Chapter 1 - Loss of a Dragon
Raimundo sat next to the Shen Gong Wu scroll for what seemed like hours in agonizing anticipation. Patience had never been his strongest virtue. He began to shuffle uncomfortably in his seat, tapping his fingers against the desk upon which the scroll rested.
Meanwhile, Omi was enjoying an afternoon stroll through the temple when he passed by the scroll's chamber, noticing Raimundo seated at the desk. He was instantly puzzled and approached his friend to inquire upon his business, as was often his habit.
"Raimundo, what are you doing? Are you studying the scrolls? Why are you not outside playing soccer or snooping around Kimiko's room while she is busy?" He popped his head up next to Raimundo's face and stared at his friend with his beady little black eyes.
"You know as well as I do why I'm here Omi. We don't know when the last Shen Gong Wu will reveal itself, so we have to be ready when it does. If Jack gets his hands on it before we do, then this war will just keep going on. All I want this to be over with," he put his face into his hands and sighed heavily.
Omi could sense his friend's stress and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Raimundo, please do not feel frustrated. We have all made mistakes and done wrong. Well, apart from me of course," he grinned widely at his self-compliment, "Just because you are our," he cringed with the small amount of jealousy that remained whenever he brought up the topic, "…leader does not mean that you should blame yourself for every hurdle that we must face."
Raimundo glared, almost menacingly, at Omi, but softened his gaze when he saw his friend's kind face. "Look man, I get that you're trying to help me, and I appreciate it. But it's my fault that Jack still has the Monkey Staff and you know it. I was the leader during that battle. I was the one who let him get away because I didn't send anyone to catch him. I shouldn't have let him go, regardless of whether or not he was a threat. He's fighting for evil! And besides, who knows? He may not have been a threat back then, but he could have gotten stronger since. We've lost Wu to him before. I don't want that to happen again," his gaze returned to the scroll as he slouched forwards on the desk.
Omi opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when he heard a laborious cough come from down the hallway. Master Fung slowly entered the room, rolling his wheelchair forward with great effort.
The old man's legs had been crippled during the great battle and soon afterwards he had contracted an illness which left him weak and feeble. Yet, he never ceased to be a force of wisdom and encouragement to his young students.
"You must not despair, my young dragon. You have all fought valiantly in many battles and have grown to become powerful warriors. No matter how strong your enemy has become, you must always remain certain that they will not surpass you. Lose faith in yourself and you are sure to fail," the elder smiled at his student to assure him not to lose hope.
Raimundo returned his master's gesture with a small, sheepish grin, "I know Master Fung. It's just that I'm the one in charge now, and I feel like I need to be a better leader," his head drooped down onto the desk in defeat.
"Fear not, young dragon," Master Fung began to cough severely before he could finish his sentence. Omi rushed over to him and put a hand on his back.
"Master, are you going to be all right?" The young monk looked up at his teacher with great concern.
Master Fung gave another comforting smile, "You should not fear either, Omi. I will be fine. In a few minutes I will take my afternoon nap, so that I may regain my strength. But, Raimundo…"
Raimundo pulled his head up from the desk and swiveled around to meet his teacher's gaze, "Yes, Master Fung?"
The wise elder nodded to him reassuringly, "You are a great leader. I have trained many dragons, and I can see the potential that rests within you. Why do you think I chose you to be the grand dragon?"
Omi frowned slightly and dropped his hand from Master Fung's back. Raimundo smiled proudly at his master's words.
The moment of sentiment was interrupted as Dojo slithered hastily into the room, "Master Fung! So this is where you've been!" The dragon leaped onto Master Fung's head and wrapped his arms tightly around the old man's bald skull, "Don't go running away from me like that! What would I do if you got yourself hurt?"
Master Fung rolled his eyes and patted Dojo's head affectionately, "You do not need to worry about me as much as you do Dojo."
The little dragon's eyes snapped open in shock. He twisted Master Fung's head with his tiny hands to make direct eye contact, "Don't need to worry about you? Don't need to worry? You are sick, and I am going to take good care of you until you get better, Mister! Now you get in your bed this instant and take your nap!"
Omi and Raimundo glanced at each other and giggled quietly. Master Fung overheard them and shot the pair a frightening scowl, causing them to stop immediately and straighten their posture.
Dojo sat on the back of Master Fung's chair and held the handles, as if to push it, although his body could not reach the floor. The elderly man obeyed and wheeled himself out of the room.
The two monks stared at each other silently for another minute before Omi decided to leave Raimundo alone once again. The small man stopped in the doorway and spoke to his friend, without taking a moment to glimpse back, "Master Fung is right, Raimundo. You truly are a great leader."
Raimundo was taken aback by his friend's praise, but smiled after taking a second to process it, "Thanks Omi. That means a lot coming from you, little dude."
Omi chuckled and left the room without another word.
Left again in solitude, Raimundo turned back towards the scroll sitting on the desk and placed his chin in his hands. He rested his eyes and began to slow his breathing in meditation. Entering a tranquil state, his mind was able to focus on the task that would soon be at hand.
It would not be long now. The final Shen Gong Wu would make itself known.
He began to sort through the thoughts running amuck in his mind. Man, I really hope this fight will turn out well. This battle could put an end to all these years of war. We can't afford to screw this up. It all depends on how strong Jack has become…
Wait a minute. He flicked one of his hands back, as if to clear his mind, as things came into perspective. This is Jack Spicer we're talking about! Chill out Rai, you've got nothing to worry about. That bumbling oaf can't beat four full-fledged dragon warriors. He could hardly stand up to us when we were dragons in training. Why am I so worried?
The young warrior chuckled as he imagined his rival and realized that his fears had been pointless. I bet he's just prancing around his lab right now, wasting his time building some more useless robots or inventing some stupid new theme song for himself.
Jack tossed his wrench across the room in frustration, "Argh! Why won't this stupid thing work?"
He uncurled his Monkey Staff-generated tail from around one of the pipes on his ceiling and dropped to the floor. Straightening himself after landing, he glared curiously at his newly developed Jackbot's face, searching for possible reasons as to why it would not function properly.
This new version of his classic robot looked almost identical to the old. The only difference in its outward appearance was a simple change in color palate.
