I'm back again! Can you believe it? I've been off this site for a while, avoiding Time After Time spoilers (it's my turn!), and because I've had a ton of school junk. The end of school (and my birthday) is in two weeks, so all the teachers are trying to cram in all the rest of the year's work. Plus, I'm going to Canada this weekend, and really wanted to get this up before I left. My printer even ran out of black ink, and I had to turn all the text blue, so I could print it…
As an unrelated side note, part 1 of Time After Time was just like Break His Crown, only further in the future and more kiddish. It kind of freaked me out, to have an episode so close to my fanfiction. They have better Advanced Jack-bots…but I still have a better Ultimate Master Jack! I plan to download and watch part 2 before I leave, because I won't be here when they're showing in on KidsWB. Here's hoping my computer doesn't freeze in the middle of the video. The ending of part 1 pretty much killed some of my future OCs for this fic, though…
Anyway, about this chapter…I feel that some parts of it could have been better, but due to time constraints, it was a little rushed and repetitive. You might be confused in regards to the issue with Yang Jack, but future chapters should clear it up. Now, enjoy the Bob and Henry appearances, JackxKim moments, and my poking fun at fangirls! Next update will be, not assuredly, sometime near the end of June.
(-)
Chapter 10: Keeping it in the Family
After realigning two critical Balance Points—one on a slab of concrete which had once been part of Panda Bubba's hideout, and one tiny, almost invisible one on the side of a shipment crate at the local port—the Xiaolin Warriors had headed towards Kimiko's hometown. In one swift sweep over the Tohomiko Enterprises Building, Yang Jack had used Omi's HeliPack to hover down and realign a flashing Balance Point on a nearby neon advertising sign.
From there, they'd headed back up to Russia, where two more had been converted. One had to be pieced back together from the ceiling of the museum in which they'd initially discovered the Crystal Glasses. The second had been unusually tricky. Yang Jack had had to fly up from a safe place behind some trees, as it would have been difficult for Dojo to hover over the famous Russian palace without attracting some major attention. After realigning the Balance Point located on the palace's topmost pole, they'd headed back towards China. Yang really hadn't been joking when he'd said that the Balance Points were located all across the globe.
Dojo panted, his long pink tongue hanging out, as he retraced his flight patterns back towards his homeland. "How much longer?" he complained. "I can't keep flying around the entire world like this all day…"
"Do you know exactly where this one is?" Rai turned to ask the little boy sitting in Kimiko's lap.
"Um…well, I'm not sure…" Yang frowned and tried to remember. "I don't think it's actually there anymore, if you get what I mean…"
"Well, if it's not here, where is it?" Dojo desperately cried. "Don't tell me I'm flying all this way for nothing!"
"No, no," Yang reassured him. "I know it's there, but it's not exactly where it used to be. We might have to, um, dig it up or something…"
Rai rolled his eyes and turned back towards the dragon's head. "Great, more digging. It's a good thing we've still got the Shen-Gong-Wu…"
Slowly, a deathly gray splotch began to appear on the horizon as they drew closer and closer to the next point's location. There was the border of the Heylin witches' kingdom. It might have been an illusion, but it appeared to have expanded a bit since they had last been inside. As more and more of the landscape began to disappear, consumed by the rotting patch of death, a mutual uneasy feeling of apprehension and doom passed through the Xiaolin Warriors' bodies. They had to somehow find the power to defeat this evil force…and they didn't want to even think about the alternative.
(-)
This felt all too familiar…sprinting towards an unknown destination as fast as her long legs would take her. However, the last time, she'd been whizzing past houses and other buildings before stopping at a phone booth. There were no buildings, no people, nor any phone booths in sight.
Marylyn leaped over a charred, blackened ditch and continued to run. The crumbling, withered, and scorched landscape had seemed to stretch on forever. She wasn't even sure where she was going, but as she traveled in accordance with her internal drive, somehow, she seemed to recognize some of the local landscape. The palace… she realized. That night when the attack came, they were coming from this direction. These hills hold deep, dark secrets…but something tells me that a good act can come of this. Oh!
Stabbing one old, muscled leg into the rich, darkened soil, Marylyn came to a halt as the oddly chilling vision entered her line of perception. That red-roofed, Chinese mansion stood solidly in front of her surrounded by its barricade walls. Strange, how it still remained intact, although its neighboring houses had been burnt to the foundations. There was no way its simple concrete fences could've held back an assault from two powerful Heylin witches. Marylyn herself was the only one with that kind of power.
"The palace…" she repeated, almost refusing to believe it. No, her son couldn't have spent such a long time in a place like that and not fallen under its influence. But it was the only explanation…and it certainly explained why…
Just then, she caught a snatch of dark clothing rippling in the distance. Someone had just quickly moved away from the adjacent wall…and she had a pretty good idea of who it had been. "Henry…" she snarled, and decisively taking a stride forward, she zipped to the wall's side. Glancing around its edge and noticing the clear outline of her former husband further along, she silently slipped out to follow him to his accursed destination.
(-)
The stone monster loomed closer and closer until it had swallowed him completely, which he was perfectly willing to allow. His old, peeling sneakers squelched against the ornate, sparkling palace tile. As Bob drew closer and closer to the central chamber, pieces of the interior architecture began to shudder and twitch to life. Stone columns became hulking, ape-like boulder creatures, while stalactites above cracked off, transforming into icicle snakes or craggy forms of bats. It didn't matter now if he wasn't welcome and they were going to attack him. As soon as he reached that central chamber…
"Hhugggh!" With one exclaimed grunt of exertion, Bob ducked and slid himself underneath one of the lumbering rock minions. He forced his body back up and continued his sprint, despite the protesting burning in his lungs. No matter what, he had to reach her.
"Ah!" Bob sharply exhaled as a crystallized snake landed on his head, startling him. He simply brushed it off and continued on his path. One of the bats attempted to dive-bomb his head, but he cleverly dodged to the left, so that it smashed and shattered against the rock chest of another minion which had appeared in front of him. Zipping quickly to the side, he caused the rock minion to lose its balance chasing him, and fall to pieces as it hit the palace wall. At last, he stepped, panting, onto the other side of a blue perimeter line. Instantly, the creatures halted and returned to their former positions as part of the landscape. It was as if by reaching this point, the palace had deemed him worthy of continuing.
Bob stopped for a moment to take in his breath before looking up. An enormous, round stone face frowned down at him from the wall in disdain. This was it. Now…he just needed to open this gate to the inner sanctum.
Closing his eyes, Bob tried to picture what he'd read in the Heylin tome. Only other Heylin witches and members of their clan had been allowed to enter, in its original form, and it required a spell for a password. Bob took in a deep breath. Hopefully, just being a devoted Heylin follower and knowing the incantation would be enough.
A shadowy blue aura ignited over his skin as he concentrated. Although he had no background or family history in China or the art of magic at all, just the intense studying he'd done of the Heylin tome he'd found had begun to awaken some kind of power within him…the beginning magical energies of the Heylin witches. It seemed Heylin powers, unlike the Xiaolin elements, were a magic that could theoretically be learned by anyone. Before Bob even knew what was happening, the incantation was slipping effortlessly off his lips, and the round stone face in front of him split in the center, swiveling itself open.
