Me: (dance) It's one more chapter left to go! It's one more left to go!
Draio: (appeared after long chapters) Maybe I was wrong about your fics, they're great!
Me: ACK! (fell over and then recovered quickly) DRAIO! I'm very surprised you're even finally show up…and wait, what did you say?
Draio: huh? What did I say?
Me: Never mind… you're so late…so it means…it's YOUR TURN TO DO DISCLAIMER!
Draio: (roll eyes) Fine. It's been so long time since I do disclaimer before…
Me: (glared)
Draio: Eep! Fine, Disclaimer: Lady Lizgon does not own Xiaolin Showdown and its characters but her sheng-gong-wu and her ideas.
Me: (grin) Onto the story!
Chapter 27: The Source
Previously
The Cousins looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement as they started to running back like hell, chasing the black dragon while Gojo was flying lowered the ground.
"HURRY UP! It's eating up land, even toward you two!" Ciara screamed, her dark hazel eyes widened in horror at the dark energy.
Khu looked over his shoulder and swore in his native tongue loudly, "Damn. It's breaking through my new attack!"
"Grab my hand!" Lobo yelled, lending his hand toward the cousins. "Come on, buddies!"
The dark leader looked over to his cousin narrowed his green eyes, panting heavily as the Tiger of Darkness paused in his thought, he's still young… one year young than I am. He had to go first.
Suddenly, his hand snatched up his cousin's collar as the dragon of wind snapped open his eyes and blinking in surprise. As Khu swung his cousin back and forth, letting the collar go and spent the dragon of wind landed his stomach on the black dragon.
"Aseso…?" He asked stunned look back at his cousin, clutching on the black dragon as he turned his back on his crew and others, stretching his hand at his cousin. "Grab my hand!"
Khu reached his hand toward the tan hand, still running like crazy as the black hole getting near and near to him.
As the two hands claimed each other barely, but Khu feels like he was pulling backward by something as he gasped in surprise when his hand slipping out of his cousin's hand.
Raimundo widened his forest green eyes. "ASESO!"
Khu looked up, grunted as he still stretching his hand upward toward the dragon of wind's hand. "Raimundo…"
His amethyst eyes softened. "…I am sorry…"
As his hand went limp, farther back away from the boy's hand as he was swallowing into the darkness.
The youth rebel yelled, reaching for the hand but too late, as the void of death swallowed the body from him.
The sad eyes as he cried out, as the medallion glowered brightly in slow motion. "ASESO PRIMO!"
---
"My boy… my little brother… he's not going to wake up."
Yamato snarled loudly, stomped through the group to the silent werewolf. "WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT? OF COURSE HE'S UNCONSCIOUS!"
Lobo growled, snapped his head upward and glared menacingly at the half-breed boy. "DAMN IT, HALF-BREED FREAK! HE'S NOT BREATHING! NO HEART BEATS! He's GONE YOU HEARD ME! DAMN! DAMN!"
Yamato was taken back in surprise and then his crimson eyes softened at the crying werewolf. "Lobo…"
---
The creature nuzzled the sleeping form, glazing down at the lifeless body. "Time to wake up, child…"
The child's eyes opened slowly like to waking up from the peaceful dream.
---
Afterward
The eyelids slowly lifting upward, to seeing the view of the cleared sky as he blinked confusedly and sits up quickly, looking around. Everything was so white as snow… even though it was suppose to be snow.
Something falls on his head startled him, he reached for it and touched something on his head while he took it away from his head and get a good look at something in his palm. His eyes widened in awe and surprise.
It was a blue feather. He'd remember seeing it before…but where?
He frowned, analyzing it with his palm and realizing that everything was so white except for this one. He looked upward at the white sky while snowflakes falling around him, looking for any clues where he was and how did he end up in the place, not in the black desert.
Where I am?
"You are where you are."
He was startled and turned around, looking for the voice. "Who's there?" He asked as his eyes darted left and right.
"I am here."
He whirled and stared at the black wolf sits on the white snow staring at him back with its amethyst eyes. How could it be possible?
"I know you are thinking. I am not what you think. I am simply a specter. Not a figment imaginary if that's what you are thinking." It spoke with gentle tone, looking at him.
He stared at it and frowning as his eyebrows knotting together in confusion. "Specter? So as in you are a somewhat...phantom?" He asked, clutching the blue feather.
The black wolf nodded.
He looked down at the blue feather he was holding in his palm. "And this?"
The black wolf smiled. "This, child, I cannot tell you."
He stared blankly at the black spirit and blinked, his eyebrows knotted downward when he don't like the answer. "And why not."
