Chapter 45: Whispers and Screams

So, I'm going back to school soon, which means work and classes and stress again. I should still be updating every other Saturday, but I'll let you guys know if anything comes up.

Also, this was my favorite chapter to write, at least for this story. That is all.

On with the chapter!

In the soft morning light, the Xiaolin Dragons prepared for battle.

Dojo flailed his little arms, saying, "C'mon kids, no time to lose!"

Kimiko leaned down to ask, "So where is the Emperor Scorpion?" An excellent question, Valerie thought.

The reptile suddenly wore a blue conductor's suit and ominously said, "The center of the Earth." And then he smirked. "Dress light. It's always summer down there. And bring ice," he added as an afterthought.

"Won't we die from lack of air before we burn?" Valerie asked curiously.

"Tunnel Armadillo!" Omi shouted, and he threw the Wu into the air. The talisman enlarged, becoming twenty times its normal size before it landed on the ground with an almighty crash. The hatch slid open, and one by one the young heroes landed inside, right onto the seats. In one fluid motion the five of them put on their seatbelts (like total badasses!) right before the hatch closed.

Unfortunately, since Omi was the one behind the wheel and knew next to nothing about actual driving, the Tunnel Armadillo did not start tunneling into the earth. Instead, it went towards one of the Temple's buildings, accidentally taking out a chunk of wall. Omi yelled out a quick, "My badness!" before directing the drill into the ground, quickly disrupting the cobblestones and sliding the machine through the Earth's crust.

The trip into the center of the Earth was long and dark, leaving everyone with enough time to change into casual wear. While it should have been weird for both sexes to undress in the same space, it was too dark to actually see anything. Besides, they had to be quick; not only was there a battle to be won, there was the fate of the world being at stake here. It wouldn't do to not dress in style.

Once inside the very core of the planet (after once again crashing through a wall; thanks, Omi!), the hatch opened, and everyone leaped out and landed in perfect formation. The first to get up from his crouch, Clay remarked, "Now, if I were a Shen Gong Wu, where would I hang my hat?" As he scratched the back of his head, everyone else stood straight and put their hands on their hips, surveying the molten lava and jagged rocks.

Omi let out a gasp before he triumphantly said, "On a small mound of hardened lava." Everyone looked down to stare at him.

"What makes you say that?" Clay asked curiously. Omi then pointed upwards, to a pillar in the very center of the core. Right on top of the ominous looking rock was a bronze scorpion with ruby red eyes.

"Bitchin," Valerie said happily. "Now let's grab it before-!" The center of the Earth suddenly shook, and everyone's eyes widened as they looked to a corner. There was an incredibly bright flash of light, and the wall of the core exploded, leaving debris and smoke in its wake.

And then, a mighty roar resonated throughout the room, just enough to chill blood.

Four Mala Mala Jongs sneered at them, and the very first one roared again, the wind blasting the Xiaolin Dragons back. "I do believe we're boned," Clay remarked as the threat ended.

Dojo suddenly jumped into the air, his hands gripped at the scales on his head. "We're too late! It's the Fearsome Four!" He suddenly shot into Clay's hat and rummaged around fearfully. He showed enough bravery to slip around Clay's ear and say, "According to the Ancient Scroll, the Fearsome Four appearance marks… the end of the world!"

"And how many times have we heard something like that now?" Valerie said flatly. "Has anyone kept track? Kimiko?" She turned to the Asian girl, but Kimiko was too busy staring at the pool of lava right in front of them.

Something burst out of the bubbling lake, leaving a pillar of molten rock in its wake. The black metal thing landed nearby on a platform; it was a drill of sorts, and appeared vaguely evil. The hatch opened, revealing a familiar squid-like ghost and her hapless partner in crime.

"Hello, Xiaolin losers," Jack Spicer crowed. He stood over his machine and attempted to look triumphant. "Ready to admit defeat?"

Omi shot towards him and angrily declared, "NEVER! I will defeat you and the Fearsome Four!"

