A ways away Stryker and Jack were hiding behind a shadowed pillar.
"Okay, so I could probably go surprise them," Stryker started, peeking around to where Rai was. "And then you-"
A shrill ringing nearly caused them to jump out of their skin. Stryker shakily fished his phone out of his pocket.
"Really?" Jack whispered as Stryker pressed the call button and held the cell up to his ear.
"Hello?" he greeted softly.
His eyes popped open as a bright light shone down on him from above. He looked up in dismay as Kimiko smirked down at him, her flashlight dangling tauntingly for her wrist and her phone to her ear.
"Thanks for your number," she jeered.
Stryker groaned and smacked his forehead.
"Uh...you know..." Jack started, trying to find something comforting to say. "It...could've happened to...anyone?"
"Just take the Shroud and hide," Stryker commanded, holding the Wu to him.
As soon as Jack took it Stryker disappeared from view. He shivered in fear as Kimiko and Raimundo grinned maliciously at him.
**********************************************************JP************************************************************************
"How long do you think they shall be in there?" Omi asked.
"That Stryker character is pretty slippery," Clay said, brushing at his hat and glumly staring at the hole. "They could be there a while."
"The Young family is known for their tricks and traps," Dojo said, crossing his arms and staring at the dome. "No doubt he's giving Kimiko and Raimundo a real fight in there."
Suddenly a gold colored tornado, about as tall as Clay, appeared near them. Omi and Clay prepared for a fight as Dojo took refuge in Clay's torn up hat. They relaxed in surprise when a ticked off Stryker emerged from the wind. Dojo popped out of the hat.
"Or...he's giving them the Wu," he said to no one in particular.
Clay growled and stormed over to Stryker, who was too busy brushing gold particles off his shirt to notice him coming. He shouted when Clay hoisted him up by collar and snarled at him.
"Ah'm gonna break yer teeth ya slimy good for nothin'-"
"Dude, whoa!" Stryker interrupted. "For one, your drawl is giving me a headache! And two...breath! Mint!"
"You'd do best to nibble on your tongue, villain!" Omi cried. "Your night has yet to set, and Clay shall certainly make you drink your sayings!"
Stryker merely glared at the monk. Clay opened his mouth to correct him, then closed it in defeat while Dojo just put a claw over his eyes.
"I'll give you fifty bucks if you punt Pacman to Alaska," Stryker offered Clay.
"I almost wanna second that," Dojo mumbled.
The ground rumbled as the stone dome fell away. Clay dropped Stryker as Kimiko and Rai ran up to them, shouting in triumph as they cradled the Wu. Stryker stood and brushed himself off, walking past them towards Jack, who hadn't moved since the dome fell. He was paper than usual and shaking slightly, his eyes squeezed shut and his fists clenched.
"You okay?" Stryker asked him, furrowed his brow in concern.
Jack shook his head swiftly and forced his eyes open, but even then he only half looked at Stryker.
"Sorry," he apologized quietly.
"What happened in there?" Stryker asked, trying to meet his eyes. "Jack?"
"I tried to use the Shadow of Fear on Kimiko," Jack started, a bitter edge in his voice. "But Raimundo knocked it out of my hands and it brought my fear out instead..."
Stryker winced as Jack looked back at the ground and kicked a stone.
"What'd they do?" he asked carefully.
"What they always do," Jack grumbled, sending a glare at the monks. "They laughed."
Stryker felt his blood boil, as even now he heard the Xiaolin dragons giggling to themselves. They were boarding the large Dojo, their Wu safe in a bag.
"Hey, Stryker!" Rai called. "How do you feel 'bout your side choice now?"
Stryker stayed silent as the monks laughed, then grinned.
"Hey Raimundo!" he shouted reverting their attention back to him. "Wanna know what's more powerful than your pompous $#*?"
The monks' were too astounded to reply. Even Jack stared at Stryker, wondering if he was trying to get them killed.
"Stry-" he started to warn.
He stopped when Stryker put his fingers in his mouth and let forth a long whistle. The hatch of the jet flew open and let out a fleet of Jackbots, outfitted with laser cannons and saws. They surrounded Dojo and pointed their weapons at the monks.
"Oh please!" Kimiko shouted, striking her pose along with the boys. "We've beaten these pieces of junk in our sleep!"
Stryker's grin widened when the monks jumped into the air and started dismantling the bots with their power attacks. Soon nothing but bolts and gears were left.
"Ha!" Rai cried triumphantly as he and the other landed on Dojo's back again. "Any comments now, idiota?"
"A few," Stryker retorted, pointing at the pile of robot parts.
The monks felt their stomachs drop as the pile quickly floated and spun, the parts flying back together at lightning speed. In no time at all the monks were once again surrounded by Jackbots.
"Oh...he recycles..." Dojo remarked uneasily, watching one that was flying in front of his nose.
"Stryker, we lost," Jack reminded his partner as the dragons tried to tear the bots apart again. "There's no reason for us to try and get back at them now. Let's just go-"
"They were making fun of my only friend, Jack," Stryker interjected firmly. "That's reason enough for me to teach them a lesson."
He turned and smirked at Jack, ignoring the surprise on his face.
"Besides, whoever said we had to wait to steal back Shen Gon Wu?"
It took a moment, but after taking in his words, Jack's wicked grin came back with a vengeance.
"Let's get 'em," he said, pulling his goggles over his eyes.
"They just keep coming!" Omi cried, using his water powers to rip a robot apart.
The pieces hung in the air for a moment before reassembling and shooting at him.
"No, really?!" Rai shouted, using his Wudai Weapon, the Blade of the Nebula, to push a group away. "I thought they were LEAVING!"
"Don't you two start fightin' now!" Clay shouted, using the Big Bang Meteorang to slice three Jackbots in half.
"Yeah, 'cause if ya haven't noticed ..."
They turned to see Jack snatch up their bag of Wu and grin at them.
"Yer gettin' robbed!" he finished gleefully.
The monks shouted as they ran to catch him. Jack leapt off Dojo's back just as Stryker flew the jet underneath. He caught Jack in the passenger seat and looped around so they were to the monk's right.
"See you later-" Stryker started.
"Xiaolin losers!" he and Jack shouted.
They flew away cackling like madmen, leaving the monks to stare after them with horrified and defeated expressions.
"So...uh..." Dojo started awkwardly. "That was uh...that was bad..."
He looked in and saw that they were still staring after the jet.
"...Okay...I'll just...I'll just take you home then." he decided, starting the flight back to the temple.