Chapter 43: Ice Hockey and Winter Past Times
As promised, I deleted the author's note and replaced it with this chapter. Though, it may not be as proofread as it normally is. Like I said, I still have exams to do, and I was actually in a study group for most of the day. Long story short, I'm tired and I might miss a few things. Sorry in advance.
Also, more plot concerning Valerie's home life. You'll see~
Update: Someone rather loudly pointed out to me that Omi has nine glowing dots on his forehead, not six. I did say that I probably missed a few things, and it turns out I did. Sorry for any confusion.
Now, on with the chapter!
Overnight, the world was blanketed in snow. Temperatures dropped to below zero. Crops died. People suffered.
Valerie sneezed as she ended her call with Eric. It was terrible even in Switzerland, and Eric was forced to stay home indefinitely. Well, at least he had Victoria with him. Though how long they had until cabin fever set in was anyone's guess.
Valerie tried to stare at the moon blocking out the sun in an eternal solar eclipse, but it hurt her eyes. She instead turned to a shivering Dojo, who was showing her and Kimiko what was on his tail. "Look! My Shen Gong Wu blisters have frozen into little hard peas. Look! Look! I mean, look."
"Yeah, no," Valerie said as she quickly walked away. She stood near a shivering Clay and Raimundo, while Omi acted as lookout.
And then something black appeared out of the white snow, something black with a mop of crayon red hair.
"Jack Spicer," Raimundo spat out. "Maybe we can warm up by having good old fashioned butt kicking contest." He nudged Clay expectantly.
"I don't think anyone is going to be able to kick any butt right now," Valerie pointed out as she rubbed her arms.
Jack waved his hands in a placating manner. "Hey, guys, I know what you're thinking-"
Kimiko slid down the hill and landed right in front of her friends. She pointed an accusing finger at Jack. "You couldn't possibly, or you'd be screaming that little girly scream of yours!"
"Ooh, I like that scream," Valerie said, grinning dangerously. She cracked her knuckles through her mitted hands. "Maybe we can have our butt kicking contest after all."
At that, Jack dropped to his knees and began to cry. "I'VE BEEN BAD!" He crawled over to them, his hands held together in front of his face. "Now that's over. Please let me stay with you!"
"Oh, so you can rip off more of our Wu?" Clay accused acidly.
"No, I wanna help you get back your Wu!"
"So you can steal it from us again," Valerie said flatly.
"I'm also including my Wu," Jack further explained. "That evil snow glob cleaned me out!" He then cried harder.
Master Fung chose that moment to walk up to them. He was wearing his usual monk robes with a modern blue ushanka hat. Apparently he didn't need to wear more winter gear, lucky him.
"How do we stop a guy we can't find?" Raimundo griped, looking up at the teacher.
"Sometimes the way to find your enemy, is to let him find you first." Everyone followed Master Fung around the courtyard, at least until he finished his statement.
"I get it," Raimundo told them. "Maybe we should warm things up a little."
A little later, everyone got the necessary Wu to start the plan.
"ORB OF TORNAMI!" Omi sent an enormous ball of water hovering into the air, the stream of water feeding into it so it looked almost like a miniature moon.
"Star Hanabi: Fire!" Kimiko sent a stream of flames at the giant water orb, boiling it instantly. Steam erupted from the mess, sending waves of heat that only slightly diminished the cold.
"Sword of the Storm: Wind!" Raimundo sent a small tornado at the boiling orb, disrupting it. It created a sort of rain cloud, and hot water rained down on them, covering the entirety of the Xiaolin Temple. Clay and Valerie quickly ducked under an umbrella just as the rest of the liquid washed over them in a wave. Jack Spicer was the only casualty. He screamed as half of his face was sunburned, giving him a makeshift Two-Face look.
The hot water had melted the snow, revealing the soft green grass underneath. Valerie walked over it, wishing she could feel the dirt between her toes, but the rest of the snow surrounding the patch reminded her that it couldn't happen yet.
