Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown.

"You say you know just who I am,

You can't imagine,

What waits for you across the line.

You thought you had me.

But I'm still here standing,

And I'm tired of backing down."

-"Anthem for the Underdog" by 12 Stones

(Three Weeks Later)

*Clay*

After the Rapiers' attack, everything became peaceful, well, as peaceful as it could get. We fought whenever rival gangs threatened innocent civilians, but that was completely normal. Kimiko, Chloe, and Sandra was shocked at being attacked, but eventually returned to normal. Omi, Jermaine, and I were the same as usual, if not more alert after the Rapiers attacked. Danny and Raimundo were practically alike, and Raimundo had earned everyone's trust. He was officially accepted into the gang now, which was a huge relief. Once you were familiar with the kid, he's actually funny. I couldn't really understand how Rai managed to get into the LAD, but I knew I would never ask. The only person who will ever truly understand is Danny, a former LAD member that managed to escape with his life. When I first joined the gang, I didn't know Danny was an LAD member. As our gang began to grow, I started to notice Danny fought differently than the rest of us, he was under control. When I questioned him, he pushed it aside at first. Then, he finally told me. I don't know exactly what he told everyone else, even Raimundo, but I do know one thing. If Danny is a good person exiled from the LAD, then Rai may be like him.

We were all walking around the streets, just talking and joking like every other day. There had been no threats from other gangs, all was peaceful. Nobody was really paying attention to where we were walking. To us, as long as we were within our own territory, we were fine. Needless to say, we were wrong. There was a distant sound of fighting up ahead and we all ran toward the comotion. We all ran as fast as we could, but Raimundo and Danny were even faster. Finally, we turned around a corner and saw a full scale gang fight occurring. "Should we help?" Raimundo asked.

Danny laughed, "Nah, they have this one in the bag."

"The good gang or the bad one?" Raimundo asked.

"The good." Danny replied.

Punches could be heard hitting skin, finally somebody yelled, "Knife!" Instantly, the good gang's movements changed and a single person stood in front of the one with the knife. The knife swung toward the person's throat, but the person just blocked the attack with another knife of his own.

"If you continue, I think we both know who will win. Get your gang and leave this territory." The good gang member, Robert, stated coldly.

The enemy spat, "We weren't looking for your gang. Step aside and let us fight with Danny's gang."

"Why do you want to fight my gang?" Danny asked and stepped forward to stand beside the good gang member.

The enemy glared, "Let's just say it would be a message from Boss to both you and Pedrosa. Which one of you is Pedrosa?" Raimundo tensed beside me and nervously took a step forward. The enemy smiled, "Boss told me to give you this as a reminder of the LAD." He handed over a folded piece of paper, I could already see there was some writing on it. Raimundo opened the paper and read the words, then turned it over. His eyes widened and the paper trembled in his hands. He remained frozen for a few seconds, then glared at the enemy with tear-filled eyes.

One word full of hate was released, "Where?"

The enemy smiled, "Where he always is."

Instantly, Raimundo turned and ran in the opposite direction. "Rai! Wait, what's the matter?" I yelled. Briefly, I saw Raimundo drop the paper as he continued running. Danny quickly went and snatched up the paper, read it, then looked at the other side.

Danny cursed, "Robert, come with me! The rest of you stay here!" We nodded in understanding and watched as the two gang leaders ran after Raimundo.

*Danny*

As soon as I saw what was on the paper, I knew what happened. Robert ran alongside me as we pursued Raimundo. "Danny, what's going on?" Robert asked, not even out of breath. Robert was one of my best friends, he showed me how to survive on the streets and form a gang. We fought for the same reasons, but he had control of one side of the town, while my gang held the other. I could trust him with my life, but there was no time to tell him the story.

"We have to get Raimundo. He's going to the LAD, he won't make it out of there alive again." I stated.

Robert questioned, "Again? He was apart of their gang before?"

"Yeah, he protected a child not too long ago from one of the LAD members. The Boss didn't agree with what Raimundo done, so they beat him and dumped him on a riverbank. One of my members found him close to death. I'm pretty sure you can figure out the rest." I stated, still running.

"So, you let him become a gang member. Okay, I get that. But what was on the paper?" Robert asked.

