WARNING: Very long chapter alert. Longest chapter thus far. Rai chapter! Jack is next! Also long chapter for romance and relationship troubles. Woohoo. I'm exhausted. The beginning is kind of stupid and weird, with Megan and Rai's sister, but ah, well, it's just…there. At least I show a little more of my version of Rai's family. Don't worry, it's going to be getting a bit more exciting soon. Especially next chapter. So stick around because the big twist is coming up soon!
I also own the Biao Lu Basin. Biao Lu means "reveal". But it won't be used for awhile yet.
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Chapter: Winds of Change
Key Tactic #3- If at first you don't succeed, lie, lie again.
(-)
A chill was in the air and at the Xiaolin Temple, that wasn't all that was in the air. February 13…Rai checked the calendar tacked on the back wall of his room-cubicle and whistled contentedly to himself. Though the others didn't know yet, this was a special day for him. In just a few hours, he'd be going to the airport…
"Hey, incoming!" a familiar voice boomed from the end of the hallway. Everyone poked their heads out of their cubicles to look, suspiciously over at Jack. He was standing at the end of the hall, near the door leading down to his lab. "Just a heads up; I'm going to be baby-sitting today."
"Baby-sitting?" Kimiko asked, a bit doubtful herself. "Baby-sitting who?"
"Who else?" Jack replied, rolling his eyes.
"Oh," Kimiko realized. "Megan."
"Hide me!" Dojo cried, shooting up Omi's robes, desperately.
"Why is that?" Omi asked, as he ripped the dragon out from underneath his clothes. "I thought you broke away from your former family."
"Not with my aunt," Jack admitted. "She's not that bad, so I sent her a postcard one day…but I forgot that it had a picture of the Xiaolin temple on it, so now she knows where I'm living. She agreed to keep my secret if I'd baby-sit Megan again…why do I do stupid things like that?"
"I don't know," Rai teased. "We've been trying to figure that one out for awhile now."
"Do you baby-sit her…?" Omi asked, "Or does she baby-sit you?"
"Will you stop teasing me about it?" Jack complained. "Besides, she'll be here in a few minutes, so you better get out of sight."
"You said it!" Dojo cried, this time shooting under Omi's pillowcase. "I'm still trembling over that other time. The…bonnet…the teacups…oooh, scary!"
"Well, I ought to get going anyway," Rai finally announced, swinging a blue backpack up onto his shoulders. "I've got a little personal business to attend to."
Kimiko, Omi, and Clay all raised their eyebrows at him, suspiciously. "Where are you going?" Kimiko insisted, glaring into his innocent face.
"What?" Rai said, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm going to the airport. Leandra's coming to stay over for Valentine's Day, and she's bringing Maria with her, for company."
"Maria?" Clay asked, still suspicious.
"She's my little sister!" Rai quickly replied. "Geez, why do you always have to be so suspicious of me?"
"Well, sorry, but you could have at least told us about your new visitors."
"Visitors?" Omi cried, jumping up. "Why didn't you tell us? We have to make them feel welcome!" He madly rushed out towards the central room to prepare, becoming a yellow-and-red-blur in the distance.
"Well, I'll see ya later," Rai called, casually waving and stepping out the back door.
Jus then, a loud banging came from the sliding door on the opposite side, right behind Jack. "Oh, Jaa-ack!" a little chirpy girl's voice spoke up from the other side.
"Oh, no…" he muttered, and took a deep breath before reluctantly reaching for the door handle.
(-)
Rai waded through the crowd of Chinese people at the airport. Other, Caucasian people stood in the midst of them, most likely tourists, waiting for other family members to arrive, or the plane to take them back home. Rai felt very much like a tourist as small groups of Chinese people stared, or whispered to each other as he passed by. Just what was this Portuguese boy doing here?
Rai looked up as a PA announcer crackled on, and announced something in Chinese. How was he supposed to know what had happened? he wondered, but when he noticed the electronic board at the front of the room, the code A11519 lit up in red characters on one of the lines. That was Leandra and Maria's flight number!
Just then, a gate opened further ahead, and parts of the Chinese crowd rushed towards it. Though they were jabbering in random Jibberish that Rai couldn't even hope to understand, happiness and gratitude was the same in any language. He saw as black-haired men and women greeted other black-haired men and women, small children, boys and girls, hugging them, kissing them, or giving them piggyback rides. The sentiment felt the same wherever he went in the airline waiting room, and the entire crowd seemed to emit a single word- "Welcome!"
Finally, Rai reached the doorway and found two very familiar girls with brown, tanned skin, and brown hair to match…just like him. The taller, older girl was wearing a long, white, casual dress with a shawl, her hair up in ponytail, tied with a sparkling ribbon. Her blue eyes lit up at the sight of him. The little girl beside her also seemed to brighten in spirit. She wore a pink, puffy coat and a pair of jeans with a tee-shirt with a flower on it. Her short, chin-length brown hair, clipped back with a pink butterfly clip, and large, innocent green eyes resembled her brother's.
"Rai-Rai!" the little girl cried and jumped into his arms, leaving her pink plastic suitcase behind for the moment.
"Hi there, Maria!" Rai called, giving his little sister a hug. "How's everything been over there, girl?"
"Boring," Maria replied, in a high, complaining voice. "We had three shows last week! I'm getting sick of doing flips. Tony came back for a week from his school, but he's not as fun as you, and he never had time to play with me…"
"Okay, okay," Rai said, laughing as the bright little girl prattled on. He picked her up and placed her safely back on the tiled floor. "You can tell me the rest later. We've got to get going to the Xiaolin Temple."
"Oooh, oooh!" Maria cried, skipping a bit ahead of him. "The Xiaolin Temple! I can't wait! Let's go, let's go!"
A little, amused smile appeared on Leandra's face as Rai walked back to meet her. He took her suitcase like a proper gentleman and placed Maria's little plastic one on top. "Thanks for inviting us to come," Leandra told him, graciously. "Some times I really have to get away from the circus, you know?"
Rai nodded. Performing was fun, but sometimes you really needed to get away from all the glitz and glamour and live a normal life. Rai didn't tell her that he had really asked her here for Valentine's Day, but she'd find out soon enough. As he began to walk back towards the entrance with his new company, Rai ran through the different steps of his romantic, Valentine's Day plan. Part one was complete…
(-)
"Weeeee!" a little voice cried, as it spun around and around on top of a circular brush. "Yay! This is so cool! Why didn't you tell me you'd gotten some new toys, Jack?"
Jack Spicer stood a few feet away from the device, biting his fingernails in anxiety. "Th-that's not a toy!" he managed to call, but his weak, worried voice didn't have any of the authority this commandment required.
Megan sat perched on top of one of the virtually unused "Scrubby-bot's" scrubbing floor brush as it whirled around and around. Her shoulder-length curling blond hair flew out behind her. For the past two hours, the little girl in the pink polka-dotted dress had examined and "played" with practically everything in Jack's non-evil lab. The jump-roping Jack-bots were still playing double-dutch with each other, and the DJ machine was blaring cutesy pop songs. Megan had even monopolized Jack's hammock, first declaring that she would sleep there tonight, even though he objected that she wasn't going to be sleeping over.
"Hey…" Megan spoke up, finally switching off the Scrubby-bot and hopping off of the brush. "What's that stuff?" She pointed to a pile of hoses and masses of metal in the corner. "It looks fun!" she exclaimed and ran towards the pile.
"No!" Jack desperately resisted, jumping in front of the pile and defending it. "Don't touch it! That's something I'm working on. It's not finished yet, so you can't play with it! …Not that you can play with anything that's finished either!"
Megan frowned and crossed her arms. "Aww, you're no fun," she complained. She turned around and drew a pattern of squares on the floor with chalk. "Okay, who wants to play hopscotch!" she cheerfully asked the crowd of Jack-bots in front of her. A few of them hovered up to the pattern on the floor, but she quickly dismissed them. "No, wait. You don't have feet! That wouldn't be fair. Cheaters!" The Jack-bots hung their metal heads and floated away. Slowly, Megan turned around, with a glint in her blue eyes. "Hey, Jaa-ack!"
Jack quickly hid underneath a large sheet of metal, peeking out from behind it and cowering in fear. "No! Not hopscotch! Please! Anything but hopscotch! I was always so bad at that game…"
"Oh really?" Megan threatened, stepping closer to the metal sheet. "Anything?"
