I've come to the realization that if I keep waiting to have my story ideas mostly planned out before posting them, I'll never post anything. :/ So, I've decided that for fics that I feel confident enough that I'm not going to drop and that I have a more or less solid grasp on how I want to go, I'll just go ahead and start writing and posting. We'll see how it turns out.
Soooo, yeah. Enjoy this fanfic about an old cartoon and weird (and one of my favorite) video game series that I made.
XXX
World Domination, Baby!
Prologue:
A Little Mishap
XXX
"What do you mean you don't know what it does?" Raimundo asked, stopping his spoonful of cereal inches away from his face as he looked at the small, green dragon in disbelief. "Isn't that your job?"
Him and the four monks had been happily eating their breakfast when the Dojo had burst into the room, shouting about a new Shen Gong Wu being revealed. When asked about the details, however...
Dojo curled up the Shen Gong Wu scroll he had been sifting through with a frustrated breath. "Look, do you know how many Shen Gong Wu there are?! I can't remember all of them! The last time I even saw most of them was more than a thousand years ago! It's been a while, give me a break!"
"This better not end up like that Sapphire Dragon incident," Kimiko warned with a frown, her shudder matched by the rest of the group. "I still get nightmares about that sometimes..."
"I'd, uh, rather not be reminded of that one, partner," Clay admitted, tugging his cowboy hat downwards to hide his expression.
"Either way, we must get to it before Chase and Wuya do!" Omi pointed out. "Or worse, Hannibal Bean!"
"Omi's right. We'll just have to figure out what it does later," Kimiko nodded. "It's better than letting one of them take it."
"So, do you at least know where it is, Dojo?" Reimundo asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
Dojo huffed, crossing his arms and giving him an insulted glare. "Of course I do! I'm not incompetent!"
"Of course you're not, Dojo," Kimiko reassured. She gave Raimundo a warning glare, earning an apologetic smile, before looking back at Omi and Clay. "Let's get a move on then, guys. Someone else could already be looking for it."
"Alright, let's go!" Reimundo urged, growing a bit excited as he jumped off his chair and ran out the door. "Hurry up!"
The three remaining monks and dragon were quick to follow. Once outside, Dojo didn't waste a moment before transforming, becoming almost as big as the building they exited from. "Get on, kids!"
They quickly jumped on and the dragon took to the skies, slashing through the air and clouds as they headed for the new Shen Gong Wu.
"CHASE! A NEW SHEN GONG WU HAS REVEALED ITSELF!"
Chase winced and let out a sigh as he once again was forcefully taken out of his meditation. He opened one eye just in time to see Wuya burst into his supposed-to-be-private chamber, her eyes glowing an emerald green while her red hair flowed around her.
"Must you do that every time a Shen Gong Wu activates?" He asked irritably, allowing himself to float back onto the ground, where he landed gracefully.
Wuya blinked as her eyes and hair returned to normal. Coughing awkwardly, she ran a hand through her crimson locks. "Er, force of habit."
"So, which is it this time?" Chase asked, reaching out his hand and patting one of his nearby Cat Warriors; a large lion who let out a lazy yawn. "If it's not anything valuable to me, then you are on your own retrieving it."
At this, Wuya's expression grew a bit nervous. "The Shen Gong Wu is..."
Chase looked over at her with a frown when she trailed off. "Well? Speak up, Witch. Your knowledge on the Shen Gong Wu, much as I am loathed to admit it, is vaster than mine."
Wuya coughed again uncomfortably. "Well... I'm not entirely sure which Shen Gong Wu it is."
Chase paused and turned to face her, eyebrow arched in question. "You don't know? Isn't this your specialty?"
The witch huffed and crossed her arms, looking to the side. "I don't just automatically know every Shen Gong Wu, Chase! All my knowledge comes from seeing them used or using them myself! Neither I nor Dashi have ever used this one before he sealed me away. I assume the only one who'd know would be Dojo."
Chase stared at her expressionlessly for a moment before letting out another sigh. "If Dashi has never used it, it may be because there is no usefulness to it," he started. When Wuya looked at him sharply and opened her mouth, he stopped her and continued. "Or it may be too dangerous to use. Is that what you were going to say?"
Wuya blinked and closed her mouth. "Yes... It may be just what we need to turn the tides in our favor."
"Or it could turn out to be a waste of time. But I suppose that's a chance we will have to take."
Wuya's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Really? You're going?"
"I'm simply choosing the best alternative," Chase remarked, walking past her and towards the door. "Until we know what it does, it would be best to keep it out of the hands of the monks, or Hannibal." He glanced back at her. "Are you coming or not?"
Wuya couldn't help but smirk victoriously as she hurried after him. "Oh, definitely!"
Jack Spicer, self-proclaimed Evil Boy Genius and future conqueror of the world, was currently under his table trying to get a bolt that had rolled its way under it. He nearly had it in his grasp when the sound of his Shen Gong Wu Locator pierced through the air, causing him to jerk up and slam his head against said table. "OW!"
Wincing and rubbing his head, he carefully extracted himself from underneath his table and hurriedly made his way over to the device, grabbing it off the table in excitement.
