From the doorway of the main hall, Raimundo and Omi watched Ping Pong happily playing a video game with Kimiko and Clay. It was night time, and the corridor was illuminated only by the light from the main hall as the warriors of wind and water spoke to Master Fung.
"Omi has told me of young Boris's heritage," The wise master said to the two Shoku Warriors. "There is no mistake that he has the potential to be the next Xiaolin Dragon of Wood."
"Wood? That's the super special element of the fifth Xiaolin Warrior?" Raimundo scoffed.
"A warrior's Dragon element can be anything that their spirit is in tune with," Master Fung explained. "In the past there have been Xiaolin Dragons of birdsong, cherry blossom and starlight as well as wind and water. Some Xiaolin Dragons can achieve greatness without even manifesting a particular element." Raimundo rolled his eyes.
"I will make sure Ping Pong, I mean, Boris develops his skills!" Omi exclaimed happily. "He will grow from a little gecko into a big lizard!"
There was a sudden crashing noise from behind Master Fung, who quickly turned around to look down the dark hallway. Slowly creeping from out of the darkness were two snarling tigers, undoubtedly those belonging to Chase Young.
"Protect the others," Master Fung said quietly sternly.
Raimundo and Omi glanced into the main hall to see a frightened Ping Pong being protected by Clay and Kimiko, surrounded by several of Chase Young's jungle cats. The warriors of wind and water hurriedly joined the warriors of fire and earth defending the new warrior of wood, just as the two tigers pounced towards Master Fung.
The four heroes stood in a circle around their new companion, making sure that the beasts had no openings to strike the diminutive monk. From out of the crowd of big cats came the immortal villain himself, looking amused.
"Chase Young, your plan has failed!" Omi proclaimed. "Your accomplice has been exposed, before she could find our secrets!"
"Oh, but I did end up finding your secret stash of playthings another way," Chase said with a chilling chuckle.
His accomplice, Shadow, emerged from the darkness behind him with a sack stuffed with Shen Gong Wu. Accompanying her were several big cats with similar sacks on their backs, including one carrying the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman. The heroes collectively gasped when they saw the powerful artefact, and Omi immediately knew that Shadow had somehow gained access to the secret vault.
Shadow showed them the Heart of Jong, including the tracking device that had been planted on it. "This little thingamajig showed us the way."
"You can take our Wu, but we're strong enough to rip every one of them out of your dirty mitts!" growled Clay.
Chase chuckled again and produced the Zing Zom-Bone, a highly dangerous Shen Gong Wu from the secret vault, activating its power and reducing the four Shoku Warriors into mindless shadows of their former selves. Ping Pong cowered in fear as he witnessed his friends slowly turn towards him, staring at him with their blank and zombielike expressions.
"I have to admit, some of these playthings are much more useful when they're not in hands too afraid to use them," the Heylin Warrior chuckled, before coldly ordering a lion and a panther to advance slowly towards Ping Pong. "Take the boy. He's interesting to me."
Shadow approached the young warrior of wood as well. "I'll make sure this slippery little jellybean won't escape our clutches again," she said with an equally dark chuckle.
To her and Chase's surprise, Ping Pong began chuckling too. "You better watch who you're calling jellybean, missy," he said in a deep southern accent. The little monk stomped his foot, causing the zombified Xiaolin Warriors around him to suddenly go limp and faint.
The lion and panther pounced at Ping Pong, but he held out the Osu Stone, which pushed them away and into a wall. Shadow, angered that she had missed a Shen Gong Wu to steal, leapt towards Ping Pong and tried to snatch the Osu Stone from his hand. She found that he had quickly blasted the other big cats away, and then pointed the repulsion Shen Gong Wu at her. The dark villainess was catapulted out of a window, landing outside.
Chase was alone with the small monk, disturbed by his sudden display of expert level fighting skills. "Is this boy yours, Hannibal Bean?" he asked.
Ping Pong slowly turned his head to face Chase and smiled wickedly, briefly glancing at the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman lying beside him. Before Chase could act, Ping Pong held aloft the Shield of Many Suns and blinded him.
When Chase's sight was restored, the Shield of Many Suns and Osu Stone lay where he had stood. The immortal evildoer scowled and turned away from the motionless monks, sensing that they were coming to their senses. Pleased with the large number of Shen Gong Wu that he and Shadow had stolen from the secret vault and regular vault, Chase left the Temple, knowing that the heroes would be weaker than before without their mystic items.
Outside the Temple grounds, Chase and Shadow were quickly pestered by Jack Spicer. "Great to see everything worked out well!" he exclaimed cheerfully.
"Indeed," Chase Young said with a sigh. "I suppose it is time for you to receive your reward."
Jack Spicer's eyes lit up, and several Jack-bots emerged from the surrounding foliage, playing a fanfare on numerous musical instruments. The boy genius shut his eyes tight and held out his hands, waiting to receive his gift.
