Here it is! The Jack chapter/turning point! Some things in this chapter will be explained in the next chapter. So don't go crazy wondering. I don't think there's anything wrong… Finally, Wuya gets a chapter that she'll actually like. Aside from Shésui's presence, that is. Yeah…I really don't make her evil and powerful enough…and she's kind of going to get shoved to the side again, because of her rivalry with Shésui and later, their struggle to impress a certain person. Oh, well. I think the part at the end is a bit awkward. Hope you enjoy it anyway.
Sorry this took so long. I have tons of summer work (three books, one short story, two plays, and a verb test), plus I'm on a reading kick lately, and I've been inspired to try an original(ish) story. Excuses, I know, but I had to at least finish Chapter 8 before posting this chapter to ensure that I will have a chapter 8 for you. As horrible as it must have been having a hiatus at the end of the last chapter, it would've been much worse to leave you with this chapter's ending…
Special thanks to TamerTerra, Xroce, Jadebell (yay, I don't have to worry about spoiler marking anymore!), and especially Correll. That was really your first review? It didn't seem like it. And thank you so much! It's people like you that make me glad I didn't disable my anonymous reviewing a year ago when I got flamed by an anonymous reviewer. I really don't think I'm that good, but hey, I won't argue with compliments. (winks). And thanks, everyone else who reviewed too!
Chapter 8's first draft is done, so I should probably get it up within a week, but there might be a longer break between 8 and 9, because I haven't started 9 yet…I'm trying, so be patient.
(-)
Chapter 7: A Boy and his Evil Witch Spirit
Key tactic #4- Hesitant, lavish appeal is often the most cautious stimulation, as from examples and suggestions.
(-)
"I don't get it," Rai was saying as he sat cross-legged on the floor, his Element Orb in his lap. He cocked his circular, darkened face, half in questioning and half in resentment. "I just got my Element Orb. Normally it takes a week or two until someone finds another one…but Jack found his immediately after me. …And why the heck does he have two?"
"Tsk, tsk," Jack turned to scold him from his position in his corner of the training room. "Control your jealousy, Raimundo. I can't help it if I'm special."
"I'm not jealous!" Rai yelled, his face flaming in anger. "Besides…you've got no girlfriend! I'd rather have a girlfriend than a second Element Orb."
Obviously, Jack wasn't listening to him anymore, because if he were, he wouldn't have been in such a good mood. The excited Dragon of Metal was juggling his two Element Orbs, happily showing off and staring into their centers. "Hey…" he finally asked, after his Element Orb bliss wore off. "…does this mean that I'd have double the normal amount of powers?"
"Augh!" a little voice suddenly cried, and Omi came rushing into the room. He jumped up and snatched the Element Orbs from Jack's fluctuating hands. "Don't do that!" Omi reproached him, holding the orbs, protectively against his small body. "If you drop them, they could break and spill your powers all over the place. Then, you'll never receive them!"
"Geez, sorry," Jack said, holding out his hands, expecting Omi to hand them back. "I'll be more careful with them from now on. …Can I have them back now?"
Omi sighed and placed the glass orbs back in his large hands. "Okay, but no more juggling. And no bowling, basketball, or anything else!"
"Do you know why there are two of them?" Jack asked, tucking the orbs against his sides. "Since you obviously know everything about the Element Orbs…"
Omi frowned. "Actually, I have no idea. Maybe one of them is a fake." He stared, intensely at the two globes, and tried to compare their miniscule differences. "…But I can't tell. They look exactly the same."
At that time, Kimiko, Clay, and Shelly also entered the large, red-carpeted training/meeting hall, since today's session was about to begin in a few minutes. Leandra had already gone home last night, along with Maria, and Rai had a hard time pulling away from her. Now, they promised each other that they'd be inseparable…no matter the distance.
It had been an emotional, loving moment, interrupted only by the loud mouth of Jack Spicer, running up with two Element Orbs in his arms. Ever since then, the attention had been focused on this strange phenomenon, and Rai was feeling slightly underappreciated. There were no big parties and congratulations for him last night, because everyone was still pondering over the mystery of Jack's Orbs…and they still were.
Clay wandered over to where Omi and Jack were standing, while Shelly remained in the doorway, and Kimiko sat beside Raimundo. She crossed her arms and glared at her ex-boyfriend with contempt. "What do you say we creep up behind Jack and strangle him?" she suggested to Rai. "Or we could combine out powers and blast him. It's 'Typhoon Flip, Smokeout'. Looked it up on a secret list of Xiaolin Dragon techniques." Rai laughed, as if she were only joking, but the look on her face was certainly serious about it.
From her perch at the door casing, Shelly smirked to herself. Bobby floated up and nuzzled his pointed nose against her cheek. She quickly waved him away, and he reluctantly complied. As good as things were going now, the Warriors still had the Biao Lu Basin, and they had to work quick before they got the idea to use it on them…and before Jack gained his powers. Actually, she thought, if anyone was to figure out our secret, it would probably be that old, magic-sensitive…
Suddenly, she felt as something bumped into her back. Quickly whipping around, she noticed the tall, knowledgeable master standing right behind. "…Master Fung!" she cried, caught off guard. "Oh! So sorry to be in your way…"
"No problem, Shelly," Master Fung answered, his voice steady as always. "As long as you are ready for today's session." He walked on, until he reached the congregation of Xiaolin Warriors in the center of the room.
Phew, Shelly thought, although she kept her body in the same, steadfast façade. He doesn't suspect anything. At least not yet anyway. Tomorrow I have to launch the final pieces of the plan. It should have progressed far enough by now…
"What's this all about?" Master Fung asked, approaching Omi, Clay and Jack's huddle. It had been so late by the time they'd gotten back last night, that no one got to tell him about the day's activities. He'd already known about Rai's find when they stored and archived the Biao Lu Basin, but hadn't found out about Jack's predicament.
"Look!" the excited, proud Dragon of Metal cried, waving the orbs in front of his face. "I've got two Element Orbs! It's so cool! They just fell out of a tree onto my head! …I don't know why I haven't gotten my powers yet, though…"
"I think it's because one of them is fake, and maybe once we eliminate the fake one, he can receive his powers," Omi theorized. "But if we eliminate the wrong one… Master Fung, do you suppose you can tell which is the real Metal Orb?"
