Chapter 30: Greek Myths and Super Sized Monks
Woo, I'm back! Sorry about the long wait guys. Among other things I had to get my wisdom teeth out and it took me a long time to heal. I would have still wrote something, but every time I tried to write a chapter it'd turn out all weird because of the painkillers I was taking. Anyway, I'm much better now and here to finally update!
Admittedly, this chapter isn't my best work. I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to do for the first half of the episode, so when I got to writing this was the result. Next chapter should be better though, so there's that to look forward to.
Valerie was peacefully reading the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series on the steps leading into the courtyard. The book was a whopping eight hundred pages long, an epic fantasy novel that seemed much darker than other such stories. She already had three books of the series in her possession and she ached to continue reading so she could finish. Alas, no such luck.
A yellow orb appeared in her line of vision, and Valerie looked up with a disgruntled look on her face. "Something wrong, Omi?" she asked politely.
"I was merely thinking that, as you do not have a place in the Dragon X Kumei Formation, perhaps you should work further on your other training," the little monk said pompously.
Valerie bristled. "I would, but the book I'm reading is too good to put down," she said pleasantly so Omi could get the point. He didn't; he stood there beaming at her. "And I will continue reading it," she added with some urgency. No dice. "After you leave," she finished with some venom in her voice. Valerie put her nose back to the pages, effectively cutting him off.
"Come on little man, leave her alone," she heard Raimundo tell Omi. The little monk started to whine, but Valerie tuned him out. She was at the part where Sansa Stark was at the tourney, where a man cleaved his horse in two after he lost a joust. She could vaguely hear the washed out noises of Kimiko and Clay around her-apparently they had joined the conversation-but Valerie was far too engrossed.
Suddenly Clay plucked the giant novel from her hands. "Hey!" she protested angrily, getting up to snatch her book back. She was then spun around to Master Fung, who had been standing right behind her.
"We were just talking about you," Kimiko told her. "You should really listen more often."
Valerie rolled her eyes. "So you were talking about me," she stated as she put her hands on her hips. "What for?"
"I was merely going to explain why the Dragon X Kumei Formation does not involve the Dragon of Aether," Master Fung replied serenely.
"It's because aether doesn't show up as often as the other four elements," Valerie quickly explained. "There's no pattern to the frequency nor can you foretell when it'll pop up. Also there's that-"
"Other notion which does not need to be discussed as of now," Master Fung interrupted her gently. "Shouldn't the rest of you continue working on the Formation?" The rest looked sheepish. Valerie took the opportunity to steal her book back.
As the others walked away, Valerie looked up to Master Fung. "Any particular reason why you don't want me to tell them about the whole 'amp' thing?" They have a right to know."
"They do, but it is better if as few people as possible know about your main power," Master Fung said. "If the information falls into the wrong hands, the consequences could be devastating."
"But they're my friends," Valerie pointed out. "We can trust them."
"But we cannot trust Wuya," he told her. "She has the power to read thoughts. She could find out about the information by peering into the minds of the other dragons."
"Okay, fair point," Valerie conceded. "But I can see this eventually blowing up in our faces."
"Let us hope it never comes to that," Master Fung said darkly. Dojo suddenly started slithering towards the others. The master perked up exponentially. "I believe it is a new Shen Gong Wu. You should join the others," he gently ordered her.
Valerie stared at her book wistfully and sighed.
Near a waterfall
Valerie was glad she chose to wear khaki shorts and a short-sleeved purple polo shirt with a green stripe across the chest. The area Dojo was flying past was a pristine mountain area full of sylvan creatures. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and the wind swept through Valerie's loose hair, making it look like a coppery river behind her.
Her contemplation of the wondrous place was rudely interrupted by Raimundo complaining. "Can't you fly any faster?"
Which was of course followed by: "Maybe you'd like to take over and I can sit on your back!"
"We just don't want to miss finding this new Shen Gong Wu, the Wings of Tinabi," Kimiko explained as she held the open Scroll.
"It lets you fly like an eagle, leaving a cool rainbow vapor trail," Dojo said giddily. Valerie had to admit, it sounded like a pretty cool Wu.
"Ooh, I must possess the Wings of Tinabi," Omi declared as he stood up on one leg and spread out his arms. "I want to fly like an eagle!" He got his wish when he lost his balance and tumbled off Dojo's back.
