Note: XS fan fiction. Legend tells of a fifth WuLin warrior with the element of the heart. Audrey Rosa Phoenix thought her life would never have any excitement but when she finds a strange item known as the Butterfly Wings her life metamorphoses dramatically...
Chapter 1—Ordinary Turned Extraordinary
Audrey Rosa Phoenix was an outstanding young lady in everything she did. She even held a black belt in karate, and she was only in her teens. Sure, she was an accelerate learner, and she became very bored very easily when the days became tedious and mundane for her (particularly in her homework). She had a few friends but no one she could really trust. She also thought she had a boyfriend, but he had turned out to be nothing more than an inflated ego and a manipulator. She had been glad to have let him go and not had anything else to do with him.
School was coming to a close. This meant Audrey would be able to participate in some of her favorite activities, such as going to the library to bone up on history, or go to the local aquarium to help some of the igtheologists with their work. She was an expert when it came to marine life, or any sort of life in general, whether it was fish, mammal, bird, amphibian or reptile.
But these activities wouldn't keep her so occupied as she would've wanted. All of her friends would be out of the state, enjoying vacations of their own. She was a little envious of her best friend, Lola, who would be going to MGM Studio Theme Parks for a summer of non-stop adventure and entertainment. Sure, Audrey would be going out of state herself, but not until summer was about half-over. For now, she had been left alone with no one, besides the igtheologists to keep her company. Despite the fact she was happy in what odd jobs she had and what she was doing to keep herself occupied, it still wasn't enough. She was inevitably lonely.
Audrey sighed heavily one day while coming home from the aquarium. Her auburn braided locks were swept by a gentle breeze. Her hazel-green eyes, which usually looked luminous, had almost turned dull and gray. She had lost the lilt and bounce in her step and her tread was slow and belabored. Even the usual bright colors of rainbow patterns she wore weren't so vivid as they had once been. This changed when she saw something unusual glittering on the corner of a building somewhere. It was something so intriguing that she was literally drawn to it. As she came closer, the object she approached took the shape of wings; in fact, the wings of a butterfly.
She was about to reach out and grab the wings when she heard a menacing voice say...
"Not one step further. My Lord and Master, Chase Young is in need of that ShenGongWu.", the goth garbed, red-haired, malicious male teen cackled.
ShenGongWu ? What on earth was this boy speaking of ? She had no clue as to what he was referring to. But she smiled and simply said,
"I don't mean to be rude, but I saw it first. Shouldn't I be the rightful owner ?", she questioned in a polite, gentle tone.
"Jack, we don't have time for this...Just initiate the Showdown !", Wuya said, passing through him, causing him to shake voluntarily.
"I really wish you wouldn't do that...Very well then. You me, Xiaolin Showdown.", Jack said, beckoning Audrey to fight him. Audrey had absolutely no idea what was going on, but for some peculiar reason, her heart-shaped mood ring was beginning to emanate light and a multitude of different shades of orange and pink. Jack shouted, "Gon Yi Tampai !" and the Showdown had begun.
Audrey had only experienced shifting continents and buildings in the sky, floating walkways and levitating street lamps in the realm of the supernatural, but she had never seen them in real life before. This was unlike anything she had ever experienced. For a moment, she had stood bewildered, but she knew that she had to be the first to get this item, the "Shen Gong Wu", the goth named Jack Spicer had called it. She felt something awakening inside of her, as if she had known this ability during infant hood or her formation within her mother's womb. It was so familiar, so comforting and tranquil but its implications were unbelievable. She knew the power she could wield with her Ring of Soul was far more powerful than anything mechanical or man made. Her true power was that of the Heart, the 5th and final element of the elemental table.
Audrey didn't enjoy fighting, but she knew how to do so when she was required to do so. She used her defensive martial arts to propel herself higher and higher and soon, the ShenGongWu was within her reach. Just as quickly as the Showdown had begun, it had come to a quick end. Spicer hung his head in shame. Chase Young would not be pleased with him, but there would come another time for another battle. When that day came, Spicer vowed silently that he would be victorious. For now, he would have to deal with Wuya's nagging and insults as well as Chase's hellish temper. It wasn't going to be a good rest of the day for Spicer, but that was the price of losing, and he was used to that by now.
Chapter 2—Talking Dragons and Ancient Monks ?
Audrey couldn't fathom what had currently happened. Before she knew it, a small, slithering dragon had approached her.
"Who are you ? Are you friend or foe ? Why do you have that ShenGongWu ?", he questioned, becoming a little angry. His scales on his back seemed to stand up when he was upset or angered, like a cat's hackles when it was frightened. She knew that things were only going to become more strange, so she decided to engage the reptilian creature in polite conversation.