Master Fung only blinked, interestingly at them, before lifting them from Jack's hands and gazing into their compositions. He continued to examine them, and everyone (except maybe Kimiko) held their breath in anticipation. At last, after two whole minutes of carefully studying the Orbs, Master Fung looked up to give the verdict. "…They both are," he ominously announced, and carefully handed them back to Jack.
"Really? That's awesome!" Jack cried, holding the two Orbs in front of his chest. Rai, who had made his way over, since he was interested in finding out why as well, began chuckling behind his back. Jack started to turn around to yell "What's so funny" at him, but then realized exactly what he was doing with those Orbs, and shoved them behind his back, blushing like a tomato.
"Neither of them are fake?" Omi questioned, incredulously. "But how is that possible? There is only one Dragon of Metal. How come there are two Element Orbs?"
Master Fung simply moved his long head from side to side. "There are some things that even the ancient writings cannot tell us. In fact, all that we found on the Element Orbs said simply to stay away from them and only use them in an emergency situation, such as against Wuya or her opponent, Shésui. No Xiaolin Dragon has ever received his or her full powers before, and Dragons of Metal are always a bit…different."
"Hey!" Jack objected, from his position among Omi, Clay, and Rai. "Are you calling me weird?"
"It's a fact," Master Fung attempted to explain. "The Metal powers are separate from the original four elements. They work in different ways, and were so unpredictable, that they had to be restricted to the birth line of one family. The temple has been in contact with the Orre family for centuries, but we cannot identify all the properties of the Dragon of Metal powers." He paused for a moment, to stare down at the Orbs. "All I know is that this is not a good thing. This is just a theory, but perhaps each of the essences inside are different types of your full Metal powers. It will take an extensive challenge to determine which type you receive."
Jack gulped. "Ch-challenge? …Can't I just have both?"
Master Fung shook his head, solemnly again. "This is serious business, and I expect you to take it seriously as well. The future of the world could depend on which type of power you receive…"
"Pssssht," Kimiko loudly blew into the air to get their attention, "Jack take it seriously? Yeah, sure. Make sure to get a memento photograph when that happens."
Rai opened his mouth to relate a former experience when Jack had taken everything he said seriously and a bit too seriously at that, but closed his mouth, not wanting to start an argument. "She's in a bad mood again," Rai spoke up instead, turning back to the inside. "Just ignore her…" He stopped short, noticing that Jack was already ignoring her, returning to flinging his Orbs around in a circle and marveling at them.
"No!" Omi yelled, running forwards to grab them back. "What did I tell you about juggling?"
For someone who would determine the fate of the world, Jack sure didn't seem too concerned about it. Rai sighed and turned away again, and Master Fung and Clay seemed to share his sentiment. That was it. They were doomed.
(-)
Late that night, a peaceful tension hung over the temple that seemed to linger most along the Xiaolin Warrior's sleeping hallway. It was so silent and dark…perhaps too silent. Omi was balancing upside-down as he usually did, while Kimiko was sleeping soundly and Clay was muttering farm orders in his sleep. Rai stumbled out of bed, heading towards the pantry to search for a midnight snack. It didn't matter what they might have thought about him sneaking out; they should have learned to trust him by now. Unfortunately, he was so tired and bleary-eyed that he didn't even notice that he was headed in the wrong direction.
Rai stumbled again and almost fell. His round, sparkling green eyes flew completely open and he remained on alert now. The Shen-Gong-Wu Vault? he wondered. Why did I come down here? I must've taken a wrong turn…Rai began to turn around to head back towards his tiny room, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard an odd clicking noise. There was someone…or something…in the Vault!
"Stop right there!" Rai brazenly called. "I'm warning you!" He shuffled around in his pockets and pulled out his Wind Orb. "I'm a full-fledged Xiaolin Dragon with full powers!" There came no response…just the light tapping of hardened plastic boot heels against the stone steps. "Hey! Come back here!" Rai yelled, and set off after the noise. Perhaps there was a reason he had ended up at the Vault. There was a thief in it, and he needed to get rid of it!
Rai flew down the stone steps like a simple gust of wind. He held the Wind Orb out so he could transform the minute the bandit appeared to challenge him. Shaking with excitement and adrenaline, Rai watched as a tall, black-cloaked figure slowly faded into view in front of him. The curious thing was this figure had a white skin tone, reflecting purely off the pinpoints of the night lights outside. The figure also had a head full of bright, blood-red hair…
"…Jack?" Rai called. "What are you doing down here?" No answer. The figure didn't look back or even slow down. Fed up, Rai jumped up and fell down on top of him, trying to pin him to the ground.
"…What?" Rai just felt himself falling and the airy apparition defused out into nothingness. "Augh!" Rai cried as he crashed against the stone Vault steps. "What the heck was that? …Jack?" He glanced around again, but the shadowy goth was nowhere in sight. It was like he had just popped out of existence, or had merged with the black darkness of the air around him.
Spooked and confused, Rai just shrugged and hurried back towards his cubicle. At least none of the Shen-Gong-Wu appeared to be missing, and that was all that counted, right?
(-)
STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP. That sound could only mean one thing- and enraged Kimiko Tohomiko on a rampage towards the underground lair of a certain non-evil boy genius. Surprisingly enough, Rai, Omi, and Clay were with her, following closely behind, half to witness the interrogation, and half to make sure she didn't kill him.
Jack shot up in his hammock as soon as he heard the slamming on his concrete door, and jumped in surprise when he saw Kimiko and her reluctant army. The sudden movement of his body caused the hammock to swing out from underneath him, and he went tumbling face-first to the floor.
"Jack Spicer!" Kimiko roared, her voice as hard as the hatred inside her. "You've got a lot of explaining to do!"
"What?" Jack timidly asked, scampering to his knees. "What happened? What'd I do now?"
"You know what you did," Kimiko cryptically answered, glaring into his eyes.
Jack blinked, trying to break the connection between their eyes. "Uh…no, I actually don't. I don't really remember anything I did that you might be angry about… Unless you mean the way I was acting yesterday with the Element Orbs; yeah I was kind of cocky, I'll admit it now…"
"You were in the Shen-Gong-Wu vault!" Kimiko blatantly told him. "Rai said he saw you with his own eyes last night! We need to know just what you were doing down there!"
"That's right!" Omi jumped in, stepping next to Kimiko and trying to look threatening. "We want you to mess up!"
