Chapter 31: Death Valley and Police Boxes
The dream sequence later in the chapter has some significant plot convenience, so don't think of it as a big lipped alligator moment or anything.
Also, thanks for last chapter's awesome reviews. I'm glad you guys still liked the chapter despite everything I mentioned in the author's note. :)
On with the show!
Valerie was watching an old episode of Doctor Who when she heard a knock on her door. Pausing the video, she slid off her large blue headphones and looked up. It was Raimundo, leaning against the doorframe, hands in his pockets.
"What's up?" Valerie asked.
"You haven't seen Omi around, have you?" he asked worriedly.
She shook her head. "No, I haven't. Though if he were around, it'd be pretty hard to spot him now," she added.
Raimundo chuckled. "That's true. What're you watching?" he added curiously.
"Some old Doctor Who episode I found online," Valerie answered, turning back to the frozen scene. K-9 was on it in all his retro glory. "They're pretty hard to find, though that's to be expected."
Raimundo went over and peered at the screen. "They were on VHS tapes right? It'd be pretty hard to format that onto a computer program."
"That, and thanks to poor archiving nearly a hundred of the original episodes are now lost," Valerie said, looking at him. He raised an eyebrow.
"A hundred episodes?"
"Yup." Valerie drew out the word so it ended with a pop. "Personally I blame the executives."
He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, come with me. I found a surprise for Omi."
Later
Raimundo had found a lovely birdhouse for the newly shrunken Omi. It was Asian-style and large for its size, built like a two story temple. Valerie found it too pretty to just be a birdhouse.
Once Clay had found Omi, he put the miniscule monk in front of the house. "We thought maybe this would make you feel safe until you're back to normal," Kimiko said cheerily.
Omi scoffed. "Safe? Just because I am small does not mean I am no longer brave." He turned on his heels and marched through the doorway…only to run out screaming. "Look out! It is an enormous beast!" he cried out as a worm wiggled out of the doorway.
Raimundo plucked the insect off the table. "Oh, it's just a worm. I meant to clean the birdhouse out first." He gave a sheepish grin.
"We just don't want you to get eaten up by a stray cat or something," Clay told Omi gently. "It's only temporary."
Omi shook his head. "Perhaps not. Master Fung said if I am not returned to normal within a day, I will forever remain small." He looked down dejectedly.
As everyone looked at each other seriously, Valerie piped up: "Seems like a good opportunity to break into Jack's lab."
Later, in the morning
Everyone crept through the forest surrounding Jack's house. "All we gotta do is sneak inside, find the Reversing Mirror, take on a creature a thousand times our size…in other words, same old same old," Kimiko added as an afterthought.
"Oh is that all?" Valerie mumbled as Kimiko rolled her eyes. The Asian quickly pulled a snag away from her sailor fuku and continued.
"At least we have the element of surprise."
And then they all heard giant footsteps coming their way.
"You were saying?" Valerie said dryly.
A giant shadow loomed over them, and a growl came out of the Cyclops's throat. It was also drooling rather heavily.
"When it rains, it pours," Clay quipped as some slobber dripped on him. Valerie recoiled in disgust before running away from the monster. She and the others hid behind a wide tree, only for the Cyclops to grab it by the trunk and dig it out of the group.
The good guys cowered at the cliff side as the monster snarled. "He looks hungry," Raimundo said nervously.
"What do you think he eats?" Kimiko asked.
"My guess…" Clay trailed off as the Cyclops threw away the tree. "Everything," he finished as they ran away again.
Once she was far enough away, Valerie stopped in her tracks and turned around. She willed the energy swirling inside her to form outside her body, turning the light into a baseball-sized orb in her cupped hands. She lifted the violet orb up into the air, getting it into the Cyclops's field of vision.
The Cyclops's growled and pushed at it angrily, only for the ball to move out of the way. The Cyclops continued to bat at the orb, growling as it continued to dangle away, tantalizing the monster. It moved away from the tiny humans under its feet, marching through the forest.
"How are you doing that?" Kimiko asked breathlessly as the Cyclops was distracted.
"I've been practicing," Valerie answered in a quavering voice. She was using up her energy too fast; she really should have practiced more with this, but there hadn't been time. It was all she could do to distract the monster.
Suddenly the Cyclops roared, its black eye beam shooting out and burning the ground. The orb popped and Valerie ran away with the others as the eye beam's path neared them. The laser was too fast-Valerie could feel herself getting roasted from behind, she was being lifted into the air and rudely being thrown into the cliff side, and it hurt so much-
Once the attack was over, Valerie quickly regained some strength so she could run out of sight. She hid behind another tree with Clay as Raimundo said, "Come on guys, we can take him!" He got out his Shen Gong Wu and shouted, "Sword of the Storm!"
