Disclaimer;

By now I'm sure you all know the drill. Xiaolin Showdown ain't mine, yadda, yadda, yadda. I didn't create it, blah, blah, blah. Lady Rin and her evil cohorts belong to me and do my bidding, so on, and so forth.

If you'll excuse me, I just got my Concussion Cat Grenade Launcher, and I'm anxious to test it out on those who defy the will of my beloved sidekick, Darth Mittens, the most evil mongoose in history.

Chapter Five

My Enemies enemy

A hot dry breeze swept over the grass covered plain. Brown and spotted bovine roamed lazily over the country side eating patches out of the lush grass. The sun shone brightly over head in the crystal clear sky. Two birds glided lightly on the breeze chirping happily along. The scene was for lack of a better word, perfect. A perfect snap shot of a Texas landscape. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and very wrong.

Clay sat on a brown horse and looked down at the cattle from up a steep hill. The familiar scenery was comforting, but deep down he knew it was wrong. He could feel it. He knew he should have been someplace else; that he was supposed to be doing something. Then he saw it.

A large dragon with black scales and red spots soared into view eclipsing the sun and soared towards the herd. Clay nudged his steed and galloped down the hill. He had to help out the herd. As he raced towards the menacing dragon he pulled out his lasso and swung it over his head. Wait, the thought rang in his head. Why is there a dragon attacking cows, in Texas?

He was almost close enough to lasso the giant lizard's leg when his horse reared back. Clay fell hard on his back, he looked up and watched as the dragon breathed black flames and lit the gentle herbivores up like barbeque of the fourth of July. He could only stare if horror as they melted away. Clay stood; ready to face the dragon, when it started to shrink. It compressed and morphed into a human form that resembled him, only darker, like he was covered with ash.

"Don't beat yourself up over it." The doppelganger lunged at him. Clay clotheslined the other 'Clay' then punched him hard on the face.

"What is this?" Clay pulled him up to his face.

The ash coverd clone simply smiled and turned into ash. "What is this?" A voice repeated. "What do you want it to be?"

Clay felt his fear rise as the countryside melted away into darkness. "What going on here?"

"Poor Dragon of earth," the voice mocked. "You can't even tell up from down." Suddenly he felt the change in gravity and he fell upward which was now down. "Don't mess with Texas. Well I won't because soon there won't be a Texas left to mess with."

"What've you done to the others?"

"Who cares? I think its time I got to know you better."

Clay tried to back away but his legs began to sink. "I reckon I've seen enough out of you."

"Oh but we've barely started. I want to know what you want, what you fear."

Clay felt something brush his hair then a sharp pain in his head.

"I'll know all there is to know about you."

He tried to resist the thing groping around inside his mind. "I won't let you…"

The voice laughed coldly. "You can't stop me. If I were you I wouldn't resist too hard. I'd hate for your little mind to shatter before I'm done with you."

(-)

Raimundo stood inside of a small house in the abandoned village near the forest. He drank a bottle of cold water and tried to push the fear for his friends to the back of his mind. Try as he might he could not forget what Rin had said before she flung him back through the forest. Part of him wished she had just done to him whatever it was she did to the others. He didn't know why she had singled him out but if he could survive Hannibal Bean's mind games then he would survive Rin's, he hoped.

Taking another sip from his bottle, Raimundo watched while Jack scavenged parts from a microwave and TV. Raimundo still had some lingering doubts about whether he could trust Jack. I guess if he wanted to, he could have finished me back in the forest. Raimundo watched while he put different parts into some device he had created. "What are you doing?"

"I told you, I need to make some adjustments on my equipment." Jack looked up at him with an annoyed look.

"Well hurry it up, will you."

"Look, do you want me to free your pals or not?" Jack started to screw the case of an odd looking remote back on. "Cause if you do, then let me finish my work."

Raimundo pushed his anger aside. "I'm just sayin' that I don't want to lose them."

"Of the two of us, how many are evil boy geniuses?" Jack glared at him for a moment. "Relax, I got everything covered."

"If you're so smart then why do you need me?"

"Because intelligence alone won't stop those clowns," Jack growled. "I need your brawn, and you need my brains." He picked up the remote and it disappeared. A small disk the size of a quarter then materialized in his hand. "Don't worry about losing them. I scanned that chest they dug up, and locked it into my tracker. With all the energy that thing gives off, they couldn't hide if they were a drop of water in the ocean."

Raimundo let out a sigh and sat down across from Jack. "What's that?"