With a quick blink, Bob's dark aura vanished, and his previously blank brown eyes returned to normal. His heart fluttered when he caught his first sight of the spectacle. The Heylin Palace's throne room looked exactly how he had expected it to look…but on the other side of the gate was not what he had expected to see.
"Oh," the smooth, unconcerned voice of Wuya first slid to his ears. "It appears we have a visitor. Is he a friend of yours, Shé?"
"Oh, it's just little Bobby," Shésui replied, in a similar tone. "I wonder what he wants. I already told him I was done with him. …And didn't I tell you not to call me that?"
"Ah, yes," Wuya nodded in slight understanding. "Your human tool. Would you like me to help you dispose of him?"
"I don't need your help," Shésui snapped back. "And for your information, I wasn't even planning on disposing of him."
Though Bob felt grateful and a bit more comfortable at this statement, he still couldn't move from his solid position in the circular doorway. While the two Heylin witches continued to bicker like a couple of sisters, that third figure on the throne itself hadn't spoken one word yet. Bob observed this man's bald head, diamond-formed dots on his forehead, and Caucasian, red eyes. Those eyes were boring into him at this moment, and for some reason, he was having a hard time pulling away. Who was he? And why did he look so familiar?
"Boy," he finally, abruptly spoke, in an alarmingly gruff voice. "What is your business in the sacred Heylin Palace?"
"I…" Bob faltered at first, weakened under the man's goring glare. "I wish to speak with Shésui."
The brunette witch turned from her banter with Wuya, and began to say something, but she never got the chance.
"Join us," the man insisted, not lifting his gaze from Bob's position. "You will have to do something for us before we grant you the honor of a personal conversation."
Shésui's face morphed from mocking amusement to a smile of victory at this statement, and Bob felt his heart sinking to the bottom of his chest. Was she really just using him? No, he couldn't think like that. It would destroy everything he'd fought this hard for.
Wuya, too, broke her challenging gaze on Shésui and turned towards her old friend with a similar smirk. "Ah, good move, Al. I was wondering how we'd get back at that one…"
The man quickly silenced her with a swipe of his hand, and as Bob watched these actions, he finally realized who he had to be. "Alaric…" he recited aloud to himself. "The founder and head of the Heylin clan… But…how…? You've been dead for over a thousand years…"
A slight, mysterious smile formed on Alaric's face, but he simply continued to question Bob, disregarding the inquiry. "You must have some understanding of Heylin magic to have made it through the gate. We would be glad to accept you as our first follower and admit you among us."
"But what would I have to do?" Bob warily questioned. "You said…"
"Oh, there is no specific task, if that was what you thought," Shésui interjected, slightly advancing on him. She was smiling at him…but it wasn't the same kind of warm smile he'd seen on her face at the Xiaolin Temple. "You'd be doing us a great service simply by being our follower."
Wuya crossed her arms and looked off in another direction.
Although Shésui was eyeing him like a fresh piece of meat, Bob couldn't help but melt inside under her deep, sparkling blue eyes. "Yes," he instantly agreed, his voice growing more stable and assured. "Yes! Of course! I've always wanted to be a Heylin follower!" And with that, he ran forward, to the base of the dais's steps, bowing. Alaric gazed down at the boy in buried delight…then stood and raised his scepter to begin the initiation process.
(-)
"…Well, if this don't look familiar." Clay slid off Dojo's back and onto the squishy, burnt compost of the ground just outside the ominous Heylin Palace.
"What if it don't look familiar? …I mean, if it doesn't look familiar?" Omi asked, slipping off and landing beside the cowboy.
"It's an expression…I was just saying that it does look familiar…" Clay tried to explain as Rai, Kimiko, and Yang slipped off after them. "Remember that sarcasm thing Rai taught you about?"
"Oh," Omi disappointedly realized. "That again."
Kimiko gently set Yang Jack to the ground and walked back to Dojo's tail where the physical Jack was still anchored.
"So you're absolutely sure it's inside the palace?" Rai anxiously asked. "Because it's going to take all we've got just to get past Wuya's security, and we're not even sure what Shésui can summon…"
"Yup, I'm sure," Yang affirmed, nodding his little orange head. "I can feel it even stronger now… It was in a magical room, created just for you, but now, it could be underground as part of the debris. Actually, I'm not even sure it still exists."
"But I thought you said you were sure it was in there!" Rai exclaimed, losing his temper with the boy's cryptic statements. "How can it be in there if it doesn't even exist?"
Kimiko's head snapped back in their direction as she was untying Clay's rope from Jack's legs. If Rai was hurting Yang's feelings, she would march over there and give him a knuckle sandwich.
"Well…I can't really describe this feeling," little Yang struggled to explain. "I know we need to go in there. Something very important is going to happen there. I think the next Balance Point is going to be there, but it's not exactly there yet. Does that make sense?"
"Not really." Rai took a deep breath and tried to calm down, because he knew that if he yelled at the boy too much, Kimiko would come marching back and give him a knuckle sandwich.
"It makes perfect sense to me!" Omi chimed in. "We've just got to wait here until Yang Jack feels that the Balance Point has reappeared!"
"By that time, it'll probably be too late," Dojo suddenly spoke up. He'd been listening to their conversation and trying to figure it out. "Yin Jack will be sensing it at the same time, and being already inside the castle, he'll be able to get to it much faster.
"Is there any way you can try to estimate how long it will be until it reappears, Yang?" Kimiko gently asked, as she finished untying the rope from Dojo's tail and handed it back to Clay.
"Well…not really…" Yang admitted, hanging his head a bit. "But we can always just get into the castle now and wait for it to appear from inside."
Rai frowned. "That would be suicide."
"But what else can we do?" Clay worriedly asked, looking up at the palace's ragged tower peaks. "Even if we stay out here, we're bound to be detected and attacked. You remember how Wuya's minions were everyplace…"
"Well, that was partly my fault…" Rai admitted, hanging his head with Yang. "Now I really get to see what you guys went through…"
Kimiko turned away from them and back to Jack's body, which was still hovering lifelessly in mid-air. She leaped up, switched his HeliPack off, and caught him on their way back down. "Dojo…" she told their guardian dragon as she laid Jack back on the ground. "You're going to have to watch him again while we're gone."
"But what if you get in some kind of trouble in there?" Dojo argued, shivering at the prospect. "I have to leave and come help you!"
"Well, hopefully, it won't come to that…"
"Nnn…"
Kimiko's head immediately snapped downward at the sound. It hadn't been her or Dojo, and it sounded too nearby to be Omi, Clay, or Yang…and that voice sounded nothing like Rai's. Her breath caught in shock and worry. Jack's left arm was folding itself underneath his head as his right leg tucked under the left one. No, he couldn't wake up now! They still had eleven more Balance Points to convert!
