Chapter 21: Of Fire and Ice
Since in this story Raimundo became an Apprentice early, I decided to give him a power up like his friends. In the show, when the others said their element with a certain Shen Gong Wu, their powers increases exponentially. That never happened with Raimundo, so I decided to use some artistic license and give him a made up power up. Hope that's okay with you guys.
Once the newly built plaza was open, Master Fung wasted no time with training.
"Now my Xiaolin Apprentices," he said, "with your new ranking comes the learning of new skills. Kimiko, if you please." She stood up and walked up to Master Fung. He held up the Star Hanabi.
"Say the name of this Shen Gong Wu and then your dragon element and you shall unlock a unique power."
Kimiko took the Star and turned to the practice dummy in the corner. It was just an empty box with a beat up Jack-Bot head with an old pot for a hat. It was pretty stupid looking to be honest.
"STAR HANABI, FIRE!" Kimiko shouted. She threw the Wu at the test dummy. It was spinning with flames spewing out of the spokes. It hit the head of the dummy, making it explode loudly. All that was left was a pile of flames on top of the box body.
"Whoa," Clay said, impressed.
Omi went, "Oooh."
"Now that's what I call a power up," Raimundo agreed.
"I think it's still going," Valerie pointed out. The Star Hanabi was indeed traveling to the other crash test dummies littered around them. The dummies were set up in a circle; in one move the Star went through them all, setting them up in flames. Finally the Star landed in Kimiko's outstretched hand, smoke curling off of it.
"Omi, Clay, Valerie." Master Fung handed them the next Shen Gong Wu: the Orb of Tornami, the Third-Arm Sash, and the Eye of Dashi. Omi immediately shouted: "ORB OF TORNAMI, WATER!" A stream of water hit one of the piles of fire, but instead of splashing the flames, the water became ice. The fire had literally been turned into ice.
"THIRD-ARM SASH, EARTH!" The Sash's arm sprang out, but instead of a blue fist it was a giant earthen one. It hit one of the walls of the obstacle course and it shattered to pieces.
"This Sash is as strong as stone!" Clay quipped.
Valerie took a look at some of the other test dummies around the course. They were farther away, but maybe she could hit them with her new upgrade. "EYE OF DASHI, AETHER!" she cried out. Five arches of lightning erupted from the Eye and reached out towards the figures. The lightning exploded on impact, creating a harmony of destruction. Valerie blinked her eyes to get rid of the flashes, happy to see five test dummies up in flame. She finished with, "Well, that was cool."
"For you, Raimundo," Master Fung said, handing the Lusitanic boy the Sword of the Storm. With a giant smirk, he yelled, "SWORD OF THE STORM, WIND!" He slashed the air and the wind picked up exponentially. A miniature tornado appeared out of nowhere, and it circled the playing field. It quickly sucked up the flames of the last attack, creating a blazing whirlwind before snuffing itself out. All that was left were the charred remains of the destroyed practice dummies.
"Now that's a bang up job," Clay remarked clapping his friend on the shoulder.
"This is most exhilarating!" Omi cried out, running around in circles. "I have never felt this powerful before."
"I don't feel all that different, to be honest," Valerie admitted.
"Our new upgrades are technically a bunch of words strung together," Raimundo pointed out much to Omi's chagrin. He stopped running around and slumped his shoulders dejectedly. His bottom lip even quivered.
"Hey, a new power is still a new power," Kimiko said cheerfully. "And I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling on top of the world right now."
At the Armstrong household
"So let me get this straight," Theo said slowly. "If we use the Serpent's Tail and this Reversing Mirror in tandem you get your body back?"
"Yes, it's as simple as that," Wuya said. They were still in the Armstrong apartment, this time sitting civilly around the kitchen table. Hazel and Theo had their hands wrapped around mugs of tea-they were going to offer Wuya some, but then they remembered she was just a disembodied voice.
"And if we help you get your body back, you'll get us anything we desire?" Hazel asked incredulously. "Just like that."
"Why, yes," Wuya said unctuously. "You see, once I get my body back my Heylin magic returns with it. I can quite literally give you anything your heart desires."
