Chapter 2: Texas and the Temple
Kimiko starred out to the vast desert before her; nothing but miles upon miles of sand, rocks, and cacti as far as she could see. It had been a week now since she and the others had been separated and already she was eager to return to the temple, hoping to reunite with the others. Unfortunately, ever since the Sins had taken over the world intercontinental travel was almost impossible and completely illegal. Not to mention that the injuries she'd taken from Wuya in their battle were too severe for her to begin traveling anytime soon… at least by herself anyway. For days now she'd been trying to convince the people who'd taken her into their home to help her out but they flat out refused. They wouldn't risk the dead sentence just to help her reach another continent.
"You look sadder than a hog headed for the slaughter house… somethin' on your mind?"
Kim turned her head to find one of the people that had taken her in standing not far off. It was a girl about her age wearing a black leather jacket, a pair of blue jeans, leather boots, and a cowboy hat. The girl had short blond hair that covered on of her eyes and, to put it simply, wasn't exactly thin. "Oh… Hey, Jessie." Kim said, turning back to the desert.
Jessie Bailey, Clay's sister, walked over to the petite Japanese girl before her. "Look, I'm sorry daddy won't help ya get back to China… He's just worried that you won't make it and anyone who helps you won't be seen alive again. You are a wanted criminal after all, at least in the eyes of the Sin's you are."
"Yeah, I get it, Jessie. But your dad doesn't understand. If I don't get back to the temple and reunite with the others there's not even a chance that the Sins will be taken down and the world will never return to normal."
"I hear ya." Jessie said. "If it were up to me you'd already be on your way back to China… but even if I could help you there's be no way of you getting' back. Intercontinental travel ain't happening anymore."
The two girls just stood in silence for a while trying to figure out something better to talk about, but it wasn't long before Kim was suddenly struck with an idea. "Wait! What did you just say?"
"I said 'If it were up to me you'd…"
"Exactly! If it were up to you; who's to say it's not? You're the leader of a gang of bikers and when was the last time you actually listened to your dad anyway?"
Jessie just starred at the Japanese girl in a daze. "Dang, if that don't make sense." She said. "You head back to the house and get packin'. I'll find the other Vipers and tell them the plan. We're leavin' after dinner tonight."
THAT NIGHT
"Thanks for dinner, Mr. Bailey." Kimiko said as she got up from the table and pushed in her chair. "It was excellent."
"Don't thank me." The mustached rancher said, pointing his thumb to his daughter sitting next to her. "Jessie's the one who cooked. And that was awful nice of ya, Jessie… so wha'd ya do this time?"
"I didn't do nothin', Daddy." Jessie said, grabbing a toothpick from the table and jamming it between her teeth. "I just felt like cookin' tonight is all."
Mr. Bailey eyed his daughter carefully, trying to figure out what was going on. But he eventually decided that she was being honest and excused both girls from the table. And besides, Jessie really hadn't done anything bad… yet.
Kimiko and Jessie then headed upstairs to get ready for bed, or at least that's what Mr. Bailey thought. "So, Kim, you sure you don't know what happened to Clay?" Jessie asked as they reached the top of the stairs. "You were in pretty bad shape when me and the Black Vipers found you out in the desert, so you might've remembered something by now… right?"
Kim just shook her head. "I really don't know where Clay is." She answered. This wasn't the first time Jessie or Mr. Bailey had asked about Clay. Kim did her best to explain what happened; how the last she'd seen of him was when he, Saya, Omi, Mimi and Rai were headed into the next Sin's chamber while she stayed behind to fight Wuya, the Sin of Lust. For some reason they continued asking after that, though Mr. Bailey had given up by now, but Jessie was persistent and wouldn't give up on at least trying to figure out what happened to her older brother.
"Ok, ok, I get it." Jessie said. "So, you ready to hit the road?"
"Well, considering that I don't have anything to pack to begin with I think I've been ready for the last week or so." Kim said sarcastically. "So what's the plan? How're we gunna sneak past your dad?"