As she sighed wistfully, Rai turned to her, his eyebrows wiggling. "Kind of sucks that we can't wear our swimwear."
Valerie looked at him, bemused. "We were just in swimsuits yesterday. It wasn't all that exciting."
Raimundo looked shocked. "It-it wasn't?"
"Haven't you ever been to the beach?"
He tried to say something, but Master Fung cut him off. "Young monks, we must prepare for evil forces that have grown so very close."
Jack, still with his Two-Face sunburn, preened. "Thanks!"
Master Fung was not amused. "We're not talking about you. There is evil far, far greater."
"Not true!" Jack pouted.
Valerie turned to the distance, where Raksha's icy spider web palace was. Yep. That was where the evil truly was.
…Or where it used to be, if the enormous footsteps shaking the planet was any indication.
It took a while, but eventually Raksha made its way towards the Temple. Once it was inside the courtyard, everyone jumped into position behind the monster.
"Care for a little fire, snowman?" Kimiko taunted, her Wu glowing in her hand. "STAR HANABI: FIRE!" A river of flames was sent at the snow monster, and it should have killed him. The flames licked at its chest, right where the Heart of Jong was. A hole was burnt into the center, and Raksha nearly tore its head off trying to look down.
And then the flames expanded, destroying its torso and revealing the Heart of Jong. The Wu was stuck right in the middle of a snowy pole, connecting Raksha's head to the rest of his body. Honestly, with its disfigured anatomy, the snowman should have snapped right in half. Instead, it gave its threatening yodel and stomped over to Kimiko. The poor girl screamed and ran away towards her friends for protection.
"SEISMIC KICK: EARTH!" Clay stomped the ground, sending up some dust. A spire erupted from the ground, a disc perched precariously on top.
"Sword of the Storm!" Rai sent a whirlwind at the disc, throwing it right at Raksha's legs. It was cut off at the knees, and the snow monster fell over, skidding across the ground.
"Well, it looks like the ice man's been iced," Clay quipped as Valerie hopped right on top of Raksha. Her hands gripping the Heart, she struggled to remove the Wu from the monster's torso. She let out a gasp when the Heart budged a little.
…And then Raksha suddenly grew a new pair of legs. The first thing it did was kick Rai and Clay off the ground. Both boys soared through the air and landed in something painful.
Raksha was beginning to move again. Valerie shouted, "Thorn of Thunderbolt!" and sent some electricity at its head, hoping to distract it. Some snow melted, and Valerie quickly went back to pulling at the Wu, only to be suddenly grabbed by the back of her jacket and lifted into the air.
Raksha was glaring at her with its coal black eyes. She smiled sheepishly before the snow monster flicked her away like a pesky bug. Valerie screamed as she was sent through the air in an arc, spinning around and around as she soared. She then landed face first on a roof, destroying the tiles with a mighty crash.
Valerie groaned as she slowly picked herself up. She held her head in her hand, trying to stop her sight from swimming. She took a look at the scene right below her. For a second she saw double, but then her vision righted itself. Raksha was bent over a Wu- the Star Hanabi?- a finger pressing against it. And there was a voice…
"Honorable snowman!" Ah, it was Omi. Everything was clear now. "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! My Orb of Tornami for your Lunar Locket!"
"Won't the Orb of Tornami turn into snow around Raksha and make it grow stronger?" Valerie mumbled to herself. And then she sighed, resigned, and cupped a hand over her cheek as she watched the show.
"Snowman…accepts!" the snow monster declared.
"And I call for a Shen Yi Bu Dare!" Omi said slyly. "My Golden Tiger Claws for your Heart of Jong."
Clever boy, Valerie thought, beaming at him from the rooftops.
Raksha gave a mighty roar, frigid wind sent straight into Omi's face. And then: "Okay. Snowman accepts." It was in such a nonchalant tone too.
"The game is ice hockey," Omi told it. "First puck in wins!"
And then, the two of them shouted in tandem: "LET'S GO: XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!"
