Kimiko's Dilemma: Part 2
Raimundo paused for a second, doubling over as he caught his breath, then standing up straight again and continuing his search. He'd looked in almost every corner of the temple for Kimiko, but to no avail. If she was hiding herself, she was doing an extraordinary job of it.
He sat down on the dirt and weighed his options. He could either continue looking for her now, or wait until the next morning. She probably wouldn't be very willing to talk to him or anyone tonight, but he might as well address the problem earlier. But by the next day most of the hype about it will have died down and she'd probably shut all conversation down about it completely. I'll talk to her tonight, Rai thought, standing up.
Rai didn't want to waste any time finding her. He knew that Jack Spicer and whatever force he was teaming up with that week tended to attack at night, as that was when they were most vulnerable, which made Rai sweat a little. He didn't want to risk anything happening to Kimiko, especially right now, when she was so upset.
Then, the thought of Spicer triggered something in Raimundo's mind and he thought: The Shen Gong Wu! Kimiko could've taken one. The only two that Rai could think of as useful under Kimiko's circumstances were the Golden Tiger Claws and the Shroud of Shadows.
If she had taken the Tiger Claws, it would be a huge problem. She might've been home in Tokyo by now if that were the case and then he'd never be able to talk to her. Not to mention the beating he'd receive when Clay found out. He didn't think Kimiko would do something so rash, but when she was in this state of mind, anything was possible.
His pulse quickened as he raced to the vault, ringing the chimes in order to create the brief melody needed to open the vault. The stairs appeared immediately after and he ran down the steps two at a time. He found the drawer that held the claws, indicated by a small cryptogram of the mystical item. He pressed the stone in with his fingers and watched it open for him. He sighed with relief as he saw that the golden artifact was in its place, unused.
He checked the shroud's box next. As he suspected, it was gone. She could be anywhere in the temple and he could've passed her numerous times and she'd just ignored him.
He then proceeded to get the Falcon's Eye. He was unsure whether or not the Shen Gong Wu could actually see through the Shroud of Shadows, but it was worth a shot. He called the mystical object's name, activating it. "Falcon's Eye." He peered through the walls of the temple, searching for any sign of his friend. Nothing.
Raimundo walked outside into the courtyard, looking around with the cold metal of the eye pressed against his face. He found no sign of her and started to panic when his eyes fell towards the direction of the forest. The Falcon's Eye's magic took him through the forest, looking through trees and the like, until he finally saw something. A small, female figure, next to two more shapes; a levitating human and a ghostly, almost transparent shape. Raimundo felt the color drain from his face and his heart almost exploded in fear as he realized in horror what was happening. He dropped the Falcon's Eye and sped off, disregarding the Shen Gong Wu and heading towards the gates.
"Back off, Jack, I've had a bad day," Kimiko growled, taking her sharp yet balanced fighting stance, one leg bent up to her hip and her arms bent against her body.
"Oh, have you, now?" the ghostly witch, Wuya, chuckled darkly. "Well, we all have our off days, don't we?" She floated up to Kimiko's face, so close that her long, crooked, red nose almost touched Kimiko's. Kimiko's eyes narrowed and the phantom's smile widened. Then, she fazed through Kimiko's pale face without warning, laughing cruelly as it sent a chill through the girl's body.
"Kimiko, I'm prepared to make a deal with you," Jack said, flying up to her using his helicopter backpack and cupping her face. She slapped his hands away and spat, "Not interested."
"Oh, but, you don't even know what we have to offer," Wuya said, floating over to where Jack was rubbing his hands.
"I said I'm not interested!" she growled, lunging forward at Jack and lashing her leg out towards him. Jack directed his heli-bot backwards, causing her leg to miss by inches. Then Jack grabbed her by the arm and held her up to his face.
"But you don't even know what we have to offer," Jack breathed in her ear.
"Hi-ya!" she smashed her bare feet into Jack's chest, sending him flying backward into a tree. Then, she flipped backward in the air and landed lightly on her feet. "I'm not stupid like Raimundo. You can't bribe me."
