Chapter 49: Fins and Figure Skating
Sorry I got this out so late in the day, guys. Today was pretty hectic for me, and this chapter went through a few revisions before I was satisfied. That being said, I did enjoy writing this, so it all worked out in the end. :3
On with the chapter!
Valerie breathed in, out. And then she lowered her body into a taut stance and waited.
There was a rush of air behind her. Twisting her body to face it, she held up a hand and summoned a small, thin white disk that covered her torso. The flat shield took the impact of the arrows, the wood splintering apart on contact.
There was a snapping sound, and Valerie summoned another disk- this one twice as large as the first- and braced the impact of the knives headed straight at her. The blades clattered loudly to the ground, bent and curling inwards.
Then there was the sound of rope snapping. Jerking her head in front of her, Valerie's eyes widened when she saw the giant mallet being swung her away. Bringing her hands together, she fused the two shields into one, the resulting white disc thinning and stretching out to cover her entire body. Crouching slightly and digging her feet into the dirt, she gritted her teeth when the mallet struck the shield.
The mallet pushed, and Valerie went sliding on the ground, her feet leaving two deep lines as she moved. Giving a grunt she sent a pulse into the shield, pushing her arms out with the motion and forcing the wooden log away from her. The swing arched far, far away from her, before swinging back just as fast.
Head fuzzy and eyesight watery, Valerie gave one last effort and stretched out her shield, creating a ball around herself. The white energy deepened to electric purple as a result, and the bubble walls felt thicker than usual. But then the mallet struck again, and Valerie was punted into the air, arching perfectly past the garden, the trees, and a part of the obstacle course right before landing in the pond.
The bubble shield broke apart just as she was completely submerged, the purple energy shattering like mirror glass and disappearing entirely. Taking a moment to orientate herself, Valerie kicked her feet and swam towards the surface, her head popping out of the water and taking a deep breath. Coughing, she pushed past a large lily pad and glided to the edge of the pond, fingers caressing the stone sides.
A hand was suddenly near her face, and Valerie looked up to see Master Fung being the one offering it. Taking it, he pulled her out of the pond and onto the grass. As she wrung the water out of her skirt, the master remarked, "It appears that you are able to conjure up smaller shields with ease and then combine them to create a somewhat larger shield, but maintaining something bigger than that still eludes you."
Now wringing the water out of her braid, Valerie said, "I use up all my energy to create those smaller ones. I'm basically stretching myself too thin when creating a dome or a bubble," She sighed heavily, exhausted.
Master Fung put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "You've done well in the short time since we've started these exercises. Soon your defensive skills will be on par with your offensive ones."
Valerie gave him a wan smile before frowning. "I just wish I didn't feel so tired afterwards," she grumbled, rubbing at her arms. "Is it cool if I change clothes? I don't want to get sick."
Master Fung nodded. "I think it would be best if we ended for today, anyway. The others are in the courtyard."
Valerie nodded her thanks and quickly went to shower and change- thank god for extra uniforms! Afterwards she went out to her friends, who were all on the grass playing soccer. It was a warm day with a slight chilly breeze, so it made perfect sense to play.
"Hey Val, you're just in time!" Clay called out to her as she made her way towards the makeshift goal posts. "We need a proper scorekeeper. Dojo's been having trouble." They all looked over to Dojo, who had a small pile of score cards covering him. The wind must've knocked them over onto his back.
Still tired from her training earlier, Valerie shrugged. "Sure thing." She sat down on the grass and helped Dojo free himself from the cards only for the reptile to suddenly shake violently.
"Really?" she muttered. "I just changed into this uniform."
In… the Arctic? Did it honestly matter? There's a Showdown going on
Omi was disorientated, which looked pretty comical in his new apprentice uniform. Jack was skating around him, doing perfect circles on only one foot. "I asked for knife throwing lessons, mom sends me figure skating. 'You'll never know when it'll come in handy,'" he griped. "Now I feel kind of bad for making a robot out of her juicer." He then leaped and did a perfect spiral in midair, landing gracefully on an elevated patch of ice.