Quickly, she reached into a brown pouch around Dojo's neck and pulled out the Harp of Harmonies. However, a few seconds later, Jack settled down again and stopped moving. Kimiko uttered a sigh of relief and replaced the Harp to its pouch, much to Dojo's dismay. "Phew…he was just turning over in his sleep."
"Ah!" Dojo cried as he minimized himself and the Harp around his neck now anchored him to the ground. "I can't wait until you get the rest of those Balance Points and I can take this thing off!"
"Don't worry, my friend, it won't be for much longer." Omi hopped over to reassure their little dragon partner. "Look! We're already halfway done!"
This only made Dojo even more depressed. "At this rate, I'll be wearing it for three more days!"
"Well, someone's got to make sure Jack stays asleep," Kimiko reasoned. "Or else Yang would keep disappearing and we'd have to knock his lights out every time we came upon a new Balance Point."
"And God forbid Kimiko has to hurt her dear Jackie," Rai said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, if you remember what Master Fung said, we're supposed to be protecting him," Kimiko argued back. "That would entail not whacking him unconscious."
"Ah!" a chirpy voice suddenly called out, interrupting Kimiko and Rai's argument.
Kimiko's eyes widened as she looked towards its source and immediately ran to his side. "Yang! What's wrong?"
The little boy was trembling and hiding a tear-streaked face behind two small fists. "I-I don't know…" he choked out. "S-Something just…came over me. I just got…really, really sad."
"Well, it's okay…" Kimiko wrapped him in a hug. "Whatever it is, it can't be that bad. We're going to go in there and get that Balance Point! And we'll save the world; you'll see! You don't have to worry…"
She opened her eyes, and looked over the boy's shoulder as she hugged him…and froze in place. Someone was standing there…just at the castle's perimeter, looking casually up towards it glowing, sinister symbol. Someone with slick, brown hair and a long, black cloak.
The other Xiaolin Warriors had noticed her tension and froze as well, staring towards their stricken partner. "Don't look now," she mouthed to her fearful friends. "But his father's here." Everyone fell silent, trying not to attract the mysterious Spicer man's attention and each one tried to figure out what they should do next. The silence was horrible.
"What's going on?" Yang looked up and asked Kimiko once he had calmed down.
"Shhhh…" she warned him. "Don't turn around."
The Xiaolin Warriors had no solid evidence that Mr. Spicer was, in fact, on the Heylin side, despite the fact that he seemed quite familiar with Wuya. They were waiting to see just what he was here to do, and if he tried anything evil, that would be their invitation to attack.
Just then, a different sound entered their earshot. Footsteps. Someone else was approaching from the opposite direction! Great; this was just what they needed. Everyone turned their heads as the footsteps grew slightly louder, and a tall shape began to emerge out of the shadows.
Yang's red eyes grew even larger and lit up in wonder and delight. "…Mommy!"
Kimiko quickly pressed her hand over his mouth and checked the distant shadow of Mr. Spicer to make sure he hadn't noticed. But, indeed, it was Marylyn Orre who then appeared in front of them. She seemed just as surprised to see them as they were to see her.
"The Xiaolin Warriors…" she whispered in amazement as she drew closer. "Jackie… At least I succeeded in finding you."
"Mistress Marylyn…" Omi softly replied, approaching and turning his head up to her. "…We are sincerely sorry that we did not offer you and Master Fung a warning before we left on our quest, but it has been an extremely urgent one…"
"I understand…" Marylyn replied, eyes falling on her de-aged son, who struggled in Kimiko's arms at the acknowledgement. "So this is the effect of the Metal Orbs…"
"Jack's soul has split into Yin and Yang forms," Omi continued to explain. "That's his Yang form. His Yin form has teamed up with Wuya and Shésui…"
"Mommy!" Yang yelled again, and this time, Kimiko couldn't hold him back. He fought his way out of her arms and ran to his mother's side, throwing his short arms around one of her legs. "Mommy! Mommy, you're back! Why did you leave me?"
Marylyn's formerly blank and hardened face immediately softened and she bent down and enveloped the little boy in her arms. "Oh, Jackie, I never wanted to leave you. I love you. I wanted to take you with me, but I just couldn't. Maybe someday you'll understand…"
"I love you too, Mommy," Yang replied, hugging her tighter. "I missed you. I'm so glad you're back."
"I'm glad to be back too," Marylyn replied, smiling a little as she patted the entity's head. "And I'm not going to leave you again, no matter what."
Just then, a slight rustling sound echoed from the distance. Mr. Spicer was moving…and growing closer to their location at every moment.
"Um, I hate to break up this reunion, but…" Rai pointed behind him towards the advancing shadow, gritting his teeth with apprehension.
Marylyn raised her head and turned to look in that direction. Gently, she rose back to her feet, pulling Yang away by the hands. "I will be right back," she assured him. "There's a little something I have to take care of." And at last, she turned around, facing her abhorred ex-husband with a determined scowl and a justly defensive demeanor. How dare he…?
Henry lifted his head towards them when he had drawn close enough, revealing a miniature smile and lighted red eyes. His thick, clenched eyebrows reminded them so much of Jack…or more specifically, Yin Jack, as he carried a distinct air of superiority and malignity around him. "There you are," he finally spoke, stopping several yards away from his ex-wife. "I thought I heard someone following me. The Xiaolin Warriors have always thought themselves so silent and swift…" His eyes flickered to his sides for a moment, taking in his other spectators. "…And now look where they are."
Marylyn stepped back, taking on a defensive stance in preparation. "If you're here to join the Heylin forces, I won't let you!" she cried.
Henry simply chuckled to himself. "I wouldn't need to join them, my dear; I've always been a part of them!"
"I know that," Marylyn growled, through clenched teeth. "But if you wish to become a part of Wuya's new army…that I won't allow."
"And why not?" Henry continued to taunt her. "Because you still believe I'm a handsome, upstanding gentleman deep inside?"
"Not in the least. But the more followers the Heylin witches gain, the stronger they shall become! It is my duty to prevent greater conflict between the two sides, or the Great Showdown War could repeat itself!"
Henry persisted chuckling, even as she made these prominent declarations. "At this point, a second war is imminent," he told her. "With two Heylin witches and the leader resurrected… Let us only hope your side does not yield the same!"
"Stop laughing!" Marylyn barked back, finally fed up with his nonchalant attitude. "You think this is a laughing matter? Being on the brink of war? Think about it! What about your son? You are putting his life in immediate danger!"
"He'll only be in danger if he chooses to fight against us," Henry assured her. "I don't understand why that's the reason you're so bent on stopping me." With that, he turned from her and began walking to the palace's jagged entryway, but he didn't get very far.
Marylyn zipped up in a flash and directed a swift kick to his lower legs. The attack had meant to trip him, but he had already jumped to the side and blocked her blow.
"Now what's this? I never gave you an invitation to the battle." Nevertheless, he pushed back his cloak, readying himself for an offensive retaliation.