"I'm ready!" Jack squealed quietly.
When Jack opened his eyes, he found he was holding a single Shen Gong Wu: the Monkey Staff. The Jack-bots immediately stopped playing, their fanfare faltering and petering out. "If your performance pleases me in the future, you may receive another."
The villainous duo continued to walk ahead, leaving Jack to himself. Jack saw that Shadow had been quietly laughing at his disappointment, but before he could snap at her, the villains had disappeared. Swinging the Monkey Staff above his head, Jack activated its power and began to screech in anger, beating his chest like a primate.
The Xiaolin Warriors regained consciousness, and shortly afterwards, began to count their remaining Shen Gong Wu. Master Fung was sitting calmly, despite the fact he was covered in claw marks that Dojo was frantically trying to tend to. The warriors were sitting together, their measly pile of mystical items in the centre.
"Even with the tracking device on the Heart of Jong, how could Shadow have possibly figured out the code to the secret vault?" Kimiko questioned her friends.
"Well, the secret vault contained the Quill of Fenghuang, right?" Raimundo replied. "Maybe when Omi was in the vault with her while the Temple was in space, she used it to get the code out of him."
"That is possible," Omi said. "It would explain why I have no memory of telling her and would leave me guilt free of spilling the peas!"
"That's spilling the beans," Clay corrected Omi as he sat down with them, holding a few more Shen Gong Wu.
Raimundo stood up and looked forlornly at the pile. "We only have the Shen Gong Wu we recently won; the Wreck 'n' Roll, Tunnel Armadillo, Fist of Tebigong and the Two Ton Tunic."
"Luckily we still have the Knight of Jade!" Omi exclaimed.
"We still have our Wudai Weapons, although we have none of our elemental Wu to boost their power," Clay added.
Kimiko pointed at another part of the pile, consisting of the Shen Gong Wu that Clay had recently added. "Then there are the Shen Gong Wu we set aside for Ping Pong to practice with; the Shield of Many Suns, Longi Kite, Osu Stone, Sun Chi Lantern, Lasso Boa Boa and Rio Reverso."
Clay abruptly knelt down and began to rummage through the pile. "I did set the Rio Reverso aside, but it seems to be missing. Maybe Ping Pong is training with it somewhere."
"Or maybe Chase kidnapped him!" Raimundo exclaimed, "Omi said he had a weird interest in him!"
Omi stood up and looked out of the window. "Ping Pong isn't with Chase Young," he said quietly, putting a hand on his head as though there was a strange sensation in his brain. "I somehow know he isn't."
Master Fung looked at Omi with an expression of quiet concern, but he was suddenly startled by Dojo twitching so violently that he fell off his shoulder in the middle of tending to a wound. When Dojo stopped writhing about on the floor, he fell silent and stared into space.
"What's the matter, Dojo?" asked Raimundo. "Is it a Shen Gong Wu that could help us right now?"
"No," Dojo mumbled in reply. "It's a Shen Gong Wu that shouldn't be activating."
When Ping Pong came to his senses, he was lying on a dusty stone floor in a circular room lit by a strange red glow. He rubbed his eyes and examined the tiny figure that was sitting on one of his knees; Hannibal Bean.
"Excusez-moi; are you the source of the voice that has been guiding me as my conscience?" the young monk asked the bean like fiend.
Hannibal smiled at Ping Pong in response, looking uncharacteristically friendly towards the tiny warrior. "Why yes I am! I've managed to guide you here; to your true purpose!" he replied, pointing one of his little green tendrils towards the source of the red glow in the centre of the room.
Inside a hovering glass orb was what appeared to be a crimson coloured moth, about as large as someone's fist. It had cats eye like markings on its wings and a pair of long, feathery antennae. Near the centre of the room was an ominous black and red bird, the Ying-Ying Bird, perched upon the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman.
"You've been born for a very special purpose, Ping Pong!" Hannibal continued to explain. "The Crimson Moon Moth will only respond to a Xiaolin Warrior like yourself! We can use it to do wonderful things together."
Ping Pong got to his feet and approached the orb while Hannibal and Ying-Ying watched. "Brother Omi and his friends should know about this!" he said cheerfully, "They can do marvellous things with us too! They'd like to know the person who guided me!"
"I'm afraid the Xiaolin Warriors would want to use the Crimson Moon Moth for a very different purpose," Hannibal said austerely. "Long ago, their warriors left me as the only member of my kind. They spoilt this world, but now we can restore it!"
Ping Pong turned away from the Crimson Moon Moth and stared at Hannibal, who instantly tried to look friendly again. "That doesn't sound like my friends at all," snapped the little monk.
The Ying-Ying Bird began to project holographic images of Omi, Raimundo, Kimiko and Clay from its eyes. "Who'd want Ping Pong on our team?" asked the holographic Clay, "He's just a little copy of Omi, not an original character at all!"