"Fine, have it your way," Jack shrugged, standing up from the pile of wood that once resembled a tree. He fixed his goggles, which had been thrown astray, then pressed a button on his wristwatch and a group of his Jack-bots appeared out of nowhere. He chuckled as he backed away, joining Wuya on the sidelines as the robots advanced on Kimiko.
"Fire!" She called on her element, feeling her power increase and her strength build. She jumped in the air and spun backward with her leg held out from her hip, kicking two robots into each other. They exploded, but from the smoke came their replacements.
As Kimiko continued to fight, she cursed herself off in her mind. How could she have been so stupid as to forget about her enemies? She couldn't believe she had let herself get blinded by this whole ordeal. She had been totally unprepared with no Shen Gong Wu to speak of and no plan.
She swung her leg over her head, smashing a Jack-bot that had been sneaking up on her from behind, then brought it down on another that was advancing on her from the front.
There were too many of the robots surrounding her, and she was getting tired. But she had to keep fighting, she had no choice.
"Judolette flip: Fire!" she tumbled backwards on her hands, flames dancing around her, following her as she flipped through the air. She landed, her back to the cloud of smoke that was once her enemies. She glanced back, but through the smoke came even more Jack-bots. "No way!"
"Way, baby!" Jack said, cackling. "You can fight all night, but these guys will just keep coming."
But the truth was Kimiko couldn't fight all night. She felt her strength depleting and her limbs started to ache. She couldn't go on much longer. One of the robots shot a powerful beam at Kimiko, grazing her shoulder. She gasped in pain and fell to her knees, grasping her shoulder tightly.
Jack flew over to her, smirking evilly down at where she knelt. She tried to glare up at him, but her face twisted in pain and she just sent him a look of anguish.
"Now, come quietly," Jack said, reaching down towards her. "We have quite the proposition for you."
"Wind!" a gale of cold air rushed forward to meet those words, blowing some of the robots into each other and causing them to explode. Then, a dark-haired boy descended from the trees, kicking one of the robots into Jack and into a tree. He landed in front of Kimiko, his back to her.
"She's not going to join you, asshole," Rai spat at the red-haired Heylin.
"Ah, Raimundo," Wuya said, bitterly. "A bit late, aren't we?"
Kimiko looked up at her savior, who'd turned around and was walking over to her.
"Are you okay, Kimiko?" he said, kneeling down next to her and holding out his hand.
She slapped his hands away, her eyes narrowed sourly. "Go away, Raimundo, I don't need your kind of help."
"Could you try being the least bit grateful?" Rai said, angrily. "I just saved your ass back there."
"I was doing just fine before you came, so you can just go," Kimiko lied, pushing past him and facing Jack.
"Kimiko, would you just stop it?" Raimundo said. "Let me help you, okay?"
"No! Just go away!" Kimiko yelled at him.
"Watching you Xiaolins fight just makes my day," Jack said mockingly, chuckling. "Its like a movie."
"But what say we add a little more drama?" Wuya said, looking over at her pale red-head of a partner. Her masked-face twisted into a smile as a Jack-bot crept up behind Kimiko. Suddenly, the sound of electrical crackling and the smell of burning skin filled the air as Kimiko convulsed violently, then fell against Raimundo's chest and he grabbed her as the last ebbs of her consciousness slipped away.
Behind her, a Jack-bot's chest plate had opened up and a taser was sticking out of it, still alive with crackling electrical currents.
"Wuya, you bitch!" Raimundo yelled at them. The pair in front of him laughed evilly. Clay is gonna kill me when I come back with her like this.
"All right, Pedrosa," Jack smirked. "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown."
"What are you talking about right now, asshole?" Rai said, setting Kimiko gently on the ground with her head on her towel. "At a time like this? And there aren't any Shen Gong Wu to fight over."
Jack smirked again, the dug his shoe into the ground and out popped what appeared to be metal plungers attached by a silver string.
"You know what this is?" Jack said, twisting the string between his fingers.
"Do you see a dragon that's most likely breaking out in an ugly and disturbing rash?" Raimundo spat.