The specter paced back and forth, staring emotionlessly at him with a wolfish-like smile. "I am forbid to tell you a simple answer."
He paused for a moment and then he finally sighed, his fingers running through his hair as he closed his eyes. "Can you…give me any clues or even hints…? Maybe I can pull one piece and another piece together."
The specter rose up and shook the snow off its silk black fur, looking upward at the quiet sky. "Then I shall tell you a riddle…" His amethyst eyes moved back to him.
"The Key of the Void
The Source buried within the Void
The Blue Feather…
In the second Heir of the first son."
With the words escaped from its mouth, the unknown phantom vanished out of the air before he had a chance to ask what the specter meant by a riddle.
He sighed shaking his head and his eyes drifted back to the object was resting on his palm, analyzing it for a few more minutes. Then something hit him in full speed as his eyes widened in realization.
The same thing he had seen before…
It was floating around where they were fighting each other.
It was also floating in his dream too…
How can it be something connects between him and the blue feather?
----
Yamato watched him weeping bitterly over the lifeless child. As he sighed, rubbing his head in awkwardly way. He didn't know how to comforted the lecherous werewolf; especially he hated the mutt so much ever since he had meet him after Khu.
Khu…
He paused for a minute, looking back at the void and wondering what happen to him if he were in Khu's place. As he closed his eyes and sighing, turned his back to the dragons and tigers.
Where you are, Pedsora?
----
He glowered at the motionless item lie on his palm and narrowed his amethyst eyes, trying to figure out what a riddle means. He sighed and lend back against the white tree, watching the silver petals and snowflakes falling.
He sighed his eyes darted back to the powerful object rests on his belt. Shadow Blade… The sword was given to his ancestor by the demon and also the three victims had been fallen to the same sword by the same demon.
Running his fingers through his dark brown with a frustration sigh, he closed his amethyst eyes and lifted his head toward the sky as he relaxed quietly.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes when he heard soft footsteps behind him as the soft noise caused him snapped his head up to see the small figure stood before him.
"Khu?"
His amethyst eyes widened in surprise and his jaws dropped on the ground as he stared disbelievingly at the white glowing spirit.
"Kobo?"
The white spirit nodded his pale silver eyes lit up with hint of recognizable and happiness when he saw his leader. As Khu glanced down what the spirit was holding and then he suddenly realized it was Mythic Mirror but also it was shattered into pieces of reflected glass rests on the child's hands.
…
Wait a second…
"Wait! You're bleeding!" Khu exclaimed as his eyes bugged out and stared in shock at the spirit's hands. Wait… he's spirit? If he is a spirit, then how can he bleed its flesh?
Kobo smiled softly, "Not really… My life is still hanging on in the real world." He looked up at him and shook his head. "I'm not dead…but also I'm not alive. The reason is I can bleed because I'm holding my life… barely."
Khu stared blankly down at the small werewolf and blinked at him, as he knew the child was smarter than Jack. "So it means the mirror is just like the hourglass of your life you're holding?"
Kobo nodded.
Khu stumped back on the ground with a puzzled look, closing his rare amethyst eyes and open them to glaring down at the blue feather he was holding in his palm. If only I wasn't possessed… that kid wouldn't have to die.
"The feather…"
Khu was startled by a quiet voice and looked up at Kobo was looking at the blue feather. "Huh?" That's it? That's all he could say to the child?
"I recognize it in my dream… It's belongs to your ancestor, isn't it?" Kobo asked his pale silver eyes take off the blue feather to his leader's eyes. "The one your ancestor placed on the first birth child."
Khu froze. "The one your ancestor placed on the first birth child."
He remembered the riddle from the black specter –
"The Key of the Void
The Source buried within the Void
The Blue Feather…
In the second Heir of the first son."
"No…it's not…" Khu whispered quietly, looking back to the blue feather lay on his palm. "A blue feather is actually in the second son of the first son… Alvaro…"
"Huh?"
Kobo looked at him confusedly, blinking as Khu closed his palm and clutching the blue feather inside his fist.
"Alvaro was the son of Kisara and Shinyu… Now I understood… Xuan cannot be the true Heylin Tiger of Darkness because he was banished. He gives blue feather to Alvaro for one of his future sons in hoping one of them will reawakening the sleeping element…"
"So it means…"
"Yeah… It might be passed down to me 'cause I'm the one that is the last heir of the darkness." Khu said opening his palm caused Kobo gasped in surprise.