Fortunately (for Jack), Rai chose that instant to barge into the lab to introduce his new guests. Since Jack hadn't been upstairs to witness Lenadra and Maria's arrival, he had to come down here to introduce them. Megan turned around, startled at their sudden appearance. "Uh…hey, Megan," Rai said, looking around, confusedly. "Jack around?"
"He's hiding in that pile of junk he's hoarding," she told him, pointing in the direction of the metal sheet. "He's afraid of hopscotch."
"Oh, hi, Rai!" Jack called, jumping out from behind the metal and trying to drown out his little cousin's last sentence. "I didn't know you were coming by. And…um, hi Bird Girl and Rai's little sister!" He waved, and smiled, stupidly at them.
Leandra frowned at being called "Bird Girl", but Maria seemed indifferent, staring amazedly around the lab.
"That's Leandra," Rai corrected, shooting Jack a warning glare. "You remember her from when you guys came to get me in Brazil. And this is Maria." He turned and pointed at the two residents. "And those, as you may know, are my fellow Xiaolin Warrior, Jack Spicer, and his cousin, Megan."
Megan took her cue and curtsied, to introduce herself properly. "I am Megan Mustards, pleased to make your acquaintance."
Behind her, Jack rolled his eyes at the phrase. It was just one of many refined, rich family social phrases he'd come to despise. Unfortunately, his aunt's family, the Mustards' still did these kinds of things.
"Oooh," Maria admired. "I like your dress and the bow. It looks very pretty."
"Why thank you," Megan sweetly replied, bouncing the bottom of her upturned, styled hair. "It's only the finest children's designer name, you know. Hey…" Her blue eyes lit up with an idea, and a smile appeared on her face. "I know! Could you play hopscotch with me?"
"I'd love to!" Maria replied. "Hopscotch is one of my favorite games! …Can I, Rai-Rai?"
"Sure, why not?" Rai responded. "But why don't you do play outside? You'll have more room to run around in the temple's garden."
"But…I wanted to still play with the robots," Megan disappointedly said, looking over at the group of Jack-bots who were still relentlessly jumping rope.
"Take them with you," Rai suggested, and Megan lit up again.
"Okay!" she complied, and grabbed the Jack-bots, dragging them out of the room behind her. "C'mon, Maria! Let's go play!"
"Yay!" Maria called, running after her. "This is so cool! Hopscotch in a Chinese garden with a bunch of robots!" Soon, the two girls had disappeared to the garden and the lab fell silent for a precious moment.
Jack took a deep breath and gratefully ran to their side. "And once again, the amazing Raimundo Pedrosa saves my life," he announced. "I really owe ya one. She sent the Jack-bots into a jump rope relapse…they were doing so well, too… And I have to wash out the DJ machine again!" With that, he whacked the stop button on the large stereo and exorcised it of its sweet, flowery pop CD's.
"No prob," Rai said, glancing over at him for a moment. "No offense, Jack, but you really don't know how to baby-sit little girls…especially when you're afraid of them."
Leandra giggled to herself. At least listening to the two boys was worthwhile entertainment.
"I am not afraid of little girls!" Jack argued. "Just Megan. She's not a normal little girl…she's…destructive."
"Yeah, sure," Rai said, trying to hide his chuckles. "She was pretty nice to us when we first met her."
"She didn't try to invade your property," Jack said. "My poor Jack-bots…I'll have to start them all over again on the ten-step program…"
Leandra giggled again, which reminded Rai of her presence. "Well, I've got to get back upstairs," he said, starting towards the stairs, escorting Leandra with him. "Have fun fixing your junk."
They exited through the concrete door, as Jack stood there, dumbstruck for a moment. "It's not junk!" they at last heard his voice echo as they ascended the dingy stairs.
(-)
The bright, shining, beckoning sunshine eventually drew everyone to the surface and the Xiaolin Warriors had all met each other in the garden, among their special guests. Clay and Omi were joyfully training with each other in the background, performing kung-fu moves and tricks of their own. Rai was simply sitting on a stone wall, looking after Maria and Megan as they played dolls with the Jack-bots. Shelly sat a few inches away from him, staring into the sky as her little spirit partner curled around in her lap. Jack was sitting next to them, drawing up plans of some sort.
Finally, Kimiko hovered around Leandra, styling her long, shining brown hair with a brush, a comb, and several elastics and barrettes. Already, the two of them were starting to get along, and Rai was slightly grateful. It was good for Kimiko to have a few friends of her own gender. She and Shelly still didn't get along, and frankly, he couldn't understand why. Shelly had always been pretty nice to him. He turned around for a minute to check on their progress. Leandra smiled over at him, as Kimiko pinned another portion of her hair up. "So, how's it look so far?" she asked.
"Great!" Rai replied. Actually, he thought those bouncy banana curls looked a little strange on her, since her hair had always been iron-flat, but dared not actually say it. Two angry, offended girls was something he definitely did not want to have to deal with right now.
"Augh!" he suddenly heard a little voice cry in the distance. "Ow! Oww, my leg!"
Rai immediately turned around to look in the direction of the two little girls. Megan was lying in a pink, crumpled heap on the ground, clutching her right leg just on the other side of a tree. The Jack-bots continued to play Hot Potato with each other, unaffected by the girls' sudden disappearance. Rai jumped up from the wall and headed towards the garden. "Jack!" he yelled at the boy genius whose head was still buried in his papers. "What kind of baby-sitter are you? Your little cousin has just hurt her leg!"
At last, Jack set his pile of papers down on the wall and stood up, watching Rai run off towards her. "…She's probably faking it," he skeptically announced, but Rai didn't hear him. He sighed, despairingly, and ran after him.
"Hey, Megan, are you okay?" Rai asked, kneeling to the little girl's level as soon as he reached the spot.
"…I think so…" Megan answered, looking up at him, her blue eyes brimming with tears. "I just accidentally fell down and hurt my leg…I might have twisted it. Ow!"
"Megan…" Jack spoke up, at last running up behind Rai. "Please don't pull this on Rai; he's really gullible."
"Be quiet, you evil insensitive jerk!" Rai snapped back at him. "I think she's really hurt!"
Just at that moment, Maria, from her perch in a tree, pulled a string. Two buckets of paint came tipping down, spilling straight on top of Rai and Jack. In an instant, they were covered in pink paint, and Megan and Maria were jumping up and down, laughing at them.
"What did I tell you?" Jack said, peering out from underneath a glob of pink on his head. "Megan, I'm telling Auntie on you!"
"You can't do that," Megan bragged. "Because if you do, then I'll tell Uncle Henry where you live!"
Jack slowly backed off and hid his pink self behind the tree. "See…" he squeaked, in a small, terrified voice. "Little girls are really scary!"
Later that night, Rai gave Maria a warning for what she'd done, and then blamed the whole thing on Jack for his "evil" family having a bad influence on her.
Mrs. Mustards dropped by to pick up Megan, but she couldn't leave until she'd gotten Maria's address and telephone number. At least the girls had finally found a friend their age to play with…and it looked like their friendship was going to last quite a while.
As the little girls were waving and saying good-bye against the winter sunset, Jack and Rai glanced at each other for a moment. Though neither of them would admit it, a tie had appeared, further tying the two boys together.
(-)
At last, it was here. Valentine's Day had arrived, and you could almost feel it in the very atmosphere. And parts 1-3 were now complete. Early that morning, Rai had treated his girlfriend to breakfast in her own cubicle, and then escorted her for the rest of the day. Right now, the Brazilian girl was getting dressed and getting ready to go out for a walk with him. Rai walked alone along the temple path, picking out flowers he found along the way to make a bouquet with. At least, he thought he was alone.
"Oooh, look at Raimundo, picking flowers out of Master Fung's flower garden," Omi taunted as he strolled up and stood at the edge of the patch. "I suppose our Dragon of Wind has been getting more in touch with his feminine side!"
"Shaddup," Rai snapped over at him. "These are for Leandra. I'm taking her out for a date today, for the special occasion."
"Hey, that's right," Kimiko said to herself. She was gazing out the round window of the Xiaolin Temple at the two of them. Rai was so sweet, picking flowers for Leandra. "…Yeah. Today's Valentine's Day." At last, she turned away from the window and began to return to her cubicle.
She shut her mouth and tried not to voice her next thought. …How come I haven't gotten anything from my boyfriend yet? She looked down at the papery ground and tried to block out these thoughts. It made sense that Jack would be a deadbeat boyfriend when it came to Valentine's Day. Kimiko frowned, half trying to make up for herself. Jack sure was sweet and intelligent, but he just didn't know how to be romantic.
