The flight back felt shorter, and it was almost a blessing that it did. Raimundo had barely moved, as if terrified shifting would hurt Omi or lose him. He couldn't risk it, no matter how illogical it was.
They landed, and he still moved slowly as he slid from Dojo's back. The others were at his side quickly, bustling to the infirmary. Only a moment after he was set onto a mat, Omi shifted and groaned, a hand shakily reaching to his head before he winced and let it drop back to his side. He opened his eyes, grimacing at the light but still glancing around.
Seeing he was back in the temple, Omi sat up quickly, immediately hunching over in regret. His chest ached, the gash along his torso throbbing and reminding him of everything that had happened. His legs bent in front of him to support his upper body, arms clenched around his stomach.
Raimundo leaned closer, one gentle hand on Omi's shoulder. "Omi! Take it easy." Omi's shoulder relaxed slightly. He peered up, looking at the room of faces before his eyes landed on Jermaine.
"Jermaine!" Omi exclaimed. Any other words were lost in his throat as he held his head and winced. Jermaine stepped forward, taking Raimundo's place beside him and helping to ease Omi back onto the pillow. Omi peered at him through half closed eyes. "What are you doing here?"
Jermaine rubbed the back of his own head. "I was worried, man. They came to get me after they found out what happened to you an' there was no way I was staying behind." Omi would have been more touched by his concern if he wasn't in pain, or now full of his own worry.
Raimundo cleared his throat, putting a hand on Jermaine's shoulder. "And without him, you an' I would be pancakes. He saved our butts in the cave." Jermaine's eyes shifted away. Raimundo wasn't wrong, he guessed, but it wasn't like he'd been trying to save anyone.
Kimiko crossed her arms. "Which we will need to come back to." She stepped forward. "For now: Omi, can you tell us what happened to you after you left?"
Omi grunted, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before looking towards her. "I had finished informing Jermaine that I was on my way, when suddenly there was something chasing me. Or I suppose, somethings. A large swarm of insects surrounded the Silver Manta Ray and I couldn't see anything. I attempted to land, but with the lack of visibility, it wasn't the smoothest." He closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath. "It was after that that Exagmal made themself known. They were looking for the Orb of Tornami, but thankfully I left it in Raimundo's care."
It was a thick quiet, everyone still at Omi's words. Omi turned his head slightly to glance at them, a bit lost in the silence, and their refusal to now meet his eye.
Raimundo took a breath. "They wanted a trade, you for the orb. We took it."
The air turned cold, the tension doubling in weight. Mumbled, quiet, and distraught Omi asked, "You did what?" Raimundo opened his mouth to repeat himself, but was quickly cut off as Omi spoke again. "What the fuck did you do!?" At his words, Jack let out a loud gasp before shutting his mouth quickly when the others glared at him.
Omi pierced Raimundo with an icy glare. The room was frozen, no one had any idea what to say. Omi broke the silence himself, tone still sharp. "Only a fool would choose one soul over not handing a villain more power!" Omi's own rant was cut off as he groaned in pain.
Raimundo paused, taken aback at Omi's anger. "I was saving your life, dude. If you haven't noticed, you're way more important than any wu!" Raimundo's voice raised, and he wasn't sure what emotion was causing it: Anger, hurt, fear- it could have been any of them.
"Your concern is touching, but your actions remain foolish." Omi muttered, unable to speak any louder at this point. Raimundo almost seethed, taking deep breaths to bring himself back to Earth.
Raimundo lowered his voice and coldly spoke. "I did what I thought was best." He took another deep breath, trying to force the edge from his tone. "I didn't just decide, with no other thought, that you were more important: Exagmal isn't going to stop until we stop them, and you being eaten by bugs isn't going to do anything but make their job easier."
"Handing over the Orb was what, a hindrance?" Omi replied, turning his head to face the wall. Raimundo's shoulders tensed again, falling back as Clay placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked sharply at the cowboy before huffing and turning on his heel.
"Get some rest." He walked to the doorway, pausing but not looking back. "We have work to do. Clay, Kimiko, I'm going to need one of you to deliver a message."
Clay and Kimiko glanced at each other, having a feeling they knew exactly where Raimundo was going to send them. Clay nodded at him, turning back to Omi.
"Rest up, partner. We'll be back soon as can be. You know us, we ain't about to let the world get turned upside down." Clay pat his shoulder, Omi glanced at him but made no other moves to respond.