"Ping Pong was such a wimp, giving up on becoming the fifth warrior so suddenly!" added the image of Kimiko.
"Wood is such a stupid element!" laughed Raimundo's hologram. "The fifth warrior should have the power of something cool, like lightning or motorbikes! And they should be a hot girl!"
"It would be most wonderful to have a little doppelganger to always stand in my shadow!" laughed the image of Omi, which caused Ping Pong to scowl the hardest.
The ghostly images faded away and Ping Pong looked at Hannibal Bean in disbelief. "Birds can see a lot of things, especially Ying-Ying," the miniscule fiend explained, "She can see how people truly behave when they're out of earshot."
Ping Pong doubted Hannibal and the authenticity of the images that his bird had shown him, but for some reason, the small monk could not stop himself from obeying the tiny red evildoer.
"The Crimson Moon Moth?" Raimundo asked Dojo about the strange Shen Gong Wu as the little dragon pulled open the mystic scroll to show them a still painted image as opposed to a moving illustration.
"It was the first Shen Gong Wu ever created," Dojo explained. "Dashi created it so he wouldn't have to create more Wu; the Crimson Moon Moth can evolve and adapt, gaining whatever new powers that its user needs. It can even transform the user's body, allowing them to accomplish almost whatever they want."
The dragon was clearly afraid, and quickly hid behind Master Fung's leg. "However, the Crimson Moon Moth turned out to be far too dangerous," Master Fung continued to explain. "In order to evolve, the moth needed to consume nearby magic and life force. But there is no hurry; before Grandmaster Dashi created the Shen Gong Wu as tools that anyone could use, he made it so the Crimson Moon Moth awakened only to the command of Xiaolin Dragons and Xiaolin Dragons to be."
"Dashi hid it where multiple ley lines converge, to negate its power," added Dojo. "It wasn't supposed to activate, but the ley lines holding it must've been disturbed somehow!"
"We'll lock this thing away for good," Kimiko said.
Omi put a hand on his forehead and squinted his eyes, briefly seeing a vision of the Crimson Moon Moth and Ping Pong. "Me and Ping Pong share a link with our thoughts; I know where he might be! If we find the Crimson Moon Moth, we can find him!"
"I think we have to trust Omi, guys," Raimundo announced as he led the team of heroes to the Temple courtyard.
"I thought Dashi would've made a moth Shen Gong Wu eat holes in your clothes or something," Clay added.
"There is one that does that, but it ain't this one!" yelled Dojo, enlarging to his full size so the Xiaolin Warriors could climb aboard.
Dojo was soon soaring above a winding mountain road that seemed strangely familiar to the monks, especially when they saw the enormous fissure that followed the road to a certain point. Clay had split the earth apart with his hiccups a few adventures earlier, and the Xiaolin Warriors began to believe that Jack Spicer was responsible for the Crimson Moon Moth's activation.
The sky was darkened with rainclouds as the heroes approached a mountain cave. Dojo landed outside the mouth of the cavern and the warriors leapt off, with Dojo shrinking to his diminutive size once again. Raimundo, who at the front of the group, was the first to emerge inside a secret laboratory. Surrounded by dark machinery illuminated with red, the Xiaolin Warriors began to explore and examine their surroundings.
Kimiko pulled some blueprints of the Doomsday-bot from out of a drawer. "Jack must've used the mystic energy of the ley line to build his big dumb robot!" she announced. "But who would've told him about this place? I doubt you could find this sort of thing on the internet."
"Why don't we ask him?" Raimundo asked with a chuckle, swinging a cabinet open.
Inside was Jack himself, curled up into a ball. "Hi guys, how's it hanging?" the boy genius questioned them nervously.
Clay marched towards the cabinet to pull Jack out, holding him by the collar. "So you left a tracking device on one of the Shen Gong Wu inside your contraption to lead Chase Young to our secret vault!" the warrior of earth growled.
"Beat me up if you want! I deserve it for thinking up such a dumb idea," Jack sighed. "I thought Chase would reward me with a new evil lair, but now I have to live in this cold place! Hannibal gave me a better reward, and I didn't even do anything for him!"
Omi was quick to question the villain when he heard name of the bean shaped menace. "Jack Spicer, was it Hannibal Bean who told you about this location?"
"Yeah, the ley line energy or whatever was supposed to make my Doomsday-bot invincible. I'm not giving up though; I've got another project that'll be ready soon!" Jack answered with a chuckle.
Raimundo walked over towards five large machines, the closest of which was painted bright red. The vehicles looked like strange flying contraptions. "You mean these?"
Jack immediately began to panic. "No! Definitely not those!"
Dojo raced into the middle of the room, and Omi moved a large manhole cover from its position in the centre of the floor, revealing steps that descended into the darkness. Raimundo moved away from the secret machines, eliciting a sigh of relief from Jack, and entered the dark hole with his comrades. Jack followed them too, but remained a few metres behind them, hoping that it would keep them from noticing him.