"It's 'fess up," Rai corrected, gently moving Omi out of the way, and taking his place. "And I say we don't jump to conclusions. That guy I saw did kind of look like Jack…but he looked like Jack before…you know, with the trench coat, make-up, and skin dye…"
"It was still him!" Kimiko insisted. "He was there!"
"But then he disappeared when I tried to pounce on him," Rai said.
"It wasn't me!" Jack cried, trying to add to Rai's argument. "I was nowhere near the Shen-Gong-Wu Vault last night, I swear! In fact, I didn't even get out of bed."
"But Rai said he looked exactly like you," Kimiko continued. "Who else has blood-red, spiky hair, white powdered skin, goggles, and a black trench coat?"
"But I don't dye my skin anymore," Jack argued. "It would have taken a lot more than two hours to dye my whole skin again, and besides, I wouldn't have been able to get it all out by now."
"You probably only dyed your hands and your face," Kimiko objected. "I think we ought to search the lab, and if we find any Shen-Gong-Wu from the vault, then you're busted, and we're reporting you to Master Fung."
"No!" Jack cried, jumping up and plastering himself in front of one of his cabinets. "You can't! You have no right to just go through my stuff without any solid evidence… I was framed! I swear; I didn't take any Shen-Gong-Wu!"
"Then why are you being so secretive about it?" Kimiko insisted. "If you're really innocent, then why don't you let me have a peek in that cabinet?"
Jack shuddered and pressed closer against the cabinet. "I have…top secret projects I'm working on in there! I want to surprise you guys when I'm finished with them. If you look at it now, it'll spoil the surprise."
Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Like I'm supposed to believe that. What are you hiding?"
"Why don't we jus' leave 'em alone?" Clay unexpectedly spoke up, and the others turned to look at him with shocked, confused expressions. "If he says he didn' do it, why don't we all believe him that he didn' do it?" Kimiko and Omi, who seemed the most adamant about Jack's conviction, gave him skeptical looks.
"Yeah, c'mon, listen to the cowboy," Jack desperately added. "You know, innocent until proven guilty…"
Omi and Kimiko stared back into his nervously grinning face. "Well, I suppose we may be jumping to conclusions a bit," Omi admitted. "We'll wait, and if we see this shadowy fellow who looks like Jack again, we'll have to make sure we catch him!"
"And if it really was you," Kimiko forcefully added. "This is your last warning before we chew you out for it. Don't think you're getting away with anything." The two of them turned around and began to head for the concrete door. Rai slowly followed after them, looking back for a moment in confusion and concern.
"Clay!" Jack called out to the cowboy before he could leave. "Thank you so much for saving my life! You deserve a hug!" He jumped forward and draped his long arms around Clay's broad shoulders.
"Hands off," he replied in a serious tone, and swatted his affectionate partner's arms off.
Jack stared after, holding his hands together as he watched the large cowboy stomp after his friends. "Well, I love you anyway!" he called. "…But not that kind of love! Brotherly love! Because we're such good friends and all… Hey…where has everybody gone?"
(-)
Heh…the young blue-haired adolescent scoffed as he sat at the edge of the Xiaolin Temple's familiar blue clay roof. So much for magical senses that could detect evil spirits.
Bob sighed as he swung his legs against the slats. He'd failed again… Why was this happening now? He'd been doing so well in the beginning, winning against Clay and Kimiko, even after they transformed. It's because they know how to use their powers now, his mind nitpicked, but he shook his head and tried to swat it from his brain.
Shésui didn't seem too angry with him about it. She'd been around them for so long, that they wouldn't even think of using the Biao Lu Basin on her. All by herself, she'd gotten the entire Xiaolin Temple in the palm of her hand, and now all she needed to do was clench her fist and crush it all. This was what Bob was worried about.
Sure, he must've had some effect on Jack when he was flying around and flirting with "Shelly", but he wasn't as essential to the plan as he thought. I want her to see me as a great leader. One to be admired and adored… The CFPU is good, but not good enough… Maybe I don't really need them anymore. It doesn't…really matter… Suddenly, he didn't see the enormous importance of cleansing the earth of minority groups. It didn't really matter to him anymore…all that mattered…was impressing Shésui, and gaining her love… She was so beautiful…
Bob rested his chin in his hand for a moment, staring pensively out at the landscape below him. Daydreaming was always fun, and he felt like simply daydreaming the day away, up here on the roof of the temple…
Just then, the piercing voice of Kimiko Tohomiko from down below snapped him out of his lulling, dreamy state. The instant she appeared on the lawn below him, he tucked himself into a gutter on the side of the roof and morphed back into his little ghost form. His body lied, motionless and unused on the side of the roof. Bob turned to look down at himself and prayed that no one would find him here. Finally, he zoomed back down and into the temple to find his love again.
(-)
It felt just like old times…and Jack couldn't tell if that was good or bad. It was just something he felt he needed to do, and that was basically all that he had been going by for the past six years.
A dull, droning buzz echoed through the underground hole, like a hundred insects flying around inside. Jack bent over the pile of tubes and wires, trembling from excitement and secrecy. If the other Xiaolin Warriors found out what he was making, he'd probably have to do evil-cleansing chores for a month…or they might even kick him out. The danger surrounding this new robot was what made creating it so exciting.
Jack was kneeling on the concrete floor, fusing one of the purple robots' small arms onto its body, with his goggles covering his eyes for protection. Strangely enough, he was wearing his ripped trench coat again, since a job like this required some heavy outer wear.
Jack remembered all of the lies he'd voiced way back when, and realized that he'd been trying to fool himself for so long. Shelly had opened his eyes to the truth…and her loving spirit partner had assured him even more. He needed one too…a constant companion. Sure the Xiaolin Warriors were his friends now, and he could always turn to them if he needed something…but it just wasn't the same as that company…
"There," Jack finally said to himself, and lifted his goggles to get a better look at the robot hovering a few inches off the ground in front of him. "Looks good. Now I just need to fine-tune its functions, give it a bad attitude…and do something about those innards…"
In front of him was a small robot whose purple siding was almost completely transparent. It was shaped like a ghost and had no feet; invisible jet streams of air kept it suspended above the ground. Its face looked like a white, yellow, and black mask, with a long red nose, and swirling yellow eyes. A darker purple patch extended from its head, and the see-through metal was flexible and floating here, ending in long tentacles. Its only flaw was the visibility of the electronic components in its body and arms, since the outside material was transparent. It looked like he'd still have a few more things to work on, but Jack still seemed very satisfied with his work.
