And now, I also own the Harp of Harmonies…I believe.
Kimiko chapter! Yay! Unlike Clay in last chapter, I actually had her costume sketched out so I could describe it better. I probably should sketch out the guys' uniforms too…Sigh…So busy… Anyway, this chapter has changed titles twice. I really didn't want to put her name in the title because it isn't exclusively only her, but this title fit the best. Yes, it's Tohomiko, not Toho…even though nothing else in this story now corresponds with Season 2. Still wondering what they're going to do…Personally, I'm not too satisfied with this chapter. My writing is kind of...blah lately. But, enjoy anyways. It will get a lot better later, I promise! Omi is next!
(For everyone who skipped Ch. 3) Last time on Xiaolin Showdown: Elemental Ages: Clay did a Xiaolin Showdown against Bob Sanderson for the Wu Jin Duraflex, a SGW that morphs into the first thing that comes into your head. Clay's Fist of Tebigong vs. Bob's Wheel of Quan Lao (unused). Desert obstacle course. Clay finds his Element Orb and receives higher powers, as well as a princely green uniform with a cape. Nevertheless, he loses by a hair. Bob now has the Fist of Tebigong, Wu Jin Duraflex, and Wheel of Quan Lao, and sent a member of Clay's family to the spirit world.
Special thank-you to TamerTerra!
(-)
Chapter 4: The Trials of Kimiko Tohomiko
Key Tactic #1- If you've got it, flaunt it.
(-)
Master Fung frowned at the prospect of another night off, but finally agreed that it was okay for them to hold a party for Clay. They'd work on his full power techniques soon after, since he knew that the cowboy was pure enough not to be corrupted. Clay, Kimiko, and Omi shouldn't pose a threat, but he was still worried about Rai and Jack.
In the meantime, he had to concentrate on training Shelly. The young girl was still far away from even becoming a Xiaolin Apprentice, much less looking for her Element Orb. Perhaps there was none, since Ice was a new element addendum to Water. So far, the girl was doing excellent, and Master Fung wasn't surprised when she said she'd studied martial arts for three years in her town section as a way of defending herself on the streets. It would still be a few months before she would reach Xiaolin Apprentice status, though.
(SPOILER)
That night, to get the sorrow and tension out of the air, the Xiaolin Dragons held a memorial service for Jessie Bailey. They continued to comfort Clay, but even with the circumstances, he did not want to inform his parents yet. Though it seemed generally impossible…there was still a chance that they could get her back someday.
"We'll catch that Bob jerk and make him bring Jessie back!" Kimiko said, in an angry, determined tone.
(SPOILER)
"Yeah!" the others cheered, and Clay gradually began to feel a bit better. To Rai and Jack's dismay, he even felt good enough to request only country songs at his party.
Kimiko once again appointed herself head of the decoration committee. Because she was the decoration committee. Meanwhile, Omi, Rai, and Jack helped with the rest of the preparations. However, Jack was only setting up furniture because Omi and Rai were cooking the refreshments. By no means should you ever let Jack or his chef-bots anywhere near a stove.
Unfortunately, Rai and Omi had no idea how to prepare chicken legs, buffalo wings, home fries, or chicken 'n grits, so for the country hoedown party, they ended up with "chicken-in-tacos", "buffalo rice", and "down home chow mien", as well as a large lumpy object that no one could identify. They had even asked Shelly to help them when they realized that she'd never learned how to cook either.
"But I thought all females are supposed to have at least basic cooking skills," Omi protested. "It says it in the guide! All females come with essential experience in the culinary arts…"
"Well, certainly not all females," Shelly replied. "I've grown up on the street eating out of trash bins; how should I know how to cook?"
Rai blinked incredulously. He wondered how someone who'd had to eat out of the trash bins still managed to look so gorgeous.
"I'll set the food out," she offered instead. "And get the stereo, if Jack hasn't already gotten it." She quickly grabbed the strange, various confections and whisked them out to the kitchen.
"What the heck is that?" Kimiko shrieked as soon as Shelly appeared in the room. "Clay told me to make chicken legs, buffalo wings, home fries, and chicken 'n grits."
"Then why didn't you make them?" Shelly retorted.
"Because I'm doing the decorations!" Kimiko shot back.
"Well, you could have told me to do the decorations. It's not my fault Rai and Omi can't make that stuff."
"I'm not sure of how you decorate. You could've made the place look terrible!"
"Well, I don't think you're doing much of a better job than I could have done!"
"Just what are you trying to imply?" Kimiko slowly stepped back down off of her ladder to stare the brunette in the eyes.
"Sorry to interrupt the catfight," the ironically cheerful voice of Jack Spicer suddenly piped up. "But I've brought the stereo!" He was dragging a huge 4-speaker stereo up on a dolly, set it down, and instantly set it up. "Just finished it yesterday," he bragged. "What else do you want? I've got all the equipment right here- strobe lights, disco balls, confetti light balls, random lasers…" He pressed a button and multicolored flashing lights all popped out of the back of the stereo, sweeping across the walls, on the floor, and throughout the whole room.