"Like world domination," Hazel stated, innocently sipping her tea. Wuya's smirk slipped a little.
"Actually, I'm going to be supreme ruler of the world, so you dominating the earth might not be so easy," she said nervously. "But I can make you my right hand man."
"Hmm, tempting," Hazel drew out. She gave an unimpressed stare.
"I can still help," Theo pointed out. "I don't want world domination. I just hunted the Shen Gong Wu for the kicks."
"Seriously?" Wuya asked flatly.
Hazel slammed her mug down. "What?!" she shrieked glaring at her twin. "You told me you wanted to rule with me!"
"No, I said I wanted extra cheese on the pizza we were ordering when we had that conversation," Theo said. "You just took it completely out of context."
"But-but-!"
"So you'll help me?" Wuya asked Theo hopefully. The boy shrugged.
"Sure. When is this Reversing Mirror activating anyway?"
Wuya's yellow eyes glowed brightly. "Right now."
As Theo stood up from the table, Hazel yelled, "That's it? You're just going to walk away like you didn't lie to me for months?"
"Haze, I always told you that I had no interest in world domination," Theo pointed out. "You just never listened. But," he added hesitantly, "being a right hand man might not be so bad. You could have access to major territory, right?" He turned to Wuya.
"Of course!" she trilled. "Having absolute control over one nation might not be so bad. It's always better to know when to cut your losses and take what you can gain."
Hazel seethed; she hated this, this team up. Especially when her own brother-her twin-spoke up against her. They were supposed to be the dream team, the invincible duo; Theo had the audacity to throw that out the window the first chance he got. That would prove to be a mistake. She'd show him that.
"I'm piloting the jet," Hazel seethed. As Theo sauntered over to the front door with the ghostly hag, Hazel began to see red. She'd show them that Hazel Armstrong was not to be messed with. She'd show them all.
Back at the Temple
In the room of the Ancient Scroll, Master Fung said, "Ah, here it is: the Reversing Mirror. It reverses the effects of any Shen Gong Wu. For example, the Two-Ton Tunic would become as light as a feather."
"It is, as Kimiko might say, heavy," Omi deadpanned. "Or not!" Raimundo just groaned.
"Jokes aren't going to get Shen Gong Wu, people!" Dojo announced. "Saddle up!"
At a Lighthouse in…wherever
"Okay, seriously, what continent are we on?" Valerie asked out loud as Dojo neared the rocky shores. The frigid waves were crashing against the lighthouse; she could feel the wind searing through her thin off white wife beater. She should have worn warmer clothing than gray cargo pants and a hat. At least her loose hair offered some warmth.
"So are we in Newfoundland or what?" Valerie asked as Dojo landed.
"I think we're close to the Bermuda Triangle," Raimundo said, adding spooky sound effects at the end of the sentence. Valerie rolled her eyes and followed the others up the lighthouse. It was a long trek, but they arrived at the top of the house just in time to see Theo and Jack fighting it out for the Reversing Mirror.
"Look out!" Clay cried out. They all ducked as a dismantled Jack-Bot crashed into the wall behind them.
"Komori Sword!" Hazel said as she disappeared into the shadows. Wuya was hovering where the blonde once stood, the Reversing Mirror still hanging on the wall.
"Mantis Flip Coin!" Theo shouted as he flipped through the air to attack Jack.
"Tangled Web Comb!" Jack said to catch Theo, but he was too fast.
"Should we join in?" Valerie asked as quietly as she could. She didn't want to alert anyone else to their presence just yet.
"No, I think Rai has this whole thing covered." Dojo pointed to the boy, who was creeping along past the destroyed robots and the fighting villains. He had one hand out towards the Mirror-he quickly dodged the head of a broken Jack-Bot-Hazel was nowhere to be seen-he was this close-
"Oh look; a Xiaolin Showdown," Hazel said cheerfully her lips stretched out into Cheshire cat grin. Half of her body was still stuck in the shadows. Only her upper torso, head, and one arm could be seen. The rest was a tail of darkness.
"Raimundo, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown."
