Floating in a westerly direction above the clouds, the transformed Hannibal Bean approached the bustling city of New York. The warped Ping Pong sat on his shoulder while the Ying-Ying Bird flew a few metres ahead of them. The trio was surrounded by a faint sphere of red energy, generated by the intense power that the Crimson Moon Moth had developed over the course of its evolution.
A flock of seagulls flew noisily towards them, but as they drew closer, the spherical force field around the villain and his two accomplices dramatically increased in diameter. When the birds made contact with the energy, each of their bodies were instantly transformed into something like a miniature roast chicken. Most of the golden brown morsels simply dropped out of the sky, but one was grabbed by the Ying-Ying Bird's talons.
The clouds above New York were thick and grey, concealing Hannibal from the civilians going about their business below for the time being. Hannibal turned to look at Ping-Pong and grinned fiendishly. "I think this'll be a suitable spot to begin universal domination. Mortals often think everything important in the world happens in New York City."
As Hannibal began to chuckle, so did Ping Pong. But before they could move any closer to the city, the transformed warrior of wood saw a tiny silver speck coming towards them. Ping Pong gave a short but loud screech and pointed towards the speeding object, alerting his master of its presence.
In the blink of an eye, Hannibal and Ping Pong were face to face with a superhero dressed in a silvery suit and cape. The man was the same superhero that was brought to life from a billboard by the power of the Majutsu Wand Shen Gong Wu a few months ago.
"Halt, evildoers!" exclaimed the spangled macho man valiantly, preparing to aim his ray gun at them. "You shall not harm this beautiful city!"
Even though Hannibal was baffled by the sudden and inexplicable appearance of the superhero, he still saw him as another insignificant obstacle. Before the flying man could fire his weapon, Hannibal unleashed a frightening roar and a burst of crimson fire from his mouth. After the flames had cleared, the superhero had been reduced to a particularly large roast chicken, which promptly plummeted to the ground below.
"I don't have time to fool around," Hannibal mumbled to himself as he continued to fly closer to the tallest point he could find; the Empire State Building.
Hannibal and Ping Pong gently touched down on top of the towering skyscraper's antenna spire, perched gracefully on its tip. The Ying-Ying Bird began to soar around the top of the Empire State Building in a circle, while Hannibal stretched his arms out towards the light of the sun overhead.
"I never really liked the name 'Big Apple'," the almighty villain said with another wicked chuckle. "How about we rename this city the 'Big Bean'?"
The monstrous Ping Pong grinned and began to nod his head furiously, frantically chanting his approval over and over again. Hannibal grinned as well, just as round green growths began to sprout all over his body. All of a sudden, the green globules shot out in all directions and burst into thousands of fragments like fireworks.
The green specks transformed into red beans as they fell the whole one hundred and twenty stories down to the pavement below. Some were blown by the wind and spread to other parts of the city, burying themselves into the ground as soon as they landed, including concrete and soil.
"Time to grow!" Hannibal proclaimed with a laugh.
One of the beans, which had lodged itself in the crack between two paving stones on a cafe's patio, began to rapidly germinate. In a split second, the bean immediately grew into a towering beanstalk, sending tables and cafe patrons flying as it burst up from the ground. The beanstalk grew and grew, thicker than any tree trunk and as tall as the buildings that surrounded it. The colossal plants began to sprout all over the city, toppling buildings and tossing cars. As Hannibal Bean watched the chaos unfold, his amusement echoed throughout the entire city.
The Xiaolin Warriors were rummaging through the remains of the destroyed Xiaolin Temple, attempting to find more things to help them on their mission. Dojo, who was desperate to find any signs of where Master Fung could have been, displayed remarkable strength at his diminutive size as he lifted some rubble away.
"I wish there was some way we could undo all this," he mumbled to himself, wiping the sweat from his brow and from his eyes.
When the little green dragon opened his eyes, there was a large silver panel that had been underneath the pile of debris he had moved. In its centre was a shiny red button, and above it were the words 'Press for new Xiaolin Temple'. Dojo's eyes lit up and he gave a huge grin, squealing with delight.
"What is it Dojo?" Omi questioned, being the first to hear the ecstatic noises that the dragon was making.
"Kids, come here quick! I think all our problems are going to be solved with the push of a button!" Dojo exclaimed, causing all the Shoku Warriors to gather around him.
The four heroes huddled around him as he slowly pressed the red button. All of a sudden, from a nearby pile or wreckage, a large balloon began to inflate. Dojo and the Xiaolin Warriors immediately ran away from the ever growing object, allowing it to expand to its full gargantuan size.
"Whoa Nelly!" Clay exclaimed as he took a step back, the huge shape casting a shadow over him and his companions.
The inflatable object had transformed into a towering palace of white stone with golden roofs, and a multi tiered pyramidal shape. Atop of the structure was a gigantic gold statue of Dojo carrying the monks on his back, with Master Fung sitting on top of his head. A red carpet rolled down the steps that led up towards a doorway at the top of the building.
"Come on guys, let's check it out!" Raimundo proclaimed excitedly, leading the heroes up the stairs to the top.
When the Xiaolin Warriors were inside they marvelled at the massive banquet hall in front of them, with a towering jade statue of Master Fung cradling Dojo like a baby. To their surprise, Master Fung stepped out from behind the image of his likeness and walked towards the monks. The wise master was smiling warmly at his students, who quickly rushed to embrace him. The six of them were surrounded by many sparkles and twinkling lights.
Dojo slithered up Omi's back and onto the bald monk's head, and then quickly hopped into Master Fung's arms. "Oh Master Fung, I was really worried!" gasped the dragon.
"I was too, Dojo, but I am glad that you handled the situation so well," Master Fung said with a gentle smile.
