Another poor R&R rate…Come on people, these are what keep me writting! On with today's chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown

Xiaolin Showdown: Legend of the Thunder Child III: Apocalypse Clone

59: The Cannon's Core

Core's Cooling Plant Entrance…

11 minutes, 29 seconds till Earth impact…

The sound of water flowing by at high speeds filled everyone's ears as the six of them went down the corridor which was lined with pipes filled with water. Chase reached a turning in the corridor and raised a hand to stop them.

"What is it?" said Omi as the all stood behind him. Chase peered out and saw that the corridor was filled with loads of black ball like things.

"What are they?" said Raimundo as he poked his head around to see what was going on.

"Clones" said Chase "As soon as we go near them, they will awaken and attack us…"

Chase looked around the corridor; it didn't seem big enough for him and Omi to fight the clones and to have Ryan, Kimiko, Raimundo and Clay sneak past.

"This will be difficult…" said Chase "We can't get through without being detected…"

"Hold on" said Kimiko as she picked up the walky-talky, "Jack? Is there another way through?"

"Wait a sec…" said Jack's voice "Hmm…There doesn't seem to be another route…Wait! Along the side of the corridor you're in, there is a small hole that you should be able to crawl through past the clones!"

Everyone looked around the corridor, looking for the small opening.

"There it is" said Clay as he pointed to a small hole that went behind some pipes along the corridor.

"Okay" said Ryan as he bent down and pulled the grate from it, "Chase and Omi, stir up the hornet's nest, keep them busy for as long as you can, we'll try to open the way to the Core as fast as we can"

Omi and Chase nodded as they both stepped out into the corridor, the black balls began to unroll themselves and stand up. The clones looked at Omi and Chase and slowly began to walk towards them.

"Once again Omi" said Chase as he went into his battle pose, "Fate has put us side by side in battle again…"

"Indeed it has" said Omi "But this time, I won't let you trick me again"

"I wouldn't dream of it…" said Chase. The corridor was now filled with clones that were all moving towards them.

"Let's see if your skills have improved" said Chase.

"Don't you worry" said Omi "They have!"

The clones suddenly charged at them, but they were ready for it.

"Wasp Racing Fly!" yelled Chase and Omi in unison as they unleashed a wave of attacks on the clones, "Monkey Climbing Tree! Leopard Fighting Lion! Scorpion Tail Lash!"

The clones fell like cut grass as more clones came surging towards them. Meanwhile, Ryan and the others were pushing themselves through the hole.

"Come on guys!" whispered Ryan as they squeezed through hole, "Keep going!"

"I'm coming!" whispered Kimiko, she squealed as a jet of steam sprayed from one of the pipes near her.

"Shh!" whispered Ryan.

"Sorry!" whispered Kimiko.

"Whoa…" whispered Raimundo "Look at Omi and Chase go!"

"Come on!" whispered Ryan "We haven't got time to watch them…Oh! Moose Walking Backwards!"

"Ryan!" whispered Kimiko as she hit Ryan from behind.

"Oww!" whispered Ryan.

"Uhh…Guys?" whispered Clay "I'm think I'm stuck!"

"Then don't eat so much!" whispered Raimundo. Clay snorted as he slowly pushed himself through the hole. Chase looked behind the pipes as he saw Clay and the others get beyond the clones. He then returned to beating up the clones as they came kept on coming.

Core's Cooling Plant Water Storage…

10:02 till Earth impact…

Ryan punched the metal grate from the other end of the hole.

"Finally…" coughed Ryan as he took a deep breath, "Could hardly breathe in there"

He looked around the room he was in; it was very gloomy and hard to see in.

"Hmm…" thought Ryan as he continued to crawl out of the hole "Where are…WHOA!"

SPLASH!

Kimiko stuck her head out of the hole as she heard her boyfriend hit water.

"Ryan?" said Kimiko "Is there water? I can't see a thing"

"Yes…" coughed Ryan as he spat out water, "And lots of it…"

"Okay" said Kimiko "As long as I don't get my hair…WAH!"

SPLOSH!

"Kimiko!" gasped Ryan "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Oh no…" coughed Kimiko as she spat out water, "My hair plus water doesn't equal good…"

"Uhh…Guys?" said Raimundo as he looked out of the hole, "I'm guessing that the sound of you two splashing means there is water?"

"Yep" said Kimiko "The waters fine, why don't you join us?"

"Nah…" said Raimundo "I'm just going to avoid getting…WHOA!"

