Chapter 3: The Outback and the Middle East
Clay fell onto his back to relax after successfully starting a fire after almost an hour. The past week had been hard for him. He'd ended up in the Australian outback and was forced to wander aimlessly until he found civilization which he hadn't yet. He'd been sleeping under trees and when he found one a cave and he'd been surviving off of speared fish and, if the fishing was bad, the occasional snake or scorpion. "Man what I wouldn't do for a cheeseburger right now." He complained as he stuck his speared fish over the fire to cook.
He heard a rustling in the nearby bushes. He glanced over to them quickly but found nothing. By now Clay had learned to be vigilant and to be suspicious of every noise. Just the other day he had to fight off a dingo. Clay waited a few seconds before shrugging off the feeling and going back to watching his food, making sure it wasn't overdone. It took a while but eventually he could tell that it was ready to eat. He quickly reached into the fire and pulled out one of the sticks with a fish on it and then bit right into it. "Good thing I was raised on a ranch or I'd probably be dead right now." He muttered as he chewed.
"Do you mind if I join you?"
Clay swung his head around to find who'd spoken but found no one. "Down here." He then looked down to his side and couldn't believe what he saw. It was an old acquaintance of his that he hadn't seen in months; a rodent standing on its hind legs and wearing tiny Xiaolin robes.
"Hamster?"
"I wondered if you'd recognize me." Hamster said. "Now if you don't mind, I'm afraid I'm famished but I'd burn to death if I tried to get my own food." Clay reached into the fire and pulled out another fish for Hamster. "So, I suppose the Sins are to blame for you're separation from your friends… am I correct?"
"Yeah. I don't know where they are… or how I ended up in Australia for that matter. You know what's going on?"
"I'm afraid so." Hamster sighed. And So Hamster explained to Clay everything that had happened in the passed week. The Sins taking over earth instantly, the Sin of Greed taking Australia; how he and all of his friends were now wanted criminals; how people around the world were now barely surviving, the Sins providing only the bare necessities to keep society in check. Clay could barely believe what he was hearing.
"What about my friends?" Clay demanded. "Do you know where they are? Please tell me you know where Saya is!"
"I know not where they are." Hamster admitted. "But I know where they are all headed. At this very moment all of your friends are on their way back to the Xiaolin Temple to reunite… I suspect that you wish to do the same."
"Yer damn right I do!"
"Then please, rest. For tomorrow we have a great ordeal ahead of us."
"What's the plan, little man?"
"We're going to pay a visit to an old… friend of mine… Hannibal Roy Bean."
THE NEXT DAY
"What exactly makes you think that Hannibal is even on this continent?" Clay asked Hamster as he and the rodent trekked through the outback. Hamster jumped onto Clay's shoulder and sat down.
"I have ways." Hamster answered. "Now hurry. He should know we're coming by now?"
"How…" Clay started, but he cut off as Hamster pointed towards the sky. Clay looked up to find a strange gray and black bird with a red crest flying away from them. "The Yin-Yang bird…"
"Yes. Hannibal will know of us soon enough."
"So, why are we lookin' for Hannibal anyway?"
Hamster simply sighed and shook his head. Kids today were so single minded. "Have you ever heard the expression keep your friends close and your enemies closer?" Clay nodded, explaining that Master Fung told him and his friends that all the time. "In situations like these it is good to unite with old enemies for a common goal. Hannibal is a dangerous enemy, but will also make an essential ally in the war against the Sins."
Clay froze in his tracks. "What was that?" he asked. Hamster repeated his last sentence and one word from that sentence kept repeating over and over in Clay's head. War. "So, when did this fight against the Sins turn into a war?"
"The second Pride came into existence over fifteen hundred years ago."
LOCATION UNKNOWN
Hannibal cringed and growled as he looked through the Yin-Yang Bird's eyes to the Texan monk and the rodent on his shoulder try to track him down. Hannibal could still remember the day not so long ago that Clay had destroyed the Oni's jewel before he'd had a chance at it and he still resented Clay for it too. "If he thinks I'm gunna help him then he's got another thing coming." He said before slamming the two halves of the Moby Morpher together and reforming himself into a large, demonic looking suit of armor, complete with spikes, horns, and black steel. "But what's with the rat on his shoulder?... never seen him before… unless…" he paused as thoughts raced through his head and it wasn't long before he realized who the hamster was. "So, the old man's after the Moby Morpher, is he? Well, he'll just have to take it from my cold, refried corpse… Yingy!"