"I love you Master Fung! Don't ever go missing again!" Dojo smiled back, his yellow eyes shimmering with tears.
"And I love you too, Dojo Kanojo Cho. I'll always be with you, even until the end of time," said Master Fung.
Kimiko abruptly grabbed Dojo by the neck and pulled him towards her. The warrior of fire's face was like that of a demon, surrounded by flames and with great glowing eyes. "Wake up, Dojo! For the eighteenth time, you're going the wrong way!" she roared.
Dojo shook his head slightly and returned to the real world. He was flying above the clouds once again, with the four Shoku Warriors on his back. Kimiko was sitting on top of his head, waving her hands in front of his eyes.
"You totally zoned out there, dragon dude," Raimundo said, sitting just behind Kimiko. The warrior of wind sounded concerned.
"If it makes you feel any better, Dojo, I was thinking about what the heck we're going to do next too," added Clay.
"Yeah, don't worry," Dojo sighed. "Where did Omi say Ping Pong was again?"
"Move towards the west, Dojo," Omi replied sternly. "I sense Ping Pong's thoughts are coming from a great tower."
Dojo altered his trajectory slightly and increased his speed, approaching the eastern coast of north America. The sky appeared to get darker and darker, and seemed to take on an almost reddish hue. The four Shoku Warriors began to look around concernedly as the clouds gradually grew sparser.
Ahead of them was the city of New York, but they gasped when they witnessed its altered appearance. The entire city seemed black, and the buildings were enveloped in green vines with tremendous crimson coloured leaves. In between the familiar skyscrapers were colossal beanstalks, some now towering over the surrounding buildings.
The Statue of Liberty was so enveloped by plants that it looked like one of the beanstalks itself. Dojo almost stopped in his tracks when he saw the eerie sight, but continued onwards at a slower speed out of caution. The streets were deserted and quiet, almost as though there was no animal life in the city anymore. New York had become a kingdom of monstrous vegetation.
"I think I know what tower Omi's talking about," Kimiko muttered, and the others gasped when they saw what she was referring to.
Ahead was the Empire State Building, but now the massive skyscraper was crowned with a bizarre and frightening cage like structure with a greater diameter than the building itself. The arrangement was made up of hundreds of branches, trunks and vines arranged into a sphere.
"Dive down, or else Hannibal's going to know we're coming for him!" Raimundo yelled.
Dojo instantly dropped in altitude and descended to the Empire State Building's entrance below. The pavement outside the building was crisscrossed with many roots and vines, as well as miniature beanstalks that grew up from the cracks. Dojo shrank to his original size, and the Xiaolin Warriors gingerly leapt off and tried to avoid landing on any of the supernatural plants.
The heroes walked into the skyscraper to find that its interior had been transformed by Hannibal's takeover. It was now mostly empty and the walls were covered in vines, and a great spiral staircase seemingly led right to the top of the towering building. The Shoku Warriors paused for a few seconds to look upwards before continuing to walk onwards, ready to climb the stairs.
There was a terrifying shriek as soon as Raimundo, the first person to start climbing, put his foot on the first step. Dozens of green creatures, shaped like octopuses made from tangled vines and leaves, began to climb down from above. They were climbing down on slender vines that hung from underneath the spiral staircase, snapping their blood red jaws and drooling a foul yellow liquid substance. Each creature was only about the size of someone's head, but their number made them more formidable.
Two of the small monsters dropped towards the warrior of wind, who leapt upwards using his wind powers and kicked them away. Clay used the Wreck 'n' Roll Shen Gong Wu to stun several more creatures who were still climbing down with intense vibrations, causing them to fall. This time, Omi used Layali's Flute to send the rest of the creatures into a stupor, making them calm and submissive.
Now the danger had passed, the Xiaolin Warriors continued their ascent to rescue Ping Pong. After they had climbed up several storeys, there was a loud rumble. The five heroes looked behind to see that the steps were beginning to turn brown and wither away into nothing, like dying plants. They began to run, only to find that the steps were collapsing faster. Dojo bounded off Clay's shoulder and expanded to his full size, using his tail to pull the Shoku Warriors onto his back.
"That's enough of the slow and steady route!" he exclaimed, soaring upwards while following the spiral staircase.
To his alarm, the ground below suddenly split apart. An enormous beanstalk emerged, growing as fast as the dragon was flying. Dojo and his passengers gasped in shock as the stalk grew closer to them, touching the tip of Dojo's tail as he flew straight up. To their dismay, the beanstalk wrapped itself around the dragon's tail, catapulting the four monks upwards without their ride. Vines shot out of the walls behind them, creating a new floor beneath them to land on.
Gravity returned, and the four Shoku Warriors landed with a thud. Through the gaps in the spongy and interwoven vines they could see Dojo, slowly being enveloped in tendrils and being covered in leaves. Dojo gave one last whine of terror before the netlike floor sealed itself completely and hardened into a bark like substance, leaving the heroes without their trusty dragon.
"Dojo!" Omi cried, pounding his fists against the floor.
"First Master Fung, now Dojo..." mumbled Kimiko.
"Cheer up, guys!" Raimundo exclaimed, causing the warriors of water and fire to turn their attention towards him. "After we beat a big world ending threat, everything turns back to normal, right? I'm sure everything's going to turn out okay!"
The rest of the heroes looked at the Xiaolin team leader with uncertainty. "It did happen three or four times," added Clay.
"Right! So let's not worry about it," said the warrior of wind, but his comrades were still appeared to be worried.
Omi's nine forehead dots began to glow, and he abruptly looked upwards at the spiral staircase that continued above. "I feel that Ping Pong is getting very close!"
The other warriors quickly looked in the direction that the water monk was facing, trying to see any signs of their young friend. From the darkness above them, three dots began to glow, followed by a pair of sinister yellow eyes. Slowly, the creature began to climb slowly down towards them, holding onto one of the many vines that hung from above.