Kimiko stepped forward, kissing the temple of his forehead gently. "We're glad you're safe." She whispered before stepping back and following Clay from the room.
Jermaine immediately sat beside the bed, a much thicker layer of worry evident on his face now that they were alone. He almost paused to wonder why Jack had followed Raimundo with the others but, decided he really didn't care right now. He only cared that Omi was at least, in a safer place.
Omi gulped, still refusing to turn his head. "I am sorry to inconvenience you like this, my friend. I knew it would be a danger, but I did not think…"
"Yo Omi no - Man don't talk like that." Jermaine gave a weak smile. "You didn't want any of that to happen. I'm not inconvenienced, not by you bein' attacked - at least it isn't your fault if it was. I'm just…" Jermaine looked down, pausing and breathing in slowly before gently taking Omi's hand into his. "I'm really glad you're okay."
Omi ignored the blush spreading across his face and up to his ears, holding Jermaine's hand weakly. "I am fine. I will be alright." He closed his eyes. "I just need rest." His voice slowed, quieting as he quickly fell into slumber, still holding Jermaine's hand.
Raimundo walked swiftly away from the infirmary, trying to gain control of his emotions again. Turning, Jack's awkward but attentive stance caught his eye.
"What are you doing in here?" He asked.
Jack blinked, standing straighter and pausing as if he hadn't even realized he'd followed them out of the room. In reality, he had no answer, but made one up quickly. "I thought I'd be more help with whatever you have going on." He paused for a second before adding, "Gotta pay my temporary rent somehow, right?" Despite the fact he'd gotten little to no sleep since arriving. At the still pointed stare, Jack stood a bit straighter and slapped on a cocky grin. "Plus I'm a sucker for drama."
Raimundo let out a sigh, choosing to ignore Jack for the time being and focus on the next step: Recruitment. "Look. We barely got out of there, and Exagmal was ready to cream Omi and me - we survived by sheer luck. Luck isn't exactly something we can rely on every time though, so it's time to get who we can." He took another deep breath. "Anyone we can get. Kimiko - I need you to go to Chase's citadel. Catch them up to speed, and get them to come back here." He paused as she grimaced. "I know, but at this point we don't have much choice."
Kimiko let out a short huff in response, but nodded. Before she could verbally respond, Jack interjected.
"I can go with her! I know exactly how to get into that place." He smiled proudly.
"Or we can just… knock on the door? Since he's allegedly not going to kill us." She paused. "Well, me." She side eyed Jack who quickly deflated in his stance.
"Okay but where's the fun of knocking on doors? Plus the place is huge. They may not hear us if they aren't waiting, and I'll go ahead and guess you don't have either of them on speed dial." Jack pointed.
Kimiko blinked. "Who uses speed dial anymore?" She smirked as Jack glared at her in response.
"Fine, whatever - Kimiko, babysit Jack while you're at it." Raimundo ignored Jack's loud, insulted 'Hey!' and turned his head a bit. "Clay, I'm leaving you here on guard duty." Raimundo leaned against the wall. "I'll be tracking Wuya down again… She put out a tough deal but, not like I'm saying no to any other villain apparently." He put his hands in his pockets.
"Hold on now - you know there's a difference between whatever Wuya is askin' for, and not lettin' Omi become bug chow." Clay stepped forward a bit, tipping his hat back so Raimundo could see his eyes. Soft, blue, and concerned. Raimundo looked down to avoid his gaze, but didn't make any sound to disagree with him, so Clay continued. "I'll keep an eye on things here, you do what you have to." Raimundo sighed, but pushed himself from the wall and mentally shook away his doubts. For now, at least. He had more important things to focus on.
Kimiko had left to find Dojo again, who'd found his way to Omi's side, curled gently against his sleeping figure and watching him with the eyes of a father who'd never been so scared in his life. Despite his worry, and his dislike with returning to Chase's citadel, he agreed to escort Jack and her. Jermaine wished her luck, promising Dojo he'd stay by Omi's side.
"He'll be fine man, no worries. This is Omi we're talking about - like anything could actually take him down." Jermaine grinned with confidence that wobbled unsteadily behind it. He believed in Omi, he knew he was strong, but that didn't make any of the last few hours less nerve-wracking.
Dojo caught on as well and smiled back, nodding as he followed Kimiko from the room.
They took off not long after; Kimiko agreed to let Jack borrow the Eye of Dashi for protection. He needed something, and it was one he was decently good at handling now.