However, the important alterations had not been made to the exterior of the robot, but the interior. New hidden weaponry and an upgraded intelligence chip made this new robot exponentially more menacing than its outdated counterpart.
After giving the machine a short inspection, inspiration struck Jack like a bolt of lightning.
He swiftly removed the robot's control chip and dashed across the room to grab his screwdriver. Like the mad scientist that he was, he began screwing and unscrewing bolts on the tiny piece of metal with fiendish precision until achieving the changes that he desired.
He placed the modified chip back into his robot's cranial compartment and softly closed the protective lid. Grinning like a fiend, he grasped the remote control that rested on a nearby desk and flicked the power switch into the "on" position.
The machine's eyeball-like headlights flickered on and it began to rise into the air. It made a harsh, ringing beep as its eyes flashed a bloody red.
Looking at it, one would instantly be put on guard. The robot looked ready to attack the first thing that it saw move.
Fortunately, Jack was holding the controls, and the robotic slave could not deny its programming. It hovered before its master obediently, waiting patiently for a command.
Jack stomped his feet and leaped up and down in ape-like excitement, screeching as if he were truly the animal that he appeared to be. The robot had no reaction and stared at him blankly.
The young genius ceased his chanting momentarily to observe his motionless machine. Glancing down at the remote control, Jack flicked the large trigger in the middle of the metal box and peered up at his robot through his protective goggles. The machine put its oversize hand to its chest and began to give a monotone laugh, bouncing up and down in the air. A cryptic, twisted grin slowly crawled across the man's face as he paraded around his lab and chanted like an ape once more.
Suddenly, the sound of high heels clicking heavily against wooden stairs snapped Jack back to reality. A knock on his door and the sound of his mother's voice sent him into a state of panic, "Oh Jack! Sweetie! Can I come in, Dear?"
"No! Give me a minute Mom!" He screeched, but snapped his hands over his mouth immediately after.
He used his tail to toss the Monkey Staff across the room into a dusty corner. This caused Jack to lose the furry appendage only seconds after the item left its grasp.
He dashed over to the table holding all of his tools and hastily shoved the sharpest ones into their protective cases. His mother never wanted him to use sharp objects, even going so far as to monitor him whenever he used scissors as a child. Her overprotective nature had forced him to hide many of his activities from her sight, which included practicing with the Shen Gong Wu for battle.
Even after years of having to hide activities that other children could perform on a whim, Jack still had trouble making excuses whenever his mother caught him off guard. Luckily, she had never seen one of the Shen Gong Wu. At least, if she had, she hadn't thought anything of it.
Ugh, she's ridiculous. Thank goodness she never saw the Golden Tiger Claws... Jack thought to himself as he slid his goggles onto his forehead and tweaked some of the controls on his robot, causing its eyes to change from a deadly red glare to a soft white light.
His mother's knuckles rapped against the door once again, slightly louder this time, "Jack? Are you all right in there? What's going on? I'm coming in."
Jack's mother opened the door slowly and was greeted by the sight of her son casually propped against his newest robot. She sighed in relief that the crashing noises she had heard earlier were not as dangerous and destructive as they sounded.
She would never quite understand why her son built robots in their basement for fun. She would prefer that he spend more time playing with his friends. Still, she knew that Jack was a unique individual, and could not blame him for being different. It was better that he be a smart man rather than a delinquent, regardless of his hobbies.
Although, it was not clear to her what all of those hobbies were exactly. He must do more than just build robots all day, right? She often thought to herself.
"Hi Mom," Jack smiled pleasantly at his mother to cover up his irritation with her interruption.
"Hi Sweetheart," she approached the guardrail that surrounded the balcony at the top of the stairs, "Is that a new robot that you just built?" She inquired about his levitating kick-stand.
No, it's not new. It's just updated. I make dozens of these Jackbots on a regular basis and she doesn't even recognize them? As if she even cares about my robots. She's just making casual, innocent banter.
Jack had to suppress the exasperated sigh that crept up his nose to answer his mother without throwing sarcasm into his voice. He did not want to sound rude to his parent.
"Not exactly. It's just a remake of my basic model. I call it my, new and improved, Jackbot 2.0!" He stepped to the side and held out his hands to give his creation a dramatic introduction.
His mother did her best not to show embarrassment at her son's overly eccentric demeanor.
She often felt that his mannerisms far too bizarre to be healthy. He was surely insane in some form of the word. It made her feel ashamed and insulted that he had never grown out of his silly, childlike behaviors.
Besides that, he was completely anti-social as of late; locking himself up in his so called "laboratory" to create robots for hours on end. He never spoke to anyone voluntarily and only came out of his hole to retrieve food. All he seemed to do was thump around the basement every day, living off of pudding cups and whatever else he took from the fridge upstairs when no one was around.
She was fed-up with his hermit lifestyle. It was no longer out of a mother's love that she wanted him to change. Over the years, she had become less concerned with wanting what was best for him, instead developing a desire for him to be normal so that he would not be a disgrace to her.
However, she behaved in a way that did not make this known to her son by hiding her frustration with false curiosity, as she always did when confronted with these situations, "A Jackbot? How cute, you named them after yourself. What does it do?" She smiled innocently, adding a charming tilt of the head to top it off.
Her cluelessness and simple-minded gestures only irritated Jack all the more. He could not stand when people acted that way. He felt that it was an insult to all human intelligence, which just so happened to include himself.
Ew. Why does she have to be such a ditz whenever I talk about my machines? It's obvious that she doesn't really care, which is why she shouldn't even bother to ask. It's like she's mocking me. She's the one who said I needed a hobby.
The young man decided to ignore his mother's mindless behavior and proceed directly to answering her pointless question, "Whatever I want it to!"
He hastily grasped the remote control to his invention, but stopped to think before showing it off. Crap! This robot's designed mainly for battle. I can't show her any of its best functions, and she won't appreciate its rather impressive evil laugh. Let's see… Jack struggled for ideas on what to show his mother to display his machine's capabilities.
After a speedy deliberation, he decided to stick with something simple, knowing that his mother would feign an impressed reaction no matter what he showed her.
"Just check this out!" Jack pressed buttons and jiggled triggers wildly on the robot's controls, as if playing a video game. The machine sprang to life and floated up to his mother's level, blankly staring directly at her face, as would a curious child.