"Is that Ping Pong?" gasped Kimiko.
The creature was easily recognisable thanks to its large, round head on its small leafy body. The Ping Pong plant monster bared its crooked teeth and spread its large moth like wings, causing the Xiaolin Warriors to immediately assume a fighting stance. It let go of the vine and swooped downward, taking Clay by surprise and knocking the earth warrior off his feet.
"He's stronger than he looks!" yelled Raimundo.
The warrior of wind regretted opening his mouth, as the diminutive monster landed on all fours and began to bound towards him. Raimundo was frightened of using his full strength, fearing that he would hurt the transformed Ping Pong. He simply blocked Ping Pong's furious punches, but was caught off guard by a vine that lashed out from the creature's wrist that tripped him up.
The Ping Pong monster dropped onto Raimundo's chest, pushing the air out of his lungs and snarling in his face. Kimiko charged towards him, but the plant creature noticed and leapt away, causing her to fall on top of Raimundo and pound the breath out of him once more. Omi ran over to the downed warriors of wind and fire to help them up, before looking back at the former rookie warrior of wood.
With a fiendish cackle, the plant creature merged with the plants that covered the walls, disappearing from sight. The Xiaolin Warriors were all back on their feet, watching the walls for any signs of movement. Some of the leaves above them rustled, and some vines that hung from above swayed violently as if something had been swinging from one to the other.
"Show yourself, Ping Pong!" Omi called out, trying to hide his horror over the monster that his doppelganger had become.
The Xiaolin Dragons were caught by surprise yet again as Ping Pong emerged from the floor beneath their feet, sending them flying as he soared upwards on crimson moth wings. The heroes landed with a thud yet again, but were beginning to lose hope that they could return their friend back to his original self. Raimundo clenched his fists, knowing that they would need to use more force to defeat their new adversary, at the risk of hurting Ping Pong.
"I have an idea!" Clay shouted, quickly getting to his feet and swinging the Lasso Boa Boa above his head.
He called out the snake like Shen Gong Wu's name and tossed it upwards, managing to tie up the airborne Ping Pong monster as it swooped overhead. Much to his surprise, and the surprise of his comrades, Clay was lifted off his feet by the energetic plant creature and dragged around the interior of the building. It became clear that there was no way to physically restrain the monster.
Finally, Omi cleared his mind and readied Layali's Flute for a second time. The bubbles produced by the magical musical instrument floated up into the air like a cloud of shimmering colours, which eventually collided with the transformed Ping Pong. The creature's flight became sluggish, and he slowly started to lose altitude. Clay deactivated the power of the Lasso Boa Boa so it gently unwrapped itself from Ping Pong as he landed in front of them.
Omi continued to play the flute shaped Shen Gong Wu until a gradual change came over the creature's body. The leaves that covered the monster started to turn brown and fall off one by one, revealing the ordinary clothes of the boy underneath. Slowly but surely, Ping Pong became calm and began to resemble his original self.
With a final sigh of relief, Ping Pong looked roughly the same as he did before, only with a few small leaves attached to his body. The Shoku Warrior of water stopped playing Layali's Flute and looked at his doppelganger lovingly, glad that he had been restored by the flute's calming effects. The other Xiaolin Warriors smiled too, and the four of them approached the diminutive monk to ask him if he was unharmed.
"It appears that the chaotic seed that Hannibal Bean implanted in his soul has been vanquished by tranquillity!" Omi proclaimed.
Ping Pong rubbed his eyes and reached into his pocket, pulling out his green tinted glasses to put on. He opened his eyes and gave a smile as he saw his four heroes standing around him. "Brother Omi, Raimundo, Clay! Sister Kimiko!" he squeaked.
"I'm so glad you're alright!" Raimundo said. "What did Hannibal do to you?"
Ping Pong stopped smiling as a look of urgency appeared on his round face. "We must make haste to the top of the skyscraper!" he exclaimed. "It's the only way we can restore the world back to its natural condition!"
"Hannibal's at the top," Kimiko added. "Is everyone ready?"
The Xiaolin Warriors exchanged glances, gradually looking more determined. Ping Pong smiled at their look of resolve before closing his eyes and focussing his powers. From under their feet, a giant leaf attached to a long stalk carried them upwards, bypassing the spiralling staircase.
"I see you have unlocked the power of your element, Ping Pong!" Omi exclaimed, smiling in wonderment.
"I guess wood powers are pretty cool after all," added Raimundo. Ping Pong briefly glanced at the warrior of wind and scowled, but the other warriors did not notice.
Eventually the five heroes reached the very top of the transformed Empire State Building, inside the strange structure that had grown on top of the skyscraper. They were faced with a giant gate made from wooden branches and vines, carved with the image of a goose with golden eggs and a harp. Ping Pong walked forward and placed his hands on the gate, causing a swarm of red spectral moths to fly out from the leaves, startling the Xiaolin Warriors.
Ping Pong used his wood powers to reshape the gate into an entrance, and as they walked through, they were met with the sight of the transformed Hannibal Bean. The villain's new enormous, moth winged body startled the young warriors. Hannibal sat with one leg over the other on a throne that grew from the branches that made the room, tapping his fingers on the armrest. The Ying-Ying Bird sat on his shoulder, and gave a small squawk as it noticed the intruders.
"What a pleasure to meet you all the way up here," Hannibal chuckled.
All the Xiaolin Warriors, except Ping Pong, assumed a fighting stance once again. "Ping Pong, are you ready to teach Hannibal a lesson in defeat? Use your unlocked powers to remove his throne and give his buttocks an embarrassing surprise!"