Raimundo stared at the glinting Tiger Claws, secured firmly on his hand. He'd used them so many times in the last couple of days. He looked at Clay, for one last reassuring nod, before swiping the air. The familiar purple vortex cut through the air, and he jumped in.
Clay watched the space where Raimundo vanished for another second before turning away. He was going to do a round around the temple grounds; fresh air would help him finally calm down as well. He peered into the infirmary as he passed it. Omi was still asleep, and Jermaine was holding his hand and staring at it with a small frown. Clay quickly looked away and sped up his pace a tad, evening out his breathing as he made it outside. He had a job to do. He had to focus, he couldn't break apart. Not that he was ever able to, barely okay to show his anger let alone anything else, anything weaker.
He took a deep breath, straightening his hat and beginning his patrol. Keep an eye out for trouble, stay behind and watch things. Much good that did last time, Clay thought as he stepped over a pile of rubble. He and Kimiko left in charge of watching the temple only for her to get hurt, and him to need saving from Spicer of all people. Some trustworthy protector he was.
His head snapped, staring at the entrance to the temple where stood a figure. Lips pursed in frustration and eyes glaring with accusation, Katnappe stood with three of her science-kittens held close in her arms.
"What are you doing here?" He stood firm, ready to defend from whatever she had planned.
Ashley rolled her eyes, nose twitching as she answered. "You need to watch the news every once in a while." She stepped forward, ignoring Clay's tensing shoulders and deeper stance. "The tides are receding. Like, leaving. Something is wrong, and no one is sure what it is. And when something weird is happening that others can't explain, it usually means you and those other goody losers are involved."
Clay stared at her for a moment, gears whirring in his mind. It clicked, and he stood up straight, realization plastered over his face. Side tracking, he looked at her in a mix of suspicion and curiosity. "Why are you here then? You don't seem a 'if I can't rule the world, no one can' type."
She looked at him in the same bored manner as she had been. "I don't care who rules the world, but I do care that my beach house is suddenly a desert house. I'm a kitty who likes to swim, thank you very much." She carefully put her kittens on the ground, giving them each a few pets. "So why exactly is this happening?"
Clay's mouth twitched in a small frown. Katnappe was a villain, even if one that had become more moderate annoyance and caring more for herself than evil, but she had come there on her own seeking answers. Clay wasn't sure how much they could trust her, though his mind quickly travelled to Raimundo, who was going to try and convince someone he trusted even less to join them. He looked at her before explaining everything.
Ashley didn't look at him as he finished, giving one of the kittens soft scratches behind its ear. "Well, it sounds like you'll need some more hands. I'm in." Clay blinked, before he could speak she continued. "Don't think this means anything, I'm just looking out for number one. And number one wants her beach house to have its correct value back."
Clay paused. "It doesn't mean we trust you," he added, though it went without saying as Ashley stood up straight and gave him a pointed grin. She walked past him her kittens following her closely, growling at Clay as they passed him. He stared off, his gut twisting at his own decision, unsure if it was the right thing to do. He took a deep breath and followed her so he could make sure Jermaine knew she was there peacefully. Or at least, she said she was.
Dojo landed in front of the citadel, voicing his displeasure at the decor since it'd been in sight.
"Who has a monster's face for an entrance? Tacky vore fetishists, that's who!" He shrunk and slithered up Kimiko's shoulders once they got off of him.
"I think it's cool," Jack commented, finally confident to disagree as his feet were back on the ground. Kimiko stared forward unamused and walked away from Jack to the door.
"So, expert, how do we get in?" She motioned to the closed stone in front of them. Jack began feeling it, nodding a bit as his hands grazed over the cold, slightly rough wall.
"Not through here. His door is difficult, and also it always opens on me," He murmured, reaching behind himself to turn his helipack on. "Come on. I usually use the way his crows get in and out." He held his hand out to her.
Kimiko stared at his hand before raising an eyebrow at him.
Jack huffed, "Look, this entrance isn't exactly something a dragon is going to fit through. It's either flying with me or climbing and hoping you can find it." Kimiko pursed her lips, but took his hand. In a swift motion he pulled her closer. Kimiko glared at him, especially as she saw him smirk. Dojo was still wrapped around her shoulders, giving an angry, protective glare as well.
