Disclaimer;
Just a reminder to everyone that I the rarely evil, sometimes good, Darth Maud-Dib did not create Xiaolin Showdown and does not own it. That's all for now, I'm off to see a show called Kitty Kitty Bang Bang. It looks like it'll be a blast.
Chapter Six
Confrontation
Alex sat cross legged in front of the Chest of Oda for the last hour trying to see if he would be given another vision. Rin finally decided to let him take a break and he walked around the inside of the tent, stretching his legs. He kept a eye on the entrance flap expecting to see Ayane and Bob. "Maybe I should go check on Ayane."
Rin looked up from her invisible seat. She had one foot setting on the orb that held Dojo and rolled it around. "I'm sure they're fine. They probably found some villagers and decided to play with them."
Alex nodded but he still felt unsure. He knew Ayane and Bob could take care of themselves, and it wouldn't be the first time Ayane had taken off to pester somebody for the fun of it, but it was unlike Bob to go along with out coming to tell someone. Usually if Bob wasn't playing the enforcer, he would be smashing something or complaining that he wasn't smashing something.
Rin seemed to sense his uneasiness and smiled at him. "If you'd rather go look for them and leave me all alone, be my guest."
Alex returned the smile. "I'll be back in a few minutes, besides you still got the lizard."
"True." Rin rolled to orb out with her foot. "I don't suppose you sing."
"You kidding, I coulda been on Broadway with my voice," Dojo exclaimed.
Alex laughed as he stepped out of the tent. Dojo began to sing loudly and horribly off key. He was relieved that he no longer heard the lizard's voice as he strolled towards the dig site.
(-)
Jack crouched next to Raimundo, behind a large tree near the edge of the forest. From this vantage they could see Alex slowly making his way towards them.
"Here's the plan," Raimundo whispered. "I'll deal with Alex, you go free my friends."
"Who put you in charge." Jack stared at Raimundo.
"You can free them right?"
Jack glared at Raimundo for a long moment, irritated with his constant doubts about his abilities. "Of course I can. I'm a genius after all." He held out his hand and a black remote materialized in his hand. "It's simple really; you see whenever you distort space-time, you leave a minute energy trail."
"Spare me the details and get to the point." Raimundo rolled his eyes.
"Hey, don't take it out on me 'cause you can't comprehend advanced astrophysics." Jack shook his head. "Anyway the point I'm getting to is, all I gotta do to free your buddies is use this remote to detect the right frequency and the open another rift in space-time."
"Whatever dude, just do it and tell the others to stop Rin from doing whatever it is she's doing." Raimundo stood up. "And tell them to help Dojo too."
Alex reached the edge of the tree line and Raimundo jumped out and sucker kicked him. Jack stayed low and slowly moved back to another tree.
"That was low." Alex rose to his feet.
Raimundo smiled. "Consider it partial payback for ruining that movie."
"I probably did you a favor. From what I saw it looked pretty dull."
Jack watched the two Dragons circle each other. They both rushed forward at the same time and their fist collided with a gust of wind and crackle of electricity. They began to trade rapid punches while blocking attacks from the other.
Seeing that Alex was now fully distracted, Jack turned and hurried onto the dig site. He lowered his goggles and looked around, scanning with built in digital display in his right lens, to find the right frequency. After a few minutes he finally found the right one and programmed it into his remote. He raised his goggles then activated the remote. The one thing Jack had neglected to tell Raimundo was that there was a slight chance that his friends would reemerge from wherever they were, fussed into some kind of gelatinous blob thing.
A black sphere appeared a few feet away and began to pulse. A second later the orb burst and Kimiko, Omi, and Clay fell to the ground. Jack smiled as he had the remote return to his backpack. "Chop another victory for Jack Spicer."
Kimiko jumped to her feet and grabbed Jack by his coat. "I'm not gonna fall for your stupid games."
Jack let a high scream slip out as he raised his hands to block an eminent punch to the face. "Hey wait, is this anyway to treat the guy who saved your butts?"
Omi stood up and looked around. "This does not feel like the place I was in before."
"Sure don't partner." Clay picked up his hat and put it on. "But thing is, how can I be sure this ain't some kinda mind trick?"
Omi stared at Clay for a moment. "I do not feel as if I am surrounded by evil. Perhaps we have returned to the real world."
"In what world would Jack Spicer help us?" Kimiko held on to Jack but did not hit him.
"The only reason I helped you is because Raimundo helped me." Jack pulled free from Kimiko's grip.
"Where is Raimundo anyhow?" Clay asked.
"He's fighting with Alex." Jack adjusted his coat. "He wants you to stop Rin and free Dojo." He turned and started to walk off.