"So many questions. Firstly, my name is Audrey Rosa Phoenix. Secondly, I was in a showdown with Jack Spicer and won it. I am still very confused about what all of this means, but I am not a foe. In fact, I have always loved stories about dragons since I was a young girl. You're quite a fascinating creature...", Audrey said, approaching the dragon and looking at him in amazement.
"So I am. You'll have to forgive me for my rudeness, Audrey. I could sense within my heart that you weren't malevolent and the fact that you beat Jack Spicer in your first Showdown is nothing if but impressive. You still have much to learn, young Dragon. Come, I will tell you everything you need to know.", Dojo said. Dojo introduced himself at last, and then taught her what she needed to know about ShenGongWu, how Wuya was freed from the puzzle box that had been keeping her prisoner for years and how the Showdown was born. She would soon be meeting Omi, Clay, Kimiko and Raymundo. Master Fung would be pleased because she had been the one prophesied. In the legend it had mentioned a 5th Dragon who had the ability of the Ring of Soul, and it was quite an impressive power. So incredible that it might even have the power to defeat the mighty Chase Young. But she had yet to be trained and meet her new friends.
Audrey liked where this adventure was taking her, but she didn't know how challenging being a Dragon would be.
Once she had been introduced to all of the Dragons and Master Fung, she had begun training quickly. Of course, this would interfere with her schooling, but she didn't mind. In order to maintain balance, as Fung had said, one needed a equivocation of mind, body, and spirit. Fortunately, since she was such a quick study, she was able to learn most of what she needed to and rose to the occasion. She was about to learn what it meant to be a "chosen one" and battle Chase Young in person. For the time being, there were more exercises to be completed and many more lessons to be learned. She was confident she could master them all, because her heart was sound, her soul pure and her mind like a hollow reed bending in the wind.
Chapter 3—Tug-O-War
Audrey was sweating so hard that she felt she might melt from the tests she had been taking and the heat of a late summer day. Master Fung had made some cold green tea and everyone was slurping it down without any questions asked, but of course everyone had said "thank you". He even offered the Dragons ice cream for their hard work. Since being inducted as a new Dragon, it had been Audrey's pleasure to guard the ShenGongWu from possible thieves.
She knew that at any given moment, Spicer would return to get the Butterfly Wings he had sought. Why would he want them anyhow ? He had plenty of devices that enabled him to fly, shoot lasers, cloak himself, make himself invisible...He was a virtual army of one. It was ridiculous that he would want it except to impress his friend and learn how to become more evil.
He was going to need a lotof work before that ever happened.
After the rest of the Dragons said their good nights, they went to their quarters to sleep for the night. It had been another long day, so they were all exhausted. Audrey, although enervated, decided to take the night watch. She was great about staying awake and alert. In the distance, she could hear the scuffling of feet and saw Jack Spicer approaching. While Jack distracted her, Wuya had gone through the walls and obtained the Butterfly Wings.
"Oh, no you don't ! Those belong to us, Jack ! I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown !",Audrey said, very calmly.
"Ah, you catch on quickly, don't you, pigtails ?", Jack responded, sneering. He fought her, and unfortunately, he had one. She had been outnumbered by the robots, but she vowed she would get the Wings back soon.
Audrey was sad to say that she had lost a Showdown against Jack, but the others weren't upset. Audrey had held her own and she was looking a little ragged. Despite the ragged, beaten up look, she was still beautiful.
"Do not let it worry you, Audrey. We will obtain the Butterfly Wings again, this I know.
For now, we need to train all we can and follow the Masters instructions.", Omi said, patting Audrey's back gently. Audrey smiled brightly. She knew that Omi was right. Besides, the others were behind her and they would be fighting with her this time. This would make their chances of winning against Chase more favorable.
By the next day, the young Dragons had set off on their journey to follow Dojo to Chase's Lair. Dojo was intimately familiar with the lair and preferred not to go inside again. He would simply watch from a distance, trusting his skilled warriors from a distance. It would be a harsh battle but the Dragons had to retrieve the Butterfly Wings. Chase was the only one who knew the actual abilities that this certain ShenGongWu possessed. In the hands of evil the wings could cause potential chaos.
Chase was pleased by the delievery that Jack had made but he would never allow Jack to become his partner in crime. Chase was a loner, and hated the idea of having someone toadying to him all the time like a begging puppy. The thought of that made him sick to his stomach. Of course, he was flattered that Jack wanted to learn from him but all of this villain worship was really starting to aggitate him. Chase was powerful enough on his own accord, he didn't need anyone or anything(save a Dragon) to prove to the world how stupendous he was. Suddenly, Chase's hearing picked up the swift footsteps of the WuLin clan.