"A synaptic sensor." Jack opened the casing and adjusted it. "After I'm finished, I'll have a few new surprises in store for those Dragon punks."

Raimundo stared at Jack for a long minute, hardly recognizing him. Jack had a determination in his eyes that Raimundo had never seen before. As unlikely an ally as he was, at least Raimundo wasn't alone. He and Jack would go back and settle the score then free Kimiko and the others. Once the others were safe then he would stop Rin and her plan, whatever it may be.

(-)

Omi back flipped high in the air then slammed his feet into the laughing face of Hannibal Bean. He then turned and charged forward to attack Jack. Three Jack-bots dropped in front of him but Omi tore through them with ease and floored Jack with one kick. Behind him Omi could hear the sound of laughter coming closer. Rolling to his right, Omi barely dodged a gray fireball. He spun and saw Wuya running at him at full speed. Omi meet her charge and used his Shimo Staff to knock her unconscious.

Looking around, Omi breathed heavily but felt invincible. He had just defeated three of the Xiaolin Dragon's greatest enemies, and it was easy. It was easy, but it was wrong. He remembered fighting along side Raimundo, but then how did he end up here.

"What is happening?" Omi looked around. He was now back at the temple surrounded by panthers.

"Sorry Omi, but I can't let you get away with defeating the others."

Omi looked to his left and saw Chase Young standing on the courtyard wall. Omi rushed forward to attack the jungle cats. He spun and twirled his staff batting away the felines until he reached Chase. "Chase Young, I will defeat you and become the greatest Xiaolin warrior alive." Omi leapt up and attacked the ancient warrior. The two fought fiercely, leaping over walls or crashing through them.

Chase blocked one of Omi's strikes and threw him into a wall. "Is this the extent of your power?" The temple around him began to crack then shattered like glass. "I can sense more inside of you, why don't you use it?"

Omi began to fall as the temple shattered and became swallowed in darkness. "You are not Chase Young. He does not have this kind of power."

"Are you sure I'm not Chase, or does it really matter?" Chase morphed into Jack. "This is what you wanted, right?" Jack changed into Wuya. "You said you wanted to be the greatest fighter alive, didn't you?"

Omi tried to pull away from the changing form that floated along with him. "I, I will not fall for your illusions."

The form now morphed into Hannibal. "You'll do whatever ah tell ya to."

"Never." Omi tried to kick him but he drifted away and changed again.

"If you seek to be the best." The strange being now took the form of Grand Master Dashi. "Then you must first beat the best."

Omi looked away only to turn into the face of Chase. "If you want to be the best then you have to beat me, and the only way to do that is to use your full power."

"Show me what you got," Jack's voice called out.

Omi looked away and tried to hide his fear. "No!"

"Show me." Wuya appeared out of the surrounding darkness and kicked him.

"No!" Omi repeated and turned to his left. He opened his eyes and saw Raimundo and Master Monk Guan staring at him.

"The only way to escape is to reveal your power." Master Monk Guan picked him by his shirt and tossed him towards Raimundo.

"And if you wanna be the best you gotta go through me." Raimundo kicked hard on the chest.

"Leave me alone!" Omi screamed. He could feel his fear filling his mind but at the same time he felt anger. He held his scream until he heard glass breaking. He opened his eyes and saw all of the floating apparitions shatter. Breathing heavily he looked around and saw that he was alone in the darkness.

"Good," a voice said softly, a woman's voice. "You indeed have a strong spirit little warrior, but it wont save you."

(-)

Alex sat outside in the cool night leaning against a boulder. About four feet to his right Rin floated inside her tent, trying to open the chest. He stared up, amazed by how clearly he could see the stars, when he felt Ayane's presence. He looked over just as she knelt down and sat next to him. "Yo."

"How's it going?"

Alex yawned just as Rin's angry scream came from the tent. "How do you think?"

"That well huh." Ayane leaned back. "At least she stopped trying ta shoot it."

Alex laughed, remembering Rin's attempt to force open the chest. "That's only 'cause she ran out of bullets."

"So what are we supposed ta do now?"

"We wait," he replied dryly.

"Great." Ayane's tone was equally dry. "Where's Bob at?"

"Lady Rin had him dump the workers someplace." Alex heard another angry shout. A second later the black ball that held the Dragon's pet lizard flew out of the tent.

"How dare you mock me." Rin stormed out of the tent.

"What's buggin' you?" Dojo asked pretending to be ignorant.

Rin pick up the ball, reached through it and yanked him out. "If I hear one more word out of you, I'll carve them on your tombstone."