He turned the hilt of the Sword, spinning the blade around and around so it created mini tornadoes. The funnels hit the monster, and it should have gone down, but instead the Cyclops just glared down at him. It quickly pushed back the funnels and slapped Rai off the ground. The Sword went one way, and Raimundo went another, landing painfully in a tree.
Kimiko jumped up in her sailor-style fuku and yelled out, "Tangled Web Comb!" The vines wrapped around the monster's torso, ensnaring it. Kimiko pulled the monster towards her, before the Cyclops jerked back and sent her flying. She was sent towards the Cyclops just as it snapped off the vines. The sheer force of the wind sent Kimiko flying towards the ground and she landed with a whimper.
"Fist of Tebigong!" Clay suddenly shouted. He ran towards the Cyclops, hitting it in the knee. The attack actually worked; the monster cried out in pain and held its knee, jumping up and down.
"Looks like you met your match, big guy!" the cowboy said before the Cyclops stomped on him. When it lifted its foot, there was a heavy footprint indent in the ground, and Clay was practically a pancake.
Wuya swooped in just then, leering. "You might as well give up. None of you are a match for Cyclops."
Valerie took in the tree Raimundo landed in, Clay in pancake form, and Kimiko laying on the ground in a heap. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the Sword of the Storm, walked towards the Cyclops and stared into Wuya's ugly yellow eyes.
"Looks like someone just doesn't know when to give up," the hag said, cackling.
"You're right. I really don't," Valerie answered back calmly as she continued to stare. "And quite frankly, I'm tired. I'm tired from the earlier distraction I caused. I'm tired of running around. And most of all, I'm tired of constantly getting beat up by some overgrown baby that doesn't have any depth perception."
The Cyclops took offense to that last one. Valerie didn't know how it understood her, but it snarled at her. She was too angry to be afraid at this point; she didn't show it, but Valerie was livid, and she sent all that fury at Wuya, her dark blue eyes narrowed.
"Here's what's going to happen," Valerie said oddly serene. "You're going to give us the Reversing Mirror. You'll get rid of the Cyclops. And we'll forget that this day ever happened. Because if you don't, I promise you, you will rue this day. Do we have an agreement?"
Unafraid, Wuya scoffed. She told Cyclops, "Oh, just finish her already." The Cyclops geared up his eye beam.
Valerie lifted an arm. "Eye of Dashi." A bolt of lightning sprang out of the red jewel, hitting the monster right in its eye. With a cry the Cyclops staggered back, holding its face.
Valerie took that moment to run behind the Cyclops. With the Sword she stabbed the back of its knee, forcing it to cry out again and land on the hurt knee. She ran towards the other leg and stabbed it in the same spot, forcing the Cyclops to kneel completely.
She jumped up, landing on its arm. She ran up towards the eye, constantly saying the name of her talisman so it repeatedly sent a bolt of lightning at the monster. It fell back, taking Valerie with it, but she clung to its calloused skin so she wouldn't fall off. It landed painfully on the ground, sending up dust.
Valerie walked up to the neck, aiming the talisman at the eye. "Eye of Dashi," she said stoically as she mercilessly hit the eye of the monster. The Cyclops wailed and finally threw her off. She flew through the air, clutching her two Shen Gong Wu as she tumbled painfully towards the ground. When she looked up, the Cyclops was crying and running away, blindly barreling through the forest.
Valerie stood up on shaky legs and saw Jack Spicer hovering near Wuya, who was near the cliff. The hag was screaming about something-Valerie honestly didn't care about what- so she yelled out, "Hey!" Both villains looked at her warily. "Reversing Mirror. Now," she growled.
Jack held out the Mirror and asked haughtily, "And what do I get by trading with you?"
Valerie aimed the Eye at the top of the cliff and said, "Eye of Dashi." Lightning shot out of the artifact, hitting the cliff side and making rocks tumble down it. Jack shrieked and dodged before throwing the Mirror at her.
"Okay, fine, it's yours!"
Valerie caught the Mirror in her arms and walked towards the others. She could hear Wuya going after the Cyclops, but she was too exhausted to worry about that now. She quickly palmed the Sword to Rai and the Mirror to Clay and said, "Let's blow this evil lair."
Later (again)
Valerie figured she must have fallen asleep on the ride back to the Temple, because she honestly didn't remember it. She opened her eyes to see the white Temple in the middle of the campus. She quickly followed the others to where Omi was.
They found him taking down ants with martial arts. Valerie pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course he would.