"Here you go," he softly said, and stuck an identification tag on the bottom of the mask. "Model #1028," the tag read. "Wuya II".
(-)
Here we go again… Shésui thought as she lightly stepped down the stairs towards the dungeon that Jack Spicer liked to call home. This should be the last time, she reassured herself. Tonight, or perhaps tomorrow… Yes, definitely by tomorrow, if this has progressed as far as I think it has… Frankly, she was just getting sick of coming down to visit this simple-minded little boy, as much fun as it was toying with him. Even her own fake interest and admiration was repulsing her.
Bobby flew up beside her, finally finding her after his long search of the temple. She hadn't been in her cubicle where he'd expected her to be.
"There you are," Shésui hissed to him. "I was afraid I'd have to look for you and start asking everyone if they'd seen my 'spirit partner."
Bob hung his little ghostly head, meaning to say sorry. Since he wasn't really dead, just acting out-of-body, he couldn't speak. Oh, great, he thought instead. Another strike against me.
At last, Shelly approached the large, concrete door, but stopped when she noticed the new signs plastered on its front. In addition to the "Jack Spicer's Non-Evil Laboratory" sign, a new one reading "Please knock and wait for a reply!" had been pasted just above a "I do Math and Science homework! Just $2 an assignment!" advertisement. Shésui rolled her eyes and reached up to pound against the door. He should still be in there; he hadn't been to the Xiaolin Warriors' training session earlier that day.
Master Fung had been considerably suspicious, especially with the two new Element Orbs. He now believed that one contained good powers, while the other evil, since Jack was half Xiaolin Warrior and half Heylin clan follower, but that was still just a theory. If he went too far back towards the dark side, he'd gain his evil Element Orb powers instead…and who knows what might happen.
Just as Shésui suspected, a few seconds later, that familiar voice called, "Come in!" and she turned the handle to step in
Jack was actually grateful that Shelly had come by. He was looking forward to having her visit again. It wasn't that he favored her, or even that he had been getting tired of Kimiko, but Shelly's strange aura was so enrapturing that he had to investigate it further. Her glittering gaze seemed to submerge him in a magical, omnipotent dimension, yet somehow, he didn't feel threatened or even outsmarting. It was so…gentle and comforting in that essence, and that was what compelled him the most.
"Good afternoon, Jack," that familiar, hypnotizing voice fluctuated from her throat.
"Now what do you want?" Jack complained, trying to pretend he didn't want her around.
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to come see you. You weren't at the training session today, so I missed you."
As unrelated as the two things seemed, having Shelly around almost reminded Jack of the time he'd spent with Wuya. Though they were often frustrated with each other, or just plain getting on each other's nerves, they were just…always there. Wuya had been a constant companion to him…almost like his first real friend…even though she hadn't really been. The little purple ghost was always there to talk to…he could say anything to her, knowing that she wouldn't leave, because she depended on him to carry out her works. Now that time was gone, and he only had unpredictable humans to deal with…not that Wuya hadn't been unpredictable. He'd been truly shocked that day she had betrayed him for Mala Mala Jong.
Perhaps it was the presence of that mysterious entity, Bobby. At the moment, the shapeless oblong spirit was whirling around Shelly's ankles, but she didn't seem to care. In fact, her entire being seemed to be focused exclusively on Jack. All the attention was driving the initial, skeptical intentions from Jack's mind.
"Well, of course you did. I do that on purpose sometimes to keep everyone comin' back for more."
Shésui smiled truthfully back as Jack flashed his arrogant grin at her. Perfect, she secretly stated. He's completely under my spell; not even thinking about my effect. It'll be easy to convince him now… She casually seated herself on a bench near Jack's clothes cabinet (which was actually the former Shen-Gong-Wu-holding cabinet). "So…how's your work coming along?" she asked, meaning both literally and in her own sense.
"Pretty good," Jack replied, and Shésui had to agree. "I'm designing a few new things now. They're based on previous models, but I really think they'll be effective. I'm attempting to develop materials with the ability to merge and then diverge from another solid object. This will allow me to create machines that are able to pass through solid walls without a scratch."
"Cool," Shésui added, nodding her brown head in false interest. Such underdeveloped creatures…all it takes is a good solid wall to stop them…
"But I've still got quite a bit of adjusting to do," Jack kept rambling, on his brag. "…because not even Wuya could get through my Silver Shield, or escape from the beam of the Soul Scepter."
Shésui had to work hard to keep her indifferent, casual expression. He'd just mentioned Wuya, the Silver Shield, and the Soul Scepter in one sentence! Somehow, she liked the way this conversation was turning…
"I have to extend their properties to be able to merge with magically-created substances…"
"Wouldn't you have to study them?" Shésui finally contributed.
"Huh?" Jack's brag bubble popped and he was suddenly thrust back into the real world. "What was that?"
"I said wouldn't you have to study them? The magical substances, that is."
"Well, yes. I would have to study the chemical properties of the Silver Shield and the Soul Scepter's capture beam, although I have no idea how I'll…"
"You miss her, don't you?" Shésui finally dived straight in. She'd already gotten him hooked; there was no use in beating around the bush any more.
"Who?" Jack innocently questioned.
"Your spirit partner." She cleverly avoided simply saying "Wuya", in order to look like she didn't know too much about it.
"Well, Wuya was different. She's not a normal spirit partner, like Bobby. She was a pure evil ancient sorceress…"
"You didn't say that you don't miss her," Shésui gently insisted. "It doesn't matter if she was evil or not; if she was your spirit partner for awhile and then left you, you must miss her."
"Well…" Jack slowly admitted. "I have been thinking about it. It's not like I can do anything about it. You know, Shelly, you're very lucky to have a partner like Bobby."
"I know. I feel very lucky. I feel sorry for you, Jack. You always seem to get the short end of the deal…" Appealing to his inner ego and self-pity. Yet another good strategy…
At last, Jack took a deep breath and sat, cautiously on the bench, next to her. It was too late, that swirling vortex of mystique and sincerity was winning him over already. All he could think about now was Shelly…and that time before. "You're absolutely right," he admitted as he slowly exhaled. "C-Can you promise to keep this a secret from the others, because if they found out, they'd really hate me…"
Shésui nodded. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say, and tried to control her eagerness and excitement by nodding.
"I…I have been missing Wuya…just because she was always around all the time before. I don't know why I suddenly miss her now, but I really do…"
"It's okay," Shésui feigned a comforting tone. "I completely understand. "Even if my Bobby were an evil spirit, I'd want him back at all costs if he were taken away from me."