"Aaaugh!" Kimiko suddenly screamed in alarm as a large rolling robot popped out from around the corner. Speaking of Jack… She frowned again as she observed it. Master Fung had always reprimanded him against letting his robots run wild through the temple. She should probably go report this one now…
Then, just as she was about to walk away, the robot's red light eyes pinged on. "Kimiko…" its droning voice began. "Special delivery for you. Happy Valentine's Day." Then, a door opened on the Jack-bot's chest and a platform sprang out, with a heart-shaped box of chocolates sitting in the center of it.
Kimiko's face lit up in delight when she saw the unusual surprise. It was so strange, but also so sweet, that she started to laugh and grabbed the heart candy box, pressing it against her chest. How could she ever doubt him? "Oh, Jack…" she sighed to herself, and a minute later she shrieked again as the boy himself popped up out of nowhere, wrapping her in his arms.
Jack grinned and beamed to himself as Kimiko laughed out loud, in surprise and delight. "Oh, come on now," he said, beginning to chuckle with her. "You didn't really think I'd forget to give you something for Valentine's Day!"
Kimiko wiped grateful tears from her eyes and smiled back at him. "Of course not," she happily lied.
Gradually, Jack wrapped an arm around her and she leaned her head sideways, against his chest. Together, they walked down the hall, and towards the non-evil room where the festivities were about to begin.
Raimundo, too, was making his move and smoothly sailed back into the Xiaolin Temple, presenting Leandra with his homemade bouquet. The Brazilian girl was wearing her elegant white dress, accented with a lovely sheen shawl, petal-shaped airy sleeves, and a handbag. Her Kimiko-style curled hairdo had begun to flatten out, and the effect gave her a perfect, balanced wavy look. She received the flowers with gratitude and surprise, and the two kissed, blissfully before linking arms and making their way out to the garden.
(-)
Wonderland had returned again. As Jack studied his blueprints, sheets of mathematical calculations, and experimental notes, he felt that the world again was a wonderful place. There was so much hope in it, and filled with this loving feeling, he put all of his soul into the construction of this new machine.
"Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, all dressed in black, black, black…"
A large, goofy, smitten smile was plastered on his face, even as he connected tubes with metal wires, and installed electrical components within them. It didn't even falter as he stared into the wicked, toothy maw of the new design. That was how powerful this feeling was…this strange, yet fascinating new sensation of loving someone, and being loved in return. Yes…everything was perfect…
"With silver buttons, buttons, buttons all down her back, back, back…"
Now, if only he could get those singing Jack-bots to shut up…
"She asked her mother, mother, mother for fifty cents, cents, cents to see the elephants, elephants, elephants go jump the fence, fence, fence…"
Jack was beginning to wonder what had ever possessed him to give the Jack-bots the ability to sing. It was amazing that they were able to sing this children's hand-game song all in perfect chorus harmony, but still, after hearing "Miss Mary Mack" for the ten thousandth time, he was quickly completing his trip towards insanity. "Will you sing something else already?" he turned his head to snap at them. "You've been singing that same song for two hours! Please, anything else!"
The Jack-bot chorus froze for a moment, looked at each other and shook their heads in unison, as if changing tracks. "…Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water…"
Jack's red eyes grew wide. "Aaaaaaugh!" he screamed, running around and panicking. "No! No! Stop it! Not that song! Don't you know of the horrible, abominable messages that song contains?"
The singing Jack-bots halted, looked at each other again, began trying to process the song's lyrics in their computerized minds, and all simultaneously self-destructed when they reached the conclusion.
"Well…that takes care of that…" Jack said, panting and trying to relax again. The goofy smile was long gone from his face. Then, just as he had turned back and began to resume work on his latest invention, there came a knocking against gravel. When Jack turned around again, he found Shelly standing just behind him, and her sudden appearance startled him. "Ah! Oh! Shelly…wasn't expecting you. I wasn't expecting anyone, in fact…"
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the female Dragon of Ice said, her forehead crinkling in concern. "I just wanted to come visit you again. I know I haven't seen you in a while, and it is Valentine's Day. I hope I'm not causing you too much trouble."
"No, no," Jack quickly replied. "I was just surprised." He shoved his pile of tubes and wires underneath a nearby desk. "So, what did you need to see me for?"
"I just wanted to see you," Shelly replied, almost angrily, putting her hands on her curving hips. "I didn't want you feeling lonely or anything."
Jack smiled, trying to hold in his chuckles. "Lonely? I can't be lonely on a day like today. I've got Kimiko…she's my girlfriend…and the other guys are around. I know Rai went off with his girlfriend, but I'm not lonely."
"Well, that's good," Shelly replied, and her face twitched oddly for a second, as if she had tried to smile, but it didn't work. "You're right. Today is a day for being together with the one you love. Right, Bobby?" The shapeless little ghost hovered up, settling gently in her arms and nodding in hearty agreement.
Jack stared at the ghost for a moment, and then found that he was absentmindedly staring in places he shouldn't be staring, and turned away, a blush prickling onto his cheeks.
"I…know you'd feel a little funny accepting this, but I got this for you, in case you were lonely and didn't get anything from anyone else…"
The thought crossed Jack's mind for a split second that Kimiko hadn't gotten him anything, but he tried to push it away. Then, the instant Shelly pulled out her gift, all other objects, people, and thoughts vanished.
"Is that…pudding?" he cried. And indeed, Shelly was holding a package of nine plastic cups filled with chocolate pudding. "Wow! For me?" Jack cried, seizing the package from her hands. "Thank you so much!" And, just as she had planned, he jumped forward and squeezed her in a hug.
As the over-excited genius boy pressed against her, a smile spread over her face…and for an instant, her tiny, snakelike tongue flickered out. Everything was working perfectly. And now…cue the Dragon of Fire…
Just at that moment, Kimiko opened the door to the lab. She'd received a secret note, telling her that Jack had another Valentine's Day surprise for her, and to meet again in the lab at 2:00. It was exactly 2:00, according to her pink, electronic digital watch…and when she casually opened the door, she sure did get a surprise.
"…Jack?" she finally managed to speak, her blank, stunned expression gaping at him.
"Kimiko?" Jack cried at the sound of her voice, and shoved away from Shelly almost as quickly as he had leaped to hug her. For a silent, anxious moment, they only stared at each other, until Jack finally realized what was going on. "Uh…I…it's not what you think it is…"
"…Don't even try to explain!" Kimiko cried, finally harnessing the anger bubbling up inside her. "I know exactly what was going on! I saw you!"
"Kimiko, it's not…" Jack tried again, dropping the pudding package and holding out his hands in desperation.
"Stop!" Kimiko yelled back at him. "I don't want to hear any more sorry excuses! It's just as I always thought! You like Shelly more than me, don't you? I knew it; I've seen the way you look at her! And I bet you've been cheating with her down here all along! I thought you'd been spending an awful lot of time down here…"
"Now, you shouldn't…" Jack once again tried to make an argument to defend himself, but there was no stopping up the flow of Mt. Kimiko after it had erupted.
"I was right the first time! I was right all along. I should've just trusted my instincts! But if you want to go with her, then fine! Go with her! I don't want to see you anymore!"
By now, Jack had slipped to the ground while enduring her blast, and he was fighting against the tears forming on the edges of his eyelids. "Kimiko, I'm sorry…" he whimpered and couldn't help but give her sad puppy dog eyes as he lifted his head.
Kimiko remained indifferent to the scene, and only seemed angrier, crossing her arms and tapping one fancy boot-covered foot. "I'm not going to fall for your little mercy acts anymore, Jack!" she said, her voice hard. "I mean it! We're through! GOOD RIDDANCE!" She turned away and began to storm back up the stairs, muttering to herself. "I don't know why in the world I ever trusted him…"
Jack remained on the floor for a good three minutes, staring at the ground in confusion, frustration, and pain. Why…? It had all happened so fast. Just like that, she was gone. His wonderland was gone.
"…I…I'm sorry," Shelly finally spoke up, stepping up next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't think…"
"Don't touch me!" Jack snapped, frustratingly slapping her hand from his shoulder. He got to his feet and rubbed the tears off his cheeks.
Shelly stepped back and looked shocked, holding her hand, with her mouth dropping open.
At last, Jack took a deep breath and looked back at her. "It's okay. It wasn't all your fault. Just…please leave now. Sometimes, I need to be alone…"
Shelly nodded and scampered up the staircase back to her cubicle. In his worried, regretful state, Jack failed to notice the uncontrollable giggling she was uttering as she ascended the stairs.
