Clay was the first to turn the corner, but when he did he halted. Raimundo ran into him, Kimiko into Raimundo, and Omi into Kimiko. "What's the holdup Clay?" Omi asked, trying to see around the large crowd.
"Well partners, you'll never guess who it is," he said, moving off to the side so everyone could see. Kimiko and Rai were surprised, but Omi gasped.
"You brought a girl to the temple! It's bad enough we have one already, but how will we ever train this one to be as skilled as us! It is impossible!" Omi yelled, only to receive a cold stare from Kimiko and the new girl.
"Oh really. Now I feel welcome, but just to prove that I could whoop you, we'll have to have a little contest," she said, stepping closer to Omi.
"Monks, this is Torie, another chosen one. Say hello," Master Fung said, waving his hand in her direction. They all just stood there. The girly-girl from that day was gone. The high heels were replaced with sneakers, and she no longer wore a dress. She had on light jean pants and a simple white shirt. The sleeves reached down to her palms, stopping where her thumb met her hand. Her hair was left loose, as it had been in the showdown, and it came neatly to her shoulder blades.
"Surprise," she said meekly, smiling at them.
"Master Fung, I don't understand. Why are we letting in a new student so far along?" Kimiko asked, her eyes curious.
"Ah, but Torie is-" he started, only to be interrupted.
"A fast learner. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Torie said, grinning at them all. Master Fung looked down at them.
"Now that we have an odd number, rather than pairing you up to train, we'll have a championship. Kimiko, Torie, you're up first. For this round, you may only use your element. No Shen Gong Wu, no elemental moves, no Wudai moves. Just your element, clear?" he asked, and they both nodded. "Ok then, begin."
Kimiko made the first move. "You're going down Torie!" she yelled, smiling to herself. She jumped up into the air, spinning in a couple of turns. There was a fiery background, and her lips formed the word "Fire!" The Chinese symbol came up as she stuck up her hands, and she lunged at Torie. Kimiko missed however, and Torie crouched down.
"You wish!" she hollered in reply, a grin playing on her own lips. A yellow background appeared, and Torie jumped up, landed on her hands, then pushed back off and landed in the splits. Her arms slowly rose, and she yelled, "Lightning!" as they reached directly above her. The Chinese symbol flashed by, and she flung a punch at Kimiko.
Torie's punch, however, hit its mark. Kimiko went flying backwards, slamming into a brick wall. "Torie advances. Clay, you're up. Use the Shen Gong Wu that best fits your element. Begin," Master Fung said, and Clay removed the Third-Arm Sash from the pile of Shen Gong Wu. Torie rummaged around a little bit, extracting the Eye of Dashi. This time Torie made the first move.
"Eye of Dashi, lightning!" she shouted, and a large beam of lightning came out of the Shen Gong Wu. Clay reacted quickly, however.
"Third-Arm Sash, earth!" he yelled, using the hard surface to block the attack. "Missed me, partner!" he taunted, and Torie frowned. Clay then shot a punch from the Third-Arm Sash at Torie, but she easily dodged it. She pointed the Eye of Dashi at the ground, again repeating its name and her element. She went flying up into the air, and when the lightning stopped, she came flying down at Clay and hit the ground in front of him, forcing him to go flying.
"Torie again advances. Raimundo, you will use your elemental move, as will Torie. Begin," repeated Master Fung. The two monks whipped around and faced each other, each one with a smile on their lips.
"Typhoon Boom, wind!" Raimundo yelled, as Torie yelled "Electric Shock, lightning!" The two attacks collided, creating a gigantic electric tornado. Both Torie and Raimundo attempted to force the twister at their opponent, so it swerved from side to side. Slowly the swirling mass made its way to Raimundo, where it hit him dead on and threw him up into the sky.
"Whoot-whoot, I'm so good at this!" Torie yelled, making sure Raimundo landed somewhere where he wouldn't get hurt.
"Good job Torie, now we shall place you up against Omi, each of you using your Wudai moves. Are you both ready? Alright then, beg-" Master Fung started, but was interrupted by Dojo.
"According to these purple spots sprouting on my body, a new Shen Gong Wu is ready to be found." He opened the scroll, and it revealed the Truth Contacts had revealed themselves.
"This Shen Gong Wu forces anyone the user looks at while wearing the contacts to tell the absolute truth," Kimiko said, gazing down at the fine print.
"Oh, yes, and no feeding around the trees!" Omi said, smiling. Torie looked confused.
"Um, I may be wrong, but I always believed the saying was beating around the bush," she commented, and Raimundo smiled.
"It is, Omi just needs a few slang lessons," he replied, patting the bald monk on the head.