"Name your game."
"This should really fit the environment, so let's play flashlight tag," Hazel mused. "My Komori Sword against…" she waited for Raimundo.
He held up his Wu. "My Golden Tiger Claws."
"First one caught in the light beam loses," she continued, the rest of her body suddenly appearing. She held up the evil looking Komori Sword.
"Let's go!" Raimundo said.
"XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" they said in cadence. Light washed over from the bulb in the middle of the room, becoming brighter and brighter. Dust from the rocky shore exploded to the sky. And then the lighthouse broke apart, the bricks turning into strange looking Lego pieces. The good guys fell from the top of the lighthouse to the bottom, onto the shore. They looked back to see the lighthouse completely splintered apart, light billowing out from the center like a glow stick.
They could hear the whirring sounds of Jack's heli-pack, and then they heard the screeching of the evil boy genius himself as he argued with Theo. Everyone looked behind them to see Theo grabbing Jack by the waist, forcing him to descend at an alarmingly fast rate. Apparently Theo didn't want to die from the high altitude as he fell, so he had latched onto Jack. And now they were tumbling to the ground screaming at each other.
"GONG YI TAN PAI!" the fighters in the lighthouse shouted. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the Showdown. A light beam quickly cascaded over; they both jumped downward to avoid being hit.
As another light beam neared her, Hazel cried out, "Komori Sword!" and blended into the shadows. Raimundo activated his Golden Tiger Claws and jumped into the rip just as another light beam started to wash over him.
"Haze should have really picked an easier Showdown," Theo noted. Both he and Jack were standing a good five feet away from each other. Wuya was right in between them.
Raimundo, after jumping into different reality rips, was now dangling on a piece of the lighthouse. Hazel's head and torso suddenly appeared behind him. She quickly grabbed him by the back and pried him off the window.
"Raimundo," she said in a sing-song voice, "head towards the light." She threw him into the path of an oncoming light beam-how she was so strong was beyond everyone. Raimundo quickly slashed the air and curled himself into a little ball. He fell into the rip just as the light hit the window. Hazel had already disappeared so she wasn't hit.
Raimundo appeared again on top of a pair of steps. He was looking around frantically, the light beam nearing him. And then a pair of hands appeared from behind him and pushed him roughly off the steps. Raimundo fell through the air, the light washing over him before he could escape.
The Showdown ended with Raimundo falling flat on his face.
Kimiko immediately skated over to help him, kneeling down and getting her pretty white skirt dirty in the process. "You okay?"
Raimundo spat out pebbles and said sheepishly, "Not the best way to start my Xiaolin Apprenticeship."
"Hey, these things happen," Dojo said consolingly. "You win some you lose some. No biggie."
"So where do you want them?" Hazel asked Wuya. Everyone turned to see the Armstrong twins over with the Heylin witch; she was leering heavily at them.
"Did Wuya split up from Jack?" Clay asked. Everyone peered over at Spicer, who was already flying away thanks to his heli-pack. "I'm gonna take that as a yes," the cowboy added.
With a pirouette Hazel slashed a rip in reality with the Golden Tiger Claws. Theo, holding the won Shen Gong Wu, said, "Later Xiaolin warriors! We got a world to rule!" He then jumped into the hole followed by Hazel and ending with a cackling Wuya.
"Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" Raimundo asked as the rip closed.
"Oh yeah," Valerie said.
"Definitely," Clay agreed.
"Good, I didn't want to be the only one."
On top of a rocky cliff
"Yes, this is the perfect place to plan our conquest of the world!" Wuya cried out happily. The Armstrong twins were less than impressed.
"I thought we were going to do this in style," Theo complained. "You know, videogames, big screen TVs, the whole works."
"Patience dear Theo," Wuya said, hovering over to him. "All that and more will be yours soon. The Reversing Mirror is the key to our victory."
"What does it do anyway?" Hazel asked. "You never told us."
"It reverses the power of any Shen Gong Wu reflected in the Mirror," Wuya quickly explained. "For example, the Two-Ton Tunic would weigh practically nothing."