Omi and the other heroes gasped when Ping Pong was swiftly carried towards Hannibal by a vine that grew from the foot of the monstrous villain's throne. Ping Pong turned back towards them and looked at them apologetically, just as the leaves and vines began to grow all over his body again.
"Ping Pong!" Raimundo yelled angrily, "C'mon dude, I thought you were going to help us restore the planet!"
"He is going to help me restore the world back to the way it was," Hannibal explained. "Before any of you humans were around to ruin it, that is. Ping Pong doesn't want to disobey his poppa."
"Poppa?" shouted Clay incredulously.
Beginning to recover from their state of shock, the Xiaolin Warriors realized they were seeing a different side to Hannibal. However, before they could strike, Ping Pong waved his hand and caused more vines to shoot out of the ground and ceiling, leaving the Xiaolin Warriors tied up.
"You've managed to foil a few times, but all those plans were made to lead up to this," Hannibal continued to explain with a sly smile. "Too bad you ain't going to see what I have in store for the universe."
Hannibal's gloating was interrupted by a sudden explosion that blew a large hole in the side of his throne room, scattering splintered wood and burning leaves. From out of the smoke walked a frowning Jack Spicer, wearing his goggles over his eyes for a change. Behind him was the Cyclops, Katnappé, Tubbimura and Vlad. Jack broke out of his stern look and pulled his goggles back on his forehead, grinning wickedly.
"Can't have a beanstalk without the Jack!" he exclaimed. "I've got a bone to pick with you, Bean!"
"Are you jealous that he got to cause chaos before you did?" Raimundo asked him.
"Yeah, sure, I guess," Jack lied with a stutter.
Hannibal gave a loud sigh. "Ain't the clowns supposed to leave the scene when things get serious?" His irritation became greater when a swarm of Jack-bots flew into the room and fired their lasers at the bonds that held the Xiaolin Warriors in place, freeing them from the vines.
An army of plant creatures emerged from the floor and began to clash with Jack's robots, as well as the boy genius himself and his team of villains. With a flash of light, Jack was wearing a suit of red and black armour, its gauntlets crackling with electricity. As Jack charged into battle with his new and improved armaments, the Xiaolin Warriors quickly dispatched the plant creatures themselves using their martial arts moves. An exasperated Jack noticed that all the other plant creatures were preoccupied with the monks, Jack-bots and his cronies. The boy genius stood in the centre of the room and folded his arms angrily.
Still sitting on his throne, Hannibal curled up his lip in aggravation and emitted a pulse of crimson energy, causing all the plant creatures to disappear and knocking the heroes off their feet. Jack Spicer's cronies managed to roll away just in time to prevent the Cyclops from falling on top of them, and all the Jack-bots had been deactivated by the evil energy.
Omi glanced up at the silently watching Ping Pong and clenched his fists, springing to his feet. However, roots grew up from the ground and around the warrior of water's ankles. Hannibal grinned wickedly as he sunk his fingers into the armrest of his throne, sending a pulse of crimson energy through the roots to shock Omi into submission. Ping Pong, who had been unresponsive, suddenly came to his senses. He could feel Omi's pain, and the mysterious link he shared with the Shoku Warrior caused the leaves and other monstrous features on his body to disintegrate.
To Hannibal's displeasure, the little warrior of wood ran to Omi's side, helping the weary warrior of water to get back on his feet. As the moth wings on Ping Pong's back crumbled to dust, it was clear that the youngest Xiaolin Warrior was no longer under his spell. The other Xiaolin Warriors were coming to their senses and began to observe the tender moment between Omi and Ping Pong, glad that their new friend had broken free of Hannibal's control.
After readying it while everyone was distracted, Hannibal fired the Rio Reverso Shen Gong Wu, striking Ping Pong with the mystic beam. In a flash, the warrior of wood that had helped Omi up had vanished. In his place was a familiar looking Shen Gong Wu; the Gift of Green Thumb. There was a small speck of light attached to the armguard like object; Omi recognised it as one of his dots, the tenth one that was removed by Hannibal during their last Xiaolin Showdown.
Omi picked up the tiny glowing dot in his hands and stared at it for a while, and then looked around at all his friends. "What are you looking at them for?" Hannibal asked sternly. "You should be asking me the questions."
"You used the Gift of Green Thumb to make cheese ball number two?" Jack asked.
The Ying-Ying Bird flew overhead and projected an image in the centre of the throne room, flying the circumference of the chamber over and over. The image displayed a rotating image of the Crimson Moon Moth.
"Now that victory is in my hands, I might as well describe my little scheme to you," Hannibal said, assuming a very different, more open attitude. "I've had my eye on the power of the Crimson Moon Moth for a very long time. You may have thought I was only interested in the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman, but in truth I only needed to absorb its power with the moth. The world was once a place ruled by others like me, until that fool Dashi and his posse came along to vanquish my kin so you humans could flourish."
The image transformed into a collage of silhouettes belonging to strange, dark creatures. The shapes disappeared one by one until a tiny, bean shaped one was left. "Of course nobody paid attention to little old me. Dashi thought I wasn't enough of a threat, so I showed him he was wrong by turning one of his friends against him," Hannibal continued.
The hologram transitioned to Hannibal handing Chase Young the Lao-Mang-Long soup, but then everything faded to black. The image then became Hannibal toiling over the Zaijian Cauldron, the first Shen Gong Wu activated after Raimundo became team leader.
"I needed a Xiaolin Warrior to help me get the Crimson Moon Moth, and after my attempt to make Chase Young serve me had failed, I thought I'd try making a lackey from scratch. I used Omi's extra dot as the main ingredient, and since the Zaijian Cauldron can only recreate inanimate objects, I gave its power a little boost using the Eye of Dashi!" The image moved as Hannibal spoke, displaying the things he was saying.