In the underground tunnels there were multiple thick cables and pipes running along the wall, feeding the machines above with the mystical energy of the ley line below. After a few moments exploring the winding tunnels, the heroes came to a large crack in the wall that appeared to have been recently widened, judging from the fresh dust and debris on the floor.
When the four warriors and their dragon crept inside, they were met with the sight of what appeared to be an underground city, with crumbling stone buildings. Numerous stalactites hung from the ceiling, some with windows carved into them. The strange place was illuminated by a strange red glow, emanating from a circular tower in the centre of the subterranean world. The Shoku Warriors followed Dojo's pointing to the tower, but Jack crept away in a different direction.
Meanwhile, Ping Pong placed his hand on the Crimson Moon Moth's glass container. The orb responded to the monk's gentle touch, and to his surprise, Ping Pong saw his fingers phase through the glass and touch the moth within. The magical creature slowly beat its wings, then used its legs to latch onto Ping Pong's index finger. He pulled his hand away from the orb, and the Crimson Moon Moth came gently perched upon it.
Hannibal eagerly hopped onto Ping Pong's arm and approached the mystical insect, allowing it to latch onto his back. "That's it, Ping Pong. Hand the power to me."
Ping Pong gasped as Hannibal levitated away, enveloped by a red glow and then ruby coloured strands of silk. The cocoon enlarged itself, and when it dissolved, Hannibal was standing there with a strange new form. His head just resembled his original body, now attached to a featureless humanoid body with a statuesque physique. A giant pair of crimson moth wings sprouted from his back, gently flapping.
"Thank you, Ping Pong," Hannibal said warmly, turning to face the Ying-Ying Bird standing on the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman.
The dark bird flew off the mystic chest and perched upon Hannibal's shoulder as the transformed villain pointed a finger towards the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman. Red tendrils extended from his fingertips, penetrating the mystic item and seemingly draining it of its energy.
All of a sudden, the spirit of the swordsman emerged from the box. Instead of looking serene and wise, he looked startled and panicked. "Refrain from your defilement of the mystic arts!" shouted the spirit, "No man is meant to hold this much power!"
Hannibal ignored the spirits pleas, while Ping Pong was too distressed to take action. Eventually, the image of the spirit lost colour until he was white as a ghost, and then it lost opacity until it faded away to nothing. The sparkling surface of the treasure chest became dull and lifeless, but Hannibal's body began to glow brighter.
"The Treasure of the Blind Swordsman granted wishes just like a genie; but I was only waiting for the Crimson Moon Moth to allow me to absorb its power," chuckled Hannibal. "Now that power belongs to me, I can use it more freely."
"What are we going to do?" Ping Pong questioned Hannibal, feeling slightly intimidated.
"We need to gather more power, then we can make this world green again!" Hannibal replied. "Let me share this power with you."
The red aura that surrounded Hannibal extended towards Ping Pong's body, surrounding him as well. Three vertically aligned forehead dots began to glow brightly on the little monk's forehead, causing small green shoots to grow all over the floor.
"My wood element! You helped me unlock it!" Ping Pong exclaimed with a smile, but then his joy seemed to become pain.
With a cry of agony, the shoots that Ping Pong had ground immediatly sprouted into strange creatures with bodies made of tangled vines and leaves. The monstrous plants changed from green into a blood red, with glowing red eyes. Hannibal smiled devilishly at his new minions.
As the Xiaolin Warriors were travelling through the underground city, Omi abruptly cried out and dropped to his knees as his nine forehead dots glowed. "I can feel Ping Pong's pain!" he grunted.
His friends gathered around him, but their attention quickly turned to the plant like monsters that were sprouting suddenly from the floor and walls surrounding them. The creatures resembled leafy torsos at first, but the vines that made their bodies quickly wrapped themselves into a new shape, forming legs for them to stand on. The monsters stopped crawling and started to walk slowly towards them, stretching out their thorny arms.
"Arrow Sparrow!" yelled Kimiko, sending bird shaped projectiles from her Wudai Weapon in multiple directions. The flaming arrows shredded several plant creatures to pieces, but the heroes were shocked to see that the pieces that remained had rapidly grown into new creatures.
"Fire just makes more!" Raimundo exclaimed. "What kind of plants are these?"
"I sense that these creatures are somehow connected to Ping Pong's Dragon element!" Omi added. "Someone has increased his powers!"
"Let's find the kid and tell him to snap out of it!" yelled Dojo.
The four warriors hurried through the empty streets of the ruined city, trying to ignore the hundreds of plant shoots that were sprouting around them and growing into new monsters. They frequently found alleyways blocked by plant creatures, and so their direction was determined by where there were no adversaries obstructing them. Just as Raimundo was beginning to realize that the creatures were herding them, the heroes found themselves trapped in a dead end.