"Well, you'll soon find out, won't you?" Wuya laughed. "And we'd like to place…. A wager."
"A wager?" Raimundo said, cocking a thick eyebrow. "Like more than Shen Gong Wu?"
"Exactly, child," Wuya smirked. "We'd like you to wager your teammate-" she pointed a ghostly hand at Kimiko.
"No way in hell," Raimundo scoffed. "I'd never bet any of my teammates."
"But you shouldn't give up the offer we have to give you," Wuya said. "Especially before you hear what we have to offer."
"I said 'No', you hag," he said. Jack snickered at the nickname, but she brushed it off and turned to the unconscious Kimiko.
"You shouldn't really say no now, Raimundo," she said. "You're in a rather tight spot. If you decline our offer, we'll test this new Shen Gong Wu on her."
Rai's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. "You're bluffing," he said, clenching his fists.
"Perhaps," Wuya said.
"Or perhaps we're gonna Shen Gong Wu-ify her ass," Jack said, smirking.
What do I do? Rai thought, his mind in a panic despite his cool composure on the outside. I don't know if they're bluffing or not. I don't wanna take the chance of Kimiko getting hurt.
"Alright," he said with a heavy sigh. I have no choice. "What's your challenge?"
"Good boy," Wuya smirked happily.
Rai reluctantly placed his hand on the silver string and it started to glow.
"Raimundo, I challenge you to a-" Jack started.
"Yeah, yeah, just name your game," Rai sighed.
Jack glared at him angrily then said bitterly, "A race through the forest towards the cave at the end. Inside the cave will be the prize. First to the cave gets Kimiko and the Shen Gong Wu. No Shen Gong Wu, just with our own skills."
"Now you're pretending you have skills?" Raimundo said. "Dios, chico, te loco!"
"Fine," Raimundo said.
"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!" They both said. The ground shook as they both rose into the air, brought up by a giant mound of dirt. When they stopped moving, Rai could get a good look at everything.
Giant flying islands were floating in the air, starting from the mound that they were standing on. From that mound there were two paths of islands that stretched out farther then he could see. There was a small brown speck that he knew was the cave that would hold the Shen Gong Wu.
I can't lose this, Raimundo thought, determined. I wo n't let them take Kimiko or the Shen Gong Wu.
"Gong yi tempai!" They both yelled, then sped off.
Rai jumped off of the platform and landed on the first island, his feet landing lightly in the center. He felt it rock it slightly, but it seemed stable enough to walk on. But when he took a step, the whole island shook violently and he stumbled. He peered over the edge and he felt his stomach drop. The entire mound was crumbling. Even the edge that he was standing on was started to fall apart. The pieces were falling downward, towards an earth he couldn't see. He gulped and stepped back. He took a deep breath then jumped onto the next mound. It shook again and it started to crumble right away.
He glanced back at Jack, who was squealing like a child and trying to get from the first platform to the second. Rai mirked and kept moving on. This is in the bag.
"Monkey Staff!" he heard a voice behind him yell. Rai turned around suddenly and saw that Jack Spicer, who now looked like an enormous (ugly) monkey, was jumping around crazily and running towards him.
"Hey, no cheating!" Raimundo yelled accusingly. But Jack wasn't listening, as usual. He jumped onto Rai's mound and plowed right through him, causing him to stumble and fall over the edge. Seconds before he fell, he grabbed onto the edge. He was dangling over the edge of the mound, the only thing keeping him from death (or at least, losing the showdown) was his fingers, clinging on to the island for dear life. He swung his legs, gathering momentum, until he could swing himself up to a one-handed handstand and jump to his feet. "Get back here, asshole!"
Jack just looked back and screeched angrily at him. Raimundo sped up, trying to catch up to the monkey man.
Damn it if I don't have any Shen Gong Wu with me, Rai thought angrily to himself. But I'll be damned if I lose to this creep.
As he started to catch up, he could finally see the cave more clearly. As he neared it, he saw that it wasn't really a cave, just a semi-circle with the curve on top. Underneath the curve was a small pedestal with the small silver Shen Gong Wu on top. But there was another small speck that Raimundo couldn't identify hanging from the circular rock.