He sat down at his desk and put his head in his hand. He tried his best to entertain himself and not think about the recent events, but it was impossible. The robots had no life, the computer seemed boring and monotonous, the pile of wires and tubes was nothing but a pile of wires and tubes, and even the chocolate pudding tasted sour.
(-)
This was a new, hard, cold Chinese house…one that wasn't so hard and cold once the inner workings were examined. Jack cringed as he endured the tapping of his metal-lined boots against the stone floor. He'd come a long way already without being detected, and now had to hope that his footsteps wouldn't give him away. Regretfully, he realized that he probably should have taken the Shroud of Shadows to use on the way, but that would've required a trip to the Shen-Gong-Wu vault, which wouldn't have looked too good right now. Fortunately, at least this wing of the temple had very little traffic, and he only had to dodge a few startled-looking old monks before reaching his destination.
Hesitantly, Jack peered through the stone, decorated doorway, and glanced quickly around. "…Mom?" he asked, wondering where his legendary mother had disappeared to. Naturally, the rooms of the temple leaders were larger and more accommodating, and Marylyn's was filled with sheen, multicolored draperies. Somewhere in one corner, the glint of jewelry, watches, and clocks peeked through the airy fibers.
Marylyn pushed some of the drapes away and appeared just in front of the doorway, looking puzzled. "Oh! Jack! It's great of you to come visit me! Come on in! Take a seat!"
Jack only frowned at her cheerful greeting, regretting that he was going to have to disappoint her, but grateful that she hadn't used any baby, motherly names.
Marylyn led her depressed son to the central portion of her room, sat down on one of the cushions arranged in a circle there, and motioned for him to take a seat on the purple one right next to her.
Jack slumped down on the cushion, crossed his legs, and rested his elbows on his knees, so he could rest his chin between his fists.
Marylyn smiled, warmly and turned towards him, her legs folded under her, comfortably. "I've been waiting for you to come for a while, but I didn't want to force the issue. Now we can spend some quality mother-son time together! I'm so happy you wanted to get to know your mother better!" She leaned over and wrapped Jack's head in her arms, lovingly.
His dull, sunken eyes only continued to stare down at the ground. "Uh…Mom…?" he slowly spoke up, reluctant to crush her spirits and tell her the truth. "…I'm sorry, but that's not what I came here for."
Marylyn's smile slowly diminished. "Oh…" she realized, gently releasing his head. "Well, then…what did you come to see me for? I should be grateful that you at least thought about me for something, right?"
Jack sighed and stared at the floor again. He picked at the tassels on his cushion, absentmindedly, once again trying to distract himself with some activity.
Marylyn moved a little closer in concern after several seconds had passed with no word. Even though she hadn't been around Jack very long and didn't know him too well, she'd seen enough to know that if he didn't talk, something was definitely wrong. Marylyn gently slipped her arm over his shoulders and pulled him a little closer in concern. "What happened? Is something the matter?"
Jack took a deep breath and turned his face from her, not wanting to look in her eyes. "…Kimiko and I had a bit of a fight. Well, actually it was just her yelling…but she broke up with me, and I don't even understand why… Well, okay, I do understand why, but it was just a misunderstanding…I came to see you, because you're the only female person I can talk to now, and maybe you can help figure out what to do…"
Marylyn waited as he stumbled along, trying to explain what happened. At last, when he fell silent again, she asked, softly, yet firmly, "Okay. Now tell me what happened. Exactly. Don't leave anything out."
Jack sighed again and lowered his head. "Shelly came to see me in my lab. She thought I might be lonely, and came to give me a gift for Valentine's Day…I think she has a crush on me…but, I was so grateful, I got carried away and gave her a hug. Then, Kimiko walked in, saw us together, and jumped to conclusions… Now she's all mad at me, and broke up with me before I had a chance to explain…I don't know what to do."
"You want to get back together with her?" Marylyn asked, leaning back a bit and thinking. Thankfully, relationships were one of her strong suits.
"Well, of course!" Jack quickly snapped back. "She's my girlfriend! I always liked her, even before I discovered my powers… Sure, Shelly might be pretty, but I hardly even know her, and…"
Marylyn raised her eyebrows. He'd just openly admitted that he thought Shelly was pretty and not even faltered when he'd said it. Jack was silent again for about a minute, starting to pick at the cushion's edging again.
"Oh…okay…I think Shelly looks better than Kimiko…but that's just based on looks! And…sometimes I don't think Kimiko really likes me, she just goes out with me because she feels bad for me… Not that I don't like her anymore…I still do, I just…I…I don't know!" His emotions surging through him in frustration and confusion, Jack accidentally pulled the tassel off the right corner of the cushion. He stared at the fibrous strands and squished them in his fingers a moment. "Uh…sorry about your cushion…"
"Don't worry about it," Marylyn gently said, pushing his hand down to rest. "The decision is yours to make. But you must always remain true to your heart. Just look into your heart and you'll find the answer there, as clear as glass. It will always lead you to the one you are really meant to be with."
"You know…" Jack said, ironically looking very serious. "…I think you've been hanging around Master Fung too long."
Marylyn laughed, which seemed to break up the tense atmosphere and let the world begin again. "Yeah, yeah. I tend to pick up his speech patterns when he's talking to me a lot."
Jack collapsed onto the nearby cushions, from the exertion of revealing his real thoughts, and Marylyn looked down at him, smiling almost amusedly. "It's important that you follow this advice," she said. "I never listened to it, and I ended up with your father…" She paused for a moment, and reached down, ruffling his brick-red head. "But something in my heart must have been right, because you came out of it, didn't you?"
For the moment, Jack was so confused and worn out that he didn't mind Marylyn being so motherly with him. In fact, it almost made that blissful, warm feeling return. Though it was from a different source, and of a different kind, it was there again…that feeling of love…and suddenly he didn't feel like going back out to face the cold stone world. "Would you mind if I just stayed here for now?" he mumbled into the pile of cushions he'd gathered around him when he fell.
"No, not at all," Marylyn replied, withdrawing and standing back up again. "Spend the night if you want. I've got my own bed. Like I said, it would be great to spend some mother-son time together."
And a few minutes later, Jack felt so comfortable that he did fall asleep, right there on the cushions in the middle of his mother's room. His problems would just have to wait a little while to be solved.
(-)
Meanwhile, in the middle of the night, Leandra was sitting at the edge of the small pond in the temple garden. Her stroll with Raimundo had been very pleasant and relaxing, a gentle remedy for the hectic life of a circus performer. She removed her shawl from around her shoulders and dipped it pensively in the pool of water. The glistening moonlight reflected in the smooth, wavering substance of the calm water. It was a nice, cool evening…perfect for Valentine's Day…yet Rai was off somewhere else. He'd said he needed to get back to the temple for Xiaolin training. A Dragon's work was never done… Yet, Leandra still felt a bit disappointed. Here she was, alone in a far-away country with no one to talk to…
Just then, as she looked down into the water, she noticed another head's reflection flicker up beside hers. "…Huh?" Leandra asked, and looked up to see the slender, elegant, brown-haired Dragon of Ice imposter sitting at the side of the pool next to her. A little gasp escaped from her throat as she came face-to-face with her. She'd already met Kimiko and gotten to be pretty good friends with her, but so far she'd never said a word to the other female Xiaolin Dragon.
"Lonely?" Shelly asked, trying her best to look concerned. Leandra slowly nodded. "I wonder how long Rai's training is going to last. I hope he comes back soon."
A cold shudder ran down Leandra's spine when Bobby emerged from behind Shelly and hovered around her, "examining" her. That little spirit always creeped her out, because the ordinary circus girl had never seen one of these apparitions. This occult world was still getting settled as reality in her mind. She couldn't help but stare at this oddity as Bobby circled around her and evaluated her composition. Perhaps this one too…in due time…
"Well, I don't know," Shelly said, looking blankly down at the pool of water. "I just saw him a little while ago talking to Kimiko…" she took a deep breath. "I…I hate to break the news to you, but I really don't think he's just training."
Leandra looked, startled, back over at her, and quickly shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I think I know Rai well enough by now, and he wouldn't do things like that. He's just not that kind of guy."
"Really?" Shelly said, skeptically, moving a little closer to her. "Once again, I really wish I didn't have to tell you this, but I can't just keep it a secret from you either. …Rai hasn't been sitting around here while you weren't here. We had a party here, when Clay first won his Element Orb…they're magical, transforming orbs that hold our powers, by the way. Anyway, a slow song came on, and Rai came up to me and practically begged me to dance with him. Of course, I refused at first, but with the look he was giving me, I just couldn't leave him. I'm sorry, I didn't know about you back then…"
"It's okay," Leandra said, leaning interestedly towards her. "I just can't believe that…Rai…? Why would he…? I don't believe he…!"