With their backs to the wall, the Xiaolin Warriors watched the monsters close in on them. Each of them readied their Wudai Weapons, prepared to fight even though they did not know if they possessed the power to truly get rid of the creatures.
Suddenly, from the walls towering above them, a shadowy figure dropped down. Master Monk Guan stood before the Xiaolin Warriors, his fists outstretched and glowing with an orange light. "Repel the Beast!" he boomed, causing the monsters to fly backwards as a massive shockwave burst from his hands.
The monsters got up from the floor, but were seemingly cowering before the presence of the mighty warrior. The creatures scurried away, leaving Guan and the four monks in peace. Omi's eyes lit up as he admired the ancient hero standing before him, but Master Monk Guan's presence gave Raimundo the idea that something supremely dangerous was afoot.
"Do you know what's up, Guan meister?" asked the Xiaolin Leader.
"Master Fung told me you were searching for the Crimson Moon Moth," Guan replied. "I fear that Hannibal Roy Bean may already have his hands on it."
Omi stepped forward, looking anxious. "I feel that Hannibal Bean has stolen Ping Pong away from us," he said quietly.
Guan looked hesitant. "Hannibal has always wanted a Xiaolin Warrior by his side so they could claim the Crimson Moon Moth for him."
"So that was his plan all along when he got your pal Chase to join him on the dark side?" Dojo asked Guan. The little dragon noticed that his words made Guan grimace slightly, so he hastily apologised.
Omi tugged at Guan's leg. "I can sense Ping Pong and lead us to him and Hannibal!" the warrior of water proclaimed.
"Very well," said Guan quickly and sternly, "Omi shall lead the way."
"But how are we gonna deal with those plant monsters?" Kimiko questioned.
Dojo suddenly began to twitch violently enough to tumble from Clay's shoulder. "I guess we're about to find out," the warrior of earth replied.
"It's something that could help!" Dojo grunted as he writhed around on the floor, regaining enough of his composure to pull out the mystic scroll of the Shen Gong Wu. "It's Layali's Flute!"
"It may be viable to split up," continued Master Monk Guan. "I can keep the fiends at bay for now, but Layali's Flute may be valuable if the situation gets out of hand. I shall take Omi and Raimundo to seek out Hannibal while Dojo can take Clay and Kimiko to claim the flute." The heroes followed Guan's advice and began to go their separate ways, unaware that they were being watched from above.
The Ying-Ying Bird returned to Hannibal and Ping Pong to project an image of what it had just seen. "Looks like we'll be needing to make a move soon, kid," he said to the exhausted Ping Pong. "We need to go fight the bad guys."
"The wicked Chase Young?" Ping Pong questioned, fearful of the immortal Heylin Warrior.
"Most certainly," chuckled Hannibal. "I tried to get Chase to help me years ago, but he stabbed me in the back! We can make the bad guys fight each other!"
Unbeknownst to Hannibal and Ping Pong, Jack Spicer had managed to climb to the top of the tower and was peeking in on their activity, hovering outside a window using his heli-bot. When Ping Pong started speaking, Jack quickly ducked down below the window to resume eavesdropping.
"How are we going to do that?" asked Ping Pong.
"We need to pay a visit to the witch Wuya," Hannibal answered, showing the Rio Reverso to his accomplice. "She had a bit of a falling out with Chase, and if we give her back her powers, we can get them to destroy each other!"
Jack Spicer gasped and grinned craftily. "Hannibal and Wuya are gonna team up and fight Chase!" he said to himself. "If I can alert Chase before that happens, maybe he'll give me another reward!"
While Omi was walking with Master Monk Guan and Raimundo through the ruined city, he had another vision of Ping Pong flash in his mind. "Hannibal is starting to move!" he exclaimed. "He and Ping Pong are going to confront Chase Young!"
Guan frowned and stopped in his tracks. "Before the light of humankind emerged, the world was a dark and chaotic place," he explained. "When the forces of order gained the upper hand and vanquished the Heylin forces, Hannibal was one of the few fiends left. Fortunately, Wuya has been rendered powerless by her recent resurrection, so Hannibal cannot use the power of the Crimson Moon Moth to drain her of her magic."
Raimundo suddenly remembered something important. "Ping Pong has the Rio Reverso Shen Gong Wu," he said in a worried tone of voice. "Hannibal could use it to give her back her power!"
Guan's eyes widened in alarm. "We must find where Hannibal Bean is heading immediately!"
In the meantime, Dojo was transporting the warriors of fire and earth to the site of the new Layali's Flute Shen Gong Wu. The dragon landed on a radiant green hillside, dotted with bright yellow flowers. As Dojo shrank to his original size, Kimiko and Clay noticed they were a few metres away from a single tree.