Out of nowhere the in-Yang Bird fluttered down and landed on Hannibal's armored shoulder. "I've rested long enough. It's time I headed back to earth, my feathered friend." The Yin-Yang Bird squawked once before flapping its wings, easily lifting Hannibal's armored body, and flying away, disappearing in a blinding flash of darkness.
AUSTRALIA
"Got any bright ideas now?" Clay asked sarcastically.
"My brain is the size of a walnut. What do you think?" Hamster answered.
It had been hours now since Clay and Hamster had started looking for Hannibal and still they'd had no luck. They didn't know how many hours it had been before Clay finally decided to take a brake in the shade of a tree. Hamster didn't like this one bit and started explaining how important defeating the Sins was and how slothful Clay was being now of all times. Clay rolled his eyes and pointed out that he was twenty times as big as Hamster was and could easily crush him with his bare hands. Hamster clearly had no comeback for this and simply went silent until Clay was ready to get moving again.
But who could've seen it coming? Clay had fallen asleep within a few minutes of sitting down under the tree. "If only you knew the hell I could bring you…" Hamster growled angrily.
"It's the hell I can bring you that you should be worried about!"
A large shadow was suddenly cast of Hamster and the still sleeping Clay. Hamster swung around to find a suit of armor at least ten feet tall standing behind him with the Yin-Yang bird perched on its shoulder. Immediately one name came to his mind. "Hannibal! I should've known you'd save us the trouble of finding you."
"Now you know I never lay low for long. It was only a matter of time before I resurfaced." Hannibal chuckled.
"So," Hamster continued. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
Again, Hannibal just chuckled and then he reached behind his back with both arms, pulling out the Moby Morpher and slamming the two halves together, reforming into his pintsized bean form so that he and Hamster could talk eye to eye. "I'm not here to fight. I just want you to know, I'm not working with you under any circumstances what so ever. I'd rather this whole planet blew up than work with you good for nothing monks."
"That is a very real possibility!" Hamster said. "And I know you want this world for your own just as much as I want to save it."
"What, suddenly you can read minds?... or was that written on the back of your eyelids?" Hannibal chuckled. "Or your desk calendar, perhaps?"
"So you know who I really am then?" Hamster sighed. "Then I suppose you know what I want."
"The Moby Morpher. Yeah, I know." Hannibal confirmed. "And I also know that I'll willingly hand it over to you when carrots learn to speak English!"
"Then how about you hand it over to me."
As soon as this voice had spoken Hannibal slammed the Moby Morpher together and took on his armor form again. He then turned around to face who had spoken only to receive a roundhouse kick to the face which sent him flying at the Tree where Clay was sleeping. The person who'd delivered the kick was covered from head to toe in form fitting medieval armor. The armored man laughed aloud as Hannibal slammed against the tree with a metallic bang and then landed on top of Clay. Immediately Clay woke up and threw the oversized suit of armor off of him. "What in the name of great-granddaddy Bailey's world famous barbequed baby back ribs with the super secret sauce, mouthwatering meat, and side dish of pork and beans fell on me?" Clay shouted.
"You said a mouthful." Hamster chuckled.
The eyes inside of Hannibals helmet glowed neon red as he pushed himself back to his feet and summoned two double bladed executioners' axes with extra long handles. "I know that voice." He growled. "What the hell are you doing here of all placed?"
"I'm here to finish a job I should've finished a long time ago." The armored man answered as he summoned his katana sword.
"So you are who I thought you were." Hamster said as he jumped back onto Clay's shoulder. Clay, meanwhile, was completely confused and asked Hamster what was going on. Hamster simply said that he would understand later and for now he should just observe and learn.
Hannibal charged at the armored man with one of his axes raised into the air. As Hannibal brought the axe down towards him the armored man blocked the axe with his sword. Hannibal then swung the other axe at him from the side but the armored man lifted his leg and slammed it down onto the axe, pinning it to the ground. Next the armored man slammed his head against Hannibal's chest, sending him stumbling backwards and dropping both of his axes, and ran after him, jumping into the air and crashing the heel of his foot into Hannibal's chest. Hannibal was now pinned to the ground with the armored man standing over him. With one foot safely pinning Hannibal down the armored man lifted the other and stomped down on Hannibal's helmet, crushing it as if it were a cardboard box. He nodded and stepped off of Hannibal. He reached down and grabbed both of his arms with the Moby Morpher still on both and he brought them together reverting Hannibal back to his original form. After that he slipped the golden half shields off of Hannibal's tentacles (they grew to their usual size after being removed). "Here." He said as he tossed both pieces to Clay. "I hope you know how to sue it." With that the armored man vanished without a trace in a sudden and quick dust storm.