"Now, ask him to get you something," he instructed his mother from below.
For a minute, the woman was taken aback by the metal creature's face.
The material that composed it was by no means unpleasant. It was well polished and clean. What puzzled and nearly repulsed her was the design of its body and the colors that it had been painted. The thing was splattered with red flame-like patterns on its oddly massive hands, making it look as though it had just committed a murder.
There seemed to be nothing appealing to her about its shape. It was wide and bulky, with a massive, saucer-like disc atop its head like a hat. It had large lights on its face (she assumed they were eyes), which were cut into half circles by its disk-hat. The robot as a whole looked to her like it was the torso of a man with massive pectorals and hands who had been severed at the waste.
All in all, it served as a truly gruesome image.
Yet, she did not want to discourage her son's inventiveness and played along, "All right. Um…Please go and bring me Jack's coat, Mr. Jackbot 2.0," she spoke softly, to keep her son from overhearing.
The robot made a gentle beep of compliance and floated back towards Jack, who immediately became suspicious.
"H-hey wait," he stammered, "What did you tell him? What's going on?"
He let out a squirrely scream as the robot's massive hands proceeded to rip off his black lab coat. Jack wrapped his arms around his chest, which was now covered in nothing more than a musty, white muscle shirt as the machine carried his cloak up to the woman in waiting.
His mother grinned devilishly as she swiped the coat from the Jackbot's grasp and waved it triumphantly through the air, "Ha ha! I've got your coat!" She shouted down at her ashamed son.
Jack's face began to flush a similar shade of red as his spiky hair and he stomped his boots against the floor, "Hey! Give that back! Come on Mom!" He begged and threw out his hands in a pleading gesture.
His mother felt like a dictator as she watched her defenseless son beg like a little boy. His immaturity only further insulted her and she decided that she would not tolerate it without gaining something from him in return.
"I will only give you your coat back if you promise to come eat dinner with the two of us tonight."
Jack shuddered at her words. He knew that the "two" of which she spoke included herself and her boyfriend, whom he could not stand.
Her lover was nothing more than a high school jock that had gotten older and happened to be able to make a decent living. Sure, the man had a job in construction and was a useful connection when it came to gathering scrap metal for his robots. But, other than that, all the imbecile ever did was harass Jack for being skinny, pale and uninterested in sports.
The man was a little too in love with football and constantly invited people over to their house to party and drink beer during football season, which only created further tension between the two.
The constant noise combined with drunks stumbling into the basement while he was working made Jack feel violated and neglected. He especially hated having to help his mother clean the house after said parties were over. To put it lightly, their bathroom never smelled quite the same as it had before the couple had gotten together. A faint stench of vomit and stale urine seemed to remain no matter how much air freshener they used.
Furthermore, Jack had no interest in drinking or watching football, which seemed to be an insult to all things masculine in the eyes of his mother's boyfriend.
Still, it was only one meal. It probably wouldn't kill him. And the last thing he wanted was someone stealing his coat. He felt that he had lost enough in his life.
"All right Mom. I'll eat dinner with you," he sighed, "Now may I please have my coat back?"
Jack's mother was very proud that her son had finally remembered his manners, "Yes you may, Sweetie," her smile softened as she tossed the coat down to her son.
"Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Don't forget to wash your hands," she walked away and delicately closed the door behind her.
Jack grumbled as he tossed his coat back over his shoulders and slid his arms in, "There goes the dinner of pudding and cold pizza that I was looking forward to. Thanks a lot, Mom!"
He adjusted his collar and beckoned Jackbot 2.0 back to the ground level. It obeyed, without giving a second thought as to the fight that it had just witnessed.
However, sensing its master's distress, the robot approached Jack as he collapsed over his workbench, head hidden in his crossed arms, "Would you like something to drink Sir; a glass of milk perhaps?"
The machine had been instinctively programmed to know Jack's favorite thing to drink after every situation. The small sliding panel on its chest cavity opened, allowing a serving tray to present itself; upon which rested a full, chilled glass.
"Is it chocolate milk?" Jack gave a muffled inquiry through his sleeves, refusing to come out of his pout.
"Naturally, Sir. Nothing but the best for you." The robot gave a monotone response, but somehow seemed proud of its judgment when Jack took the glass from its tray and chugged the chocolate milk in one massive gulp.
Jack swallowed his drink greedily, sighed and then smiled at his obedient creation, "Thanks. You can go into sleep mode for n-"
A sudden, harsh screeching broke him off in mid sentence. He immediately recognized the alarm and allowed a demonic grin to creep across his face.
The Jackbot seemed puzzled, as the sound was new to it. Jack noticed its confusion and was happy to explain, "That nap will have to wait 2.0. We've got work to do."
Dojo was curled up atop Master Fung's large forehead, joining the old man in an afternoon nap when he was awakened by a violent trembling within his gullet. The dragon's tail began to shake and his scales stood on end. He was instantly put on edge and jolted upright, realizing without a doubt what this sign meant. He needed to act immediately.
It's time…He dashed off to gather the young warriors.
Clay and Kimiko sat leisurely on the temple training grounds, with Omi hanging upside-down from one of the various wooden structures scattered across the field. The trio had planned on training, but had instead decided to relax and discuss their leader's stress.
"Is there really anything we can do about Rai?" Kimiko uncrossed her legs and hugged them lightly, "I mean, he's always been stubborn. I don't think he'd even listen to all three of us with something as important as this on the line."
Clay shrugged his shoulders in exasperation, "I dunno Kimiko. I reckon that if we all went and gave 'im some kinda intervention, he might be willin' ta take a break," the words of his heavy southern drawl sounded kind in nature, but were speckled with an air of uncertainty.
"I don't know Clay," Kimiko sensed his apprehension, and did not disagree, "Omi went to talk to him earlier, and it didn't solve anything. Did it?" She glanced up at Omi, who swung his torso backward and descended from his perch with a smooth back flip.
The little monk frowned and nodded forlornly, "Yes. I am sad to say that even my masterful comforting skills were unable to bring our friend Raimundo out of his depriving stump."
Kimiko and Clay looked at Omi blankly for a moment, attempting to process what phrase he had just butchered.
