I enjoy Xiaolin Showdown very much, but the problem is, I don't believe I've seen enough of it to write a proper fanfic of it. However, I was in the mood to write, and I had all these concepts buzzing around in my head...
So hardcore fans, if my story offends you, I apologize. I was only having some fun, and trying to figure out how to use this site. On that note, please excuse any horrific spelling errors you may or may not find.


I had been living life normally. What more could be said for a boy-genius tempted by the seductive lure of evil at the young and tender age that I was? I had my old and gothic castle, all wired with magical traps and other necessities to indicate if the good-two shoes were within range, or if an intruder had entered; I had my Construct army for protection whenever battle was necessary (which it usually was, and I hated getting my hands dirty); I had the Artifacts which I had stolen from the High-and-Mighty's down in the Temple on the other side of the forest my castle was within. And I had a good life.

Every once in a while, an Artifact would reveal itself. I had an Artifact- more a family heirloom, one could say- that showed me whenever an Artifact revealed itself. It also pointed me in the right direction, but it could take several hours to find it, even with the information. Unfortunately, the 'Chosen' ones also had an indicator of sorts that led them to the newly revealed Artifact. Unlike mine, their Artifact-finder was an actual dragon, the Guardian of their Temple. Well, the Guardian's son, at any rate; the snake-like dragon wasn't particularly good for fighting, which was fine for me. The Good-two Shoes army was more than enough of a problem to deal with, loathe as I was to admit it.

In all the races to find the Artifacts and vanish into our respective territories, we had each done alright. I think they had more Artifacts than I did (well, 'know' was the better adjective; I kept a tally in one of my magical devices, so I knew for a fact that they outnumbered me in an annoying ratio of 3:1). Nonetheless, I was always pleased with my respective cache of goodies. The Artifacts I had managed to hoarde over time were very nice, indeed.

That was my life. Claiming Artifacts, trading insults and threats with the Chosen ones from the Temple whenever a victor had been declared in one of our skirmishes, building and advancing my magical abilities, so on and so forth. What a wondrous life. And one day, it simply shattered.

I wasn't sure what was happening at first, but it started when the perimeter alarms suddenly went off. I had been relaxing, so I ignored them at first; after all, I had traps aplenty that could take care of whatever was trying to sneak into my castle. However, when all the globes surrounding my cot also began to go off, I became slightly irked. What exactly was daring to enter my keep? I looked up the presence in my scrying pool, and was startled to discover the Acolytes from the Temple, scaling my walls and dashing through the grounds, disabling the traps and smashing the Constructs I had developed to protect me.

I was indignant. Did they really think they could steal the Artifacts I had rightly stolen? Salami! So, after I sent my Constructs out to destroy them, I was startled by another discovery. As more and more magical globes lit up to indicate intruders, more and more Acolytes appeared in the pool. Not only the trainees, but the highly-experienced ones as well. And not only those two, but every stage of training in between. What was going on here? It was a full-scale assault on my castle by the entire population of the Temple!

By this time, they had already made it to the storage area where I kept my Artifacts. I was about to go and gather up the Artifacts so that I could run with them, but the pool revealed that they had already been overtaken. Cursing, I realized the only Artifact I had now was the one I had accidentally embedded in my back, and the one that allowed me to find other Artifacts. I would be able to steal mine and more back eventually, I decided. But first, I had to flee, before they decided to take the two remaining Artifacts in my possession.

So I fled. And even that wasn't enough.

Foolishly, I went to the top of the cliff overlooking my Castle to watch it being ransacked. I was unsettled, because the Temple had never done something of this magnitude, not even when I stole into their Temple to do away with three of their own Artifacts. They had attacked, reclaimed one of the three which I had stolen, and left when my Constructs beat them back. But then again, there had only been a small number of Acolytes fighting for the Temple. Now, the entire Temple was fighting for the Temple.

I watched, trying to figure out what I had done to instigate their fury. And as I watched, I also felt myself being watched. The cliffs I had positioned myself on were high, treacherous, not even spanning paths for the full distance to reach my position. The only way to reach this spot, I had always thought, was by the same way I reached it; by flying. But it seems that when the Temple wished to go somewhere, the boundaries of gravity would not sway them.

I looked behind me, half-expecting to see nothing, because there should have been nothing. Instead, I was shocked to find three of the highest ranking Acolytes standing there, examining me partly with disgust and partly with arrogance.

"What, not invited to the party down there?" I taunted, motioning to my Castle. "You should join in- everyone else seems to be having fun destroying my home." Even as I spoke, I turned to face them and moved backwards, to the edge of the cliff, preparing to fly hard so that I could leave this place when the opportunity presented itself.