"Don't push it, Spicer." She hissed. Jack just grinned at her, jumping off of the ground and boosting them into the air. He peered down, carefully maneuvering around the large structures and jutting rocks until he saw it: A narrow passage, just big enough to jump through. Or, it was just big enough when he was twelve; now, it'd be a bit of a squeeze. Nonetheless, he hovered close to it and helped Kimiko through first. Thankfully, she was just small enough to slip through and land on the ground below. Jack turned his helipack off, stepped onto the ledge, and began squeezing himself through the short space. Yeah, he'd definitely grown a few inches since he'd last bothered sneaking in.
It took some maneuvering, and he was pretty sure he heard a distinct crunching noise as he finally jammed himself in, but before he could react he was plummeting to the ground. He realized halfway to the ground that the crunching noise had been one of the rods on his helipack, which was now bent and useless. Jack waited patiently for the ground to make contact with his body and cause severe pain. Waited patiently with a loud shriek of terror, that is.
The ground didn't break him though. Instead, he was caught by two warm arms. Kimiko had bounded over, hopping to a wall and pushing herself off of it so she could catch Jack in time, landing safely on the tiled ground. Jack finally stopped screaming, though his eyes were still wide as he looked at Kimiko, who dropped him immediately.
"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his lower back. "Thanks for the soft landing," he muttered.
Kimiko walked past him. "Softer than plummeting to the ground and splatting like a watermelon," she commented. Jack huffed in anger and got to his feet, catching up with her and taking the lead. After all, he knew his way around this place pretty well.
For once, Jack's insistence that he knew what he was doing was correct. It wasn't too long before he pushed open the doors to an enormous library. Kimiko looked around, amazed at its sheer magnitude. She knew Chase had quite a few years under his belt to collect books, but to own this many, to have read this many, was still baffling to her.
Following the gentle noises of books being shuffled around, they were able to find Guan and Chase. Chase was floating off of the ground, skimming the spines of a large section of books, while Guan was at the table reading through a small stack of them. Without saying a word, Chase pulled one from the shelf and threw it in Guan's direction without turning his head. Guan caught it in one of his hands without looking and placed it in front of him as he continued to read.
The stacks of books, some left open, many on the ground and left askew, made it clear that they'd been looking for a while; likely since they'd been left alone the day before. Kimiko was sure they'd both realized that they had guests already, but if they hadn't, then Jack tripping over a short stack of books and falling flat on his face definitely announced their arrival.
Guan peered up, a bit of concern evident before Jack quickly pushed himself to his feet again. From there Guan's face relaxed, though he kept his eyes on them. "If you came to check our progress, we have yet to find anything."
Kimiko shook her head. "No. We came to - okay, I came to get you to come back with us. We, Omi - something happened." At the mention of Omi and her worried tone, both Chase and Guan paused completely. Chase drifted down gently to land on the ground. "Exagmal attacked Omi when he was going to get Jermaine, held Omi hostage until we gave them the Orb of Tornami, and now he's hurt and we're trying to figure out what to do. He's okay for now, Jermaine is with him, but we're still getting everyone we can," Kimiko explained. Chase and Guan shared a look, and Guan stood up.
"I will accompany you back to the temple," he said, walking to them. Chase turned back to the bookshelf, despite the fact the section was half empty.
"Wait, no. Both of you. Raimundo wants both of you there. We need everyone," Kimiko added quickly, though she wasn't sure how much she wanted them both there. Chase just glanced in their direction.
Jack almost stepped forward, but the intimidation he could feel oozing from Chase halted his steps. Still, he spoke. "Look, no offense to baldy here, but you're the one with the mad magic skills. The monks have elements, but we've seen about how useful that all gets. We need someone who can actually counteract Exagmal." Jack froze, a hopeful but slightly worried grin on his face. Chase turned his head fully to look at him, with the same cold disinterest Jack usually received. Finally, he slipped the book he'd been tipping out to examine further back onto the shelf, turned to face them, and nodded in agreement.
Jack grinned down at Kimiko, who snorted at his face and turned on her heel. "Yeah, okay cool. You rolled a natural 20 on a stat you have 4 in. Congrats." Jack scoffed in offense and padded off behind her, arguing his case, and his very high charisma modifier, thank you very much. The elder monks gave each other another glance, before following them from the room, Guan's hand tightly and securely around Chase's.
"Are we sure this is the best idea?" Chase muttered to him, watching the younger two squawk at each other over dungeons and food. "Omi is hurt. Jermaine is... Am I really someone they want skulking about?"
Guan gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Kimiko would not have made the distinction if they were not sure. I must also add that Jack's words are very true. You are the most advanced magic user we will have."