"It's gone! But how?" Kobo asked, staring at the empty spot on his leader's palm. Something hits him like he was being run over by the giant stone ball. "It's one of his split soul he was talking about…"
Khu nodded. "It's returning back to me again. The other half one is still somewhere…" He trailed off, frowning in thoughtful. "The riddle…"
Kobo gives him a confused look.
----
The gray clouds rolled along in the sky, unceasing, not letting any sunlight shine through. It was the end of the world, so it wouldn't matter anymore. The Mistress sighed, looking down at the lifeless form the older werewolf clutching and refusing to let anyone near them only the mistress.
"…Lobo…"
The werewolf glared deadly at her through his eyes clouded with tears and clutched the lifeless form to himself. "…"
"I know he's still in there… hanging on his dear life. Knowing every drop of sands from the hourglass of life, he will fight the way back to the living world again. I can promise you that." The Mistress whispered quietly, smiling a little at the werewolf.
"…"
"Lobo?"
"We're going to die… It didn't matter. We're failed the world." Lobo finally replied in defeat tone as his eyes avoided the mistress' eyes and looking at the ground as if it was become interest to look at.
"BULL SHIT!"
Everyone but the unconscious fire dragon and the light tiger looked at Yamato with the bewildered looks. Yamato scowled darkly down at the sulking werewolf with the blazing fire behind his icy cold crimson eyes. "You are such a weakling, mutt!" He hissed quietly as his crimson eyes become slit-like reptile.
When he sees the werewolf began to protest, he quickly cut him off and hissed harshly, "Get it through your flea-brain already! Kobo's still alive, somewhere I believe, you stupid oaf! ALL SHIT YOU WAILING AND MOANING HAD BEEN DRIVING ME TO VERY NERVE!" He roared angrily, scaring some of dragons and he stomped all way to the werewolf.
"Here I thought you would put your stupid smile and say you're fine then you groped any women's rears! Where is the lecherous werewolf once I despised with great hatred? This is not like you with all this bull shit!"
Lobo growled angrily, his tears soaked his cheeks and falling on the lifeless form. "You didn't know what's like to lost love ones, half-breed!" He hissed back, baring his fangs at the half-beast.
The between the bickering finally silenced as they stared at the beasts glaring at each other. Until Yamato's eyes finally softened and closed them quietly, "I know what's like to lose love ones…" He turned back and sulking through the dragons and tigers.
He could not stand to look at the werewolf's surprised and sad look as he felt regret to be heartless, even to the loyal friend…
Damn it… Damn you, ARIKO!
----
"I think I'm beginning to understand what the specter, or what you're preferred him to be, meant what he had said those riddle… I think the key might been your sword." Kobo replied, looking right at the silver blade.
Khu blinked and looked down at the Shadow Blade. "What do you think my sword's a key?"
To see the small werewolf nodded, he continued. "But what's about the Void?"
Kobo closed his eyes and held his chin in thoughtful, as far as all I know it's the void or portal we're fell in since the beginning. Wait… He snapped his eyes open, as he looked right at Khu. "Tell me, what have you seen or heard about a void?" He asked eagerly.
Khu was taken back in surprise and then he nodded. "I might heard Ariko called forth the power of void…" He said trailed off his amethyst eyes widened in realization and his eyes traveled from Kobo to the sword.
"…I think I get it." The leader grinned down at the small child. "I think I know where the other half soul is."
The white spirit smiled, nodding in agreement.
In the distance away from them, the shadowy figure was watching down at them and smiled a little.
----
Looking forward at the portal, Marcos sits on the black dragon's head as they had hoping to escape from the dark clutch of the demon and never return to the cursed place even again.
'But what about Aseso, your own brother?' His conscious protested.
The dark Brazilian replied silently, 'he'll be fine… he had to…'
'But you saw him being swallowed by the darkness with your own eyes!' His conscious argued. Marcos shook his head dismissing his conscious self away, looking focus on the portal.
"Marcos?"
He looked back to see the youth Brazilian and smiled softly, remembering the young boy was a child with a small teddy bear. He closed his lime green eyes and then opened them again, smiling down at the young cousin. "Yea?"
Raimundo sighed his dark green eyes traveling back to the unconscious girl on the black dragon's mid back in between the cowboy and the small monk as Marcos had noticed this and had to resist a urged to snickering but he was failing, snickering quietly.
Sensing a heatedly glare from his young cousin, he shook his head and grinned at the dragon of wind. "Don't worry I'm sure your girl will be fine, Rai." He said winking at the cousin and laughed when the dragon of wind turned crimson face, glaring at him.
Suddenly, his glaring eyes changed into widened with shock and confusion startled him and he frowned at him. "What's wrong, Rai?" He asked.