Alex climbed to his feet and stepped over to Rin's side. "I take it things aren't going so well."

"That would be an understatement." Rin glanced over at him. "I've tried every spell I know and none work."

"Maybe you just don't got the mojo to do it," Dojo muttered under his breath.

"Perhaps." Rin's hands began to glow with a black light. "But you won't be here to find out."

"Wait, Wait," the dragon cried out as Rin started to squeeze him. "I know how you can open the chest."

Alex saw Rin relax her grip. "How?"

"Um, I forget." Rin squeezed Dojo again then eased a bit. "I meant that if old evil sealed it, then maybe old good can open it."

Ayane jumped to her feet and walked over. "How is good supposed ta open a chest sealed by Heylin magic?"

Rin held Dojo up and returned him to his bubble. "He may be right. Since ancient times there has always been a balance between good and evil. If one side couldn't do something then the other usually could."

"So we need someone good, but with enough spiritual power and knowledge of Heylin magic to open it?" Alex looked over at Rin.

"Maybe not," Rin replied. "I only need someone to crack it and then I can do the rest."

"But who can we get ta crack it?" Ayane asked.

Rin smiled. "We'll have young Raimundo do it for us."

(-)

The moon shined brightly over head bathing the forest in its pale light. Raimundo walked along side Jack, headed towards the area where Rin had found the chest . Raimundo couldn't help but snicker every time Jack would jump at the sound of an owl or other bird.

A gray hawk landed on a branch over head causing Jack to stop and look around. "What was that?"

"Dude, it's just a hawk." Raimundo kept walking. "Quit being such a wimp and come on."

"Yeah, go ahead and make fun." Jack hurried and caught up. "But when some mutant bear or gamma blasted wolf comes looking for a snack, we'll see who's laughing when I fly to safety."

"You read way too many comic books." They continued on for another few minutes when Raimundo heard something. "What's that?"

Jack laughed as they both stopped. "Now who's afraid?"

"No, it sounds like foot steps." Raimundo crouched and stepped over to a large tree. He looked over and saw Bob walking down a narrow path.

"What is it?" Jack crouched next to him. "Oh, good. He was first on my list."

"Glad you feel that way cause we're taken him out now, before his pals can help out." Raimundo looked over expecting to hear some cowardly excuse, but Jack surprised him with a smile.

"I got just the thing for him." Jack held out his hand and a red ball the size of a grapefruit appeared.

Raimundo wanted to slap him as he held up the ball. "That's your secret weapon, a red bouncy ball?"

"I know you're not as smart as me, but try to keep up." Jack set the ball down then a brownish colored weapon formed in his hand. The gun looked like a grenade launcher with a small scope on top. "This ball is made from a synthetic fiber that is both soft enough to bounce off of sold objects, but has the force of a cannon ball when hitting a person." He aimed the launcher at Raimundo and a green light scanned over him.

"Don't point that thing at me." Raimundo put his hands up.

"I'm just scanning you, that is, unless you want to get splattered by my Superball." Jack finished his scan then loaded the ball into the launcher.

"Why would it hit me?"

"You're gonna be out there fighting Bob." Jack lowered his goggles. "Look, the ball is great but it alone is too easy to dodge. That's why you're going to fight him while he try's to dodge the Superball."

"Why do I gotta do the hard work?" Raimundo stood up.

"Because I'm brains and you're brawn. While you fight I'll provide cover, and maybe help out, if it looks like you're winning."

"Gee, you're so brave." Raimundo crept around the tree. He didn't like the idea of Jack Spicer watching his back, but at the moment that was all he had. Besides, Jack's no good in a fight anyway. Raimundo quietly walked down the path, catching up to Bob. He looked back briefly and saw Jack had followed, but farther back. Taking a deep breath, Raimundo picked up a nearby rock and threw it at Bob. "Hey." The rock hit Bob right on the head. "Shouldn't you be back in a zoo, jumping around for bananas?"

Bob growled as he turned around. "I'm goin' ta break you in half."

"Guess again monkey boy." Jack fired the launcher and the red ball sped past Raimundo and bounced off a tree. The ball then sped towards Bob and hit him hard on the back.

"You gonna pay for that." Bob climbed to his feet and charged forward.

"Give me your best shot." Raimundo ran forward and leapt into a dragon kick, hitting Bob square in the chest. Bob staggered back but managed to stay on his feet. He then lunged at Raimundo, but after fighting with Alex so many times, his attack seemed slow. Raimundo easily sidestepped the attack and retaliated with a blow to the jaw. Hardly effected by the punch Bob tried to back hand him, but he again evaded the sluggish strike.

