Chapter One
Several years later...
"So what's this new shen gong wu we're looking for?" asked Kimiko. The ride on top of the dragon had been taking some time now, it was late in the afternoon, and the other warriors were starting to get anxious.
"It's called the 'Scythe of the Spirits'," said Dojo as he pulled out a scroll, "whoever uses it will be given the power to talk to any dead spirit." The picture on the scroll showed a figure using the scythe and a ghostly form appearing.
"So, where is this scythe? It's not in a grave is it?" asked Raimundo.
"No. It's in a theater in a small town called Blackspring." said Dojo, who then gave quick glance at the forest they were flying over. He became silent for a moment.
"You ok there partner?" asked Clay
"Huh... oh yeah. I'm fine, just an old memory popping up. We should be coming up on the town soon. If I remember right, it's quite the quaint little place." said Dojo. Not soon after he spoke those words the forest disappeared behind them and a city came into sights.
"If this is a small town Dojo, then you may proclaim me the king of Russia" said Omi.
"Queen of Sheba you mean." corrected Raimundo.
"That too." said Omi.
"Hey, it's been a while ok!" proclaimed Dojo. The dragon zipped into the city and landed in a parking lot behind a store.
"So what's the plan here, split up and call everyone when we find it?" asked Kimiko as Dojo shrank to a smaller size.
"No need, the scythe is nearby. I can feel it." said Dojo as he started to sniff the air like a bloodhound. Suddenly he froze and pointed through the ally.
"Shen gong wu dead ahead." spouted Dojo. The monks took off in a dash, Omi scooping up Dojo as they went. When they emerged from the ally, right in front of them was a small theater with a sign that said 'The Green Llama Theater'.
"You sure that it's in there dojo?" asked Raimundo.
"Positive. I think." said Dojo. And with that, the monks headed towards the worn out double doors of the theater with a green llama on it. Inside there was nobody in the lobby, but there was a lot of noise coming from further in past some more doors.
"Sounds like some sort of rehearsal is going on, do you think we would be interrupting it?" asked Clay.
"Better we interrupt it than Spicer in my opinion." said Raimundo as he opened the doors. The monks looked at each other and decided that he had a point. When they went through the doors, there was a mess and a half on the stage. Right in the middle of the stage was a giant Venus flytrap looking plant with tentacles growing out of its' stem. To the left of it was a girl with platinum blond hair, stage makeup, and a white dress on rehearsing some lines. On top of the plant was an open hatch, with what looked like a high pull up bar from a gym class with a ladder on the side standing over it. Dangling from the bar was someone holding on by only their feet wearing what looked like overalls. Next to it was a guy leaning against the plant. Around the two people on stage, were a lot of other workers and actors doing their own thing. One actor was trying to find a fake machete, one girl was painting a wall to look like a worn down street, and another was stitching up a hole in someone's costume.
"How in the world are we going to find that wu in this mess?" asked Kimiko
"By searching diligently and with focus," said Omi raising a fist in the air, "remember we are Xiaolin warriors and we..."
"Uh Omi... how 'bout we just ask someone that works here. They probably use it as a prop if it's hidden here." said Clay.
"Oh. I suppose that would be easier." said Omi as he lowered his fist.
As the monks walked down the aisle and closer to the stage, they caught the attention of the actress in white, who simply glared at them.
"Oh woman of the theater, would you be so kind as to help us find a certain scythe. It would be most appreciated." asked Omi as the actress continued to glare at them
"Like, why would I want to do that? You guys are totally interrupting my rehearsal. If you want to find something, you should ask the freak in the plant." sneered the actress as she strode off. Omi simply stood there for a moment before he said anything.
"Was it something I said?" asked Omi.
"Nah, Rose is just a complete 'Prima Dona'. She thinks the whole world revolves around her." said the guy leaning against the plant. "She is right about one thing though. If you want to find something here, it's best to ask Terra here. Hey Terra, come out of that plant already, you know it's busted beyond repair." he continued as he looked up at Terra
"I told you already, I haven't met anything that I couldn't fix yet, and you're gonna owe me twenty bucks if I can. I'll be with you guys in just a sec." said Terra from within the plant. The monks just simply waited while Terra tried to fix the plant. David simply smirked at her, thinking that there was no way that the plant could be fixed.
"Hey would someone hand me my hammer?" asked Terra as she reached out. David grabbed the hammer from a backpack on the ground, climbed up the ladder, and put it in her hand.