"I don't need one!" Marylyn cried, "I've got all the reason I need already!" The rage she'd felt for this man over the years was now bubbling to the surface, and in her heightened state, made another pass at him.
During all this, the Xiaolin Warriors remained still, gaping at the fighting adults. These were personal matters, pertaining to their own pasts, and although it had begun to turn ugly, it was best not to interfere in situations like these. "And I thought my parents fought a lot," Rai muttered, sadly to himself.
Kimiko put her arm around Yang Jack, who was gripping her dress and trying to hide behind her. It must have been painful for him to watch his parents battling it out like this…but it needed to be done. At last, the two of them could settle their differences…but at what cost?
"I always knew it!" Marylyn cried, as she recuperated from Henry's dodge and prepared to strike him again. "You've never cared about your family! You've only wanted to use Jack for your own advancement!"
Henry reached out to catch his ex-wife's attacking arm. He gripped her wrist tightly and yanked her closer towards him. "You're one to talk," he reproached, his voice low, so that only she could hear. "For one who would abandon her own family rather than stick it out and face me."
"You were going to hurt me!" Marylyn broke away in objection. "You would've thrown me out of your house anyway! You were the one pulling my son away from me! Because you knew that if he went with me, he'd become the next Xiaolin Dragon of Metal. But it didn't matter, since that's what he became anyway!"
This time, it was at last Henry initiating the attack. Some sort of dark, flickering aura had sprung up over his skin, and a small sphere of energy of that same hue materialized in his hands. "But not before making a monumental advance for our kind!" he cried, releasing the energy ball towards Marylyn.
The red-haired woman just barely slipped underneath its width, and continued forward, preparing another attack against him.
"Stop it!" Yang's little voice suddenly called out in protest. "Stop fighting over Jack like that!" The Xiaolin Warriors looked back at the little boy, curious as to why he had just referred to himself in the third person. Well, Kimiko thought as she looked into his watery red eyes, they're fighting over Jack as a whole, but Yang is only a piece of his soul…
"Like I said before!" Marylyn cried in protest, recovering from another dodged blow and preparing to hide from another Heylin energy blast. "You were only using him to open that puzzle box for you! You were trying to convert him to the Heylin ways by purposely ignoring him!" Obviously, neither of them had heard the little boy's cry among the yelling and crashing of the battle.
The Xiaolin Warriors and even Dojo were too transfixed on the events unfolding in front of them to even take notice as something behind them began to move, and Marylyn and Henry could hardly see anything else, in the dust cloud they were creating around themselves.
Yet another of these sprays of dirt and debris shot into the air as Henry's mass of dark power missed Marylyn and crashed to the ground, just a few feet in front of the palace entry. "I have only ever wished for my son to follow in my footsteps and take participation in the family business."
Marylyn's brow knitted a little tighter as she finally began to recognize those awful things she had seen, so long ago. She thrust towards her ex-husband this time with renewed ferocity. "Your business is no one's business!" When she approached this time, Henry formed another blast of power, instead of simply trying to dodge the onslaught. This time, he'd face her head on, and take her down with his own hands.
The Xiaolin Warriors gasped. Omi instinctively leaped forward, preparing to transform to help them, but Clay's strong arm yanked him back. Walking into the middle of that could mean certain death. There was bound to be a great explosion, resulting in both Spicer parents badly injured. There had to be some way to stop this…but what could they do! Rai closed his eyes, and Kimiko kneeled down, shielding Yang's view.
Dojo turned away from the sight…and gasped again at a much more alarming one behind him. There was no one there. "Wh-What? Where…!" he exclaimed, but he didn't have to wonder for much longer.
"Jack!" Kimiko shrieked, when she suddenly noticed. Rai opened his eyes again and his mouth fell open. Omi and Clay turned their heads upwards, along with their partners and suppressed cries of shock.
Jack, the original body, was suspended above their heads, just in front of his parents' battlegrounds. The strange thing was, his HeliPack was off…and there was nothing holding him there in the sky. He seemed awake, since his arms were outstretched and his eyes were open, but he still did not seem fully conscious. A blank film of some sort had covered his eyes…and they simply stared straight ahead, as if looking into the next world. The Xiaolin Warriors shivered. They recognized that look. It was the same trance-like appearance that Yang had taken on whenever he was converting a Balance Point…but for some reason, Jack's seemed much more…empty.
His eyelids gently closed again, but his position didn't change. In that moment, the world around them seemed to change entirely. A light glow blinked into existence, encircling Jack, and then, it began to spread. It spread over Omi, Clay, and Raimundo, who confusedly watched it slip beneath their feet. It spread over Kimiko, who trembled nervously in its wake, while Yang burst out of her arms and tried to reach out and touch it. It spread over Dojo, causing him to quiver with magical energy. And finally, it spread over Marylyn and Henry, whose attacks were immediately absorbed, resulting in both of them falling to their knees in the aftermath. All was unusually quiet and serene as the aura continued to expand…further and further out into the world. It swallowed the entire Heylin Palace and continued reaching out towards the horizon.
"Wh…What is this?" Henry at last spoke, with buried distaste.
Marylyn's heart beat loudly against her chest as she recalled. Her deep green eyes turned up towards her floating son in pure awe. She couldn't even believe it was possible…she'd always believed that it could never be obtained…but as she looked out to the distance, she couldn't even see where the magical aura had stopped. So this was what it looked like from inside. Everyone and everything seemed coated in a sparkling, grayish film. They'd be no way they could continue with their fight now.
"It's the Silver Shield," Marylyn whispered, just barely loud enough for the Xiaolin Dragons to hear as they approached her. "Level Five."
"Level Five?" Omi asked, being the first one to reach her side. "But Jack is only a Xiaolin Apprentice- Level Two. Level Five would be the Element Orb level…"
"Right," Marylyn explained, when the rest of the Xiaolin Warriors were finally in attendance. "Out of every Dragon of Metal that has existed since the very first, I have been the only one to reach a Level Four Silver Shield. Though previous Dragons of Metal have reached full Xiaolin Dragon status, none but me have been able to extend that level to the Silver Shield, since it is a difficult and ambiguous power. I have no idea how, but somehow, Jack has attained the first ever Level Five Silver Shield. …He must have felt the need to protect himself…and to stop our fighting."
Rai glanced, worriedly up at Jack's still suspended body. "…But what will happen to him while his soul's still separated like this? He can't be awake…"
"I have no idea," Marylyn admitted. "Level Five has never before been reached, so we know nothing about it."
Panic and fear suddenly struck Kimiko's heart. Something was happening to him…but no one knew what. He could be stuck in this frozen, half-conscious state forever! "Jack!" she called again, breaking into a run through the mystical gray atmosphere. Finally, she reached his position and leaped upwards towards him with all her might… But as soon as she got close enough to him, some invisible wall smacked against her, repelling her backwards. With a hard slam, Kimiko fell back to the burnt ground.
"Kimiko!" Now it was the rest of the Xiaolin Warriors who were rushing to her own aid. Clay lifted her up in true gentleman fashion, and the others all saw that tears had begun to slip down her smooth cheeks.