"You have to come with us." The middle one said, holding out his hand like an offering. "It can be by your actions or by ours. Either way, you're coming with us."

"I am?" I said, feigning shock. "And here I thought I was going this-a-way!" With the last made-up word, I flung myself from the cliffs, spreading my wings and laughing as I anticipated their shocked expressions at my apparent suicide. Instead, my laughter was drowned out by a titanic gust of wind that halted my progress and began pushing me backwards, towards the cliff I had just been crouched upon. I struggled like a gosling before the winds tumbled me end over end and deposited me unceremoniously on the ground before the Acolytes. I was so startled and dizzy that at first I didn't move and sat there with a shocked expression on my face. That was all the time the Acolytes needed to surround and seize me. In an instant I exploded in a flurry of kicks and punches, squirming so that even the strongest of the three had difficulty maintaining a grip on my twisting body. The largest one, whom I never bothered to learn the name of, simply punched me in the gut when it seemed apparent that I wasn't going to settle down.

The breath exploded from my lungs and I instantly quieted as they picked me up, using their own Artifacts to bring us all down the side of the mountain, where their primitive means of transportation- a number of horses, one for each member of the Temple and an extra one for me- awaited. Without bothering to wait for any of their other team mates to return to the tethered animals, they sat me in a saddle with a blanket tied several times around my body to keep my wings from functioning. One of the females jumped on behind me, both to steer the horse and to either keep from escaping or falling off. And then we left, at full speed.

I taunted them for the entire time it took for us to arrive at their Temple. "You're not getting it," I said. "Even if you ripped it out of my back, the Artifact will stay in this form for another hundred or more years. It'll be useless to you; I'm the only one who can make proper use of it."

One of the Acolytes gave me a sharp look. "We can turn that Artifact back to its original form if we so chose to."

"Then why not do it?" I demanded. "Or maybe you're hoping I'll help you use the other Artifact you pocketed when you tied me up. What's the matter, did you pet dragon keel over and die? Is that why you need my Artifact?"

"Sarren-du is not dead," was the only answer I received this time.

"Then why all the heavy cavalry?" I demanded, squirming in the saddle. This was a rather uncomfortable way to travel. "What, you needed your trainee-toddlers to help you out? The state of you Temple must really be failing if you can't even reclaim a few Artifacts all by yourself!"

This time, the only answer was the hoof beats and panting of the horses. I continued to taunt, digging for the reason of my capture. I had been captured before, escaping both times (though I knew that it was only because they allowed me to leave), but it was so that I could help them unlock some form of secret to stop another evil presence from appearing. I had helped, not because I was afraid of evil, but because I didn't want competition in the ways of the Artifacts. The Temple brats were annoying enough to contend with without having to worry about some omnipitant evil lurking about.

We reached the Temple within several hours, and I could barely walk when they finally lifted me out of the saddle and led me towards the insides of the Temple. I could tell they were keeping their stoic faces with difficulty, as I was stumbling about and cursing profusely. Any discomfort on my part caused them humour, regardless of their status.

At length I was led into the main room and forced to my knees in front of the raised platform and throne of the only other occupant of the room. The Acolytes kneeled on either side of me, keeping hands on my shoulders to stop me from standing up. Their touch was annoying because I wasn't planning on standing anytime soon. Not that I had any respect for the old man now regarding me with the calculating expression; it was just that I didn't feel like standing on my sore legs.

"Hey, its King Tusk!" I exclaimed in response to the silence. Tusk was a self-proclaimed king of old who believed himself to be priceless, while the villagers he commanded knew him to be an old, mouthy fraud.

I found no purchase from my taunt; instead, the man continued to stare me down. I took the time to look around to see if anything had changed. Seeing nothing much and becoming quickly bored with the silence, I looked back at the old man. "Do I have something on my face?" I snapped.

The man shook his head. "Do you realize why you are here?" he asked.

"Want me to save you and the rest of the world from imminent destruction again?" I guessed. "Well, you can forget it! The last I saw of your rats, they were trashing my abode, so you can take any notion of me helping you and shove it."

I felt the Acolytes on either side of me tensing. Whether it was from anger at my attitude, or fear for what the geezer would do, I hadn't the slightest. All I knew was that his brow knitted a little in response to my answer.

"A new Artifact has revealed itself to us," he said.

"Kind of off-topic, isn't it?" I demanded.