The red ball bounced in, cutting Bob off from a follow-up attack. Raimundo used the distraction to kick him on the jaw then again on his chest. The kicks caused Bob to stagger back into the red ball as it rebounded off another tree. Bob lurched forward only to receive a uppercut which knocked him off his feet. He scrambled to his feet then rolled to avoid another blow from the Superball.

Raimundo watched for a moment with an amused look. "I didn't know you could roll like that." Raimundo waited until Bob rolled closer to him then he leapt up, focused his power, and hit him with three ferocious spinning roundhouses. Bob flew back a few feet from the attack, landing face down. Raimundo ran towards him and jumped to kick him on the back, but Bob rolled at the last second and threw a handful of dirt in his face.

Raimundo felt his eyes burning then the air rush out of his lunges when Bob hit him in the stomach. As Raimundo staggered back, bob grabbed his arm and yanked him into a clothesline. Bob picked up Raimundo and delivered another devastating clothesline that nearly took his head off. Bob tried to pick him up again but stopped and leapt back just as the ball sped passed.

Above him, Raimundo saw that Jack had flown behind Bob and had his launcher trained on him. "Hey gorilla boy, remember me?" Jack pulled the trigger and another red ball hit Bob square in the chest as he turned around. The two balls bounced around Bob as he tried to stand only to be knocked back down. The launcher disappeared and was replaced by a small, snub nosed, pistol. Once Bob managed to stand, Jack aimed and fired three quick shot's. Three glowing yellow orbs hit Bob, causing him to convulse as if being electrocuted. "Painful isn't it?" Jack had the weapon disappear and walked over to Bob. He then pulled a gray disk, the size of a silver dollar, out of his pocket and placed it on Bob's chest.

Raimundo stepped over to Jack and watched as he started to kick Bob repeatedly in the ribs. "I think he's done now." He pulled Jack back after a moment.

"Maybe now you'll think twice before you mess with Jack Spicer." Jack kicked him one last time.

"What's that thing on his chest?" Raimundo asked.

"It's just a gravity disk." Jack raised his goggles. "Now he feel's the weight of the world."

Raimundo looked at Bob then smiled. This fight had proven easier than he thought it would it would be. "One down, three more to go."

(-)

Kimiko stood alone, surround by tall grass and thick, tall trees. The air was warm and calm, but it was all a lie. She had spent countless hours fighting ghosts, running from monsters. She knew that all this was just an illusion, but she could still feel her fear. No matter how much she tried to push it aside, the voice kept taunting her. It kept reaching into her mind, forcing her feel every ounce of fear or anger she had ever felt in her life.

"Tell me what you want?" the voice would ask.

Kimiko tried to run, to distance herself from it, but it always knew where she was. She wished that another monster would appear. At least then she would have an outlet for her fear and anger.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to leave me alone," Kimiko yelled.

"I already know what it is; I just want you to say it."

"No." Kimiko felt another pulse of anger. "If you know so much then why don't you tell me?"

The voice laughed. "You're strong. You have a strong will and you don't back away from anything. But as strong as you are you're still just a girl."

Kimiko's anger felt like a dam ready to burst. "I can do anything a boy can do."

"I know that. I think you can do things better than boys; you just need to learn from the right person." A dark cloud formed and took the shape of Wuya. "You could be like me."

Kimiko pounced on Wuya, knocking her to the ground. "Why would I want to be like you?" She began to punch her repeatedly.

A cold wind rose and blew Wuya away like she was made from dust. "You could learn from me. I could teach you how to unlock power you don't know you have." Another form appeared, this time looking like Kimiko dressed in Heylin battle armor. "You could be a queen, young and beautiful for eternity. All would either love you and be crushed under your heel."

"No." Kimiko watched in horror as the field she stood in changed to Tokyo. All around her buildings burned and the sound of marching echoed through the streets. She turned around and saw Raimundo, Omi, and Clay dressed in black armor, bowing down to her double.

"All hail Empress Kimiko." Omi saluted.

"Let her will be done," Clay exclaimed.

Raimundo stood and walked over to her. "This can all be yours. All you gotta do is tell me what you want."

Kimiko cried out in rage and lashed out at Raimundo. Just as her fist hit his face, everything around her shattered like glass. She was now back in the darkness, floating alone.

Not alone. There was still the voice. "Tell me what you want, and I'll make your dreams come true." The voice began to laugh, a cold, malicious laugh that sent a chill through Kimiko's bones.