Suddenly, the hologram became that of a little boy cheerfully running through the forest. He had a bowl haircut and glasses, and seemed to be very short. The little boy stopped in his tracks as the recording shifted to the Ying-Ying Bird's point of view, swooping towards the terrified youth.
"Of course, I found out that the Zaijian Cauldron could reproduce living beings if it had enough power, but not their memories and spirit. I decided to track down a descendent of the Lotus Locust Clan, and use that boy's personality to forge my creation. I used the Gift of Green Thumb to form a basis for his elemental powers, like those of the great Xiaolin Dragon Barkey. The result was little Ping Pong. You could say he was like a son to me, but I did what I had to do."
The heroes were completely silent, and although they were unrestrained, the shocking reveal of Ping Pong's identity and origins had frozen them. "Why Omi? Why did you make him a clone of Omi?" Raimundo asked, breaking the silence, although his voice was rather quiet.
"I thought it would make your little imaginations run wild. I thought you'd assume he was Omi's brother, or cousin, and allow him to become a Xiaolin Warrior," Hannibal replied with a shrug. "There's also the fact that Omi himself has some untapped Xiaolin potential. I thought that would raise the chances of him becoming accepted too."
Jack looked greatly disturbed. "Hey, I didn't know you were going to use the cauldron in that way!" he spluttered.
Hannibal turned his gaze towards Jack Spicer as the Ying-Ying bird ceased projecting its images and settled on the victorious villain's shoulder. "I have to thank you Jack for following my instructions. Your little project helped awaken the Crimson Moon Moth, after all. I'm sorry that it didn't go according to plan."
The throne room was suddenly swarming with plant creatures, growing out of the ground and walls by the dozen and menacingly crawling towards the helpless heroes. The heroes were still too shocked by what they had witnessed, but a fire was burning inside Omi.
The fire of rage manifested itself as a storm of ice, coating the entire throne room in white but leaving his comrades untouched, including Jack and his cronies. Hannibal had been completely coated in ice too, but he seemed pleasantly surprised by the warrior of water's sudden tenacity.
Omi grabbed hold of the Gift of Green Thumb, gritting his teeth. He charged at full speed towards the immobilized Hannibal just as he was beginning to thaw, striking him in the chest with the Shen Gong Wu. The Gift of Green Thumb began to glow, signifying the start of a Xiaolin Showdown.
"Hannibal Bean, it is time that I show you my plan!" Omi growled, staring into the eyes of the fiend. "I challenge you to a Shen Yi Bu All In! We wager all of our Shen Gong Wu against all of yours!"
"Wait, even mine?" Jack asked concernedly, only to be ignored.
Hannibal broke free of the ice and stood up, towering over Omi and his comrades. "I accept your challenge, because I ain't gonna lose this All In!" he bellowed.
"To make it more of a challenge, we can use all Shen Gong Wu, but they shall become available at random times!" Omi added.
"You're only making this harder for yourself, boy!" laughed Hannibal.
"Yeah, he's right!" Raimundo exclaimed. "The last 'All In' Showdown only happened because me and Guan had a plan!"
"Dude, aren't you team leader? Shouldn't you be encouraging him?" Jack questioned the warrior of wind indignantly. Raimundo looked very shamed when he realized who was asking him this.
Hannibal laughed again. "The game is a fight to the end! This whole planet shall be our battleground! Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"
The ground shook beneath their feet, and there was a blinding flash. The four Xiaolin Warriors, five incompetent villains and Hannibal Bean found themselves in an enormous coliseum made from a mixture of stones and vines. The sky above was black, and a thunderstorm was beginning. Omi stood ready for battle, but his comrades assumed more hesitative combat stances. Jack and his team of villains, including the colossal Cyclops, were trembling in fear.
"Gong Yi Tan Pai!"
With a mighty shout and an evil grin, Hannibal let out a mighty crimson shockwave that surged towards the Xiaolin Warriors. The warriors of water, fire, earth and wind leapt into the air to avoid the attack. Meanwhile, Jack and his villains hid behind some rocks that were scattered around the arena. Jack produced a small handheld device, pressing the buttons on it frantically.
"You're going to do that now?" Katnappé asked him quietly, her voice almost a hiss. "You haven't even given those things a test run!"
"I know what I'm doing, and it's gonna be awesome!" Jack replied.
As the heroes avoided Hannibal's energy attacks, Omi noticed a bubble containing the Eye of Dashi Shen Gong Wu drifting on the wind. The Shoku Warrior leapt up and popped it, claiming the mystic ruby pendant and using the bolts of energy it fired to distract Hannibal from targeting his friends. Kimiko had found the Shadow Slicer Shen Gong Wu in a bubble, and had used its powers to create holographic decoys to further distract the tyrant while she and the other Xiaolin Warriors regrouped to discuss their plan. Passing it between her, Raimundo and Clay had created enough illusory clones to keep Hannibal occupied for a while.
"A few hours ago you said you had a plan, Omi," Clay said. "You know, with the Sun Chi Lantern."
"That is one of the objects we need, yes!" Omi explained. "When Hannibal sees our power combined, he will wish to take it with the Crimson Moon Moth! But if we feed him too much power at once, it may be able to destroy him!"
"Reminds me of the time my cousin was training for a chilli pepper eating contest," added Clay, causing Raimundo and Kimiko to roll their eyes and sigh. "He started with the least spiciest peppers, then slowly got to the hotter ones. If we can give Hannibal something super spicy before he's ready, he won't be able to adapt to it!"
"But Hannibal sucked up the power of Wuya and the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman!" Raimundo interjected. "How strong is our combined power compared to those things?"
"That is why I needed to challenge Hannibal to a showdown!" Omi answered. "We needed his Eye of Dashi to empower the Sun Chi Lantern, and next we need the Knight of Jade!"