Clay and Hamster stood there silently as the Yin-Yang bird fluttered down, picked up its fallen master and flew away back into the Yin-Yang world. After that Clay slipped the two halves of the Moby Morpher on his arms and prepared to use it. "I hope you have a form in mind that will get us to China quickly." Hamster said.
"Oh, I have something in mind." Clay smirked. Clay slammed the two halves together to take on a new form. There wasn't much of a difference except that now Clay's head was a flaming skull and he was now sitting on a motorcycle with flaming wheels. "I always wondered what this would be like." He said in a demonic double voice. "Now let's ride!" With that Clay revved the engine of the bike and he and Hamster sped off towards the horizon at an almost impossible speed leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
THE MIDDLE EAST
Mimi groaned in annoyance as she tried to keep her hair inside of the veil she'd been given by one of the other girls. The area she'd ended up in was very highly populated with Muslim people and if she wanted to keep off the radar she had to stay in disguise. Finally, in frustration, Mimi ripped the cloth from her head and threw it to the floor. The girl Mimi had been forced to share a room with walked over to her and picked it up. "Please, I know you detest this but you must not be spotted, especially my one of Lust's informants." She said, offering the cloth back to Mimi. "You are a wanted criminal after all."
"I know, Charity, I'm just pissed off is all." Mimi said. "If it were my choice I'd be on my way back to China by now but with the Sins lackeys everywhere traveling that far is almost impossible without being checked out."
During the week between being separated from the others and now Mimi had joined a group of Rogue children in a small Middle Eastern town. Counting her there were eight of them total and they all lived in an abandoned building that had been condemned long ago. The girl that Mimi shared a room with was Charity. Charity wasn't her real name, of course, but Mimi couldn't pronounce her real name (or anyone else's in the group for that matter) so the two girls agreed on the nickname to avoid confusion. She wore a plain black dress with a veil over her mouth and nose and another cloth over her hair. Other than Charity Mimi didn't know many of the others well. Only their leader, an older boy who she called Buzz, and the youngest of them, a little boy that she called Speedy. Everyone else seemed to intentionally avoid her for reasons she really didn't care about. I'll be out of here soon enough anyway. Mimi thought.
Living with these kids was simple enough. Everyday a couple of them would go into tow with Buzz to get food and supplies to last for at least the day and night. Mimi had gone only twice but knew how dangerous it was. Servants of Lust were everywhere, not just in that town but all over Asia, and could arrest anyone on a whim. Just another one of the many hells that came with a world ran by seven psychopaths.
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Mimi asked as Charity helped her with the cover for her hair.
"You, Speedy, and I are going with Buzz into town." Charity explained.
"Speedy's coming too? Isn't it a little dangerous for him to go into town at his age?" Mimi asked.
"Trust me, Speedy can take care of himself." Charity giggled. "You learn that after living with the little rascal for so long."
"All right then, let's go."
IN TOWN
"Ok, you all know what to do." Buzz said to Charity, Speedy, and Mimi. "Spend all of the money you have and then if it's not enough start stealing until you have everything we need. You three can handle food. I'll get everything else." With that Buzz walked off into the throng of people behind him, leaving Mimi, Charity, and little Speedy behind. The two girls and their pint sized companion started searching through the bazaar for everything they needed; mostly bread, fruit, and water.
Just an hour later Mimi checked their list. "Look's like we've got just about everything. All we need now is water."
"We should've gotten that first." Charity complained. "It's all the way on the other side of town."
"I can get it!" Speedy said enthusiastically. "It won't take me long at all!"
Charity kneeled down and patted him on the head, bringing about a growl from the little boy. "Water's really heavy, Speedy." She explained. "You may be faster than anyone else but I doubt you could carry enough for everyone by yourself."
"C'mon, you two!" Mimi called. "You know how Buzz gets if he beats anyone back."