Jack's head suddenly swelled up to five times its normal size. He smiled and mockingly repeated, "I will defeat you and the Fearsome Four." He quickly got all up in Omi's face. "Dude! Get over yourself!"

Raimundo chose that moment to slide over and gesture to the demons across the room. "So, which one do you want to take?" The rest of them prepared for battle.

Omi held up a finger. "I will take them all!" On that note, he flew up into the air, landed on Jack's head so he could use it as a springboard, and launched himself at the four demons. "MONKEY STRIKE!"

Omi was darting around the Fearsome Four, swatting at their heads and kicking at their heels, to no avail. He was fast, too fast, and becoming even faster as his frustration grew with each failed attack. It got to the point where he would literally just stomp on one of their legs and hope for the best.

As the good guys watched the little monk rapidly implode, Raimundo asked, "I can't tell: is he winning?"

One of the demons flicked Omi away like a pesky housefly.

"I'm guessing no," Kimiko said dejectedly.

And then Omi flew in an arc towards them. With wide eyes the others quickly jumped away, while the little monk landed in a crouch. He glared determinedly at the Mala Mala Jongs and panted. His friends chose that moment to land back near him, arms up and feet planted in fighting stances.

"I say it's time to kick some Mala Mala butt!" Clay said with a manic grin. There were war cries and the sounds of feet pounding on the ground. Valerie should have been paying attention to that.

Instead, she focused on the Emperor Scorpion.

As she quickly made her way over to it, she dodged bubbling lava and sinking ground. She could hear her best friend Kimiko try to jump kick a demon, only to get sent away by a stream from the Orb of Tornami. She hit a wall, the water drowning out the sounds of her groaning.

Valerie could hear Clay snort and run towards a Mala Mala Jong, no doubt angry over the punishment Kimiko received. The demon sent a wind blast from the Sword of the Storm; he tried to stand his ground, but not even his huge size was enough to withstand the force of the blast. He was sent flying halfway across the room and landed with an "Oof!"

And then, to add insult to injury, the stalactites on the ceiling dropped towards the cowboy. Instead of turning him into a pincushion, Clay was instead stuck in an earthen prison.

Valerie, at this point, was at the mound where the Emperor Scorpion nested upon. Finding a few loose holes in the rock, she began to climb, hooking her feet into the tiny spaces as best she could. She dared a peek at the others; Raimundo had leaped past Clay's jail cell and, with a war cry, flew through the air and landed on a demon's head. He jumped behind it and landed just in time for Mala Mala Jong to turn around try to hit him.

Where the punch landed, Raimundo should have been hit, but the Lusitanic boy was quick on his feet and dodged just in time. Without a second to lose he launched himself into the air again, trying to land a hit. One fire blast from the Star Hanabi and he was sent screaming away.

Valerie was near the middle. She could hear Omi shout- no doubt he was trying some new angle, like diving through the air like a shotput at a monster. But then Raimundo's screams suddenly mingled with his own, and the volume of the fire blast was suddenly raised exponentially. There was a thud, like a small body hitting the ground.

Valerie gritted her teeth and hurried up the pillar, finally scrambling to the top. She quickly plucked the Emperor Scorpion and attached it to her wrist. And then she jumped off the pillar and landed back on the ground, using the momentum to roll away and start running back towards her friends.

Valerie took a moment to look at the Wu curled around her wrist. She was about to say the incantation and finally end all this when a mighty roar and large gust of wind blew her away. She skidded across the ground and smacked her head against a stalagmite, stars spinning in her vision. She saw the glint of the Scorpion just twenty feet away from her. Sprawled on the floor, she moved an arm to reach for it- a futile effort, but she had to try- and then saw a black blur hover above it.

Valerie wanted to scream in frustration- she had been so close-

VALERIE

Her eyes snapped open, and everything took on a purple haze, from the lava to the rocks to even the people still milling about in the center of the Earth. Valerie slowly shifted around to see her hands, which seemed to be glowing white, then purple, then gold, then back to white. There was a forced calm settling over her, and everything was muffled, like someone had stuffed her into a cotton ball. She felt the back of her head, and winced in pain. When she looked at her hand, her fingers were slick with shiny red blood.