"No..." He answered. Closing his eyes briefly, he continued, "It is the reason for you being here. This new Artifact has a sister, which is in our possession. Their functions are similar; they both indicate the child in the prophecy. Kalliklick, Cappe, bring him with us; he will be shown the Ribbed Necklace."

I was lifted to my feet and led behind the old man as he walked out of the room, his two Acolytes following obediently behind. Like a pack of puppies, I thought.

I was led down several levels to where all of the Artifacts of the Temple were being stored. I was rather shocked at this. Even before, when they enlisted me to aid them, had I not been shown this chamber. The old man tapped a code on the wall, and I strained to memorize the position of his knocking. The ground beneath us pulled back into the wall, and I was startled to find my feet lacking any purchase. I struggled to free my wings in a moment of blind panic before I realized that I was not falling, but rather floating, with the other three occupants of the room, into the secret chamber below. I was interested to see all the Artifacts carefully displayed on pedestals; once I got out of here, this would be like stealing candy from a baby. If I could remember the code.

"Here is the Ribbed Necklace," the old man said, indicating a floating necklace made up of fine bones that curved into sharp, needle-like points. A sapphire gem was embedded in the center of the necklace, and it sparkled maddeningly when the old man motioned to it. "This is the Artifact."

"Whoop-dee-do," I answered. "Can you hurry up? It's almost time for my nap, and I develop a rather cranky attitude when I miss that."

The old man's eyes narrowed. "Very well. I will summarize. The prophecy was created by a Seer over three thousand years ago. The Seer recorded that there would be a child born that was a changeling to the side he chose; he was neither purely evil, nor was he purely good. The prophecy indicated this child would eventually come to develop grand powers, powers so potent and dangerous that they could be used to plunge the world into a lasting era of good- or evil. The only determining factor would be the side he was kept from; kept from evil, he would do no evil. Kept from good, he would do no good. The Seer enlisted the help of the ancients to develop two Artifacts- one for the Servants of our Gods, and one for the Demons of Hell. These Artifacts would find the child, and pick him out of the millions of children available."

"Boooooring," I groaned. "Do you have any food? I think I need something to keep myself awake."

Ignoring my insolence, the old man lifted the Artifact from the pedestal. "My apprentices and you fought over this a short time ago," he said, examining the necklace for a moment. "Inadvertently, they activated its power."

I remembered that. This one must have been the last Artifact we had fought over. In their attempt to keep me from it, they actually turned its magic against me. I thought it was rather useless when I was hit with a blast of colours, and nothing happened. That's when I decided to let them keep in, and return home. What's the point in having a magically glorified paint can?

"My apprentices did not know what power this Artifact had. When they brought it to me and explained what had happened, I was also confused. I only knew the answer when I consulted the archives. The power of the Ribbed Necklace is to highlight the child of the prophecy the Seer had recorded all those years ago; and the child the Necklace highlighted was you."

"Child? I'm a little old for you to be calling me that," I corrected.

"You are a child because you have not learned the proper wisdom to accommodate whatever age you are now," one of the Acolytes explained.

"Wasn't asking your opinion," I snapped.

The old man shook his head. "Regardless, one fact remains. You are the chosen one; the Ribbed Necklace has shown this to be true."

There was a silence in which I looked from one of them to the other. Finally, I said, "So?"

The old man seemed even more irritated than before. For the third time, he said, "You are the child of the prophecy."

"Like I care about some crazy old man who actually recorded his craziness," I said. "Can I go now? I have to put my castle back together, because you 'good' people here decided to use everything within as target practice."

"You cannot leave."

I was startled at first, but then I laughed. "Says you, who happens to not be the boss of me."

"You cannot leave."

It was the tone this time that caused my secondary startlement. It was a voice that had written it in stone for all to read and agree with, and for no one to disagree with.

"So what, I stay here and do...what?" I demanded. "Become one of the slaves of your God so I can spend the rest of my life worshipping?"

"You will learn of our Gods, yes, and more of the things that my apprentices are learning. It will be part of the educational process, and your rehabilitation."

I let out a barking laugh. "Educational process? Rehabilitation? I don't want to learn anything you have to teach, and I certainly don't need to be rehabilitated! You fool," I spat. "If you think you can actually keep me here, you're wrong."

"As much as I wish I did not have to do this," the man said, "I have no choice. In order to keep the world from plunging into an age of darkness, you have to be away from the forces of evil you had formerly associated yourself with. This will save everyone from the doom which the future represents."

"So what, I get to be locked in a cell while you brainwash me!"

"No- you will be given a room like all the other apprentices, and you will learn in the same way that they are learning."