"Wait a second…" The green eyes widened as he gaped at the bright light. "What was that!"
Marcos turned his head and looking at what his cousin was looking at as his eyes widened. "It looks like…" Marcos trailed off as his jaws hit on the back of the black dragon.
The light in front of them grew bigger and bigger, blinding all of warriors on the black dragons. The last thing went through their mind was the two shadowy forms of the lights standing in the darkness before they went blacked out.
----
The Serpent hissed when he saw the light lit up in the darkness even brighter than any normal lights as he hissed in pain, covering his eyes away from the holy light. Damn that holiness light!
"The Key of the Void,
The Source buried within the Void,
The Blue Feather
In the second Heir of the first son…
Return the lost souls of dead one
To the new generation,
To the last reincarnation
Of the banished one…"
"Shut up!" The vampire demi-demon howled with great rage and calling forth the great dark power of pure elements he had stolen from the children and the four beasts. "Shut up!"
The flash of the silver blade swooped graceful through the black air, impacted itself into the heart of the demon and choking his blood through his mouth. "Ugk!" Ariko gagged in pain as he clutched the bloody sword and fell on his knees against the lifeless desert ground.
He found himself staring at the amethyst eyes he had once knew one day it would be his downfall… His death of the same one he already killed long years ago.
The same eyes he had killed after he possessed his body and revived his old body to trying to kill the grandmaster but failed because of the same eyes of person's brother had protected the damn monk from him.
"Xuan…"
Impossible… He had killed him and stolen his dead body after his funeral had been buried in the part of his land. So the dead warrior cannot be revived and killed him with his own sword…
How irony… He held the same bloody sword he had killed the old grandmaster, the banished one, and the rebel one…
Now, he was stabbed by the same bloody sword from the same one he had killed as he glazed over at the person with amethyst eyes. He was a demi-god, near immortal, yet he can die like mortals… He was a vampire who drinking blood from the servants who served him quite well…
"Xuan…"
The amethyst eyes flashed and glared down at the dying demon as he approached him slowly and quietly. And when he finally reached him and wrapped his fingers around the black hilt…
And then he pulled back harshly as the demon gasped in painfully, clutching the rapidly bleeding from his chest and keep his yellow eyes on the person. Recognizing him as the reincarnation of the banished one he had killed, he closed his eyes and sighed tiredly.
"Xuan…" He replied quietly, dying tone. "So you had finally came… and killed me…with my own sword… Just like what I desired for so long time…"
"…" The cold amethyst of the reincarnation stared coldly down at the dying vampire. He stood there silently, watching him bleed to death.
"Destroying the world is my hatred for the Great Fours…" Ariko wheezed, grinning cockily as the blood dripping form his lips. "It doesn't matter anymore now… Xuan… One day I shall reborn in next cycle and find the reincarnation of yours…to kill him before he killed me…"
"…" He turned around and walked away from the demon, carrying the black blood stained sword with him.
"…Xuan… You should know… you are suppose to be the evil… you are suppose the one to kill your brother…" Ariko chuckled weakly, narrowing his dull yellow eyes. "But now it didn't matter any more… You cannot deny your destiny… you will be banished one day… and become the evil like you are suppose to be…UGGK!"
"…" He paused his track, not turn back to the demon.
Ariko coughed some blood on him and on the ground, keeping his eyes set on the young warrior. "I will not die… not yet… not yet… One day… I will find you… and kill you…and kill your brother, Shinyu… You betrayed me… just like the Great Fours bastards and wench…" He trailed off his dull eyes become lifeless and black.
Suddenly, it exploded into pieces of useless bodies all over the black ground and slowly disappearing from ashes to nothingness.
Amethyst eyes traveling back from the scattered dead body and to the sword with blood stained blade, he turned around and walking back to the darkness. He feel the other half soul returning to its half soul, he was now completed full whole now and smiled a little when he sees the small child in the bright light seem have been waiting for him and clutched the familiar round shape in his hands with bloody, white cloths.
The light behind them glowered brighter and brighter, spreading its light over the blackening land…
Then next thing they had last saw before the light return to the darkness again, the spirit falcon flapped its wings away as silently as it could be through the gateway of the void…
"A life for a life…"
End of Chapter 27
Time for Sneak Peek!
It's finally over...
Yet... there's still some unfinished left for me...
End Sneak Peek!
Me: Finally, the next last chapter to go! anyone wants a Epilogue? Anyone?
Draio: (roll eyes) It's boring fic….
Me: --U At least it's same old two-winged dragon…
Draio: (huffed)
Me: Anyway, please read and reviews. Thank you!