The gears in Clay's head grinded, and he was slowly able to decipher the words. He jumped a bit in a jolt of realization, and then leaned over to Kimiko's ear, muttering, "I suppose he was meanin' a 'depressive slump' there."
Kimiko's eyes widened as it clicked with her and she nodded in affirmation, "Got it."
"But it still ain't helpin' our cause none," the cowboy continued, "I figure we outta at least try talkin' ta Rai and-" his sentence was cut off by the speedy approach of their ally, Dojo.
His arrival would have been met with happy greetings by the warriors under any normal circumstances. However, the dragon's expression already warned them that the reason for his appearance was by no means normal. An obvious stress was painted across his face and the vertical angle of the scales on his back only added to his intensity.
The warriors all instantly gained the same idea of what was wrong, and Dojo simply confirmed their suspicions.
"Guys, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we gotta go. It's time," his calm voice felt eerie and haunting as it entered the group's ears.
The three looked each other in the eyes, nodded and dashed off to grab Raimundo.
The grand dragon warrior was hunched over the same desk as before, looking less than intimidating as he drooled down his cheek and arm. Shockingly, the sound of Clay's cowboy boots stomping against the temple's wooden floors was not enough to wake Raimundo from his impromptu snooze.
Omi was the first to arrive in the room, skittering around the threshold and launching himself onto Raimundo's shoulders. With great haste, he violently shook the sleeping man in an effort to get some sort of reaction.
The shaking did little. Raimundo simply shifted his head in the other direction and forcefully shoved away the minor annoyance, launching his friend to the floor in the process.
As Kimiko, Clay and Dojo slid into the doorway, Omi screamed and plummeted to the hard floor. Clay shrugged his tense shoulders and decided that he had no choice but to intervene.
Bolting up to their sleeping leader, he grabbed the back of Raimundo's chair with his massive hand and twisted it around, causing the seated body to flop around like a ragdoll. The cowboy took in a huge gasp of air and released every ounce in one immense shout, "Raimundo! Wake up! Dojo's got somethin' ta say!"
Everyone except the unsuspecting victim covered their ears to protect themselves. Raimundo was forcefully thrust out of his sleep as his head and hair were blown sideways by Clay's horrendous screech. With his ears still ringing, Raimundo used his hands to straighten his head and fix his mop of hair.
Then, after the initial shock had subsided, the meaning of Clay's words triggered a response in his head. He quickly twisted the chair back around and yanked the Shen Gong Wu scroll open. It magically found its place at the last segment as the group crowded around to see.
"The End," Dojo spoke ominously.
Everyone was puzzled, "Yeah, we know it's the end of the scroll Dojo. Now what is it?" Raimundo rolled his eyes sarcastically, thinking that this was certainly no time to be making jokes.
The dragon felt a drop of sweat roll down his forehead, "That is it."
The warriors looked at each other, confusion written all over their faces. Dojo noticed, sighed and concluded that he would need to clarify, "The End. It's the name of the Shan Gong Wu that just revealed itself. Its name makes it pretty obvious that this was the last Wu Dashi created. He made sure that it would always come last."
The group glanced down at the scroll as the picture in the center came to life. The animation began with an oversized man standing atop a globe. He raised his arm, grasping a small object, presumably the Shen Gong Wu, which flashed bright enough to fill the entire frame in an instant. As the light subsided, it left only black in the center of the scroll.
All of the warriors gasped.
Kimiko broke the foreboding silence that followed, "Dojo, what happened? Where's the Shen Gong Wu?"
"Where's the world?" Raimundo added, stating the obvious priority.
Dojo's eyes dropped and his expression went blank, "Gone. That's what The End does. It causes the end of the world."
Silence once again filled the room and the air became heavy. Kimiko shifted her gaze back to the now emotionless dragon. She began to chuckle softly and anxiously, "Y-you're joking right? Come on Dojo, you've got to be kidding. I-it's not true. That can't be true."
Dojo said nothing.
"Kimiko must be right," Omi piped up, "That cannot be real. Grand Master Dashi would never make a Shen Gong Wu like that," Dashi was Omi's idol and the very thought of him making something so horrifying made the young monk frightened and disgusted.
"Sorry guys," Dojo shifted his head up while keeping his eyes averted, "It's not a joke. That's the real Wu."
Another awkward pause was broken by Raimundo's strong and wise voice, "If that's the case, then we need to go now. If Jack gets his hands on that Wu first then we can definitely kiss our butts goodbye," he rose from his seat and began to walk away, with Dojo slithering close behind.
The rest of the group was too stunned to follow. Raimundo stopped walking and turned back to his friends, with what appeared to be pure rage staining his usually inoffensive features, "Quit wasting time! Let's move it guys!" He commanded, snapping his team back to reality and instantly putting them in motion.
Jack hurriedly assembled his army of Jackbots, with his newest model taking the lead. He felt a cryptic excitement crawl up his spine as he finished loading his aircraft with supplies. He packed plenty of weapons, along with some traditional camping essentials in case of emergencies. Firmly grasping his solitary Shen Gong Wu, he stood before his gathering of machinery: an evil dictator, preparing his soldiers for war.
Figuring it best not to waste time with a long speech, the young man raised his arm and spoke concisely, "Jackbots, this is the most important battle we've been in so far. Don't screw it up," he hopped into the pilot seat of his ship and buckled the safety strap across his chest, "Now, let's go show those Xiaolin freaks what real evil is!"
Jack's maniacal laugher signaled all of his Jackbots to join in. The haunting sound of their collective chortles rang throughout the room, echoing off the walls and only became more frightening as a protective barrier enclosed the mad scientist within his vehicle. His laugh became muffled and that of his robots projected even harsher. The collective sound could have driven one's soul to the point of madness.
Two large panels on the wall in front of the crowd slid open and, with one pull of a red lever, Jack's aircraft took off with his mechanical army in tow.
As the panels began to close once more, a set of footsteps could be heard approaching the basement door. The steps were accompanied by a kind voice, "Jack! Oh Sweetie, are you ready for dinner?"
But, of course, Jack's mother received no response. Puzzled, she opened the door and her eyes scanned the room, searching for some sign of her son. One thing caught her eye; a cloud of smoke surrounding two pieces of wall, which seemed to be sliding together. It was clear to her that her son had left, most likely flying off in the large aircraft that she had seen him working on once before.