"Déjà vu," Valerie mumbled as Dojo swooped down to save him. Instead of shouting with joy Omi was screaming in fear, the euphoria of skydiving lost on him. As Dojo flew downward faster, stretching the rider's faces, Clay just got out a lasso and plucked Omi out of the air.
"Easy there, partner, or you'll go down like a rack of ribs," Clay said as he heaved Omi back onto the dragon's back. Once Omi was safe, Dojo flew past the forest, past a stream with a moose drinking from it. Valerie was pretty sure they frightened it to death.
It took a while, but Dojo finally spotted the cliff where the Wings of Tinabi were hiding. As per usual, Wuya and the evil villain wannabe were already polluting the air around the cliff. But what was out of the norm was the giant red Cyclops digging its hand in a giant hole.
Valerie rubbed her eyes and opened them. Yup. That was a Cyclops.
Said red monster held up the Wings and hugged it to its chest, obviously pleased with its new toy. And then he started licking it, much to the displeasure of Jack Spicer. Jack flew over to grab the Wu, only to get brutally bitch slapped away, flying right in front of the Xiaolin Apprentices.
Wuya noticed. "Cyclops! Rid us of those pests!" The Cyclops growled.
Jack Spicer immediately flew out of the way as Omi pointed a finger at them. "If you majestically accept defeat now, you will save yourself further embarrassment."
The Cyclops lifted a foot.
Raimundo spun around, saying, "Wind!" He quickly used dance-like moves to get out of the way of the monster's heavy footsteps. Unfortunately, as Raimundo escaped, the Cyclops got closer to the rest of the gang.
Omi did a bunch of cool martial arts tricks, going up the massive body of the Cyclops. With one final jump he neared the Wings of Tinabi, this close to getting it…only to have the Cyclops lift it out of the way at the last second. It stuck out its tongue playfully as Omi fell back to the ground painfully.
That was when Clay got out his lasso. The Cyclops loomed near, growling, its foul body odor making Valerie gag. Clay threw the lasso, only to have the Cyclops grab it and twirl it around its finger. Clay, who was still holding the rope, went up with it. He was then punted off the mountainside.
Kimiko screamed a war cry and leaped through the air, grabbing the Cyclops by its tiny orange ponytail. She flew around as the Cyclops jerked its head. It held up a hand, and Kimiko slammed into it. She was then flicked off the mountain as well.
Clay, deciding to be a big damn hero, jumped off the cliff he was on and grabbed Kimiko out of the air. They both landed on the other side, back with their friends. And the Cyclops.
The monster gave an angry scream as Clay and Kimiko landed back with their friends. Clay pointed a finger at the beast and declared, "You better get ready for a good old-fashioned butt kicking."
"DRAGON X KUMEI FORMATION!" four of the five Dragons shouted. They immediately fell into position. Valerie fell back to let them do their thing. And then the Cyclops sent a black laser beam out of his eye.
…It ended badly.
Back at the Temple
Stormy skies loomed overhead as Dojo finally landed in the courtyard.
"We will have to stand together to defeat the evil one-eyed one!" Omi said to the others as Dojo shape shifted back into his normal form.
"It's a Cyclops, Omi," Valerie explained. "You know, one of the many monsters from Greek mythology?"
"It doesn't matter, anyway," Kimiko pointed out. "Face it Omi; you may be tough, but the Cyclops isn't exactly in your weight class."
"That's right," Clay agreed. "If he was any bigger he'd be his own country."
"We may never win another Showdown," Raimundo despaired. "That dude is unstoppable."
"If only I was big," Omi said wistfully. He did a pose where his foot was over his head and he stood on pointed toes. "Then I too would be unstoppable!"
Master Fung chose that moment to walk into the courtyard. "Ah, but strength is not determined by one's size. Rather, by the size of one's strength." Fung put a fingertip to Omi's forehead. With a single push the little monk was sent flying back, hovering through the air in slow motion before landing on the ground.