"And that's not all," Shelly continued, in a desperate, disappointed tone. "You should have seen the way he was looking at Marylyn. Yeah, Marylyn Orre! She's Jack's mother! He was ogling at her during every training session! And now he's in there with Kimiko… I feel really bad for you, Leandra. That's why I came to tell you about it."
By now, the brown-haired Brazilian girl was beginning to tighten up with anger. Her disposition was normally calm and collected, but even she couldn't remain perfectly indifferent when she heard Rai's offenses. "Why that little…" She took a deep breath and finally rose from her perch beside the pool. "You just wait here. I'm going to give that little two-timer a piece of my mind."
As Leandra began to storm off back towards the Xiaolin Temple, Shelly shifted her body to the opposite side, and her cruel, sinister, snakelike grin returned for a second.
Only a few minutes later, Rai was sulking back towards his cubicle to bury himself in his sheets. It was bad enough that he'd had to deal with Kimiko, who was complaining to him about Jack's faithlessness, but then Leandra had suddenly appeared, accusing him of the same. In her restless, agitated state, Kimiko had quickly agreed and snapped on him as well. There was no way to calm two raging girls who felt they had been betrayed, and the whole thing ended in sorrow when Leandra declared that she was breaking up with him, and that she couldn't wait to leave tomorrow afternoon, when her plane returned.
Rai stared up at the ceiling, and then punched his pillow in frustration. It wasn't fair! He'd been together with Leandra for almost a year now, since that little break he'd had from the temple… He felt he'd liked her more than anyone else he'd ever known…a few straying incidents shouldn't destroy all of that. Hey, married couples fight all the time, he told himself, trying to get some kind of comfort out of it. Why not dating couples? …But I really don't understand. Why now? Everything had been going so well. We had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I tried to give her everything she wanted… Why did Shelly suddenly have to tell her those things? …I bet she's just jealous because she doesn't have a boyfriend. …Yeah, that was it; she was jealous, and it got even worse today, with all the couples…
Then again, this was what Rai tried to force into his mind. Inside, he was beating himself up, wondering where he had gone wrong, and regretting everything that had just been brought against him. A sudden suspicion and anger for Shelly arose out of these feelings, and at last, everything was starting to become clear…
(-)
Unfortunately, the next day arrived before any of the previous love disasters of yesterday had been resolved. An unusually heavy atmosphere pressed down on everyone present at the training session. Rai glared at Shelly, Leandra glared at Rai, Kimiko glared at Jack, and Jack glared at the ground. Shelly casually spun around with her little ghost partner, seeming very content and almost pleased with herself. Their environment obviously had no effect on them.
Omi and Clay, the only two who hadn't been caught up in the tangled snare of love, looked at each other in confusion. Any minute they expected laser beams to shoot out of Rai, Kimiko, Leandra, and Jack's eyes, goring holes in each other. "What is wrong with our partners?" Omi asked, in concern. "Everyone seems angry with everyone else. This is no way for Xiaolin Warrior partners to be acting. And why is Leandra here?"
"She's probably here to keep her eye out for Rai," Clay explained. "He came to me yesterday. Seems the two of 'em had a big fight and they broke up."
"What?" Omi cried, obviously not understanding the phrase, "They broke up into little tiny pieces? Are they all right?"
"No, no, they broke up," Clay tried to explain. "Meaning they're not together anymore."
"They were stuck to each other?"
"Together as a couple. You know, in love?"
"Ohhh…" Omi realized, putting a finger to his mouth and glancing interestingly back at them. "So they're not in love with each other anymore?"
"You got it."
"Gee, I wonder what happened."
Master Fung observed his Xiaolin Warriors, and with this heavy, angry atmosphere, he knew that if allowed to train as normally, they would probably rip each other apart. "Okay," he at last announced. "Today we shall be working on perfecting the Dragon X Penté Formation." Perhaps the repetition of this team skill would relieve the tension and get them all to work together again. It wasn't so simple.
"Typhoon Boom, Wind!" Rai called, eager just to get this over with. He jumped into position and gave his icy partner a cold stare as he landed beside her.
"Tornado Strike, Water!" Omi called with his normal enthusiasm. He jumped on top of Rai's upturned hands. Instantly, as the blue sheen outlined his body, his Xiaolin Temple robes morphed into the little princely blue Element Orb outfit.
"Judallet Flip, Fire!" Kimiko yelled, with a bit more force than usual, and she landed with a hard thump on top of Omi's head, driving Rai further into the ground. Her robes were also replaced with the shiny, red female version of the uniform.
"Ow!" Rai cried from the ground. "You did that on purpose!"
"Seismic Kick, Earth!" Clay added, appearing, peacefully on the left side again. His green Element Orb costume appeared on him as well.
"Explosion Crash, Metal," Jack said in a rather bored tone, and stepped up on the right.
"Dragon X Penté Formation!" they said, their voices distinctly in different tones and pitches.
Leandra sat back near the edge of the room and raised an eyebrow at her squished former boyfriend as he struggled under vengeful Kimiko. "Heh. He deserved it."
"Ice!" Shelly called, and performed her glittering iceberg attack, even though she couldn't join in the joined formation. She probably just wanted to show off her power as if to say, "See, I'm a Xiaolin Dragon too!" and the general reaction among the arguing monks was to roll their eyes.
After that, since the Xiaolin Warriors' thoughts and hearts weren't as one, the Dragon X Penté Formation just fell to bits. Kimiko landed safely back on the wooden floor and whipped out the Star Hanabi from who-knows-where. "Hey, I've got an idea," she proposed. "Clay and I haven't got a chance to try out our new attacks yet… Why don't we test them out now?"
Master Fung raised an eyebrow. In this state, the furious Japanese girl would probably tear Jack and Rai to shreds…but, still, they both needed practice with their full-power attacks, and maybe this would teach her a lesson in the process. He nodded, regretfully.
"Okay!" Kimiko eagerly called. "Judallet Dragon Flip! Fire!" the same, powered-up version of her Apprentice attack sprang from thin air. "Star Hanabi, Fire!" she added, throwing out the enflamed star. "…Ultimate Inferno!" she yelled, and a wall of fire began growing behind her.
"Seismic Dragon Kick! Earth!" Clay began next, stomping the ground with a greater force than usual. "Fist of Tebigong, Earth!" he added, slamming the steel fist into the fissure as well. "…Ultimate Earthquake!" he finally finished, and the world around them began to shake and rattle.
"Me too, me too!" Omi called, not wanting to be left out. "Tornado Dragon Strike! Water! Orb of Tornami, Water! Ultimate Tsunami!"
Master Fung jumped back and tried to hide behind the temple altar. Jack ran towards the door and formed the Silver Shield, dragging Rai in with him and hugging him to his chest. Shelly and Leandra ran underneath and into the shield for protection. It was a rare moment when people were actually running to him instead of away from him. Eventually, even Master Fung, Marylyn, and Dojo all had to duck back under the shield to avoid the surging water, raging walls of fire, and rumbling, shuddering earth tremors.
"Cease!" Master Fung forcefully yelled, at last stepping out and holding out his arms in an authoritative, commanding manner.
Jack's shield popped out of existence, Rai pulled away from him, and they all shot warning looks at each other. Shelly smiled. Rai and Jack glared at her. Leandra glared at them.
"You must not let your eagerness to win or your internal anger get away with your Element Orb attacks," Master Fung reprimanded the three upgraded warriors.
Marylyn broke up Rai, Jack, and Leandra, giving her son a secret glance of understanding.
Kimiko, in her flaming rage, continued to fly towards them, ignoring Master Fung's warning. Her flaming, slicing Star Hanabi was hurtling through the air, headed straight for Rai and Jack's chests!
The slacker twins gave each other a knowing look of friendship. "I think it's time I tried this with somebody else," Rai decided. "You ready, Jackie?"
"I was born ready," Jack replied. "…And don't call me Jackie."
"Typhoon…" Rai began, creating a jet stream of air, half the force of his usual Apprentice attack.
"…Crash!" Jack finished, creating a smooth, metal block surface. The air rushed over the surface and slammed forward, into a blast of energy.
"…Aerodynamics!" Their combined attack repelled and extinguished Kimiko's full power attack. The black-haired Japanese girl fell back to the ground and the fire slowly blinked back out. Rai and Jack high-fived each other, but froze the instant they got a look at the scene in front of them.
