Okay I am SO SO SO SO sorry that I haven't updated in FOREVER!! You see, I'm on vacation right now, and I'm sort of in a stump (ideas are welcome!!), but I've had a lot of inspiration lately, RaiKim wise, thanks to my new favorite book Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I might even write a fic about Twilight once I read the other three books.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy, and as usual, PLEASE REVIEW!!

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!! XS BELONGS TO CHRISTY HUE, CARTOON NETWORK, AND WB!! THIS FIC IS PURELY FAN MADE AND NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!!

8

Omi POV

I paced around the temple, looking scathingly at Clay, who innocently widdled at one of his wooden dolls half heartedly. "Clay!" I hissed at him. "We cannot simply sit here on our boots and do nothing!" Clay sighed. "I think you mean, sit on our booties." he corrected. I could almost feel the hot flames shoot out of my nostrils.

"That does not matter!" I insisted. "Kimiko is in trouble! We must help!" Clay sighed again, tilting his body back so that he leaned against the wall. He tossed the wooden doll aside, absent mindedly studying his finger nails.

"Omi" he began. "I reckon that...that there's no way that just you and me can get Kimiko back, without having any wu, or for there just being us two, for that matter." Clay paused, looking at me, clearly seeing the anger flare up in my eyes. "Omi, I don't think that we would accomplish much besides getting ourselves captured too. I think...I think that we should wait, until we get a bit more wu, or a better option, before we go off trying to be the heroes." Clay shrugged. "Who knows, maybe Rai will turn good again and go back to the Xiaolin side."

I sighed, knowing I was defeated. "You are right, Clay" I admitted sadly. "Darn straight" Clay said smugly in a teasing tone, tipping back his hat. I sighed again, heading glumly into the temple. "I am hitting the straw" I murmured, feeling the early stages of depression creeping over me. "Hay" Clay corrected.

I hardly heard him.

I felt ridiculous, like I wasn't needed, just standing aside doing nothing. I felt as though Raimundo needed us, me and Clay, and Kimiko especially. He loved Kimiko, though he didn't know that I knew it. Sometimes, a best friends knows many things than the other best friend does.

Raimundo needed her. And he'd proved his loyalty to me, Master Fung, our team, and the temple many times over. I knew that it would (and had, for that matter) absolutely killed him for doing what he did. Perhaps it was just my intestine, but I had the feeling that Raimundo was not acting of his own will, and that he need Clay and I now, more than ever.

Kim POV

There was a white flash.

I found myself standing on a flat, white platform, with a bunch of rocks underneath us. Or...so I thought. I realized that the platform was tipping, unstable under my sudden weight. The platform was perched on a pointed spike, ready to collapse at any moment. As I got a better look around, I saw a second, smaller platform, above my head. It was only capable of holding one person. Crap, I thought in my head.

Suddenly, Rai popped next to me, and again, the platform tipped around dangerously. I had to grasp Rai's arm just to keep from falling. Rai immediately jerked his arm away, but the sadness and helplessness in his eyes told me it was Wuya.

"I'm sorry, Rai" I whispered, my eyes filled with sorrow. "I am too" Rai whispered back with emotion in his voice. "For bringing you into all this." "You did it to save my life" I whispered back. "I will be forever grateful to you." Rai smiled a small smile, and I knew that he'd wanted to pull me into an embrace and stroke my hair, there and then, but the Showdown had started, even though we hadn't called it yet.

Rai aimed a punch at me, and I stuck my foot out in front of him in reflexes as he lunged. Rai tripped falling onto his face, and skidding a few inches. "I'm sorry" I whispered. Rai smirked. "It's nothing" he said. He jumped at me again, and again, I dodged. I couldn't really do anything with the Memory Enhancer, without causing Rai with a great deal of pain, whichI didn't want. It was basically all self defense in this battle.

This time, I jumped at Rai, knowing that he would dodge. Surprisingly, he didn't, and I landed onto him in a lump of blue and black robes. "Wuya, pay attention to the game!" Chase hissed from the sidelines. "What?" Wuya asked dreamily, staring at Chase with a glazed look in her eye.

"Kim" Rai whispered in my ear. "Please, tilt me off the edge." "What?!" I cried gazing at him in horror. "I won't be hurt" Rai promised. "But then the Showdown will end, and you will have the wu to get you out of this Hell hole." "But Rai" I protested.

I gently took his face between my hands, and I looked at him with emotion in my eyes and whispered "I don't want to hurt you. I don't even want to be in this mess." Rai looked back at me with the same level of emotion whispering "Me neither."

There was a pause between us, and suddenly, he whispered, with every ounce of meaning that he had in his body put into these four words, "I love you Kimiko".

My head spun, and I could feel the furious blush creeping into my cheeks. Even though he couldn't move, I knew that Rai was just plain itching to reach over and stroke my cheek. I found my face breaking out into a grin. "Leave it to you to become all serious and mushy at the exact wrong time" I teased. Rai grinned, as equally red as I was.

Suddenly, I sensed the seriousness in his words, and whispered "I love you too, Raimundo." He smiled at me. I smiled back, relief and love making me feel weak and vulnerable. I laid my head on his chest briefly, before I realized that the platform was moving. I looked up so see the nearest edge to us breaking off.

"Move!" I shouted. I grabbed Rai's hand and dragged him along, to the opposite edge, away from the danger. The inside of the platform was breaking off, and I realized, with a jolt, why that second platform was up there.

