(A/N) Merry Christmas everybody!... okay, so its still a few days away, but I got this done and if I dont post this now I wont get another chance until saturday. anyway, I felt that Ive been neglecting this story for long enough and, as a present to my loyal readers, I would update it for the holidays. Dont get the wrong idea though, this is still on hiatus until I finish TDD.

anyway, enjoy this new chapter of "A Tale of Two Times"

Chapter 5: The Present: Voices

"We have no need to play your games." Dark Rai said, tightening his grip on the Key of Hades. "Surrender the key and your deaths will be quick."

"The showdown has been declared!" Rai argued. "If you refuse to compete you forfeit the key."

Chase snarled, saliva drooling from his reptilian muzzle as he went to attack Rai, but Dark Rai stopped him. "Very well." He said. "My pet and I accept your challenge. Name the game."

"Hold on. What's happening?" Ino demanded.

"A Xiaolin Showdown." Rai explained. "A challenge to determine who claims the Key of Hades. You and me versus them. The winners take the key as well as any other Shen Gong Wu wagered. Do you think you're up for it?"

Ino wanted to say no. These people Raimundo wanted to battle against were monsters! She couldn't hold a candle to them in any sort of competition; she was just a girl! But something was urging her to accept. There was a voice in her head. She could just barely hear it, but it was telling her that she had to do this. This winged villain had murdered her father and then forced his corpse to kill her mother. She wanted this. She needed this. She bared her teeth and furrowed her brow. "Let's do this."

Rai nodded and turned back to his doppelganger. "All right. The game is Capture the Wu. First team to obtain three of the five wins. Our Canine Crossbow and Sword of the Storm against… do you have anything to wager?"

Dark Rai smirked. "How about something new?" he said. In his free hand he manifested two Shen Gong Wu. One was a glove with eagle like talons on the tips of the fingers and the other was a crystal flask. "We wager the Klaw of Kronos and the Flask of Phantoms."

By this point Kimiko and the others had returned from helping people and were watching the beginnings of the showdown. Dojo gasped and jumped onto Clay's hat when he heart which Wu Dark Rai and Chase were using. "Rai! Ino!" he shouted. "Whatever you do, don't let them use those Wu on you! The Klaw of Kronos can progress or regress your age to whatever the user wants, even to the point of death or pre-life. The Flask of Phantoms will unleash a ghostly being upon you which will try to drag you back into the flask with it."

"Thanks for telling them what they do, Dojo!" Rai growled.

Chase suddenly snarled, gaining everyone's attention. "Enough!" Dark Rai declared. "It is time to begin this. Xiaolin Showdown!"

The Key of Hades erupted with light and the arena for the showdown was set. An octagonal slab of concrete rose into the air, Rai and Ino standing on one side with Dark Rai and Chase on the opposite. "Do you know how to fight, Ino?" Rai asked. She shook her head. "That's all right. Just grab one if it comes near you and hold onto it. We only need three to win. Now get ready."

"Gong Yi Tanpai!"

The arena split in half, separating the two duos as it moved apart. The Sword of the Storm shot up from the crack and Rai and Dark Rai both went for it. Rai managed to grab it first but Dark Rai kicked it out of his hand and grabbed it by the blade. Rai grabbed the handle and pulled, slicing open Dark Rai's hand. He did not yell or even bleed as he examined the wound, and in an instant it was healed. He grinned. "My turn."

Back on the ground the two halves of the arena had merged back together and Rai and Dark Rai continued their aerial battle over the Sword of the Storm. Ino expected Chase to attack her at any moment, but he remained stationary, waiting for the opportune moment. Then the arena split again, this time in the opposite direction, and two more Shen Gong Wu shot up. Ino grabbed the Flask of Phantoms, which popped up right next to her, while Chase obtained the Canine Crossbow in a similar fashion. Immediately Chase aimed and pulled the trigger, sending the dog-shaped, homing crossbow bolts at Ino. Without thinking, Ino lifted up the flask and called out its name. "Flask of Phantoms!" Its top opened and two shadowy figures shot out, each grabbing onto one of the bolts before retreating back into the flask with their targets in hand. Enraged, Chase roared and pulled the trigger on the crossbow one more time before dropping onto all fours and charging at his opponent. Ino used the flask again, one ghoul going for the bolt, which retrieved its target easily while the other went for Chase. When Chase and the phantom met the reptilian man slashed his way through it. When it came at him again, Chase ripped a single scale from his flesh and tossed it. The phantom caught it and registered it as the target, and returned to the flask. Chase may have been a monster now, but he was still smart. The phantoms from the flask targeted the essence of the target. If it retrieved a small piece of the target, it would return to the flask without question.