"I even made this," Jack continued in his desperate, pathetic tone, pulling out the Wuya II to show her.
"Whoa," Shésui commented, with a hint of truthfulness in her voice, since she was in fact, a smidgeon impressed. "That's a pretty good replica."
"Yeah, but it's not as good as the real thing," Jack insisted, jabbing his index finger at the middle. "You can still see her guts. And I haven't installed the merging-diverging components and the personality and voice chips…"
"Yeah…" Shésui unsteadily agreed. She wasn't exactly sure what to do now without making her intentions blatantly obvious. "But you'll get it soon. I'm sure. Then, we'll both have spirit partners! See, I knew I liked you for some reason. We have a lot in common."
Jack smiled for a moment, his cheeks blushing, apprehensively. Part of him was shocked and delighted to have a girl as gorgeous as Shelly truly attracted to him, but another part remembered Kimiko and reprimanded him, even though she wasn't his girlfriend anymore.
Shésui smiled back. Jack was just so cute…so cute and air-headed, and easy to manipulate. It was a miracle that he managed to build things like the Wuya II when he was so adorably oblivious.
"Thank you for understanding…" Jack at last spoke up again, giving her a quick hug, and she nearly broke out in laughter at the irony of it.
Bob drifted to the front and landed, gently on top of Jack's head. He wished to show Shésui that he had successfully performed his duty as an example of loving human-spirit relationships. I'll go to any lengths, he realized as he nestled in Jack's hair and inwardly laughed at his barely visible orange roots.
Shésui eventually pushed away from him, compelled Bob to follow her, and left Jack to his thinking solitude. Tomorrow, she decided. It's too early right now, but tomorrow… The red dots of her eyes bubbled to the surface for a second, and she glanced back at the two Metal Orbs sitting on fashioned wooden pedestals like bowling balls on display. Yes…definitely tomorrow.
(-)
The dark, cool night blew against Kimiko's exposed thighs as she traveled the halls near the Shen-Gong-Wu vault, guarding it from any shadowy apparitions resembling Jack Spicer. She'd suggested they keep watch tonight and get a photograph if that figure appeared again to see if it really was Jack. Too tired to care, Omi, Clay, Rai, and Dojo had quickly nominated her as Shen-Gong-Wu vault guard.
Kimiko stormed, angrily down the hall and fumed. How come nobody else wants to expose the truth about the burglar? No one else wanted to find out who could be stealing the Shen-Gong-Wu! There could be evil right here among them, and nobody cared!
As she came to the end of the corridor and emerged in the round vault room, made mystical and dangerous in the dark sheen of the night, she thought she heard a rustling from behind her. Quickly, Kimiko whirled around, trying to catch the source of the movement, but she could see nothing in the blackness of the corridor. A few Chinese lanterns hung on strings at certain portions of the wall, but the gaps between their sparse spots of light were completely blackened. Oh well…it had probably only been one of the nocturnal creatures that lived around the temple, or Dojo stumbling around, looking for his litter box.
Reassured, she turned back out to the scene at the vault and squinted. It was awfully hard to try to find someone wearing all black in the blackness of the darkened vault. Just then, she began to hear noises from behind her again, but this sounded much different. It sounded exactly like someone crying.
Glancing back again, Kimiko noticed a small lump near the right wall, close to one of the lanterns. From the shape of the figure, it looked to be a small child. Where did this kid come from? she wondered. Whatever had happened, this kid didn't seem too happy. Maybe he'd wandered into the temple by accident.
"…Help…" the child whispered to itself, since Kimiko was so silent, that she could hear everything. "…I'm lost…"
"Hello…" Kimiko softly said, stepping forward to come to the child's aid. "You're in the Xiaolin Temple. It's okay; I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Kimiko…"
Immediately, the child jumped up, into the dark splotches, facing her now, but it was too dark to see its face. The shadow had short hair, so Kimiko figured it was a boy, even though she couldn't be sure. "Wh-who are you?" he called, his voice a little louder now.
"I told you, my name is Kimiko. I'm a Xiaolin Warrior. I won't hurt you. Are you okay?" She took another step, hoping to reach the boy's side, identify him, and help him find his way home.
"Don't come any closer!" the boy cried, his voice suddenly loud and full of horror. "You're one of them!"
"One of who?" Kimiko asked. "One of the Chosen Ones, yes, but there's nothing to be afraid of. We're good people. We'll help you find your way home…"
"Guests!" the little boy shrieked, in a terrible, high-pitched voice. He buried his invisible face in his small hands and started crying again.
"I'm not a guest," Kimiko gently insisted. "I live here. I just want to help you…"
"No, you don't…" the boy persistently kept on.
"I'll help you find your home…"
"Liar!" the child cried again, looking up from his hands. "You don't know where I live…no one knows where I live, except me, and I'm not telling you where I…" The boy's voice had been consistently growing softer and at last it completely faded out, as well as his body.
Kimiko squinted into the dark corridor, trying to make out if he had simply turned around and walked off down the hall. She gingerly stepped up to the spot where the child had just been standing. There was no trace of his shadow further down the hall…and if he'd ran away that quickly, she should've been able to hear his pulsating footsteps. A horrified shudder voluntarily slipped over Kimiko's shoulders and the wind at her bare legs suddenly felt colder. It was like he had just…vanished into thin air.
Suddenly, she heard the stomping of eight feet and two claws rumbling towards her. Dojo, Omi, Rai, Clay, and Jack appeared around the corner of the hall, all in their PJs. "Hey, what happened here?" Clay asked, stepping closer and trying to flatten his blond bed-head.
"Yeah, we heard someone scream!" Rai added, wide awoke. He glanced, nervously around the area, in case the screaming entity reappeared.
"Was it you?" Omi asked. "It sounded like a girl's scream."
"That doesn't tell us anything," Dojo told him. "With that description, it could very well have been Jack."
"Ugghhhhhuh?" Jack groaned, rubbing his eyes, too tired to get that he was being made fun of.
"There was a little kid in the temple just now…" Kimiko explained, still a bit spooked. "It looked like a boy, but it might have been a girl. I couldn't see his face… He was screaming 'guests'…and I think he was lost, but he was afraid of me and wouldn't let me help him."