Master Fung stepped up next to the shaking, sizzling girl and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Kimiko…" he began, in a strong, yet comforting tone. "You must not let your anger rule you. With these new powers within your body, uncontrollable rage could increase the power and increased power could lead to illusionary immortality and superiority, and ultimately, to evil."
Rai and Jack glanced at each other for a moment. Kimiko was…becoming evil? Well…she was the only one of them that hadn't been over to the dark side at least once.
For a moment, an expression like a sneer passed over her face. "I can't believe you're defending those…those evil guys! You know how much Rai and Jack slack off…I really don't think they're suitable to be Xiaolin Warriors." Master Fung opened his mouth to respond, but as soon as he did, a familiar cry of pain shot through the air of the main training hall.
"Ah! Oooh…Ow! Ow! Owieee! A new Shen-Gong-Wu has revealed itself! This one's a doozy!" Dojo tensed his long scaly body from around Marylyn's shoulders, and she quickly reached up to yank him from her neck before he strangled her.
Master Fung read Dojo'd wavelengths of magical sense, and unrolled the Shen-Gong-Wu scroll. "The Biao Lu Basin," he read, and the Xiaolin Warriors crowded around him to get a look at it. The circular portal in the middle of the pages showed a large, golden basin with latch handles on the side. "Biao Lu Basin" was written in dark brush strokes below it. "Its ability is to reveal the true nature and the secret roots of a person or entity's soul…it's quite useful against those who are able to morph into different forms."
On cue with his explanation, one figure placed the Biao Lu Basin above a shadowed lizard. A shower of water fell down on the lizard figure, and when it emerged, it was a man figure like the other one.
"C'mon!" Omi urged, trying to snap Kimiko out of her evil spell. "We've got to work together and get it before Bob Sanderson! I repeat, we've got to work together…!"
"Ooh, look at high-and-mighty Omi telling everyone to work together!" Rai teased. "This is a first."
Omi shot him a look. "I am trying to reassert our fellow Xiaolin Warrior in the ways of the enlightened path; I do not appreciate your comments from the small underground nut display!"
"Peanut gallery!" Rai yelled back at him. "Comments from the peanut gallery!"
"Guys, guys, it's alright," Kimiko said, stepping up on the other side of them. "I know we have to get the Shen-Gong-Wu together…I'm not too happy about being together with those two, but I know I have to do it."
Meanwhile, even though nobody noticed, Shelly had stepped backwards, her face becoming unusually white. The little ghost Bobby zoomed restlessly around her head. Oh no…with that Shen-Gong-Wu, they could reveal our true identities…before our project is complete, and I get my revenge. We must get the Biao Lu Basin before they do!
(-)
It wasn't long before Dojo began twitching underneath the Xiaolin Warrior's bodies. The Biao Lu Basin obviously wasn't very far from the Xiaolin Temple, which, uncomfortably gave Shelly and Bob even less time to recuperate and launch a suitable attack. Shelly trembled from her position near Dojo's tail, behind everyone else. Fortunately for them, the Xiaolin Warriors were too busy arguing, or trying to keep the peace to notice that anything was wrong with her.
Leandra had insisted on coming along as well, since she said Dojo had promised her a ride on his back, and she wanted to keep an eye on Rai as well.
Kimiko peered over the edge of the bobbing dragon's side. This landscape seemed terribly familiar…and a shudder passed through her body. "Dojo…?" she skeptically asked. "Exactly where is the Biao Lu Basin?"
"In China," the magical dragon replied.
"No kidding," Rai said. "But where in China?"
"Uh…in the hills," Dojo said, looking down at the environment he was passing over. "I don't know! I'm just following the urge and letting it lead me wherever it will."
Jack shivered and glanced towards the horizon where the reddening sun was beginning to set. He recognized this area as the blank country he often used to fly over on his trips from his old house to the Xiaolin Temple and back again. It couldn't be…in his house! He sincerely hoped not. If his father caught him there again, he'd probably rip him to shreds. And it seemed that he'd been hoarding Shen-Gong-Wu throughout the house, so he didn't doubt that there were more, inactive ones waiting there.
At last, Dojo instinctively settled onto the hillside and the dissenting Xiaolin Warriors, plus one guest, hopped off. Kimiko was the first off, followed by Leandra and Rai (at separate times, of course). Omi came off after him, along with Clay, and then Shelly. Jack stayed on Dojo's back for a moment, craning his neck to see into the distance. He hovered up above the high coil and tried to fly high enough to see how close they were to his house without seeming suspicious.
Strangely enough, it wasn't Kimiko, Rai, or even Jack who brought up the subject of their location. "Hey!" Omi suddenly spoke up. "Do you all realize where we are? I remember this place well… It's where Kimiko and Jack fought for the Vase of Viscous Visions! It's where Jack saved Kimiko's life! Yes, that's right! This is also where he captured Wuya and joined the temple!"
Kimiko glared in annoyance to her side where Omi was chattering to her. "Oh, really? I can't seem to remember that."
Omi fell back in his extended stride, and Rai slipped up behind him. "Ah…" he teased. "It's Omi the matchmaker! Who wants to get paired up by the world-famous relationships expert?"
Omi raised a long, thin eyebrow. "Are you using that 'sarcasm' stuff you told me about again?"
"Yes, Omi," Rai replied, patting him on the round, yellow head.
"There!" Dojo finally yelled, jumping up and pointing towards the top of a hill to the right. There was a little well right at the pinnacle.
"Wow," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "There's actually a well at the top? How come I never noticed that before?"
"That's where the Basin is!" Dojo cried, popping his head up in anticipation. "At the bottom of the well. I remember putting it there now! Of course, it looked a bit different. Wells were an incredible piece of modern technology then."
Kimiko, Rai, and Clay immediately broke into a run towards the hill. Omi rushed close after them, and Jack sped up his helicopter blades so he could catch up, and hover right next to him.
"Hey…thanks for trying," he called over to him. "I was going to say something about it, but…"
"Well, you know what they say…" Omi replied. "If you do not succeed at the premier attempt, you must try it again, try it again!"
Jack smiled amusedly and floated back away. Well, he didn't have his girlfriend anymore, but at least he still had interesting friends like Omi and Rai.
Leandra rushed after them, following the Brazilian traitor closely with her eyes.
Shelly took that opportunity to lag back, and then slowly slip behind a tree to hide. Bob had been gone for at least thirty minutes now, her fangs, tongue, and eyes should definitely be back. Shelly brushed back her long, brown hair, and her hand bumped into a long, erect elfish ear. Oh, yeah, there was that too… All Heylin witches received long ears like these ones when they passed a certain magical level. Since Shésui was one of the most powerful in the institution, of course she also had this feature. She leaned her back against the scratching back of the tree and prayed that Bob could win this Biao Lu Basin, for as much as she hated to admit it, the whole plan, and perhaps her own existence depended upon his victory.
Just as if they had materialized from her thoughts, the stampede of motorcycles roared into view, headed straight for the little wishing well on top of the hill. Shésui slowly peeked out from behind the tree to see the action that followed. She had to see just what this boy was planning on doing now…and if he would win the Biao Lu Basin. Coincidentally, the gangster boys on motorcycles reached the well at the exact same time as Kimiko, Rai, Clay, Omi, Leandra, and Jack (in that order).
"Oh, look," Kimiko spoke up, since she was now taking her bad mood out on everyone. "It's the CF…PU!"
"Wow," Bob replied, taking on a forceful, sarcastic tone. "Now that's a clever put-down."
"Don't you dare make fun of me!" Kimiko yelled back at him. "I'm in a bad mood, and I'll blast you to the moon if you don't shut up."
Bob held out his hands and turned his head knowingly to his right-hand man, Gerald. "No, no, no. Don't worry, we're here to grab a Shen-Gong-Wu, not to have a fight with a crazy girl."
"Crazy girl?" Kimiko questioned, returning his narrow, dangerous glare. "Crazy girl? You better just watch your…"
Before she could finish, both Bob and Rai jumped down into the well together to grab the Wu. When Leandra arrived, she whipped around looking for Rai, and Kimiko had to point down into the well, before she followed. Now, normally falling down a well is a bad thing, and you will usually die or hurt yourself, but Rai for one, had a HeliPack forced onto his back, and Bob had the Wu Jin Duraflex.
"Wu Jin Duraflex!" he called, and the rubber square molded into a large, pink elastic parachute. The two boys floated, at equal, peaceful gravity, towards the bottom of the well.
