The Retreat of the Monk Brigade
The Jack-bots were only a half a mile away and coming in fast.
"Everybody in position?" Raimundo shouted up at the walls.
"Hai!" The warrior-monks yelled in response.
Jack Spicer's voice suddenly came from out of nowhere, as if amplified by a megaphone. "JACK-BOTS! VAPORIZE THEM!"
The army of Jack-bots flew forward towards the outer walls of the Temple. They were firing lasers and rockets at the monks, trying to knock down the walls and get inside the Temple by any means.
"Reversing Mirror!" A monk jumped out from behind a catapult, holding the enchanted mirror like a shield. It absorbed a laser blast and redirected it at a swarm of Jack-bots, blasting them to bits.
Three of the other Jack-bots broke away from the crowd and began emptying their payloads on the Temple doors.
"Oh no you don't!" Clay roared, running out into the rain. He whipped out at the Third Arm Sash, catching their rockets and flinging them back. The robots barely had time to duck before the rockets exploded, knocking their heads off and sending them careening into the mud.
The battle had just started and it was already going badly for Jack Spicer's side. He had brought dozens of Jack-bots but with the Xiaolin monks, the dragons, and the monks at Master Guan's Temple fighting against them they didn't really have a prayer. Within ten minutes, the rain-soaked grounds of the Temple were covered in broken robot parts and Jack Spicer was floating all alone behind them, staring in disbelief.
"Well, I'm outta here." Jack said, turning to fly away. Before he could take off, his heli-pack blew up and he tumbled into the grass.
"You're not getting away so easily, King Jack." King Marduk said, swooping down upon him. He picked up the evil boy genius and took him back towards the Temple.
"You can't keep me here!" Jack complained as he was brought into the Temple.
Everyone ignored him. "You think Echidna will show?" Raimundo asked.
"She ought to," Kimiko said, hefting the Sword of Tartarus that they had taken back from Jack Spicer. "We have her Sword, we have her Crown, and we have her Amulet."
"Three of her five favorite weapons," Omi nodded. He took the Sword of Tartarus from Kimiko and placed it with the Crown of Storms and the Amulet of Mayun. Then he used the Sphere of Yun to trap them inside a force-bubble. They wouldn't be able to get out, and no one would be able to use their powers while they were still inside.
Jack snorted loudly. "Whatever stupid trick you're planning to pull, it won't work. Echidna's the greatest evil villain in the world. Except for me, of course." When he was ignored again, he turned away from the Xiaolin monks and began fiddling with his wristwatch.
"What are you doing?" Clay demanded.
"Calling in reinforcements." Jack retorted. "Betcha thought that I only brought a bunch of Jack-bots. Well, you're wrong!" He laughed maniacally as he barged past the monks and ran into the courtyard.
"What on Earth does he think he's going to do?" Clay asked the other monks.
"Doesn't matter." Raimundo answered. "Let's just hope that Echidna notices."
Jack was halfway across the courtyard when he was swept up by a mass of hooded shadows.
"Oh, it's only Mayun." Raimundo said.
The shadows slithered past Jack and headed straight for the Temple doors. "You must surrender!" Mayun hissed in an echoing voice.
"How about no?" Kimiko replied. "And bye." She slammed the door shut in the demons' faces.
They could still hear Mayun's voice reverberating inside of the Temple. Only, it had changed so that it sounded like a raspier version of Echidna's voice. "'You are only an annoyance, Xiaolin warriors. I will deal with you in due course, AFTER I've taken over the world.'"
The monks shuddered. "That can't be good." Clay said. "We've got to go out and face her on her own terms."
"There must be another way." Omi said.
"I'm afraid not." Kimiko said. "I was checking the news reports again, and Echidna's side is winning. There isn't much time before her dragons take over or destroy the world."
"Very well." Omi sighed.
"Do we know where she is?" Clay asked.
"According to the news reports," Kimiko responded. "She's personally leading her army across Asia. They've swept all the way to the province of Tokyo. That's where we've got to go."
"I guess you'll need me to take you there." Dojo said, popping up from behind Clay.
Kimiko nodded.
"Very well, then." Dojo yawned. He slithered out the door and into the courtyard. Mayun and Jack were already gone, so they didn't encounter any opposition. He grew to his maximum size, allowing the Xiaolin monks to clamber on top of his back. Then he flexed his muscles and zoomed off into the sky towards Tokyo, and Echidna.
"We're almost there." Dojo announced about fifteen minutes into their journey. "Everybody ready?"
The monks nodded, but Dojo kept talking.
"This is gonna be the big one. The one that decides, once and for all, the fate of the universe. If you guys mess this up, everyone in the world will be wiped out. Eradicated. They won't stand a chance. It'll be like the roaches in the kitchen after I show up with a can of Raid. I don't want to put any pressure on you, but…"
"Dojo!" Kimiko snapped.
"Hmm?"
"WE GET IT!"
Dojo sighed. "Just do me proud, okay?"
He dropped down on top of a high-rise Tokyo apartment. The Xiaolin monks dismounted and looked around. "I don't see her." Clay said.