Ino tried using the flask again as Chase continued advancing toward her, but he continued giving each ghost small scales to slake their lust. Finally Chase was directly in front of her and spun around, slapping her to the ground with his tail and knocking the flask from her hand, picking it up. Chase now had two Wu. Ino looked up and was relieved to find that Rai was currently in possession of the Sword of the Storm, but she still had her own problems. She was defenseless and a razor clawed monster was standing over her. What was she going to do?

Then she heard the voice again, and this time it spoke clearly. You are pathetic, relying on Shen Gong Wu to protect yourself. A real warrior needs only her bare hands to defeat her enemies. Observe.

Ino lost control of her muscles. Against her will, she jumped back to her feet and went to attack Chase. Chase growled at her and pointed the Flask of Phantoms in her direction, a phantom bolting from its top. To her own amazement, Ino jumped over the phantom and then kicked the flask from Chase's claw. When it left his hand, the phantom, no longer having a master, returned to the flask. Chase was completely awestruck by this new feat of strength and was caught off guard when Ino attacked him again, catching his jaw with an uppercut. Before he had even hit the ground Ino attacked again, kicking the Canine Crossbow from his other claw. Chase used his tail to flip himself over in the air and landed on all fours, foaming at the mouth. He charged at her again but Ino remained in one spot. At the last second, she lifted her hand, revealing that she now held the Flask of Phantom's and shouted its name. Chase was too close; he had no time to offer the ghoul a scale before it could grasp him and pull him into the flask.

Ino then dashed over to the Canine Crossbow and grabbed it before regaining control of her muscles. "What the hell?" she demanded, dropping to her knees.

Do you see what I can offer you? The voice asked her. Don't think that this is the last you've heard of me.

It was then that Ino realized that she held two of the Shen Gong Wu. She looked up and was disappointed to find that Dark Rai now held the Sword of the Storm. The arena must have opened again during her fight with Chase, as he also had the Klaw of Kronos. Speaking of which…

"Klaw of Kronos!" Dark Rai shouted, driving the talons of the glove into Rai's chest. Rai cried out in pain as his hair began to turn gray, his muscles deteriorated, and his skin wrinkled. Dark Rai stopped before he made Rai too old, wanting him to suffer defeat before death, and let Rai drop to the ground before slowly descending himself. "You put up a good fight kid." He complemented. "Then again, I knew that. I used to be part of you, after all. But now it's time to end this. You are utterly useless, so I think I'll stroll over to your little friend and take her toys. How she managed to defeat my pet is beyond me."

Dark Rai took his time in walking in Ino's direction. Terrified, Ino became paralyzed and could only think one thing. I need help! I need help! I need help!

Then you shall have it.

Ino lost control of herself again and shot directly at Dark Rai, lightning fast. This caught Dark Rai off guard, but not enough that he couldn't counter the attack. With a swift kick, he knocked the Flask of Phantoms out of Ino's hand, but to his surprise she was quick enough to take the Klaw of Kronos from him. Dark Rai caught the flask from the air and Ino dashed away, slipping the Klaw onto her hand and driving it into Rai's back as she called out its name, returning Rai to the proper age.

"This is an interesting turn of events." Dark Rai mumbled to himself as he opened the flask with his hands, releasing Chase. "How is it that you obtained these skills, girl?" he called to her.

"I wish I knew." Ino said to herself.

"Just roll with it, you're doing awesome." Rai said as he pushed himself to his feet.

