fung went on. "I believe you have just experienced the aftereffect of the Hisachu View Screen. When the Hisachu View Screen is used on you, you may have detailed visions of some of your bad memories. It will wear off soon."

"I think I need to puke…," Raimundo groaned, hurrying off.

Master Fung sighed and bent over to pick up Raimundo's keepsake, placing it in one of the deep pockets of his robe, knowing that the young Dragon of Wind would want it back soon.

Raimundo rubbed his temples a few hours later, feeling tired and having a headache.

How can I make it stop? he asked himself. He then remembered something that Master Fung had said. "It will help to talk about it, because if you do not, the longer the effects will linger."

But Raimundo didn't feel like talking about it. He just wanted to forget about it.

Yeah, but maybe if I talk about it, the effects will wear off and then I'll mostly forget it, he thought. The only problem was, he didn't have anyone to talk to about it. No one would understand. No one ever understood.

A part of him felt like he had to go and retrieve the medallion that he threw, but another part said to leave it there. The medallion was supposed to remind him of his parents, but this was the last thing he wanted right now, so on the floor is where the keepsake would lay until Raimundo felt he could pick it up again.

A few hours later, Kimiko was lying on her bed. It was weird, she thought. She was angry at Raimundo because of the way he was acting, but when she had the chance to spill everything that she saw in his mind, she held back.

But why? she asked herself. If I was really angry with Rai, I would have spilled…

And it hit her. Maybe she wasn't really mad at Raimundo anymore.

Well, he is hard to stay mad at. Kimiko's eyebrows creased. What? Why is it so hard for me to stay angry at him?

Because he's your friend, answered a voice inside her head. Because he's your good friend and you just can't break off a friendship. Especially when your friend needs you.

Another thing hit her. She did have that argument with Raimundo that one time, and from then on, it was rough between the two of them. But with Raimundo going through his power boost, and then having the Hisachu View Screen used on him?

I abandoned him when he needed me most. I left when he needed someone to talk to, Kimiko thought guiltily. She almost burst into tears. She had accused him of not being a good friend and of treating herself and the others badly, but it was really her who wasn't being a good friend. She should have stuck by him no matter what. But her anger got the better of her, as it usually does.

She punched a pillow angrily, inwardly reprimanding herself. I've got to apologize to him, she thought. And soon.

Raimundo leaned his head back onto his pillow, thinking.

Well, I know I need to talk about…about it with someone… But who? Who would really listen to what I had to say? I mean, there's Master Fung, but… He's… I mean, he's Master Fung. Raimundo sighed. Well, I know I don't want to talk about it with Omi. That kid is far from being understanding… Clay maybe?

He shook his head. Even though Raimundo honestly thought that Clay was the only one out of the three apprentices that really trusted him now, he just didn't feel like he could talk to the Texan about it… He wasn't sure why.

Now usually, he might think about talking to Kimiko about it all, because he would think that she, as a girl, would be more…more…

More what? Raimundo asked himself. Besides, Kim is still acting kinda…angry…when she's around me.

He closed his eyes and thought more deeply on the situation, and before he knew it, he fell asleep.

Raimundo had only been sleeping for about an hour when he felt someone shaking him gently. He opened his eyes and squinted at the sudden light he saw. A silhouette… Whose?

But as he blinked his eyes a few more times, he realized it was Kimiko.

He pulled his blankets over his head. "Go away, Kim. I already did all my chores."

"I'm not here about that," Kimiko said quietly, making herself comfortable by sitting cross-legged at the very end of his bed. "I just wanted to say…to say…"

Raimundo pulled his blankets off and sat up, raising an eyebrow, wondering exactly what she was trying to say.

"I came here to say I'm sorry," Kimiko finally said quickly. "I'm sorry for yelling at you all those times. But sometimes you just…annoy the hell out of me," she stated simply. "And I have—"

"—one hell of a temper, I know," Raimundo finished with a laugh that got cut short by glare from Kimiko.