"You can't keep me here," I said flatly. "You can't watch me every moment of every day. The instant you turn your back, I'll be gone, flying home. And this time, the traps I set will be lethal. No more mister nice-guy from me."

The old man sighed. "For the night, you can sleep in the cell near the guard tower, so you will not run from this course of fate. And, for every misbehaviour you undergo, you can sleep in the cell again."

"Bite me," I snarled, kicking at one of the apprentices. "Fool of an old man- you can't control me! Nobody can!"

But we all floated back into the room above, and then I was taken out of the building and to another one next to one of the towers, where a bed and a tray of food waited for me behind cold, iron bars. I resolved to go in quietly and simply leave in the dead of night, but I was delivered a killing blow.

The old man had accompanied us, it seemed, because he motioned to me before the cell door could be unlocked. "Remove his belt."

My eyes went wide. My belt, of course, had an array of multi-coloured stones, embedded in the leather for the entire circumference. They were how I focused my magic; without them, I couldn't even access my powers.

"Don't touch me!" I shouted even as they struggled to unwrap the blanket and hold onto me at the same time. I went down in a tumble with the two apprentices on top of me, before the bigger one easily pinned me down and the female undid my belt, stepping back with it hanging over her arm.

I struggled in vain, but the muscle-bound slave simply waited for me to tire out before grabbing my shoulders, pulling me up, and shoving me into the cell. I stumbled forward, momentarily forgetting how much the belt weighed and how much lighter I was without it around my waist. I turned around to glower at the three occupants of the room, clenching and unclenching my hands by my sides and envisioning horrible fates for the lot of them and their half-cracked temple, as well.

"Your training begins in the morning," The old man said. "And from now on, you will refer to me as Master Yushi-Seck. That is the first rule for you to learn; other rules will be taught to you in the morning, when the Temple awakens. Until then, you may sleep and eat to regain your strength. It has been a long day."

"You can't keep me here," I said even as they turned to leave. "Do you think I'll be a good slave and work on your side just because you threw me in a cell? You can't keep me here- I won't do what you say. I don't listen to anyone, especially elemental has-beens like you. Do you hear me? You can't control me!"

The door closed behind them, and I heard it clicking. I began pacing in my cell, staring at the door with every turn. I was locked in a cell with metal bars, located...where? Near the guard tower. And the door to this building, which didn't have very many other cells (odd enough they had any, considering this place was supposed to be a temple), was also locked. So...what?

I began testing the bars, one by one, for weakness. When none of them showed any promise, I searched the rest of the cell, running my hands over the smooth wooden planks with disgust. Wood was temporary; it would rot. Why make something out of wood when you could easily make it out of stone and have it last twice as long, easily?

There were no loose boards, either. I checked the rest of the cell, but it was as I first saw it; a bed in one corner with a tray of food waiting on it. Nothing else.

I plodded over to the tray of food, wondering and hoping there was something good to eat. I was starved; I hadn't eaten anything since morning, because I had been involved in the creation of a newer version of the Constructs that would allow them to be stronger and have a little more intelligence than they currently had. Wrapped up in my experimentations and calculations, I had forgotten to eat lunch, or even have a snack. And now? Now, I had Temple food.

My stomach rumbled in anticipation, thinking of all the wonderful foods that I would love to have right about now. I barely looked at the plate before my nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Carrot sticks?" I said in disbelief, using a chop stick to sift through the mass of green. Lettuce, carrot sticks, apple slices, some radishes, and then rice on the side.

"What do I look like? A rabbit?" My temper guided my fist and I struck the tray, sending it flying across the room. The tray stopped and clattered to the ground when it hit the bars, but the food travelled through, splattering against the floor beyond my cell.

I snickered at the slight mess, but my good mood was instantly spoiled. I was stuck in here, with no way out, my magical belt stolen, my Artifacts claimed; worse of all, they were planning on keeping me here. With gerbil food for dinner.

I scowled and kicked at the bed, but it was little more than a cushioned mat on the floor. How was I supposed to properly express my temper when there was nothing else to break? I could throw the blankets around, but then I'd simply be gathering them up again so I could sleep. Speaking of which, that sounded like a good idea.

I laid down on the mat, but shifted half a dozen time before cursing. My cot was laden with blankets and pillows; it was the most comfortable way to sleep. And this? This was a thin sheet over a rock by comparison.

I curled up on my side, my wings laying against the floor and bent upwards against the wall. That was another advantage of my cot; my wings were easily accommodated. And here? Here, I felt like a bird that had suddenly been slammed into a cage for the amusement of someone who enjoyed my colours.

My hands remained closed into fists as I fell asleep.