Suddenly, Hannibal loomed over the rock they had been hiding behind. "Found you," he chuckled, before firing deadly laser beams from his eyes.
The heroes scattered to avoid the attack, finding more Shen Gong Wu in the process. However, the Sleeping Lion Pillow and Mantis Flip Coin could do little to help them for the time being. Clay had found the Fist of Tebigong, but found that even the Shen Gong Wu's enormous strength couldn't damage Hannibal.
"Over there!" Kimiko yelled, pointing towards Hannibal.
Floating in the sky above, just behind Hannibal, was a bubble containing the familiar shape of the Knight of Jade. Omi and Raimundo nodded at each other before the warrior of water tossed the Mantis Flip Coin to his leader, who used it to leap abnormally high into the air. Hannibal half-heartedly raised his arms to grab Raimundo, but the warrior of wind avoided the enormous hands in midair and claimed the Knight of Jade.
Hannibal watched in mild amusement as Kimiko, Omi and Clay were enveloped in green light. The three heroes slowly floated away from him, heading towards a point behind him. Hannibal turned around to see the Knight of Jade, towering above him. The fiend smiled evilly and folded his arms as he saw the warriors disappear into the gigantic jade statue.
From the realm of green light and stars inside the Knight of Jade, the heroes watched in horror as Hannibal effortlessly increased his size until he was standing at the same height as their huge armoured warrior. Hannibal stretched his enormous crimson moth wings and levitated into the sky, laughing maniacally and glowing with power.
"You think you can stand toe to toe with me?" he guffawed as he vanished into the clouds above, while the Xiaolin Warriors watched hopelessly.
"What now?" Clay asked, "We don't even have the Sun Chi Lantern yet!"
Raimundo solemnly looked downwards from the sky, but he noticed five objects speeding towards them. It did not take long for his comrades to notice too, and as the unidentified flying objects came close, it became clear they were a squadron of strange flying machines. Raimundo immediately realized they were the same machines that he had stumbled across in Jack's mountain base.
"They finally came!" Jack cheered, putting away the handheld device he had used to summon the vehicles. "The Spicer Force Four plus Cyclops are ready to fly!"
"Great," Katnappé mumbled while the other three villains began to look excited.
"Spicer Machine Red, Spicer Machine Blue, Spicer Machine Green, Spicer Machine Yellow and Spicer Machine Black; beam us up!" proclaimed the invigorated boy genius as Katnappé buried her face in her hands.
Using tractor beams, the five villains were lifted off their feet and bought into the cockpit of each vehicle. To the Xiaolin Warriors surprise, each machine began to attach itself to the Knight of Jade. Jack's red vehicle and Katnappé's yellow vehicle attached themselves to the right and left arms, forming a pair of gauntlets. Vlad's green vehicle and Tubbimura's blue vehicle attached themselves to the Knight of Jade's legs, forming a pair of boots. Finally, Cyclops's black vehicle attached itself to the Knight's behind and formed a ridiculous pair of metal buttocks.
In the internal starry realm of the Knight of Jade, the Xiaolin Warriors were suddenly faced with the holographic images of Jack and his cronies faces. "So, what do you guys think? Pretty awesome or what?" Jack asked his former enemies.
"Get these stupid things off of us," Kimiko answered angrily. Katnappé smiled smugly.
"No, no, no!" Jack snapped, making Katnappé scowl again. "I built these things to take control of the Knight of Jade in case you'd use it against me again, but I'm allowing you to stay in control. It seems like Omi has a better plan than I do."
Omi smiled slightly, but Clay pushed him aside to put his face closer to Jack's hologram. "And how are these darn contraptions supposed to help us stop Hannibal from making the whole universe look like a bowl of bean sprouts and noodles?"
Jack grinned complacently and began to recite a song. "Beans, beans, they're good for your heart."
Cyclops perked up immediately and completed the rhyme in his usual gibberish, before slamming his enormous fist down on a button on his equally enormous dashboard. His ridiculous looking machine converted itself into a pair of huge rocket engines, which abruptly propelled the Knight of Jade upwards at alarming speeds. To the alarm of the Xiaolin Warriors, as well as anyone who wasn't Jack or Cyclops, the Knight of Jade escaped Earth's atmosphere and soared into outer space.
Hannibal, who had been preparing a sphere of destructive energy like the one he had dropped on the Xiaolin Temple, was head butted in the chest by the colossal armoured warrior. The energy he had been cradling in his fingers dissipated, and the enraged Hannibal pushed the Knight of Jade away.
The two giant figures were floating above the blue sphere of the Earth, standing about a hundred metres apart. "You dare challenge me, and face my full power?" Hannibal asked his opponent smugly. "I was holding back while we were on Earth!"
With frightening speed, Hannibal rushed forward and attempted to punch the Knight of Jade. "Defensive manoeuvre epsilon!" Jack yelled, causing the Knight's red gauntlet to morph into a small shield which blocked Hannibal's fist.
The impact still shook the heroes floating inside the Knight of Jade. "Did you really have to give that a name?" Vlad questioned Jack. He suddenly yelled as Hannibal took hold of the leg that Vlad was attached to and began to swing the Knight around.
"With this power, I no longer have to hide in the shadows and scheme!" Hannibal chuckled as he continued to swing the heroes around. As he threw them towards the moon, Hannibal continued to lecture them. "The Earth was supposed to be a place of chaos, where my kind were allowed to run free! Then you humans came along and decided that there should've been an order! Dashi and his Xiaolin Warriors crushed us, but now it's my turn to crush you weaklings, and dominate the entire universe!"
The Knight of Jade managed to land on its feet, standing on the moon, looking up at Hannibal who was soaring towards them. Suddenly, between Hannibal and the moon, a tiny bubble appeared. Inside the bubble was a brightly glowing speck, and Raimundo ordered Jack to magnify the image and bring it up on the holographic view screen.