He pressed on, begging his lungs for extra air so he could push forward. He started to pull in front of Jack, smiling as he passed the seething Jack. He was only a few feet away from the rounded rock and he could finally identify the little speck hanging from the rock. Raimundo skidded to a stop when he finally saw it.
Kimiko was hanging from the ceiling by her wrists, still unconscious. But somehow, her shirt had been ripped to right under the swell of her breasts and her hair was stringy and hanging all over her face and down her back. The overall effect was incredibly sexy and it intrigued and pissed off Raimundo at the same time.
He continued to run toward her and saw that he was upon the final jump. Naturally, this one was the hardest to cross, the gap was about fifteen feet wide and the only place to land was on one little pedestal that was obviously there only for someone to land on to win. He was almost there when he could hear the sound of whirring growing louder and when he looked back he saw Jack, moving faster than ever. He wasn't a monkey anymore, but he had turned on his heli-bot that he wore on his back and was gliding carelessly through the air, smirking down at Raimundo.
Rai glanced up at Jack, who was pretending to backstroke through the air. Rai swung his arms backwards, pushing a cushion of air against his back and propelling him up into the air. He grabbed onto Jack's ankles, pulling them both down towards the earth.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Jack yelled down towards his feet.
"You should talk, Monkey boy!" Raimundo shot back up at him.
Jack started kicking violently, whimpering like a child as Rai tightened his grip around the other boy's pale ankles.
Meanwhile, the petite Japanese girl started to wake up. After her blue eyes fluttered open, the first thing she felt was the searing pain that seemed to emanate from the small of her back. As her memory came back, she realized with a growl that she'd been tasered by one of the Jack-bots.
She tried to rub it but realized for the first time that she couldn't move her arms, or her feet for that matter. They seemed to be dangling uselessly. She looked up and saw that her wrists were bound to eat other, looked down and saw her ripped shirt. Her face turned red with embarrassment and rage and she screamed, "Jack! I'm going to freakin' kill you!!!!"
Rai and Jack both looked up to where Kimiko was hanging and thrashing, trying to free herself from her suspended prison.
"Ah, she's awake!" Jack said, giggling with excitement.
Kimiko looked down and saw the two boys, the pale, gothic boy flying around, her Brazilian teammate clinging to his ankles for dear life. But honestly, she could give a crap whether or not Rai was in mortal peril, she was just seriously pissed.
"Raimundo! Get me down from here!" she shrieked. " I know you have something to do with this!"
"Ai, girl, its not my fault!" Rai called back angrily. "It's the Flying Dork-ini's fault. Not mine!"
"I don't care whose fault it is!" Kimiko screamed, thrashing harder and harder against her restraints. "Just get me out!"
"Working on it!" Rai yelled as he started swinging from Jack's feet.
"Work harder!" she yelled down at him.
"Girl, if you don't stop running your mouth, I'm gonna-"
"Hey, guys, not to interrupt your lover's quarrel, but we're in the middle of a showdown!" Jack said, even though he was clearly enjoying himself.
"Shut up!" Kimiko and Raimundo both yelled at him at the same time.
"Hey, no need to take your hormones out on me!" Jack said. "And-" But before he could finish, he looked up at the cave and saw that it was just a few feet away. There was no way he could maneuver out of the way. Raimundo seemed to realize the same thing and swung off of Jack's legs, flipping backwards before landing perfectly on the stone. Up above, Jack ran straight into the curve of the rock, causing a huge explosion. As a result, the giant island started to crumble, giants chunks of rock tumbling towards them. Raimundo had nowhere else to go, so he dodged what he could. Then he heard Kimiko scream. He looked up and saw that she was swinging dangerously from her perch as the rock continued to break. Finally, the rope snapped and she started plummeting through the air, screaming as she went.
Raimundo couldn't get to her, she was a good ten feet off from where he was and falling fast. He couldn't think fast enough and she'd already fallen past him.