"Guests?" Rai questioned, raising a thick, brown eyebrow. "That's an odd thing to be screaming about…"
"He just disappeared into thin air!" Kimiko suddenly cried at them. "It's like he dissolved into the atmosphere or something! But I know I wasn't hallucinating, because you all heard the scream…"
"Maybe it was a ghost!" Omi deduced, looking proud of himself.
"Ghost?" Clay, Dojo, Jack, and Rai cried, stricken with the possibility. "That's spooky…" Rai commented, shivering and glancing around again.
"Help!" Dojo cried, and shot into Omi's robes again.
Omi rolled his eyes and pulled him back out. "Spirits are nothing to be afraid of. Most can't even touch you or hold material objects…"
Jack, woken up now by the mention of that one word, grabbed Rai's sleeve and tried to hide behind him. "I'm scared of ghosts…" he whimpered.
"Jack…" Rai said, a laugh brimming at the edge of his voice. "…You used to live with one."
"Oh, yeah…" Jack at last agreed, pulling a bit away from him. "But…this one's different! It's scary!"
"And Wuya wasn't?" Rai insisted, but Jack was back to panicking and trying to hide, and he didn't listen. "Hey…you know…" Rai slowly spoke up. "You said it just dissolved into thin air…that's exactly the same thing that happened with that guy I saw in the vault."
"Who knows?" Omi concluded. "We could have several mischievous spirits about…"
"Shut up!" everyone else shot at him. It took a lot of prodding to get everyone back in their own cubicles and sleeping soundly, but even in the midst of their horror, they didn't realize what had really happened.
The appearance of that spooky, mysterious boy had somehow calmed Kimiko's nerves. For the rest of the night, and into the morning of the next day, she showed no signs of bitterness to anyone, even Jack and Shelly.
(-)
It was so dark. The impenetrable darkness crept up upon every life form, every object, every falsely living object. There was no night light tonight. It's too dark…too dark to make a connection between two beings and forces. Yes…there was the light upstairs, but that was out of the question for now.
Who would be with him when sleep had claimed them? Not the robots…they were only repeating words and phrases he had programmed into them, or that they had learned and mimicked from other humans, or from television. Who would be there when he was working, alone within his own boundaries? Who would be there when nobody else was?
Jack stared at the dully flickering computer screen in front of him. It became a solid blur, and though his eyes were completely open, looking straight at it, he couldn't see it at all. Words and pictures were flashing through his head, more vividly than the mumbled electronic Jibberish before his eyes. It was a whirlwind of sights, sounds, and events.
At first, only black snatches of opaque, billowing fabric flapped by his face, in elegant succession. There was a true beauty and art to be found in the shadows, and he faintly remembered that as moving day, his declaration of frustration with the world…and those pretty green splotches never looked so inviting.
Then, a moment of silent success and failure. He had finally achieved what everyone had hoped he'd achieve for so long…but then again, that was only conformist. A falsified rejection letter later, and it would begin…that period of magical wonder and liberation that only came from the liberation of someone else… Such pretty green splotches, up there on that piece of blue paper. Pictures…of reluctant, joking camera tests, and amusing video interactions. Then, the words…those horrifyingly true, deep words.
"And Wuya wasn't?"
"A ghost? You mean she was like your spirit partner?"
"It doesn't matter if she was evil or not, if she was your spirit partner for a while, and then left you, you must miss her."
"Even if my Bobby were an evil spirit, I'd want him back at all costs if he were taken away from me…"
"…A constant companion…"
Disturbed and unsettled by these thoughts, Jack rose from his computer desk and quickly turned to stride out the door. For a reflecting moment, he leaned against the gray, concrete door. What am I thinking? He tried to reason with himself. Why am I thinking about Wuya? Sure, she was the first living thing that actually stuck by me for more than a day, but only because she had to. She wasn't really my friend…even though it was fun messing around with her…and most of the time, I was happy when I was around her. It was the first time I'd felt that way. But, now I have the others guys, who are much better, right?
Jack stopped and frowned at that thought. Kimiko hated him now… Well, she hated him again. Omi had his suspicions. Ever since that interrogation day, he'd been on his tail, making sure he was still working to potential and hadn't really been stealing Shen-Gong-Wu from the vault. Clay couldn't stand him either…he just stood up for justice. The friendliest one seemed to be Rai, and Rai loved to make fun of him, along with Dojo. By this time in his train of thought, Jack was naturally beginning to feel worthless once again. He needed someone…someone who needed him.
Controlled, puppet-like by the jumbled threads of his heart, Jack took a step forward and soon found himself ascending the basement stairs. Feelings were filling up his body for the first time in eight months…exhilarating feelings for danger, power, and possibility. The rhythm of his footsteps grew more urgent and desperate.
He was now traveling down the old, familiar cubicle hallway where the other Xiaolin Warriors were emitting snores of various strength and pitch. Yes…they were so peaceful in their own little world without him. Sentences were coming back into his mind as he passed by, as much as he tried to fling them from his mind by despairingly jerking his head away.
"…and why the heck does he have two?" Rai's angry, criticizing voice, as he passed the Brazilian's cubicle. That's right. He really shouldn't have two Element Orbs when he was so inferior…
"That's right!" Omi's little menacing voice echoed. "We want you to mess up!" That worked on two separate levels- literally and by the intentional meaning. An image of the little, misunderstanding monk sleeping upside down on his head flashed through one red eye.
"Hands off." The gruff, disgusted voice of Clay, and a familiar sting on the wrists. He'd defended him only because it was unjust not to. Not because he cared. That was the way everything seemed.
Coldness shot violently through his heart, passing by Kimiko's chamber. "…I'm not going to fall for your little mercy acts anymore, Jack!" Her menacing face, filled with hatred…hatred that he had gotten used to never seeing for so long… "I mean it! We're through! GOOD RIDDANCE!"
This was the way things were. Just…no one cared anymore. Except…possibly Shelly… "…Then we'll both have spirit partners! See, I knew I liked you for some reason. We have a lot in common." She liked him…she had a crush on him…but only if he had a spirit partner, like her.
These forces compelled Jack forward, like a motor of thoughts and memories, unsure of exactly how or why it worked, but whirring uncontrollably, because it had no other purpose in life. He had passed the little dormitory stalls by now, and headed mechanically for the door at the end of the hall. Straight ahead…and around another corner. Jack knew, subconsciously where he was going, but had no idea why or what he was going there for.