Chase hummed in response. Normally, reassurance with a bit of flattery could calm his nerves in times like this. The problem here was that there had never been a time like this.
"Besides," Guan added, "if you do not want them to fear you skulking about, perhaps don't skulk." Chase gave him a look, but turned away and continued following Kimiko and Jack.
Arriving back into the large entrance, Kimiko halted for a moment and peered at Dojo. "How exactly do we all plan to get there?" She asked, knowing full well Dojo would not particularly be up for Chase hitching a ride on him.
Chase followed her gaze, quickly understanding why she prompted the question. "I have my own ways of travel. I will meet you there." Guan turned to him, but before he could speak, Chase continued. "It is best you accompany them. If there happens to be another ambush, they will need you." Kimiko frowned at the comment, despite its truth. Guan stopped, but nodded in agreement.
Dojo grew to his full size and gave Chase a cold glance as he flew by. The stone door fell before him and they took off. He peered back at the entrance to the citadel. Stupid, tacky decor.
Raimundo landed on the cliff once again. It worked last time, it might as well be the place to start.
He was right, as sitting before him, her face giving off a calm, serene smile, Wuya sat enjoying the breeze. Beneath her gentle exterior though, he knew she was grinning with a sadistic glee. He'd come back, just like she knew he would.
"So dear, do we have a deal then?" She asked, not moving a muscle. Raimundo grimaced looking at her.
"That's still not my call." He shot back.
"Make it your call." She snapped. "I'm the only one who knows the spell to defeat Exagmal, and the only one who'd be able to use it. Do you think Chase could handle it? He's a toddler compared to me!"
Raimundo stepped forward. "Listen, he's coming to the temple. Why don't you hash out this whole power thing with him? Before we all, ya know, die."
"Before you die," Wuya corrected. "I'm rather good at surviving, if you don't remember."
Raimundo rolled his neck, doing his best to stay calm as he spoke. "That's just skippy. It doesn't change anything else, though. I'm still not the one with the hold on your powers, and Chase and I aren't exactly sporting friendship bracelets." Wuya stood up, turning and walking to him. He glared at her, tilting his chin up just a bit to stare at her.
Wuya looked him over again, before closing her eyes and smiling slyly. "Alright. I'll go with you, but you need to help me convince him. He's not a fan of mine either," Wuya grinned a bit. "He just doesn't have any friends."
Raimundo snorted, though he covered it quickly. "Fine. I'll help you try to convince him. I love playing marriage counselor."
Wuya huffed, crossing her arms. "He wishes." She stuck her nose in the air, and glared when Raimundo let out a bark of a laugh.
"Yeah, don't think he really wants your company anymore. He's hooked up with Guan." Raimundo glanced to the side, thinking about Guan and Chase being anything but enemies was still, odd to him.
Wuya stared for a moment. "Again? I knew Chase was laying low on his Heylin activities, but he's actually with that muscle boy?" Her laugh was just as quick, but laced with something less amused and more condescending. "They used to run off all the time back when I was the biggest threat around."
Raimundo raised an eyebrow, "They were dating then? I thought they were just best friends."
Wuya rolled her eyes. "If best friends constantly play naked twister, sure." Raimundo almost gagged, and decided it was best to change the subject now before he got more details he'd rather shave his head than hear.
"Come on, we should get to the temple. We don't have a lot of time to waste." Turning on his heel, he slashed through the air again, motioning for Wuya to follow him. Wuya hummed, jumping through before him.
Raimundo and Wuya made it back before the others, Wuya taking more joy than she should at Clay's own glare. Raimundo walked past her, giving her a look as he went to talk to Clay. It wasn't until he looked up at him again that he noticed behind Clay, a second blonde sat petting three small kittens that purred happily in her lap. She gave a large, sharp grin and waved a hand with far too pointed nails.
At Raimundo's look, Clay shrugged a bit. "She wanted to help. Figured she can't be much worse than Wuya or Chase bein' here." Raimundo looked at her again, then at Clay and let out a sigh, nodding with understanding. Then, Clay continued. "Plus, she mentioned something that is probably pretty important bit of info. Apparently, the tides are recedin'?"
Ashley looked up, interjecting. "With no like, tsunami warnings or whatever. The water is just gone, I'm guessing because of some weirdo magic crap." Raimundo looked at them questioningly.
"So you think whatever Exagmal is doing, they're taking ocean water to do it?" He asked.