(-)

Alex stood in front of the Chest of Oda, staring at the ancient writing carved on it. Rin floated over the chest in a meditative poster, and Ayane sat next to him. He could feel some of the power emanating from the chest and knelt down to get a closer look. In the center of the domed led, he noticed a very fine line around a circular coin, eight inches in diameter. As he ran his hand over the coin he realized that it was some kind of seal. Just as he pulled his hand away, a kanji appeared on the seal.

"What's up?" Ayane looked over at him.

Alex pointed to the seal. "You didn't just see that change?"

"I haven't really paid much attention to the chest." Ayane shrugged. "It's kinda boring."

At that moment, Rin opened her eyes. "Those Xiaolin Monks have stronger wills than I thought." She adjusted how she floated and sat cross legged. "I've seemed to have gained an audience."

"That seal just changed." Alex again pointed to the seal.

"What seal?" Rin lowered herself to the ground and knelt close to the seal. "That kanji was used by Chodin Oda. How did you do this?"

"All I did was touch it," Alex replied.

"You didn't feel or see anything?"

"I could feel some of its power."

Rin smiled as she looked at him. "It must have reacted to you then. If so, then perhaps we don't need Raimundo to open it after all. Ayane, go meet up with Bob and then track down Raimundo. I'm tired of waiting for him, bring him here."

"Ya got it." Ayane stood then left the tent.

"You're not going to shatter his spirits?" Alex asked.

"I will in time, but the more I dig into the minds of his friends, the more I learn about them. Apparently I'm not the first to try this. They have learned to fight my mental probes and resist more than I would have thought they could." Rin ran her hands over the seal. "From what I've learned about the other Heylin, we may not have much time before they attempt to interfere."

"I'll go help Ayane then." Alex turned to leave but Rin motioned for him to wait.

"You're the only one the chest has reacted to. I want you to stay here and see if you can learn anything else about it."

Alex nodded then sat back down by the chest. He could still feel its power, but he was unsure if he would find anything useful. Rin instructed him to close his eyes and focus on the chest. He did as he was instructed and took a deep breath, finding his center. While exhaling slowly he reached out with his senses and felt the chest. The chest burned brightly in his minds eye and suddenly he felt like he was being pulled into it.

Alex opened his eyes and saw that he was in a grassy field surrounded by soldiers in ancient armor. Most of the soldiers were men made from stone and moved clumsily along with swords ready to strike. Alex looked over and saw a monk with a long black, braided hair leap into the center of the stone army, wielding an odd looking spear. The monk easily battled the slow stone warriors, destroying one in a quick fluid motion then moving to the next.

The scene faded and Alex found himself back in Rin's tent. "Whoa."

Rin knelt down in front of him. "What did you see?"

"I saw a monk fighting stone soldiers," Alex stated. He blinked his eyes trying to clear the fuzziness from his mind. "He had some kind of spear. It was odd looking but I could feel it had great power."

Rin nodded. "I think we need to find that spear."

(-)

Raimundo crouched next to Jack on the branch of a large tree. They had seen Ayane headed down the path and ran ahead to ambush her. Jack had dropped a dozen of his rock looking sensors on the ground below them and now held a small disk the size of a quarter. "Put this on your forehead."

Raimundo took the device. "What is it?"

"I told you already." Jack rolled his eyes. "It's a synaptic sensor."

"You still haven't told me what it does."

"That will allow you to mentally control my Super Ninja-bots. You will control their every move."

"Your bots aren't much help against us." Raimundo laughed.

"That's only because I haven't been able to program them to adapt. Whenever you fight them, you learn and change your tactics to destroy them. But since a live person will be controlling them, they won't have that limitation," Jack boasted proudly. "They'll be the perfect fighting partners for you."

"And what are you going to be doing while I'm doing all the work?" Raimundo let some of his annoyance slip into his voice.

"I told you, I'm your support."

Raimundo opened his mouth to argue but stopped when he saw Ayane headed towards them. He put the sensor on his forehead then jumped down just as Ayane had walked passed. "You know, you shouldn't wander around so late. You never know who might jump out."

Ayane turned with a smile. "Just who I wanted ta see."

"Glad I can be so accommodating. Now I can take care of you just like I did Bob."

"You beat Bob." Ayane laughed. "You and what army?"

At that moment the sensors on the ground activated and twelve Ninja-bots appeared around him. "This one." Raimundo had the bots charge forward and attack. Ayane tried to block their advance but was quickly forced back. The bots moved just as Raimundo thought about what he wanted them to do.