A painful sense of abandonment stabbed needles into her heart. He's gone again. How could he? Her sorrow quickly evolved into rage and disappointment. How could he just leave like that? That ungrateful twit! She spun on her heels and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
None of the Xiaolin warriors had spoken a word since they left the temple, nor had their escort. The ride atop Dojo's back had been one with a heavy and tense atmosphere. A cloud of stress seemed to hover above each warrior's head as they anticipated the battle to come.
The foreboding aura became too much for Omi to handle. He decided to break the tension with some inquisitive conversation, "So, Dojo, why would Dashi create such a horrible Shen Gong Wu as The End? Did he ever tell you his purpose?"
Dojo's massive eyes peered back at the youngest monk for a moment. He chose to ignore the somewhat offensive and inappropriate nature of the questioning, and shifted his attention back to the direction he was flying before responding, "Listen, there's a lot about Master Dashi that you all don't know. Sure, he was a really powerful man, but he had his flaws.
"In the beginning, Dashi created Shen Gong Wu just for fun and games. But, after a while, he started to realize that they could be used for battle and decided that he wanted to take "full advantage" of his creative abilities," Dojo hinted that these were Dashi's words, and that he did not agree with them, "Soon, he was making Wu left and right so that he could defeat anyone who crossed his path, primarily Wuya.
"By the time he actually won against the old hag, he had nearly gone insane with power. He was just like any other guy; driven to madness and unable to control himself when placed in a position of immense strength.
"Eventually, I was able to convince him that he needed to quit. Unfortunately, this was not until after he had created The End.
"Once he got off of his power-hungry high-horse, he realized that designing the things had been a horrible idea in the first place. Why do you think he went through the trouble of hiding them? Back then he was just a young fool who didn't think things all the way through."
The memories hurt Dojo to recall just as much as they disappointed Omi to hear.
As had become his nature, Raimundo attempted to act as a voice of practicality and reason, "Hey, we shouldn't be surprised. Everybody does stupid stuff sometimes, and we're all flawed in one way or another. Besides, this Wu isn't very different from the Sapphire Dragon. It's an absolute lastresort in battle," he folded his arms over his chest defiantly.
It took the group a few minutes to process the exchange that had just taken place.
All of them had greatly respected Dashi. Yet, this recent discovery had placed a level of doubt into each of their minds. This was the legacy from which they had descended? This was what they were fighting for?
Suddenly, their cause did not seem quite as noble. Living up to the high standard of following in the footsteps of a Grand Master (such as the Dashi they had all come to believe in) had given every one of them a sense of pride and honor. Now that this sensation had been altered, their confidence began to waver.
This brought them to question precisely why Dashi would have first thought to create a weapon as frightening as The End.
Kimiko was able to voice what had started to process through everyone's head, "Sure, The End is a last resort weapon, but I don't know if Dashi would have intended to use it simply for the fact that he might lose a battle," her throat tightened, forcing her sentence to be cut short.
Clay was strong enough to pick up where she left off, "I reckon he wasn't plannin' on using it for that neither. Dashi prolly cared about much more 'n losin' his pride. He'd a' never destroyed the whole world over that. He mus'ta wanted to have it just in case…" He took a pause to swallow a thick mouthful of saliva before finishing, "In case the results of that battle were gonna be somethin' real awful. Like if'in' he were to encounter an evil bad 'nough that livin' in a world where it were in charge would-"
Raimundo put up a hand to stop him, noticing that the magnitude of his words had brought Kimiko to the brink of tears.
Clay realized that he had said too much and quickly apologized. The rest of their trip remained silent.
Dojo brought them as close to the Shen Gong Wu's location as he could sense. He descended softly, but swiftly, and shrank down to his more manageable size as the warriors hopped off his back in their usual fashion.
They had landed in a barren wasteland. Not an ounce of life was in sight. The air was dry and stifling. The ground radiated a heat that even Clay could feel through his thick cowboy boots.
Dojo's torso burned and chaffed as he attempted to slither along the rough stone ground, so he hopped onto Clay's shoulders to get as high up as possible.
Kimiko was the first to speak, "So, Dojo, where could the Shen Gong Wu be? I don't see anything around here." She glanced around, donning a pair of designer sunglasses to get a better view.
Dojo closed his eyes to focus for a moment, then reopened them and shifted his gaze back and forth, "Well, I know Dashi went through some major trouble to hide this one. That kinda goes without saying. I think he actually buried it somewhere around here."
"He buried it under such firm ground?" Omi asked in marvel at the very idea as he bent down to confirm the strength of the foundation upon which they stood.
"I'm fairly certain," Dojo muttered as he sniffed the air, using every sense he could to detect the object's location.
He strained his neck to the left and began to feel a strong scent drift into his nostrils. It had a vague hint of copper combined with gasoline and rust; the unmistakable scent of a Shen Gong Wu.
The dragon sneezed lightly as the scent assaulted his sinuses. He was terribly allergic to the smell of gasoline, which caused him to have horrible reactions to Shen Gong Wu that consisted heavily of that particular odor.
Luckily, most of them were not very powerful, this one included. It's most overpowering aroma was that of rust, quite similar to Wu such as the Sapphire Dragon and the Shadow of Fear.
Raimundo immediately picked up on the dragon's reaction and turned around, "Is it that way?" He signaled the direction Dojo was facing with his left index finger.
"Unless there's a rusty copper plant leaking oil around here, that'd be it," the dragon affirmed in his usual sarcastic manner.
Their leader made it clear that he was not at all interested in joking around. He hoisted Dojo from Clay's shoulder and held the dragon in front of his body, turning his friend into a form of radar.
The dragon's body straightened out and the ear flaps on either side of his head began to twitch, attempting to pick up a signal from the magical item. Raimundo watched carefully, scanning the area with Dojo's body until noticing a particularly strong reaction from the dragon's ears when he was pointed at a certain angle. The young man walked in this direction with haste, and the three remaining warriors followed quickly behind.
After about 10 minutes of speed walking, the dragon-radar suddenly bent at the waist and shot downward. The monks took immediate notice and abruptly stopped.
"It's gotta be somewhere around here guys. I can't say exactly where or how deep, but it's very close," Dojo voiced his reading and slithered up onto Raimundo's shoulders.