"Finally! A new Shen Gong Wu! I could really use one right now!"
He winced as he remembered the last Shen Gong Wu. He'd arrived at the same time as the Monks, as well as Chase and Wuya. The resulting Xiaolin Showdown saw him losing the last Wu he had: the Monkey Staff.
"That one was my favorite, too..." He huffed as he played around with the various systems he'd built into his Locator, stopping at the map feature and turning it on. A buffering icon appeared as it tried to find the Shen Gong Wu's exact location. "I've definitely gotta get this one! My robots just aren't cutting it these days..."
The thought made him...a bit depressed. Since Hannibal Bean joined the search for the Shen Gong Wu and Wuya had joined Chase, Jack found himself losing even more heavily than usual.
It made sense. He was a comparatively normal guy up against monks with elemental powers, immortal witches and dragons, and even an immortal bean of all things. There were quite a few times as of recent where he considered just giving up entirely.
But there was no way he could do that! He was an Evil Boy Genius, dang it! The one who was gonna rule the world one day was him! Not Chase, not Wuya, not Hannibal Bean, not anyone else. Him!
He just...needed more Shen Gong Wu to do it! Yeah!
"Ha! I don't need Wuya!" He said to himself angrily. "I'll show those losers! I'll get every single Shen Gong Wu they have! Then world domination'll be easy! Maybe when they're in some underground dungeon somewhere, they'll show me some respect! Yeah!"
Yeah...
...His bravado felt false even to himself.
He let out a sigh before looking back at the Locator. Its function had completed while he was stuck in his thoughts. A map shown on screen, a red dot indicating the location of the Wu. He brightened up a bit. "Oh, finally! Let's see, it's..." He stopped and blinked. "It's...
"...Only a mile away. Huh."
The Shen Gong Wu, it turned out, was at the edge of a public park, just before the forest at the far end of it. Well, if Dashi really did hide them around the world more than a thousand years ago, he guessed it wasn't too crazy to think one would end up here. Still, though, it was a heck of a coincidence. Man, he hasn't been to this place since he was a kid!
"Alright now, where are you?" He mumbled to himself, glancing back at the Locator.
The red dot blinking on the screen showed that the Wu was supposedly right in front of where he was standing. Looking forward, all he could see was a gray rock, nearly four times his size.
Jack frowned at it before turning to the Jack-Bot that was hovering beside him, waiting for his command. "Jack-Bot! Go see if the Wu is on top of that rock!"
"Yes, Master," was the robot's response as the jet's beneath its metallic body activated and it shot upwards. Getting to the top, it hovered there for a moment before quickly flying back to the boy's side. "Negative, Master. There is no Shen Gong Wu."
Jack's frown deepened. "Huh... Well if it's not on top, then... Check underneath!"
"Yes, Master."
Hovering over the to the rock, the Jack-Bot grabbed the bottom and effortlessly lifted it up. There really was something under it, indented into the earth. The robot extended its free arm and grabbed it before letting the rock fall back to its natural position. That done, it returned to Jack and handed him the object.
Jack couldn't help but grin as he snatched it out of the outstretched hand. "Yes! I'm the first one to get it! And none of those Xiaolin losers or anyone else in sight!"
"Affirmative, Master."
Jack examined the Shen Gong Wu in his hand, grin slowly transforming into a frown.
It was about the size of his palm, shaped like a perfect square and seeming to be made of silver, or at least something that resembled it. Intricate designs he couldn't make heads or tails of covered it. But what was most eye-catching was the diamond-shaped red stone in the center. It seemed to glow faintly, the inside almost resembling billowing clouds.
'So...what the heck is it?'
One of the major drawbacks of Wuya leaving him was that he had no one with any knowledge of the Shen Gong Wu to help him anymore. He didn't even know this thing's name much less what it did.
Usually, it wasn't too much of a problem. He would arrive around the same time as the monk's or somebody else who would clue him in on it. Now, though, he was the only one here. Which, on the one hand was great. He could finally have at least one Shen Gong Wu with him without the possibility of losing it in a Showdown almost immediately like that last numerous times. But if he didn't even know what it did, what good was it?
"Is calling its name really the only way to activate this thing? Come on, there's gotta be some other way! Like, what if Dojo forgets it or something? It's been, like, a thousand years or something! Didn't Dashi make some kind of fail-safe?"
"I do not know, Master," the robot answered in its monotone voice.
"I-I wasn't asking you!" Jack mumbled, giving the robot a side glare.
He then caught himself and face palmed.
"Ugh, why am I talking to a robot? I haven't done that since before Wuya came... Am I really that lonely?" He shook his head, trying to get it clear. "Get ahold of yourself, Evil Boy Genius! You've got a world to conquer!"
With that, he looked back down at the Wu. He turned it around in his hand, trying to find at least some indication of what the thing's name was.
Nothing.
Huffing he stared at it a bit longer before he began to poke at the red gem in its center. "Um... Work! Go! Activate! Turn on!"
Still nothing.
"...Open...sesame?"
Nope.