Theo immediately caught on. "So if you used a Wu that could turn you ghostly, and it was reflected in the Mirror…"
"We need to go to the Xiaolin Temple," Hazel suddenly said, holding up the Golden Tiger Claws.
Back at said Temple
"Does anyone else get the feeling that something really bad is about to happen?" Raimundo said ominously. The fact that it was dark out created the perfect ambience for his suspicion.
"Not really," Clay said as he whittled a piece of wood into a likeness of himself. He accidentally snapped off the head of the piece. He then threw it into a growing pile of other wooden failures.
"Though I wonder what happened for Wuya to switch sides like that," Kimiko said as she wandered towards the others. "I mean, Hazel and Theo are obviously bad guys, but Theo said they weren't really interested in the whole world domination thing."
Valerie turned off her flashlight and closed her book. "Well, we only heard what Theo told us. Maybe it's different for Hazel."
Omi, who had been training off in the distance, bounded over to cut in. "I doubt that. Theo is obviously the smart one of the two. If he says they are not interested in evil, then they are not interested in evil."
"Why is Theo the smart one?" Valerie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is it because he's weaker than his twin sister?"
Omi seemed to find the hole in 'flawless' logic. "No-I mean-that is to say-"
Whatever Omi was about to say was lost when a sudden chill settled over them. The wind was picking up, but it was unnatural. Gold dust washed over the ground; it was the magic kind found only in-
"The Shen Gong Wu vault!" Raimundo revealed.
"Someone's opened it!" Clay cried out. They all ran to the white tower. Clay kicked down the doors and they all saw Theo standing over open vault. He looked so out of place in the ancient room, in his jeans and X-Files t-shirt and the bored look on his face.
Hazel looked even more out of place, but once they saw the Serpent's Tail in her hands they all forgot about that.
"Put down the Wu and you don't get hurt," Valerie growled menacingly. Everyone was in kung fu poses, waiting to attack.
"Wanna go for a Xiaolin slap down?" Hazel asked her brother. He shrugged.
"Not really. Wuya's waiting for us, remember?" Theo pointed out. "Though I'd hate to leave without leaving a present." His lips curled into a diabolical smile as he snapped his fingers.
Suddenly the earth below the Xiaolin warriors exploded. They all flew upward towards the ceiling, debris and smoke billowing up with them. Valerie could see a gray rip out of the corner of her eye-the bad guys were escaping. Not that the good guys could do anything about it, since they were falling to their deaths.
"WIND!" Raimundo shouted. A cool pillow of air had been placed beneath them, slowing their descent. They all landed heavily on their feet, right on top of the mess that was the Shen Gong Wu vault.
"Nice goin' there, partner!"Clay clapped Rai on the back.
"Quick thinking there," Valerie agreed as Omi began to compliment the Brazilian.
"What has happened here?" the alarmed voice of Master Fung sounded through the room. He took one look at the cracks under their feet and his eyes widened.
As Kimiko launched into an explanation of what went down, Valerie and Clay went over to the opening of the vault and began to climb inside. Dust particles hovered through the air and the lights were out, so they couldn't see the damage.
"If I told you once I told you a thousand times!" Dojo said from Master Fung's shoulder. "Put a padlock on this thing!"
Clay and Valerie walked out of the vault. Valerie said, "It's no good. We can't tell how badly damaged the vault is."
"On the bright side they only rustled one Shen Gong Wu," Clay said. "The Serpent's Tail."
"Why would Hazel and Theo take just one Shen Gong Wu?" Omi asked curiously.
"Because that one Shen Gong Wu is all Wuya needs," Master Fung said gravely.
"Is the Serpent's Tail really all that?" Kimiko wondered.
"You got that ominous thing going on," Dojo commented to the master. "Care to spill the beans?"
"On its own, the Serpent's Tail is no great threat," Fung explained. "It makes a solid person ghostly."
Dojo, who had been rubbing his chin in contemplation, slowly cottoned on. "…but combined with the Reversing Mirror, it would turn a ghostly person solid."
"Wuya," everyone seethed in an 'Oh, crap!' moment.