"The Vipers are waiting outside as we speak. All we have to do is jump out the window and we're as good as wanted criminals." Jessie explained.
"I already am a wanted criminal." Kim said, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, and the Black Vipers will be too as soon as we help you out."
"Point taken. Just one question: who exactly are you guy's gunna help me reach another continent? I'm pretty sure your bikes can't run on water and planes and passenger ships are all but gone. How exactly am I supposed to get to China?"
"Simple. Intercontinental travel may be banned but the Sins understand that we can't survive these days without products from other countries, so cargo ships and planes can still travel. Me and the Black Vipers are gunna get you to San Diego and sneak you onto a cargo ship that'll be headed directly for China and you'll be on your own from there."
"And if we get caught?"
"I'm sure we'll figure something out."
SAN DIEGO, THREE DAYS LATER
It was dark out. Kim, Jessie and a few of the Vipers crouched behind a stack of crates watching a group of sailors load a ship was other crates. "So, how do we pull this off?" Kim asked.
"Well, I figure that we Vipers can crash the party and cause a ruckus so you can sneak on unnoticed." Jessie suggested. The girls next to her agreed, knowing that a few sailors weren't enough to stop a group of biker chicks with chains. "So, whaddo ya think?"
"I think you all should hold still so this will be as painless as possible."
Kim and the others didn't have time to turn around and see who it was before they had to duck to avoid a sword slashing at them, crashing through the crates and causing them to shatter into splinters.
Kim jumped to the side after the attack to get a look at who it was. All she could tell, however, was that this person was male and that was only because of the voice. The man had completely masked his identity with a full body suit or medieval armor. But the strange part was the sword he had was obviously a katana, traditionally used in Japan or China, not Europe where his armor was from. "What the hell do ya think yer doin'?" Kim heard Jessie demand on the other side of the armored man.
The armored man simple looked over at Kimiko and pointed his katana at her. "You think you can defeat the Sins?" he demanded. "Then prove it to me. Defeat me in battle or die where you stand." With that he charged at her with his sword ready to slice her in half. Kim summoned fire into her hands, jumped out of the way, and started throwing fireballs at him. The armored man, however, dodged each one easily and then came at her with his katana again. Kim pulled out the Star Hanabi, called out its name, and threw it at him, successfully knocking the sword from his hand. The armored man then vanished, reappeared a few yards away from his original position and caught the sword in mid air. Then, using his free hand, he summoned a ball of blinding light and threw it at her. Kim jumped into the air and caught the Star Hanabi as it came flying back to her, at the same time jumping over the orb of light and closing the distance between her and her foe. The armored man stood there with his katana held in front of him, waiting for Kim to get in range for an attack. Kim landed and charged at him and at the same time he swung his sword at her. Kim managed to catch the blade of the sword between two points of the Star Hanabi. He pulled his sword back and tried slashing at her again but again Kim caught the blade on her Shen Gong Wu. The next time the armored man tried slashing at her Kim ducked under it and then swung her leg under his legs, knocking his legs out from underneath him. The armored man fell to the ground as Kim jumped back to her feet. Kim threw the Star Hanabi again to knock the katana from his hand and when it came back to her she caught it and pointed it at him, charging it with fire.
"Why are you doing this?" Kim demanded.
The armored man remained silent and glanced once over to his sword. He then looked back at Kimiko, his eyes reflecting the moonlight through the visor on his helmet. "You can't defeat the Sins." He said simply. "You aren't like me… But you have potential, I'll give you that." With that he vanished again, his sword disappearing with him, and he did not reappear this time.
"What just happened?" Jessie asked as she and the other Black Vipers reappeared from wherever they had been.
"I don't know…" Kim said, "but something tells me that's not the last I've seen of him."
"Hey, what's going on over there?"
"Damnit!" Jessie snapped. "Looks like the meatheads noticed your little show!"
"You guys get going!" Kim said, cracking her knuckles. "I can handle them."