Bright flashes of light, and ice and snow blended together to create a scoreboard that dangled like an icicle on the ceiling. Icicle stalagmites were the barrier surrounding the oddly shaped arena. Snowmen spectators made up the audience.
Omi looked incredibly confused in his white, black and red hockey getup. Now that Valerie thought about it, did Omi even know how to play ice hockey? It wouldn't be the first time he accepted a sport challenge without knowing how to play.
An annoying yodel resonated through the frigid air, and Raksha stomped into the ice rink. He leered at Omi right before the Heart glowed brightly. In a flash Raksha's body developed armor that resembled an igloo, its arms and legs bulky, its torso surprisingly skinny. Raksha then slammed its palms together, and once it extended them, revealed a solid ice hockey stick that five times taller than Omi.
Raksha slammed the butt of the stick right in front of the little monk before getting all up in his face. Extending the silver handle of his bucket hat to under his chin, both combatants yelled: "GONG YI TAN PAI!"
The Star Hanabi then flew down towards them, shining a pale gold color as it settled into its role of the puck. Omi immediately swerved to meet it, skating right underneath Raksha's feet. He smirked triumphantly as he neared the goal.
But the snowman wasn't having any of that. Stretching out its hockey stick, Raksha pulled Omi away from the puck with his sash, flinging him into the air. Raksha then moved the puck towards the other goal, hitting it once he was near enough. It would have ended up in the goal post had Omi not landed right in the intended path. Instead of hitting the goal, the puck hit Omi's teeth instead.
Omi spat out the Star hard enough to hit Raksha in the head. The snow monster fell over backwards from the impact, and Omi leaped over it to get to the Star. Once Raksha realized that Omi might actually win, it roared angrily and melted into slush, slithering its way past the little monk and creating a wall of hard pack snow just in time for Omi to smack right into it.
Omi fell over onto his butt, groaning. He grabbed his hockey stick in time for Raksha to reform, getting hit in the face and forced through the air once again. Raksha laughed, and then realized that the audience was laughing at it. Looking down, it quickly covered its naked crotch and sidestepped out of view, giving everyone an embarrassed smile the entire time.
Omi landed on his head, which was typical for him. What wasn't typical was the giant snowman jumping over him and skating for the goal. Growling in frustration, Omi got out his Wu and shouted, "ORB OF TORNAMI!" A river of water erupted from the Orb, bouncing along the ice rink three times before finally arcing towards Raksha.
Raksha glared before turning around to look. Upon seeing the enormous tidal wave, it looked shocked, before saying, "You fool! You can't win. You have Raksha as an enemy. Lunar Locket!"
With that declaration, the moon literally zoomed into the ice rink, defying all laws of science as it literally stopped the tidal wave in its tracks. It instead sent the wave right back at Omi. Omi should have looked concerned, possibly even terrified. Instead, he smirked.
With the nine dots glowing on his forehead, he shouted, "TSUNAMI STRIKE: WATER!" Spinning like a top, the water hit him only to suddenly just stop, no motion, nothing. The water then spun like a whirlpool, reversing its trajectory in a singular, beautiful arc right back at Raksha.
The snow monster's eyes bugged out, and it dropped its hockey stick. Its scream was cut short when the attack finally hit him. Out of the resulting waves came the Star Hanabi. Omi smiled, looked at the half melted remains of Raksha, and its unprotected Heart of Jong.
Smirking triumphantly, Omi struck the puck right at the Heart, forcing it right out the snowman and cutting the body right in half. Raksha gave its last yodel as the Star Hanabi and the Heart of Jong entered the goal behind it. The scoreboard gave Omi his own point, and klaxons blared through the arena.
Omi should have been cheering at his victory, but Raksha wasn't done yet. Its head landed right in front of Omi. Omi took a step back and brought his arms and leg up in an effort to protect himself. Raksha inched towards him, screaming, right before its head suddenly expanded. Raksha ceased its yelling, trying to stifle itself, right before it exploded.