"That Spicer kid sure has nice form," Dojo noted. Valerie had to agree; Jack seemed to be pretty good at winter sports in general.
Evidently, she wasn't the only one who approved. "Woo! Look it there!" Clay cheered. "A triple sow-cow!" When they all looked at him in bewilderment, he said defensively, "What, cowboys can't like figure skating?"
"They also can't like yoga and poetry," Valerie joked, punching Clay in the shoulder. The cowboy tried to glare at her, but the crinkle around his eyes gave him away.
Turning back to the Showdown, Raimundo yelled, "Come on, Omi! Just because you're built like a hockey puck doesn't mean you have to skate like one!"
Omi, who had been on the ground curled around the Orb of Tornami, pointed his finger in the air. "Jack Spicer, your fancy spinning may impress the crowd, but it will not win you the Gills of Hamachi!" With that declaration, he leaped through the air.
Jack was laughing maniacally, as was his nature. He was also jumping from jagged ice cliff to jagged ice cliff while flailing his arms in the air, which was not normally in his nature. Omi struggled to keep up with his regardless, sliding to and fro across the playing field.
"But this will, ice ball!" Jack crowed. "Jetbootsu!" With that, he began to climb up the side of the snowy mountain. Omi landed in the spot where Jack used to be, falling on his butt. He watched as Jack strolled up the side, quickly nearing the Shen Gong Wu.
"The Gills of Hamachi are ours!" Wuya cheered, pumping her ghostly hands in the air.
Omi, who was too far away, sighed and crouched down low in defeat. In a fit of anger, he punched the side of the mountain, eyes closed. They only opened when he heard the telltale sounds of ice cracking apart. He took a look at the cliff side to see widening cracks and then put his Shen Gong Wu at the spot of impact.
"ORB OF TORNAMI: WATER!" Omi shouted, and even more cracks appeared out of the mountain, spurting out frigid liquid. The cracks and the water quickly reached the top, just as Jack began reaching out towards the Gills. With an evil chuckle, he was about to grab it, only to make a sound of confusion when he saw the freezing geysers breaking apart the mountain.
The ice broke apart, rolling down the side of the mountain along with Jack, leaving the Gills up for the taking. Omi jumped off the ground and hopped onto the falling ice pieces, using them to spring board his way to the top. As he went past Jack, the evil boy genius wailed, "DANG YOU, OMI! DANG YOOOOOOU!"
"Why doesn't he just say damn?" Valerie asked rhetorically. "It's not like it's a swear word."
"Who knows what Jack's thinking most of the time," Clay muttered as Omi placed a hand on the Gills. White light then washed over everything before quickly dying down, and the victor of the Showdown grinned as the patch of ice he was standing on glided towards his friends. As they cheered, Valerie quickly pulled the younger boy onto their more stable patch of ice, slightly pushing the cuffs of her blue sweatshirt away from her wrists so she'd have a better grip on him.
Holding his three new Wu, Omi announced, "With the Gills of Hamachi, we will now be able to breathe underwater."
"That'd be convenient," Valerie told them. "Especially since I wanna know where Atlantis last was. You know, before Dojo ate it." She gave a quick glare at the reptile, who gave a sheepish laugh.
"Hello?" Omi gazed past his friends and quizzically quirked an eyebrow. Everyone looked back just in time to see a particular block of ice drift near them, one with… blonde hair trailing after it? What?
"What is that?" Dojo asked as the ice came closer. Now Valerie could see that the long blonde hair was attached to a beautiful young woman. A pink starfish outlined in blue was clipped near her left ear, her arms and torso bare save for the pink seashells covering her breasts.
"It's a girl," Raimundo said, a rakish grin spreading across his face.
"No kidding," Valerie muttered before concern overtook her. "You think she's okay?"
"Someone should jump in to save her!" Raimundo declared, surprising them all. He put his covered toe in the water and shook violently. He then poked Clay in the stomach. "Someone with a lot of body fat."
Clay clamped his large hand over Rai's head. "Or maybe someone with a floatation device for a head!" He then pushed the Lusitanic boy into the water.