Jessie shook her head. "We'll take care of them. You just worry about getting on the ship… oh! And one more thing before you go." Jessie then whistled and one of the other Vipers threw her a leather jacket with the Black Viper insignia on its back. "Welcome to the family. Yer as of now an honorary Black Viper."
Surprised, Kim slowly reached out and took the jacket from Jessie. But once she had it she quickly there it over her shoulders and slipped it on. "Thanks Jessie. Hope to see you again some day."
"Oh, don't worry." Jessie said as she and the rest of the Vipers jumped on their bikes and revved their engines. "You will." With that Jessie and the Black Vipers went riding out to the docks and started making a mess of things for the sailors. Just as planned Kim took advantage of this and snuck onto the ship. From there it was all a matter of time.
I'll be home soon. Kim thought. Hope the others are there.
SOMEWHERE IN CHINA
"What I wouldn't give for Kimiko to be here right now." Elena groaned as she continued to try to make a fire to no avail. "Then again if Jewel were here we could just use body heat to keep warm." She continued, blushing. For the last week now Elena had been surviving on her own in the forests of China trying to get back to the temple. She knew she was in China only because of villages she'd passed through already. But how she'd managed to survive this long wasn't because she stayed in the villages at night. No, despite her better judgment she continued through each one and ended up sleeping in the woods every night. And what had she been eating and drinking for the passed week? Rain, river water, and various small animals she'd managed to kill with a few makeshift spears. "What I wouldn't give for some grilled chicken or even a bowl of rice right now."
She'd already been at making the fire for two and a half hours now and as soon as the third passed by she gave up. She fell onto her back and began breathing heavily. "I seriously need to steal a lighter in the next town or something."
"So, everything is to your liking, gentlemen?"
Elena sat up immediately and glanced around. "I know that voice." The Spanish girl then crawled over to the bush where she thought she'd heard the voice come from. She couldn't believe what she saw.
There stood Wuya, the Sin of Lust, surrounded by a group of five or six men who looked like mercenaries, with swords and guns aplenty. "I'll give you mountains of money and gold," Wuya continued, "And all you have to do is burn down the Xiaolin Temple."
Elena placed her hand over her mouth before she had a chance to gasp. Burn down the temple! She mentally screamed. She had to do something! But she couldn't risk just jumping in there right now. She was tired, alone, and couldn't fight to save her life at the moment. What am I gunna do?
"Yeah, we'll burn down this temple of yers, Miss Lust." One of the mercenaries said. "It's the least we could do for the ruler of all Asia."
"Excellent." Wuya grinned. "I'll b there tomorrow morning to examine your work." With that the Sin of Lust vanished, leaving the mercenaries alone.
Elena crawled away from the bush and sat there silently. What was she going to do? Those men were going to burn down the closest thing she had to a home at the moment and she couldn't do a thing about it. But she couldn't just sit there and watch them set her home on fire! She had to do something, but what?
Elena suddenly felt something clod snake over her face and clasp over her mouth. It wasn't long before she realized that it was a hand made of metal, probably somebody in a suit of armor. Keeping his hand over her mouth, the owner of the hand walked out in front of her. As she'd suspected he was wearing a suit of armor. The armored man put a finger up to where his mouth would be, indicating to her to keep quiet. Elena nodded and the armored man removed his hand from her mouth but then placed it on her shoulder. "You are Elena Murrieta, correct?" he asked. Again, Elena just nodded. "Come with me. I'll help you save the temple."
THE TEMPLE
Before she even realized it Elena found herself and the armored man standing in the courtyard of the Xiaolin Temple. Elena immediately smiled, happy that she was finally back.
"C'mon! Those mercenaries will be here shortly." The armored man called as he started toward the temples entrance. Elena quickly caught up with him and followed him into the temple.
"So, who are you, anyway?" Elena asked.
"A friend. That's all you need to know." He answered.
The armored man led Elena into the Shen Gong Wu vault. Immediately he started looking through drawers, trying to find a few specific ones Elena guessed. "Stock up on what you'll need." He said. "We'll show these guys not to mess with the temple."