Valerie was hallucinating, that's what it was. Her sudden, inexplicable, eerie calmness stemmed from her head wound, and her delusions were from blood loss. Except, as far as she could tell, the pain was ebbing away, and the blood was suddenly disappearing from her fingers. When she felt the wound again, there was no sharp pain, and when she looked at her hand again, there was no blood. It was like she had never been struck.

VALERIEFINDUS

She suddenly felt so light, as if someone had plucked her soul right out of her body, leaving her a ghost. Was that her body she was staring down at, the cold, seemingly lifeless thing that was sprawled on the ground? She didn't know, and her mind was too muddled to care. In fact, it seemed as if her mind was creating darkness surrounding her, the only light being the circle her body was sprawled in, the beam of white shooting down from the ceiling.

Valerie could feel herself floating in space, her soul no longer tethered to the planet. She was floating up, up, up, past the center of the Earth, past the mantle, past the Earth's crust, past the cities and mountains until finally, finally she arrived to golden clouds and pink sunsets and shelves upon shelves of books as far as the eye can see.

A part of her wanted to argue about how illogical this all was, her soul being forced from her body, the bookshelves flowing into the horizon, the pink sunset searing her eyes and the dusty gold clouds gently brushing against her. None of it made sense, but the voices-what were they saying-

YESYESLOOKFORUS

The voices in Valerie's head were familiar, yet they couldn't possibly. She was certain she'd never heard them before in her life, and she couldn't fathom why they wanted her of all people to look for them. But they were comforting, soothing, like an ancient book beckoning her for one last read through.

YESYESYOU'RESOCLOSE

Close to what, she asked internally. She didn't know why; it wasn't like she was expecting an answer. Especially not now, when her eyelids felt so heavy it hurt to stay awake. Her entire body was sluggish as she tried to get up- silly rabbit, your soul left your body- so she flopped back through the mountains and the Earth's crust, down past the mantle into the Earth's core, back to where her lifeless body was, praying for slumber.

NONOFINDTHEBOOKOF-

Valerie breathed deeply once, twice, and knew no more.

Valerie blinked her eyes open and frowned.

She was back in the Temple infirmary. She gave a long suffering sigh and sat up. Instead of feeling woozy and nauseous, she felt…perfectly fine. She had been sure she had a concussion, but now…

She started. Mala Mala Jong. She has to get out of here. Without anyone stopping her- not even Chan, for once- she made her way around the Temple, looking for her friends. Storming around the dorms, the meditation room, and anywhere else she could think of, Valerie eventually found the other monks in the courtyard, balancing and travelling on a large green ball.

Valerie sighed. At this point, nothing could surprise her.

She made her way towards them, her footsteps unusually quiet, her khaki shorts barely rustling. She could overhear some of their conversation: "…can't believe how badly we messed up," Kimiko moaned.

"Yeah, it's not every day a fella's responsible for the end of the world," Clay said despondently. Valerie frowned and felt a twinge of sadness. The Fearsome Four lived up to their name; they weren't something just anyone could handle, let alone five monks in training. It was reasonable and logical that they failed, but it didn't make it hurt any less, not really.

"NO! STOP!" Omi suddenly cried out, closing his eyes and balling his fists. He stood completely still, forcing the others to fidget as they tried to balance on the ball. "It is my fault. When Mala Mala first came together, I could have called for your help…but I… uh…"

"Didn't," Valerie piped up, crossing her arms. "You chose to do it alone. And you completely forgot to mention it before."

Her sudden appearance was enough to send them all plummeting to the ground, the large green ball bouncing away merrily. Clay popped his face from the dirt and said, "Hey, you're okay!"

Valerie helped him up. "Yep. And feeling better."

"Is this going to become a thing now, where once a season you get a concussion and just faint?" Kimiko asked dryly as she dusted herself off.