"Hey!" Raimundo cried before his head fell past the waves. Popping his head back out, he shivered viciously and quickly swam over to the unconscious woman. Cradling her in one arm, he said, "L-let's get you o-out of that popsicle piñata." With a single chop of his hand he cracked the ice into tiny pieces, revealing the girl's blue fins.
Wait.
"She's a mermaid?!" Valerie exclaimed, jaw dropping.
"Where I come from, girls don't have fins," Clay pointed out, waving a finger.
"A real mermaid." Dojo put his hands on his waist and looked on in wonderment. "Been a while since I've seen one of these."
The mermaid coughed and blinked her blue eyes open. Taking them all in, she whimpered to Raimundo, "My name is Dyris, and you risked this freezing water to rescue me?"
"Well, you know, they say I'm kind of a rebel," Raimundo told her, giving her a flirty grin.
As Dyris gazed adoringly at him, Valerie face palmed. "Stop flirting with her, we gotta get her medical attention! Who knows how long she's been stuck in the ice."
"Can you even get medical help for a mermaid?" Kimiko asked her worriedly.
"Dyris," a voice snarled from behind them. Everyone whirled around to see a grizzled old man with mangy black hair covering his head, a giant brown fur coat draped over his massive body. A golden trident was strapped to his back, and his arms were wrapped in other golden weaponry.
"Oh no!" the mermaid gasped.
The man revealed an arm and launched four golden spheres at them. Everyone watched as they soared- everyone except Clay, who cried out, "Glove of Jisaku!" The four balls levitated towards him instead of going near Dyris.
But then the mermaid cried out, "No! They're explosive!"
"Ju-Ju Flytrap!" Kimiko shouted, sending a swarm of bees at the spheres. Instead of detonating and taking out the monks, the bees were destroyed instead, sending up black, acrid smoke.
The hunter screamed and ran at them, launching himself at the mermaid. "Sword of the Storm!" Rai shouted, bringing the Wu out of the water and sending a whirlwind at the attacker. With a scream the hunter was sent flying through the air, right into the arms of an awaiting Jack-bot. Both quickly flew away.
"Well, we're going to be seeing him again soon enough," Valerie said dryly as Dojo enlarged himself. Quickly hopping onto the dragon, Valerie helped Kimiko and Omi climb onto the scaly back, and then she watched Clay haul Raimundo out of the frigid water.
"Who is that unattractive and truly frightening man?" Omi asked the mermaid, who remained half-submerged in the sea.
"His name is Klofange," Dyris explained in her low, soothing voice. "He's been chasing me for as long as I can remember. The last time we met, he had me cornered. There was no way I thought I'd survive, but then… there was an avalanche. It trapped us, frozen in time, till you saved me." At that, she beamed up at them.
"But, why is he chasing you?" Raimundo had to ask. "There are other mermaids in the sea."
Rubbing at her arms, Dyris despondently replied, "Actually, there aren't. I'm the last one."
Punching his fist into his palm, Clay growled, "That ugly, no good snake! Huntin' down a… a lady like yerself…" he tipped his hat to cover his smiling, blushing face. And then he frowned. "Almost makes Jack Spicer look decent."
Dyris batted her eyelashes at him. "Not everyone is such a true gentleman," she cooed.
Valerie took one look at the goofy face Clay made and had to stop herself from bursting out laughing.
Dojo then leaned down and suavely said, "Well, just hop on the ol' Dojo express and we'll get you out of here."
Dyris gently patted the dragon on his nose and said, "Aww, thank you! But I can't," she pouted. "I have to stay submerged in water. It's a mermaid thing." She gave a light giggle.
A lit candle suddenly appeared above Omi's head. "I am having a most brilliant idea!"
Ten minutes later, they were all flying through the air in Dojo's mouth. Except that it was mostly filled with water to keep Dyris from dying, and the others were there to keep her company.
Clinging onto one of Dojo's fangs, Raimundo reassured her, "Don't worry, he brushes every day."
Omi held out his Wu. "Here. You can use the Orb of Tornami to keep you moist."
Dyris scratched at the little guy's chin and cooed, "Cute and smart. Is there anything you can't do?"
"Understand most pop culture references," Valerie said flatly, much to Omi's consternation.
