Warning: Violence is in this chapter. If you have a problem with blood, or anything related, I suggest you don't read this. Feel free to skip to the next chapter, if it's up. Please note the CHARACTER DEATH in the description. ;D

Holy craaaaaaaap, this was hard to write! As you may have noticed, fight scenes aren't my specialty. ;) That's why I took so long on this xDDD.

Aw man, I can't believe this fic is almost over. :( Let me take this opportunity to thank every single ONE of my reviewers and alerters. You guys were the reason I kept the fic going, and in a way, I couldn't have done this without you. Thank you so much!! :)

As I've said before, there will, unfortunately, be NO sequel, but more XS fics will be added definitely, though I might not get to them right away. I still have a Maximum Ride fic to finish, and there's two others (one XS) that I've been wanting to do for a while...

Anyways, kick back, relax, and enjoy this long, action-packed chapter. I can't wait for your feedback on this one. ;D

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!! IT RIGHTFULLY BELONGS TO CHRISTY HUE, CARTOON NETWORK, AND WB!! THIS FIC IS PURELY FAN MADE AND NO COPYRIGHT INFRIGENMENT IS INTENDED!!

15

Rai POV

As we charged at the villains and they got into battle position, all I heard was the blood pounding in my ears and the war cries of my companions. My fist gripped the Blade of the Nebula tightly, as though it were my lifeline.

The rain began to pour as we smashed into the opposite side in a mass of slicing, dodging, and shouting. We all knew we probably had no chance of winning, nonetheless getting out alive, but we fought like hell, as though there was nothing else in the world that meant so much to us.

As I caught Jack Spicer on the arm (who screamed and ran away, shouting for his Jack Bots), I felt someone barrel into my back. I landed on my face, but I rolled over, shaking off whoever had landed on me and skidded a few inches before jumping to my feet.

It was Katnappe. She hopped to her feet, hissing and trying to claw at my face with her unnaturally sharp fingernails. I dodged out of the way of her mini-kitties, taking out one or two as I did, and ran at her, managing to cut her a little bit on the wrist. She hissed at me, baring her pointed teeth, and came back at me, this time as furious as a cat that had been doused in water. I saw my opportunity as her position was revealed.

She was jumping through the air with her arms outstretched so that she resembled Superman. I bent back so far that I fell to the ground, kicked out my legs, and rolled backwards into a summersault. My feet smashed into her stomach, leaving sneaker imprints on her suit. Katnappe yelped and went flying, smashing head on into the wall and falling unconscious.

A white hot pain slashed across my back neck and the smell of singed hair filled the air. I yelped, falling forward and twirling around to see Wuya standing over me with her hands ignited in a green light. I let my fingers lightly brush my neck, and felt no hair there, only bare, raw skin.

I shook my head, trying to clear the pain away without success and dodged out of the way as Wuya shot another fireball. I reached into my pocket and whipped out a random wu.

"Woozy shooter!" I shouted.

The stream of pink shot at Wuya, but she dodged out of the way and instead the wu magic hit Tubbi Mora in the back of his head. He started waddling around with his tongue hanging out, drooling. Omi smashed his feet into Tubbi Mora's head and Tubbi Mora fell down, causing the ground to shake violently.

Wuya took advantage of my momentary distraction and jumped on top of me, holding a dagger to my throat. Her fang-like teeth and green eyes glittered in the flashes of lightning. She licked her lips, almost hungrily, and started to apply pressure to the blade...

There was a flash of black and red as Clay barreled into Wuya's side, sending her sprawling. I caught a glimpse of him as he jumped over me.

Clay wasn't too badly beat up...yet. A piece of his shoulder armor dangled out of place and he had a fat lip and a black eye. He winked at me as he ran by, after Wuya.

I seized the opportunity to take a quick 360. I pointed the Sword the Storm to the ground and said its name. The sword shot out a jet of wind, sending me flying upward into the air. I quickly pocketed the sword, falling a few inches, before holding my hands in the air so that I looked like I held a ball. The jet of wind formed to a funnel, circling around my waist and holding me in the air.

I turned my head in all directions, surveying below.