Bam... Clang... Thump! The noises filled the air making the monks jump slightly, and the tentacle of the plant began to slowly wiggle in the air.
"Aha, she lives!" shouted Terra as she pulled herself up onto the bar and trusted both fists in the air. Terra by now was covered in grease and soot and had her hair tucked into a black beanie. David groaned as he pulled out a twenty from his pocket. Terra jumped down and snatched the twenty out of his hand. Terra had a light frame, a stubby nose, and sturdy hands. She then looked over at the monks, and froze.
For just a moment, two hearts skipped a beat, and a pair of bright green eye stared at a pair of soft blue eyes. Even though the world continued on, it felt like everything had been frozen in time. Omi and Raimundo both gave a confused look as Clay stared at Terra. Kimiko looked at both and gave a knowing smile. When it was clear that neither was going to speak first, Kimiko let out a small cough.
"We're sorry to interrupt you guys, but we were hoping you could help us find something." said Kimiko. Terra blinked a couple of times as if coming out of a dream
"Oh, right. What is it you guys are looking for?" said Terra.
"A scythe, it's probably been here longer that the theater." said Kimiko.
"Hmm, let me check the prop room. Come with me, maybe you'll recognize It." said Terra as she started walking to one of the side entrances. If the stage was crowded, then the backstage had to be considered chaotic. Several times Clay, who was just a head taller than Terra, had to duck just to avoid being hit in the head with numerous items. Omi had to make sure that Dojo was still inside his sleeve so that he couldn't fall out and get stepped on. Finally they all reached a door clearly labeled 'Prop Room'. Terra reached into her pocked and pulled out some keys, found the right key, and unlocked the door.
"Well, here we are. Most likely a scythe would be kept towards the back in closet C." said Terra. Most of the monks started towards the back in haste, but Clay stayed at the door.
"Don't think we've introduced ourselves yet. My name's Clay by the way." he said as he held out a hand.
"Terra," she said as she wiped off some grease off her hand and shook his, "I don't think you guys are from around here."
"No mam. We're just passing through and had to grab the scythe."
"That's too bad. You know... I'll bet you're looking for the weird looking scythe. It's stripped with a little skull on a tassel. We've been trying to find the right play for it but never had any luck."
"That would probably be it. And, ya don't mind us taking it?"
"Nah. We have like, ten more in that closet." Terra said with a shrug. There was another silence that filled the air.
"So, how long have you lived here?" asked Clay
"Only for about a year now, my mom and I use to move around a lot, but this is where I was born. I came to live here in my aunts' house when my mom died." said Terra.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Clay said with a sad look.
"It's ok. I've learned to live in the present, and she's with my dad now. So she's not alone." Terra said with a somber look.
"What was she like?"
"She was, quite the character. She used to work in a circus when she met my dad. He joined the act as a daredevil while she was a trapeze artist. After a few years they retired, had me, and moved here," said Terra, who then realized that she had begun to blabber, "sorry. I didn't mean to tell you my whole life story." She turned her head away trying to hide a blush.
"I don't mind. I..." said Clay when a shout interrupted him.
"Hey, we found the scythe! No thanks to you." said Raimundo with a smirk as he came walking back. The scythe was about as tall as he was, covered with black and white stripes, and did indeed have a little skull daggling from a tassel.
"Yes. Now that we have the scythe, we must quickly get back to the temple." said Omi, who then paused as if just realizing something.
"Why do you cover your head with that hat? Are you cold or bald?" he asked Terra. Terra glanced at a nearby mirror and saw that she was still wearing her beanie.
"Oh. No, I just like to keep my hair out of the way when I'm working on projects, like our plant." And with that she yanked off her cap. Her hair fell down to about her shoulders and was the color of melted chocolate. Clay opened his mouth to try to say some sort of compliment when he was once again interrupted. Boom! Everyone jumped, dashed out the door.
When they finally reached the stage, there was a huge hole in the roof as a boy came flying on a heli-bot in with tons of robots.
"Hahahahaha. That's right, tremble in the shadow of the most evil boy genius in the world, Jack Spicer!" he shouted.
"Ugh, Jack Spicer why must you be so meddlesome." said Omi as the monks got ready to fight and Dojo slid out of Omi's sleeve and hid.
"I'm evil. What do you expect really," said Jack, "Jackbots, atta..."
"No! Look at what you did!" Terra shouted while staring stunned at what was left of the plant. When Jack had burst through the roof, the rubble had fallen right on top of the newly fixed plant.