"You're not making it easy you know!" She exhaled. "Anyway, I know I really should've been there for you when you were going through you power-boost… But all I did was make it harder… I'm sorry, Rai, I'm sorry."

Raimundo was about to say that he accepted her apology, but his mind was struck with one more problem. "But do you trust me?"

"What?" Kimiko didn't expect this question.

"Come on, Kim, I heard you and the others talking about me. I was just wondering if you really trusted me anymore."

Kimiko sighed. "I'm sorry for that too, Raimundo. I just… I just wasn't thinking. I do trust you. You just made a mistake…that one time…and you did come back…"

"Hmm," Raimundo said thoughtfully. He knew when Kimiko was being sincere or not, and he knew for a fact that this time she was being sincere. Well, I know what that means—two apprentices down, one chrome dome apprentice to go… He then smiled slightly at Kimiko. "Thanks, Kimiko."

"Apology accepted?" Kimiko asked.

Raimundo nodded. "Yeah…" He then frowned for a split second. "Um…… Kimiko…… Can I please talk to you about something?"

Kimiko cocked her head to one side questioningly. "What about, Rai?"

"About…" Raimundo paused, sighing. "I want to talk about…" He glared to himself. Why was this so hard to ask? It wasn't like he was going to spill out his whole life. Just one moment, just one moment that had changed his life… It was only to stop it from haunting him. He took a deep breath and looked at her steadily. "Since you're right here, can I please…talk to you about…about one of the…memories…that I relived when Jack used…the Hisachu View Screen on me?" There. It was out.

Kimiko paused for a long time. "…Sure, Rai…"

Raimundo looked away from her and suddenly found the corner of his blanket very intriguing. How was he going to try and explain how he had found his parents dead? If he had gotten choked up while he was trying to just ask her to listen, actually telling her would be a nightmare. "Well…," he started, clearing his throat. He wondered if it was obvious that he had never told anyone this before. Well maybe one person before…but that didn't count… "The one memory that I saw was my very…very worst. I was four years old, and I was playing outside, as innocent as a four-year-old could be… It was a great day, I remember. The only thing bad about it so far was the neighbors' kid, Armando, who was such a…" Raimundo's eyes flashed for a moment. "Anyway, I got really annoyed at Armando for one reason or another, so I decided to go back inside to get some lunch…" Raimundo was silent for a second. This part was the hard part. "I…called out…for my parents, and they didn't answer…… So I went into the living room, assuming they were there…" Raimundo shuddered.

Kimiko was silent, waiting for Raimundo to go on.

"They were there alright," Raimundo bit out. "They…were…dead."

Kimiko gasped a little. "What—what happened to them?"

Raimundo shrugged halfheartedly. "I don't know… I just…just saw them there… They were…covered in blood…… They were…so pale…" He shuddered again and turned away, taking another deep breath. "Master Fung told me to talk about it with someone… He said it would help me get on with life… So………yeah…"

"Rai…," Kimiko began, but Raimundo didn't turn to face her. "I'm sorry, Rai… It must have been hard for you…" She really didn't know what to say.

"My medallion…it was my mother's…," Raimundo went on. "My father gave it to her that year for their anniversary… Now it's mine…" He placed his fingers to where the medallion was supposed to be, but found nothing. Oh yeah, Raimundo thought, remembering where it was.

Kimiko kept silent, inwardly digesting everything. She felt uncomfortable, stupid, because she just couldn't think of the right thing to say. She would have bet anything that anyone else could say something that had more meaning to it than what she could even try to say.

Feeling useless, she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry…"

This time Raimundo looked up. "Why do you keep saying that? You aren't the one who…caused…them to die."

"I'm sorry for not being able to say something better than that," Kimiko clarified.

Raimundo took that in and nodded slowly. "Okay, I can understand that. Don't break a nail over it, Kim; you don't have to say anything."