"Coming!" Charity called back to the French redhead. "Let's get going, Speedy." With that Charity went to catch up with Mimi, thinking that Speedy would follow behind her like a good boy. And at first he did… until he stopped, having the eerie feeling that they were being watched. He tried to call to Mimi and Charity but before he could the boy felt something cold and hard snake over his mouth and another press against his neck, only this one was thin and sharp.
"Hey!"
Mimi and Charity swung around to find Speedy standing completely frozen in front of a man wearing medieval armor who was holding a katana sword to his throat. "Catch me if you can." With that the katana vanished and the armored man wrapped his free arm around Speedy, picking him up and locking him under his arm before running off.
"Speedy!" Charity called. She had no idea what to do other than stand there and panic. Mimi, however, was quick to take action and chase after him. Charity was surprised by this at first, having never suspected Mimi to act like this. When they'd first met Mimi was a complete emotional wreck, sobbing her eyes out one moment and turning insanely mad the next. It took her a second or two but Charity was quick to follow Mimi's actions and chase after Speedy and his kidnapper.
Mimi and Charity chased the armored man throughout the town. The armored man quickly took to the roof tops and Mimi followed him up there while Charity, not being very agile or fast herself, stuck to the allies and streets below. At one point the girls managed to catch him in a dead end. They thought they'd caught him but he only proved them wrong by teleporting behind Charity and taking off again. By the time the armored man had finally stopped running the sun was already starting to set and Charity and Mimi were completely exhausted.
He had led them just outside of town, to the ocean of sand that surrounded it. Mountains loomed in the background with the sun just behind them behind the armored man and behind the girls was the town. "Not bad, ladies." He said. "I would've thought you'd have given up by now." He looked directly at Mimi and then to Charity. He vanished again, this time reappearing right in front of Charity and set Speedy, who was now unconscious, down in front of her. "You have true potential." He said. "Don't let anyone tell you any different… and you," he then turned to Mimi. "You want to go home, right?"
Mimi stared at him in confusion. "How'd you know…"
"I think the question is what he hasn't told you yet."
All three looked to the voice and they gasped at who they saw. "Well, well, well," said the Sin of Greed, her long black pony tail and the pink veils over her mouth and pelvis blowing in the wind. "If it isn't Lust's favorite lover, short-and-bald's prostitute, and my favorite little sister."
"Greed!" Mimi, Charity, and the armored man shouted simultaneously.
"What in Allah's great name are you doing here again?" Charity demanded. "I thought we made it clear that you and brother weren't welcome here when you were banished."
"Now that's not a nice thing to say." Greed pouted, thought obviously not meaning it. "Brother Gluttony and I have missed you dearly, little sister."
"She's your sister?" Mimi asked, shocked.
"Former sister…" Charity growled.
With an enraged cry the armored man suddenly summoned his katana again and charged at Greed. Greed summoned her two swords and used them to block his attack and the two were caught in a deadlock, neither letting down for the other to succeed. "Go!" the armored man called, using his free hand to throw something back to Mimi and Charity. What he'd thrown looked like a small manta ray statue made of silver with a note tied to it with a string. Mimi took a closer look and, as she'd thought, it was the Silver Manta Ray. "Mimi, take the Manta Ray and go to the places on the paper in order!" the armored man called. "Charity, you and Speedy go home and do hide!"
Charity didn't have to be told twice. Not wanting to even look at her sister, she picked up Speedy, cradling his body in her arms, and ran back into the town. Mimi also did as she was told and activated the Silver Manta Ray. Once it had grown to its full size and she'd gotten inside, she took a look at the paper that had come with it.
Cairo, Venice, Moscow, home.
Mimi just shrugged and took one more look down to the armored man and Greed. A full fledged battle had broken out now and she didn't want to stick around to see the winner. "Look out, Cairo, here I come."
(a/n) ya know, Im really not satisfied about how the second half of this chapter turned out. all well, had to rush half of it anyway so it really cant be helped. and yes, the skull and motorcycle thing Clay did is a reference to Ghost Rider... I love that movie. also, dont expect to see buzz or speedy again. they were very minor characters that I created souly for this chapter, and frankly I dont even like them. however, charity will play a major role later on. and one more thing, dont expect me to update this for at least another month. I seriously need a break from this story line for a while. I think Ill work on Xiaolin Show-off 2 next and then a few chapters of X-men and One champion before this. again, this IS NOT dead, Im just taking a break. until then, later.