When Omi finally looked up-he was panting rather heavily-he could see the four of them staring down at him, surprised. Clay quickly brushed the insects away, apologizing. "I knew I left my chocolate bar somewhere," he added, picking up the treat.
"Oh no, I must thank you," Omi told him happily. "Battling ferocious ants is most valuable preparation for return to normal fighting size."
Valerie yawned. "Oh, right, we got back the Mirror." She rubbed at her eyes.
"How could you forget?" Kimiko asked her incredulously. "You made the Cyclops cry and run away."
"I'm really tired," she admitted as Clay held out the Reversing Mirror. "But you can tell Omi about my exploits later. Right now we should enlarge him to normal size."
Clay put down the Mirror next to Omi. The miniscule monk shouted, "Changing Chopsticks! Reversing Mirror!" and quickly expanded.
Once the glow had faded from the Wu, they could all see Omi standing on the table, completely normal. They all cheered; Raimundo and Clay lifted the little guy up in the air for a moment. Once he was set down again, Omi said, "I have never been so glad to be small. Or fun-sized, as the saying goes."
Valerie just rolled her eyes good-naturedly before sneaking out of the room.
In her room
Valerie flumped onto her futon, her face pressed against the pillow. She closed her eyes, letting her exhaustion wash over her as she fell into a deep sleep. And despite evidence to the contrary, she actually had a really good dream for once.
She was right in front of an old-fashioned police box, an object blue and boxy and clearly from England. Valerie looked at the telephone attached to the front. She was tempted to pick it up and dial someone, but she knew it would be broken.
Valerie stretched out a hand towards the box door, noticing for the first time that she wasn't wearing the signature wine-colored dress with rose weavings on it. Instead she was wearing jeans and her blue zip up hoodie, her hair loose behind her. She smiled gleefully as she pushed open the doors and stepped inside.
The inside of the TARDIS was much, much larger than on the outside. It was bronze colored, with an infinite amount of floors going upwards. Right in the center of the console room was the Heart, a round, beat up, bronze computer with futuristic controls. Valerie stepped forward breathlessly, closing the door behind her.
"What?" a surprised voice echoed from the side. Valerie turned to see David Tennant-no, the Tenth Doctor, standing there in a dark brown four button suit with blue pinstripes, a tie, a light brown faux-suede overcoat and brightly colored Converse All-Stars sneakers. He had taken off his tortoise-shell glasses and fixed her with a bemused expression.
Valerie held up a finger and quickly walked out of the ship. She examined the police box from all sides before returning. "It's an alternate dimension," she stated.
"...Well that's new," the Doctor muttered. He walked towards her, examining her as if she were a specimen under a microscope. Valerie studied him as well, since she knew the man in front of her was a figment of her imagination and yet she couldn't help but feel giddy.
"How exactly did you get in here?" the Doctor asked.
"I walked in."
"You actually saw the TARDIS?"
"Yes."
"…How?"
"It's a big blue box in the middle of the street. It's a bit hard to miss," Valerie said dryly as she waltzed past the Doctor. She examined the controls before asking, "So tell me, Doctor. Are we going on an adventure?"
He blinked. "You know my name."
"I know about the Time and Relative Dimension in Space machine, so why wouldn't I know about you?" Valerie turned around and leaned back on the control panel, arms outstretched beside her so they rested on the console. She gave the Doctor an amused look.
Baffled, the Doctor said, "Yep, this is definitely new." He mumbled something, his motor mouth going at about a million miles per hour. Finally he stopped and said, "Did you hit your head earlier today?"
"No, but I do know that the form you're in right now is merely a figment of my imagination."
"Right; obviously delusional," the Doctor muttered.
"Oh no, Doctor," Valerie gently chided him. "A figment of my imagination wouldn't be so detailed now would it? I wouldn't know about the destruction of the Time Lords, or of Gallifrey, or how you're ninth incarnation helped destroy the Dalek race, or any of your millions of adventures hopping around through space and time." She walked towards the Doctor, staring into his shocked eyes. "I'm sane. Terribly, terribly sane."
"I assume you got bored with insanity."
"Oh very," Valerie mused. "Or perhaps I was never insane to begin with. Dreams are so confusing." She spun towards the console and clapped her hands. "So, what adventure are we going on first?"
"Oh, I'm thinking a nice trip to the mental hospital is in order." Valerie couldn't tell if the Doctor was joking or not. "Or, if this is a dream, you'll just magically force me to take you somewhere you've never been before."
"Oh, don't worry Doctor. I'm going on an adventure with you." Valerie grinned. "But first we're picking up Eric."