"I really hope not. I'm gonna lose a lot of brain cells if it does." Valerie turned to the others, who had just picked themselves up off the floor. "So, anything else we should add to the doomsday list?"

"Yeah, I got one," Raimundo said darkly. "It doesn't matter if Omi tried to take Mala Mala on his own, the fact is that we tried fighting the Fearsome Four together and lost!"

"Yeah, we got our butts royally handed to us," Clay added dejectedly.

Master Fung chose that moment to appear beside them, Dojo winding around his shoulders. "Working together is more than just fighting together. It is knowing how to use each other's strengths wisely."

Raimundo jerked a thumb at the Master while asked his friends, "Hey, could someone please translate?"

"Well, I reckon Master Fung is speaking of our elements," Clay said, smiling.

A grin was spreading on Kimiko's face. "In other words, we should focus on what we do best." She looked to Fung for confirmation. He smiled.

"Ah, if only snoozing was an element," Dojo said wistfully. He then slithered down to Omi, who was staring dejectedly at the ground. "Cheer up kiddo, you'll get another chance to save the world." Omi beamed at that.

"And when that time comes, I will show true leadership by… uh, not… showing true leadership."

Dojo gave the kid a thumbs up.

Crashing into Spicer's lair…

"Going into Spicer's lair, fucking his shit up," Valerie said flatly as Rai steered the Tunnel Armadillo right through some steel shelves. Once he stopped the vehicle, the hatch opened and the five of them jumped out and landed right in front of the Fearsome Four, who were all wearing construction equipment for some reason.

"I believe you have something that belongs to us!" Omi declared dramatically.

Sitting in a puddle of oil, Jack retorted, "And I believe you just ruined my freshly painted wall!"

"Considering you're always wrecking our Temple, I call it even," Valerie said dryly.

"EMPEROR SCORPION!" Jack cried out. "Fearsome Four, do your thing!" The four demons roared and ran at them, pushing Jack back into the filthy puddle he had just escaped from.

Valerie hopped away as the others cried out, "DRAGON X KUMEI FORMATION!"

One of the demons sent a wave of flames at them. "Kimiko, I believe this is your department," Omi said, looking up at her.

Kimiko smirked and shouted, "JUDOLETTE FLIP: FIRE!" Jumping in front of the wave, she twirled her arms and the flames swirled around her wrists. Spinning like a top, the flames circled around her before Kim sent a blast of fire right back at the demon who sent it in the first place. With a cry of pain it was knocked flat on its back.

Another demon used the Sword of the Storm to send a cyclone at the group. Kimiko tried to brave it, but with her petite frame it was a futile effort. With a cry she was sent spiraling back, only to be plucked right out the air by Clay. Holding onto his hat, he said, "Rai, looks like this bronco's all yours!"

"TYPHOOM BOOM: WIND!" Jumping into the air, Rai turned his body into the spiraling vortex, going against the flow. Spinning faster than it, he quickly turned it right back towards the Mala Mala clone, which was sent spinning to the ground.

Another demon stepped in front of it and sent a wave of water at Rai. He got a face full of liquid and collapsed painfully to the ground. He couldn't stay there though, because the Orb or Tornami was sending a gushing stream at him and the others. Raimundo and Kimiko got out of the way, but Clay was too slow and got splashed.

Omi was about to do something then, but one of the demons slammed a fist near him. He leaped back from the attack and found himself back to back with Clay. The cowboy, who had been holding up the ever growing stream with his bare hands, said, "What say we switch partners, partner?"

"TORNADO STRIKE: WATER!" Smirking, Omi spun like a top, and Clay ran to the side to let the stream hit the smaller monk instead. Spinning around him, Omi redirected the stream right back at the clone who sent it, sending it towards the back of the basement.

Up against another clone, Clay shouted, "SEISMIC KICK: EARTH!" and sent up his foot just in time for it to hit an incoming fist. The monster was sent back with a painful roar, and the Golden Tigers Claws that made up one of its hands clattered to the ground.