The two duos stood on opposite sides of the arena, Dark Rai and Chase having the Flask of Phantoms and Sword of the Storm and Rai and Ino having the Klaw of Kronos and Canine Crossbow. Then the arena opened again and the Key of Hades shot up. "This ends here!" Dark Rai shouted as he took to the air to retrieve the final Wu, Rai following after him while Chase and Ino remained on the ground to watch. They seemed even, it could have gone either way…

But Dark Rai was slightly faster.

In a flash the arena returned to its natural state, the ruins of a once ordinary street in the suburbs of London. Rai and Ino collapsed to their knees as their friends surrounded them, Clay and Saya standing between them and their victorious opponents while the others helped them to their feet. Dark Rai and Chase stood proudly holding their winnings. Dark Rai raised the Key of Hades into the air and examined it. "And so begins the end." He said to himself.

"This is seriously bad." Dojo said to the others. "They have one of the most powerful Shen Gong Wu ever created… we have to get out of here, now."

"I'm afraid that's going to be quite impossible." Dark Rai chuckled as he lowered the Key of Hades, aiming it directly at the group. "Key of Hades!" Almost a dozen beams of light shot from the key's end, flying directly at the group. Saya moved in front of everyone and pulled the Reversing Mirror from her sleeve, using it to deflect the attack back at its user. As the beams went through Dark Rai and Chase with no affect, Dojo grew to his flying size and slithered between the legs of all eleven teenagers and then took off into the air.

Chase almost took off running after them, but Dark Rai stopped him. "Not yet, my pet. There will be other opportunities."

"But for now you both have done an exceptional job."

Dark Rai and Chase turned around to find Lilith standing behind them with two others; one Dark Rai recognized as Hannibal Roy Bean in his suit of armor but the other only seemed to be a faceless ninja. "Lilith. You actually convinced Hannibal to join is… and I use the term convince vaguely. Who's the other guy?"

Lilith chuckled. "Oh, just a lost soul who I have given a purpose to. He was once a friend of your better half."

"Rush?" Dark Rai questioned.

Lilith ignored him. "I see you've managed to take Chase as well. Excellent!"

"Now all we need is Wuya to complete the set." Rush said.

"Doubt that would happen." Lilith said. "Her will is too strong and she resents me with every fiber of her being. The day she joins us, willingly or now, dead or alive, is the day I hand the keys over to the monks."

"Then we don't need her." Hannibal said.

Chase snorted in agreement.

"Good. Now let's get down to business. Our next target…" Without another word Lilith lifted her hand up and conjured a flame, showing it to her four minions. Inside the flame was an image of a man… Master Monk Guan.

~GUAN'S TEMPLE~

Guan strolled leisurely through the grounds of his temple, enjoying a moonlit walk. It was a peaceful night. Everything was at ease. He looked up to fight a bright, full moon surrounded by a blanket of stars. There was a cool breeze which rustled the leaves on nearby trees. Yes, tonight would be one of rest and relaxation for the warrior monk… or so he thought. When Guan looked back down he saw a figure sitting on a wall nearby. The moon light had blurred his focus a little, but once it returned and saw who it was, he assumed a fighting stance. "Wuya!" He called out. "Of all the things that would ruin my night." Wuya didn't acknowledge him and kept looking up at the moon. "Reveal your intentions!" Guan demanded. But again, she didn't answer,

"Do you remember the day we met, Guan?" she finally asked.

Guan lowered his guard, taken aback by the question. "Excuse me?"

She looked down to him. "Do you remember the day that Dashi introduced us?" she reiterated.

Now Guan was completely at ease, sure that Wuya's presence was no threat to him. "As if it were yesterday." He answered.

He remembered the day very well. Fifteen-hundred long years ago, on an ordinary day like any other, Grand Master Dashi introduced him to the woman who would one day become one of the most dangerous people on the planet. It had been a beautiful morning and Guan was returning from the river with two buckets of water which he intended to deliver to an elderly woman who lived in a nearby village. As he continued up the road to the village he passed by the Xiaolin Temple and he gazed through the front gate to find Dashi walking along side a woman with long auburn hair. They were talking and laughing, clearly enjoying each others company. Guan chuckled to himself and looked away, planning to continue on his way, but they caught him.

"Hey, Guan!" Dashi called.