As they approached the tree, they saw the unmistakable form of a golden flute protruding from a small knothole in its trunk. Layali's Flute was high up, and some climbing would be required to retrieve it. Kimiko volunteered immediately, using her Judolette Flip to leap to the highest branch.
However, as Kimiko soared through the air, several strange seeds fell off her person and onto the floor below. Clay had seen where the seeds had landed, and jumped back in surprise when he saw them instantly germinate. As Kimiko triumphantly pulled the Shen Gong Wu from the knothole, the seeds had transformed into plant monsters.
"They must've hitched a ride when I tried using the Arrow Sparrow against them!" the warrior of fire exclaimed.
"Use the flute already!" Clay wailed as Dojo took shelter under his hat.
Kimiko hurriedly put Layali's Flute to her lips and focused, using the mystic instrument's power to play a gentle song. The flute produced several bubbles containing colourful musical notes. As the creatures surrounded Clay, the bubbles struck each of them. The monsters changed from red to green, cooing and purring.
"It's calming them!" Dojo yelled joyously, peeking out from Clay's hat.
The creatures sprouted pink flowers all over their bodies, which eventually reduced them to nothing but petals scattered to the wind. Kimiko jumped down to join her friends, watching the pink petals soar over the horizon.
Miles away, Wuya was sitting by the peaceful waters of a crystal clear lake, surrounded by a forest. The powerless witch was in a sour mood; she had sensed the Shen Gong Wu activating, but had no form of transport to reach them. Wuya knew that the Xiaolin Warriors had reached Layali's Flute, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"This is the pits," she mumbled to herself. "I had more freedom as a ghost. Curse that Chase Young for giving me this feeble body."
A tiny bluebird approached her, chirping merrily. Wuya glared at the creature and tried to muster the most fearsome scowl she could imagine, but the bird did not flee. To Wuya's dismay, more bluebirds began to approach her.
"What if you had your original power back?" asked a voice behind her, startling the little bluebirds away.
Wuya jumped to her feet in surprise and turned to see Hannibal in his new body. "I didn't think I would be saying this, but you're looking remarkably handsome compared to the dreadful company I've been with. Being trapped in this mortal shell means you have to spend time with the other mortal worms, and the men of the modern world are far more rudely behaved than Dashi and his kind were way back when."
"Why thank you," Hannibal said with a sly grin. "I've been using my time in the shadows to plot something special. I know how to make this world like how it was before the wretched humans crawled out of the mud and spread their grubby fingerprints everywhere."
He presented the Rio Reverso to her, making the Heylin Witch's eyes light up. "Could it be?" Wuya mumbled as a smile spread across her face. "I tried to get it before, but Chase had to spoil my fun!"
"How about I use it to restore your full powers?" Hannibal asked. "I want Chase taken care of."
"Believe me," Wuya chuckled, "I would've done that without you asking."
The Heylin Witch stretched her arms out to the side, while Hannibal aimed the Rio Reverso Shen Gong Wu at her chest. A bolt of black lightning from the object's blue crystal struck her, and with a flash of bright light, the skies became grey. The trees of the forest slowly became black and gnarled, losing their leaves. Wuya stood before Hannibal with an aura of green flames, cackling madly. She had not changed physically, but the powers she possessed when she terrorized the world centuries ago were back once again.
Hannibal and Wuya's attention turned to a flash of light a few metres away; Chase and Shadow had appeared. Wuya raised an eyebrow in bemusement, wondering how the immortal evildoer knew where she was. Her confused thoughts faded away when she realized that she was now the most powerful being on Earth, and knew that Chase Young could do nothing to stop her.
"If I sealed your powers away before, I can do it again," Chase said to the witch sternly while Shadow stood back, partly out of fear but also admiration.
Wuya was quick to notice Chase's new apprentice, looking at the dark armoured villainess before frowning at the immortal warrior. "I see you have a new plaything already," Wuya scoffed.
"Shadow is a more useful assistant than you ever were," Chase snapped.
In the blink of an eye, Wuya was standing beside the dark green haired villainess. The witch's speed was so frightening that Chase did not have time to get into a fighting position, freezing in dread. "Who are you, young lady?" Wuya asked Shadow.
At first she seemed like she was going to respond to the witch's question, but then appeared to look at Chase for guidance. Wuya's words had pierced her soul, and Shadow found herself struggling to form her own words as the question echoed in her mind. The Heylin witch, disappointed with Shadow's lack of response, glared at Chase. "You've stooped to a new low, Chase Young."
Before Shadow and Chase could react, Wuya snapped her fingers. With a tremendous blast of force, the two villains were catapulted into the air and over the horizon. The sudden surge of Wuya's power had caused the earth to crack beneath her feet, but the witch was levitating a few inches off the ground.
Jack emerged from a nearby bush, sporting a crafty grin. "Chase, Wuya's gonna-" his words were cut short as the aftermath of the shockwave knocked him over.