The three lesser monks turned to each other and grinned in relief that they were not too late, while their leader remained utterly serious, "Then let's start digging. Clay, you can handle the majority of this since your element is best suited for it," Clay nodded to confirm his leader's instruction, "I'll take the Falcon's Eye so I can search for The End's location more effectively. Everyone else, take out a Wu that can break through stone and start digging," Raimundo removed a small bag from his pocket and used the Changing Chopstick to return it to its full size. He then removed his Wu of choice before tossing the bag to his comrades.
Just Omi and Kimiko were to reaching into the stock of Shen Gong Wu, a strange whirring noise began to approach from afar. The group froze. They knew it would be one of two things: Jack Spicer, or some sort of booby trap that Dashi had placed to guard The End. They all hoped that it was the latter.
Unfortunately, their hopes were crushed as they saw a large aircraft and an army of robots hovering over their heads. The protective covering around the cockpit of the vessel swung up, revealing their rival nestled in the piloting seat, "Well well, if it isn't the mighty Xiaolin lizards," he teased, poking fun at their titles as 'dragons.'
The group immediately tightened their expressions and crouched down, preparing for battle. Jack feigned a frightened flinch, "Oh, the fighter's stance. How intimidating. As if I haven't seen that one before," he taunted.
Kimiko was quick to relay the trash talking, "Oh yeah? Well, we've seen your same stupid robots over and over. Don't you get that we'll smash them just as easily every time?" She shook her fist at the flying adversary.
Jack sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "That's where you're wrong, dearest Kimiko," he made some sort of signal with his hand and an oddly colored version of his traditional Jackbot came floating down from in front of the crowd of metal.
Jack grinned as he introduced his new creation, "Meet Jackbot 2.0. This new and improved weapon can command all of my other Jackbots just like a general at war. You haven't seen the full potential of my robots until you've seen them in an organized battle formation," the lead automaton raised its arm, signaling its partners to form a large mass behind it as their creator shouted, "Now, Jackbots, ATTACK!"
As Jack shouted and brought down his fist, Jackbot 2.0 mimicked the motion of his arm and its eyes flashed a bloodthirsty, murderous red.
The dragon warriors were confronted with a hoard of machines approaching from all directions. Each fighter took off, crushing as many Jackbots as they could reach. Yet, no matter how many robots their kicks, punches and other assaults demolished, it seemed as though the metal army's numbers never decreased.
"How many of these things are there? I didn't see very many to begin with!" Kimiko shouted as she gave one a roundhouse kick to its side.
"Ya got a point there Kim," Clay grabbed a robot from behind and chucked it at another that was trying to sneak up on Kimiko. Both machines exploded on impact, sending hunks of splintered metal flying in various directions, "S'like they're comin' back ta life 'er somethin'!"
Raimundo was the first to realize, glancing down as he performed a dodging back flip, that this was not an exaggeration. Clay was more correct than he realized. The demolished hunks of metal were continuously reassembling into their original forms!
"Guys, that's exactly what's going on!" Everyone gasped and turned their attention to Jack once again.
"Oh, did I forget to mention? That's a new feature I programmed into Jackbot 2.0. He can send wireless signals and control remote chips scattered throughout each of my robots."
He paused for a moment, "In case you dopes couldn't interpret that, I'll put it in simpler terms. Jackbot 2.0 can make my robots do anything, which includes attacking, defending, rebuilding and anything else that helps them destroy you! Now, 2.0, show no mercy! I'm going to go find the new Wu," Jack's robot nodded and beeped affirmatively as its creator picked up his Monkey Staff and Shen Gong Wu-detecting radar.
The young villain left the scene before the Xiaolin warriors had a chance to chase him. Their battle was far from over.
As the three lower dragons continued to go about defending themselves against the limitless swarm of enemies, their leader began to formulate a way to defeat the mechanical menace that opposed them. Dissecting Jack's words, he soon realized that the robots would be unable to regenerate if their leader was out of commission. The only thing that stood between the Xiaolin warriors and victory was the lone, bloodthirsty, upgraded machine.
Raimundo noticed a stray robot fly at his face and he sprang into the air, leaving Omi, who had been standing behind him, to obliterate it. Then, a plan began to form in his head, "Omi!" He landed on his feet next to his friend, "Can you reach the lead robot quickly? You're the smallest, so you have the best luck of sneaking through the crowd," he was interrupted by an approaching metal drone, which he forcefully backhanded and sent flying in the opposite direction.
"But Raimundo, would it not be easier if we were to use one of our elemental Shen Gong Wu to hit it from afar? Your Crest of the C-" the small monk's leader cut him off.
"We can't afford to waste our strength!" Both warriors were forced to grab a duo of oncoming robots and smash them together, "These guys are just pawns. We need to save our energy for the battle with Jack. You know as well as I do that those Wu take a lot out of us whenever we use them. I'm depending on you!" He leaped into the air to smash another robot to the ground and destroy it.
Omi did not have a chance to retaliate, as his commander was already preoccupied in attacking an oncoming hoard of Jackbots. The young dragon felt frustration trickle up his spine. That Raimundo! He never listens to my brilliant ideas! Why did he get to become the Grand Dragon? I am so very sick of his attitude!
Omi forced his jealous thoughts down as he attempted to focus on the task at hand. Regardless of whether or not he liked it, Raimundo was his leader, and he had to listen to the instructions given to him. Master Fung would not be pleased to discover that Omi had disobeyed a direct order from the one in charge. He cringed as he lunged towards the head robot, dodging a multitude of its minions in the process.
It took Omi only minutes of dashing and sliding before he was within range of the lead machine.
Suddenly, he was struck by a mischievous inspiration. Well, if I am not allowed to use my elemental Shen Gong Wu from a distance, then I shall use it up close. That will show Raimundo to ignore my ingenious plan. The monk chuckled as he attached his Wu to his arm and cried out, "Kaijin Charm!"
It all happened in an instant. A torrent of water gushed out of Omi's weapon, sending Jackbot 2.0 flying into the air. The young monk's impish grin was wiped away as he watched the demolished heap of metal careening towards Raimundo, who had just jumped into the air to avoid an earlier attack.