"I…I don't know what to do. I just can't reach him…"
"It's okay…" Clay began to try to comfort her, but she abruptly twisted her body out of his arms to face the former Spicer couple.
"This is all your fault!" she burst out. "If you two hadn't been fighting like that, with no regard for his feelings, none of this would have happened! You've got to stop this! Don't you see what you're doing to him?"
Another dreadfully tense silence passed after Kimiko's outburst, like the spraying sands after the explosion of a dark ball.
Finally, Henry broke the serenity by simply getting to his feet and dusting himself off. "Well…" he considered. "…I suppose I could relinquish my designs for the present moment. I'm fairly certain it won't be a loss."
All eyes remained on him, even as he turned around and began to head off in the opposite direction. Marylyn shot him a suspicious glare, but no further altercations passed between them. The peaceful yet unnerving silence returned, as everyone tensely waited for the man to disappear.
"I will see you again, my dear," he ominously declared, waving slightly back at Marylyn just before he finally disappeared into the dense shield particles, which much resembled a thin layer of fog. Everyone slowly breathed inward sighs of relief as soon as he was out of sight.
Gradually, the silver perimeter began to blink, and Kimiko turned her attention back to her unusually suspended boyfriend. The giant Silver Shield was dying away ay last…but now what would happen? The silvery particles dispersed, and the world once again returned to vibrant color.
"Jack!" Kimiko exclaimed again, resuming her sprint towards him, much to the other Dragons' concern. If that protective sphere was still in place, she could hurt herself again. Thankfully, Jack's body then began to lower, gently to the ground and it laid itself back down just as Kimiko reached his side.
She kneeled and leaned over him in concern. "Jack…" she whispered, just in case he was sleeping again. His eyelids fluttered for a moment, and then completely opened. Those same, deep ruby eyes stared back at her, and she'd never felt more relieved, even when he'd awoken before in the Shen-Gong-Wu Vault.
"Jack!" she cried, a wide smile breaking through the shining teardrops lingering on her cheeks. "You're okay! I was so afraid…I didn't know what was happening…I'm just so…" And before she even realized what she was doing, she was bringing her face closer to his, and her lips pressed against another warm, soft pair of lips.
Jack blinked when she pulled away a moment later. He was just too confused, surprised, and amazed to attempt any kind of speech, so he contented himself with staring up into Kimiko's gentle blue orbs for the next several minutes.
The other Xiaolin Dragons, Dojo, and Marylyn stared at them with similar mute amazement, until Omi suddenly flew into a panic, noticing their predicament. Jack was awake and fully conscious…but Yang was still standing, placidly at his side, as if nothing had happened! In a yellow-and-red blur, Omi zipped to their spot, breaking up Kimiko and Jack's important romantic moment by jumping onto Jack's chest and forcefully staring into his eyes. "Jack Spicer! Do you hear me? Do you understand me? It's Omi! Remember Omi? The Cheese Ball? The Chrome Dome? Do you want to kill me?"
Finally, Jack burst into laughter and swiped the little monk off as he pulled himself into a sitting position. "No, Omi, I don't want to kill you. At least not right now, anyway."
"B-But your Yang side…" he stuttered as he stood up and pointed towards Yang Jack in the distance with the others.
Jack nonchalantly stood up and stretched…but then froze when he got a look at the people in the distance staring back at him. His heart seemed to stop for a moment when he found himself looking into the face of his eight-year-old self. Had he been transported into the past this time?
Kimiko rose next to him, anticipating the oncoming drove of questions, and everyone drew a bit closer as well.
"…Will someone please tell me what the heck is going on here?" Jack finally burst out, frantically waving his arms to demand all of their attention.
"Um…well…" Kimiko struggled forth.
"Well, you see…" Clay tried next, removing his hat and twisting it around in his hands.
"We don't know where to start!" Rai exclaimed.
"The last thing I remember, we were at the Vault's ruins…" Jack struggled to recall. "…and…and something was missing…and then you all forced me to take a nap…"
"Jack Spicer, meet your own Yang essence!" Omi introduced, holding his short arms out to indicate Yang. "And I still can't understand how you are still conscious and not completely evil if your Yang side is still separate from your body."
"I don't really understand it either…" Yang admitted, furrowing his small brow. "Unless…I'm not really his Yang side…or…no, that's it! Something happened to Yin Jack!"
"What happened?" Omi, Dojo, and Marylyn all asked at once.
"Well, I'm not sure…but he's not Yin Jack anymore! …If that makes any sense. Both his Yin and Yang must have gone back to him when that happened…but that still doesn't explain why I'm still here…"
Jack forcefully shook his head. "Uh…you lost me a long time ago. But I feel fine, so nothing should be wrong with me at least. So where are we, and how did we get here?"
"Well, when we first met your Yang side, he told us about these Balance Point things that had been tipped to the Yin side when you released Wuya…" Kimiko tried to start out. "He's the only one that could realign them, and he only appeared through the Yang Metal Orb when you were asleep…"
"Oh, so that's why you were all making such a big deal about me going to sleep…" Jack said to himself.
"…So we had to go all over the world, looking for the Balance Points…" Rai added in. "We went to Hong Kong, and Tokyo, and Russia, and all around China… There was a big battle at your house between us, the Heylin witches, and your Yin side, but we got through it okay…"
Jack's eyes grew wider with each activity that Rai mentioned. "Sheesh, you did a lot in one day!" he cried.
"Excuse me!" Dojo objected, slithering up and throwing the sack containing the Harp of Harmonies from his neck. "It took a lot longer than that to fly to all those places and back! I've had to sit around and keep watch over you all this time, making sure you didn't wake up!"
"This is our second day of looking for the Balance Points," Kimiko explained, which only seemed to scare Jack even more.
"You mean I've been asleep for almost two whole days? …I…just lost a part of my life…I feel like that guy Pip von Tinkle or something…"
"Rip van Winkle," Rai corrected.
"Well, now we're at the entrance to the Heylin Palace…" Kimiko picked up. "Your parents just had a huge fight in front of it and you somehow woke up and did the Level Five Silver Shield to stop them."
Jack blinked again, trying to bring his fuzzy memories into perception. "I do…kind of remember something like that…except it was like a dream. They were battling each other over me, and…it didn't seem right. I just wanted to disappear, since I was what they were fighting over, and then…there was this warm, safe feeling."
Marylyn couldn't resist anymore, and burst past the Xiaolin Dragons to pull her son into a hug. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. This whole thing was my fault. I know it must have hurt you to see us battling each other like that. You must have thought everything was your fault, the way we were going on…"
"N-No, Mom, it's alright," Jack struggled to speak underneath her tight grip. "I…think I understand. You were a Xiaolin Dragon. He's a Heylin follower. I'm going to have to go up against my own father now…"
Marylyn smiled as she released him, but still kept one hand resting on his shoulder. "Well, don't worry about that. I know you'll do an excellent job. You're already turning out to be a greater Dragon of Metal than I ever was."