"Augh!" Kimiko cried. "Jack! Turn that thing off! I can't see!" A rainbow of dots was flashing before her eyes, and when she tried to take a step, she found that her arms had turned purple and her body was moving in slow motion, and she nearly tripped. "This is a country party, for cryin' out loud! We're not going to need any of that junk!"
Jack's smile immediately drooped and he switched the dance floor lights off. The world again returned to normal, and Kimiko was relieved to find her arms flesh-colored again, and with normal movement. "…You didn't have to be so harsh on it…" Jack said, looking disappointedly up at the music machine. "I know I ran out of emotion chips and didn't put one in it, but still…"
"Oh, it's okay," Kimiko instantly replied, running over to hug him. "I was just angry at Shelly and started to take it out on you."
"It's alright, I'll forgive you," Jack said, turning to return her hug. Then they started getting lovey-dovey, so Shelly turned her back, setting the trays out on the long table and rolled her eyes. This would be a lot easier without that Kimiko girl getting in the way…
Bobby hovered over the dishes and brought a fingerless "hand" up to its nonexistent mouth, its wispy body wavering. It almost looked like it was laughing, but it made no sound. Shelly quickly coaxed it back up to her shoulder as Rai and Omi entered the room, with Clay following close behind them.
"Oh!" Kimiko suddenly exclaimed, jumping away from Jack (much to his disappointment). "You're here? We're about ready to start; just let me finish hanging the boots…" Brown streamers were strung around the perimeter of the room in looping formations, and Kimiko had been in the process of hanging little paper cowboy boots over the sections where it curved up.
"Sorry about the food," Rai explained. "But we didn't know how to make that stuff, and Shelly doesn't even know how to cook…"
"…Which obviously goes against traditional values," Omi added.
"Will you just shut up?" the brown-haired girl shot at them. "I may not be able to cook, but there are a lot better things I can do…"
"It's just unusual…" Omi continued. "…But, given your living conditions, I suppose it can be overlooked. …No hard feelings?" He smiled and tried to compensate by staring up at her and looking cute.
Shelly defiantly crossed her arms. That sort of stuff would never work on her, but she muttered, "Yeah, okay," just to get him off her back. She had bigger fish to fry.
"Okay!" Omi echoed. "Now…let us all heartily party!"
Shelly glared sideways at the cheerful little monk as he ran to his friends and they chuckled and corrected him. Mentally, she decided that he'd be one of the first to go.
Clay was practically in tears as he looked at the decorations. This was for him. They were having a party for him. It was still just beginning to sink into his head. Finally, Kimiko finished hanging the last cowboy boot, and it was time to begin.
Jack watched in agony as they forced country music CD's into the slots of his sparkling new DJ machine, as if forcing broccoli into a picky child's mouth. He'd have to wash it out with soap and water before he stowed it back downstairs.
Dojo popped in to join the party as well, and as soon as everything was set, the "Congratulations on your Element Orb Find" party unofficially began. Everyone mostly talked and sometimes danced. Most of the time, it was only Clay and Shelly dancing, but sometimes Kimiko and Omi would join them.
Once, a slow song came on, so Kimiko pulled Jack out to dance with her. Despite her occasional squeaks as he stepped on her toes, they seemed to be having a great time.
Shelly looked disappointedly over at them, and when she looked back, was surprised to see the round, tanned face of Raimundo grinning back at her. "May I have this dance?" he asked, in a cheesy manner.
"I though you said you had a girlfriend," Shelly replied, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Yes, but she's on the other side of the world right now. And it's just a dance. It's not like I'm asking you out. …So please?" Rai sounded terribly like he was trying to make good excuses, which only raised Shelly's eyebrows more.
"Well, I suppose so," she finally assented. "But I'm not getting in trouble if your girlfriend finds out. You forced me into it, and I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Okay? Deal."
Rai smiled and guided her onto the dance floor next to Kimiko and Jack. He was surprised with how light and airy and graceful she felt drifting across the floor. What he failed to notice was the surprisingly sad body expressions on the formless little ghost, Bobby. It flew over to a corner of the room and lifted its round shoulders, as if sulking. Meanwhile, Omi and Clay, left with no one to dance with, jokingly began to dance with each other. When that song at last faded away, the couples broke up and they returned to their previous activities.
Shelly remained on the dance floor, floating around like a dolphin through water. Her spirit partner zoomed back to her side, floating in formation around her like it was trying to dance too.
Kimiko sat back down at the tables with Omi, Jack, and Rai, while Clay wandered over to get some refreshments. Clay was the only one brave enough to eat them, and even he said that they tasted "a little off." So far, they'd been having fun. Dojo and a few of the other braver Xiaolin Dragons had tried the food, but immediately abandoned it. Well, Dojo said the buffalo rice was "interesting" and Rai actually ate a whole chicken leg taco.