Clay was locked in combat with Wuya, attacking her with a few roundhouse kicks. Omi was all the way at the other end of the palace, fighting with Long, supporting a sprained arm, from the looks of it. It only appeared to anger him more; even from here I could see the blood in his eyes. A sharp, temporary feeling of pride flashed through me for the Cheeseball...Only for a second.

My eyes scanned furiously for the short, black-haired girl that sent the shivers rushing down my spine. In my desperate glances, I saw Jermaine fighting with a few jackbots. Jessie was right along next to him, whipping out the Lasso Boa-Boa and twirling it around the Chase cats who had been about to attack her.

I saw Kim, finally, grasping her left arm, with tears pouring down her cheeks. Chase was grinning evilly a few feet away, in his dragon form. With a shock of alarm, I realized that blood seeped through Kim's fingers. Just as I was about to go help her, Kim's head snapped up, a wide grin spread across her face, all the way to her ears. She released her bleeding arm and charged at Chase.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. Kim had always been the one for acts.

Suddenly, I couldn't hold myself up anymore. I felt the wind beneath me collapse in a sudden sweep of movement, and my body freefell through the air.

My first reaction was 'What the hell', but then I saw Wuya grinning beneath me, ready for more. Her hands were ignited, and with a jolt, I realized she'd penetrated the funnel.

Think, you've got to think, I yelled in my head. But I was too late.

My body smashed into the ground. Even with the armor on, the pain was immediate, shaking my body all over. I gritted my teeth, realizing I was unable to move. Come on, get up!

My body wouldn't respond.

Wuya launched herself at me, growling.

Come on, get up, you stupid, idiotic-

Apparently, my body responds to insults.

I rolled out of the way a second before Wuya landed at the spot I'd been at. She cried out in surprise, crashing face-first into the concrete. I flinched. That had to hurt.

She snarled, jumping up and clutching her nose. Blood dropped onto the ground.

Wuya ripped out a sword, coming at me again. I drew mine, sidestepping her attack and attempting to hit her in the back. Wuya was smarter than that and sidestepped that attack, whirling around and colliding her sword with mine. Her hand still clutched her bleeding nose.

I broke the connection, slicing my sword at her stomach. Wuya hissed at me, sliding backward to avoid it. I grunted in annoyance.

She attacked me again, this time coming for my chest. I held up my sword, blocking the blow. The sword vibrated, sending shivers up my arm. It knocked me temporarily breathless, and Wuya knew it. She seized her opportunity, sliding her sword across my arm.

I hissed, feeling the sword rip through my Xiaolin robes like butter. The blade cut my skin, burning, stinging. The pain made me want to hurt her just as badly.

I shook out of my trance, glaring at Wuya. She shrugged and just gave me an evil grin. I came at her in a fit of rage, snarling.

She slid out of my way and landed a blow with the handle of her sword on my chest. The breath left me, but I whirled around and handled her in the chest too. Wuya gasped and I jumped on the chance, aiming at her chest. I missed, somehow, and ended up cutting her cheek, just as she had my arm.

Wuya howled her hand flying to her cheek.

I could see blood in her eyes and she jumped at me again, her sword outstretched. I saw where she aimed; my chest. Knowing I was an inch from death, my body reacted on a primitive instinct, sliding out my sword in front of me, and as she came at me, plunging it into her chest.

Wuya collapsed immediately, the breath leaving her, her eyes blank. My breath caught in my throat and a sense of dread crept up on me as I realized that I'd killed her. I pulled the sword out, watching her drop. I swallowed, feeling sick to my stomach, feeling the blood from my arm drop to the ground.

What had I done?

I looked at the bloody sword and dropped it. No...No I hadn't...

That's when I heard Kim scream.

Alarm immediately knocking me out of my trance, I whirled around, seeing Long towering over Kim. Omi lay a few feet away, next to the cracked wall, knocked out. Blood dripped from his nose. I screamed "Leave her alone!" and grabbed my sword from the ground, running at Long.

Long turned in my direction, grinning his evil grin that now haunted my dreams, turned back to Kim, and stabbed her with his sword in the chest.