Jack blushed a bit, but before they could exchange any other sweet mother-son words, a small voice piped up from around their feet. "Uh, I don't mean to be a nuisance, but it's getting kinda late," Dojo realized. "Haven't we still got a Balance Point to find?"
"That is correct!" Omi cried, jumping out and pointing determinedly towards the imposing palace. "Onwards! We are most ready for you now!"
(-)
At last, the mysterious grey barrier had disappeared, and the magic reached its intended destination. Alaric scoffed, flicking the dust off his beaded arms as if it were a bit of meddlesome cobweb. "Nothing to worry about," he assured Wuya and Shésui, who had had no previous experience with this line of power. "Just one bothersome Dragon of Metal's attempt to protect herself."
"You mean himself," Shésui corrected. "The Dragon of Metal position in this era has gone to a male, believe it or not."
"Well," Wuya added, with a chuckle, "I might not be so sure of that. He did declare himself Queen…"
"There's no time for joking around," Alaric scolded. "Now…was it Bob?"
Bob had been keeping pace between the witches and at this statement, turned his head to nod, submissively to the great Heylin leader.
"Here we are. We've arrived at your room. Please let us know if there is anything else you might like within its walls." The group stopped before a stone doorway and stared eagerly towards its entrance.
Bob finally tore his gaze away from Shésui for a moment to get a look…and his eyebrows rose even higher. "Bob Zone?" he read off the chiseled sign above the large double doors. "What the heck is this?"
"It's the Heart's Desire Room," Wuya reflected, placing a claw-like hand over his shoulder. "It may only come into existence when a person outside the Heylin order enters this palace, agreeing to stay in exchange for service. Inside, you will find everything your heart desires. Enjoy it while you can."
Bob disgustedly shrugged her hand off, looking back towards his love, obviously intending this next question for her. "It can't possibly contain all of my heart's desires. That would be physically impossible, wouldn't it?"
"You'd be surprised," Wuya continued, missing his deliberate glance. "I once experimented with fitting entire countries inside. Go on, see for yourself."
Oddly enough, even Alaric seemed eager for Bob to open the Heart's Desire Room, and pushed the boy forward towards the door at his co-operative's suggestion. "We will return to check on you in a few more hours," he gravely remarked. "So don't get too involved." The three of them began to turn to return to the inner sanctum.
"Have fun," Shésui finally spoke up, giving him a faintly encouraging smile just before she turned back around to join Alaric. And that was all it took to convince Bob to actually enter the room after all.
The instant he stepped through the large wooden doors, a great roar met his ears. At first, he wasn't sure if it was a jet plane or a tornado, but it was neither. A gigantic crowd of girls stood before him, and they erupted into screams at the mere sight of him. "Yeeeeeeeek!" "It's Bob!" "Bob, Bob, Bob!" "I love you, Bob!" "I'm your biggest fan!" "No, I am!" "Nuh-uh, he's mine!"
All the Heylin boy could do was stare as the girls began to close in on him. "…Hey there, ladies," he finally spoke, flashing them a bit of a smile. Instantly, the girls closest to him hit the concrete floor. More female fans rushed forth to take their place, but at that moment, Bob caught a glimpse of something beyond their ranks. Something blue and brown.
"Can I have your autograph?" one blonde girl squealed from his right, while another attempted to steal a piece of his hair, and a third was, disturbingly enough, licking his shoes. The other ten thousand or so screamed and fought to get closer to him. Bob jumped and struggled to get a closer look, but as soon as he did, a fourth girl screamed, "Ah! Bob!" and latched onto his waist, dragging him down. He gritted his teeth in aggravation as she then proceeded to snuggle his ragged sweatshirt, and the first loudly insisted on an autograph again.
"Just shut up, all of you!" he finally yelled, and the room snapped into dead silence. The girls all froze, incredulous looks unanimously passing over their faces. I don't want you anymore! Can't you see…!" And with that, the shocked crowd began to flicker and blink out of existence.
"Phew…" Bob sighed once they had vanished. "I'll never wish to be famous again." He walked further into the room to investigate that something he'd seen in the distance…and when he drew close enough, he popped back up out of his slump and stared in fixed amazement.
Sitting on top of a giant bottle of orange soda, next to what appeared to be a motocross racetrack, was the one thing that he hadn't believed the room could produce. "…Shésui!"
(-)
"Hyah!" With one swift kick, little Omi demolished an icicle-bat swooping towards his head. "Hah!" he announced, as he returned to the ground and assumed an arrogant swagger. "You will never defeat me with my own element, foolish witch!" An awful screech erupted from above, and then, the largest of the icicle-bats came tearing down from the cavernous ceiling, aiming its dagger-like wings straight at the boy's round head.
"Star Hanabi, Fire!" Kimiko yelled, hurling the flaming star towards the bat before it could reach him Omi turned around just in time to see the fireworks, as the Star Hanabi sliced straight through the bat, melting it into a dripping puddle at his feet. "You got to be more careful, Omi," Kimiko scolded, as she caught her Shen-Gong-Wu again. "I bet she heard you just now."
As if to prove her point, a new batch of castle-defending monsters sprang to life from the rocky ground and the leaking ceiling. Clay took a bold step out in front of the others, closing his eyes and transforming into his green, caped tunic. With a quick pose and a shout of "Seismic Dragon Kick, Earth!" the ground below the enemies erupted, splitting and cracking apart. The rock creatures flew apart at the force of the impact, and tumbled back into the ground as boulders. Already, this was an indication of just how powerful they had become since their last battle with Wuya. With their new Element Orb powers, there was nothing that could stop them now.
As the rock-and-ice army replenished, Omi, Kimiko, Rai, and Clay jumped into position. "Dragon X Kumei Formation!" they called, and Rai, Omi, and Kimiko's clothing morphed onto their Element Orb uniforms as well.
Meanwhile, Dojo, Marylyn, and the two Jacks looked on in helplessness. "Well, it doesn't appear that we'll be needed," Marylyn spoke, smiling gently as she did so.
"But I've got to get past them," Yang worriedly reminded her. "I'm the one that has to convert the Balance Point!"
Dojo turned his head to the little boy, about to suggest that he fly him across the mayhem, but Jack interrupted him. He kneeled next to his former self and smiled, comfortingly. "You can hop on my back," he offered. "I'll carry you through. Or…I'll carry myself through, or…"
Yang smiled and walked behind him, wrapping his short arms around his neck. "It's okay…I don't think I'm really you anymore."
"Well, whatever you are…" Jack gripped the boy's little legs and stood back up. "…we're going to make it, kiddo!" He turned back around to flash a smile at Marylyn and Dojo. "We'll see you on the other side."
The entire entryway room was pandemonium. The massive elemental blasts from the original Xiaolin Warriors tore up pieces of the walls and ceiling. Mighty rock minions erupted from the ground and threw powerful punches, and you never knew when another drop of stalactite water would become an ice-bat and drop down on your head. Marylyn could easily fight her way through the calamity if she found herself in a pinch, and Dojo was slowly slinking along the wall, so no one noticed him. A few times, Jack had to use the Silver Shield to protect himself and his passenger from stray fire or rock explosions, and it became extremely difficult when Omi flooded the entire room and everyone was forced to swim up to the ceiling, where more bats were waiting for them.