Valerie scratched her chin in a meditative gesture. Master Fung's advice gave her an idea…
The Next Day
As Omi was trying to finds ways to get bigger, Valerie went ahead on creating her plan. At the last battle, she noticed that the Cyclops couldn't speak properly. When it activated the Wings of Tinabi, it didn't say the name in proper English. It was more like gibberish only the Cyclops could understand. That made Valerie think that the monster had a low intelligence level. So if it had low intelligence, maybe it was easily distracted? She had to find that out.
Setting off to practice in peace, Valerie tried to summon her Dragon element. She could feel the chi inside her rush about, spreading warmth throughout her body. She forced the energy to flow to her outstretched hands, trying to create a ball of light. Something shined in her hands; it was a miniscule speck of light that was gradually growing bigger, to the size of peanut, to a golf ball, to a baseball, it was growing bigger and bigger…
…Until it eventually popped.
Valerie rubbed at her eyes to get rid of the stars and felt the rush of chi slowly ebb away. Once she had her sight back, she started the process again, seeing the sparkly white light get bigger before bursting like a bubble. She tried again and again until finally, the fifteenth time, the ball didn't pop.
Exhausted, Valerie smiled. The light was still the size of a baseball, but she wasn't going to complain. Slowly she let the ball go, letting it hover in the air. She silently commanded it to move, and the ball responded, slowly climbing higher until it was a sparkly yellowish speck in the sky. And then she willed it gone, so it was like it never existed.
Satisfied, Valerie walked back to the courtyard, her legs feeling like gelatin. She walked up the steps to the outdoor eating area, where plates of food were already set. She collapsed into a chair laid her head back.
"What happened to you?" Kimiko asked worriedly.
Valerie gave a weak smile. "I think I found a way to distract our new Cyclops friend."
Raimundo, who had helped Kimiko set the table, turned her head towards her. "How'd you do that?"
"I'll show you later," Valerie groaned. "I'm tired."
Omi and Clay then walked in. Omi took a look at all the food and said, "Perhaps the secret lies within the food. I shall eat until I am big!" He then began to pig out, putting his face to a plate and chomping on everything he could reach. Some of the food reached Valerie; pieces of spaghetti and vegetables flew into her face. With a fatigued sigh she just wiped the mess off her face and took a slice of pizza for herself.
In response to Omi's appetite, Clay said, "You know, we got a saying back in Texas: you can't put a twenty gallon head in a ten gallon hat." Omi just continued eating instead.
"Yeah, you just made that up," Raimundo scoffed. And then he brightened. "Hey! Here's an idea. Watch this!" He leaped through the air, hands behind his back and a smirk on his face. He then got out a pair of chopsticks. "Changing Chopsticks!" he said, running around the table and turning all the food tiny.
"Now you can eat every last bite," Raimundo pointed out. Omi grabbed a miniscule hamburger and grinned.
"Raimundo, that is the answer," he declared. "I will grow bigger backwards!"
Kimiko, drenched in half eaten food, scowled. "You got me on that one."
"Clay, may I please borrow the Reversing Mirror?" Omi asked. Clay got the Mirror from his shirt and handed it to him. "Raimundo, may I please borrow the Changing Chopsticks?" Raimundo gave them to him.
Clay scratched his head, moving his hat up in the process. "Where are you going with this?"
Valerie's eyes widened as she realized exactly what Omi was trying to do. "Everyone in the yard! NOW!" she screeched, grabbing Raimundo and Kimiko by the arms and dragging them outside. When Clay just stood there, confused, Valerie went back and tried to yank him to safety. Alas, he was too heavy.
"Changing Chopsticks! Reversing Mirror!" Omi cried out. He immediately began to grow enormous, overtaking even Clay in height and weight until his giant head broke through the ceiling. Valerie and Clay ran outside as a piece of debris nearly hit them.
Omi just kept growing bigger and bigger until his head blocked out the sun. "Now there is nothing I cannot accomplish!" he cried out happily before his smile fell. "Except explaining to Master Fung the Temple ceiling," he added sheepishly.
And then Omi started to train. As Valerie went back to reading to replenish her strength, she could feel herself jumping up in her spot on the warm stone steps leading up to the Temple. She then settled back down and flipped a page. She jumped up again, only instead of landing back in her seat, she tumbled forward. Instead of crashing down the steps though, she front flipped down the steps, her book in one hand. She reached the bottom, giving a gymnastics pose.