I stopped.

My heartbeat sounded in my ears. My eyes were locked onto Kim's, who stared at me with an expression that clearly said Help me.

Long pulled the sword out of her, laughing a loud, evil, hysterical laugh. Kim dropped like a stone, hitting the ground hard. I saw her eyes close.

The agony was instantaneous, ripping through my heart more painful than any sword or bullet. All my eyes saw through the tears was Kim, lying there, helpless, bloody, and unmoving. I was unable to breathe, to think, to accept the matter that Kim wasn't getting up and fighting back...

It was then that I felt the fury. The aching, powerful fury that accompanied my sorrow, building up in my chest, as the tears poured out of my eyes. It had been him who killed her. Him.

He would pay.

My agony came out in one simple shout as my sword raised and a jet of powerful wind shot out from behind me, sending me rocketing forward, into Long. Swear words poured out of my mouth as I attacked him, determined to hurt him as much as he had me...as much as he'd hurt Kim. I managed to cut him on the stomach, not deeply, but enough to make him hiss in pain. He still clutched his bloody sword, the sword that had killed Kim, and attacked me with it.

He cut my cheek, like I had Wuya's, and my blood poured all over my armor. I gritted my teeth, fighting the pain, and fought back. I heard Kim groan in pain.

She wasn't dead!

This made me fought harder, stronger. I had to get to Kim.

I snarled as Long dodged my blow and cut me on the arm, where Wuya had cut me earlier. The cut deepened. This was a cut that would need stitches. I growled lowly, the sound coming from deep in my throat.

My sword flashed through the air, colliding with Long's. He fought back expertly, his expression apathetic. He seemed bored out of his mind.

Well, I would give him something to be bored about.

He aimed his sword at my chest and I jumped into the air, tucking into a ball and soaring over his head. I didn't have a plan, and the primitive instinct took over again as I landed behind him.

The adrenaline poured through my body as I stabbed Long in the back, sending him sprawling, face first, into the dirt.

"No!"

A heavy blow hit me in the back, sending me flying across the room, smashing into the wall. My body fell limp to the ground and the room swirled dizzily around me.

I could make out Chase's shape towering over me. He was laughing. "Did you think you were going to get out of this alive, Dragon?" he chuckled, "That just because you've killed my accomplices, that you'd won. Huh, you were wrong." He raised his sword. "It's nothing against you, Raimundo. It's just the way the world works." He brought down his sword.

A flash of yellow smashed into Chase, sending Chase flying all the way to the other side of the room. He crashed into a marble pillar, falling to the ground just like me.

Omi pursued him, jumping onto Chase's back and, literally, beating the crap out of him. He jabbed quickly at all the pressure points I could identify, punching Chase's body anywhere he could reach. "You shall not hurt Raimundo!" he screeched.

All this had happened in a few seconds, and a sharp, intense pain broke through my amazement.

Chase's sword had fallen away from me, but the handle had slammed into my ankle, right at the bone. The bone was shattered, my ankle sprained. I bit my tongue to keep from screaming.

I realized that blood was everywhere, all around me. Feeling my cheek, I felt that the cut was deeper than I'd expected. The cut on my arm didn't help, and the several other cuts and bruises just added to the intense pain that encircled my body.

The pain wasn't just physical either.

I lifted my head weakly, feeling it clear a little bit. Kim still lay on the ground, blood all over her. The pain in my chest hit me again, and gasped for air.

Gently, I pushed myself to my feet.

My weight hit my sprained ankle and I hissed, swearing loudly. The cut on my arm stung severely and I clutched it with my right hand. The blood seeped thickly through my fingers and I gritted my teeth, biting my tongue so hard that it bled.

And, painfully, I started to limp toward Kim.

OH NOES!! NO, NOT KIMI!! PLEASE KIMI, LIVE!!

xDDD

Sorry for the gore, and the drama. And the wait. But I hope you enjoyed it all the same. You guys know how much I like reviews, so, please, review!! I won't write next chapter till I get some major feedback!!

Anyways, ending with a threat, I hope you enjoyed. Please review!! :)