"Like you're one to talk," Raimundo scoffed.
"Hey, I know more than him," she protested.
Sunset at the Xiaolin Temple
Sitting cross legged on the floor, Valerie began, "Kim, it's not that I don't understand where you're coming from, it's just…"
"Just what?" Kimiko reared her furious gaze at her, seething.
"Are you sure you wanna be jealous over a mermaid?" Valerie continued sheepishly. "I mean, she's beautiful and new. Of course the guys are going to be idiots around her."
The Asian girl thought for a moment before pacing her room again. Kicking aside Harajuku fashion magazines, Kimiko went on to snarl, "Just because she's pretty and the last mermaid doesn't mean she has to act all smug about it! It's so annoying!"
"True," Valerie conceded (especially since all afternoon the mermaid had acted just like that, and it was irritating), "but I'm more worried about the fact that Klofange is going to find her here. I'd rather not deal with a mermaid hunter."
Kimiko was taken aback. "Yeah, that's true," she realized. "If she stays here for too long he'll target the Temple, and Jack will try to steal all our Wu!"
"But it's not like we can just dump her somewhere and hope for the best," Valerie said, looking at the other side of the argument. "And because we're the good guys, we'll keep Dyris here for her own protection."
Kimiko gnashed her teeth. "And she'll just keep being her annoying self in the meantime!" She reared on Valerie. "How are you not angrier?"
She shrugged. "Humans like pretty things. Dyris is pretty. You do the math." She cupped her cheek in her hand and put her elbow on her knee.
"But we're pretty!"
Valerie rolled her eyes. "You're pretty, I'm average. And besides, the guys are used to us. Dyris is new blood."
Kimiko glared at her incredulously. "Okay, first of all, you're fucking hot and don't put yourself down like that. And second of all, we don't have to take that mermaid's bullshit. We can deal with her."
"How?" She arched an eyebrow. "By being catty towards her?"
"No, by being upfront about it," Kimiko said, fists on her hips.
About five minutes later
Valerie, as she was being pulled by Kimiko, wondered, "I don't know if this is such a good idea."
"Oh come on, we'll just talk to her and tell her how things are going to go," Kimiko told her. And then she stopped, giving her a confused look. "I just remembered: don't you have a crush on Rai? Are you honestly okay with him acting all stupid around Dyris?"
Valerie shrugged. "Rai's always been a flirt, Kim. Dyris isn't anyone special."
Poking her forehead with a finger, Kimiko smiled at her. "But you totally are."
Giving an embarrassed chuckle, Valerie just asked, "Aren't we going to go lay down the law?"
With a determined glint in her eye, Kimiko went back to dragging Val towards Dyris's pool- though this time it was less dragging and more walking side by side. Spying the mermaid, Valerie took her stance beside Kimiko in a show of solidarity.
Dyris, who had been sunning herself in the dying light, grimaced when she saw them. "Oh, Kimiko and… whatever your name is," she muttered as she turned away from them.
"It's Valerie," she told her, crossing her arms.
"And we just want you to know, unlike some warriors, we don't totally lose it around a pretty face," Kimiko told her, hands on her hips and eyes narrowed.
"Of course not," Dyris told her with a smile. "There's a word for people like that: boys."
Valerie had to giggle at that. Considering the reactions the guys had over their mermaid guest, it was especially funny. Kimiko apparently agreed with her, though her chuckles sounded a bit more derisive.
"But you two already know that," Dyris went on to say, her pretty smile widening. "You're both much prettier than I am."
"Well, Kimiko is," Valerie pointed out honestly.
The Asian girl glared at her. "What'd I just say? You're hot, accept your fate."
As she rolled her eyes, Dyris said, "You are definitely pretty, Valerie. You both are."
Valerie blinked. Dyris sounded… convincing, to say the least. Her words were soft, her tone soothing, and everything she said sounded so sincere. Val hadn't had any particularly negative feelings towards the mermaid before, but now all she wanted to do was listen to her as she continued to talk.
"Besides, it doesn't take a genius to get boys to do what you want," Dyris continued. "Wanna give it a try?" she added hopefully.