All of a sudden, a skeleton dragon swooped past them, missing Clay by inches. A few seconds later, a fighter plane raced after it in hot pursuit. The monks watched as the plane launched a pair of missiles after the dragon. The missiles made contact, one blasting off the dragon's head and the other splitting it in half at the waist. Fragments of bone and sinew fell like rain over the wartorn streets. The pilot of the plane barely had time to congratulate himself before Echidna appeared like magic behind him and grabbed the tail of the plane in one hand.
"BOOM!" She laughed uproariously as she flung the plane over her shoulder towards the building that the monks were standing on.
Kimiko whipped out the Silk Spitter and without any hesitation wove a spiderweb in the air to catch the falling plane. The door to the cockpit swung open and the pilot staggered out onto the building.
"Are you okay?" Raimundo asked.
The pilot nodded. "It's a warzone out here," He said in a muffled voice. "You'd better get out of here."
"Not a chance." Kimiko said. "This is my home that Echidna's attacking."
"Wait… Kimiko?" The pilot murmured.
"You know my name?" Kimiko asked.
The pilot's helmet popped off. "Keiko?" Kimiko cried.
"Who?" Raimundo said.
"Kimiko?" Keiko said. "What are you doing here?"
"Guys, this is my friend Keiko!" Kimiko explained. "We used to hang out together and play Goo Zombies in my dad's office. Oh, and Keiko, these are my friends, Omi, Raimundo, Clay, and Dojo. We're the Xiaolin warriors."
"Xiaolin warriors?" Keiko asked. "Nice to meet you guys."
"What are you doing fighting those monsters, ma'am?" Clay asked.
"I'm in the SDF." Keiko said proudly. "And what are you doing here?"
"It is our duty to defeat the dragons that threaten the world." Omi said.
Keiko looked at the little monk. "Are you sure about that? You look kind of…s--,"
"Don't say it!" Kimiko warned.
"Say what?" Keiko said innocently.
"Guys, I think we've got to go now." Dojo said. "The longer we take, the more people who can get hurt."
"He's right. We'd better go." Kimiko said. "Want to come with?"
"I don't think I can." Keiko said. "I have to try to get my bomber free." She looked down at her plane. "Thanks for rescuing me, Kimiko. Good luck! These dragon demons are really tough!"
"You don't have to tell me twice." Clay rubbed his bandaged forehead.
Echidna was all the way over the Tokyo Airport, blasting the warplanes that were harrying her armies around Tokyo. Dojo decided to carry them closer, getting within twenty feet before stopping.
The area around Echidna was chaotic. Skeleton dragons and SDF fighters were zooming throughout the streets of Tokyo, blasting at each other. The dragons were easily destroyed, but every time one was blown to pieces twenty more reappeared to take its place. And every once in a while a fighter would go down and would not be replaced.
The monks decided to start off with a sneak attack. If they were lucky, it might even be enough to bring Echidna down.
They each dropped down on one of four buildings surrounding the Tokyo Airport and pulled out their signature Shen Gong Wu.
"Crest of the Condor – Wudai Star WIND!"
"Cats Eye Draco – Wudai Mars FIRE!"
"Kaijin Charm – Wudai Neptune WATER!"
"Longhorn Taurus – Wudai Crater EARTH!"
Echidna and everything around her exploded in a flurry of magical energy. For several minutes, nothing could be seen of her and the Airport except for an enormous column of smoke like that of a nuclear explosion. But when the smoke cleared, the monks were dismayed to see that she was still standing, apparently untouched.
"You." Echidna said, not sounding upset.
"We've come to put an end to you!" Kimiko said
"Really?" Echidna murmured. "Well, you're not doing a very good job."
"Ooooh, dissed!" Jack Spicer laughed. The evil boy genius descended down behind Echidna, looking extra-smug. Floating behind him was Mayun, looking particularly inscrutable.
"Well, bring it on, then." Echidna said. "I was hoping to savor a battle with you after I have taken over the world, but if you insist on forcing my hand then I'll just have to deal with you now."
"What are we going to do?" Clay hissed to Raimundo.
"I don't know!" He replied. "I was hoping that we could… I dunno… kick her butt or something?"
"You think that's going to work?"
"…uh… can I get back to on that?"
Echidna's two heads were leering at them cruelly.
"What is she staring at?" Raimundo asked aloud.
Omi turned around. Floating gently behind each of the monks was a skeleton dragon, its mouth open as it prepared to bite down on their necks. Reacting solely on instinct, Omi leapt out at each one, karate-chopping it with as much strength as he could must. He snapped their necks one by one, sending them careening to the Tokyo street to be blown apart by the tanks.
Echidna rolled her eyes. "Oh, well done! But don't think you're getting off that easily." She threw her head back. "FIRE!"
A burst of fire spread out from her body, blasting the buildings that the monks were standing on to smithereens. The monks leapt to safety, but before they could find a place to land Echidna was already hurling airplane parts at them with amazing speed.
"Aw, jeez!" Clay groaned as an aileron hit him in the side of the head. He clutched at his bandage as he plummeted to the street below.
"Ruby of Ramses!" Raimundo held him magically in midair, lifting him all the way up to safety atop an airport dome.