"That took me hours to fix. Do you realize how much work I put into this thing!" she continued to shout; now glaring at Jack himself. By now most of the people working in the theater had fled, except for the monks who were staring at Terra
"Geez lady, calm down. Like I said, I'm evil." replied Jack.
"You are so gonna get IT." snarled Terra. She looked for the closest robot and jumped onto it. Leaping from there, she jumped robot to robot getting closer to Jack. Jack by now was franticly trying to get away and sending robots to stop her. The monks had also joined the fight at this point and were smashing robot after robot. Clay roped one and swung it toward Raimundo, who then kicked it causing it to break. Kimiko was running towards one, jumped onto its back, and flipped the off switch. Omi was chopping one robot after another into dust as he jumped through the air. Terra was easily avoiding the robots and finally caught up to Jack. She jumped onto his back and started pushing buttons and flipping switches on his heli-bot.
"Hey! What are you doing?" shouted Jack as his heli-bot stopped working and they crashed on the stage. Terra jumped just before impact and got into a boxing position.
"I'm teaching you a lesson." said Terra.
"I have a better idea. Tangle Web Comb!" shouted Kimiko whipping out the comb, tying up Jack like a mummy.
"Hey, no fair," cried Jack, "Jackbots, get me out of here!" The remaining jackbots grabbed ahold of jack, and crashed out of the wall this time, causing even more rubble and wires to fall on the floor. It wasn't until the robots were gone and the air grew silent that someone finally spoke up. Unfortunately, that person was Rose.
"Look at what you weirdoes did," she shouted, "The play is absolutely ruined. The plant is busted, the walls are smashed, and all thanks to you!"
"Hey! They were trying to help us. If it's anyone's fault, it's because of that Spicer guy." Terra shouted back at her.
"No one asked you to butt in, you freak! So why don't you run on home to your mommy."
"YOU... ahhh! You are the most selfish, vile, self-centered, and rude person I have ever had the displeasure working with. But maybe that's not a bad idea. I quit!" And with that, Terra grabbed her backpack from beneath the rubble, and stormed out. All anyone could do for a moment was just stare as she pushed open the doors, and left. Once the doors closed, people began to realize that they had just lost their best stagehand and started panicking.
"Maybe we should leave. It's starting to get dark." said Dojo as he slithered out from his hiding place near the wall.
"Good idea." said Kimiko as she used the changing chopsticks to shrink the scythe and put them both in her pocket. But, as luck would have it, a loose wire from the wall fell and was heading straight for Dojo.
"Look out!" Raimundo shouted. Dojo looked up, saw the wire coming, screamed, and tried to dash out of the way. He nearly made it, but when the wire hit the ground, it also hit the very end of his tale. The wire was apparently still live, because Dojo froze, and started twitching like crazy. Quickly, Omi dashed over and kicked away the wire, letting Dojo freeze once again, and collapsed.
"Dojo, you ok there little buddy?" Clay asked concerned.
"I guess so. But I think my liver is medium rare now." Dojo replied a bit woozily as Omi picked him up. They headed out of the theater and saw that it was indeed now dark outside.
"I don't suppose you can fly us out of here Dojo." said Raimundo. Kimiko then punched him in the arm.
"Let me try." said Dojo. He jumped to the ground and tried to grow to his bigger size, which didn't work very well. His head first grew to the size of a balloon, shrank as his hands grew instead, then his tail grew as his hands shrank.
"Nope, looks like I'm grounded for the night guys." he said apologetically as his tail shrank. The monks groaned as this meant that they would have to either find some other way to get back to the temple, or they had to find a place to spend the night.
"How much do we have altogether?" Kimiko asked as Omi placed Dojo on his shoulder.
"Only about 30 buck." replied Clay.
"You guys need some help?" said a familiar voice. The monks turned towards it and saw Terra standing there.
"That'd be mighty helpful. Do you know a cheap motel 'round here?" Clay said with a slight smile.
"I know an even better place. You guys can spend the night at my place. I've got a couple of sleeping bags and a comfy couch. It's the least I could do since you guys helped me out." said Terra with a bigger smile.
"Sound great. It'd be awesome to sleep on something other than a mat." said Raimundo as he and the others walked toward Terra. Clay ran ahead of them and stopped when he reached Terra.
"You sure that we aren't imposing or anything?" he asked her.
"No way, like I said, it's the least I could do." she replied.
"What 'bout the play, you sure they aren't gonna need ya?"
"Perhaps, but I've been dealing with Rose for too long now. Besides, this isn't the first job I've quitted. I'll find another one soon."