If only he had ducked to dodge the assault instead. Omi attempted to cry out and warn him of the danger, but it was too late. Raimundo did not even see what hit him. The shattered pieces of the robot smashed into the warrior's side, catapulting them both to the ground in a massive heap of flesh and metal.
The two had been lost from Omi's sight amongst the swarm of Jackbots, but something had caught the little monk's eye before they disappeared: red, and more than just the paint that had coated sections of the robot.
A single thought jolted through his head, wiping away any sense of rationality. No…
He crashed through the swarm of robots, destroying one after the other as if it were as natural as breathing. No.
Fear, anger and guilt all fought to control his consciousness. His will became overwhelmed by emotion and nearly shut his mind down completely. No!
He reached the pile of scrap metal which he sought and caught the sight of a leg wearing a pair of khaki pants; Raimundo. Tossing aside various pieces of metal that had been stained with even more crimson, Omi's jaw fell to the ground as he uncovered his friend's body. His breathing began to quiver and he felt a lump forming at the top of his throat, "N-no," was all he could manage to whisper around it.
Kimiko and Clay, unaware of what had occurred, suddenly noticed Omi hunched over something. The object of his attention was out of their field of vision, so they decided to approach him, suspecting nothing.
What they encountered was the most grotesque sight they had encountered since Hannibal Bean's face. Raimundo's mangled body lay before them, with a massive metal finger piercing its stomach. Blood had splattered across the robots hand, matching the red that had already been painted on it.
Kimiko lurched, covered her mouth and averted her gaze to suppress the vomit that had attempted to escape from her gut. Clay dropped his head, allowing the brim of his cowboy hat to overshadow his face as he covered his mouth as well.
Dojo, who had been hiding in the young man's hat, wriggled out to discover the reason behind the ominous silence. His eyes caught sight of the blood trickling out of the gaping wound in Raimundo's torso. He said nothing and slithered slowly back into Clay's hat, poking only his tiny head out from beneath its lip.
The three heard Omi muttering an indiscernible word over and over again as he began to shake more violently with each passing moment.
Clay slowly and solemnly approached his friend, doing his best to ignore the stench of salt and iron seeping from Raimundo's body. The cowboy's stomach lurched, but he held down the urge to puke by coughing into his fist. He placed the opposite hand onto Omi's shoulder, leaning in close to hear what the little monk was uttering.
"No. No. No," was all that the young monk could say. Tears welled up in his eyes and began to stream down his face, "No. No. No," he repeated.
Kimiko began to sob and even Clay felt his eyes grow moist. While everyone in the group was overwhelmed with pain, Omi's suffering was topped with an added sensation of guilt. He felt responsible. If only he had listened to his leader's instructions…
Still, the three friends realized that they could not waste time. Raimundo's spirit seemed to command them to refrain from morning and stay on task. They had a job to do. They had to keep Jack from getting his hands on The End. Time was of the essence. Omi rose from the ground and the team charged in the direction that Jack had headed off to.
Before departing, Dojo slid out from his hiding place under Clay's hat and approached Raimundo's body for the first time. He had more experience with this type of situation than the rest of the group, so he was able to control his disgust. As revolting as the sight was, he numbed his mind to it.
Raising a scaly hand to Raimundo's face, he softly brushed down to close the young man's eyes peacefully. After this ceremonial gesture, he sped up to regain pace with the warriors and returned to his woven shelter.
Jack paced around the deserted wasteland, attempting to find the Shen Gong Wu detector's sweet spot. The radar's signal kept getting strong as he walked near one location, but died down as he continued on. He was puzzled and frustrated by this phenomenon, as there was no Wu to be found in the area that gave his radar an alert.
"What the heck? Where is the dang thing?" He exclaimed, managing to keep his language clean as he whipped his Monkey Staff tail back and forth in frustration.
Jack stopped wandering and began wondering, placing a fist under his chin. Why would I get a reading from this particular spot? My technology is without flaw, so it can't be that my radar is broken…
He ran a few scenarios through his mind until he found one that fit. He snapped his fingers and popped his head up enthusiastically, "It is here, it's just underground!"
Proud of his impressive deductive skills, the young scientist immediately knew which invention would best assist him in this situation. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a small, compact, mole-shaped burrowing machine that could easily break through the solid earth beneath him.
Kneeling down, Jack used his radar one last time to find the exact location of the signal. After locating a hotspot, he placed his burrower on the ground and held down a small button on its back, "Bring it to me," he whispered to it surreptitiously. The robot sprang to life, squeaked as if it were a real mole and then used its sharp claws to begin journeying underground.
Jack rose from his knees and waited patiently for the burrower to return with his prize, "Those Xiaolin jerks have really gone downhill. I expected more of a challenge," he chuckled to himself, somewhat disappointed by how easy this mission was turning out to be.
His solitude was soon disrupted by the sound of a heavy, southern drawl, "Well now yer gonna get one."
Jack glanced over his shoulder and saw the Xiaolin team coming towards him. Yet, as he immediately noticed, one member was missing. A twisted, devilish grin crawled up both sides of his face. He promptly concluded that his Jackbots had done him well, "Ah, if it isn't my dearest Xiaolin rivals. Hm? Wait, something is missing from this picture. I'm thinking you're minus one-"
A trembling Kimiko screamed and cut him off, "Shut the hell up, Spicer!"
Jack stopped abruptly and feigned dismay, "Why Kimiko! Where's the love? I feel so dejected," his sarcasm filled the dragon's suffering hearts with a new sense of rage.
"You better keep yer mouth shut, you dirty snake!" Clay growled, shaking his fist.
Omi could say nothing. His conscious mind was still shut down from the shock.
None of them knew how best to react to their adversary. They had never expected Jack to be so comfortable with murder. He had been cruel before, but never been so purely evil. The group was taken aback by the harsh nature of his words and had difficulty responding.
The evil genius sensed their apprehension and began to laugh diabolically, "So, what are you going to do without your great leader here?" After he spoke, he heard a small, muffled beep come from behind him. He understood the signal and twisted back around, allowing the Xiaolin dragons to infer what was going on.
A small mole sprang from a hole in the ground, grasping a small object in its mouth.
The item was pure black. Its core was darker than a cloudy sky on a new moon night and was surrounded by a spiky aura which was a similar shade, yet transparent enough to allow the core to show through.