"Makes some sense. They are a desert bug after all." Clay said, "I think they're a giant camel spider or somethin' like it at least."
Raimundo nodded again, thinking for a moment before it clicked. "That's why they wanted the Orb, and stole Jack's mirror. They're using it to drain the ocean- to what, make it one big desert? Would that even work?"
Clay shrugged a bit, "It's never happened, we're not really sure what exactly it'd cause. Just that a lot of things would die off, humans likely included."
Raimundo grimaced, running a hand through his hair. "And how long do you think it'll take them to drain the ocean? I didn't notice any change on the Rio beaches."
"If you didn't see a change yet, I'mma guess it'll be a few days before they can get much done. Even if they're usin' magic and the wu, the oceans are pretty huge." Clay tilted his head a bit. "That's just my guess though. I wouldn't exactly take our time kickin' their butt."
Before Raimundo could respond, Dojo landed back on the temple grounds. His passengers quickly hopped off of him, Dojo taking back to Kimiko's shoulders. Raimundo, Clay, and Wuya went outside to meet them, though Wuya only to shoot Guan a smarmy smile, taking great pleasure in his immediate distrustful face.
"Oh is that how you greet an old friend?" She taunted. Guan frowned deeper, choosing to ignore her over starting a fight this soon.
"Do you even know how to play nice, or does it physically hurt you not to be cruel for ten seconds?" Kimiko stepped forward.
Wuya raised an eyebrow at her, the face of amusement wiped clean. "Oh, the spitfire is giving me a lecture on attitude I see." Kimiko's shoulders tensed, she opened her mouth to shoot back a reply, but stopped as Clay put a calming hand on her shoulder. Kimiko let out a deep breath and began walking into the temple.
Guan looked to Raimundo, "Chase will arrive soon, he thought it best he travel a different way." Raimundo glanced back, thinking of Dojo and how out of all of them, he probably hated, or at least feared, Chase the most.
A shout from inside made them all turn, a bit alarmed as Kimiko yelled, "You have GOT to be kidding me!"
"I think she saw Ashley." Clay commented. Raimundo laughed a bit. It was definitely going to be an interesting time with all of them there.
It wasn't more than a minute before Chase showed up, landing just outside the temple and walking through, ignoring every gaze that hit him but Guan's. He walked to his side, once he'd stopped he immediately looked to Wuya.
"I thought they needed experts in magic, not dead weight." He snarked.
Wuya bristled, crossing her arms tapping her sharp nails against her forearm. "They do, it's why they called me in. You're just here to deliver my powers back to me." They glared at each other in a heavily aggressive silence for a moment.
"You are the last person who should have any amount of magical power here. I'd rather give Spicer that much control than let you have an ounce of it." Chase snarled. Jack shrank back a bit, and Wuya stepped closer to Chase.
"Well there isn't much choice, is there? Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you know how to defeat Exagmal?" Wuya smirked confidently as Chase glared harder at her, knowing she was right. They'd come up empty in their search, and they didn't have much time to keep looking. "That's what I thought. So why don't you be a good little delivery boy and give them back to me." Chase's face contorted to outrage at Wuya's condescending stare.
Before they could continue, Raimundo stepped between them and held out his hands in defense. "Look, none of this is ideal, but right now we have to see the big picture, and whack the giant bug that's messing it up with a correctly sized, magic newspaper." He turned to Chase "You wanna prove you're any level of trustworthy here? Compromise."
Chase frowned. "I never said I wanted to be trustworthy to you." Still, he continued. "Tell us the spell first. I am not going to be played for a fool by you."
Wuya tsked. "And give my leverage? Do you think I'm the fool instead? I'll give you the ingredients first. Then you give me my powers, and I will perform the spell." Chase glowered at her, but nodded in agreement to the deal. Wuya clasped her hands together. "Finally, my full power in reach. No time to waste then." She almost sung, passing Chase by with a wicked laugh and entering the temple.
The rest followed, Wuya began talking with Raimundo, she listed off different needed things as he quickly jotted them down, ignoring the disgust or curiosity he held for some for them. As this took place, Guan took to the infirmary, Chase following behind him. He peered in, face shifting to worry as he saw Omi asleep on the bed, his hand still in Jermaine's.
Jermaine looked up, a bit alarmed. He'd fallen asleep while everyone was gone, a bit tired from his early wake up call. His brows furrowed, unsure of who Guan was, but switching to anger as Chase stepped behind him.