Kimiko even got Rai and Jack to dance earlier when they played "Cotton-eye Joe", just because they knew all of the steps. Other than that, neither of them had danced or done much of anything.
Now, however, they'd taken a more active role in the party, and Jack even noticed that they were almost out of punch and offered to refill the bowl. When he returned, carrying the see-through plastic bowl full of red juice, he froze just before he reached the table. The sight in the middle of the transformed kitchen was amazing, and when he got a look at it, he'd become immediately transfixed.
Shelly was still dancing, to a random country song that had just begun. Yes, she was a good dancer, but the thing that was most shocking about the sight was that she was magically blending her movements with the clear blob. Little Bobby bobbed in time with the beat, choreographing its air dance with her land one. The shapeless entity's closed eyes displayed its mirth. Clearly, it was having a good time dancing with her. For a moment, Jack wondered if this wasn't the first time they had performed together.
As Shelly spun around once, the ghost spiraled around her body, creating a lovely twisting effect, similar to Omi's Tornado Strike move. For a moment, Jack thought he saw Shelly glance in his direction. She laughed in glee as Bobby began to dance with her again. They were having the time of their lives…
As Jack gaped at them, some strange feeling of déjà vu flickered into his chest. He was having a lot of this lately, wasn't he?
"Hey, Jack…" Kimiko's voice echoed in his ear from a place far away. "Jack, can you hear me?"
"Huh?" The feeling finally flickered out, and he came back down onto the planet. It was so noisy all of a sudden, and he felt strangely wet. "What is it, Kimiko…augh!" When he finally jerked his head away from Shelly, he found that he was soaking in red, sticky punch, while the bowl lied upturned at his feet, and the rest of it formed a puddle underneath him. Kimiko was giving him an angry glare, while crossing her arms and tapping her foot in the distance. "What?" Jack asked, looking over at her. "I-I'm sorry, I'll clean up the punch! What happened anyway?"
As he began to rush off to get a towel, Kimiko simply reached out and grabbed his arm, holding him back. "You went off into a trance staring at Shelly," she said with hatred lining her voice. "…And the bowl slipped right out of your hands. You were so busy staring at her that you didn't even notice when it splashed all over you! Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" The hot-tempered girl was on the verge now, her face growing redder by the minute.
"Uh…" Jack said in a tiny, high voice. "…I'll clean it up…"
"WHY YOU...!" Kimiko exploded, and Jack desperately tried to hide under his arms in defense.
Rai, Omi, and Clay chuckled as they watched the Japanese girl screaming and beating him over the head with a broomstick. This sure was an interesting party.
Meanwhile, from her swirling positions in the middle of the dance floor, Shelly grinned in satisfaction, and for a split second, little dots that looked like stars sparkled in her blue eyes.
(-)
Compared to the mystical excitement they'd been putting on lately, training in the temple seemed very boring and monotonous. Rai was simply refusing to work, leaning against the back wall and complaining that he was too tired to train. Jack sat next to him, scrubbing plates of metal and "keeping him company." Kimiko tripped a few times during her routine. Shelly seemed to be following her, and tripped once, too. Clay had no energy, which was understandable, but even Omi seemed to be lacking today.
Master Fung bared down on them, raising an eyebrow and giving them the Evil Temple Master's Eye. "What time did you all get to bed last night?" he asked, raising his voice in frustration.
"Nine 'o clock," Omi admitted, bowing apologetically. "I'm very sorry to have disobeyed, but it was on behalf of Clay…"
"Ten," Kimiko chimed in, her voice sounding desperate.
"Midnight," Clay calmly said. "I apologize; I was havin' a hard time sleepin'. Thinkin' about what happened yesterday kept givin' me the heebie-jeebies."
"Midnight," Rai said, as well. "…I wasn't tired. I am now…"
"Nine," Shelly said, smiling sweetly.
"I have no idea, but it was late," Jack said, glancing up from his work. "I had to spend the rest of the night cleaning out the DJ machine, and the minor parts still aren't disinfected yet…" He gestured to the pieces in his hands.
Master Fung sighed. "This is hopeless," he turned to mutter to Dojo…only to find that the little dragon was taking a snooze on his shoulder. "Get up!" he shouted, flinging Dojo to the ground.
"Huh? What? Oh…what time is it? Ah…Oh! Master Fung!" At last, Dojo noticed the grim master staring down at him. "Er…sorry…big party last night, you know… They tempted me with buffalo rice!"
"That's it," Fung at last decided, "There are to be no more celebrations. Not for finding Element Orbs, not for promotions…not even for birthdays! Is that understood?" Dull, disheartened nodding followed. "You've all been slacking lately, and with this critical fight approaching, we can't have any of that! You must all be in perfect shape in order for your Orb's powers not to affect you negatively. You two, get up!"