Jack's hand rose into the air to catch his robot, along with the Shen Gong Wu. Just then, Omi returned to his senses and snapped into action. He sprang forward into the air and latched onto the magical orb at the exact moment that his foe's fingers touched it.
The two rivals locked eyes, sending a jolt of energy between them. Everyone knew what was coming: the final Xiaolin Showdown.
"Jack Spicer," Omi landed and stared directly into his adversary's evil face, "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown. I wager the Sun Chi Lantern against your Monkey Staff."
The dry air became thick with tension as the group watched the two combatants stare each other down.
Omi didn't give his foe time to respond, "The game will be a race to the finish. We will end this the same way that we started."
Jack grinned diabolically, knowing that his Monkey Staff would give him an advantage, "You got it baldy. I accept your challenge. You'll wish you hadn't messed with me after this is over," he began to chant in an ape-like fashion.
I already do wish that. Omi felt a pang of guilt creep up inside of him, but he forced it down so that he could focus on the battle ahead, "Let's go…"
The two drew in close and shouted together, "Xiaolin Showdown!"
In a flash, the earth began to shake as large stone pillars formed beneath everyone's feet. The platforms rose to various heights as the majority of the ground fell away, creating a maze for the fighters and a single round viewing platform for the observers. It was identical to the first Showdown between the two from many years ago.
There was no time to regard the simplistic nostalgia. The battle began instantly as the combatants yelled to one another, "Gong ye tempai!"
The race was on. Jack took off with haste, wasting no time in getting ahead of his opponent with his enhanced agility.
Luckily, Omi's training at the temple had not gone to waste, and he was able to remain close behind. Yet, as they neared the stone pillar that the Shen Gong Wu hovered on, Omi knew he had to take action to surpass his opponent. As he hopped to the next tower, he sat, in a cross-legged fashion, and whispered softly into his Shen Gong Wu, hoping that it could save him, "Sun Chi Lantern."
Jack noticed that his enemy had taken a seat and found this the ideal time to turn back and gloat.
He backtracked, landed next to Omi and then knelt down to the young monk's level, "What's wrong little guy? Are you giving in to my magnificent evil? That would be the smart thing to do. You must realize that you can't beat me. I'm much faster than you," he grinned and pounded lightly on his opponent's bald head like a bongo drum.
Omi clenched his teeth and growled as the chi-energy of each of his friends began to gather within the lantern around his neck. He felt the heat of Kimiko's fire well up inside of him. This was followed by the strength of Clay's earth, which grounded and solidified his power as the two elemental energies drifted into the Shen Gong Wu.
Then, he felt a third power flow into the lantern. It was something soft, soothing, fresh and full of guidance and wisdom. Time froze for a moment, allowing Omi to experience the full magnitude of the events to come.
The feeling was serene. It was as if Raimundo had halted the pass of time to deliver Omi a message. The young monk lifted his gaze and saw a different world, with his leader looking down on him. The spirit of the grand dragon floated before him. The ghostly body appeared to be similar to that of a wispy cirrus cloud on a bright summer day.
It did not speak to Omi verbally, but the little monk felt in his heart that it was saying something. It felt as if the apparition was telling him, "Don't worry, I forgive you. It wasn't your fault. Just do what you need to now, little dude. Don't worry about what happened. I'll always be with you guys. I love you all."
Omi reached out his hand and Raimundo's spirit mirrored his movement. As their hands met, the ghost began to drift away and transform into a swirl of wind. The gust circled around Omi and ended its journey by entering the Sun Chi Lantern. When all was said and done, the mysterious world dissipated and the young monk was brought back to reality.
His return was met with the rhythmic pounding of Jack Spicer's palms on his head. His eyes drew to a squint and he placed his hands on the lantern. He felt all of the elements inside of him blending and becoming the ultimate power of four dragon warriors. It was such an immense force that Omi's small body began to levitate into the air while still in a seated position, much to the primate drummer's surprise.
Letting out a cry, Jack stepped backwards as Omi unleashed his concealed emotions in a flurry of attacks. He shouted each element in succession as streams of red, brown, white and blue energy began to circle around his body.
"Fire!"
The red whip flew towards Jack as Omi's rage was unleashed. The ape-man was easily able to dodge this first assault as his attacker screamed.
"You are a disgrace Jack Spicer!"
"Earth!"
The brown formation fed off of Omi's guilt and unleashed its own attack on the enemy. Still able to avoid both forces, Jack chuckled at the ranting of his opponent that followed.
"How dare you cause the death of our friend and feel no remorse!"
"Wind!"
White now entered the fray, drawing its energy from Omi's fear. With the addition of a third weapon, Jack became unable to dodge as skillfully, turning instead the less impressive technique of running away.
Omi's next words bellowed over him as he struggled to escape, "You were always a horrible person, but this is beyond awful!"
"Water!"
Finally, the blue stream joined the battle as Omi released every piece of his being into his assault.
Jack was at last overwhelmed by the monk's attacks, having his Monkey Staff snatched away by Omi's white stream. Then, the red and brown streaks restrained each of Jack's arms as the blue one bound the villain's legs together.
"You will face punishment for your actions one day," Omi spoke ominously as he detached from his colored weapons, which shrank into small circles and held Jack in place.
Jack thrashed against his mystical chains. However, this could do nothing to free him as Omi leapt to the final stone platform and grabbed The End; bringing the Showdown to a close.
The rest of the Xiaolin team smiled proudly as the world around them returned to its true form. Although the scenery was not much to marvel at, it was a great improvement over that of the dark, malignant battlefield.
After being brought back to reality, Jack was gently lowered to the ground as Kimiko and Clay rushed over to join Omi with Dojo in tow. The victorious monk looked down at his defeated rival, finishing his prophesy, "It may or may not be soon, but it will come. You will regret all of what you have done on this day."
Jack did not look up from the ground as his enemy spoke. He felt far too much shame to respond.
Clay placed a hand on Omi's shoulder and each member of the winning party received gentle smiles from one another. Dojo took the opportunity to hop down from the perch that he had taken on the cowboy's shoulder during the showdown and grew to his larger size. The three Xiaolin warriors mounted their trusty stead and left their enemy kneeling on the ground in disgrace.