There was a flash of light, and everyone appeared beside Omi, who was happily holding the Heart of Jong. The good guys immediately started to cheer, right before Omi shouted out, "LUNAR LOCKET!" A ray of yellow energy erupted from the Locket and arched through the sky to touch the moon. The little monk then slowly moved the moon out of the sun's way, finally allowing the solar rays to reach Earth.
Warmth flooded the area, and everyone stared in awe as they saw the sun once more. Omi then turned to them expectantly. "Now, as long as we have so much snow…"
Kimiko narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Are you suggesting…?"
"…Anyone up to making a snowman?" He even held up a carrot.
The withering glares his friends sent him should have tipped him off, but Omi had his eyes closed. Instead, they all had to settle for throwing snowballs right into Omi's face. And then, to add insult to injury, they stuck two coals into his snow-covered eyes and a carrot nose right in the middle of his face.
A little while later
"Young monks," said Master Fung, putting his palms out in front of him, "now that evil has grown very strong, we must prepare as we have never done before." He then bent down to pick up the dark blue pieces of cloth that had been in front of him. "I have brought each of you armor for your further protection."
The armor glowed yellow, and there was a flash of brilliant light. When Valerie opened her eyes, she saw the armor standing upright, revealing dark blue torsos lined with gold and tied at the waist in red, each of their individual emblems emblazoned on the chests. Cloth masks made up the faces, with enough cloth cut out for the warriors to see. Two of the armor had large ribbons attached to the back of their heads, one red and the other violet. One of them even had a cowboy hat.
"I can see myself already!" Omi said happily. "I am most impressed."
"Awesome colors," Kimiko pointed out, grinning.
"This is just awesome in general," Valerie said, nearly gushing.
"Killer style!" said Raimundo.
"Nice duds!" Clay finished up.
"From here on, you will wear the special suits when fighting a Xiaolin Showdown," Master Fung explained.
Valerie looked down at her red Xiaolin robes. "I can live with that."
And then the armor disappeared. "Where'd it go?" Kimiko asked, staring at the spot where they levitated.
"They are now a part of you," the master said cryptically.
"So, they'll show up at the next Showdown?" Clay elaborated.
"Precisely."
"Cool."
"And now, young monks, it is time to finish cleaning up the Temple." Master Fung held up shovels. "And try not to use your Wu and destroy the garden like last time."
"Do you hear that Valerie?" Omi whispered slyly.
"One day, Omi," Valerie growled, holding up a fist. "One day."
As they prepared to shovel the snow away from the Xiaolin Temple- Kimiko opted to just melt the snow and have Omi collect the resulting liquid in basins- Raimundo suddenly sidled up to Valerie. She had just started to fill up a bucket with her shovel when she noticed him.
Helping her to fill up the unusually large bucket, Raimundo nonchalantly said, "You know, the weather hasn't been this awful since last winter."
"That's what happens when an evil snowman takes over the world," Valerie pointed out, trying to focus her attention on the task at hand. She could hear the distant sounds of angry screaming; Kimiko must have melted an unusually large amount of water and accidentally poured it over Omi. Clay's resulting laughter confirmed her theory.
"I have to wonder: how is the rest of the world going to explain this one?" Raimundo asked, setting the tip of his shovel into the ground and leaning on the handle.
"Global warming, I guess," Valerie said, shrugging. "How else would they explain it?"
"I guess that makes sense." Raimundo thought for a moment. "I wonder if we can collect some snow and stick it in the freezer."
Valerie raised an eyebrow, temporarily stopping her work. Her mind whirled until it clicked at a particular memory, one that she had almost forgotten about with recent events. "Maybe. Though we'd have to check if there are any fruit preserves leftover."
Raimundo arched an eyebrow at her. "You remember."
"I did suggest we do that again sometime."
"So…" He turned to the others, who had suddenly disappeared, along with the some of the basins. He then looked down at the bucket between them. "Wanna try sneaking this into the kitchen?"
Valerie shrugged her shoulders. "Eh. Why not?"
"You don't sound very excited."
"Do I ever?"
"Good point." He smiled slyly. "If we're doing this for the second time, does this mean I get another kiss?"
