I should really chill with all these stories. I put a lot of stuff on my plate... But I've always done that. Anyways, this kinda came up in my head after re-watching the entire (original) Xiaolin Showdown series. It had been YEARS since I last saw it. I attempted to watch Chronicles...I watched the first episode...I hate it. What have they done to Dojo? *sigh* whatever. Needless to say, this story takes place in the Showdown universe and not Chronicles. It's uh, a double love story, I guess... But with...plot and stuff. Or something. Yeah. I have no idea how long this story will be, btw.

"Heads up, gang!" Dojo slithered into the room and slapped the golden scroll down before the Xiaolin Warriors. "We got a hot new Shen Gong Wu that just revealed itself, and we gotta be quick to catch this one!"

"Don't we always though?" Raimundo asked.

"You don't get it," the dragon said. "Come look." He opened the scroll as they gathered round to look. "It's the Sun-Chaser Stallion."

The moving images on the scroll showed them the silhouette of a small horse statuette that, when grabbed by its tail, grew to the size of a large horse and began to gallop away towards the sun.

"Kinda like the Serpent's Tail, the Sun-Chaser Stallion acts like it has a mind of its own once it's activated. When used correctly, you can ride it just like a horse, and its bronze body makes it a great warhorse. Also, it's fast."

"Woo-ee," Clay smirked. "Looks like my kinda Wu right there! Talk about a prize pony!"

"It's a horse, so what?" Raimundo rolled his eyes. "What makes it more dire than all the other Shen Gong Wu?"

"Well," Dojo huffed. "First of all, if activated without a rider, it just runs towards the sun, and nothing can stand in its way. It'll go around if it has to, but it much prefers straight barreling through people and smashing through walls. Not to mention, if anything or anyone tries to stop it in its pursuit of the sun, it puts up a real nasty fight," he shivered.

"So," Kimiko said. "We need to catch it quick before it hurts anyone."

"Right," Dojo nodded. "Oh, and, uh, one more tiny detail… When the sun disappears, so does it."

"What do you mean?" Omi asked.

"Just what I said. Once the sun goes down and disappears from sight, the Sun-Chaser Stallion disappears too. Poof! Gone! And we won't have a lot of daylight left once we get there."

"But where does it go?"

"No one knows. But it reappears at sunrise right in the same spot it vanished in the night before. The hardest part will be stopping it…uh, if we can catch it first. N-Now come on! We're wasting time!" A cloud of smoke appeared around the dragon and he grew ten times his size. "Hop on!"

.

"Ah, good old Rio!" Raimundo smiled as they flew over the city. "Hello Brazil!"

"Oh yes," Omi said. "You are from here, are you not?"

"Eh, around."

Dojo trembled. "Oh yeah, that Shen Gong Wu is close. Real close." He sniffed and snorted before pinpointing a location and diving down to land. "It's somewhere around here, I know it!"

He had landed on a cliff overlooking the city below and shrunk down to his smaller size once the warriors had slid off his back.

"How hard can it be to find a big bronze horse on the outskirts of Rio?" Raimundo shrugged.

"Is that sarcasm?" Dojo narrowed his eyes. "Because I could do without the sarcasm! Ah!" He sprung up, his tail going stiff. "It's here!"

As if on cue, they heard the neighing of a horse and the thunderous sound of hooves rapidly growing louder and closer.

"Are you sure it's just one horse?" Kimiko asked.

"Sounds like a whole herd of 'em!" Clay added.

"Look out!" Dojo pointed.

They had to jump out of the way as the bronze beast of a horse came barreling towards them from the trees, whinnying wildly as it stormed past them in a flash and began charging down the slope of the cliff.

"It's heading towards town!" Kimiko shouted. "We have to stop it before someone gets hurt!"

Clay was already readying his lasso. He threw it, looping the rope around the Stallion's thick neck, but the powerful beast had no reaction whatsoever to the rope tightening around it and kept running full-speed. Clay shouted as the rope tightened and the Stallion began to drag him along behind it down the cliff.

"Clay!"

"Hang on, pal," Raimundo called. "We're coming!"

"N-Now hang on there!" Clay held tightly to the rope with both hands, clenching his jaw as the Stallion dragged him across jagged rocks and flung debris in his face as it ran. "You really are one mighty strong horse! But I ain't never met no horse yet that I couldn't break!" He righted himself and dug his heels sharply into the ground, pulling with all his might.

The resistance finally stole the beast's attention away from the western sun, and it flung its head back and around, turning itself to face the boy. Loose rocks tumbled down the slope as they skidded to a halt. The Stallion had its limbs spread apart, digging its thick hooves into the ground, its head lowered forward as it resisted Clay's rope.

"Little help here!" Clay called over his shoulder. His arms were beginning to ache and the sounds from the straining rope told him that it would soon snap in two.