"I knew they would be coming back for their little toy. I cannot believe how foolish these mortals are. They know what they are dealing with, why can't they just admit it and allow me to rule over what's rightfully mine ?", Chase said, growing more infuriated with each passing moment.
"I don't know, M'Lord. But like you I wish to have stead over the globe. One day I am certain you shall achieve it. I do not mind if I have to be one of the puny mortals you have to crush in order to get there.", Spicer replied, bowing slightly. Soon, the WuLin clan had arrived and the battle commenced.
Chapter 4—It's Not Over...Yet
The moment that Jack had awoken from his unconcious state, he saw Chase shaking and cowering. He had been knocked down by another one of Audrey's kicks and drained of a lot of his power because of her unbelievable Soul Ring was actually having an effecton the most powerful creature on the planet. She finally dove in to retrieve the Butterfly Wings and the Showdown had come to an end. Chase wouldn't let his treasure be taken so easily though. Albeit that the fight had been going on for over an hour and both sides of the team were becoming tired, he was hellbent on getting the Wings back into his possession.
Chase had lost his patience. Gathering what energy he had left to transform into his beastly form, he grabbed Audrey and tried shaking the Wings off of her. She wouldn't let them go without a fight. However, with a blast directly in the eyes from her Ring he had tempoarily lost his vision. Suddenly, Chase rubbed his eyes and lost his grip upon her. She flew away from him and to the nearest and safest area of Chase's lair. She and the Warriors were beginning to flee because the structural integrity of the mountain fortress was beginning to crumble because of all of the fighting that had occurred. Jack tried to catch Chase but was knocked out of the way by a huge boulder. He hadn't been hurt, just bruised and scraped a bit. However, Chase had been crushed. The rest of the lair had fallen to the rubble and the Warriors had already fled the scene. The ShenGongWu that once had belonged to Chase had been returned to their rightful owner.
Wuya had been concerned for Jack, especially since he wasn't immortal like herself. But she had seen the entire battle and she had noticed he escaped from the ruined lair. Jack tried not to show his tears but he had a feeling that his evil career was through. Then he thought, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad because he would be able to spend more time with Kimiko. Despite this heartwarming reverie, he was still quite overcome that he would never see his hero again. It would take him some time to recover from the shock and sorrow of loss.
Meanwhile, while life seemed to have reverted to some sense of normalcy, there was an ominous sense that Chase Young was not killed in the battle, but merely wounded. In the rubble of the rocks and debris, a mangled claw sprang up and labored breathing followed. Chase was most assuredly not amused. He would have to rebuild his fortress from the ground up, starting with the smallest pebble to the largest cobblestone. At least some of the foliage had survived, but the lair was still ruined. He vowed to have revenge upon the Warriors and he would regain every last bit of ShenGongWu until he could use their power to aide his own. With that, he would be able to go upon a rampage and mortals would bow to him as the rightful king. As for getting power from Dragon soup; he had abandoned this idea completely. But one matter that had been nagging his subconcious was what Jack had said before the battle had ended...
"If we combined our forces, we could be unstoppable. You know that. My Jackbots are willing to do anything for you. I programmed to obey me, they wouldn't be fooled by anyone or anything else, trust me. Like I said, if you wanted to, you could crush me and I wouldn't care.
Being maimed or brutally killed by my idol would be an honorable death.", Jack's voice echoed in his reptillian ears. Sometimes that guy could be quite strange, but he admitted that maybe perhaps he could use his help in destroying and rebuilding a utopia of his own. Once that task was complete, he would simply dispose of him...humanely as possible.
Epilogue
For the time being, the ShenGongWu had been protected under a magical seal that only Master Fung could unlock. The other Warriors were taught of this seal and were given a secret codeword so they knew it was they would wanted to check to see if the ShenGongWu was safe.
Master Fung had alerted the Dragons that Chase Young was still alive and well. Young had been reviving himself from the so-called "final battle" they had endured. It wasn't the end, nor would it be until Chase had been destroyed. Something told Audrey that the Wings would be the key, but she wasn't quite sure why. They would have some time to train and discover just how seriously powerful those wings were. While other matters sometimes got in the way, such as potential crushes and homework, the Warriors kept themselves alert. Omi didn't have to worry about schooling since he had learned everything from the monistary, but he hoped he could visit an "educational facility" someday. Despite life being quiet, it wouldn't be for long, but the clouds of war were brewing...
To be continued...
In the next chapter of Audrey's story, Have Heart, Chase Young has renewed himself and is prepared to fight again. He has called upon the help of Jack Spicer and Jack nearly loses his life protecting Chase from the power of the Butterfly Wings. Will the battle be won at last, and if so, what will Jack do once he discovers he's just a genius and not really "evil" at all ?
June 18, 2006
