Raimundo: (pops up nervously) um...anyone out there?
Roni: (snorts) Doubt it. I mean, only 2 anonamous strangers reviewed last time. This story is old news now.
Raimundo:...that's depressing...well, at least we don't have to worry about produce, right?
Roni: Or a late update!
Raimundo: Or flames!
Roni: Or having to get an extra muse to replace Escuro!
Raimundo: Yeah! You're right! Who CARES if anyone reads this!
Roni: Yup! Now do the disclaimer.
Raimundo: Hey, YOU haven't done it at all. YOU do it.
Roni: Fine. (rolls eyes) We don't own XS, nor do we have any clue where the authoress is.
Raimundo: Here's that "long-anticipated" chapter!
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Kimiko stared at Wulong, shocked. There was a gaping hole in his chest, showing the gray handle of the tainted Sword. On his torso and back, porcupine quills grew. His feet had mutated, now covered in dark scales and resembling the feet of a supersized komodo dragon. A manic light glinted in his owlish eyes.
"Thought I was dead? You truly ARE naïve," Wulong remarked to the Dragon of the Wind. Raimundo growled in rage. Damn spirit…
"Judallet Flip, Fire!" Kimiko shouted, summoning a fireball and hurling it at Wulong. He didn't have anywhere to go but up the hill, a rock to his left and trees to his right. Then, the unexpected happened.
Wulong actually went right through the rock.
The fireball slammed into the hillside and extinguished as Wulong stepped back to where he had been standing. He sneered at the two Dragon's reactions. "You're actually surprised? I'm a damn SPIRIT. This is the SPIRIT realm. Here, I have power." Two tendrils of shadow rose and fired themselves between Raimundo and Kimiko.
Kimiko deflected hers with a wall of fire as Raimundo jumped out of the way. It suddenly felt as if everything was spinning, and he landed on his left arm, hard. Kimiko gasped. The Black Dragon chuckled, an 'I-know-something-you-don't' expression on his face.
"Now, now, Raimundo, can't have you interfering anymore," he said, chuckling darkly. Kimiko glared at their dragonic nemesis. He had done something to Raimundo, but – wait. The quill. The quill did something to him.
"Ah, yes, that quill," Wulong said, as if reading the Dragon of Fire's mind, "Darkness itself is a venom – an extremely destructive venom." That pushed her to her boiling point. This monster needed to die.
"Judallet Flip, Fire!" she shouted, creating a ring of fire and launching it outwards. Raimundo could feel the heat scorching the tips of his spiky locks. Wulong couldn't move fast enough to dodge such an attack, she knew. The fiery ring sliced right through him, seemingly destroying him for good. All that was left was the Sword of the Storm and Shroud of Shadows, creating a dark, small whirlwind.
Yet, seconds after his "destruction", the mutated humanoid had reformed around the Sword, now a hole in his shoulder visible. "I am… the darkness. You can't…defeat me," he hissed. His obvious fatigue said otherwise to Kimiko.
"Judallet Flip, Fire!" she shouted once more. Her attack this time around was not quite as powerful, only expanding the hole in the shoulder slightly. Wulong clutched it with the mass of tentacles, snarling. Kimiko decided – now, maybe she could finish him off.
"Star Hanabi, Fire!" she shouted, launching a fireball at Wulong. He simply ducked into the darkness and vanished. Kimiko glared at where he had once stood, then heard a groan. Raimundo… she had forgotten. She looked toward her injured friend, who was struggling to stay on his feet, and ran over.
"Rai, you ok?" she asked, concerned for his health. Why hadn't she wagered the Healing Emerald? Then they'd be just fine.
The brazilian nodded weakly, then whispered, "We gotta end this Showdown soon." He paused, trying to figure out a way. How did Dashi do it? Guang failed to mention it. Damn her. Now he was starting to hurt all over, and no matter what they threw at Wulong, he just reformed…
"…around the whirlwind. Kim, that's it! We gotta get the Sword of the Storm!" he said excitedly, startling Kimiko. The Dragon of Fire took a few seconds to regain her composure.