"Rai, one of us absolutely has to lose!" I hissed urgently to him. "Only one of us can stand on the platform!" I nodded to the one above us. "What are we going to do?" "You go up there" Rai insisted immediately. "I'll-"

But he was rudely interrupted by Wuya, who shrieked "Blast!" and made Rai punch me in the face. I felt the blood gush from my nose, and my teeth bit my tongue, making me feel dizzy from all the sudden loss of blood. Rai kicked me, sending me sprawling across the platform, closer to the edge than my comfort. I felt something hard his my head, and realized that Rai had hit me with the Smoke Shadow. Warm blood oozed from my head, and Rai whispered "I'm sorry, Kimiko." Pain spread thickly throughout his voice.

"It's not...your fault" I gasped through the pain. "Please, just...get me out of here...somehow."

Rai POV

I forced myself to nod, and kicked Kimiko a final time. She hurtled over the edge, but grabbed the edge just in time, forcing herself from falling into the blackness.

The platform was unbelievably close now. Suddenly, I had an idea. I fought the power that concealed my body that was forcing me to hurt the one that I loved so dearly.

"Let...me...go!" I shouted, screaming as the knives returned and scalded my insides. "You shouldn't have done that, Raimundo" Wuya whispered, perfectly pitched so that I could hear. I fought again, remembering that Kim hung over the edge.

I refused to let her lose.

Then, another idea struck me. I thought of Kim, lying on the cold dead ground, bleeding, from my previous nightmare that I'd had a few nights ago. The nightmare brought tears to my eyes, and just as I'd hoped, I felt free form Wuya's iron grip.

"No!" Wuya screamed.

I launched myself at Kim, grabbing her hand just as she slipped over the edge. "Rai!" she breathed in relief.

I hauled her up, carrying her in my arms bridal style, and in a single jump, landed on the second platform. I still held her, refusing to release her from my hold for even a second.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Kim" I whispered sheepishly. Kim smiled, meeting my eyes. "I forgive you" she whispered. Her eyes shone as she looked at me, and she whispered "Don't let go." I stared back at her, blinking confused for just a second, and then I whispered back "I won't. Not ever."

Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath me, and I fell to my knees. Part of the platform had fallen off, and Kim had rolled out of my grasp. The tiles on the platform glowed red, and a robotic voice hissed "Only one." Kim was falling off the edge again, and I grabbed her hand, refusing to let her fall, to let her lose.

"Don't let go, Rai" Kim cried, letting the fear and tears spills out of her eyes. "I promised I wouldn't!" I retorted to her. But even as I said this, I felt her grip slipping from mine. The fear shone in her eyes as she whispered "Rai."

And then she fell from my grasp for good, tumbling into the darkness, screaming. I yelled "No!!" and there was a blinding white flash.

I was back in the cell, bent on my knees, holding Kim bridal style again. The wu lay next to me, but all that mattered was Kim. After a brief inspection, I declared that she'd fainted.

"Well now" said a cold voice in the darkness. "Now that we cannot control you anymore, I suppose its time that you became our prisoner." Wuya's hand shot out of the darkness, into the cell, and grabbed the wu. "I will be taking these too, thank you". Then there was blackness, except for the dim fire in the corner.

I immediately sat against the wall, not caring that I was now a prisoner. "Kim?" I whispered, tenderly turning her over in my arms. Kim's eyes fluttered open, immediately finding me. "Is the showdown over?" she whispered.

I swallowed. "Yes." She sat up, not leaving my arms. "And I lost..." she said distractedly. I swallowed again. "Yes." Her gaze turned to me, and she whispered "You almost saved me." I felt a fresh spurt of guilt over come me. "Almost" I responded. Kim's eyes met mine. "I meant what I said." she whispered. "As did I." I retorted. Then I let my mind soak in what she'd said. "About what?" I questioned casually.

"To not let go" she whispered. Immediately, I protectively held her closer to me, refusing to let her out of my grasp.

"What did you mean?"

Her voice was barely audible, even in the stony silence. I swallowed, feeling my body tense for no reason. "I meant two things." I responded carefully. "One, that I was never going to let go." I paused, searching for her eyes again, for the fire was dying, and I'd lost them in the darkness. Kim shot a fireball into the burning fire, and it ignited again, illuminating her whole, tense, beautiful face. "Go on" she pressed.

I swallowed, pursing my lips, making my voice almost as audible as hers.

"And that I loved you."

There was a silence.

"Kim?" I whispered. Kim met my eyes, and whispered "Raimundo Pedroso, I will love you too, forever and always, until the end of time, until I die, and even beyond then. But you need to promise me something." Her eyes locked onto mine for the longest time.

"Yes?" I whispered, finding myself leaning toward here in anticipation.

"Only if you promise to do the same."

There was another silence, dramatic, almost. And I whispered "I promise." Kimiko nodded in acceptance and pleasure. "Thank you."

More silence...

"I think that you're supposed to kiss me now" I whispered, grinning in the dim light. Kim seemed to have been in a trance, just staring at me, and then she whispered "Sorry" and gently pressed her lips to mine.

She pulled away after a couple seconds and whispered "Better?"

I nodded, feeling my exhaustion. I leaned against the wall heavier, shutting my eyes. Kim straightened out of her ball and lay in my lap, her head draped across my chest. The gentle lull of sleep was calling to me as I listened to her even breathing, and smelled her flower scent. "Goodnight Kimiko" I whispered. "Goodnight Rai." Kim breathed.

And then sleep over took me, or shall I say, both of us.

HOLY CRAP!!

I've never written something that mushy...EVER! I think that Twilight is having an effect on me or something. I'm sorry if somebody doesn't like all this mushy gushy stuff, but trust me, the action is coming...:)

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, and PLEASE REVIEW!!