Not much later Elena and the armored man were standing at the gates of the temple waiting for the group of mercenaries to arrive. He clearly had a plan the Elena didn't know about, but for some reason Elena felt like she could trust this guy whether he shared his plans with her or not. She couldn't explain it but something about him seemed, eerily familiar.
"Hey, what's goin' on here?" The mercenaries were coming down the road now and one of them had just shouted to Elena and the armored man. "Get out of the way before we burn you down along with this trash heap."
The armored man stepped forward and held out one hand and in a blinding red flash a katana appeared in his hand. "If you plan on living much long then you'll turn around now and tell Lust that she'll have to destroy this place herself… and I'll make sure that if she succeeds she'll go with it."
The mercenaries just starred at him in confusion and then for no apparent reason started laughing hysterically. They all then drew their swords and guns. "Please! There's six of us and your only backup is that li'l girl behind you." One of them said. "I bet she can't even fight… now that I think about it, I think we can have some fun with her after your dead and this place is on fire."
As soon as that mercenary had said that veins started popping out of Elena's neck and she clinched her fists. "Don't even try it, asshole!" she shouted. "I'll break your arms before you even have the chance." Elena then pulled out the two Shen Gong Wu she'd chosen to fight with: Mushas Sword and Bengoshas Shield.
One of the mercenaries made the first move by firing their gun at the armored man. The bullet struck him in the shoulder and pushed him back slightly but other than that did little damage at all other than a dent in his armor. The armored man then rushed at the man who'd shot at him and jammed the handle of his katana into the mans throat. The man fell over, breathing heavily and unconscious. "Quick hit to the jugular. Works every time." The armored man then proceeded to do the same to two of the other mercenaries who blacked out and fell to the ground as well. One of the remaining three then snuck up behind the armored man and trapped him by snaking his arms under the armored mans arms and locking his hands together behind his neck. The other two then went to remove his chest and stomach plates so they could, from what Elena guessed, kill him through slicing his stomach open. But Elena jumped in at the last second by tackling one of the two free men with Bengoshas shield and then jamming the handle of her sword into the throat of the second, just like the armored man had done. Now there was only one of them left. The last man, stunned by fear, left go of the armored man and then took off running, trying to get away as quickly as possible. "I don't think so." the armored man said. He then pulled out the Sapphire Dragon, threw it into the air, and called out its name. At the same time he latched the Emperor Scorpion to his forearm and activated it as well. The giant blue dragon appeared before them and blasted its sapphire blue fire at the running man. He was turned into a sapphire statue while still running. The Sapphire Dragon then went to turn the remaining five into statues as well.
The armored man recalled the Sapphire Dragon and then turned to Elena. "Not Bad, kid." He said. "I can see why you were fated to come to this temple. You are very courageous and you're willing to help those in need."
"Oh! Well… thanks." Elena stuttered.
"We'll have to find a way to protect the temple until your girlfriend and the others get back, though. And, as much as it pains me to leave this place again, I can't stay."
"You know that I'm…" Elena started, but stopped herself when she realized the big picture. "Wait, what do you mean you're leaving?"
"Places to go, people to see." The armored man said simply.
"So how am I supposed to defend this place by myself? Lust will probably send an army next time!"
The armored man walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder again. He then unlatched the Emperor Scorpion from his arm and handed it to her. "Have you ever heard of Mala Mala Jong?"
(a/n) well, theres chapter 2. Kims on her way back to China, Elena's already back at the temple and you still cant figure out this armored guy that keeps showing up everywhere. and as I said (to somebody, I cant remember who) you really begin to question whos side the armored man is on in this chapter. he tries to kill Kimiko and then he helps Elena save the temple, what's up with that? you'll find out in a few chapters. so... thats about it right now. next chapter, figure out where Hamsters (I told you he'd be back) been since the Ultimate Fighter Tournament and meet yet another immportant OC to this story (I know Im kind of overleading on the OCs, but I have my reasons). later.