"Careful," Dojo shouted, "That's not just some one-trick pony!"

The Stallion opened its clenched jaw and a burst of red-hot flames flew from its mouth like a flamethrower. With a shout, Clay let go of the rope and ducked out of the way just in time to save himself but too slow to avoid getting his hat singed.

"You did not say that it could do that!" Omi snapped at the dragon.

He shrugged. "Eheh…d-did I forget to mention that part?"

The Stallion shot another blast of fire, but Kimiko leapt in front of the others. "Fire!" She spun in the air and kicked the flames back at the Stallion. Its body glowered orange from the heat but it had no real reaction to the burning flames lapping at its chest and face. When the flames dispersed, it snorted hot steam from its nostrils then suddenly spun around and took off towards the town again.

"Get back here!"

Clay stood up and brushed his hat off before placing it back atop his head. He shook his head as they watched Kimiko chase after the horse. "Dang. I don't know which of them two is more hot-headed. Kimiko or the horse!"

The Sun-Chaser Stallion caused quite a stir as it barreled through the streets, knocking things aside, smashing through market stalls, and very nearly trampling several terrified people. Raimundo had managed to catch up with it first after Kimiko stopped to pull someone free of a collapsed cart.

"Hiyaaaa – Oow!" He had leapt out in front of the Stallion and landed a hard kick to its chest, only harming himself in the process. "Owowow!" He clutched his painfilled leg as he fell to his back in the dirt then gasped as the Stallion reared up over him.

Luckily for him, his friends had caught up and Clay was able to rope Raimundo and pull him out of the way just as the Stallion's front hooves came slamming down where he was only mere moments before. Leaving deep hoofprints in the dusty road, the Stallion bolted away again only to suddenly fade and vanish as the last bit of sun sunk below the horizon.

"You okay there, partner?" Clay asked as he freed him from the rope.

"I think so." He tested his leg a bit before standing and dusting himself off. "Did you see that though?! That thing nearly killed me!"

"I warned you guys it was dangerous!" Dojo told him. "But you underestimated it because it's a horsey!"

"No, I underestimated it because I thought you were overexaggerating."

"And you still neglected to inform us that it could breathe fire," Omi added.

"Okay, okay! So, we're all at fault."

They leered at the dragon.

"Hey, estranhos!" An angry man approached them. "Was that your horse that just destroyed the market and nearly killed people?"

"Oh," Omi bowed. "Most apologies, good sir. We did not mean for –"

Raimundo pushed him out of the way and smiled. "Eheh. Nah, no! That wasn't our horse! We, uh, just happened to see it heading this way."

The man narrowed his eyes.

Before Omi could say anything, Raimundo began ushering him away with Clay close behind. "But, uh, we'll get a head start looking for who it does belong to while you guys tend to your stuff, yeah? Okay, tchau!"

"But Raimundo," Omi said as they turned the corner of a building. "The Sun-Chaser Stallion is a Shen Gong Wu, and, therefore, it technically does belong to us."

"I know that," he poked Omi's forehead.

"Ouch!"

"Haven't you guys noticed?" He threw his arms out. "We're on the bad side of Rio! Trust me, you don't wanna get on anyone's bad side here."

"But you just said that we are already on the 'bad side'."

"Don't think that's what he meant, Omi," Clay smiled.

"There you guys are," Kimiko joined them. "What happened?"

Omi answered. "Raimundo attempted to combat the Sun-Chaser Stallion. And failed."

Raimundo shot him a glare.

"But," Omi continued. "The Stallion vanished as the sun set, just as Dojo said it would."

"So, what now?"

"Well," Dojo replied. "We'll just have to wait 'til the sun comes up to try and catch it again. It'll appear right back where it vanished and start heading the opposite direction."

"So, it just goes back and forth all day?" Clay asked.

"Does the sun rise in the east and set in the west?"

"Um…yes?"

"Well, there's your answer."

"Then we should stay somewhere nearby," Omi said. "And wake up before sunrise to meet it!"

"But where?" Kimiko asked. "This area seems less than hospitable."

"I know!" Raimundo said suddenly. He had just recognized exactly where they were. "We can stay at Violet's old place. Assuming it's still there, I mean." He gestured for them to follow as he began to walk away.

"Who is this Violet you speak of?" Omi asked curiously. "Is she a friend of yours?"

His face pinkened a little. "Um, yeah. Well, she was."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "She… She was my best friend growing up. We were always together."

"What was she like?"

"Aw, she was the best! She was really cool, and smart, and funny, and cute – er, I mean… You know."

"No, I do not. That is why I asked."

Clay smirked. "Sounds like you had a thing for her."

Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Is there any girl he doesn't have a thing for?"

"Hey, whatever," Raimundo brushed them off. "She was the coolest girl ever! Uh, no offense, Kimiko."