Jack and Rai jumped to their feet, fearing the master's wrath. By now, no one would wonder who he meant when he said "you two."
"In order to master your full power, ultimate technique, you must be in perfect sync with your body, your powers, and your token Shen-Gong-Wu."
"Token Shen-Gong-Wu?" Omi asked.
"Why yes," Master Fung continued. "They are the Shen-Gong-Wu which can be used in combination with your powers, and that you are the most drawn to. With these Shen-Gong-Wu and your Element Orbs, you will be able to perform the most powerful attack of your element. As you may already have figured out, Clay's token Shen-Gong-Wu is the Fist of Tebigong, Kimiko's is the Star Hanabi, Omi's is the Orb of Tornami, Raimundo's is the Sword of the Storm…"
"What's mine?" Jack suddenly asked. "Oh…let me guess…is it the Jet Bootsu? The Monkey Staff? I had to use those a lot…"
"Jack…you know what yours is…" Master Fung said in annoyance.
"What? Oh…the Soul Scepter? …That's not fair! How come I can't have one that can actually be used?" He turned around and pouted while Master Fung continued his speech.
"Anyway, this is why I must put you through extensive training. You must be fully trained in body, mind, and with your Shen-Gong-Wu."
"Uh…speaking of Shen-Gong-Wu…" Dojo interrupted, jumping back to life. "I think another one just awakened…I feel tingly…" The little dragon shivered and went into a spasm for a moment, before itching and getting a clear reading. "It's…it's the Harp of Harmonies! …I think…"
At his words, Master Fung pulled out the Shen-Gong-Wu scroll to show everyone. The words "Harp of Harmonies" appeared below the vortex, and a golden, curving harp with silver strings appeared in the middle of the blue mist. "The Harp of Harmonies is an instrument used to subdue your enemies and either put them to sleep, or put them into a trance," he read off the description that magically appeared before him. The Xiaolin Warriors saw this demonstrated as one little man symbol played the harp and a second little man symbol curled up and went to sleep in front of him.
"This is great!" Rai cried, realizing what a Shen-Gong-Wu like this meant. "As soon as we find this, we can put that dumb Bob guy to sleep and take the Fist of Tebigong back from him."
"Rai, we cannot just steal the Shen-Gong-Wu from him," Omi told him.
"Why not?" Rai casually asked. "We stole from Jack all the time."
Jack swiveled his head around at this moment to glare at him.
"Only when he had stolen from us first," Omi pointed out.
"Either way, we still need to retrieve it- ooof!" Dojo spoke up as he grew thirty feet and slammed into a pillar.
Master Fung rolled his eyes. "Hopeless," he repeated to himself.
Dojo pulled his head out of the pillar, shook it to regain his focus, and looked over to the Warriors. "Well, c'mon! Let's get this show in the sky!"
They all grabbed Shen-Gong-Wu and hopped on. Eager to get this over with, Dojo quickly lifted off, without actually taking a head count.
"Wait!" Jack yelled from the ground. "You forgot your gear!" He flipped on his HeliPack and flew up after them, waving a large brown sack.
(-)
Aw…city life. It all seemed so familiar. Bob slowly sat up and looked around. From the crammed, high-rise buildings, cars, and milling pedestrians, he knew this was a city, but it certainly wasn't Chicago. There was something distinctly different, even without getting a good look at the surroundings. Everything seemed different. Even the air itself was different. Finally, he looked up and observed the sea of black hair…they were all Asian people, and the sweeping, complex characters on the shop signs meant one of two things.
Where was he? Beijing, perhaps? No…there were a lot of people, but there weren't that many people. As he looked up, Bob noticed the tall, pointed tower reaching towards the sun. Tokyo…he realized. We're in Tokyo.
"Yo, Gerald!" he called up to his driver. "Why are we paying a visit to Tokyo?"
"Why, welcome back, Bob!" Gerald called down to him. "Shésui gave us a call. Said one of those Shin-Gone-Boo things was activating in Tokyo. Those guys we're after should be going after it, and then we can take away their powers or something…"
Bob nodded, translating from his unaware, confused version. "Did she say where it was exactly?"
"No. We've got to find it before they do. She said we'd better hurry because she's coming on their flying dragon creature and they should be here in a few minutes."
Bob swiftly swung himself out of the cart and up onto the back of his motorcycle. "Okay. I have no idea where to start looking…"
At this statement, the monstrous figure of Dojo came floating down from the sky. He hovered right next to the Tokyo Tower, swiveling around it and investigating it. Well…that was easy.
"Okay, guys!" Bob ordered, even though Gerald was the one leading the pack. "To the Tokyo Tower!"