"Yeah, but—"

"No buts. We're good, right?" Raimundo questioned.

"Yeah, we're good," Kimiko acknowledged.

Just then, Dojo stumbled into the room. He caught sight of both Raimundo and Kimiko and was happy to note that they didn't look like they were arguing. "Hey, you two! C'mon, a new Shen Gong Wu just revealed itself!"

Raimundo and Kimiko looked at each other for one second before following Dojo.

"So, Dojo, what's the Wu this time?" Raimundo asked as the three went to find Omi and Clay.

"It's called the Rainbow Cascade. When used, it activates a shield around you that blocks all attacks. It doesn't stay up for long though, and of course you can't launch attacks either…," Dojo answered.

"That's got to be useful for when someone's about to tackle you," Raimundo commented. "It's like, BOOM, they get fried for running into the shield."

"Actually, it sounds more like a sizzle than a boom," Dojo explained. "Very painful. You've got to be real careful. But anyway, enough with that. Let's find the others and hop to it!"

Later, Dojo landed at a mouth of a big cave, saying, "I'm pretty sure it's in here…" He shrunk down to his smaller size and coiled himself around Clay's forearm.

"Kay. Let's go get that Wu," Raimundo exclaimed, leading the others into the cave. Feeling more carefree now that he had let loose what had been troubling him, he felt ready to do just about anything.

"How much yah wanna bet Jack Spicer is somewhere in 'ere too?" Clay grumbled under his breath. Looking around the cave, the cowboy spoke up again. "It's gonna take forever to find that Wu!"

"Not quite," Raimundo stated simply, leading the other warriors into a fairly sized chamber. In the center, lay a golden bracelet looking-like thing, which Raimundo assumed was the Rainbow Cascade.

Yeah, I mean, what else could it be? he asked himself.

"That's it!" Kimiko exclaimed.

But something didn't feel right to Raimundo… Something was up… "Wait, don't do that," he warned softly to Omi, who was about to grab the Shen Gong Wu. "There's…something…very wrong…"

Omi looked to Raimundo curiously, and then turned his gaze to look carefully around the cave. "Raimundo is most correct. Something is wrong."

"What is it?" Kimiko inquired, beginning to feel uneasy herself.

"Don't know, but—" Raimundo cut himself off when he thought he saw a glimpse of movement from the shadows.

He was about to shrug it off when a shadowy figure leapt from the dark corner of the cave and was heading straight for the four warriors.

Calling up a quick gust of wind, Raimundo threw the figure back.

The dark figure quickly jumped up, spotted them again and crouched into a ready position.

"What is that?" Kimiko asked, the figure reminding her somewhat of a ninja.

"I was hoping you'd ask that!" Jack Spicer shouted triumphantly, coming seemingly out of nowhere, Wuya by his side. "This"—Jack pointed to the dark figure—"is my Shadow-Bot! Notice the wonderful paint job. Only the darkest colors to blend in with the shadows… Let's show them what else you have, Shadow Bot."

The Shadow-Bot's hands instantly transformed into long sharp blades, also black in color.

Jack laughed evilly. "Okay! Annihilate them, Shadow-Bot!"

The Shadow-Bot made a weird noise that kind of sounded like someone quickly sucking in air and leapt up, slicing downwards with its blades.

The four Xiaolin warriors jumped away from the blades. Kimiko and Clay to the left, Omi and Raimundo to the right.

The Shadow-Bot made the weird noise again, looking from left to right, either waiting for one of the others to make a move, or deciding who to go after first. But it finally jumped off to the right, going after Omi and Raimundo.

Omi led the way, running as fast as his legs could carry him. "We cannot attack it head-on!" he shouted to the others. "If we do, we will be…in much pain…" He looked over to where Jack was trying to get the Shen Gong Wu. "Kimiko, Clay, distract Spicer! I will handle this!"