I shook my head, "Robert, I trust you completely, but I don't think I can tell you this one. If anything, you'll find out."

He nodded, "Alright, I understand."

"Raimundo! Stop!" I yelled, but he continued to run. "It won't change anything! Going in there blind won't help! They're expecting you! They'll just kill you!" Regardless of what I said, Raimundo continued to run. Only then did I notice the car pull up beside him. "Raimundo!" Three people jumped out of the car, minus the driver, and one carried a metal bat. Raimundo turned and saw his attackers. The metal bat hit Raimundo in the shoulder and I watched as my friend fought against his attackers. However, he was tired from running and was hit in the head. They dragged his unconscious form into the car and it pulled away just as we came to it. Robert and I cursed. "Come on." I stated and we ran back toward our gangs, trying to figure out how to save Raimundo without getting anybody killed.

*Raimundo*

I woke up with a busting headache, but I didn't move. I felt myself moving and I realized I was in the floorboard of a car with my wrists tied behind my back. "You're awake, huh? You've only been out for twenty minutes." A voice said. The sound of it made my heart freeze and paralyzed my limbs. I tried to glare at the Boss, but I could only see his feet. He stomped on my ribs, "It would have been a lot easier if you had died that day. It would save me the trouble of having to hunt you down." I couldn't speak, memories from when they nearly killed me resurfaced. Finally, the car stopped, "Welcome to your final resting place, kid." I heard the car doors open and I was dragged from the car by my feet, my back hitting asphalt with a thud. Somebody grabbed me by my shirt collar and lifted me from the ground. I found myself face to face with the Boss. "How long did you think you could stay hidden?" He punched me in the face, splitting my lip and making my nose bleed. My eyes filled with reflex tears. "You're pathetic. Tell me, did you get my message?"

At the mention of that, a new fire enraged me. I kicked the Boss in the balls, making him let go. He coughed painfully and ordered the others, "Get him." I kicked at the closest one coming toward me, then the next, but I was too slow to hit the third person, who tackled me to the ground. I fell on my stomach and the enemy sat on my back, digging a knife into my shoulder. I clenched my teeth painfully and tried to throw my attacker off, but found I couldn't with my arms tied behind my back.

I watched the Boss get up. "You're the one that's pathetic." I told him through the pain. "Are you afraid of me? Is that why you have my hands tied behind my back? Are you afraid to give me a chance to fight?" I was answered with the knife digging deeper into my shoulder.

The Boss smiled, "Take his shirt off, it's time to show him how ruthless we can be."

I felt the knife leace my shoulder and rip my shirt away from my arms as the back of it was completely cut away. I began to struggle, but the others held me down. The cold steel a blade pressed against my shoulder blades. The first long cut was made from the far side of my shoulder to the other. I didn't make a sound. The sharp blade sliced through the same cut, deeper this time and I began to struggle, but it only made the pain worse. The knife was pulled from my skin and it retraced the same line again, this time even deeper. I could feel the knife quivering under the force applied to it. An agonizing scream escaped my lungs and I began to struggle again. However, the knife just dug deeper. Then, another cut was made and I felt my skin, meat, muscle, and nerves being sliced apart. I don't remember when I stopped screaming and struggling. Eventually, all I could was go through wave after wave of agony with tears streaming down my face. After what seemed like hours, I thankfully passed out.

I woke up again and noticed I didn't feel the blade cutting into my body. My eyes barely opened and I could hear the Boss and his members talking, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. I moved my hand and found I was no longer restrained. When I tried to move my arm, another wave of agony erupted. I managed to remain silent and I weakly lifted my head to see where I was. I was in the same spot, blood pooling around me, the cold air making the blood on my back feel frozen and the tear trails on my face dry. I tried to crawl away, but a gasp escaped my lips as the dried blood tore against my wounds. "Well, well, well, you're not dead yet." I heard the Boss' taunting voice and footsteps coming toward me.

I was tired of feeling the pain, I was tired of being targeted. "Please," I whispered. "Just end it, please."