(-)
As Dojo hovered just above the metal rafters of the Tokyo Tower, the six Xiaolin Dragons carefully slipped off and onto a nearby landing spot. Not that it mattered if they fell- they were all wearing patented Jack Spicer HeliPacks, even Shelly, now that he'd gotten hers done.
"Dojo, are you sure about this?" Kimiko asked as she landed safely on a beam. "If there was a Shen-Gong-Wu on the Tokyo Tower, I think I would have known about it by now."
"Not necessarily," Dojo told her. "Normal people are incapable of sensing Shen-Gong-Wu…or sometimes…even seeing them."
"Yeah…this is a national landmark, I think they would have broadcast it if they'd discovered a golden harp on the Tokyo Tower," Kimiko continued.
"And let me guess," Rai said, rolling his green eyes. "It's at the top, isn't it?"
"Uh…" Dojo closed his eyes for a moment. "…I don't think it is. It seems to be closer to the center…"
"Near the antenna?" Kimiko guessed, and as soon as she'd made that assumption, they spotted the glittering item resting next to the central beam of the tower, one level above them.
"Couldn't you have let us off just a little higher?" Rai complained.
"Don't worry about it," a voice spoke up from behind him, and he looked back to see Jack hovering in the air. "We can fly, remember? …Thanks to me."
"Oh, sister…" Omi muttered, looking reluctantly down at the little dragon clasp at his chest. He hated traveling by HeliPack, and still couldn't understand why Jack was so fond of it.
The others switched the machines on and followed him up to the higher beam, like a swarm of bees, in formation.
While they flew up, the puttering sounds of ten helicopter blades whirling in the air, Shelly remained on the beam. She looked down at the streets below. They should be coming soon; she'd sent out the message to Gerald…
Sure enough, a group of non-Asian boys on motorcycles were approaching the base of the tower. Surely, they'd have some way to get up. There had to be a levitation spell somewhere in Wuya's repertoire. She could count on them.
She unbuckled the HeliPack clasp, since she wouldn't be needing this frivolous machine. Surely, none of the Xiaolin Warriors would miss her. They'd be too busy recovering the Shen-Gong-Wu…especially when Bob and the CFPU gang arrived. A small, twisted smile formed on the side of her mouth, and she swiftly jumped down from rafter to rafter to meet them and review their plans.
It took a while to reach the next beam, since the Tokyo Tower was so large. Jack was the first to land, and glanced around, trying to find the Harp of Harmonies. Kimiko landed next to him, and since she'd memorized the location when they'd first seen it, she immediately rushed towards the central beam where she'd known it was waiting. Rai, Clay, and Omi landed behind them a few seconds later.
Kimiko was closing in on the glowing harp by now, and she reached out to grab it. At that instant, a glowing comet shot up on the other side of the tower.
"What the…?" Rai, Omi, and Clay said at the same time.
The comet flashed closer to the center pillar, and the five of them were surprised when Bob emerged from the flames, slamming down on the beam next to Kimiko.
"What? How did you get up here so fast?" Omi asked, struggling backwards in surprise.
Bob slowly stood up again, and a thin, mysterious smile bent onto his face as the blue, blazing flames slowly flickered out around him. "Magic," he said, and the hint of mystique in his voice made everyone shiver. "Now," he quickly changed tones, becoming more demanding and aggressive. "Hand over that Shen-Gong-Wu."
"Not on your life," Kimiko answered. She reached back, snatched the Harp of Harmonies, and tucked it securely under her arm. "Just try to get it from me."
"Sure," Bob replied, whipping out a familiar rubbery pink square. "But you knew I was going to try anyway, didn't you? …Wu Jin Duraflex!"
The Xiaolin Warriors gasped as the substance began to shape itself, as if being sculpted by an invisible smith. For a moment they wondered what it was making. The Wu Jin Duraflex would become the first thing that had been on Bob's mind…what could that be?
Then, their hearts pounded as they each in turn realized what it was making. "…Dojo?" Omi whispered to the dragon, who had shrunken again, and was sitting on the beam next to him. "I never thought Shen-Gong-Wu could kill people."
Dojo nodded gravely. "If their user intends them to kill…then yes, they can kill."
At last, the Wu Jin Duraflex finished morphing, and fell, conveniently back into his right hand. It had become a gun. A tension-filled silence fell over the group of magic wielders.
Suddenly, Jack broke out laughing. "Ha ha! It's pink! He's got a bright pink gun! That's hilarious!"
Bob swiveled around and pointed it directly at his chest. "Who's laughing now?" he warned.
"Uh…uh, sorry!" Jack cried, holding up his hands and shaking, nervously.
Bob turned back towards Kimiko. "Now…hand over the Shen-Gong-Wu, or you'll be mighty sorry."
Kimiko's eyes widened. She'd never had to face an opponent with a gun before…this was supposed to be a kids' show, but unfortunately, she'd have to figure out how to deal with a bullet very fast.
