Now, Things Happen

Chapter 4: Bold Beginnings Part 4

They stood there for a moment, some of them awkward, one more mellow than was really necessary, and the last legitimately wanting an answer.

Seeing the tension and expecting gaze the Small Lizard looked around a bit, then nodded his head.

"That's a fair question. We're on the hunt for a specific magical item called The Third-Arm Sash, a type of Shen Gong Wu. We have ways to detect when they become especially active and came to retrieve it before it could cause any kind of harm or panic. Name's Dojo Kanojo Cho, just so you stop calling me lizard, like some kind of racist. Speciest? Something like that." The lizard, Dojo apparently, explained with a calm nonchalance to him, before rubbing his chin absently at the last sentence.

Jack just felt like twitching more.

THAT JUST RAISED MORE QUESTIONS!

All of which were on the tip of his tongue, but there were some things that took precedence.

"Fantastic, I love having objects seemingly being able to be tracked to generally specified locations via some unknown process that can create also unknown problems. I can only assume the Third-Arm said sash makes try to strangle the wearer or push every button in sight. The danger would surely be immeasurable. The more pressing thing of the hundred other things I want to ask you right now, is why are you just out and out telling me this? I could accept if I'm wrong on this, but the majority of you seem to believe this should have been a secret, if the looks on their faces are an indication." Jack quickly pointed out, taking special note of the look of complete surprise on Rai's face, and the near visible wave of disappointment the tiny one was aiming at Dojo the Talking Lizard. He still wasn't completely letting that one go quite yet.

Dojo just shrugged, moving down from Tall Texan's hat to his shoulders and down his right arm, the movement almost snake-like and allowing Jack to see he actually had small hands with four fingers each in a strange almost parrot-esce style.

"You seem like a curious, shockingly rich kid with a lot of time to burn. Chances are, after a meeting like this, you'd stumble your way into it all anyway. You'd be too curious to do anything else. If you were some random shmuck on the street who happened to stumble onto something, not a whole lot of risk from them not knowing something or suddenly scouring the world for clues. But ya aren't, so here we are. Tell you what, I'll answer three questions ya got, then you tell us where the Third-Arm Sash is, if only for the safety of the people around you. Is that okay?" Dojo spoke softly, but kindly. It was a weird, deeper voice than something that small should have, but Jack felt himself loosen a little, even as he unconsciously bristled at being in danger when he was surrounded by a near literal militia of robots.

Still, there were factors at work here just a bit beyond his means for a moment here, and these...probably, nice people were at least asking questions and semi-apologetic about breaking into his Lab.

"That's...I won't say too few, but I can work with that for now. Sure, then. Let's, ah, let's get the most important stuff first. You said a lot of interesting things a bit ago, about this sash apparently being something called a 'Shen Go Kun'? Like I should recognize what that is. Some context would be great for that. Same with how exactly you tracked it all the way from wherever you came from with no seemingly detectable method, cause otherwise the possibility is really damn scary. Last up...why can you talk? Like, I understand if the others were explaining this, but you're REALLY freaking me out right now." Jack reasonably asked, listing off his questions as the rest of them kind of sheepishly stoop off to the side.

Dojo hummed for another moment, tilting his head before nodding again, before reaching behind his back and...somehow pulling out a small pair of glassed and miniature book? What the hell? What the hell!

Did. Did this lizard have a fucking POCKET SPACE.

"Well reasoned questions for the most part, and I can answer all of them with one story, which is great for my time usage! I do have other things I want to do today after all. I'll answer the last one first, cause it's the easiest and most non-related. As you've probably guessed from my noble visage and boundless wisdom, I am a dragon. Always have been, most likely always will, assuming I don't get cursed, blessed, or end up in a stew." Dojo the mo-fricken Dragon proudly explained, puffing out his tiny chest even as Jack felt a simultaneous implosion of his grasp of reality and explosion of his desperately nerdy side shouting with glee that video games and anime were real. He might have let his head fall for a minute before his brain restarted, and Dojo took that as a nod to continue, moving a tiny hand in a circle while snapping on his glasses despite his very visible lack of ears.