At last, the ocean seceded, and the Jacks finally arrived at the doorway on the opposite side of the room. "Hey, you guys!" he yelled to his fellow Xiaolin Warriors. "C'mon, we're all at the door!" Marylyn and Dojo reached their side at that moment, and seeing them together, the Xiaolin Warriors made a charge for it. With one final combined attack, they blasted the remaining monsters out of the way and sprinted to the door. Marylyn quickly opened it and shoved the kids inside ahead of her, before the minions had another chance to regenerate.
"Sheesh," Raimundo panted as he leaned his back against the door's solid inside. "I never realized how tiring fighting against those things is."
Omi had his head in his hand again, obviously thinking about something. "I wonder…" he mused. "Wuya uses rock creatures to attack, while Shésui uses ice…water creatures… Were there other Heylin witches with fire and wind-controlling powers?"
Marylyn shook her head, gravely. "We may never know," she admitted. "Now much was recorded in the Xiaolin scrolls about the Heylin order and the way it worked…probably for fear that it would rise again…like it has now."
"That doesn't really make sense," Kimiko rationalized. "If I had defeated an enemy and was afraid that that enemy would come back to hurt me again, I'd make as many notes on it as possible."
"But that's just it," Marylyn replied. "The Heylin clan was never truly defeated. Grand Master Dashi didn't defeat Wuya; he only temporarily imprisoned her. He knew that someone like Jack would be able to release her again sometime in the future, but there was nothing he could do about it."
"Um…the Balance Point?" Yang suddenly interrupted his mother, jabbing a finger down the dark hallway in front of them. "It's this way! The others might already be there!"
The Xiaolin Warriors and Dojo snapped out of their thinking trances to follow the little boy into the darkness. "I…I think I just remembered something…" Dojo's wavering voice spoke up as he slithered along at their feet.
"What is it, little buddy?" Clay politely asked, although he couldn't see the dragon in this blackness.
"There was this girl…and she was really angry, and packing her things up. I think I was trying to stop her or something, but she wouldn't listen to me…"
"What's that got to do with anything?" Kimiko's voice asked.
"I don't know," Dojo replied. "I just suddenly remembered it. It was from a long time ago."
They traveled along the corridor for a few more moments in silence. All of a sudden, Rai felt something grab him forcefully around the neck. He screamed in reaction, before realizing that it was just Jack, squeezing him and hiding his face in his shoulder. "Jack!" he growled.
"Oh…Rai?" Jack mumbled against his white sleeve. "I thought it was Kimiko."
"Do I look like Kimiko?" Rai argued, before realizing that you really couldn't see anything in this darkness. "So?" he repeated, when his companion didn't move. "Get off me and go cling to Kimiko!"
"B-But it's too dark!" Jack whimpered into his shoulder. "I won't be able to find her! Just…tell me when it's over."
Rai groaned and rolled his eyes, but just relinquished and let Jack hide against his arms until they emerged into a lit room again. As their unofficial guide and Balance Point detector, Yang Jack was the first to reach the end of the hallway, and stopped, jumping up excitedly in front of a door. "Here! Right here! It's in here!"
"Shh," Marylyn gently advised him, stepping out after him. "Don't yell so loud. The Heylin witches could find us, if they're not here already."
"Sorry," he apologized. "I just get excited when it's so close…"
Omi was next to emerge from the shadowy hallway, Dojo curling around his head like a live crown. He came to an astonished halt just before the indicated sat of large double doors and gaped up at the stone decorations accenting its top and sides.
Clay came next, frowning soberly at the sight, and despite his normally calm demeanor, his hands clenched into fists.
Kimiko stepped out between Omi and Clay. She looked up as well and cocked her head, an incredulous "you've-gotta-be-kiddin'-me" glare boring into the carved letters.
"You can let go now!" Rai snapped to his clingy partner, shrugging him off as the two of them stepped into the room's patch of light.
Jack blinked at his Brazilian pal for a few moments, before snapping out of it and noticing the doorway. "I don't want to go back in there," he announced.
"Oh brother," Rai commented, rolling his eyes and leaning against the uneven rock wall. "Don't tell me this guy fell for it too."
Two giant statues of a very familiar boy with a baggy sweatshirt, a medallion, a cape, and cornrows stood on pedestals on either side of the doorway. He held one hand out dramatically, as if frozen in the midst of performing a complicated spell. The sign receiving all the disbelieving glares read simply, "Bob Zone."
"Unfortunately, we have to go in there," Marylyn told them. "If that's where the Balance Point is truly located." She cast one quick, questioning glance in Yang's direction.
"I'm sure," the little boy affirmed, his large eyes downcast. "It's in there. On the ceiling."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Omi exclaimed, turning to rally his fellow Xiaolin Dragons. "Wuya and Shésui could already be on their way! He who hesitates will surely not know where he is!"
"Oh, alright," Kimiko groaned, falling back to grab Jack's sleeve and pull him next to her. "But I thought we were done fighting this creep."
"Hopefully, he'll be too busy playing video games or whatever it is he likes to do to even notice we're there!" Rai optimistically thought aloud.
"Okay, then!" Omi cried again, pulling Dojo from his head and setting him back on the ground. "Let's go!"
Just as before, Dojo grew, his tail end reaching back into the cavernous hallway. It was the only way they'd be able to break in. "Now boarding!" Dojo announced. "Five Xiaolin Dragons, one Yang essence, and one former Dragon of Metal." The group slipped onto their regular Dojo-seats, and Kimiko held onto Yang again, so he wouldn't fall off. "Okay, here we go!"
With one mighty shove forward, Dojo's long snout smashed through the grayish wooden double doors and immediately snaked his way into the air, towards the room's ceiling. However, before they could reach it, a blackened spark of power zoomed up towards him, and in an instant, they all found themselves slipping off the dragon's back.
"Aaugh!" Dojo writhed, recoiling in the impact of the electric shock of power, and his passengers made a desperate leap for the ground. Omi, Marylyn, Clay, and Rai landed in different positions with nimble cat-like reflexes. They instantly assumed standard defensive kung-fu positions, in case of an additional attack. Meanwhile, Jack had activated his HeliPack and had Kimiko by her uniform's collar. He gently set her, and Yang, in her arms, onto the ground between them and struggled into a similar position.
That was when they finally noticed. They'd been right in assuming that the Heylin witches could already be there. Wuya was standing beside a twenty-four-hour hot dog stand, casting a malignantly amusing smile towards their group, and holding an unidentifiable golden object behind her back. Gripping her sharp shoulder from just slightly above was a man the Xiaolin Warriors had never seen before, but it was clearly obvious that he was some sort of evil leader to them all.