"Wait." Kimiko put her hand on his shoulder. "If you're working with Raimundo, then where are you going?"
"I already got revenge on the two I wanted, and I only agreed to free you, not fight with you. As far as I'm concerned I'm done; end of partnership, contract terminated, deals over."
"If you will not help then at least tell us where to find Rin and Dojo," Omi said.
"They're back that way inside a large tent." Jack pointed farther down the path and watched as they took off.
(-)
Alex stepped forward and hit Raimundo with a harsh back handed fist then followed it up with a side kick. As Raimundo staggered back, Alex could feel a change in the wind and jumped back just as Raimundo lashed out with roundhouse kick. Raimundo moved forward and punched Alex on the jaw then tried to elbow him, but Alex parried the elbow upwards and hit Raimundo with a punch to the stomach.
Alex sprang forward to press the attack but Raimundo caught him with a straight kick then jumped and kneed him on the face. Alex fell on his back then rolled to the left and popped back up to his feet. Raimundo aimed a kick at Alex's side, but Alex caught the kick and yanked his leg forward. He then tried to stomp on Raimundo's face, but Raimundo caught his foot and pushed him back.
Alex stepped back and stood ready to attack again as Raimundo did the same. A cool wind rustled the leaves over head. Alex stared straight ahead and met Raimundo's gaze. He could sense something different as he began to circle Raimundo. He studied Raimundo carefully looking for an opening in his defense when he noticed his smirk. "Glad to see you're having fun."
"I gotta admit this is the most fun I've had in a fight." Raimundo switched his stance. "It'll be even better after I've whipped your butt."
Alex flashed a cocky grin. "Give me all you got."
(-)
Kimiko ran along side of Omi and Clay headed towards a large brown tent. Part of her wanted to go back and help Raimundo, but she knew she had to first stop Rin. Besides a little revenge would be just the thing Kimiko needed to release her anger.
"Where do you think the witch is keepin' Dojo at?" Clay asked once they reached the tent.
"Most likely he is being held in the tent." Omi looked around. "I do not see any of the other fallen Dragons."
"Let's just worry about Rin for now," Kimiko said. "Clay, you sneak around and free Dojo, Omi and I will deal with Rin."
"You got it." Clay tipped his hat then ran around the side of the tent.
"Hey, old hag." Kimiko picked up a near by rock and threw it into the tent. "Come on out and play."
Rin emerged from the tent with an irritated frown on her face. "How did you escape my shadow realm?"
"I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to us." Kimiko glared at Rin.
Rin laughed and floated a foot off of the ground. "Stupid girl, I can make you a queen. All you had to do was ask, but instead you scorned my offer."
"I'd never betray my friends."
"What about you little monk?" Rin looked over at Omi. "Do you still wish to be the most powerful warrior?"
Omi shook his head. "Not if it means allying myself with someone tainted by evil."
"Then what use are you." Rin lashed out with a wave of her hand and a black energy wave sailed towards the Dragon's. Kimiko easily dodged the attack, as did Omi.
"Prepare yourself." Omi stood ready to attack. "We will strike your backside numerous times away from the approaching weekend."
"That's kick your butt six ways from Sunday." Kimiko mirrored his stance.
"Fools." Rin flung another wave of black energy at them.
Kimiko rolled to the side then leapt forward to evade two more waves. She saw Omi rushing forward and tried to kick Rin, but his foot bounced off a black barrier. Rin laughed as she pointed a finger at Omi and shot him with a black beam of light. Kimiko ran forward, leapt over Rin, and tried to kick her before she turned around but Rin shot up into the air.
"Give up. You can't win." Rin pointed her palm down and fired six quick bursts of energy. Kimiko juked left then right trying to avoid the attacks. One of the blasts exploded near her and launched her back a few feet. Rin formed a black ball and smiled as she threw it at Kimiko. Kimiko started to roll out of the way when Omi leapt above her.
"Shimo Staff." Omi batted the energy ball back at Rin. Caught by surprise, Rin failed to raise her barrier in time and the ball exploded once it hit her. Rin fell down to the ground with a thud while Kimiko climbed to her feet. Omi rushed forward and jumped into the air, swinging his staff downwards at Rin, but Rin rolled to the side at the last minute. Omi tried to hit her as she stood but Rin managed to duck the attack and step in, grabbing Omi by the collar of his robes. Rin pointed her palm at Omi's chest and discharged another black energy blast. The blast slammed Omi into the ground then caused him to bounce back towards Kimiko.