"How, Rai? It's INSIDE him, and he reforms too fast for you to get it," she started, shocked by the very idea. Burning Shixuede to a crisp was one thing. Taking the Sword from Wulong…well, it'd be like taking the Heart of Jong from Malamalajong – and they didn't have the Golden Tiger Claws. Raimundo seemed to think for a moment.
"Kimiko – if I told you to do something, would you do it?" he asked. Kimiko stared at him. "…what?"
"I just want your word that, if I tell you to help, you will no matter what the cost. Will you?" Kimiko stuttered for a moment. She didn't like the sound of this. But the brazilian was suffering enough from the venom…
"I…. I will."
(---)
Wulong Shiyu Siwang looked around cautiously, stepping out from the rock cropping. He had erred, underestimating the girl's anger and his own exhaustion. He hadn't expected the combination of the two factors to be so devastating. Quite annoying, really. Nothing more. He'd let the darkness do its work, then finish off the Dragon of Fire. …it was all her fault Shixuede was gone. He would revel in her death.
A small weak tingling buzzed in his brain, bringing him to full alertness. The boy was nearby. He readied his shadow blade and looked around. He could sense him getting closer, closer…
"FIRE!"
He shrieked as a ring of fire shot out and encircled the gaping hole in his chest. By Lucifer, it hurt – a lot. The fire heated his chilled insides, slowly driving away his shadows. Wulong concentrated, summoning all the hatred, the rage, from his sister and their maclis. The shadows started to fight against the fire.
"Wind!" A strange sensation shot through the hole, widening it. He felt himself being torn apart, and saw the Sword of the Storm and the dark whirlwind below him. He moved to reform around the dark whirlwind.
A…well, something shot through him. He wasn't quite sure what happened next, but there was a sudden true emptiness inside. Looking down at the hole, he saw something missing – the Sword of the Storm.
Roaring in frustration, he turned and saw the Dragon of the Wind, exhausted and on his knees, gripping the Sword. It was still spinning in his grip, a small dark line connecting him to the tainted wu. Almost instantly, he understood what the Dragon of Wind was trying to do.
"Don't even try," he hissed, "It'll kill you."
"Maybe, but it'll be worth it," the boy shot back. He gripped the Sword of the Storm tightly. "Sword of the Storm, Wind!"
The wu started to spin faster, trying to absorb the dark whirlwind. Wulong hissed. Over his obliterated spirit would that boy succeed. With all his strength, he resisted the shen-gong-wu.
Raimundo struggled to keep his hands steady, his sight starting to become blurry. He could barely see Kimiko behind his mutated doppelganger. The plan wasn't working. The Sword wasn't absorbing the whirlwind. Unless he got very lucky, the Sword would turn on him soon. His grip was slipping, and Wulong wore a triumphant look on his face.
Two pairs of translucent clawed hands clasped onto his own, helping to hold the Sword. This surprised Raimundo, and he averted his gaze to see his helper.
It was some sort of long-snouted dragon, with golden eyes glowing like fresh coals. 'What the-?'
'Do not worry, Dragon of the Wind. I will help until your dying day,' the dragon replied. Well, his mouth didn't move, but Raimundo knew the dragon had said it. He smiled, feeling better. The Sword started to turn golden as well, starting to absorb the dark whirlwind.
Wulong's eyes widened. How was he losing? He struggled harder against the Sword, to no avail. As more of the wind shen-gong-wu returned to its original coloring of golden, he found himself fighting as increasingly uphill battle. That damn dragon! He should've never been born. With an inhuman shriek, the Black Dragon transformed into his dragonic form as the dark whirlwind was completely absorbed by the Sword.
Kimiko drew back in disgust. It she thought his mutated form was bad, this was far worse. His owlish eyes bulged out of their sockets, the claws falling off. The large torn wings drooped to the ground, nothing to hold them up. His horns seemed to have melted off. With a cry of pain, the dragon fell to the ground, melting into a small puddle-esque creature made of darkness. It was truly horrible to look at. Behind this puddle of Wulong, Kimiko saw Raimundo collapse. And knew it was time.
'Ok Kimiko, time to kill it,' she told herself, readying the Star Hanabi. The wu seemed to leap into flames in her hand. She summoned all her energy, all her power. It was time to end this, for good.