"Aaaugh!" a girl's high-pitched scream pierced their eardrums from above. Leandra plummeted down, and thankfully landed right on top of Bob's parachute.
"What?" the antagonizing boy cried, looking up to see what had suddenly pushed him further down. "Hey, there's a babe on my roof! C'mon, honey, keep pushing me down…"
Leandra smiled when she heard the evil CFPU's leader's sweet talk. "Gladly," she replied, shooting a resentful glance over at Rai and pushing against the Wu Jin Duraflex parachute.
Rai gritted his teeth. Please…he thought, Leandra…don't go over to the side of evil just because I made a few stupid mistakes… He turned downwards and forced the whirling helicopters on his back to propel him towards the bottom. He wasn't sure if this was the right way, since Jack hadn't taught him how to dive-bomb yet (he didn't want to learn), but he was confident that he could figure it out somehow.
The rocky base of the well was coming into view, and Rai thought he saw a golden glint among the rest of the dull, brown pit. The tension of the approaching conflict was ever present, and it felt like a very long time until Rai's large, tanned hand landed on the right side of the Biao Lu Basin. Naturally, Bob's hand landed on the left side at the exact same time.
"Raimundo, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown," the evil gang leader quickly spoke up.
Leandra gracefully hopped off the stretchy parachute as it reverted back into a simple pink square. She fixed her shawl and adjusted her long brown ponytail. This would be interesting. For once, she actually hoped that weirdo with the cornrows would win.
"Your Sword of the Storm against my Harp of Harmonies." Bob stowed the Wu Jin Duraflex back into the pocket of his baggy pants and pulled out a familiar golden harp. They'd forgotten that he still had that… "The first one to the top of the well wins. Oh, and one more thing…" Quickly and unexpectedly, Bob reached over and ripped the modified HeliPack from his arms. "…No cheating," he finished with a triumphant smile, grinning sinisterly.
"Yeah!" Leandra suddenly spoke up, waving a finger, reproachfully in his face. "You heard him! No cheating!"
Rai sighed. He knew what that guy was trying to do…take away his token Shen-Gong-Wu and get Leandra on his side. Did she really hate him that much that she'd go with this creep and become evil? He didn't think so, but if he didn't accept, Bob would automatically get the Biao Lu Basin…at least, this way, he'd have a chance to prove himself. Similar reasons as Clay… he realized, but he still had to do this. "…I accept." Strangely, he didn't even seem to be worrying about the Shen-Gong-Wu. If he lost the Sword of the Storm, it didn't matter…but if he lost Leandra…
"Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!" At these magical words, the well in which they were standing suddenly became 20 feet deeper, and stone platform slats stuck out of the walls. Leandra sat on a floating platform on another wall, observing interestingly. It would move up or down as the competitors progressed to give her a good view. "Gong Yi Ten Pai!" Bob and Rai called to begin, and immediately got to work.
Bob leaped onto the nearest platform and began to leap up to the next one with surprising swiftness and agility. Hey, the guy wasn't exactly a scrawny wimp like Jack used to be.
"Sword of the Storm, Wind!" Rai yelled, pointing the sword's tip down towards the bottom of the well. Naturally, as he expected, the force of the windstorm that erupted began to push his body upwards and he rocketed about one-third of the well's depth. Unfortunately, just then, the wind chose that moment to quit on him, and he scrambled to fall back on a nearby platform.
Bob quickly vaulted up two more platforms and smirked at the opportunity handed him. "Harp of Harmonies!" he called. His fingers suddenly had minds of their own, and mechanically plucked out a long, soothing melody. Rose-colored magical energy clouds shaped like musical notes floated out of the strings and puffed onto Rai's face.
The soft lullaby, as well as the soothing fragrance of the note-clouds was beginning to make Rai's eyes droop as he plummeted back towards the bottom of the well. He was so drowsy that he forgot to look for a ledge to land on. At last reacting to the Shen-Gong-Wu's ability, his eyes completely closed and he went crashing back down to the bottom of the well.
Bob snickered lightly to himself. Hopefully, the Harp's effects would last long enough for him to climb to the top. If not, then he could always use the Harp again and put him back to sleep, right? That Sword, even when used at its full, combined power, could only take him one-third of the way up the well. Bob gritted his teeth and jumped as quickly as he could towards the top. Twice he tripped and was almost flung backwards to the bottom, but somehow managed to regain his balance. The image of Shésui's worried, desperate face was ever present, burned into the back of his brain. He had to win this showdown…so they wouldn't be revealed, and the banned witch apprentice could get her revenge on Wuya. It could all depend on him now…
Leandra laughed down at the sleeping Rai, as her floating platform shot up to follow Bob's progress. Hah. How pathetic. He'd been defeated by a single magical Shen-Gong-Wu attack. Rai really was weak, and now she was seeing him for how weak he really was. I can't wait to go back to Brazil…she thought. But…even though Rai's a big jerk…it was nice, before I knew about what he'd done. Oh, well. Hasta la vista, cheater.
Meanwhile, Rai lied, languidly on the rocky bottom of the well. The Sword of the Storm lied at his side, just below his hand, as he gently snored, fast asleep. He shifted a little in his sleep. He was having a terrible nightmare…
He was sitting in the metal bleacher seats of his circus tent's audience section. Normally, he would wonder why he was suddenly in the audience and not in the show at all, but in a dream, no one ever questions anything. The show began, and he saw all the other acts, without actually seeing them. He knew he had seen them, but he didn't really know what he saw. They weren't what were important in this dream. Suddenly, a man with dark brown hair and his similar wife appeared in the ring in their sparkling blue-and-white uniforms.
"Mom? Dad?" Rai felt himself say within the foggy reality of his dream. His parents began to flip around on the trapeze, and when they were finished, his older brother, Tony jumped out and joined in their tumbling routine. Maria jumped out next, full of energy, as always.
Then, strangely enough, Leandra performed a continuous cartwheel onstage. This was extremely unusual, since she was never really good at gymnastics. In fact, Leandra had originally wanted to be an acrobat in the circus, just like Rai and the other Pedrosas, but since she could never do the routines right, she'd become a bird handler instead, because she also loved animals.
Well, at least this portion of the dreamy show was very detailed. Rai sat up straighter on his metal bench to watch his former girlfriend flipping around with Maria and Tony, as if she'd been doing this for years. He clapped like a madman when their routine was finished. Who knew Leandra was capable of doing that? It was then that he noticed that he was the only one in the audience.
Another boy stood up near the back of the audience. He was wearing a blue-and-white, sparkling uniform just like the Pedrosas, but with a cape. He grabbed a rope to swing down into the ring. Rai stared as he flashed right by his face, and glared, despicably at his bunches of dark bluish-black hair. Bob Sanderson… Bob swept, heroically down into the ring, caught Leandra in his arms and landed in the center. The former bird-handler girl laughed and smiled in his arms. She threw her arms around his neck, and suddenly they kissed, lips together, lovingly.
Rai burned with anger. How dare he…? He'd never even gotten to do that with Leandra yet, though he'd wanted to a few times before. Well…he realized. I guess I know how she felt now. Maybe she's purposely trying to get with Bob to make me jealous, angry, and betrayed…like how she must've felt when she found out about what I'd done.
Slowly, the scene around him faded away into blackness. The cold bench underneath him dissolved into the blackness and nonexistence that consumed the rest of the dream. He was alone now…and he didn't like it.
"L…Leandra?" he slowly, uselessly asked. "Where are you? I'm sorry…I'll never do it again… Please, just come back…" Rai closed his eyes in his mind.
Am I really evil? He asked himself. I mean, I know I betrayed the Xiaolin Temple before…but I was just angry and frustrated, feeling like I was worthless. I know I kind of cheated with Leandra…but it's not like I asked anyone else out. I only danced with Shelly once. And yeah, okay, I think Marylyn is hot, but hey, who doesn't?
He stumbled forth in the darkness, trying to find a way out of this illusionary room. It was useless. It was still all useless… Maybe I'm evil, and I just don't know it. I mean, look at what I've done now…Leandra might go away to the side of evil because of my own stupidity…what was I thinking?