"The Sun Chi Lantern!" Omi exclaimed. The warrior of water watched as Hannibal drew closer. "We must find a way to reach it before he does!"
"Deploy tractor beam!" Jack proclaimed, firing a beam of light from his gauntlet that began to pull the Shen Gong Wu in the bubble towards them. When in range, the Knight of Jade guided the bubble into its eyes using its free hand.
Omi grabbed hold of the Sun Chi Lantern once it had entered, and Kimiko handed him the Eye of Dashi to attach to the Shen Gong Wu. "Now that victory is in our hands, it's time for us to tell you of our plan!" Omi yelled at Hannibal.
The Sun Chi Lantern emitted a bright light, somehow brighter than the radiance of the Shield of Many Suns, but at the same time it was not blinding. The light began to shine out of the Knight of Jade, but it seemed to have a slight blinding effect on Hannibal, who slowed his velocity.
"You really think your little Sun Chi Lantern is enough to defeat me? You can unite your chi with as many of your friends as you want! You're nothing but insects to me!" Hannibal growled.
"That is where you are wrong, Hannibal!" Omi yelled. "We are not uniting our chi with our friends!"
Golden light began to feed into the Knight of Jade from an unseen source. Hannibal followed the threads of light, numbering in the thousands. To his surprise, the streams were coming directly from the Earth behind them. The whole planet was surrounded by an aura as bright as the sun.
"Of course!" Clay gasped. "The Knight of Jade can make Texas sized versions of the Shen Gong Wu we use inside it!"
"Okay Hannibal," exclaimed Raimundo. "If you think us mortals are weak, it's about time you faced the power of all six billion of us!"
"That's not even close to the real population," mumbled Jack.
Hannibal grinned like he had never grinned before; his eyes were full of madness. "Child's play! I'll take all your energy with the Crimson Moon Moth! I'll evolve! I'll survive! I'll become unstoppable!"
The Knight of Jade held out its palms and launched an enormous sphere of golden energy, which took only a split second to form with its temporary massive boost in power. Hannibal held out his palms too, extending red tendrils from his fingertips to consume the power. Hannibal vanished when the sphere of chi energy made contact with his body, creating a flash of light that must have been visible for everyone on Earth.
"Defensive manoeuvre omicron!" squealed Jack as the Knight covered its eyes with its hand, protecting the Xiaolin Warriors inside from the blinding flash.
When the light faded, the Xiaolin Warriors were horrified to see that Hannibal was still intact. However, his body suddenly looked lumpy and malformed. Hannibal grunted and growled as he tried to control his shifting body, but he seemed to be having great difficulty in adapting to the massive amount of Chi he had come into contact with.
"He's still trying to evolve!" Raimundo shouted. "It must've been too spicy, like Clay said!"
"One more strike while he is vulnerable should finish him!" added Omi. "But I can feel that the Knight of Jade is powerless! Channelling all of Earth's chi was a difficult task for it!"
Jack's holographic image suddenly faded from in front of the Xiaolin Warriors. They began to question why he had disappeared, but then saw Jack's vehicle detach from the Knight of Jade's arm. The heroes and Jack's cronies began to yell and call his name, but the giant red gauntlet launched itself towards Hannibal at full speed.
"The final attack!" Jack said quietly from within his cockpit, cracking a small smile. "Ultimate evil punch!"
"No!" screamed Hannibal. "Not him! Not this way!"
The giant fist made contact with Hannibal's giant face with an almighty crunch. In a flash, the Xiaolin Showdown had ended. The heroes and the villains had united their powers to fight Hannibal to the end, and had emerged victorious.
Later that day, the four Shoku Warriors sat on top of the Empire State Building, looking down at the city below them. The massive plants that had taken over New York had vanished, but the damage that they had caused still remained.
The heroes stopped observing the city as it returned to life and cast their eyes towards the setting sun to see a familiar shape soaring towards them. Omi, Raimundo, Kimiko and Clay stood up in unison and waved. Dojo waved back, and came close enough for the four heroes to hop aboard.
"Sorry for the delay!" Dojo said with a chuckle. "I hope you weren't worried about little old me! Funny characters always survive!" The dragon became concerned when the monks remained silent, and he could tell that they were unhappy without looking.
Gradually, he noticed that something was missing before he set off. "Where's Ping Pong?"
Katnappé, Tubbimura, Vlad and the Cyclops were sitting on a grassy hill in the middle of nowhere. They had managed to pilot their machines a short way, but had ended up crash landing in a remote region far from any civilization.
"Who's going to buy pudding cups?" Tubbimura asked forlornly.
"Who is going to keep us equipped with evil weaponry?" Vlad asked.
"Now who am I supposed to call an idiot?" Katnappé mumbled.
The feline villainess squealed as she felt what seemed like a bucket of water being spilled over her. It was just the tear of the Cyclops, who was sobbing quietly, looming above the three other evildoers. However, the dim-witted giant perked up immediately at the sight of a comet above them, pointing it out while guffawing.
The other villains realized that the comet was falling straight towards them, and quickly ducked for cover behind the surrounding rocks. Cyclops continued to laugh and applaud at the comet speeding towards him, eventually knocking him out. Katnappé, Vlad and Tubbimura crept out from their hiding places and gazed at the large, metal sphere that had landed on the dazed Cyclops's chest.
The top of the sphere opened up like a lid, revealing Jack Spicer sitting inside. "Take me to your leader, people of Earth!" Jack bellowed as he clambered out of the escape pod and bounced off of Cyclops's belly.
The villains approached him, relieved that he was unharmed, but then he continued to boast. "Oh, that's right, I'm your leader!" he proclaimed. "Did you think I'd be dumb enough to pull a 'heroic sacrifice'? My plan had a forty percent chance of success, so there was no way I'd be harmed!"