Valerie walked towards the others and Omi began to breathe heavily, loudly sucking in air. He unfortunately also sucked in some flying geese, making him choke.
And then Dojo decided to slither up to them. "Everybody! Hot off the wire! A new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself." He got out the Ancient Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu and opened it. "The Glove of Jisaku attracts other objects. Sort of like a mystical, magnetic…" he floundered, trying to find the proper word for it. He gave up. "Whatever."
"Ooh, I have been awaiting this until I was so big," Omi said, putting his hand down to show his original height.
"Yeah, like, two minutes ago," Raimundo pointed out. Dojo chose that moment to enlarge himself. Omi immediately went to sit on Dojo's back; everyone who could run did so while screaming. Dojo screeched in pain as Omi sat on him, trying to lift himself out of the mess.
When Omi finally got off him, Clay said, "Looks like you'll have to hoof it. Just be careful not to step on anybody."
Kimiko held out an electronic. "Take my GPS. It's programmed to track Dojo." As everyone climbed onto Dojo, she continued: "That's why we had that chip installed." Dojo shot her a glare before flying off.
Later
At the next battle, Clay somehow got into a fight with the Cyclops. "XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN: GONG YE TAN PAI!" Pillars of earth shot up from the ground, as per Showdown rules. "Seismic Kick: Earth!" Clay shouted, kicking the monster in its stomach.
The monster screamed in pain as it went flying back, slamming into rock pillar into rock pillar into rock pillar before it finally stopped. Dust polluted the air, and everyone waited with baited breath as it slowly settled. The Cyclops then appeared, using the Wings of Tinabi to fly towards Clay and slamming him off the pillar.
"Come on, Clay, hold on!" Raimundo shouted encouragingly as the cowboy ran, his pillar spinning like a top.
"You can beat him!" Kimiko cried out as well.
The pillar top spun around another pillar and he was sent flying back towards the Cyclops. "Reversing Mirror!" Clay shouted. The monster was sent back into a pillar and it slid down towards the ground. Clay stood on his pillar triumphantly until the Cyclops kicked his pillar, shaking it into pieces. He fell through the cracks, losing the Showdown.
When Omi finally caught up with them-he was much slower since he was bigger-he asked, "What has happened?"
Clay looked down at the ground and took off his hat. "Got my hat handed to me, that's what."
As the Cyclops flew away using the Wings, Omi pointed out, "The Cyclops is still unstoppable, and now, because of me, we have lost two Shen Gong Wu."
Valerie didn't exactly see how this was his fault, but she was too dejected to point that out.
Apparently Clay decided to do that for her. "Don't beat yourself up Omi. I was the one who blew the Showdown."
"Yes, but only because I was not there to fight your battle," Omi said. "It is I to blame for your most humiliating defeat."
"Uh-huh," Clay deadpanned. "Excuse me while I crawl under a rock."
"Since you clearly cannot get along without me, I will turn to regular size." Omi got the Changing Chopsticks out of his robe. Even those were giant-sized. "Changing Chopsticks!" And Omi did shrink to normal form, slowly but surely. Valerie sighed with relief; now they didn't need to worry about giant Omi anymore.
Except that Omi kept shrinking, until he was half his normal height. "Hmm. I do not remember my fellow warriors being so big."
"Yeah, maybe you oughta give that bronco another ride," Clay said.
"Changing Chopsticks!" Omi said again, this time shrinking again. "Changing Chopsticks!" He was still shrinking. "Changing Chopsticks!" he said one last time, until he was the size of a grain of rice.
"Maybe you should stop while there's something left," Kimiko said anxiously. Clay kneeled down and the little guy climbed onto his shoe.
"You know, you used the Reversing Mirror and the Changing Chopsticks at the same time. I bet you need them both to get bigger," Valerie explained, now realizing the severity of the situation.
"I'm afraid 'cause of me we're shy one Reversing Mirror," Clay said shamefully.
"I have much thinking to do," Omi said in his now tiny voice. "Can you carry me back to the Temple? If I walk, I fear it will take many months."
Valerie sighed exhausted by everything that had happened. She wondered if Eric would believe her if she told him about Omi. As of now, anything was possible.
Like I said, not my best work. Still, I hope you enjoyed it.
So, thoughts anyone?