SPLASH!

"Heh heh heh…" laughed Kimiko as she floated in the darkness.

"Okay…" said Clay as he managed to squeeze through the hole, "The three of you landed in water, so I'm guessing I have no choice?"

"Looks like it" said Ryan "Don't worry, the water's quite warm"

KASPLOSH!

"Hoo-wee!" gasped Clay as he surfaced, "That was refreshing after being stuck in that hole"

"Sure was" said Raimundo "So now what?"

Kimiko looked down into the water as she felt something buzz in her pocket, she pulled out her walky-talky which was, thankfully, waterproof.

"Guys?" said Dojo's voice "Where are you?"

"We have no idea" said Kimiko "Its dark and where up to our necks in water"

"Oh! Hold on…" said Jack's voice, there was a bright flash as the lights came on, "You should have told me you were there, and I could have turned the lights on before you got wet"

"You mean we could have avoided getting soaked to the skin!" yelled Kimiko "My hair is ruined!"

"You didn't ask" said Jack's voice. Everyone groaned as they swan towards the edge of the tank they were in.

"All in favour of hurting Jack when were done?" said Ryan.

"Aye" said Raimundo, Kimiko and Clay as they climbed out onto the edge of the tank and began to dry themselves off.

"So what do we do now?" said Kimiko as she grabbed her hair and began to wring out the water.

"Simple" said Jack "The control room is in the centre of a ring of tanks, you're in tank A"

"So me and Clay have to get to the control room via a pipe that is underwater in this tank" said Raimundo.

"Yep" said Jack "Clay, you dive to the bottom and release the water"

"What?" complained Clay "I just got out"

Kimiko put her foot on his back and pushed him back into the water. Clay grumbled to himself as he floated in the water.

"Once the water is drained" said Jack "Raimundo can fly to the pipe and crawl through it, there should be a small opening you could open to get into the control room from"

"How do I get out after drain the water?" said Clay.

"You climb out using the ladder" said Jack "But you can't get to the pipe on the ladder so Raimundo has to fly there"

"Okay" said Ryan "Let's get moving, we haven't got long till this place crashes with Earth"

"About ten minuets left" said Jack.

"Thanks for the reminder…" sighed Raimundo.

Clay took a deep breath as he dived down into the water, it wasn't too difficult to get to the bottom because of his large bulk, but it was still quite deep. He turned around and saw back up.

"Okay!" gasped Clay as he got his breath back, "I can get down there, what do I do?"

"There should be a large round handle" said Jack "Twist it counter clockwise"

He held his breath as he sank back down into the depths of the tank. He could see a large red handle below him, so he quickly put his arms around it and began twisting it with all his might. After a few moments, the handle began to loosen and became easier to turn. He gulped as he felt his lungs begin to scream for air. There was a loud grinding noise as a door below him opened up and the water began to drain out into a grate below him. His face went red as he gagged for air, he swam up as fast as he could, which was hard because the water was draining out below him. He gasped as he reached the surface; he swam around towards the ladder and began to climb back up to the others.

"Guys!" called Clay who was still panting for air, "I did it!"

"Okay!" called Raimundo as he flew down, "I see the pipe now!"

He swooped down past Clay and flew into the pipe, after crawling for a short distance, he found a doorway. He opened the doorway and stepped out into the control room.

"Okay…" said Raimundo as he looked over the flashing lights and buttons, "Jack said the green button on the left…"

He ran his hand over two buttons that said "Tank A water gates", the green said "Open" and the red said "Close".

"There we go!" said Raimundo as he pushed the green button, "Open!"

A doorway opened up high above Ryan and Kimiko which lead into a dark corridor.

"You two go on!" called Clay as he climbed the last few rungs of the ladder, "I'll wait for Rai and Omi, you two make sure you shut down the energy field thingies"

"Don't worry about us" said Kimiko "I got Ryan"

"And I got Kimiko" said Ryan "That's all I need"

She smiled as she took his hand in hers.

"Aww shucks…" sighed Clay "You guys…"

"Thanks Clay" said Ryan as he lead Kimiko to the ladder that lead up to the doorway, "Ladies first"

Kimiko smiled as she climbed up the ladder, followed by Ryan.

"Good luck you two!" called Clay as Ryan and Kimiko went into the doorway, "The world is counting on you two! Go for it, partners!"

R&R everyone! The last challenge for Ryan and Kimiko, will they do it?