"None taken. But Violet doesn't sound like a typical name for people around here."

"Well, she wasn't actually from Brazil."

"Where was she from?"

"Don't know. We were really young when we met and she couldn't remember where she was from."

"Oh," Omi interjected. "Was she an orphan like me?"

"Yeah. We met at the circus. Er, we, uh, worked together."

"You worked at a circus growing up?" Kimiko asked.

"My parents owned a circus, okay!"

"Ooh, that sounds fun," Omi smiled.

"Not for me it wasn't! I hated it! All of my sisters and brothers got to do the cool stuff while I was forced to wear a stupid clown costume and clean up after the animals! Those stupid monkeys were the worst…" He shot his friends a glare as they snickered.

"So," Kimiko said. "You grew up miserable in a family-owned circus." She snorted. "Erm, where did Violet play a role there?"

"I found her one night after a show. I had gone to feed the animals and she was there in the back petting the tigers. She had those monsters acting like kittens! She always had this weird way with animals… Anyways, she was petting them and talking to them like people…"

…

"You do all of that?" A little golden-haired girl was reaching her arm into a large cage and stroking the head of a very contented-looking tiger. "Doesn't it scare you?"

"Whoa, hey! What are you doing?!"

She gasped and withdrew her arm, spinning around to see the startled boy. He dropped the bucket he was carrying and ran over to her.

"Are you crazy?! Those guys will tear you apart!"

One of the tigers in the cage stood up and growled, and the girl shook her head. "No they won't! He just doesn't like you!"

"Yeah, I know he doesn't, but – Wait, what?" He took a step back to look her over.

She was about his age, from the looks of it, and had long curly hair and green eyes. She was wearing an old purple and white dress that was almost as dirty as her bare feet, and she looked a bit too thin. Still, she was rather cute.

"Uh, who are you anyway?"

"My name's Violet," she replied. "Who are you?" She crossed her arms behind her back and leaned forward to look at him.

"Uh, I'm Raimundo." He shook his head. "What are you doing back here?"

"I was just talking to the tigers." She said it as if it was something everyone did.

"Okay?" He glanced around. "Where are your parents?"

"Don't know," she shrugged.

"You're lost?"

"No. Not really."

He was confused. "What? Um, maybe you should come with me."

"Where?"

"To see my parents." He took a hold of her hand and led her away. "Maybe they'll know what to do…"

…

"My parents looked into it, but no one seemed to know where she came from or who her parents were," Raimundo said as he stopped walking. He pointed with his thumb up at the old building behind him. "Turns out she was crashing in this old abandoned place all alone, so my parents let her come stay with us. The animals always listened to her, and it was like she could really understand them, so they had her help a lot with training them. She was friends with everyone there, human and animal, but she and I were the closest. Don't bother with the door. It's barricaded from the inside with a bunch of heavy furniture. We'll have to get in through the window up there."

They followed his lead as he jumped up and kicked himself off the side of the building, sprung from the roof of the adjacent building, then landed and climbed in through the open top floor window.

"Woo, dusty," Dojo waved his hand in front of his face. "Looks like no one's been here in a while."

"You said you were friends," Kimiko said as they looked around the dark room. "Did something happen between you two?"

"Nah, nothing like that." He located an old oil lamp and was pleased when it worked, though it was very short on oil. "I don't know what happened. One day, she just disappeared."

"Like the Sun-Chaser Stallion?" Omi asked.

"I guess so. I mean, there was no trace of her." He stared at the flame for a long minute before placing the lamp down. "It's been almost four whole years since I last saw or heard from her. I had only just decided to stop looking a few days before Master Fung showed up to take me to the Xiaolin Temple."

"Oh, wow," Kimiko said. "Rai…"

"Sorry to hear that, buddy," Clay said.

"But…what could have happened to her?" Omi thought aloud.

Raimundo shrugged and turned away, walking back towards the window. "Well, you guys get some sleep. I'm gonna go for a walk."

The others exchanged worried looks. "You sure you don't need some sleep, too?" Clay asked.

"I'm not really tired. Don't worry, though. I won't stay out too long."

"Raimundo…" Kimiko said. "Are you okay?"

"Psh, why wouldn't I be?" There was a slight hint of annoyance in his tone all of a sudden. "I'm just going for a walk." He vaulted out the window onto the roof of the shorter building then slid down the side to land on the dusty ground and walk away.

…

Little Raimundo had led the strange girl outside and across the way towards his little home and opened the backdoor to call inside. "Papai! Come see!"

"Raimundo," his father, a tall man with a goatee, came to the door. "It's getting late. Did you finish your chores already?"

"Er, n-no. Not yet, I mean! Um…"

"Hm? Who's this little menina?"

"I'm Violet."

"I-I think she's lost or something," Raimundo told him. "I found her with the animals."