Valerie tilted her head, studying the expectant look in Raimundo's eyes. "If you're that desperate for affection, I can just grab the others and we can all hug."
He looked taken aback. "N-no! I'm not desperate! Wait-!" He caught himself and glared at her reproachfully.
She burst out into giggles. "Dude, I was just playing you."
He huffed, face red, steam shooting out of his ears. Averting his gaze, Rai pouted slightly, mumbling something mean under his breath. Valerie rolled her eyes before leaning up and gently pressing her lips to his cheek.
Startled, he stared at her, only to find that she had already picked up the bucket. Angling it so he could see the snow, she started to walk away. "Come on, we only have so much time before the others come back."
Valerie gave a small, sly smile when she heard feet running after her. It grew into a full-blown grin when she heard him call out, "Wait, Val!"
In Switzerland
Eric was tired. Victoria had just left after a full twenty-four hours of being snowed in together, and all he wanted to do was curl up on the couch, wrapped in a warm blanket, and watch horror movies. It was a past time he and Val had indulged in during unusually cold winters, when Eric could convince her to put away the book she was reading.
A cup of hot chocolate was in his hands. A blanket fresh from the dryer was wrapped around his shoulders. He made his way to his film collection-
Just as the phone rang. Swearing in every language he knew, Eric stomped over to the phone and picked it up. Calming himself just in time, he asked in a semi pleasant tone, "Hello?"
"Hello Eric."
He almost dropped his mug. "Matt. It's been a while."
"You don't sound happy to hear from me."
"I haven't been for quite some time now." Eric took down a picture hanging from the wall and studied it. It was of him and Valerie when she was ten years old, him looking almost exactly the same but with a bristly black moustache and younger green eyes, and her with her long hair in two braids, clad in a soccer uniform.
"That's about to change."
Eric put the picture back on the wall and braced himself. "You've been saying that for years now. How is this time any different?"
"My wife is dying."
Eric's back hit the wall, and he slid to the ground. His eyes stared out in front of him, unseeing, before he pulled himself together. "Gabrielle's dying? But I thought she was getting better."
"Yes, well, the cancer came back stronger this time around. There's nothing anyone can do except…prepare for the end." There was some sadness in Matthew's voice, like he actually cared about his wife. And then it was gone, going back to its almost apathetic tone. "She still has a few months, if the diagnostic is accurate. She wants to see you one last time."
"I'll be there," Eric vowed. "I'll go on the next plane."
"Actually, you're leaving in two days. I already bought your tickets."
He gritted his teeth. The jackass knew how predictable he could be. "So? What happens after Gabrielle dies?"
"We tell Valerie the truth." For a second, Eric could have sworn Matt sounded excited.
"I'm pretty sure she already suspects it," he pointed out coldly. "She's sharp enough to pick up the clues."
"Of course she's sharp enough, she's an Ashford," Matthew said like he was stating the obvious. "But it'd be better to clear it all up. And then we can finally invite Valerie into the family."
"You mean, right after your wife dies?"
"She no longer has any control," he stated. "I've already set everything up; Valerie has full access to her birthright and there won't be any more interference. Valerie can be free now."
Eric thought back to the Xiaolin Temple. "You mean, if she isn't already."
"What, you mean that Tai Chi school you sent her to?" Matt scoffed. "Learning martial arts is always a good thing, but that isn't a stable career choice. She's smart, she'll figure that out eventually."
Eric raised an eyebrow, despite the fact it couldn't be seen over the phone. "Do you honestly think Val's gonna just leap into your arms first chance she gets? She hates you, and her brothers."
"I know," Matthew said, his voice cracking slightly. "But you've told me before how logical she is; she'll understand."
Yes, because teenagers always think logically. Because a teenager who's fairly reasonable will always be that way. He quickly stopped his thoughts from becoming too bitter and asked, "When do you want Valerie to come over?"
"In a few months' time," Matt said, happy and sounding near tears. "Just a few months more."
So, thoughts anyone?