Kimiko sprinted towards Rin, dodging black beams as they shot at her, and leapt into a dragon kick. The kick caught Rin squarely in the chest and knocked her back a few feet. Kimiko leapt to follow up the attack but Rin narrowed her eyes and two black bolts shot from her eyes, slamming into Kimiko in midair. She landed hard on her back; Kimiko quickly hurried to her feet and saw Rin rise back into the air.
(-)
Clay crawled under the side of the tent and looked around the large tent. He spotted the gold and silver chest Rin had dug up sitting in the center, and he noticed a few wooden chairs, a small mahogany table, but he didn't see Dojo anywhere. "Hey Dojo, you in here buddy?"
"Hey down here."
Clay looked down under one of the chairs and found Dojo trapped inside of a black sphere. "There you are." He picked up the orb. He used his Big Bang Meteorang to pop the ball. "Come on, let get while the gettin's good."
Dojo slithered over to the chest. "Wait, we got make sure they don't open this chest."
"Well how we gonna do that?"
Dojo ran his scaly hand over the side of the chest. "I didn't tell Rin that I've come across this before. The only way to make the items inside appear once the chest is opened is with this." Dojo pulled a small silver coin out of a socket near the bottom of the chest. "Now we can leave."
Clay took the coin from Dojo and put the dragon on his shoulder. "All we gotta do now is beat that ornery witch." He tucked the coin into his belt then ran out of the tent. He saw Rin floating a few feet away, shooting energy beams at Kimiko.
"Say goodbye, little Dragon." Rin swept her hand like she was rolling a bowling ball and a stream of energy raced toward Kimiko.
(-)
Alex stepped back while blocking another salvo of kicks from Raimundo. Parrying the last kick, Alex began to counter attack with a series of rapid punches, but Raimundo managed to block them all. Alex pushed Raimundo back them jumped for a spinning heel kick. When Raimundo swayed back to avoid the kick, Alex let his momentum carry him around in to a low sweep. Raimundo barely hopped over the low attack then kneed Alex on the face as he came back around.
Alex staggered back a step then lashed out with a front kick, catching Raimundo in the stomach then followed up with a harsh roundhouse. Raimundo fell to the ground; Alex moved forward but was tripped by Raimundo. Raimundo rolled on top of Alex to hit him, but he pushed Raimundo over him and popped back up to his feet. He turned just as Raimundo spun back up to his feet and rushed forward.
"Typhoon Boom!" Raimundo clapped his hands together and a massive gust of wind slammed Alex back first into a tree.
(-)
Kimiko hurled herself to the right just as the stream of energy was about to hit her. She got back to her feet and saw Omi slowly beginning to stir. Rin floated over towards her and threw another black fireball. Kimiko rolled to the side to elude the attack, and as she did she noticed Clay standing near the tent.
"Big Bang Meteorang!" The Wudai weapon flew from Clay's hand at nailed Rin on the back, causing her to fall. Rin stopped just short of hitting the ground but Omi leapt up and slammed his heels into the small of her back, driving her into the ground.
As Omi jumped back, Kimiko charged forward. "Arrow Sparrow!" The flaming attack shot forward and hit Rin just as she began to rise.
"I reckon that's the end of her." Clay ran over to Kimiko's side with Dojo on his shoulder followed by Omi.
"Yes, we have indeed opened a big container full of the whooped butt." Omi smiled broadly, but his smile was short lived as Rin shot straight up into the air.
"Arrogant little fools. Your master lacked the power to destroy me, what makes you think you'll do better." Rin held her hand towards the Xiaolin Monk's and a large black orb of flaming energy began to form. She looked fiercely down at the warriors, her clothes still smoking, and snarled, "My power is beyond anything your sad little order can withstand."
The massive energy ball shot towards the three warriors. Kimiko was about to leap to the side when she suddenly sensed Omi by her side. Something in the back of her mind shouted for her to leap up and meet the incoming sphere. She focused her power inward and felt Omi do the same. They then stood back to back and shot their hands upward, palm's out. Kimiko felt her surprise as well as Omi's, when a massive wave of liquid flames surrounded by shards of ice blasted upward and slammed into the destructive black ball. The wave bounced the ball back towards Rin, who erected a black barrier. The ball slammed into the barrier followed immediately by the powerful wave and shattered the barrier. Rin cried out in shock as her own attack crashed into her and exploded.
Kimiko had to shield her eyes as the explosion lit up the dark sky. She looked back up as the smoke started to clear and found that Rin was nowhere to be seen. "Whoa."
"What in tar' nation was that?" Clay asked.
"I have no idea." Kimiko looked down at Omi.
"That was truly a most powerful attack," Omi stated boastfully.