"Gather round kiddies, it's story time! Omi, I know you've heard this before, but a reminder is always good when you're going over it with new people and fresh perspectives. We good? Great, cause I only do this once every 5 years." Dojo snapped his tiny fingers as, with a small start, the Jack and the others were forced to sit cross-legged or on their knees on the floor before the Dragon, the small one named Omi apparently already there in an instant.

The Dragon took a moment to clear his throat, before speaking in a voice much deeper and gravely than before, almost Morgan Freeman-like.

"Long Ago, when the World was Young, and in Chaos, came a Great Witch, named Wuya. With her Hellish Flames and grasp of Magics in all their Forme's, she Ruled the World with an Iron Fist, shrouding the World in Darkness. Then, came the Warrior, Dashi. A True Master of the Physical Realm, their Battles were Legendary. The World was Born Anew in their Wakes, Mountains and Rivers formed and broken, Valley's wretched open and filled with Fire before being smashed closed. The very Sky and Earth were but Playthings before their Ultimate Directed Strength, until, finally, They both had Enough. They had both grown almost, Content with their repeated conflicts, holding little attention for anything else but each other. After one such conflict, Dashi looked at the Destruction They had Wrought in their Conflicts, and, having grown Wiser, Spoke these Words.

"This has gotten Boring. Let's try Making Something Instead."

The words shocked Wuya, but the seed's of battles and similar feelings were obviously shared, as she agreed to his proposal. It was but a new kind of challenge.

So began their new attempts to one-up each other. Through Accidental means or Purposeful, Their new creations, the Shen Gong Wu, were Incredible items with powers ranging from the relatively mundane to that which should Belong in the Domain's of Gods. These in turn Attracted new People to them Both, eager to learn the Process Themselves or the Secrets Each Had to Teach. This lead to two rival schools of Thought, Creation, and Temperment. The Shao-lin, and the Hey-lin, meaning Family and Greeting Schools respectively. Together, they formed the Xiaolin Sect, which exist in some form or another in various forms through the world and history. This, is the History of the Shen Gong Wu."

Dojo seemed to breathe out the last words, before turning his head to the side and hacking like a dying smoker, looking the part a bit too with the small amount of soot he was puffing on Jacks floor.

"Ack, I hate doing the voice, but it's so thematic! Hem! Hack! Yep, Shen Gong Wu are a PRETTY big deal to a lot of people, with VERY good reason. Also, last question, I sense when a Wu goes active cause I'm one of the Guardians of em. Nearly forgot there! Now, where's the Sash?" Dojo half coughed, half pestered Jack, making jump up to his feet from that massive exposition dump. God, he was thankful he had Jackbot's recording that for later.

"Oh! Uh, right, sure. I'll ah...Go get that?" Jack spoke a bit hesitantly now, suddenly much more weary of the innocent appearing Sash after hearing how high some of those things could go. Domain of God's sounded REALLY OP after all.

It only took a moment to grab it carefully from the item scanner sitting hidden from plain view not 8 feet away, and Jack was almost good to go with handing it off before he saw Ki touch the other side of the fabric and felt said material near-literally grip his own hand and begin to glow an eye-searing gold.

Jack was a bit too busy freaking out just as much as Ki was to hear the small sound of a palm meeting face for a moment, but was able to hear Dojo shouting over the suddenly unnaturally deafly silence growing around them.

"Ah, Zombie Jesus, I forgot to explain Showdowns, How'd I forget the Showdowns? This is supposed to be Fung's job. Later, Dojo, later. OI! KID'S YELL OUT A FAVORITESPORT OR GAME OR SOMETHING WITH 'I CHALLENGE YOU TO' IN FRONT OF IT! THEN SAY ANYTHING GOES!" Dojo's voice strangely echoed even as the two of them panicly looked at each other before, Jack generally being a fast talker and babbler in panic anyway, opened his yap like the nice Dragon said.

"I CHALLENGE YOU TO A SKATING CONTEST! ANYTHING GOES!" Jack screamed through the silence, before he felt more than saw the World explode into a wave of Gold and being pulled somewhere by his hand somewhere else.

He was not ready for today.

END OF CHAPTER

The thing happening was exposition, now slightly different from what it once was, because reasons.