"Precisely," Fung said.
That was all the pressure they needed to move out.
"Any luck Dojo?" Kimiko asked the dragon nervously as they flew through the air at light speed.
"Zip. Nada. Bumpkis."
"Please hurry," Omi pleaded. "If Wuya is restored to her fleshy form life as we know it will cease to exist."
Suddenly Dojo stopped in midair. The acceleration plus the stop forced the rest of Dojo's body into a small pretzel form. Valerie was squeezed into the dragon's back along with the others before he stretched himself out again. He turned his head to face the little guy and snarled:
"I get it! It's important. I'm doing my best. The additional pressure? I do not need!"
"S-sorry." Omi quickly gave a peace sign and flashed him a toothy grin.
"Oh forget it," Dojo said with a sigh. "It's just freshly activated Shen Gong Wu are easy to track. But an old one? I don't even know-!" Suddenly he made snorting sounds as he sniffed out the Wu. "Wait hold on, I got something. Is that the Serpent's Tail…?"
Dojo suddenly began to vibrate violently with everyone clinging on to him for dear life. "Can you not do this while we're flying?" Raimundo roared as Dojo settled down.
"Bingo!" Dojo flew downwards into the clouds. As they neared the ground, they could see two people in the grassy terrain in between mountains. One of them had the Serpent's Tail.
As Dojo landed, they could see Theo with the Tail, and Wuya right in front of the Reversing Mirror. Hazel was right in front of them, Komori Sword in hand.
"Thought you show up," she said distastefully. "Theo, hurry it up!"
"Oh no, you don't!" Clay immediately ran up to clobber Theo, but then Hazel blocked him. With one slash of her Sword she sent him back, the front of his shirt ripped in half.
"Serpent's Tail!" Theo shouted, suddenly becoming ghostly. He flew towards Wuya and the Reversing Mirror.
"Can't we stop him?" Kimiko asked hysterically.
"He's a ghost, remember?" Valerie said nearly in shock. "We can't do anything."
Wuya seemed to pick up on that, for she cackled triumphantly before shouting, "Reversing Mirror!" As the two entities collided, bright light exploded from the Mirror, washing over everything. The wind turned into a gale force with everyone sliding back from the impact. Lightning flashed from the sky as storm clouds collided into each other.
Right before everyone's eyes, the bright moon slowly turned black. A shadow settled over the land, turning the world bleak and gray. Valerie stepped back in fright and heard a crunch sound underfoot. She looked down to see the green grass turn a brittle gray. She looked around to see all the vegetation turn skeletal white. The trees looked petrified and the little stream not far away from them dried up.
"This is bad," Kimiko stated. "Very, very bad."
"If I had hair, it would be standing on end," Omi said.
"If I had boots I'd be quaking in them," Dojo revealed.
"Wanna borrow mine?" Clay asked him.
"No thanks; no feet."
"It's the end of everything," Raimundo said slowly, taking a good long look at the surroundings.
"Well, we're doomed," Valerie said dryly. As if to illustrate the point, Wuya began to cackle. Except it wasn't Wuya, it couldn't be. All the cracks in the ground and the poisonous green energy lead up to a voluptuous woman in a knee length black dress with long flowing sleeves and a red sash at her waist and lovely red hair falling against her back. But she had Wuya's mask, so it had to be her.
And then the woman took her mask off, revealing bright green eyes with black eyelash-like markings underneath them. She had thin black eyebrows and a small nose. Against her sharp, wolf-like teeth were full red lips. And to top it all off she had pointy elf ears.
"Wuya?" Omi asked hesitantly.
"In the flesh," she said her voice low and sultry. And then she laughed her familiar raspy cackle. Green fire swarmed around her like a cocoon, reaching higher and higher until they reached the sky. The flames licked the ground, scorching the dead earth.
Dead. Dead. Everything was dead. Every animal, every plant, every person. Did that mean Eric…?
Valerie screamed as the world was ended in fire.
Yes, that last line and the chapter title is taken from the Robert Frost poem "Fire and Ice." It seemed fitting.
So, thoughts anyone?