"Could he really kill her with that Shen-Gong-Wu?" Rai cried, stepping a little closer, in concern.
"No, not with one shot," Dojo explained. "When the Wu Jin Duraflex forms a weapon, it is always at half power of the real object. It can't kill her with one shot, but it might injure her pretty badly." Everyone held their breath, waiting for the action.
"…No," Kimiko at last decided, hugging the harp closer to her body. "I won't just give it to you. I can't just give in to your threats!"
"Okay," Bob simply said, squeezing the Shen-Gong-Wu pistol a bit tighter. "You're asking for it." His finger reached for the trigger…and pressed it down.
Kimiko gasped. There was no time for her to jump over his head, or start up her HeliPack and fly away. Omi and Clay gaped as Rai ran forward in a useless attempt to help her.
Smash! Just in the nick of time, Jack had flown around him and in front of Kimiko. The pink plastic bullet slammed into a transparent, silvery bubble that covered the two of them. It seemed somehow stronger and wider than it had been before.
"Oooh…" Dojo said to himself, and anyone around who cared to listen. "It's the second level Silver Shield. I forgot that he'd be able to do that after becoming a Xiaolin Apprentice."
Jack held out his hands, supposing this would help support the dome-like shield. "Bob," he said, glaring despicably at him. "If you try to hurt her one more time, you'll have to go through me first!"
"Oooh, I'm so scared now," Bob replied, a joking smile curling his lips. "Spicy's out to get me! Oh no!"
Jack gritted his teeth. "Well, I'll show you what you really should be afraid of. I'm not going to submit to your stupid comments anymore! Explosion Crash, Metal!"
Bob was caught off guard, and one of the flying yin-yang plates slammed into his body, and the Wu Jin Duraflex gun flew out of his hands. As soon as it broke contact with his hands, it returned to its original square shape.
"That's another thing about the Wu Jin Duraflex," Dojo told them. "As soon as you let go of it, it reverts back to its original shape."
Bob quickly jumped up again and grabbed the item back. He growled in frustration. "So you really are one of them, aren't you? Strange…"
At last, Jack's Silver Shield broke, since he wasn't sensing danger and his concentration was starting to break up. "Yes. I am one of them. And I've got powers. I'm not powerless to stop you anymore."
Kimiko stood up and gave him a little smile. "Okay!" she said, taking a fighting stance. "Ready? Let's attack him together! Judallet…" A wall of flames sprang up around her, but she didn't get to finish the attack yet.
"…Crash!" Jack added, and his sheet of metal merged with the flames around Kimiko. Now, a burning, fluorescent orange hunk of metal was hanging in front of them, and instinctively, they knew what to do.
"Meltdown!" they called together, and the flaming comet zoomed towards Bob.
"Wow," Omi commented, purposely glancing down towards Dojo. "I didn't know we could combine our powers and create entirely new attacks like that!"
"Uh…I'm sure Master Fung was planning to tell you sometime…" Dojo said, looking down at the beam beneath him.
"What about you?" Rai insisted, glancing over, with one raised eyebrow.
"Er..I kind of forgot."
"You've been forgetting a lot of things lately."
"Well, what can I say? I'm getting old. Fifteen hundred years tend to do that to you."
Bob simply tucked himself close to the beam, and the comet passed right over him. By now, he'd gotten the Wu Jin Duraflex to morph again, this time into a large cannon-like weapon, and shot it before either of them had time to retaliate.
Kimiko and Jack were both too stunned after the surprising new attack they'd just performed to anticipate another strike. The pink plastic ball the cannon produced slammed into Kimiko. She screamed and flew backwards, dropping the Harp of Harmonies in the process.
Jack sprang into the air, caught her, and placed her back on the beam. Bob was distracted for the moment, recovering from the recoil of the Wu Jin Duraflex.
Kimiko didn't waste one moment and scrambled for the Harp. Bob threw the cannon into the air, let it morph back, and pocketed it once again. He too, went scampering across the beam towards the Harp of Harmonies. Kimiko's hand grabbed the bottom portion the same time Bob's hand grabbed the top.
"Kimiko!" the dark-haired gangster boy cried. "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! Your Star Hanabi against my Wu Jin Duraflex. The challenge is to walk a tightrope to the top of the tower."
"You're on," Kimiko agreed. She was burning with anger by now. This guy was really starting to get on her nerves. How dare he use Tokyo as his battle grounds! His arrogance and violent nature was only aggravating her further. Jeez, she thought behind her narrowing blue eyes. This guy's an even bigger jerk than Jack is! …Er, was.
"Xiaolin Showdown!" they cried in unison, and everyone was magically transported to the top of the Tokyo Tower. Omi, Rai, Clay, Jack, and Dojo sat on a hovering platform to the sidelines, and two gigantic poles with platforms on the end, the same size as the tower, erupted from the ground. Tightropes ran from the edge of these platforms to the tip of the tower. Kimiko landed on one, while Bob landed on the other. They exchanged resented glares for a moment, before calling, "Gong Yi Tan Pai!" and stepping off.