"Oh meu! Meu amor," he called back into the house. "Nós temos uma criança perdida!"

"Que?!" A pretty woman with thick, dark hair shoved herself through the doorway to look at the girl. "Oh, you poor thing! Come inside. I'll get you cleaned up and fed while meu marido looks into finding your parents."

"Okay," Violet said as she was ushered inside, "but I don't think he'll find them. I can't remember anything about having parents."

"Poor dear..."

Raimundo's father moved aside to let them in then turned back to his son. "We'll take care of her, now you get back to the animals. Make sure your chores are done before you go to bed!"

He sighed. "Sim sinhor..."

The next morning, Violet went out to the tent to find Raimundo collapsed in a pile of fresh hay. She leaned over him then poked his face.

"Huh? W-What?" He looked up drowzily at her, blinking away dizzy sleepiness. "Who – Oh, Violet." He rubbed his eyes clear and sat up.

She giggled. "You have hay in your hair."

"I finished my chores," he said, "but I must have passed out right after. Huh?"

She was clean and neat now, her golden hair shining in the morning sun that peeked through the tent's entrance. Her dress was mended and clean and she was now wearing matching shoes and tall socks.

"Oh, uh, you clean up nice..."

She leaned back and stuck out one of her legs. "Your mom fixed my dress and one of your sisters gave me these socks and slippers to match. They're very nice."

He huffed. "Yeah, to you... My sisters aren't nice to me. Uh, have they said anything about your parents?"

"They tried to figure it out for a while last night, and again right now, but I don't think they will. In the meantime, they said I could stay with you guys."

"Really? You're going to be living with us?" For some reason, it just got through to him how ridiculous he looked sitting covered in hay, so he stood up suddenly and started shaking himself off. "T-That's cool."

"Yeah," she smirked at his action. "Maybe I can help you take care of the animals sometimes?"

"Uh, sure! I mean, the tigers seem to like you."

"Raimundo!" His father popped into the tent. "Did you finish your chores last night?"

He stood up straight and stiff. "Y-Yes!"

"Good. Then you can show little Violet around the property and the town. She'll be staying with us until we can find her family."

"Er, okay!" He relaxed as his father left then scratched his head as Violet giggled at him. "Uh, I guess we'll just start here."

"Okay," she smiled.

...

Raimundo walked alone through the starlit streets of Rio, being careful to avoid any suspicious-looking people. He made his way quietly through the streets until he reached the old playground from his memories.

The grass was overgrown in some corners despite its frequent use during daylight hours, and the metal of some of the equipment was rusted and stiff.

He walked over to the old swingset and looked it over before carefully sitting himself on one of the swings. The rusty chains groaned but held him up as he rested his weight on the swing.

...

"See? I told you no one would be here. Most people leave an hour before sunset." Violet had led him over to the unkempt playground that day. "Be careful with the rusty stuff."

"Why'd you want to come here?" Raimundo looked around. He followed her over to a large tire laying on its side; long grass and flowers were poking out from its center.

The girl shrugged. "Why not? You said you wanted some peace from your siblings, right? Well, this place is pretty peaceful when no one else is around."

"Yeah, that's true." He looked at the flowers growing from the tire then pointed at them. "Those remind me... This whole time I thought you were named after a color, but then one of my sisters called you 'a pequena flor.'"

Violet thought for a moment. "That's... 'the little flower'?"

"Yeah. When she said that I remembered that violets are actually flowers." He crossed his arms. "Is the color named after the flower, or is it the other way around?"

She chuckled. "I've never thought about it."

"Oh well." He glanced around then made his way over to the swings, looking startled at the sound it made when he plopped his rear onto the seat.

"It always does that," Violet said as she joined him and took the other seat. "How long do you think before it finally breaks?" she asked as she began to swing.

"I don't even know how it's still standing," he replied. "Hey, minha flor..."

"Yeah?"

"It's been like a month since you showed up and we still haven't found out anything about your parents or where you came from."

She hummed and stared out at the playground.

"Aren't you scared or worried?"

"Why would I be?"

He used the tips of his toes to push against the ground and lightly move his swing, staring up at the chains to make sure they were stable. "Well, isn't it scary to be all alone and not remember anything?"

"I guess so," she admitted. "I mean, it was, but not anymore."

"Huh?" He looked at her.

She sent him a sweet smile. "I'm not alone. I have you! Right?"

He blushed a little. "R-Right!"

"Also, what did you call me earlier? Your flower?"

"Did I?!"

She laughed as his face turned a darker red.

To be continued...

I am also working (very slowly) on a Danny Phantom story, but it doesn't follow Danny. I like my OCs. Lol. I also seem to have a thing for romance, but hey, that's what most fan fiction is haha.

Anyways, this story so far! Thoughts? Opinions? Questions? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Either way, let me know! :)