"I guess all that training you did earlier paid off." Dojo hopped down to the ground from Clay's shoulders. "Let's go get Raimundo and get the heck out of here."
(-)
Raimundo ducked to avoid a high kick from Alex then retaliated with a kick of his own. The kick landed on Alex's side, but Alex held on to his foot and side kicked him. Raimundo staggered back while Alex dashed forward and punched him. Alex went for a second punch but Raimundo parried the strike and hit him in the ribs. Before Alex could stagger any, Raimundo hit him with a solid kick on the chest then swept his legs.
Alex didn't quite fall all the way to the ground while Raimundo moved forward. "Rising Thunder!" Alex hit Raimundo with a harsh uppercut that sent him flying up into the air with a loud crackle of electricity. As Raimundo flew up he saw Alex zip into the air above him; Alex laced his fingers together and hit Raimundo ruthlessly on the stomach. As Alex's fist hit Raimundo, a bolt of lightning struck him on the chest and sent him speeding back into the ground.
Raimundo's clothes smoked and he ached all over as he slowly forced himself to sit up out of the crater he had made. As he stood he saw Alex land, breathing heavily. The two warriors stared at each other when a huge explosion lit up the sky. Raimundo saw Alex glancing over towards the light and used the distraction to attack. He caught Alex with two swift punches and tried for a third but Alex blocked and punched him on the ribs. Alex leapt for a dragon kick but Raimundo surprised him with another Typhoon Boom. The unexpected attack sent Alex sailing back first into a tree about seven feet away.
"Crest of the Condor." Raimundo held his arm to the side as his Elemental Wu covered his arm and he held his Wudai weapon. "Blade of the Nebula." He swung his sword and a narrow but massive wave of wind smashed into Alex, crashing him through the tree and back into the forest. Raimundo saw a number of trees fall where he suspected Alex had landed. Raimundo stood on shaky legs for a few moments expecting Alex to reemerge, but after a minute Raimundo let himself fall back, exhausted.
Raimundo opened his eyes to find Dojo flying towards him. A few seconds later he was surrounded by his friends. Clay helped him up and onto Dojo's back. A moment later they took off into the air. "Easy there partner, looks like you've had a busy day."
"We, we gotta stop Rin from opening the chest," Raimundo stuttered as he forced himself to sit up.
"We already took care of Rin," Kimiko said softly from behind him.
"We most certainly did," Omi stated.
"Gee in that case I think I'm going to take a nap." Raimundo glanced at his friends and smiled before he allowed himself to fall over.
(-)
Raimundo awoke early the next morning and found himself lying on his bed back at the temple. He flung the sheets off of him and rolled out of bed only to discover that every joint and muscle was sore. He got dressed then made his way out to the courtyard where he found Kimiko and the others standing around Master Fung.
"Ah, Raimundo." Master Fung smiled at him. "I am glad to see you up and about."
"I am too." Raimundo walked over and joined the others. "So what's up now?"
"We were just decidin' what to do wit this here coin." Clay held up a small silver coin.
Master Fung took the coin and glanced over it. "We must take special care to ensure this does not fall into the hands of evil."
"At least that witch, Rin is gone," Kimiko said with a hint of anger.
"And I took care of Alex." Raimundo flashed a smile.
Mater Fung returned the smile. "It seems that the balance has been restored, for now at least. But let us not become too lax, we still have a long way to go before the Heylin are defeated for good." He looked over towards Omi and Kimiko. "I am curious; tell me about the attack you used together."
"It was totally awesome," Kimiko exclaimed.
"Of course it was." Omi stepped forward. "Any such attack that has my participation is bound to be most powerful."
Raimundo rolled his eyes and smiled. "Looks like he's got something else for his ego to trip over now."
(-)
Rin awoke to find herself in a smoking crater. She rose to her hands and knees, silently cursing the Xiaolin Monks. They had undoubtedly taken the chest and flown off to celebrate their victory, but she lived. She had survived the Dragons attempt to destroy her and as long as she lived she could exact her revenge. She reached outward with her mind and faintly sensed Alex not far from her, but he was hurt badly. She shook her head and rose to her feet slowly. She would find Alex and the others and then together they would seek their revenge against these new Dragons.
Rin stepped out of the crater and turned around to start walking when she saw a man with long dark hair and armor starring at her. "Who the blazes are you?"
The man smiled coldly and gazed at her with eyes resembling a dragon. "My name is Chase Young. I saw your little fight with the Xiaolin Dragons."
Rin looked him over carefully. "And your point is?"
"My partner seemed very interested in the chest you dug up." Chase smiled at her again. "You're going to tell me about the chest and how you're connected to it."