"Star Hanabi, Fire!" she shouted, throwing the flaming shen-gong-wu at the oozing beast. The Star Hanabi struck it in the very center, flames shooting out in lines and destroying the darkness. From the bonfire before her came a scream – a mix of an eagle and human's screams. The Dragon of Fire held her hands over her ears, groaning. Then, came a new, quieter sound: the sound of a death rattle. Wulong Shiyu Siwang was defeated.
Quickly, the flames died, and only the Shroud of Shadows remained where Wulong once existed. Kimiko lowered her hands and looked at her fallen friend.
"Rai!" she cried, running over the Shroud of Shadows and kneeling next to him. His face was starting to pale, eyes closed and hands trembling. Then, a new sensation flooded through Kimiko: it was warm and welcoming. Then, the sensation of weightlessness…
(---)
Omi, Dojo, Clay, and Jack started cheering as they saw Wulong destroyed. That meant the Spirit Showdown was over, and Kimiko and Raimundo were safe. The glassy surface, oddly enough, fogged over and expanded.
"Duck!" Dojo cried, giving them enough warning to dodge the two people that had just been flung out of the portal. The two Dragons landed just a few yards away, splayed out. Though Kimiko looked exhausted and Raimundo looked pale, they had the three shen-gong-wu and were alive.
"Kimiko! Raimundo! You are victorious!" Omi said excitedly. Inside, he sulked, wishing he had been the one to destroy Wulong personally. Still, it wasn't too bad and, as he learned from the Showdown, he might've found it difficult. Still…
Clay then took a look at Raimundo. "Um, Kimiko? Is Rai alright?" he asked cautiously. Kimiko sat up, looking at the brazilian. She had almost forgotten!
"Someone, get him the Healing Emerald, quick!" she commanded, eyes blazing. Jumping to his feet, Jack grabbed the wu and tossed it to Kimiko. She put the blue-and-green magical object onto the Dragon of the Wind, saying, "Healing Emerald." Once more, the Emerald glowed gold, then white, and Raimundo seemed fine. He slowly opened his eyes, his first sight being Kimiko.
"Kim…did we win?" he asked. The Dragon of Fire chuckled quietly.
"Yeah, Rai, we won," she said, helping him sit up. The other two Dragons and Dojo smiled, and Jack said a silent prayer, thanking God for not letting that dragon win and that freak return.
There was a groan near the edge of the cave. The group turned to face it, Omi and Clay ready to fight. Yet, in the flickering light of the fire, Omi recognized it.
"Is that Roni?" he asked, face full of shock. No wonder, for the demonic beast appeared to be unconscious, evidence of burns on her skeletal body. She was lying on her side, limbs limp. For a few minutes, no one was sure what to do. After all, Roni had proved to be the main reason for, well, everything bad in the past month.
"Don't hurt her."
The others turned to Raimundo, confused. He had just went through Hell because of her, and he didn't want revenge?
"Raimundo, are you sure?" Omi asked, not even sure if Raimundo was feeling all right. The older boy nodded, adding, "We can take her to Master Fung, let him decide what to do with her."
"Fine by me," Jack said, shrugging. What happened to Roni wasn't his problem….unless she came after him. Reluctantly, the Xiaolin Apprentices and Dojo nodded. There was a brief moment of silence as Clay went to bind Roni with yet another spare rope.
"So…time to go?" Dojo asked as Clay finished. Raimundo opened his mouth.
"Time to go," Kimiko replied. Raimundo shut his mouth and smiled at the Dragon of Fire, who gave him a peck on the cheek.
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Raimundo: Well, that's the longest chapter ever written. 2000+ words.
Roni: (slinks in) Well, I found out what happened to Escuro and dl.
Raimundo: Really? What happened?
Roni: Escuro narrowly escaped being sacrificed to a bonfire, and dl is doing...ugh, homework.
Raimundo: Ech. Well, the epilogue is done, and it'll be up by tomorrow. If not, then Tuesday.
Roni: Read and review, assuming you're still there...(mumbles some curse words under breath)