Ayane jumped over the robots and ran towards Raimundo. He tried to punch her, but she rolled under the attack then kicked him on his back. Raimundo turned and blocked a second kick aimed at his head. Stepping in low, Raimundo attempted an uppercut but when she swayed back, he spun and hit her with a side kick. Ayane staggered back then sprang to the left only to get clotheslined by a Ninja-bot.

Ayane scrambled to her feet and rolled to her right to avoid another bots kick. She landed on her feet with an irate snarl and lunged at the three closest bots. "Lions Talon!" She shot forward; the tips of her fingers turned into green flames, and slashed the heads off of the three bots with her right hand. She then lashed out at another bot with her left, slicing the robots' head clean off.

The headless bots exploded while Raimundo mentally ordered four to attack. The first bot reached her and threw a wide punch. Ayane kicked the Ninja-bot below its neck then spun and uppercut it off the ground. She quickly turned around and used a second bot to back flip up and land on the first. She slammed the first bot into the ground and subsequently flipped backwards. As she landed on her feet one of the robots caught her on the back with a round house. Raimundo had a second bot kick her on the jaw, and then ordered two others to ram her with a shoulder block. Ayane fell to the ground then tried to stand, but Raimundo had two of the robot's grab her arms.

"Looks like you're no match for my Super Ninja-bots." Jack floated down from the trees.

"You," Ayane spat once she saw Jack.

"Yeah me." Jack walked over to her. "Now that you're all beat up maybe you should beg my forgiveness."

"Dude, lets just tie her up or something." Raimundo started forward slowly.

"Don't worry." Jack grabbed her by the cheek. "She's done for. Now if you ask nicely I may go easy on you, or you can just bow before me and acknowledge me as the future ruler of the world."

Ayane glared at Jack for a moment then wrenched her arms free and grabbed Jack by his hair. "I'd never bow to a wimp like you." She punched him on the jaw then threw him at the two bots behind her. She turned around just as Jack flew back into the trees and leapt up after him. Raimundo ordered the bots to swarm her when she landed, but to his surprise, Ayane kicked off Jack and glowered at the waiting robots. "Raging Hawks!" A green aura formed around her as she sped back towards the ground. She landed in the center of the Ninja-bots, crushing one, and slammed her palm onto the ground. An instant later eight emerald green hawks slammed into the bots shattering them into pieces.

"Whoa." Raimundo pushed his surprise away and moved forward ready to attack. Ayane meet his advance with a fierce set of kicks, but Raimundo was able to dodge one and block the rest. He allowed himself to be pushed back then caught one of her kicks and tried to throw her into a tree, but Ayane used her free leg to push against the tree and kick Raimundo on the side of his head.

Raimundo rolled onto his back just as Ayane lunged at him. He threw his hands up to push her back when Jack flew across and slammed his shoulder into her. Raimundo looked up and saw Jack standing over Ayane with a glowing bar. He tried to hit Ayane with it but she kicked it out of his hand and pulled Jack down then rolled on top of him. Raimundo jumped to his feet and picked up the bar. He hurried over towards them as Ayane began to punch Jack on the jaw. Raimundo hit her on the side of the head, knocking her off of Jack. He looked over ready to attack again but saw that she was unconscious.

"Thanks." Jack climbed to his feet.

"Nifty toy you got here." Raimundo handed him the bar.

"It's a stun baton that electrifies the nerves when it hits someone hard enough." Jack had the bar disappear and replaced it with a brown bowl looking device. Jack walked over to Ayane's prone form and held the bowl over her. He pushed a button on its side and a yellow force field encased her. "That takes care of her."

Raimundo patted Jack on the back as they started to head down the path. "That was pretty brave of you to attack her like that."

"Never doubt the courage of Jack Spicer."

"Of course you did sucker punch her." Raimundo laughed to himself while Jack turned red in the face.

"I, I was just waiting for the right moment to make my move, that's all."

"Whatever dude." Raimundo looked up at the night sky with an amused smile. Who knew Jack would actually help me out? He forced his smile away as the thought of fighting Alex entered his mind. He knew that even with Jack's help, Alex would still be hard to defeat. The smile returned to his face; he was actually looking forward to fighting Alex again. Deep down Raimundo could feel some of his worry, his mind heard the voice that warned him not to be cocky, but he ignored it. Raimundo felt strong, fast, and ready. He felt ready to face Alex again, and after he beat him, he would free his friends.