"I don't know…" Valerie trailed off, looking at Kimiko. Her friend looked as conflicted as she did, but when they both turned to Dyris and saw the olive branch she was trying to give out, they both smiled.
Maybe this was her way of being nice…?
Ten minutes later
"Okay, just this once," Valerie told them firmly as she unraveled her braid. Kimiko had told her that she looked prettier with her hair down, and if they wanted this little experiment to work she had to look more feminine.
She didn't normally enjoy things like this: what was the point of tricking boys to do things for for her? She had two strong arms and legs and a brilliant mind, she could do her own dirty work. But Dyris was trying to offer friendship, and Valerie didn't want any bad blood between the girls.
And okay, maybe Val was a little curious to see if she could pull this off. Maybe someone who grew up around European bombshells could trick a few guys into acting stupid. It was petty to be sure, but wasn't Valerie allowed that kind of vice every once in a while?
"Oh, I love your hair," Dyris cooed at her, rubbing a few locks between her slender fingers. "It's so thick. Have you been growing it out long?"
"Ever since I was a kid," Valerie admitted, blushing slightly. "I wanted short hair- easier maintenance, you know? - but Eric always complained whenever I brought it up, so I just kept growing it."
"Well it's a good thing you did," Dyris affirmed. "It's very pretty."
"I-I guess."
Kimiko then came rushing at them. "Rai's coming." She shot Val a particularly incorrigible smirk. "Work your magic, girl!"
Pushing her away from the tub, Dyris told her, "Remember, flattery gets you everywhere!"
Giving them both an annoyed look, Valerie took a deep breath and called out, "Rai?"
The Lusitanic boy came bounding over, a look of concern on his face. "Hey, Val. Something up?"
Gripping at a few locks of hair to keep herself from faltering, Valerie looked up at him. "Uh, no, it's just…" She bit her lip and averted her gaze. What was the plan that they had come up with? Something about Dojo…
"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Raimundo gave her a confused look.
"Uh, no, it's nothing serious," she quickly reassured him. "It's just… it's my turn to clean out Dojo's litterbox, and…" what was she supposed to say? "I don't want to do it?"
Rai gave a sage nod. "Ah, the age old hatred of chores. I feel you."
Valerie looked up through her eyelashes (she was supposed to do that, right?). "Could you maybe do it for me?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you do your own chores?"
"Well, yeah, it's just that I've been doing these exercises that involve my powers, and I'm exhausted," she griped truthfully. Granted, she was more well-rested than before, but the soreness was still there, especially around her upper torso. "Seriously, I can't feel my arms half the time. Besides," she gently glided a finger up his bicep, "you don't seem tired at all."
Raimundo grinned at her, flexing a little. "That's true, I'm not. Okay, fine," he relented, "I'll clean the litterbox for you. But just this once," he said with a lilt in his voice.
She beamed up at him. "Thanks so much!"
Raimundo suddenly went slack jawed, his face going a bit red, before he gave her a quavering smile and sped off. Valerie let go of her breath- she didn't even know she had been holding it- and turned to other girls. "Holy crap, that was harder than I thought!"
"You did wonderfully!" Dyris gushed.
"And you didn't even have to compliment him on his 'strong arms,'" Kimiko added, saying the last two words in a mocking tone.
Despite her flushed face, Valerie scoffed. "Please, I can bench press his body weight on a good day. I'm not complimenting his arms unless he compliments mine."
"Hear, hear!" Dyris cheered, and all three girls fell into a fit of giggles.
That seems like a good cut off point. I had fun writing the part where Val tries to convince Rai to do her chores for her: she's no seductress, but her genuineness won him over anyway. XD
Now, before any of you complain, I want to point out that Dyris is a master manipulator, just like Chase is. Whereas Chase finds your weaknesses and tears you apart, Dyris finds your insecurities and compliments you, making you like her. Anyone can fall for lies like these; it happens all the time. Should Valerie have seen through it? Maybe. Should you blame her because she doesn't? Absolutely not. She's a teenager, guys. No matter how smart and/or genre savvy you are, you can still succumb.
So, thoughts anyone?