The Boss laughed, "Don't worry, we will, but not until I think it's time." He stepped on my back and twisted his foot from left to right, making his shoe dig into the wounds. I screamed as I felt the wounds burst open again and more precious blood pouring down my side. For the first time, I noticed I was shaking from both bloodloss and cold, by mainly from terror. I didn't want to die, but I didn't want to live in constant pain, so I settled with one thing. "Kill me. I can't take this anymore. I can't..." A sob tried to escape, but blood only trickled in a steady stream from my mouth. "Please-"

They all laughed, but I didn't care what they thought of me. I was reduced to a petty person begging for death. I was tired and just wanted to die. "Why?" I asked.

The Boss grabbed my head and turned it to face him, "Go on."

"Why did you kill my mom?" I whispered. "She- didn't do anything..."

The Boss growled and picked me up by my neck. I was too weak to life my arms in an attempt to get him to let go. "Your dad didn't pay us on time. That was his punishment. You see, we threatened your dad once. If he didn't pay us money, we would make him suffer before killing him. So, we started with your mom and now you. Don't worry, you'll see your mommy very soon." The Boss taunted and he dropped me back on the asphalt. "However, this is only the first phase of my plan." He grabbed his cell phone and talked to the person on the other line, "Tell the Rapiers to deliver the message." The Boss closed the phone and motioned for his members, "Let's go." They all began to get in the car.

I hoped they would have killed me, but I just watched as the car drove away. Tears of defeat, shame, and pain traveled down my face as I lay in my own puddle of spreading blood. I closed my eyes for what seemed like hours, then I heard somebody talking to me. I opened my eyes and saw my friends and more unknown people from the good gang I saw fighting earlier. A hand gently touched my shoulder, but it was still painful. I saw Danny was the one with his hand on my shoulder ordering somebody to take off their jacket. "They killed her." I whispered weakly.

"I know, they'll pay for it, but we need to get you home." Danny stated in a brotherly tone.

Another wave of agony made my vision go black for a second, "I can't take it anymore."

Kimiko replied from my other side, "You're going to be okay, Rai. Just hang on. An abulance is on it's way."

"I can't." I said, my voice a little under a whisper. Then, I remembered the day when Kimiko saved my life. It was funny how I was nearly reliving that moment. I felt the jacket press against the open wounds and I tried to ignore the pain. "LAD has... something else planned." I felt Kimiko run her fingers through my hair in a comforting gesture and that was the last thing I felt as everything faded into darkness.

"Raimundo." A voice stated and my eyes snapped open. A harsh light hurt my eyes and I closed them again, then opened them once again once they adjusted. I looked to my left. The person asked, "How are you feeling?"

I was confused, "Kimiko?" Then I noticed I was lying on my back, but there was no pain. "Wait, what happened?"

"You went to confront the Boss, but you were jumped by the Rapiers and knocked out. Danny and Robert managed to get you out of there." She stated.

Other than a major headache, I felt fine. So, it was a nightmare? I sighed in relief, then thought of my mother again. The LAD killed her. I wanted revenge. Danny and Robert walked in, "Glad to see you're awake." Danny stated.

"Yeah, me too." I noticed their bruises, "I'm sorry you guys had to bail me out of there."

Robert shrugged, "Don't worry about it, kid. Anytime there's a fight, count me in."

"Kimiko, Robert, I need to talk to Raimundo for a second." Danny said and the other two nodded, then left the room. He turned toward me, "Rai, I know what happened. I'm sorry you had to find out like that, but you really don't need to charge the LAD without a plan."

I sighed and sat up, "They killed my mother, Danny. How was I supposed to react? In fact, I still want to go kill them now."

He shook his head, "They're planning something, Rai. We have no clue what it is, but we can assume it's not good."

I thought back to the nightmare, "Have you talked about the LAD's plans before?"

"What do you mean?"

I contemplated on whether to tell him, then decided. "I had a nightmare before I woke up. The LAD were in it and I remember saying they were planning something else." The memory of the nightmare was too vivid, so I pushed it away.

Danny didn't try to guess what I dreamed about. In a way, I think he knew. "Yeah, we talked about it a little bit before you woke up. Maybe what we said just entered your nightmare."

"Yeah." I agreed. I mean, what else could it be?

Danny motioned for me, "Come on. We have to start planning."