He groaned. "Well, I don't know why I expected that one to work..."
"I do not know, Master."
Jack gave his robot another side glare. "Was that sarcasm?"
"I am not programmed for sarcasm, Master."
Jack stared at it for a moment longer before looking away and heaving another sigh. "Definitely need someone else to talk to. Well, let's just go back home before anyone else shows up."
"Yes, Master."
Jack watched as his robot took to the air before shooting off in the direction of his home. Activating his Helibot, he was about to take off after him before a thought struck back.
He looked back down at the Shen Gong Wu. Maybe it was actually a lot simpler than he thought... "Well, worth a try." Shrugging he held the Shen Gong Wu up into the air. "Shen Gong Wu, activate!"
At first, there was nothing. Before he could let the disappointment sink in, however, there was a strange "bing" sound from the Wu.
Jack's eyes widened in surprise before a grin broke on his face. "Whoa! Did it actually work?! Awesome! Guess I don't need Wuya after a-"
And then all hell broke loose.
Before he could even finish his sentence, an intense, red glow emanated from the Shen Gong Wu. Jack found himself forced to close his eyes, momentarily blinded.
Then, it was as if a burst of wind manifested out of nowhere, blowing from behind him and nearly knocking him off his feet as it pushed him forward.
"Gah! Wait! What the?!"
As his eyes adjusted to the intense brightness, he was able to peek out and look forward.
In front of him was a hole. A hole that seemed to be in the very fabric of reality, sitting in midair in front of him and looking like a swirling, red vortex with no end.
A cold sense of dread enveloped him as he realized the wind was coming from the vortex itself, pulling him closer and closer towards it. And it was only getting stronger.
"I-I take it back!" Jack shouted as he fell backwards onto the ground and dug his fingers into the dirt in a pointless attempt to fight it. "Stop! Un-activate! Shen Gong Wun un-activate! J-Just stop!"
His words had no effect, however. Soon, the dirt he clung onto gave way beneath his fingers and he found himself dragged into the hole. He managed to let out one last shriek before he was fully engulfed.
Seconds later, the swirling vortex winked out of existence, and all was peaceful once more.
When Jack opened his eyes again, it was nighttime.
'Ugh... What happened? Oh, that's right... The Shen Gong Wu... I-Is it night already? How long was I out? What the heck happened?'
His eyes stared up at the sky blearily.
'Huh, that's weird... None of those constellations look familiar. And...' He blinked. '...What's with the moon?'
The moon was a deep shade of red. It looked like a Blood Moon, but...those happened only during eclipses, right? He was pretty darn sure there wasn't one of those scheduled anytime soon.
Slowly, he forced himself up into a sitting position. As he did, he felt as if something dropped off his chest and landed into his lap. Looking down in surprise, he saw that it was his Shen Gong Wu Locator, as well as the mysterious Shen Gong Wu itself.
But...the Wu looked a bit different. Whereas before the diamond in the middle had been a bright, shining red, it was now a dull and lifeless black.
Jack slowly looked away from the objects and around at his surroundings.
He was what could only be called a desolate wasteland. The ground was gray dirt without a blade of grass in sight. The few trees scattered here and there were nothing but withered bark, not even withered leaves were on their branches or the ground surrounding them. It reminded him a lot of when Wuya had temporarily taken over.
"This...definitely isn't the park," was all he said to himself, still dazed and confused.
He once again felt dread forming in the pit of his stomach. "W-Where am I? Am I even in the same country anymore? Is this Shen Gong Wu like the Golden Tiger Claws or something? But where'd it send me?!"
Before he could succumb to his growing panic and start hyperventilating, however, he noticed something in the distance.
Figures. And they were moving. People!
"Oh, thank God," he mumbled to himself as relief took place of his oncoming panic attack. Quickly stumbling to his feet, he threw his Locator and Shen Gong Wu into his backpack before activating his Helibot and hurrying towards the figures, not wanting to lose sight of them.
'Okay. Everything's gonna be okay. They'll tell me where I am, and then... And then... And... Wha...?'
He quickly came to a stop and landed back on the ground.
He blinked, closed his eyes, rubbed at them furiously, and re-opened them.
"Those are freaking penguins."
Penguins.
Blue penguins.
Blue penguins with peg legs.
Blue penguins with peg legs and little, bat-like wings growing out from their backs.
One of them noticed him and came to a stop.
"Huh? What are you looking at, dood? It's Red Moon, our servitude's over!"
Blue penguins with peg legs and wings that talked.
The other stopped as well and looked back at his companion. "Forget him, dood! We gotta hurry! We don't wanna get left behind, dood!"
"W-Would that really happen, dood?! Let's go!"
And with that, the two were off, leaving Jack on his own once again.
The red-haired boy could do nothing but gape after them.
What the hell was going on?!
XXX
It's been a loooong time since I watched Xiaolin Showdown, so if there's some inconsistances, that's why. I'm in the middle of rewatching it for this fic, but I'm still only at Season 2.
This was surprisingly hard to write, too. I must have gone through three different versions before I was happy enough with it to post. XD