"Well... you're always welcome to come with us. We could always use another hand with kicking that Spicer's butt."
"Hmm, that doesn't sound too bad. You know, you never told me where you're from." And with that, Clay began telling her exactly that. What they were, how they joined the monks and the temple, and some of the adventures that they had encountered so far.
While Clay was telling her the stories, Raimundo and Omi, a few feet back, were once again confused by the change in Clays' attitude. Kimiko on the other hand, once again had a knowing smile on her face.
"Why does Clay chatter away like a monkey to our new friend Terra? Does he have some sort of leak in his head?" Omi asked Raimundo.
"Dude, I have no idea what's up with him. Maybe he's sick or something." Raimundo replied.
"Hope it's not contagious." said Dojo from Omi's shoulder.
"Are you guys seriously that blind. He's not sick, he likes her is all." said Kimiko getting tired of Raimundo not seeing it. Omi she could understand though.
"You mean to tell me that our old cowpoke here finally found someone?" asked Raimundo with a smirk. Once again Kimiko lightly punched him in the arm knowing where this was going and gave him a warning glare. As they continued to walk, Raimundo trying to think of some smart-alecky comment to say to Clay, who was still telling stories to Terra as she listen intently. Finally, they reached an apartment building that had a wooden fence around it. Terra opened the gate and walked to the door with the monks following her. The building was about four stories tall, was made of bricks, and had a small garden in front of it. They entered the apartment lobby and walked past a blond male sleeping, and snoring, at the clerk's desk.
"Evening there Jacob." Terra jokingly said to him as they went past him and approached the elevator.
"Should we wake him?" Omi asked Terra once they entered the elevator.
"Nah. Best to let sleeping dogs lie." she replied as she pressed the 3 button and the doors closed on them. Finally the doors opened to a hallway. They got out and Terra got out her keys as she led them to the last door on the right. She unlocked the door and opened it to a modest living room.
"It may not be very fancy, but it's home." she said as they entered. All of the sudden a white and orange blur came tearing down the hallway to the right, pounced, and leapt into Terra's arms. Before any of the monks could react, Terra started laughing.
"How in the world did you get in Oliver." she asked the cat, now purring in her arms.
"You know this feline I presume?" Omi asked.
"Sort of, he's just a stray that I feed once in a while. I must have left a window open by mistake." she said as the cat jumped down and proceeded to rub his head against Omi's leg.
"Heh, I think he likes you. I'll be right back; the sleeping bags are in the closet. Make your selves comfortable" she said as she kicked off her shoes and went to go get them. The living room wasn't very big, but it did have a plushy couch, a bookshelf to the left, and a TV across from it. The kitchen could be seen from there and currently had its' light on. On one of the counter was a beat up looking CD player. There was a window in the kitchen, that was indeed open, that had a rectangle pot with some flowering strawberries plants in it on the windowsill. Terra came back in holding three sleeping bags, a blanket, and a pillow for everyone.
"I'm afraid I've only got three sleeping bags, but the couch is very comfy. I've fallen asleep several time on there while watching a movie." Terra said and she dropped the load onto the floor.
"It is no problem. Seeing as Kimiko is the most delicate, I believe that she should receive the couch." proclaimed Omi. Raimundo choked back a laugh as Kimiko glared extremely at Omi.
"Do you mind repeating that last statement? I would choose your next words very wisely." she growled at him. Omi hunched as he sensed the impending danger.
"Heh, um, I do believe I have forgotten what I said." he muttered quickly.
"Anyway, we appreciate this quite a bit. Thank you." Clay said to Terra.
"No problem. I'm gonna head to bed, if you guys need anything, don't be afraid to ask. Oh, and you're free to use the TV if you want." she replied.
"Thanks, 'night." said Clay
"Goodnight." said Terra as she went down the hallway
Once Terra closed her bedroom door, the monks started setting up the sleeping bags. Kimiko ironically did end up taking the couch, with Dojo taking the top of the couch. Finally they got settled and turned off the light.
"So Clay... are you gonna ask her out or what?" Raimundo asked.
"What in tarnation are you talking 'bout? What gave you that idea?" Clay replied as one of his eyebrows raised.
"Dude, ever since we met her, I've never seen you so chatty and buddy-buddy." Raimundo pointed out. Clay was silent for a while before he replied.
"I'm that obvious huh?" Clay asked.
"You do, as they say, wear your heart on your hat." said Omi.