"Come to mama!" Echidna shrieked as she flew towards them at breakneck speed.
"RETREAT!" Raimundo cried. The Xiaolin monks turned and ran. Dojo was flying alongside them and as soon as they saw him they jumped onto his back. The added boost of speed took them far away from Echidna but she was gaining fast. Trailing behind her were Jack Spicer and Mayun.
"I thought you had a plan!" Clay grumbled.
"Relax, Clay. I am certain that this seemingly cowardly retreat is part of a secret elaborate plan!" Omi whispered back. "Isn't that right, Raimundo?"
Raimundo laughed nervously.
Tokyo was soon only a speck in the distance but Echidna was still steadily gaining on them.
"Can't you go any faster?" Kimiko begged Dojo.
"I'm g-g-going a-a-as fast as I c-can!" Dojo screamed in response.
"We must be going 500 miles per hour!" Raimundo complained. "If she can still keep up with us, then the only reason why she hasn't actually caught us yet is because…"
"She is dolling on us." Omi said darkly.
"What?" Raimundo snapped.
"Toying with us. Right?" Kimiko said, and Omi nodded silently.
"We're almost at the Temple," Clay pointed out.
The fortifications that they had spent all day building suddenly looked inferior. How were they going to stand up against a creature like Echidna? She might have left her skeleton dragons behind in Tokyo but she was more than powerful enough to make mincemeat of even the Wudai warriors. But there was really no time to improve them; Echidna was here now and they would have to turn and fight soon.
Marduk was standing outside of the Temple, surrounded by nervous warrior-monks. They watched Dojo zoom past them and into the temple. Then they turned to see Echidna chasing after them.
"STOP!" Marduk roared, leaping up to attack her. Dragon and dragon-slayer met in the air. Marduk's fist crashed into Echidna's throat. The momentum from her flight sent her pinwheeling through the sky, her necks and tails flailing in the air before she fell to the ground in a dazed heap.
"You." Echidna croaked when she saw Marduk stepping towards her. "Dragon-slayer, you don't have a chance."
Marduk stepped closer towards her. "It would appear, my dear, that I do." He raised a hand. A bolt of lightning from the raging storm above shot down and enveloped it. Marduk gritted his teeth as he channeled the lightning energy through his body. Then he pointed his other hand at Echidna and fired twin bolts at her.
Just then, Mayun leapt out of the sky, slamming into Marduk's chest with all of his strength. Marduk screamed, sending the lightning energy harmlessly into the sky. Mayun was dissolving around him, wrapping his shadowy flesh around Marduk's arms and legs and tightening his grip around the dragon-slayer's neck. Marduk groaned as he was bound tightly by the shadow creature.
"Not a chance." Echidna said, rising her to her feet. Marduk struggled as he approached, but Mayun held him down tight.
By the time the shadow slithered off of his body, it was too late.
The Xiaolin monks stormed onto the scene a second later, clutching their Wudai weapons in one hand and strapping a small pouch of Shen Gong Wu to their waists. "What's happening?" Raimundo asked a pale-faced warrior-monk?
"She… ate him!" The monk moaned.
Echidna was crossing the courtyard, looking extremely fat and extremely pleased with herself. "Heh. What a meal!" She giggled. "And look…" Electrical power crackled around her talons, power stolen from her latest victim.
This time, she didn't give the Xiaolin monks the first move. Echidna slapped her claws together, sending a surge of electricity shooting out towards them. All four monks were hit at once, knocked silly by a blast of pure agony and thrown against the wall. Echidna advanced on them again, ready to zap them into oblivion.
"ATTACK!"
A flurry of arrows erupted from the Temple walls. They were soon followed by falling boulders and streams of hot tar and acid. Within a matter of moments, Echidna was buried in the stuff being launched by the warrior-monks manning the walls.
"Way to go, guys!" Raimundo called out to them. They shouted back in triumph, but again, that was to be short-lived for as the dust drifted away Echidna reappeared, looking only the slightest bit upset.
"You're only making me angrier when you resist," Echidna snapped. Then, she let out an enormous shriek out of both of her mouths. The shockwaves reverberated through the air and the ground, knocking down trees, smashing gardens, and sending deep worn cracks snaking their way up and down the Temple walls. Monks screamed as they pitched forward off of the shaking walls. Even the anti-siege weapons weren't safe; they broke apart as soon as they hit the ground.
Echidna wiped her mouth daintily. "See the extent of my might?" She hissed, whirling to face the Xiaolin dragons. But they were not there. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see something purple running past the ruins of the fallen Temple wall. "Get back here, cowards!" she howled as she gave pursuit, poison dripping from her twin fangs.
The four monks and their pet dragon Dojo vanished into the massive structure that made up the Shen Gong Wu Vault. Echidna was about to dive in after them when the dragon Tiamat and Master Monk Guan stepped in front of her. On either side of them stood ferocious, hungry-looking dragons of all shapes and sizes.
"Out of my way." She commanded.
"You may not pass." Tiamat responded curtly.
Echidna grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that."
She opened her mouths very, very, wide.