Spending a few moments lying on the ground, Jack watched the faint shapes of Chase and Shadow soaring through the sky and gasped. Jack slowly rolled onto his front and got to his knees, crouching behind the bush to watch the scene unfolding in front of him.
Wuya cackled madly again, pleased that she sent the immortal warrior flying like a tossed ragdoll. "I have enough power to reduce him to ashes in an instant," she laughed, "But I'm going to draw this out as long as possible!"
"There's no need for that," Hannibal said gravely.
Wuya gasped sharply as red tendrils from Hannibal's fingertips pierced her back. Her aura of green flames faded as her dark skin became a pale grey; even her flowing purple dress had become grey as ash. When Hannibal had finished draining her energy, he glowed with a red aura brighter than before. Wuya had been reduced to a statue; an expression of alarm frozen on her face.
"You can come out now, Ping Pong," Hannibal said with a slowly growing grin.
Ping Pong timidly crept out from behind a tree, glancing at what remained of Wuya. "What do we do now?" he questioned.
Hannibal began to levitate a few inches off the ground like Wuya had, but his body began to transform further. A pair of long feathery antenna sprouted from his head, like a moth's. Vines and leaves began to sprout from his skin, creating spiral patterns all over his body.
"I'll share some of my power once again, and then we'll make this world a better place, side by side," he chuckled, reaching out with his hand.
Ping Pong, although terrified by Hannibal, somehow felt greatly attached to the now almighty villain. The little warrior of wood took Hannibal's hand, like a son and his father. Once again, Hannibal's aura spread to Ping Pong, but this time it bought physical changes with it.
The diminutive monk grunted softly as his body was enveloped in green leaves, making him look like a small bush. Slowly, the leaves that covered him changed to a deep red, and some began to fall away from his body. Standing in Ping Pong's place was a plant creature, similar to the ones that the monk had created earlier. However, the creature's face resembled a combination of Ping Pong and Hannibal's; round and childlike but with an inhuman and crooked smile. Finally, the Ping Pong creature sprouted a pair of moth wings like Hannibal's.
Jack watched silently as Hannibal and his transformed accomplice took off, soaring into the sky. As they ascended higher and higher, Hannibal slowly grew several times his size and allowed the Ping Pong creature to sit on his shoulder, while the Ying-Ying Bird sat on the other.
When the freakish Hannibal was out of sight, Jack approached the petrified Wuya gingerly. To his horror, he watched her crumble into a pile of dust, as though the slightest sound of his footsteps had caused it. The boy genius stared forlornly at the mound of debris for a couple of minutes before looking to the sky in the direction Hannibal had travelled. Jack gulped hard and extended the blades of his Heli-bot, soaring into the dark sky.
Dojo hurriedly snaked his way through the clouds, with Kimiko and Clay gripping tightly to his back, holding the new Shen Gong Wu. Dojo suddenly descended, emerging through the layer of dark clouds to see the dreary mountains below. It did not take long for him to spot Raimundo, Omi and Master Monk Guan on the ground. The dragon swooped down, slowed his speed so the three extra passengers could quickly hop aboard, then soared up high into the forebodingly grey sky once again.
"This is bringing back some bad memories," mumbled Raimundo, remembering the time that he had allowed Wuya to regain her powers.
As Dojo continued to soar through the blackened sky, the clouds suddenly dissipated and allowed the sunshine through. "Wait, is it over?" asked a bewildered Kimiko.
"Hannibal allowed Wuya to regain her powers," Guan explained, sounding concerned despite the fact that the environment had returned to normal. "Now everything has returned to the way it once was, it means that Wuya is no more. Hannibal Bean has succeeded in taking her mystic force to support the evolution of the powers the Crimson Moon Moth has given him."
"We'd better stop him before he gets stronger!" Clay exclaimed. "Omi, do you know how Ping Pong's doing?"
Omi was silent for a few moments as he focussed his thoughts. "I am having much trouble trying to sense his thoughts," the Shoku Warrior of water replied gravely. "It is as though his mind has been locked away."
Meanwhile, Hannibal approached the Xiaolin Temple. From his position in the sky, the ancient monastery resembled a scale model as it sat in the misty valley. The villain stopped in midair and hovered their in an upright position, casting a shadow over the Temple grounds.
"If only momma could see me now," he said to himself with a chuckle.
Hannibal abruptly raised his arms above his head as his whole body began to glow. He bought his palms together and created a small sphere of crimson light between them, grinning even more as he cradled the energy in his fingers. The sphere of light began to grow larger and larger, until it was about as large as his own body.
"They'll have no choice but to confront me!" laughed Hannibal, before abruptly thrusting his arms downward.
The giant orb of destruction gradually descended upon the Xiaolin Temple, causing the ground to quake. Ping Pong, still sitting on Hannibal's shoulder, squealed with glee as he saw the sphere of energy fall. However, deep inside the transformed monk's mind, Ping Pong was screaming.