At last, it appeared in front of him again for the thousandth time…something familiar, yet slightly frightening and exhilarating. Jack took a pause to stare at it in wonder. The Shen-Gong-Wu vault. Although Shen-Gong-Wu didn't really matter to him now, the vault still retained that mysterious, omnipotent presence. It was somehow sacred and rare, and before he knew it, he was reaching the center of the circular mat and pressing a switch to uncover the entrance. Jack stared down at the flight of steps, descending into the dark depths of the magical, breathtaking chamber.
Then, instantly, his mind returned to those memories, those jumbling thoughts and puppet strings. Shelly's smile, Kimiko's glare, Clay's frown, Rai's snicker, Omi's gape, Master Fung's stare, Bobby's joyous nuzzling…the weaving threads of people's actions, muddled dialogue, and implied ideas…they all weren't making any sense…but all Jack could think about was Shelly. He needed her now, since no one else would listen and stay by him…but she wanted…
With an uncontrolled urgency gripping his body and soul, he finally made his move, springing forth into the unknown fate contained in that dark vault.
Just behind him, from the other darkness produced by the shade of a long, wooden pillar, two sparkling blue eyes looked towards the vault and danced, magically across the kitchen floor in their triumphant delight.
By now, Jack was tearing through the spiraling Shen-Gong-Wu vault. Draws illuminated by the hanging Chinese lanterns flew by his face in a blur of blue, black, and gold. His feet pounded all by themselves over the steps, flying towards their destination, as if he still had his trademark HeliPack. Those voices, those thoughts…ungrateful Warriors, loving Bobby, ungrateful Warriors, loving Shelly, ungrateful Warriors…loving Wuya. Unexpectedly, that purple wisp of a witch permeated back into his mind. A spirit partner…a constant companion…someone who needed him. Jack was whipping so quickly and swiftly over the stone steps that he didn't even notice the tears, drying from his cheeks as the stirred wind pushed, resisting against him.
At last, his pounding feet reached their destination…the back wall…where his rights lied, locked up inside a box. His magic…his desire…and his company. Filled with anger at the world around him, desperate desire to make someone stay with him, and sorrow of rejection, Jack held up his hands and yelled, his voice piercing and forceful from his confusing, compelling emotions. "EXPLOSION CRASH, METAL!"
The attack seemed stronger, yin-yangs and spikes lined by a dark aura, and they crashed, painfully against the crackling magic barrier surrounding that cabinet. With a terrible, appropriate explosion noise, the barrier broke apart, the particles of the protective ring dispersing around it in a cloud of destruction.
Without hesitation, Jack rushed forward, slammed the door of the cabinet open in his desperate, painful confusion, and wrenched his glittering, golden Soul Scepter from its depth. For a pensive moment, he stared, intensely into the golden fibers and the red, cloudy aura inside of its crystal ball. His breath was snatched from him as he stared deep into the orb…finally…it truly felt like he had found his Element Orb.
Meanwhile, in the distance, a pair of blue high-heeled shoes tapped themselves lightly and undetectably over the stone of the Shen-Gong-Wu Vault steps. Her long, slinky blue dress dragged elegantly over the dark granite. Shésui passed her thin, bony hand over the round, stone cylinder at the center of the vault as she moved steadily closer…she could see in the distance the red glow radiated by the tip of the Soul Scepter. Of course. Her judgment and tactics had never failed her before. An eagerly sinister and almost bloodthirsty smile pinched onto her face, her snakelike fangs beginning to poke out.
The faithful and useless little blob of Bob's spirit floated, suspenseful at her side. Gently, and commandingly, she easily reached up and grabbed the intangible little ghost. She held him, curled in her hand, and flung him backwards, compelling him back into his body at her will. There would be no further use for him. The time had come.
Trance-like, Jack stared into the Soul Scepter's orb. He'd been forbidden to touch it for so long, that he had forgotten just why he'd been forbidden to touch it. Oh…that's right. Because Wuya was inside of it. Wuya…Shelly…companion…
At last, in his final, desperate attempt to gain what he truly wanted, rebelling against these confusing, intensifying thoughts, Jack shoved the Soul Scepter into the air. His arms lay crossed over his head as his hands gripped the cool, heavy golden handle. The tears were dripping over his cheeks now, and he could feel them as he stood still and his head raised, to look up into that swirling power. It didn't matter…no one cared…a constant companion...
"…SOUL SCEPTER, METAL!" Jack at last cried out, his voice almost screaming with the pain, loneliness, and frantic desperation in his heart. Instantly, a red and purple burst of magical energy erupted from the end of the scepter. It whirled up in formation above the horizontally held scepter, and the painful, pinched face of Jack Spicer. This essence produced such a terrible blast of power that his arms were beginning to shake under its magical weight. His naturally and genetically weak body couldn't stand up against the force of what he had released.
At last, feverish, emotionally worn out, and psychically unstable, Jack's body relaxed, the Soul Scepter falling from his hands and clattering against the ground with a clink. Jack soon followed the scepter, crumpling, uselessly against the cold stone steps. His purpose had also been fulfilled. Like Bob, his job was now done…and someday, he would return to his mind.
(-)
"Oh my God! What was that?" Kimiko, awoken out of her sweet, innocent slumber by the racket from the vault, urgently shot up into a sitting position.
"I have no idea," Omi admitted, walking placidly around the corner and into Kimiko's cubicle. "Are you okay, Kimiko?"
"I'm fine…Rai! Clay!"
"We're right here," Clay confirmed, appearing behind Omi with Rai standing next to him. Unlike the previous night, everyone was completely awake, their wide, quizzical eyes staring at Kimiko.
"I heard this loud banging…" Rai spoke up, looking around the immediate area, furtively.
"And someone screaming," Omi added, nodding his large, round head in agreement. "Was it that young child ghost you saw before?"
Kimiko shook her head, her black pigtails bouncing on the sides. "No. I don't think so. It didn't really sound like it. And besides, it sounded like it came from…" Instantly, her body, as well as her voice froze in mid-sentence. "It…was…coming from…the Shen-Gong-Wu vault!"
With that, she shot up out from underneath her covers and looked toward the door to the left, where the vault was located. A silent glance of consent passed among the warriors and they unanimously took off in the direction in which Kimiko had glanced. Only a few moments later, the four of them tapped into the vault room, and noticed that the stairs were down, and it lay gaping and open in front of them.
"…Someone got into the vault," Kimiko amazedly stated, in a hushed whisper to her teammates.