"So you finally decided to show yourselves," Wuya taunted, in an impatient tone. "We've known that you had to be close…"
At that point, the Xiaolin Warriors' eyes shifted to the right to catch sight of the other approaching figures in their peripheral vision. Shésui appeared, assuming a prepared position at Wuya's side, but strangely enough, her arm was interlocked with Bob Sanderson's, and she dragged the boy with her. "Ooh, look!" she exclaimed in mock delight. "The Xiaolin Dragons and their little buddies have come to play with us too! Isn't that fortunate?"
"Less talk!" Omi brazenly insisted. "We have come for the Balance Point…and we will not let you stop us!"
"You've picked the wrong room for that," Bob suddenly spoke. "I can bend anything part of this room to my own will. Say if I said I wanted it moved to the back wall…" No sooner had the words left his mouth, when the large yin-yang symbol carved into the room's ceiling faded and appeared again, carved into the very back portion of the room's circling wall. "…Viola," he announced, gesturing towards the relocated symbol.
"It doesn't matter!" Rai called out to the confused boy. "I know a thing or two about this room as well…and it will never be able to give you everything you truly want."
"Oh, really?" Bob scoffed back. He cast an inconspicuous glance towards his elegant companion. "It's doing a pretty darn good job so far."
"We have no more time for your foolish nonsense!" Omi barked at the gangster boy. He whipped back around to his fellow Xiaolin Warriors. "Charge!"
With that one commanding cry, the four Xiaolin Warriors, clad in Element Orb uniforms burst into a deadly sprint towards the back wall.
"…Ultimate Tornado!" Rai yelled, aiming his finishing blast at Shésui as he rushed past. The icy Heylin witch produced a powerful blackened energy ball, which collided with the destructive winds, reducing them to a slightly heavy breeze.
"…Ultimate Tsunami!" Omi cried, directing the flood waters straight onto Bob Sanderson, standing out to block his path. The water came on so quickly, that he had no time to react, and drifted backwards, out of their way.
Bob narrowed his eyes and concentrated. Omi was almost there now. The little round-headed monk reached out a hand towards the symbol on the wall, and immediately, just before he could touch it, it disappeared.
"No!" he yelled. "Bob Sanderson!"
Bob couldn't help but let out a malicious laugh at this point. "I tried to warn you. Don't you ever listen?"
"Great," Kimiko sighed, paddling up to where Omi and Rai had at last arrived against the wall. "Now where has it gone?"
"There!" Clay's voice sang out from further back. "I see it! It's on the hot dog stand!"
Omi held out a pointy hand, willing the giant pool of water's evaporation. When they were finally deposited back on the room's dry floor, they assumed their sprint, back towards the hot dog stand, this time, with Clay in the lead.
As the two landed safely back on dry land, Yang Jack sighed and rolled his large eyes atop his older self's shoulders. "Everyone seems to be forgetting that I'm the one that's got to reach the Balance Point, to convert it. It'll do no good if they manage to get a hold of it."
Jack nodded and secretly eyed the corner of the hot dog stand nearby, where he could easily see the yin-yang symbol. "I'll get you there," he decided, and positioned himself straight towards it.
As the group of powered-up Xiaolin came barreling towards them, the members of the Heylin clan reacted in vastly different ways. Shésui readied herself for another defensive blast, but Wuya seemed unconcerned, pulling the object from behind her back—the glittering, golden Biao Lu Basin—and trying to shake the last of Omi's water out of it. Alaric simply stepped to the side, avoiding this battle, as if it were far below him to get involved in such a childish skirmish. Soon, he found himself locked into a glaring contest with Marylyn Orre, who'd decided he looked too much like Henry to be ignored.
"…Ultimate Earthquake!" Clay yelled at the end of the sequence as he approached the Heylin congregation. As he zoomed forward, he stabbed his right boot into the ground with as much force as he could muster. The blast erupted from his leg, and rippled out towards the Heylin witches.
In a frenzy of blind action, Bob made a leap towards Shésui, intending to cushion the blast before it reached her. Her claw-hand shot forward, seizing the boy by the sweatshirt when he reached her side, and with one powerful thrust, tossed him backwards, next to the hot dog stand.
Gritting her fang-like teeth into a maniacal grin, Shésui thrust out her arms, an ominous spiral of black, opaque liquid starting up around her body. "Earth, huh?" she taunted. "I can beat Earth!" And with that, she commanded her dark, watery jet streams towards the approaching ridge of rocky ground. They shot straight into the ground…and after a few more moments, the attack had completely halted.
Clay halted as well, skidding to a stop and staring, awestruck at the witch. None of them had known she could do that.
Kimiko whizzed past his frozen form, not fazed a bit. Her attack, however, had a different target. "…Ultimate Inferno!" Roaring walls of fire burst from her small hands, heading straight towards Wuya.
Caught slightly off guard, the former Heylin leader shoved the Biao Lu Basin out to absorb the attack. The impact of the flames' velocity was too much for the little Shen-Gong-Wu, and it shot out of Wuya's grip. It flung itself straight over the hot dog stand, and embedded itself, lip-down, in the soft ground that the impact of Clay's attack had created.
With one concentrated swoop of her hand, Wuya absorbed the majority of the attack, although a bit of flames got past her, setting the entire "Pimp It" men's clothing line on fire.
Bob slowly sat up as the smell of melting gangsta wear reached his nose. He shook his head and tried to poke the visible pieces of his dark blue hair against his skull. Why did she do that? he wondered. Was she annoyed and wanted me out of her way, or was she…concerned for my safety? As he once again tried to clarify his love's confusing actions, he glanced over…and noticed the shiny gold side of the Biao Lu Basin sticking out of the ground just a few yards away.
From his concentrating position away from the fray, Jack focused his red eyes on Wuya, tracking her every movement. C'mon, Kimiko, he tried to send a telepathic message to his girlfriend. Just a little bit further… As she continued to battle the Japanese girl, Wuya was moving steadily forward, away from the hot dog stand. All he needed was for her to just move a little further…
That was it! As soon as her bare foot stepped over the imaginary line circling the stand, Jack shot forward, pressing Yang's short legs hard into his sides. They were almost to the Balance Point, and Yang instinctually leaped off his shoulders to make a grab at it…but a new problem had arisen.
Jack noticed the Biao Lu Basin embedded in front of him, and Bob sprinting forward towards it with all his might. That was their Shen-Gong-Wu! Wuya and Shésui had stolen it from them; he couldn't let Bob get to it first!
The instant he reached out for it, Bob dived for it as well. Their hands pressed against the basin's smooth bottom on opposite sides.
Yang Jack blinked when the Balance Point that he'd been in the process of converting faded from the side of the stand altogether. Not this again… The Xiaolin Warriors, Marylyn, and even Wuya, Shésui, and Alaric glared towards them as a golden glow softly lit up around the Shen-Gong-Wu and around the two boys.
Jack was too dumbstruck to speak, but when he looked up, he saw Bob's scratched face smirking at him through the golden sheen.
"Hey, Spicy," he greeted, in a voice lined with old, familiar resentment. "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown."