Happy New Year!

Between travelling and being sick the whole month, I've fallen behind. But I hope you like it!


Chapter 20: Enter The Dragon

Hidden away in the quiet of the library, Rory sat cross-legged on the ground in a lesser lit area surrounded by books. Her headphones were on, blasting music as usual as she flipped through the books.

Each of them on Soul Ties, Rory found herself learning more and more about them.

Except how to break them.

When yet another book stated that a Soul Tie couldn't be broken, she shut it with a snap and closed her eyes, leaning back against the wall.

"Cyclops exist, dragons exist, we're on an endless search for magical artifacts and I'm a walking Heylin detector. But no, it's impossible to break a Soul Tie," she muttered to herself, frustrated by the answer she didn't want to hear.

Soul Ties were exactly that. Magically two souls were bound together, allowing the Dragon to gain even greater power through a strange bond. Souls were still a mystery, and this even more so. It was frustrating, but Rory was starting to accept that there really was no way to break the Soul Tie.

With a deep sigh, Rory pulled her legs in close and rested her chin on her knees. "Guess there's nothing for it. I'm Tied to Spicer and that's it," she pushed her hair out of her face, only for it to fall back down into place, covering her eye. She huffed. "At least the others will get stronger," she muttered.

That was when she finally heard the banging. Frowning, Rory pulled her headphones down, and heard the banging of wood coming from outside. She followed it, joining her friends as they came to investigate as well. Outside, they found Dojo frantically hammering wood together, muttering under his breath as he made what seemed like a small cage.

"What's with Dojo?" Kimiko wondered curiously.

"I'm afraid that it is Dojo's…ailment," Master Fung explained, worried. "It is about to make itself known," he warned them, and Dojo turned his head as if only just noticing them.

"Why's everyone staring at me like I'm some sort of freak?" he demanded, glaring up at them. "I am not a freak!" Dojo wailed, growing hysterical very quickly.

"Easy buddy," Rory lifted him up and made him drop the hammer. "Nobody called you a freak," she soothed.

"Out loud," Clay whispered. Rory glared at him as Dojo heard him, narrowing his eyes.

"It happens once every 1500 years or so," Master Fung elaborated as Dojo leapt out of Rory's grip and continued to build the cage. "A craving for Shen Gong Wu so overpowering, he'll be forced to devour anything in his path to get to them," he explained.

"Even people?" Rory looked down nervously at the dragon. Dojo was small now, but in his much bigger size, he'd be scary to contend with.

"Even people," Master Fung confirmed. "If not stopped-"

"The world will cease to exist as we know it," Raimundo finished for their teacher. His eyebrows lifted in surprise, before he nodded.

"Exactly. He will have to be locked in the box for 24 hours," he gestured to the cage, where Dojo was hanging up a small picture inside.

"Has Dojo ever gotten out of the box?" Omi wondered.

"It has only happened once," Master Fung admitted, awkward. "It was the last time anyone saw…Atlantis," he muttered. Rory closed her eyes for a long moment. Of course Atlantis was real, and of course Dojo destroyed it.

Her eyes opened when Dojo gave an agonising cry and began to squirm and flail. They all stepped back, nervous as he snarled at them, before deflating. He laughed.

"Couldn't resist," he shrugged. They glared at him. "False alarm. But I am sensing a new Shen Gong Wu. Or am I?" Dojo growled.

"Dojo!" Rory growled, and he laughed again.

"Sorry, just the Wu," he told them, and flew into the air as he grew to his larger size. "Ready to board! Please keep your hands inside the dragon at all times," Dojo requested.

"I am sorry, Dojo," Master Fung's apology made him frown. "But I am afraid it is too risky in your current condition," he told the dragon, whose head lowered as he looked disappointed.

"But I have to go! I always go!" Dojo protested, but shrank back down.

"If you like, you can draw up a map for the others to follow," Master Fung suggested, not backing down as Dojo pleaded with him. The dragon sighed heavily.

"Okay, okay. You want a map? I'll draw you a map," he groused as he slithered away.

"Since Dojo will be indisposed…you will take the Silver Manta Ray," he told the Xiaolin Monks, holding out the Shen Gong Wu to them. As they gasped, excited to try it out for the first time, Raimundo took it from him.

"Silver Manta Ray!" he threw it into the air, and it grew much larger and floated off the ground in the middle of the courtyard. They all cheered, excited to use it.

"However," they looked up as Master Fung spoke again. "One of you will have to remain behind, to watch Dojo," he told them.

"Master Fung is wise as always," Omi nodded sagely. "Raimundo, you will remain behind," he decided, and Raimundo growled at being volunteered.

"No, Omi. You will be the one who stays," the shorter boy's eyes widened.

"Why should I remain behind and Raimundo go?!" Omi immediately argued, ignoring Raimundo's glare that grew harder with every word he spoke. "It took him the longest to become an Apprentice! And no-one thought he would make it!" he protested. Raimundo then cleared his throat loudly. "I mean…except for me?" he tried with an innocent smile.

"Volunteering someone else is the fastest way to volunteer yourself," Rory said as she patted Raimundo's shoulder, sympathetic to what he had to listen to from the Dragon of Water.

"Remember, the smaller assignments are often the more difficult ones," Master Fung advised him. Omi just huffed.

"I do have to ask.." Rory crouched beside the wooden box. "How is a box like this supposed to hold him when he can change size?" she asked, thinking of the stone cages Wuya kept him in that were too strong to break.

"These symbols on the sides are enchanted, so that the cage cannot be destroyed," Master Fung gestured to the symbols that had been hastily painted on the wood. "I ensured that they were done correctly," he added, shooting Dojo a stern look. The Dragon gave a sheepish smile.

"Let's go already!" Raimundo said as he took the map, and ran for the Silver Manta Ray. Omi huffed once more, watching as the others took off, leaving the temple behind.


The map was crudely drawn, but informative enough that it led the four Dragons to the top of a snow-covered mountain.

"I'm so tired of mountains," Rory commented as Raimundo slowly nudged the Silver Manta Ray to descend.

"Careful, if you start asking for beaches, you're gonna sound like Rai," Clay warned her. Kimiko giggled as Rory grinned. Raimundo glanced over his shoulder to frown at them.

"Just saying, I'd like something a little less…mountainy," Rory shrugged. "And less snowy," she added, surveying the snow that covered the mountaintop. She was just glad they'd come prepared, donning the clothes they wore for the colder areas.

When the Silver Manta Ray began to hover just over the snow, the four leapt out and landed in the deep snow. Rory tugged her scarf up around her mouth as a shiver instantly made its way up her spine.

"Let's bag this Wu!" Clay shouted as they spotted something sticking out of the snow nearby.

"It's the Tunnel Armadillo!" Kimiko beamed as they hurried towards the bronze Shen Gong Wu. However, as Raimundo reached it, a voice reached them from high up in the sky.

"Looks like you came for nothing, Xiaolin losers!" Jack taunted from his new jet, before firing a missile at them. Raimundo managed to dodge just in time, and the missile exploded, rocking the mountain. More missiles came screeching at the group, who were forced to keep running.

"Use the Shen Gong Wu!" Raimundo shouted when there was finally a break.

"Good idea, thanks," as the four lifted the Shen Gong Wu they'd brought with them, Jack pushed up the glass cover of his jet. "Glove of Jisaku!" he yelled, and the magnet on the Glove instantly began to glow. The Shen Gong Wu in their hands started to be drawn towards Jack, and the four cried out as they struggled to hold onto them.

"No way, not happening," Rory groaned as she held onto the Monkey Staff with both hands, starting to lift her off the ground with it. Her woollen gloves unfortunately didn't give her much grip, and she cursed as she slipped, falling back into the snow as the Shen Gong Wu floated up into the air.

"Brilliant Jack! For once you did something right!" Wuya's exclamation made him scowl.

"You know, an evil genius could take that the wrong way," Jack told her, before his jet flew off.

"Well, that was embarrassing," Rory sighed as they watched them escape, taking the Shen Gong Wu with them.


Returning to the Xiaolin temple in the Silver Manta Ray, they jumped out before it shrank back down to normal and landed in Rory's hands.

"My fellow warriors," they stopped what they were doing when they saw Omi peering out of the cage that had been designed to lock up Dojo. "I would be most appreciative if you would be so kind as to open this door!" Omi shrieked at them.

"Omi?" Clay knelt in front of the cage, baffled. "How in tarnation did you get yourself in there?" he asked, but before he could touch the lock, Rory grabbed his wrist.

"Whoa, wait," she stopped him. "It could be a trap," she pointed out.

"Rory's right," Raimundo nodded his agreement. "It could be Dojo morphed into Omi," he considered. Omi gave a weary sigh.

"No, it is not Dojo doing me, it is me!" Omi shouted, glaring through the narrow bars at them.

"Hey, that's pretty good, Dojo," Raimundo grinned.

"Yeah, you've got Omi's speech pattern down pat," Rory agreed. Omi's face turned red in his anger.

"I am not Dojo!" he shrieked, pressing up against the bars. Clay poked him, frowning.

"Where's the real Omi?" Kimiko wondered, looking around for any sign of the others.

"Must have abandoned his post," Raimundo scoffed, shaking his head. "Figures," he rolled his eyes, not surprised after how vocal Omi had been in refusing to take the job.

"I did not abandon my post!" Omi continued to shout from inside the cage as Rory sat down in front of it with her arms crossed. "I am at my post! Actually, I am inside my post, but that Dojo pulled his sweater over my eyes!" his declaration made Rory snort and look up. Raimundo smirked.

"Okay, that's got to be Omi," he decided.

"Now how do we get him out?" Kimiko asked as she saw the padlock on the door. "Smash it?" she suggested, looking up at Clay, and he stood. Omi's eyes instantly went wide in fear.

"Don't think we have to be that extreme," Rory couldn't help but laugh. Still sitting in front of the cage, she pulled one of her hairpins from her hair and started to pick the lock.

"Uh…how do you know how to do that?" Raimundo asked, eyebrow raised.

"Got bored one day," Rory answered simply as she fiddled with the lock. Raimundo exchanged looks with Kimiko, who could only smile at the response. "It's a lot easier than it should be," after a moment, the lock clicked, and she moved so that Omi could step out, looking sheepish.

"Looks like we're all feeling lower than a snake's belly today," Clay sighed. "We lost five Shen Gong Wu," he told Omi, before they heard footsteps coming towards them. The group turned, and saw Master Fung running over. He peered into the cage, turning paler by the moment. When he found it empty, he turned to the group.

"Who let Dojo out?" he asked urgently. Instantly Raimundo, Rory, Clay and Kimiko stepped away from Omi. He sighed, lowering his head.

"I am so ashamed…" he mumbled. "It appears Dojo is one very crafty dragon!" he exclaimed as Master Fung stood. The man's hand curled into a tight fist, his anger obvious.

"Oh…this is not good," he began to massage his forehead.

"How bad is it really?" Raimundo asked, not sure how much damage Dojo could do by himself. As if in answer to his question, something exploded behind the temple, casting an eerie dark glow over the sky.

"It has already begun! A thousand years of darkness!" Master Fung swallowed.

"Why a thousand?" Kimiko asked him.

"It is really 962 years, but 1000 sounds more ominous," Master Fung confessed.

"Great…38 years less," Rory rolled her eyes, but couldn't deny that her entire body was shaking as the once bright blue sky turned overcast, leaving the ominous grey glow as the only light. There was a pounding in her ears, and she felt even more on edge, unable to stand still. Something was wrong, and it had her fight or flight instincts kicking in.


The pounding hadn't faded when the group went to the Shen Gong Wu vault to prepare themselves for Dojo's inevitable return. She fiddled with the Tangle Web Comb in her hands, waiting for the others to come out of the vault.

"Maybe we should just take the Shen Gong Wu and leave?" Raimundo suggested as he carried the Sword of the Storm.

"It will not matter where or how far we travel," Master Fung shook his head. While he was glad that Raimundo had clearly learned from Mala Mala Jong, he knew there was a difference now. "Dojo will find us," he looked up to the glass roof, half-expecting Dojo to burst in.

"As always, Master Fung is most wise," Omi declared, carrying the Orb of Tornami in his hands. "An honourable warrior would stay and…" he trailed off when a shadow passed across them. "Fight?" Omi asked in a small voice. Rory tilted her head.

"Huh…I don't sense evil from him," despite the dire moment, Rory noticed the difference.

"That is because Dojo is not truly evil. He is simply overwhelmed with the desire to claim all the Shen Gong Wu," Master Fung explained as they headed for the door. When the stepped out, lightning flashed and thunder boomed almost at the same time, and Rory cursed as she jumped, almost dropping the Tangle Web Comb.

"He does know how to make an entrance," Kimiko mumbled, her voice shaking as they looked up at Dojo in the sky.

"And uh…am I seeing double, or does Dojo have two heads?" Rory rubbed her eyes, but when she looked up again, Dojo still had two heads.

"I got me a powerful craving, for some Shen Gong Wu!" one of the heads cackled, his voice echoing.

"One stomach, and two mouths to feed!" the other head then reared forwards, spitting out a jet of fire at them. While the others dove out of the way, Kimiko raised her hands, and the fire veered up to avoid them.

"Fist of Tebigong!" Clay slammed the metal glove to the ground. Instantly the ground began to crack, creating a massive chasm.

"Eye of Dashi!" Kimiko shouted as the lightning blasted Dojo. He shrieked as he was electrocuted, and he fell into the hole below.

"Sorry!" Clay yelled down into, only for Dojo to fly back up so suddenly that Clay was knocked backwards into the others. Dojo then smashed the ground where Clay stood, and he gave a yell as he fell into the chasm he'd created. Dojo caught him in his hand, lifting him up.

"Clay!" Rory ran to the side. "Tangle Web Comb!" she held the Comb up so that the vines wrapped around Clay's ankles. "Oh no you don't!" Rory tugged, and the others grabbed hold to try and pull Clay from Dojo's grasp.

"How cute," the dragon laughed as he pulled harder, and shoved Clay into his mouth. He bit through the vines, and they fell backwards as the vines quickly drew back into the Comb.

"Clay!" Kimiko shouted in horror, unable to believe that Dojo had just eaten their friend. Laughing at their reaction, Dojo lunged forwards, aiming for Master Fung. However, Omi jumped between them, waving the Orb of Tornami in his face. Instantly Dojo's eyes were drawn to it.

"I will distract the Dojos, making myself bait!" Omi declared, running off and holding the Orb of Tornami up. Both of Dojo's heads immediately followed.

"Sounds yummy!" both of Dojo's heads chorused. He followed Omi, lashing out to try and grab the nimble monk.

"Tangle Web Comb!" Rory tried again, this time wrapping the vines around both of Dojo's heads. He was stopped short before he was able to wrap his claws around Omi, and Rory gasped as she was yanked forwards several steps.

"Oh, a volunteer!" the two heads turned in unison, and Rory's eye widened.

"Rory!" Kimiko shouted as Rory dropped the Shen Gong Wu in her hands. As Dojo lunged towards her, she planted her feet and raised her hands.

"Star Shower, Light!" Rory yelled, channelling Light energy through her body and through her hands. The force was greater than she expected and knocked her back a step. The white light slammed into Dojo, and he gave a shriek of surprise.

"Star Hanabi!"

"Sword of the Storm!" Kimiko and Raimundo began their own attacks, when Dojo was stunned by Rory's attack. The fire and wind blended into a whirling tornado of flames, surrounding Dojo and trapping him. "We did it!" Raimundo grinned, only for Dojo's heads to emerge from the flames. They exhaled hard, and the flames died out.

"Did we?" Rory gulped, their eyes wide. Dojo then grabbed for them, and only Omi was able to evade as the other three found themselves inside of his mouth. "Oh, this is so gross!" Rory couldn't help but complain as she was immediately soaked through with Dojo's saliva, and slid down in darkness before landing on something softer than she liked. Before she could move, someone landed on top of her heavily, and a groan escaped.

"Ow…" Raimundo groaned, before there was another thud and Rory cursed loudly.

"There are some things I never needed to see," Kimiko complained.

"Please get off…" Rory groaned, unable to breathe while the two were on top of her.

"Sorry," they apologised, rolling off her. Raimundo then helped Rory to her feet, and they looked around in hopes of finding some kind of light.

"So…eaten by a dragon. That's a new one," Rory managed to sound somewhat casual as she spoke. She then squinted when the light of Kimiko's phone illuminated the darkness of Dojo's insides.

"Yup. Wonder where Clay is," she murmured.

"I-" Rory frowned, turning her head. "Huh…guess I know where Dojo went when he got loose," she said, walking away from the two. When she was greeted with more darkness, Rory cursed and stopped for a moment, closing her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Kimiko asked, and Rory took a breath.

"Getting us some more light," she answered, and a moment later, lights began to form at her fingertips. They floated up a little, dancing in her hand as they created more light inside of Dojo.

"Good idea," Raimundo nodded, and they kept walking. None of them acknowledged the squishing sound under their feet. "What did you mean by knowing where Dojo went before coming back to the temple?" he asked Rory.

"Spicer and Wuya are in here," his eyebrow rose at Rory's comment. "It's weird, I didn't sense them until we were inside," Rory couldn't help but laugh. Kimiko and Raimundo didn't blame her. If they didn't laugh, they would have to acknowledge that they were just eaten by a dragon.

"What's that?" Kimiko was the first to spot light coming from elsewhere, and they made their way towards it.

"I hope it's not the way out," Raimundo shuddered.

"Do you have to be so gross?" Rory rolled her eyes, extinguishing the lights as they stepped into what they could only assume was Dojo's stomach.

"Hey fellas," Clay gave a wave from where he sat, with a strange glowing orb that was sticking out of the green goop. "I see Dojo got y'all too," he gave a sympathetic smile.

"It's up to Omi now, I guess," Raimundo shrugged, taking a seat and setting the Sword of the Storm down beside him. Kimiko sat as well, and Rory moved to do the same, before glancing over her shoulder.

"Back in a minute," she rolled her eyes and made her way a little further along to where Jack was desperately flying around trying to find a way out. "You know there's only really one way out of here, right?" Rory pointed out as she folded her arms. "And I really don't recommend it," she said as he looked in the direction she had turned her head in. Immediately he grimaced.

"Well, what do you suggest?" he grumbled. "We're trapped!" he whined.

"You're such a whiner," Wuya sighed, exhausted.

"Stressing out like this ain't gonna help," Rory ignored Wuya as she rubbed her ear, finally figuring out the reason behind the strange feeling before. "Come on. Sit down," she gestured, turning and walking away. Jack frowned, watching for a moment, before he followed, hovering slowly over.

"Jack!" Wuya protested, furious as he took a seat with the group, pulling his legs in close as he huffed.

"Would you rather the whining?" Rory asked, sounding bored as she sat beside Kimiko.

"Hey!" Jack scowled, and Rory just shrugged as Wuya silently fumed from where she floated.

"Ah!" they glanced up at the familiar voice. "Kimiko, Rory, Raimundo, Clay!" Omi ran over, looking relieved to see them. "You have not been eaten alive by stomach acids!" he exclaimed, seeming delighted.

"Reckon we're lucky Dojo never learned to chew his food," Clay admitted.

"Didn't think about the stomach acid…" Rory muttered, looking at the spongy ground underneath her.

"What do we do now that we're all captured?" Raimundo wondered.

"I-I have not been…truly captured," Omi's words weren't believable as he stumbled over them, giving a wide smile. "I have only allowed myself to be captured as part of my elaborate plan to save the world from 1000 years of darkness!" he insisted, waving his arms.

"What plan?" Kimiko asked, humouring the young man. Immediately Omi bit his lip and looked around quickly, as if trying to come up with a plan then and there. His eyes then lit up.

"I will just need a few of the Shen Gong Wu that Dojo has already eaten. The Reversing Mirror, the Changing Chopsticks, and the Shroud of Shadows," Omi decided. Kimiko looked around and got up, moving towards some of the temple wreckage that Dojo had eaten.

"I got the Mirror!" she declared.

"Shroud of Shadows here," Raimundo pulled the other Shen Gong Wu out from under a broken shelf.

"Oi," Jack squeaked when Rory poked his side. "You swiped the Changing Chopsticks from us earlier. Give 'em," she told him. He shuddered.

"Anything to get out of here," he pulled them from his pocket, and handed them over to her.

"Thanks," Rory had to admit, she was a little surprised that he willingly handed them over, and she wasn't the only one.

"No!" Jack then gave a shriek when Wuya screamed, flying over as if to try and stop him. He then scowled at her.

"By the way, why can't you just fly out of here?" he asked, not understanding why she was still there.

"Good idea," it finally seemed to dawn on the witch, who flew over to the side and passed through Dojo's insides.

"Hey!" Jack protested, running over to the side. "You really left me here?!" he demanded. Rory shook her head and walked over to Omi, handing over the Changing Chopsticks.

"You're being weirdly nice to him," Rory glanced to Kimiko, who was watching Jack as he moped at the side of the walls. She shrugged.

"Kimi, we've been eaten by our friend; a dragon who's trying to bring about 1000 years of darkness. You really want him freaking out in here?" Rory pointed out. Kimiko grimaced at the thought.

"You make a good point," she decided.

"Haven't you forgotten something?" Clay turned to Omi, not understanding the plan. "Like…how you're gonna get outta dodge?" he asked, but Omi just grinned widely.

"Changing Chopsticks!" in a flash, Omi had shrunk down, barely visible. "And now, if Kimiko could summon her power of fire to warm things up a little…" he trailed off, and they turned to Kimiko. She looked surprised, before nodding.

"Judolette Flip, Fire!" she shouted, leaping up and flipping. Flames began to encase Kimiko, who used the movement she'd learned in order to best control her powers to create a burst of heat.

"Looks like Dojo's gonna sweat the little guy out," Raimundo realised as they all began sweating.

"No kidding," Rory fanned herself as the heat grew more and more intense the lower Kimiko kept up the flames. "If Dojo doesn't sweat him out, he's gonna get a real bad stomach ache," she commented.

After a few minutes of the intense heat, Dojo seemed to jerk, and all of them cried out as they were flung off their feet. The flames instantly faded as Kimiko fell too, but the heat lingered in the air.

"Let's hope that whatever Omi has planned, it works soon," Clay spoke as he lifted his hat and fanned himself with it.

"Before Dojo starts to digest us," Raimundo gulped. All of them were thrown back to the ground as Dojo suddenly jerked once more.

"Whatever Omi is doing, it-whoa!" there was a loud crash as Rory fell into the rubble nearby, and she cursed. "I guess it's working?" she guessed.

"I guess so," when the ground under them lurched again, Raimundo began to use his control over the air to float, stopping himself from being tossed around like the rest.

"Thought you were more graceful than this," as Rory stumbled again, Jack caught her arms and pulled her up into the air, having resumed hovering with his helipack.

"I don't know if I prefer this or the whining," Rory huffed.

"Well, if you prefer…" Jack dropped her, and Rory cursed as she fell, unable to land on her feet. He started to laugh, and Rory's face reddened. His laughter ended abruptly when she threw a piece of wood at him, hitting him in the arm.

"Guys, enough," Raimundo called as he tried to help steady both Clay and Kimiko.

"Great, told off by Rai," Rory grumbled, pushing herself to her feet again. Jack then caught her when Dojo seemed to drop from the sky, launching Rory high up as Raimundo struggled to help.

"Just be grateful, Rapunzel," Jack told her with a roll of his eyes. She didn't reply, but the look on her face told them that she wasn't happy about it.


The reason for all the thrashing around, the group soon found, was that Omi had challenged Dojo to a Xiaolin Showdown, managing to trick him into returning to his cage. Trapped, the dragon was forced to wait out the last few hours of his rampage, until he finally snapped out of his frenzy.

"I have to say, those were the worst hours of my life," Rory declared when Dojo finally regurgitated them. Kimiko had almost been sick herself when she found out how they were going to escape, but when Raimundo had pointed out the only other option, she had reluctantly agreed. "Don't think anything will top getting eaten by a dragon and then…" she trailed off, shuddering.

"I gotta agree with you there partner," Clay nodded fervently. Jack had already flown off, not willing to stick around as Dojo moaned on the ground. "And I don't think Kimiko is gonna leave any hot water for the rest of the world," he added. They'd all cleaned up, but Kimiko still hadn't emerged. Nearby, Omi was scrubbing the walls of what remained of the temple, looking sheepish.

"You did well, young Dragon, in resolving your most grievous error," Master Fung told him, having put Omi to work as punishment for freeing Dojo.

"I will do my best not to end the world as we know it in the future," Omi nodded, blushing as Master Fung nodded his approval.

"I did all that?" Dojo asked, woozy as he looked over at the damaged and destroyed buildings around them. Some were still smoking. "Funny, I can't remember a thing," he admitted.

"You don't remember eating Master Fung?" Raimundo asked the dragon.

"Or us?" Rory asked as Dojo thought hard about it.

"Nope! Nada! Just one big blur," Dojo admitted.

"Lucky for you," Rory couldn't help but laugh as she turned to watch Omi cleaning the soot off the wall. "It'll haunt my dreams," she told him.

"Sorry," Dojo lowered his head.

"Don't worry about it," Raimundo patted him sympathetically.

"Yeah, you couldn't help it," Clay agreed.

"We don't blame you for it," Rory nodded, turning back to him. "If anything, you showed us how easily you could kick our butts if you wanted," she grinned, and the others had to agree with her. Dojo gave a bashful smile, feeling a little better.

"Thanks guys," he managed to say.


Leaping out of a portal, Rory focused on the immediate wave of Heylin energy that always hit her like a sharp wind. It was almost unnerving just how used to the sensation she'd gotten since she'd unlocked the ability, but she was glad that she was able to use it to her advantage.

Especially when it meant making sure that Wuya wasn't lurking around.

"She still sulking that you gave us the Changing Chopsticks?" Rory asked, earning Jack's attention. He turned away from the repairs he'd been making to the jet he'd built, which had been badly damaged when Dojo had devoured it.

"Who knows? Hag hasn't been back since she ditched me back there," he shrugged.

"Good riddance," Rory snorted as she walked over and studied his newest creation. "Should have just stayed in that second puzzle box," she said, before Jack tapped her over the head lightly with the wrench in his hand. "Hey…" she grumbled.

"No need to whine, Rapunzel," he smirked at her, and she shot him a droll stare.

"Really? Coming from you?" Rory put her hands on her hips.

"I am not that bad," Jack defended, and she scoffed. He went red, and rolled his eyes as he turned away. "Rude…" he muttered.

"Then don't hit me with a wrench," Rory replied, rubbing her head again.

"About earlier," her frown faded when Jack's voice was lower. "Thanks. For uh…not shouting at me freaking out," he muttered, not looking at her. Rory stared for a long moment, baffled by his words.

"Damn, you really are too used to Wuya," Rory shook her head. "You don't have to thank me, dork," she said, and Jack glanced at her, frowning. He was used to the term, but this time it didn't feel malicious. As he tried to determine the reason behind it, she then grinned. "And you were real nice back there too, helping me," she teased, and he instantly scowled at her.

"Oh don't even start," Jack growled at her, making Rory laugh. "I mean it, don't do it Rapunzel," he warned. She walked over, and as he glared, she reached up and flicked his nose. Instantly he recoiled with a yelp.

"Rory," she corrected once again. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah," Jack muttered, rubbing his nose. "Come on," he then turned and walked away, and Rory tilted her head as he walked away from his work. "Got the new Goo Zombies game. You up for a few rounds?" he challenged. Rory blinked several times, before shrugging.

"Sure," she agreed, following him. "But don't complain when I kick your butt in a game just as much as over Shen Gong Wu," she told the older teen, who scoffed.

"Yeah right. And I seem to recall you losing five Shen Gong Wu today," he pointed out.

"Four," Rory corrected, flashing a sweet smile. "You gave us one back," she reminded him. Jack just smirked back.

"Yeah, but I kept the Monkey Staff," he said, and his victory only grew when her smile dropped instantly.

"Oh, now I'm gonna kick your butt," Rory vowed, putting her worry about her Soul Tie out of her mind as just for a moment, she felt it might not be the worst thing in the world.


Hope you liked it!