"Maybe it's that weird shadow guy I saw that looked like Jack…" Rai quietly theorized.
Omi boldly stepped forward, and the others followed, reluctantly behind as he stepped into the mysterious and eerie darkness of the vault. It suddenly seemed a lot more foreboding and dangerous than normal, perhaps because of the suspicious noises that had been heard emanating from it.
As the four Xiaolin Warriors slowly crept closer and closer to the bottom of the well, they could hear a pair of voices, and the sinister, hateful lining of them confirmed some of their suspicions. Then, they heard a very familiar pair of phrases that none of them had ever hoped to hear again…
"Serpent's Tail!"
"Reversing Mirror!"
There came a terrible, familiar clashing noise, and a minute later, a horrifyingly familiar voice slithered to their ears. "Fool," the malevolent, self-assured female voice wavered out. "You did know that by returning me to my body, you would also return me to my full powers, didn't you?"
The Xiaolin Warriors froze in place at the pillar, right around the bend from this event. Slowly, their eyes widened in terror and disbelief. "…Wuya?" Rai at last whispered into the others' ears. "But…I thought…"
"…She was trapped in the Soul Scepter…" Kimiko finished, looking dreadfully further down the stairs.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," an equally sinister and demonically hissing voice answered. "Now I can finally prove that I can beat you, even at your full powers, and get my revenge for your trapping me in that Wheel of Quan Lao and trying to banish me. It didn't work, did it? I eventually found my way back to Earth…and now…you're going to pay!"
A dreadful crashing of magical substances boomed from around the corner. The two witches were fighting, and foolishly curious, little Omi rushed headlong into the heat of battle.
"Omi!" Kimiko hissed and rushed after him, followed closely by Rai and Clay. They didn't want to see this…they didn't really want to believe that Wuya had become flesh once again, but they couldn't deny the truth. The four of them froze and gaped at the awkward, dangerous scene before them.
Wuya and Shésui were floating, magically in the air, hurling bursts of dark power at each other. Neither one of them seemed to be winning, and their clashing energy comets just seemed to meet each other and explode on impact. Still, the restful looks on both Heylin witches' faces displayed the loathe they felt for the other. Below them, Jack lied in a limp, fainted heap over the stairs, the Soul Scepter sitting, guiltily next to him.
"…Jack?" Kimiko whispered in wonder, but soon tore her eyes from the sight to concentrate on the hazardous battle before them.
The battle became increasingly more intense, and the colors of Wuya's curly red hair and short black dress, and Shésui's wavy brown hair and long blue dress flashed before their eyes.
At last, exasperated with this terrible revelation, Rai called out, so both witches could hear. "…Shelly?"
Shésui whipped her head around, glaring down at the Xiaolin Warriors with contempt. "Shut up, you incompetent little kids!" she snapped. "My name isn't Shelly! That was only an identity I created to deceive you!"
A cold, shocked silence passed over the four of them. "Then…who are you?" Omi asked, in slight fear and suspense.
"She's an annoying little pest, that's who she is," Wuya growled in the distance, raising a shaking fist.
"My name is Shésui," the other witch continued, ignoring her rival. "I am one of the highest, most powerful Heylin witches in the universe. Centuries ago, this old jealous suck-up trapped me in the Wheel of Quan Lao, one of the Heylin Shen-Gong-Wu, and sent me to the far reaches of outer space." Accusingly, Shésui jabbed her crooked index finger towards Wuya in resentment.
"Oh, please," Wuya nonchalantly replied, crossing her arms and cocking her head to the side. "I was never jealous, and least of all, of you. I merely wanted you out of my way."
"But I found my way back!" Shésui dramatically continued her story, ignoring her again. "Eventually, the orbiting Wheel found its way back here, and fell back onto this world! You thought you could get rid of me forever by casting me into the depths of space? Hah! There are such things as meteorites, you know."
Rai's eyes widened as he stared up into the menacing face of Shésui. Just like Wuya, she also had long, pointy ears and three line markings under her eyes. "So…it was you," he realized. "That was you that fell from the sky in Brazil when the others came to bring me back."
Shésui smiled, showing her forked tongue and a bit of her fangs. "It was so much fun playing with your simple little minds…making you believe I was another Xiaolin Dragon, and manipulating that pathetic little boy, so he would release Wuya for me." She paused to gesture with her arm towards Jack's body in the distance. Kimiko's slanted blue eyes widened and she gently covered her mouth with a hand. At last, she realized what had truly happened that day. "Oh, well. Now I can have the pleasure of destroying you."
"What about our battle?" Wuya insisted, at last floating up and demanding to be heard. "Before you have the pleasure of destroying them, I want the pleasure of destroying you."
"No, no, that can wait for now," Shésui replied, trying to wave Wuya off, to her disgust and rage. "First we must get rid of this bothersome temple. Then we'll finish what we started."
"Very well then," Wuya at last agreed, staring down at the Xiaolin Warriors in malevolent glee. "The pleasure of crushing these little Xiaolin nuisances will have to do for now."
Rai, Omi, Kimiko, and Clay jumped into position and readied themselves for attack. "Dragon X Penté Formation!" they called, even though there was an empty space where Jack was supposed to be. The attack still worked as it normally did, and they each glowed in their respective element colors and their specialized uniforms faded onto their bodies.
"This ain't gonna work," Clay pessimistically whispered. "Remember the last time we fought Wuya? We couldn't even put a scratch on her…and now she's got a partner who's jus' as powerful!"
"Ah, but we are much more powerful as well," Omi reassured him. "We have our Element Orbs! Tornado Dragon Strike, Water!" The little yellow-skinned monk, clad in his small blue princely water uniform sprang from Kimiko's head and twisted his body in the middle of the two interweaving streams of water. But by that time, it was too late.
Wuya and Shésui simultaneously lifted their arms and called a deadly incantation to the heavens. Suddenly, the ceiling blew to pieces and fell down, threateningly around them.
"Get down!" Rai yelled, pushing his fellow Warriors flat against the steps next to him. This way, they might be able to escape the heavy, falling rubble.
The two Heylin witches flew up through this destruction and continued to the rest of the temple, assuming that they had killed the Xiaolin Warriors already.
Kimiko, Omi, Clay, and Rai pressed their heads against the floor as they heard horrifying explosions above them. There was nothing they could do now. Pillars and pounds of clay, wood, and glass tumbled down into a smoky haze of dust, as the Xiaolin Temple was quickly and expertly destroyed.