"You must be Master Monk Guan." He said coldly. Guan nodded, stepping forward. Chase stayed at the wall, watching stoically. Jermaine didn't move much, thought he held Omi's hand a bit tighter as Guan approached.
"You must be Jermaine. Omi has spoken very highly of you. I am glad to finally meet you." Guan gave a short, friendly smile. Jermaine blinked, blushing a bit at the idea of Omi talking about him like that. He calmed down, just a tad. Just for Guan.
"Uh." He stuttered, his words catching back up with him. "You too- Omi told me about you too." He saved the mention of how much Omi looked up to him. His guess was that Guan knew very well how Omi saw him.
They were both distracted as Omi stirred in the bed. His teeth were barred, grit together in pain. His free hand clutching his chest as he tried to steady his breathing. Jermaine stood up, forgetting anything else but trying to help him. Guan leaned down, helping Jermaine sit Omi up just a bit.
"That is a rather bad wound. Exagmal did this, yes?" Jermaine nodded, an almost venomous look in his eyes at the mention of Exagmal. "He will not be able to fight until it is healed."
At this, Omi made it known he was fully awake by hissing out a soft, upset, "No."
Jermaine pat his shoulder gently and looked to Guan. "Isn't there some way to heal him faster? A wu, a spell, anything?"
Guan hummed before nodding once. "There is, but I cannot perform spells. There is only one person here who can." Guan turned his head to look at Chase, who made no move to come closer.
Jermaine glared at him, standing a bit protectively in front of Omi. "Yeah. I don't see that happening," he said flatly.
Guan stood up again, walking to Chase's side. "I know your past is… awful with him, but he is the only one here who can do it." Chase glanced at him. It was a true statement, but nonetheless he doubted Jermaine would step down. Not that he particularly blamed him.
Despite that, after another moment of glaring, Jermaine moved over a bit. He stayed close, still taking Omi's hand in his and refusing to move anymore. "Fine. You try anything, and it won't be pretty." Jermaine spoke coldly. They all knew his threat wasn't exactly well backed up, but it didn't stop Jermaine from standing tall and ready to follow through with it.
Chase approached carefully, waiting until he was fully at Omi's side before focusing his energy, his hands began to glow and he slowly moved it towards Omi's chest. Jermaine watched him like a hawk, but stood back as the soft green glow waved out, brighter and sharper for a moment.
Chase side eyed Omi. "This will sting for a moment." He muttered, the energy turning a soft blue. As it shifted, Omi grit his teeth again, almost hissing in pain. Jermaine stood ready to push Chase back, but before he could move further, Omi relaxed and the glowing stopped.
Chase took his hand back and turned from them, walking back to the wall. "He still shouldn't be doing anything with too much overexertion, but he will be fine." He continued back to Guan's side, pausing again. "I think they should be left alone now." Though Chase certainly meant more that he would be leaving them alone, Guan still followed him out.
"I will come by later again. Rest easy, both of you." He said, before vanishing from sight.
Jermaine glanced back down at Omi, who already looked considerably better. Jermaine sighed in relief, sitting back down and staring at his friend with a hint of joy. He was going to be alright before, sure. With this though he was alright right now, and not seeing him suffering or in pain was definitely a plus in Jermaine's book.
It was an hour before Raimundo, Clay, Kimiko, and Dojo had scoped out what the temple had in terms of ingredients. A plethora of odd, mildly disgusting things laid on the table, as Wuya checked them all to make sure they were good enough. She nodded finally, putting her hands on the table and leaning forward.
"Just three missing." She said. Taking the pen and paper from Raimundo's hand, she began to messily sketch the missing three. "Though I'm not surprised, they're not too easy to get a hold of. The first is a Root of Decades. The name is exactly one of the reasons it is special, the magic root ripens to its peak power after many decades of growth. The only problem is, animals find them delicious. They're often eaten or destroyed before they can finish growing, so finding one good enough isn't going to be easy." She finished the sketch, showing a spiraled, gnarling picture of what they supposed was the root.
"Next would be fur, from a Magnus Stupri Leo." Clay and Ashley snorted at the name. "That isn't what its actual name is. It's what I decided to call it since our last encounter. Normally a docile creature, it lives in one of the smaller magic infused jungles, and lucky us that it's hibernating now. We will need to collect the fur, hopefully without waking the beast."
"Take it they're not mornin' people?" Clay asked.
Wuya nodded. "Even more frustrating than Jack." Jack scoffed. He should have known Wuya's arrival meant a thousand insults would be coming his way. Even if this one held a bit of truth.