Kimiko flew across the skinny wire. All that balance training at the Xiaolin Temple had obviously been paying off. She had excellent poise and swiftness across a narrow surface, and at first she was beating Bob by a long shot.
Then, Bob held out his Shen-Gong-Wu. "Wu Jin Duraflex!" The plastic square molded into some kind of jet-propelled platform that strapped itself to the wire. "Ha ha!" he taunted as he zipped by Kimiko on the device. "See you at the finish line!"
"Not so fast!" Kimiko yelled. "Star Hanabi, Fire!" The flaming Shuriken star crashed straight into the rubbery device at Bob's feet.
"Aaaugh!" he yelled as he was knocked out of it, and was flung downwards. Kimiko took that moment to sprint as fast as she could across the wire.
Bob's wire burst into flames. He grabbed the end if it, swung himself back up, and quickly turned the Wu Jin Duraflex into a fire hose and doused the rope before the fire ate through it. Kimiko had passed him again, so this time, he flipped the Shen-Gong-Wu around and turned it into a cannon again. His aim was apparently off, because instead of hitting Kimiko and blasting her off her rope, the pink cannonball took a big chunk out of the tip of the Tokyo Tower.
The debris scattered everywhere…and since Kimiko was right near it, it was falling all around her. She screamed, but strangely enough, the fiery chunks of the Tower tip were almost comforting. It felt wonderfully relaxing to feel the warmth of the fire against her skin in the cold night. The pieces of ruins passed over her, leaving her in an inferno above the rope.
The Xiaolin Warriors gasped from the floating platform. "Kimiko!" Jack cried, instinctually zooming forward to help her.
Rai jumped to the edge of the platform and grabbed his hood just in time, yanking him backwards. "Hold on, Spicer. You can't interfere with the Showdown, remember?"
"But…Kimiko…" Jack softly objected, falling back onto the floating platform. It did look like the chances were a bit slim for the Dragon of Fire, but the originalthree Warriors knew better. There was no way a wall of flames would stop Kimiko.
From inside the fireball, she opened her blue eyes, glowing lighter from the flickering blaze around her. The world was wavering back and forth in a sea of reddened haze. It looked…so inviting.
Kimiko knew that Bob had to be passing her by now, but she couldn't break away from the spell of the flames dancing around her. This was her world…her city…her life that they were fighting above. Although she'd never felt a particular connection with this landmark, it was a representation of Tokyo itself. She couldn't allow this evil jerk to destroy that. If he was out hunting Texans and other ethnic groups, the Japanese people couldn't be too far behind.
The rage burned within her body, while the fire around her passed harmlessly over her body. Fire couldn't hurt fire…only make it stronger. Kimiko closed her eyes once again. How dare he! There's no way I'm letting him destroy the beautiful cultures of the world. Our differences are what make the world an amazing place to live in. I won't let him do this to my life!
And when she opened her eyes again, something was emerging out of the flames. A round, transparent globe hovered into her hands. Inside, red flickering particles crackled with anticipation. It looked like it had emerged out of the fire itself, and had formed a bubble around one portion of it. Kimiko looked deep into the object, and the fire inside reflected in her blue eyes.
The substance began to permeate out of the globe and absorb into her body. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt her at all. She didn't feel a single prick as the flames passed through her skin. When the glowing red aura had finally settled, a wall of flames, in bright vibrant colors of red, orange, and yellow surrounded her. They twisted and twirled in a pattern, forming a cocoon. Kimiko only sensed a slight warm sensation, as the flames magically burned off her temple robes and formed new clothes in their place. She was spinning at a high speed, as she transformed, yet she didn't feel the least bit dizzy. Finally, to complete the effect, she jumped out of the blazing inferno, landing gracefully back on her high wire. The flames circled around her for a moment and then disappeared as she held a hand back, completing her final pose.
Omi and Clay gasped at the effect. Rai's mouth fell open, and Jack's eyes bugged out. How in the world could it be possible? Even Dojo was stunned. They never thought Kimiko could ever look so…beautiful.
She stood poised perfectly on the wire, in her brand new costume. It was sparkling red and gleamed in the dark night around her. A flame symbol was etched into the armor-like chest, complete with warriors' shoulder protectors. Her short pleated skirt was made of hard armor plates, and netting wound around her arms. Her shoes were red high heels with two ribbons crisscrossing across the ankles.
Kimiko finally opened her eyes again and stood up, out of her pose. The power of the Element Orb had instilled some kind of knowledge within her. She knew what she needed to do. Looking ahead, she noticed that Bob was almost to the top of the tower now. Sprinting ahead, she realized that she now had much increased speed. Spreading like a wildfire across the tightrope, she was rapidly advancing on the finish line.