Raimundo rolled his eyes. Ever so modest, he thought. At the same time, his mind was scrambling for a way to destroy the Shadow-Bot. He had to admit Omi was right when it came to fighting the Shadow-Bot head-on… They would have to go around to the back of it… But how? The Shadow-Bot was fast enough to keep up to them, but it couldn't reach them with its blades…at least not yet.

Just then Raimundo was struck with inspiration. He looked to the running Omi beside him. "I've got an idea, but I need your help."

"I—! Fine, what is your plan, Raimundo?"

"I want you to put on a burst of speed, just enough to get to the wall of the cave, and then stop," Raimundo began.

"What? So the Shadow-Bot could slice me up? You think I will just corner myself like that? I do not think so," Omi retorted. Even if the rest of Raimundo's 'plan' worked out, the Shadow-Bot still could turn Omi to shreds.

"It's all part of the plan, Omi."

"Then tell me the rest of your 'plan', before I go!"

Raimundo risked a glance back at the Shadow-Bot behind them. "There's no time. You've just got to trust me on this one."

Omi threw him a look that told Raimundo that Omi still didn't trust him fully. As if he needed another reminder of that.

"Come on, Omi, I'm sick of you doing this. Just trust me!" Raimundo said irritably. "Everyone else does!" Or at least they do now…

"Fine, I will cooperate with your plan…" And Omi sped ahead without another word. Reaching the wall, he stopped abruptly and faced the shadow creature.

Raimundo back flipped over the Shadow-Bot, landing right behind it. And since the Shadow-Bot had Omi right in front of it, it also stopped, making the weird noise in satisfaction and raising its blades, ready to strike down.

Without hesitation, Raimundo dropped down and swept a leg at the Shadow-Bot's ankles, making the robot fall sideways onto the ground.

"Omi—"

"I have got it!" Omi cut him off, jumping toward the downed Shadow-Bot. Taking a hold of its upper arm, he thrust the robot's blade into its own body, crunching the machinery inside and successfully destroying the Shadow-Bot.

Omi stood over the destroyed robot for a second, something hitting him. He was about to say something to Raimundo, but the Dragon of Wind had already ran to where the Rainbow Cascade was waiting. Besides, this wasn't the time or place for apologies.

Using his element to speed himself up, Raimundo leapt for the Rainbow Cascade. But once he touched it, the Shen Gong Wu glowed an all-to-familiar gold color. Looking up, he saw Jack Spicer.

A wonderful surprise, Raimundo thought sarcastically, wondering how Jack had gotten away from Clay and Kimiko.

"Raimundo, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! My Hisachu View Screen for your Tangle Web Comb. The challenge is"—Jack shrugged—"whoever finds the Rainbow Cascade first wins."

Sounds easy enough, Raimundo thought. I just have to avoid the View Screen… Yeah, it shouldn't be…too…hard…, his thoughts trailed off, thinking about what would happen if Jack used the Hisachu View Screen on him again. Would Raimundo have to spill out his entire life to someone just to get it back in order again?

But Raimundo didn't show any of his worry on his face as he and Jack yelled, "Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!"

Kaisa: ... I'm being so mean, ending the chapter like that...

Oscar: ...

Kaisa: Anyway, for those who might be wondering... after this, there's only going to be maybe two or three more chapters... it's almost finished...

Oscar: ...Notice she made this chapter longer than the others...

Kaisa: And what's even worse, there's no one on my MSN messanger. Talk about boring.

Oscar: There's NEVER anyone on there, weirdo. You've only got one other person on there you know. So does that mean it's always boring?

Kaisa: ... yes... Well, anywayz, i'll try and update soon. But meanwhile, you can review, or... whatever. Now, if you want a more specific date as to when i'm going to update next, you can IM me on MSN (if you have it).my screen name thinger is in my profile, and you can also email me there... Because if you havent noticed, i can't answer the "when are you going to update" reviews until i DO update. So the email/IM thing works alot better... Okay. I'm done.