Wuya continued on, starting to draw the final ingredient. "The last will be the most difficult to obtain. Another creature that lives in the dark, musky caves around the swamps in the Land of Nowhere. The Ingens Venenum Puer, very angry, very bitey, and will be very hard to retrieve." Wuya set her hands down flat again. "So who is fetching what?"
It was soft murmuring for a moment. Jermaine had joined them at Raimundo's request, and Omi sat up awake in his room, listening closely.
From there, he called out. "I will take on the large venomous creature!"
"No, you won't!" Jermaine called back. "If we're going on anything, man, it's the root. Easiest one, less deadly, and I'm not about to let you go get extra messed up. No protesting this one guy!" He added, before Omi could even yell back. Instead he crossed his arms in a huff and laid back down.
Jermaine shook his head gently, guy was lucky they were letting him go on any expedition let alone think they were sending him on the most dangerous one.
"Uh yea, ya know what? That sounds good, the less deadly thing an all. I think I'm with them." Jack gulped a bit, looking at the other two options.
Raimundo rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright, I'm with the root group too then. Someone needs to keep a good eye on Jack, make sure Omi remains alright, and help Jermaine figure out. Whatever the hell is going on with his powers." He looked at Jermaine's hands.
"Oh cool, leave the dangerous stuff to us, Rai. I see how it is." Kimiko elbowed him gently, winking afterwards so he knew she was just trying to help him lighten up, and stay Raimundo. She turned to Clay and Ashley. "You two are pretty good with animals, right? What did the name of that thing translate to?"
Ashley grinned, "Oh, it means big f-"
"Freakin' lion." Clay cut her off, glaring back at her. "Big freakin' lion is all it means. I'm guessin' it'll be a fittin' name though."
"Well seeing as that's more than I know, and Wuya has firsthand experience with these things. I vote the four of us go give a big old cat a trim." She suggested, though the idea of working with Ashley and Wuya made her sick, the expertise they had was undeniable, and the faster this all got done the faster she could go back to ignoring them.
Ashley grinned, cupping her hands together. "I'd love to meet the big f-" Again, she was cut off, but this time by Wuya's objection.
"Why do I even have to go? I listed the ingredients, you should be fetching them for me." She put her hand to her chest, peaking one eye open as Kimiko held up the piece of paper she'd doodled on in front of her.
"I'm sorry, what animal is this? A bear? Lemur? Clay when he hasn't shaved? This is not enough to help us find this thing and you know it. You're coming with us." Kimiko slammed the paper down.
"With nothing to protect myself?" She blinked, faux innocence on her face. "How will I survive?" She turned to Chase, grinning.
Chase frowned at her. He waited a moment before reaching out to her with one, lime green glowing hand. It shook hers and the glow immediately transferred, but before she could take her hand away he pulled her closer.
"This is enough to shoot your little fireballs. You will get the rest once it is time to do the spell." Wuya scoffed, yanking her hand away.
"Always the fuddy duddy. Fine, I'll go along and help get the fur. I'll be a, team player, or whatever it's called." Sh shrugged, brushing the dirt from her sleeves.
"That leaves the final ingredient to us." Guan said. "Chase and I will retrieve it quickly, I promise."
"Oh I don't know about sending those two alone." Wuya snarked. "They always get distracted." She examined her nails casually, side eyeing them and smirking when Chase glared at her, he and Guan's face having a light shade of pink.
It was quiet for a moment, no one jumping at the chance to tag along with them. As much as Jack would have loved to try, even he knew that the mission they were going on was a bit out of his league.
Instead, Dojo slithered from Kimiko's shoulders, "I'll go with them. Makes sense right? One ferocious beast against another?"
"Oh, yes." Chase commented. "Would you happen to know any?" Guan glared at him, Chase just smirked back.
Dojo glared as well, a bit of a pout in his eyes. Still, despite the insult, he made his way onto Guan's shoulders.
Raimundo eyed the groups. He guessed it was fitting enough, at least everyone was mostly willing to work as a team for this. "Alright. Let's get going."
Thanks to my beta reader DragoNutt, and NachoSammich for betaing chapter 8 as well!
IDK why FFNet is being a pain with my chapters, I just noticed chapter 6 was mega messed up and I forgot to upload chapter 7 so. here all of that is an hopefully fixed up too. (And then chapter 8's spacing got wonky. Ugh)
anyways the next chapters will be fun!