Valerie suddenly woke up when someone called her name. She sat up groggily, rubbing at her eyes. When she opened then she saw Raimundo sitting next to her. Her heart chose that moment to speed up. Stupid heart.
"What's wrong?" she asked through a yawn.
"Dojo found a new Shen Gong Wu," Raimundo answered. "Hey, how come you left earlier? You missed an epic retelling of your defeat of the Cyclops."
"One, I doubt it's a defeat," Valerie told him. "He'll probably come back. And two, I'm really tired."
"Well, you can rest later." Raimundo held out a hand. "It's Wu hunting time."
In a desert, far, far away…
Valerie yawned just as Jack Spicer wildly flew at them. He was using the Wings of Tinabi, leaving a brilliant rainbow vapor trail as he swerved to and fro in front of Dojo. Jack screamed as he flew away.
"Take off those wings!" Wuya ordered him.
"How do you control these crazy things?!" Jack screamed as he flew through Wuya. "Can't stop!" he screeched as he crashed into the belly of the Cyclops and plummeted to the ground. And then the Cyclops laughed and ran towards the Shen Gong Wu imbedded in the rock sediment.
"No!" Omi cried out from behind Valerie. "He must not get the Shen Gong Wu!" Dojo immediately flew down to intercept the Greek monster. Omi jumped down from the dragon's back, landed on the Cyclops's head and then jumped off it, and then landed on the sediment. He grabbed the Wu just as the monster did.
"I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown," Omi said, "my Orb of Tornami for your Wings of Tinabi!"
Wuya hovered in between them. "Cyclops accepts."
"The game is a race across the Valley of Death," Omi declared. "Let's go: Xiaolin Showdown!"
A flash of light appeared, blinding everyone. Valerie was savvy enough to just close her eyes and wait calmly as the Earth's features shifted to fit the needs of the Showdown. When she opened her eyes, rock spires and petrified trees with branches shaped in claws were spread across the valley. Rock formations suddenly had faces carved into them, and the sky turned an evil gray color.
Valerie turned to Clay. "Tell me: is this place really known as the Valley of Death, or did Omi just make that up?"
"Don't you know?" the cowboy asked surprised. "We're in Death Valley National Park."
Valerie blinked. "So a place like that actually exists?"
"Apparently so," Kimiko said just as mystified as Valerie. All three of them then turned back to the Showdown.
As Omi stared down (or up) at the Cyclops, Raimundo said, "Maybe we should change the name of this Showdown to Xiaolin: Annihilation."
"Rai, I beat the Cyclops," Valerie pointed out. "Omi can do it too."
The Cyclops said something in gibberish-probably the starting term for the battle-and both contestants were off. Omi ran as fast as he could against the larger creature, but he eventually slowed due to his smaller size.
So he cheated.
"Orb of Tornami!" he cried out, the water gushing out from the Orb and giving Omi a giant head start. The Cyclops stopped, glared down at the water, and held up the Wings of Tinabi. Saying the name in gibberish, he flew through the air, leaving behind a cool rainbow vapor trail.
Omi stopped the tide and sent a stream towards the Cyclops. Temporarily blinded Omi went through a crack in a cliff side, running through it. The monster saw and tried to go through the hole as well, but he was far too large. Instead he slammed into the mountain.
"Ha, the big oaf!" Kimiko taunted. "Can't see a thing!"
"So glad humans have two eyes," Valerie said relieved.
Suddenly the big oaf used the Wings of Tinabi to fly above the mountain and out the other side. It passed over Omi, who had just gotten out of the crack using the Orb as a boost. Flagging far behind, it seemed Omi would lose the Showdown…
…Until the Cyclops flew too low and crashed into trees. Yeah, the creature really needed depth perception.
Zooming past the Cyclops, Omi neared the finish line only to have a red hand suddenly swat him out of the sky. He plummeted to the ground, water raining down after him.
Raimundo hid his face in his hands. "I can't watch."
Kimiko did the same. "Me too."
Clay covered his eyes with his hat. "Yeah, I'm done."
Valerie narrowed her eyes, bared her teeth, and shouted, "WIN ALREADY!"
Suddenly water pooled over the ground again, flooding up to the Cyclops's ankles. And then it turned to ice. The Cyclops, who had been running, was stuck in the ice. He struggled to free himself, cracks already appearing, but Omi flew past him using the Orb of Tornami, crossing the white finish line.
Another white flash of light, and the Showdown ended.
Since Valerie and Kimiko never lived in America, it probably wouldn't be common knowledge for them to know America has Death Valley National Park. Clay, who's actually from the country, would. That's what I'm sticking with.
So, thoughts anyone?