"On his sleeve, but in this case that could be true." snicker Raimundo before a pillow hit him in the face.
"I feel kinda bad that she lost her job though, wish we could do something about It." said Kimiko as Raimundo threw back the pillow.
"What if she came back with us," Clay suggested, "you guys saw all those moves she used against Spicer." Everyone considered this for a moment.
"You know, that's not such a bad idea. Although, you sure you're not just trying to find another way to get to know her." Raimundo joked again. And once again his face met with a certain pillow.
"We can ask her in the morning. But in the meantime, this dragon needs his beauty sleep. So I suggest you guys do the same." said Dojo as he slapped on a sleeping mask and instantly started snoring. The monks follow suit and one by one fell asleep.
…
Meanwhile in Terra's room, Terra was writhing back and forth, whimpering, and clawing at the bed sheets. Her pajamas were clinging to her with perspiration.
A two year was trembling as she was walking in complete darkness. She didn't know where she was or how she got there, all she knew was that she was cold and she was frightened.
"Do you really think you can escape me? There is nowhere you can hide." a voice in the darkness spoke. The two year old flinched as if the voice was right behind her.
"L...leave me alone. Stay away from me." she cried trying to sound brave. All of the sudden, horrible memories started floating around her.
"Why don't you just run on home to your mommy?" an actress sneered.
"What kind of freak are you!" a thirteen year old boy shrieked as he dangled from his ankle by a vine.
"I so sorry sweetie... but you'll be safe with Aunt Mandy. I'm afraid I can't be with you anymore." a frail woman, who looked like the two year old, in a hospital bed murmured.
More and more memories filled her vision as they spun around her faster and faster. She kept seeing faces, scared, angry, scornful, and even more.
"Stop it! I'm not a freak! Just leave me ALONE!" the two year old started shouting as she covered her ears. She kept screaming this until it became exactly that, raw and frightened screaming.
Back in the waking world, all four monks sat up awakened, having only slept a few hours, by a screaming coming from Terra's room. They jumped up thinking maybe Jack had come back for the scythe. Clay was the first to enter her room and paused at what he saw. Terra was in her bed, alone, still screaming and thrashing about as if something were attacking her.Raimundo was the first to react though. He dashed forward and tried waking her from her nightmare.
"Rai, I don't think that may be a good idea." Clay said as Raimundo started shaking her.
"Why's that?" He replied as Terra's eyes shot open and she grabbed his wrist. Before he could even make a sound, Terra had him pinned down on the carpet with both hands pulled behind his back.
"Owowowow! I give I give, Uncle!" Raimundo shouted with his face shoved into the carpet. Clay hurried forward and pulled Terra off of Raimundo. Terra, once off of him, simply sat there on the ground gasping for air with Clay still holding onto her. Heart still pounding, she looked at each of the monks, exhaled slowly, and stood up.
"Sorry about that." she said, her voice still a little hoarse from her scream.
"You ok there little lady?" Clay asked worried.
"I'm fine now, just a bad dream. Are you ok Raimundo?" she asked as she noticed him rubbing his wrists.
"Yeah, I've had worse. Though I will say this, you're a lot stronger than you look." Raimundo replied with a chuckle.
"Heh, sorry." she said meekly.
"Alright, now that our little adventure is over, how about we go back to sleep?" Dojo asked from the doorway. Seeing how there was no danger, everyone but Clay followed Dojo out. He looked at her for a moment before deciding to speak.
"You sure you're ok?" he asked her.
"Yeah, I nightmares once in a while." she replied.
"You know, I was gonna wait till morning to ask ya, but we were talking and we feel bad about you losing your job."
"I told you already that it's no big deal."
"Regardless, we still feel bad, and were wondering if ya would like to come back with us to the temple." Clay asked as he tried to hide a slight blush.
Terra was silent for a moment, bewildered at the sudden invitation.
"Wow, that's... really nice of you," she said with a little smile, "would you be ok if I sleep on it though?"
"Not at all, it's probably best if we all get back to sleep. 'Night Terra." said Clay as he walked out the door trying to hide an even bigger blush.
"'Night Clay." she replied as a warm feeling was beginning to spread in her chest. As she sat on her bed, she felt as if her heart was filling like a balloon and was about to burst.
On the other side of the door, Clay felt the same way as he walked down the hallway. By the time he got back to the others, Raimundo was already snoring as Omi and Kimiko were settling down. As Clay lay down on his sleeping bag, a huge grin was spreading across his face and stayed there as he fell asleep for the night.