The three henchmen began to wander away from him in disgust, already fed up of his pride. "With Hannibal and Chase gone, it looks like I'm the top evildoer again!" Jack thought for a moment, and then grew sombre and quiet. "But Wuya didn't deserve to go like that."
Jack Spicer sat down, completely ignoring the fact that his cronies had left him. Suddenly, Jack found himself experiencing a bad feeling in his stomach. The boy genius squealed as purple vapours emerged from his belly, forming a small cloud in front of him. Jack leapt back and hid behind Cyclops's unconscious body.
"What a pleasant surprise it is to find you here, Jack," said a sarcastic sounding, but familiar raspy voice.
Jack slowly emerged from his hiding place to see Wuya, in the same diminutive ghost form she had when he first met her, floating towards him. Jack screamed in horror, but it gradually shifted into a scream of delight.
"Wuya, you're alive!" he exclaimed, but quickly saw her contort her mask like face into a look of irritation. "Well, you know what I mean," he continued, sheepishly.
"I have to thank you for playing a small part in Hannibal's demise," she grumbled. "I feel like I can tolerate you, at least until someone better comes along."
"That sounds good enough for me!" Jack said cheerfully. "I had to trade my Shen Gong Wu detector for some food. I'm kind of homeless right now, and the people who were my parents kind of said they didn't want to be my mom and dad anymore."
"I've been knocked back to square one so many times that I think I can help you out of your predicament," Wuya sighed, watching the boy genius begin salvaging the crashed vehicles around them. "Being a ghost face is better than being a flesh and blood weakling, anyway."
Meanwhile, halfway across the world from where they were tossed, Chase Young and Shadow made their way through a barren desert. Shielding his eyes from the harsh sun, the immortal warrior watched the Ying-Ying Bird fly overhead, soaring to an unknown location. He sensed that Hannibal's presence was absent and smiled.
"It seems that both Wuya and Hannibal have met their demise," Chase muttered to his accomplice. "Soon we can reclaim our title as the rulers of darkness, and proceed with another plan to crush the Xiaolin Warriors once and for all."
Shadow continued to walk behind him, but as she was still thinking about what the Heylin Witch had said to her, she felt less of an urge to follow.
At the ruins of the Xiaolin Temple, the heroes were finally beginning to gather what objects had survived their home's destruction. Kimiko had found a pile of her outfits first, while Raimundo found his beloved teddy bear, although he still hid it from his comrades. Omi, who could not stand the sight of the ruins, began to activate the power of the Gift of Green Thumb Shen Gong Wu.
"I will make these ruins into a magnificent garden," Omi muttered solemnly. "It is what Ping Pong would've wanted."
"He was only with us for a short time," Clay added, "But I miss him too."
Raimundo hid his bear in one of the suitcases and approached the warriors of water and earth, as did Kimiko. Dojo emerged from some of the rubble, sadly cradling the shredded remains of his Master Fung doll. Omi quietly called out the Shen Gong Wu's name, and the mystic object enveloped his arm in dark green armour and leaves. With a wave of his hands, Omi started on making a flower bed.
However, instead of many colourful flowers, Omi ended up creating a cabbage like growth that was the size of a person. The Xiaolin Warriors were bemused, and the warrior of water eventually stepped forward to examine the odd plant. Suddenly, the growth peeled open to reveal its contents.
Inside was the crouched figure of Ping Pong. His eyes flickered open, and he awoke with a start. "Je suis désolé, I did not mean to oversleep! I am ready for my training!"
Omi smiled tearfully and hugged his revived friend, and after they had recovered from their surprise, the other heroes did too. "His spirit must've been holding onto the Gift of Green Thumb, or something!" Dojo exclaimed.
Ping Pong was happy, but bewildered. "What did Chase Young do?" he questioned his friends. "I thought you had all been zombified by him!"
Evidently, he had no memory of what had happened after Chase's attack. Raimundo hesitated for a while, before deciding what was best to tell the youngest monk. "Chase Young fled with the Wu and destroyed the Temple," he answered. "We've got to find him and get them back, but we need to stay at Guan's for now."
Ping Pong looked at the ruins around him and gasped. "Don't worry, little hombre," said Clay. "Everything will turn out alright in the end. We just need to find Master Fung!" Suddenly, Clay realized that he and the other warriors had forgotten to point something out. "You may need to get some clothes first, though."
The little warrior of wood squealed and covered up his nudity with two leaves from the cabbage he had emerged from, but he was still wearing his glasses. While he and the other monks were laughing together, Dojo noticed something sitting on a pile of rubble. The dragon slithered over to the strange envelope, his eyes widening as he realized the owner of the handwriting upon it.
Dojo frantically opened the letter and ran to his friends, waving the sheet of paper in the air. "Kids, kids! It's a letter from Master Fung! He's alright!" he wailed excitedly.
The Xiaolin Warriors were immediately as surprised and happy as he was. Dojo handed the letter to Omi, and the other heroes gathered around to listen as he read it out loud.
"Dear Xiaolin Warriors; It is time for your next great mission..."
Author's Note: I hope you've all enjoyed reading this story so far! This thirteenth chapter officially marks the end of Adventure Chronicle's "first season". Will I be writing a "second season"? It's likely, but you'll have to wait! I have a lot of things going on, and little time to think of creative writing, but I do have the next adventures all planned out! I didn't expect this story to become a favourite of this many people, and I thank you for reading and enjoying it.
As an extra bonus; look at the date this story was submitted and what date this update was on. The 1st of November and the 15th of May was when season one of Xiaolin Showdown began and ended! I had a plan to submit the first and thirteenth chapters on these dates from the start, just for a little fun!