Slowly, the blackness around him began to flicker, and it showed him different visions. He and Leandra had been together ever since they were children…there he was, seven years old, teasing the little girl with the brown pigtail. Then, again, playing video games together…playfully swinging on the dormant trapeze bars…celebrating after their first show together, age ten… Before he realized it, tears were sprinkling across his imaginary cheeks. Leandra… his thoughts reverberated around him, since this was his mind, creating all this. …please just forgive me. I don't want a few mistakes I made to destroy all of this. I want to have you as my friend, my partner…I need you…
Something smooth bumped against his palms, and when he looked down, he saw a round, glass globe in his hands. Puffy, nebulous substances swirled around inside…like the clouds of a clear blue sky…being pushed around by the wind. It looked so peaceful and serene inside that globe. Rai wished that he was in there right now, enjoying the beautiful scenery with the girl of his dreams…
The white substance passed through the glass as if it weren't even there. Now, it was passing into his body. And, unknown to his unconscious mind, the exact same events were taking place in the real world. The swirling cloud cover blanketed his body, forcing it into an upright position as it rushed around, creating a cloud cocoon. Rai didn't feel a thing, still numb to the world around him, and the clouds gathered in denser sections around him. They dissolved his normal clothes away and solidified on his body, forming a light, airy suit. It fit like a second skin…or as if it weren't even there.
At last, Rai's green eyes shined and popped open, as the clouds dispersed back into the atmosphere. He stood, fully aware again, in a dramatic pose with one leg forward, and the Sword of the Storm in his right hand. He was now wearing a white uniform exactly similar to Omi and Clay's Element Orb outfits, with a tunic, boots, a cape, and a pin on his chest with his wind symbol. However, his mind was so focused on the one task that he had to perform that he didn't even notice the change.
By now, Bob was very close to the top. In fact, he only had about five platforms to jump before he emerged from the well's dark, dank prison.
"Typhoon Dragon Boom! Wind!" Rai instinctively cried. Somehow, his new focused state had opened up his mind to the phrases Marylyn had taught him during the full power training session. "Sword of the Storm, Wind!" Pointing the sword downwards, he began to build a huge funnel of gust below him. Just one more piece of the puzzle now… "…Ultimate Tornado!" Rai yelled, forcefully throwing the sword's funnel down towards the ground. His body rocketed up this time with a much greater force than it had the first time, propelled by a giant twister. On his way up, he hovered for a moment above Leandra's platform, wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her up with him towards the opening looming closer and closer above them.
"Augh!" Leandra cried, struggling against the pressing force of his arm. "Let me go! I hate you now! You're just a big jerk, that…"
"No," Rai definitely stated, in a voice that was hardened, yet wavering with the additions of his personal feelings. "I'm not going to let go this time. I'm never letting go of you…I want…I need you to stay with me." Another tear flew from his eyelid.
Even though the wind was whipping around her and she repeatedly had to fling her hair back out of her face, Leandra could clearly see his tragic tears. Slowly, a concerned, sympathetic expression pressed onto her forehead and her mouth fell open. "Rai…" Maybe…he really did care for her…and he really was sorry for the acts of betrayal that he had performed in her absence.
Rai shot upwards in his tornado spiral, and in just two minutes he was passing Bob, who had just reached the second platform.
The gangster boy's brown eyes grew wide. "Harp of Harmonies!" he called in desperation, holding out the instrument and trying to put the Brazilian back to sleep, but it was too late for that now.
Before he could try anything else, Rai burst from the opening, holding Leandra close and dear to his chest. In a flash, the well shortened itself back into reality again. Rai and Leandra landed back on the soft green grass just outside the well where the other Xiaolin Warriors were waiting. Bob, however, was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he was too upset and embarrassed after his defeat that he didn't wasn't to stick around.
Clay and Omi gaped at Rai's appearance. "Raimundo!" Omi cried, rushing to his side. "You found your Element Orb! Are you okay? How do you feel? Are you still my friend?"
"Hey, chill Omi," Rai said, flashing one of his slick, yet handsome grins over at him. "I'm not evil or anything. See? I even won the Showdown!" He pulled out a large golden basin, and the Harp of Harmonies also appeared near the edge of its interior. He reached up and rubbed the tears from his cheeks as his outfit faded back out and his former sneakers, cargo pants and green-sleeved tee-shirt reappeared underneath. The white, puffy Element Orb popped back into existence in his hands.
"Rai…" Leandra at last spoke up. She fixed her hair and looked, nervously back over at him. "I'm really sorry. I realize now that I kind of overreacted to what Shelly told me. I was already starting to get upset with you for taking such a long time to come back, and then her telling me that kind of stuff just set me off…" She shrugged her shoulders back a bit. "But now that I think about it, I really don't want to be without you forever as well…I don't want our relationship to end just because of this one little fight."
"That's…exactly how I feel…" Rai told her. "I'm sorry, Leandra, I won't ever do that again."
"I know," Leandra quickly replied. She leaped over and wrapped him in a hug, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.
Rai smiled again and beamed, hugging her back. It looked like this would work out after all. None of them would turn evil, and they could still love each other…
"Hey, where is Shelly anyway?" Leandra asked, looking up from her newly reinstated boyfriend for a moment.
"I don't know," Rai said, glancing around for any sign of the Dragon of Ice. "She always seems to disappear whenever there's a showdown. Maybe she just doesn't like conflict." He looked down at the relieved little monk next to him, then over at the casually grateful Clay. Finally, he observed Kimiko in the distance, crossing her arms and looking away from them. There was still someone missing. "Hey…" he asked, again being the only one to notice the absence of one of their members. "…Where's Jack?"
(-)
The familiar landscape spread in from him. For a moment, Jack shivered, looking into one of the large, glass windows under the red awnings, wondering if his father or one of the maids or groundskeepers was looking back at him. Somehow, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay away from this place, as much as he never wanted to see it again. His laser-inserted lines still remained faded against the cobblestone pathway and the perfectly cut lawn. Several construction machines and tools sat around on the lawn, out-of-place in the streamlined garden. He'd knocked down the blockade wall Jack had put up to try to keep the Xiaolin Warriors out.
For a moment, he remembered his old robots and longed to be back in his dark basement, creating these companions. They were his constant companions…robots would never be angry at you over things that really didn't happen. They wouldn't love you one moment and hate you the next. That was one of many reasons that Jack had always preferred the company of homemade robots to that of real people. But…he could never receive that warm feeling of love from a relationship with a robot.
Jack took a deep breath and slowly turned away from the dreadful mansion. He'd have to get away soon because if he was spotted, he'd be in terrible trouble… Just then, as he walked away from his old world yet again, he passed under a very familiar old tree.
"Hey…" he whispered. "I remember this tree…"
The tree just at the edge of the property's perimeter looked like any other tree in China…except an odd yin-yang symbol was carved into its trunk. No one knew who had carved it, how it got there, or why it was even there at all, but Jack vaguely remembered something happening here at this tree in the past. Oh…that was right. His father had forbid him to ever come near it again. Well…he didn't have to listen to him anymore.
Jack stepped up and placed his hand in the middle of the yin-yang. An odd, dull electric feeling buzzed under his palm for a moment. His eyes widened. Something had happened here…and he had a feeling that it had a lot more to it than a simple boundary establishment.
"…Ow!" Suddenly, something slammed into the top of Jack's head. "Augh," he grumbled. "Now what fell on me?" When he looked down, his eyes widened even further.
A hard, glass globe sat on the ground, rolling slightly near the tree's roots. He reached down to pick it up and stare into its center. Jack's heart raced as he looked into the blended substance making up the silver, sparkling sheen inside. From his experiences watching the others in their showdowns, he recognized this object as one of the Element Orbs…and from the looks of its contents, it was probably his! Was he really ready to receive his yet?
He wondered what he was supposed to do. The contents are supposed to go inside me somehow…permeate through my skin and into my soul or something…but nothing's happening… Jack stared into the metallic substance inside and concentrated, trying to will it into his body. It wasn't working. For a second, he wished Master Fung were there to tell him to focus his chi, or something to that effect. Still nothing. Is it because I didn't find it while in a Showdown? he wondered. Maybe it'll only work because it had to be first activated in a Xiaolin Showdown, where the levels of magic are there to help affect our magical properties…or something like that. C'mon…come on in…focus…open yourself to the magic…let the magic flow in…just let the magic…
"Ouch!" Jack cried out as something else slammed into the back of his head. "Jeez, will you stop dropping things on me?" he yelled at the tree. However, he immediately closed his mouth when he looked down at the object.
It was a hard, solid glass globe. Inside was the glittering, metallic sheen of a piece of metal. Jack reached down and lifted this orb from the grass as well. He looked at the one in his right hand…then at the one in his left hand. They looked exactly alike.
"This looks like an Element Orb…and it has the shine of metal inside it…but so does this one. It looks like it could by my Element Orb…but so does this one." He stared in confusion and panic, moving his head back and forth between the orbs. "But…how is this possible? I have…two Element Orbs?"