Wuya took a look at the downed troops and shouted incredulously, "This is what you call evil?! You look like bigger losers than Jack!"

"And he's about to look worse," Valerie quipped as she snuck up behind Jack. Ignoring his girlish shriek, she kicked the evil boy genius in the chest, sending him crashing into a metal shelf. The Emperor Scorpion flipped in midair, and Valerie caught it was a quick yet stylish hand motion.

Putting it on, Valerie said, "I think it's time for the Fearsome Four to go to sleep for a while. All in favor, say aye."

"Aye!" shouted the Xiaolin monks.

"Nay!" Wuya screamed.

"Majority wins!" Valerie crowed. She held up the Wu. "Emperor-!"

She was cut off by four terrifying roars. Eyes the size of saucers, Valerie looked up to see the Fearsome Four jump at her, soaring through the air to grab at her arm. Gritting her teeth she took off the Wu and threw it in the direction of her friends.

Energy thrummed underneath her palms, and an electric purple light spread out around her, encircling her inside a small dome. The Fearsome Four landed on her, and they should have crushed her, but instead they bounced off the shield and crashed to the ground. One of them was still able to send a wave of fire at her; Valerie could feel the searing heat through the dome, feel the flames licking at her feet.

Biting her bottom lip so hard it bled, Valerie struggled to keep the shield up, but already her arms were going limp. Her knees couldn't stop shaking, and she could feel the blood drain from her face, leaving it cold and numb.

VALERIE

No. Not again.

Her eyesight was swaying; noises filtered to her brain like words lost to the wind. Slowly falling on her knees, Valerie weakly looked up. The four Mala Mala Jongs were hovering over the Xiaolin Dragons, eight hands clutching at the Emperor Scorpion.

"-challenge you to an eight way Xiaolin-"

"-sounds like a yes-"

"-ropes of darkness-"

Valerie blinked, and suddenly white light was washing over everything. Jack's basement shifted into some sort of round, enormous room, with chain hooks hanging from the ceiling. It was dark, dangerously so, and yet Valerie could plainly see the midnight blue color of her new suit through the blackness, the robes and shoes, the purple five pointed star emblem on her chest. Her legs swung over the side of the ledge- there was barely enough room to sit, much less stand.

VALERIECOME

No, no, she thought the voices were going to leave her alone. This wasn't fair! The Showdown was starting, her friends were risking everything, she couldn't just-

OPENYOUREYESVALERIE

Valerie opened her eyes wide, and white spread out from the corner of her vision. It streaked across the tunnel, erasing the pitch black darkness and her friends and the demons- it was erasing everything-

STOPANDLISTENVALERIE

The sounds of the battle faded away, leaving nothing but the hum of Valerie's blood pumping through her veins. The pounding of her heart thrumming in her ears, she focused on the sheer blank whiteness in front of her. Kimiko, Clay, Raimundo, Omi, gone in an instant. No Xiaolin showdown for the fate of the world, no Xiaolin dragons-in-training.

Valerie closed her eyes, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Soft, muffled sobs escaped her lips, and it was all she could do to stop the animalistic scream from tearing out of her throat.

She could hear footsteps near her, gentle thuds barely above a whisper. Valerie stifled her crying long enough to listen.

"Valerie," a gentle, accented voice called to her. It took a long second for it to be placed. An Indian accent, perhaps? She didn't care. She curled in around herself, burying her face in her arms.

"Valerie," the voice said again, a little louder this time, but no less kind. "I need you to look up and open your eyes."

For an impossibly long moment, there was nothing, no sob, not even a whimper. And then slowly, ever so slowly, she lifted her head. Her lip quivered despite the teeth clamped over it, a futile attempt at keeping it from moving and letting screams out. Her eyes remained closed.

"Open your eyes," the voice said again, and now Valerie could tell it was female. She could even tell there was a little smile in her tone. "I need you to open your eyes, Val."

She did.