((Author's Notes:

One quote started this whole fic:

"Soon, I will enslave every living creature and plunge the world into eternal darkness…"

Chase Young, Finding Omi

This is only my second Xiaolin Showdown fic that I have posted, but if you feel the need to flame, go RIGHT ahead. Reviews are great: the more I recieve, the more excited I am to write, and you get updates faster. But, every chapter of this fic is very long, so don't expect updates frequently.

If you are looking for a JackxKimiko fic, or just an action fic, please do NOT be discouraged by the tiny bit of RaixKim in the beginning. I like Raimundo for his CHARACTER and that only. I do not like all the hype and attention he gets, and you see him in my stories just because I like his character for what it is.

Spiral-Fire))

Disclaimer: I live on the moon, my favorite food is broccoli, James Phelps writes me love letters and Xiaolin Showdown belongs to me. Get it?

Chapter One- Discovered

She was running, faster than she ever had before. The soles of her piteously thin shoes hit the ground again and again. Branches whipped around her ankles and her breath tore at her side.

She could hear them behind her. They were yards, feet, inches away from her.

Coming for her.

She ran faster.

The sky was dark, as it had been for the last three years. High in the mountains, a seventeen year old girl sighed and leaned against the rock side of a small cave that connected to an endless series of passageways, leading to the other mountains around them.

"Kimiko?"

The girl turned around and smiled at the boy who had spoken her name.

"Yeah, Rai?"

"Just making sure you're okay."

Kimiko walked back into the darkness of the cave and sat next to Raimundo. He instantly put his arms around her.

"I miss Omi," she said quietly. "I wish everything was back to the way it was."

Raimundo held her tighter. "I do too..."

They were silent for a minute, staring out the small mouth of the cave into the moonlight. Clay sat farther back in the cave, carving a notch into the stone wall as he had done every night for the past three-hundred and sixty-four long days.

"What do you miss most?" asked Kimiko quietly to Raimundo. He was quiet for a minute as he thought it over.

"Food," he answered truthfully. Kimiko let out a small laugh.

"Only you Raimundo, only you."

"No, I'm serious!" he laughed. "All we eat is roots, berries, birds. Roots, berries, birds. I'd kill for a double cheeseburger right now…"

Kimiko smiled as Raimundo's sentence trailed off. Leave it to Raimundo to think of food in spite of the situation we're in, she thought.

"What do you miss?" asked Raimundo, interrupting her thoughts. Kimiko stared out into the darkness, her eyes suddenly clouded.

"I miss everything," she said at last. "I miss training at the temple, and finding Shen Gong Wu. I miss Dojo, and Master Fung, and Omi. I miss using my element. But most of all, I miss being free. I'm tired of living in fear."

Everything was silent, except for the clinks of stone hitting stone as Clay carved the notch.

"I tired of hiding. We're just sitting here while Chase is ruling the world. We should be trying to stop him, and rescue Omi. I know we don't stand a chance against him, but….." Kimiko never finished her sentence.

Raimundo gazed sadly at the moonlight, his arms tightening around Kimiko. She suddenly broke away from his arms and turned so she was facing him, her eyes heavy in the moonlight.

"I'm not afraid to die," she said slowly. Kimiko felt herself begin to lean in, and saw Raimundo doing the same thing. "I'd do anything…to get rid of Chase…" she trailed off again as they both leaned in closer.

Within moments, they had connected. Their lips touched, neither of them wanting to let go. Kimiko closed her eyes as they became closer and closer together.

"Water run," said Clay from behind them. "Who wants to do it?"

There was silence as neither Kimiko nor Raimundo answered. Both were too lost in each other.

"Alright then," said Clay slowly. "Thanks for volunteering…" He grabbed the homemade clay pot by the side of the cave wall and went to the mouth of the cave. After looking around once, he disappeared into the darkness.

As silence overtook them once more, Kimiko found that her arms had somehow found their way around Raimundo's neck. She closed her eyes and found herself kissing him harder, and him harder back. His uncut hair fell into her face as he leaned in, and Kimiko couldn't help but to smile. All was quiet.

Suddenly, the feeling in the air changed. Kimiko gasped and broke apart from Raimundo, only to have him move back in.

"Raimundo," she whispered urgently. She put his hand on his mouth and gently pushed him back.

"What?" he mumbled back.

"Something's wrong. The air is too still. I don't know what it is, but it isn't good."

"How do you know?"

"Tiger instincts, Rai. I don't know. Something is just wrong."