"Brother Omi!"
Omi gasped and ran to Dojo's head, leaping onto the dragon's nose to look at him directly in the eye, causing him to yell in fright. The dragon's yell caused the other passengers to be startled too, including Master Monk Guan.
"Dojo, we need to turn back to the Temple! Now!" Omi panted frantically.
Dojo turned sharply and continued to soar east, quickly entering the mountains where their home was located. Over the horizon there was a tremendous blinding flash of crimson light, accompanied by a deafening boom. Dojo stopped in his tracks when he saw the large mushroom cloud rising from where the light had been.
"That was in the direction of the Temple..." muttered Raimundo.
"No, it can't be..." Omi gasped.
All of a sudden, Dojo raced towards the site of the explosion at full speed. The Xiaolin Warriors were sure that they had never felt Dojo travel at such a velocity, even during times when the world had been at stake before.
When they arrived at the site of the Xiaolin Temple grounds, a massive cloud of dust was blocking their view of their home. Using his powers over wind, Raimundo parted the billowing fog of debris as Dojo dived towards the ground.
When the cloud disappeared, the Xiaolin Warriors were confronted with a horrific sight. All that remained of their home were piles of rubble, flames, and splintered wood. The buildings of the Temple complex had been flattened completely, and not even trees were left standing. Even the steps that led up to the gate were no more.
Dojo stopped and shrank so quickly that his passengers fell off. The tiny dragon darted towards the rubble and dived inside, panting loudly.
"This isn't happening," mumbled Kimiko, before burying her face in her hands.
Raimundo stared at the wreckage, his mouth agape and his arms hanging weakly at his sides. "We were too late.."
Dojo quickly emerged from the pile of rubble he had dived into, holding a badly damaged doll of Master Fung. The little dragon began to look around frantically, completely silent. It became apparent he was looking for the real Master Fung.
Clay silently removed his hat and threw it on the ground before throwing his head back, hands covering his face. Meanwhile, Omi walked forward until he was standing directly in the middle of the remains of his former home.
"This is where I grew up," the warrior of water muttered. "It can never be replaced."
The heroes ceased their mourning momentarily and looked towards the sky as they heard Hannibal Bean's amusement echoing through the now desolate valley, but with no villain in sight. They stood motionless for a few moments after the evil laughter had ceased, but then continued to survey the rubble.
Raimundo looked back at Clay to see that the Shoku Warrior of earth was comforting the crying Kimiko. The warrior of wind looked down to see that Omi was tightly hugging his legs, and gently placed a reassuring hand on his bald head.
"I can't find Master Fung!" wailed Dojo, finally breaking the silence. "What are we gonna do with no place to stay? Flu season is about to start!"
Master Monk Guan looked up at the sky, seeming strangely confident. "Your master is safe, please do not fear for his wellbeing."
The heroes turned and looked towards the ancient warrior, bewildered. However, Raimundo gradually became as confident looking as Guan was. "He's right! If we're worrying about the Temple and Master Fung's safety, we'll never be able to get round to beating Hannibal! We just have to keep moving forward!"
The other warriors ceased their sadness, but turned around to find that Master Monk Guan was slowly walking away from them. "Aren't you gonna lend a hand?" Clay asked Guan before he walked out of earshot.
Guan paused momentarily and turned his head to look back at the monks. "Hannibal has made a grave mistake. By destroying the Xiaolin Temple, he believed it would crush your spirits. However, the bonds you shared with each other in that place and the memories you have of growing up there will spell his downfall. I know you will now fight harder than ever before."
There was a gust of wind, blowing up more dust and debris, causing Guan to become veiled in a haze. The Xiaolin Warriors briefly shielded their eyes from the dust, but when they opened them again, Master Monk Guan had disappeared.
"He's right!" Kimiko proclaimed. "I've never wanted to kick someone's butt as hard as Hannibal's right now!"
"Not knowing if Master Fung is okay is a lot better than knowing he isn't okay," Dojo stuttered, trying his best to sound confident. "I think."
"We're going to rescue Ping Pong," Raimundo added. "Hannibal's gonna pay for destroying the Temple before Ping Pong could become a Shoku Warrior like us!"
"There ain't no turning back now," Clay said sternly, putting his cowboy hat back on his head. "I can't think of a way we can defeat Hannibal now, but as long as we keep our minds unclouded, the way to success should be clear!"
"I can think of a way," Omi said, stepping into the centre of the group. "Hannibal desires power most of all; we shall give him that power!"
The warrior of water rummaged through his robes and produced the Sun Chi Lantern, holding it out in front of him. One by one, the Xiaolin Warriors placed their hands on the item of power. Omi, Clay, Kimiko, Raimundo and Dojo began to smile and exchange hopeful glances as the lantern like Shen Gong Wu began to glow brightly.