Bob was just ahead of her. Noticing her presence and her advanced power, he decided to make a last desperate move and sprang from the wire, lunging towards the end.
"Star Hanabi, Fire!" Kimiko yelled, and the words seemed to echo, powerfully around her. Unfortunately, her noble efforts were useless. Bob's hand touched down against the smooth surface of the tip of the Tokyo Tower an instant before a roar of fire sliced straight towards him, and burnt him to a crisp.
"So…what happened?" Omi asked as the floating platform brought them safely back to the beam where they had been before the Showdown started.
Kimiko gasped and fell to the ground from the release of so much extra magical substance. Her red costume flickered and gradually her Xiaolin Temple robes faded back onto her body.
"Kimiko!" Jack cried, running forward, free to make contact with her again. He kneeled next to her and wrapped an arm around her. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I think that was…my Element Orb…" she softly said, struggling into a sitting position. "I don't really know what happened…"
Just then, Bob stepped out of the smoky backdrop which was curling around the beams of the Tokyo Tower. He took slow, wobbly steps, and struggled just to hold himself up. He was entirely covered with soot, and a large portion of his loose, blue shirt had been burnt off. Pieces of his dark hair were sticking out of the perfect braids they'd been in before, and his dotted medallion was melted flat. Despite the scorched, beat-up appearance of his body, he was smiling, with the Harp of Harmonies tucked under one arm.
"Huh?" Omi gasped.
"He won again!" Clay added, in disbelief.
"That's right," Bob replied. "I can beat you pathetic monks, even with your full powers…and keep you from obtaining them as well." He held up the glittering Star Hanabi, which was also in the pile of Shen-Gong-Wu he held in his arms.
"No…" Kimiko realized. "That's…my token Shen-Gong-Wu! You made me use it on purpose!"
Bob smirked. "Ah, now it all becomes clear…" He turned away for a moment to cough, since the smoky haze around them was closing in. "Well, no use hanging around here anymore; I've done what I came here to accomplish. I'll see you again very soon…" The gangster boy disappeared into the smoky fog, and flew back down to the base of the tower, where his posse was awaiting his return.
"Oh, darnit!" Kimiko exclaimed, pounding a fist against the solid metal beam. "I can't believe it! How could he have won? I blasted him with the Star Hanabi! Two seconds earlier and I would've had him beat! Why?"
"It's okay," Jack said, pulling her into a hug. "You tried your hardest. And at least you found your Element Orb, right?"
Kimiko sighed. "Yeah…but what good is it without the Star Hanabi? I can't perform my upper level attacks. I didn't know how it really worked in that Showdown, so that's probably why I lost…"
"Aw, we'll get it back from him next time," Rai tried to comfort her.
"That's what we said last time about my Fist of Tebigong," Clay spoke up.
"Be quiet, I'm trying to give support here!" Rai whispered back at him.
"Yes!" Omi agreed, chiming in to drown out Clay's negativity. "The next time we challenge Bob, we'll win both the Star Hanabi and the Fist of Tebigong back from him! I just know it!"
"Don't get your hopes up," Clay told him. "That guy's been gettin' mighty lucky. He's on a 2-0 winning streak."
"Well then, it appears that his luck has just run away! C'mon, everyone, let's get back to the temple!"
"Yeah!" Dojo agreed, magically enlarging once again. "Another Element Orb found! That kid may be on a winning streak, but we're on an Element-Orb-finding streak! Now, let's go back and throw a party for Kimiko!"
"Dojo…" Omi replied, as he flew back up onto his back. "Didn't you hear Master Fung this afternoon? No more parties…for anyone."
"I feel a little bad for y'all," Clay said as he climbed up next to the little bald monk. "I got to have a party when I found my Element Orb, but the rest of you ain't going to get one."
"Oh. It's okay," Kimiko told them. "I didn't need a big party. I'm fine as it is."
"But we'll have a little one later tonight," Jack told her, putting his arms around her again. "I finished cleaning the DJ machine, so you can come down tonight and we can have our own little party…"
Kimiko laughed and teasingly tried to push him away. "Jack…come on. Don't embarrass me."
"You know, you looked hot in that new outfit of yours," he continued, ignoring her.
She raised an eyebrow and glared back at him. "…Shouldn't I look hot all the time?"
"Oh! Yes! Of course you do!" Jack cried, suddenly struck with panic. "I just meant that you looked even hotter than your usual, um…hotness."
"Of course she was hot…" Omi chimed in, to everyone's amazement. "…She was surrounded by flames!"
Rai sighed and chuckled to himself. "Uh, Omi, we're talking about a different kind of hot here."
Omi looked over at them with question marks in his eyes. "What other kind of hot could there be?"
The others all laughed at him. "We'll explain it to you when you're a little older," Rai told him. And so the Xiaolin Warriors spiraled back towards the temple with disappointing news…but not without hope for the future.