All of a sudden, there was a large crash outside. Raimundo and Kimiko scrambled to their feet, and rushed to the opening of their cave.

Far down the steep slope of the mountain, Clay stood almost frozen in time, shards of the broken water pot at his feet. His eyes were wide open.

For farther down the steep slope of the mountain was a pack of large cats.

Warrior cats.

Kimiko suddenly felt weak in her knees and dry in her mouth.

Chase had found them.

"No," Kimiko barely whispered. "No." Raimundo cursed under his breath as Kimiko quickly ran back into the cave. She returned quickly, a crystal dagger clutched in her hand and a murderous expression on her face. She had taken it off a dead warrior when they had first fled to the mountains. Kimiko advanced out of the cave determinedly, only to have Raimundo rush forward and drag her back into the shadows.

"Kimiko, what are you doing?" he hissed. She stared back at him.

"I'm going to fight them," she said firmly.

"No! You can't!"

"Why not?! Raimundo, for a year now since we've escaped we've lived in the shadows hoping this day wouldn't come. Now that it's here, do we just run away again? Chase Young has finally tracked us down; we have to fight them!"

"You aren't going to!"

"What?!" she exclaimed heatedly.

"They'll kill you! You have to get out of here now."

"I'm not afraid to die Raimundo! We have to fight them; it's our only way of escape."

"I won't let you," Raimundo said quietly.

"What do you mean you won't let me Raimundo? Unless we fight them now, then we are all going to die whether we want to or not!"

"I DON'T WANT TO LOOSE YOU!" he shouted at her. Kimiko gazed up at him, her eyes wide and shining in the little moonlight. "I don't want to loose you, Kimiko," he repeated again, this time more softly. "I love you."

Kimiko's face softened as she instantly threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "Oh Raimundo. I love you, and I always will," she whispered.

"Then don't fight them," Raimundo said stubbornly.

"What?!" she said as she stepped back from him. "Rai, I-"

"Listen," he interrupted. "We only have a few minutes till Chase's warriors find us. You know we can't fight them; we're weak, outnumbered and have no Shen Gong Wu or weapons. Our only chance of survival is to run."

Kimiko looked away, her face downcast as she thought it over. "I'll go get Clay," she said quickly. Kimiko started again for the outside.

"No!" Raimundo shouted. He pulled her back in to him. "They haven't seen you yet." She stared at him as he thought for a moment. "I'll go get Clay; you get a head start."

"What? No!" Kimiko yelled at him. "I'm not leaving without you!"

"Kimiko, stop being so difficult! I love you, and I want you to get out of here and be safe! Just start down the passageway without us. I'll go get Clay; we'll only be a few minutes behind you."

"But-" she started. But she never finished. From outside, there was a sudden silence that made a shiver run through them both. The warrior cats had spotted Clay, and he was frantically running as he could up the steep rocky slope towards the cave.

"Why doesn't he just use his element?" Kimiko barely whispered. Raimundo stared at the pack of jungle cats quickly. His eyes widened.

"Chase Young isn't with them!" Raimundo exclaimed. "I don't think they know that they're after the Xiaolin Dragons right now. They're probably just on orders to capture any humans found hiding. Chase sees them as just worthless animals and traitors if they refuse to join him," he spat bitterly.

Then, like he had just remembered the situation he was in, Raimundo shook his head sharply and grabbed Kimiko. Roughly, he pushed his lips to hers and held her tightly. Kimiko closed her eyes tightly. She felt almost limp in his grasp and felt her throat go drier.

Raimundo suddenly pushed her away. "What ever you do, don't use your element! If we're captured, they still won't know that we're the Xiaolin Dragons! Go!" he yelled. He ran out of the cave and began to rocky descent to Clay, who was still trying to make it up the steep side of the mountain.

Kimiko could only watch in horror as Clay tripped over a large rock and fell hard against the ground. She shifted her gaze to Raimundo, who had picked up a rock and hurled it at a warrior cat only feet behind Clay. As the cat lunged, the rock hit it squarely in the forehead. The warrior dropped and laid still, blood trickling down its head.

This had all taken place in a couple of seconds, but to Kimiko, it felt like hours. The grip around her only weapon tightened, but something held her back from going out to fight; a promise to Raimundo.

Unwillingly, she ran to the back of the cave, where the narrow rock passage way that led to the other side began. She glanced back at the dark red sky behind her and let out a deep sigh.

"Be safe, Raimundo. I love you."

And then, she ran.