Guan stopped again, having not even taken two steps, and looked back over to them, finding Dashi and the woman now approaching him. As they came closer Guan saw who Dashi had taken a liking to this woman. She was stunningly beautiful and yet she still had a certain aura of intellect about her. "Been a while, buddy. What's going on?" Dashi asked as they stopped by Guan.

"Nothing much." Guan answered. "Just delivering water to the elderly as I do every day. Who is your friend?"

"Oh, right, you two haven't met. This is—"

"My name is Wuya." She cut in. Now Guan really knew why Dashi had taken a liking to her; she had attitude. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Guan."

"The pleasure is all mine." Guan replied, bowing.

Dashi kept silent as he watched the two converse. In his experience women tended to be timid and not very talkative, especially in the presence of men. But Wuya was more than comfortable talking to Guan on an equal level. She was an outgoing woman. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind or even argue. A true rarity, she was. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he enjoyed her company so much.

"Dashi tells me you're quite the martial artist." Wuya commented.

"Well he should know." Guan replied. "He taught me himself."

"Really? He's been teaching me as well."

"Interesting…" Guan said with a smirk, glancing over to Dashi. "Perhaps you could show me the skills he has taught you."

"That won't be necessary." Dashi said, cutting in. "It's only been a few weeks. She barely knows the basics."

"Excuse me?" Wuya demanded, glaring at Dashi. She then turned back to Guan. "I'd be more than happy to show you my skills. How about here and now?"

"Wuya, he's been training for nearly two decades!" Dashi protested, but his words went unheeded.

"Sounds good to me." Guan agreed, setting down his buckets of water.

Dashi scratched the back of his head. "This isn't going to end well."

Guan and Wuya stood a ways away from each other on the road, bowed and assumed their fighting stances while Dashi remained in the temple gateway, watching intently. Guan made the first move, getting a running start before leaping and flipping through the air. He extended one leg, planning to bring his foot down on the woman, but she managed to catch him by the heel and twist him over her, slamming him down on the ground. Guan immediately kicked her away while she still had a hold of his foot, knocking her onto her back while he rolled onto his feet. He ran at her as she got back to her feet and threw a kick which she ducked under. As he turned around and attempted to throw a punch Wuya jumped up and grabbed onto his shoulders, flipping herself over him and landing behind. Guan turned around and they proceeded to throw punch after kick after punch at each other, always able to block the others attack. Soon they came to a deadlock, Wuya catching Guan's fist in her hand. They glared at each other for a moment and then Wuya began to chuckle, Guan soon joining her and together they let down their guard and laughed.

Dashi smiled from the temple gate. Wuya learned quickly.

As the memory faded, Guan and Wuya looked each other in the eye. "What happened to you, Wuya?" Guan asked as she looked away, back to the moon. "You were happy with Dashi. You loved him. He loved you. What changed? What made you turn into what you have become?"

Wuya knew at least part of the answer, but she didn't say a word. She remembered why she had left Dashi, why she had joined Pride, why she had become a witch, but she knew there was something more. Something she had forgotten that was the key to everything. "That's what I'm trying to figure out." She answered. She then jumped down from her perch on the wall and began walking into the forest. "You should hide the Key of Anubis well." She said before disappearing into the shadows. "Lilith is back."

Guan remained still, his eyes never leaving the spot where Wuya had left. But soon something else caught his attention, something long and serpentine passing in front of the moon. Dojo swooped down, eleven young passengers on his back. "Dojo? Omi? What are you all doing here?" he asked.

"Long story." Dojo said.

"We think that our temple might not be safe at the moment." Kimiko explained. "Do you mind if we stay here for a while?"

Guan shook his head. "Of course not. Make yourselves at home."

(A/N) now, Im going to try to update this story again before winter break is over with the next installment of the future side of this story, but after that this story is being shelved again at least until I finish Total Drama Dynamite. Im sorry, but five stories is just too much and Ive chosen my priorities. However, once TDD is finished this will become one of my top three priorities again, so look forward to that.

also, for those who enjoyed the first two chapters of "The Island" that will become a priority story again after I finish a second story (which will likely be Undead Drama Mainland. sorry, but its going to be a shorty again).