"Raimundo!" she shrieked as she fell, hot tears rolling up (yes, up) her pale face. Her heart was racing, her body was shaking, she'd never experienced anything like this. She might actually die. She knew that her lifestyle was dangerous, but it never occurred to her that she might actually die. And what a way to go, too. Falling to her death because of a challenge between the man she loves and a psychotic, self-proclaimed 'evil boy genius'. Great.
"R-Raimundo!!! Help me!" she screamed.
Rai didn't even have time to think, he dove off of the pedestal. His eyes stung and his brown hair was whipping at his face, but his only goal was getting to Kimiko.
She was still a lot farther down than he was and he could see the ground, and it was coming at them fast. He swung his arms downward again, another jet of air pushing him down towards her.
"Kimiko!" he yelled down at her. She looked up at him, tears swimming in her wild and fearful eyes. He reached out his hand to her, but she hesitated. Raimundo groaned and said, "Come on, Kim, we're about to smack into the ground. This is not the time to be reluctant!"
She nodded and finally took his hand and he immediately pulled her against his body. He didn't know why, it was just an instinct, like this would help protect her. Kimiko's face turned a deep red, but he couldn't tell, her face was buried so far into his chest. She was freaking out for a second, but she quickly recovered, taking in his smell and feeling the muscles in his chest, which she could easily feel through his shirt. She suddenly felt ecstatic, happy and protected, like she was secure and would always be. But the only time she'd ever felt this was in Raimundo's arms.
There were only about thirty feet between them and the ground now and they were closing in.
But suddenly there were a ton of bright flashes and they were back in the forest with Jack and Wuya. In Jack's hands were the silver strings and he was smiling evilly.
Raimundo's arms were still around Kimiko, but he loosened them so he could look straight into her eyes. Kimiko was blushing deeply, but staring back at him.
"Well, I won," Jack said. But no one was paying attention to him.
"Thanks," Kimiko breathed. Raimundo just nodded.
"Kimiko, come on, you're coming with me," Jack said, grabbing Kimiko's arm and pulling her up to her feet.
"What?" Kimiko said, pulling her arm away. Raimundo stood up next to her, his eyes downcast and his temper flaring.
"You guys lost the showdown, so I got the prize," Jack said. He smiled down at the girl. "That would be you."
"Raimundo, what is he talking about?" Kimiko asked, her voice shaking. Raimundo didn't say anything, just stared at the ground.
"Your little boyfriend wagered you into the showdown," Wuya said, cackling cruelly.
"Y-You're lying," she said. "Rai would never-"
"But he did," Wuya hissed, wrapping her ghostly body around Kimiko's neck. "And now you're our's."
"Raimundo, they're lying, right?" Kimiko turned to Rai, whose hands were in his pockets and he was staring at his feet. "Rai, tell me they're lying."
"Kimiko, I-"
"Say your goodbyes, kiddies," Jack said. "We'll be taking Kimiko with us soon."
"Raimundo, how could you do this?" Kimiko said incredulously. "You bet me like some sort of object?"
"Kimiko, they were threatening you, I had no other choice," Rai said, stumbling over his words. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't find a way to explain himself. He really didn't believe there was any way he could.
"How about you leave me the hell alone!?" Kimiko yelled at him. "None of this would've happened if you just left me alone."
"If I'd left you alone, you'd already be in Jack's basement by now," Raimundo said. "I saved your ass, how about a 'thank you'?"
"Is this some kind of game to you, Raimundo?" Kimiko said. "I thought I meant more to you than a trophy. Especially a trophy that you lost!"
"Okay, this is getting kind of old," Jack said, pressing another button on his watch. Another Jack-bot descended from the trees and before either could object it had picked Kimiko up and hoisted her over its metal shoulder.
"What the hell??!?! Put me down!" Kimiko shrieked. She started banging on the robot but only receiving a metallic banging as a result. "I said, put me down, you metal creep!"
Then Jack pressed yet another button and the bot as well as Jack and his partner started to fly up into the air.
"I hate you, Raimundo!!!" Kimiko screamed right before they were out of earshot and out of sight.