"Wuya."

"Hmm?" Wuya answered, looking up from the tv.

She turned it off when she saw the stressed look on Lula's face.

"Where are the kids?" Lula hissed.

Wuya blinked, looked away as if in thought, then met her eyes again.

"Downstairs?" she guessed.

"No, they're not."

"Oh...outside?"

"Wuya, when has Jack ever wanted to go outside?"

"When we hunt for..."

She cringed at the glare that formed on her sister's face.

"...Caught, huh?"

"Oh, yes."

"...Look, Lula...this is what Jack wants," Wuya started weakly. "I know it scares you but-"

"Scares me?" Lula interrupted. "No, now I'm not scared. I'm ticked!"

Wuya blinked and winced as Lula came over to the couch.

"You helped my son disobey me, Wuya," she growled. "I thought you were going to help me get him out of this!"

"I was here to help you tell him about things pertaining to...this..."

Lula crossed her arms angrily.

"...Okay," Wuya started as she stood. "It appears as if your inner mom is interfering with your inner monk. I know you don't like this, Lula, but you have to know that this isn't a bad thing-"

"Give me one way it's good," Lula snarled.

"If he has Wu, he'll have a better chance of defending himself from people like Chase. People like Hannibal. Isn't that a good thing?"

Lula pursed her lips.

"He'll also have better fighting skills. I hear that Stryker is teaching him martial arts."

This surprised her sister. Jack had never seemed interested in any sport, much less such a time consuming one.

"He's also gained some pretty good friends, Lula. Perhaps lifelong friends. I'm certain that's a good thing."

"...And what do you gain from this, Sister?" Lula asked. "How do you benefit?"

Wuya looked surprised by her question; she smiled after a moment and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I get to be with my family again," she said. "That's benefit enough for me."

Lula searched her eyes for any dishonesty, then smiled when she found none.

"I'll consider it," she said, wrapping Wuya up in a hug. "Thank you."

She left to start dinner and Wuya sat back on the couch, flipping the TV back on. As soon as she heard the sizzling of a pan, however, she shot up and went up the stairs. Constantly checking over her shoulder, she crept into Lula's room and went to the closet, shifting the clothing around until she came to the back wall.

"'I'm done with the monk life', she says," Wuya hissed to herself as she stuck her fingers into the crack of a secret door; she pried it down to reveal a golden box. "'It doesn't matter to me anymore' she says."

She checked to be sure Lula wasn't there, then lifted the lid off the box and stared at the object inside. She let out a hiss of breath, then took it out, put the lid back on the box, and closed the compartment. After fixing the clothes the way they had been, she slipped out of the room and hid the object in the guest mattress she was using. There was no doubt; she'd found her benefit in the madness.

******JP******

"Zephyr..." Rai stammered.

"Winner is the last one standing," Zephyr continued. "I wager my Reversing Mirror against your Blade of the Nebula."

"How in the heck!" Jack shouted as he searched his coat for the Wu. "How did he get that?"

"Zephyr, I'm not gonna..." Rai started. He stopped. "Blade of the...You want me to wager my Wudai Weapon?"

"Why not?" Zephyr snipped. "It's a Wu, isn't it?"

"Y...Yeah, but..."

"What's the matter? Afraid you'll lose?"

Rai cringed, then looked back at the others. Kimiko was shaking her head at him, Clay was trying to figure out if that was possible, and Omi looked completely shell shocked.

"...No, I'm not doing this," he decided, beginning to release the Wu.

Zephyr clamped his hand over his, pulling him back and glaring at him. Raimundo tried to pull away, but his brother's grip was firm and held him still.

"Mãe! Rai-Rai and Zephy are fighting!"

Everyone turned as the Pedrosas came outside, staring at Rai and Zephyr. Maria and Rico clung to their mother's skirt as the older children started across the road. Serina was shooting glares at Zephyr. They stopped when he returned them.

"What is going on?" Andrea asked, appalled at the sight; her eyes found Jack and his friends. "Who are they?"

Zephyr glanced back at them, then he turned and gave Serina a smirk.

"They're my new bad influence," he said. "What else could you expect from a curse, Mãe?"

How're we the bad influence?" Entropy asked Cinder. "We barely said two words to him."

"I don't know," Cinder said with a shrug. "But do you want to argue with the kid who can make Wu?"

"I know if he loses ours I'm gonna kick his tail," Stryker growled.

Rai tugged on his arm again.

"Zephyr, please..." he said quietly.

Zephyr sneered at him. There was a crazy hunger in his eyes he'd never witnessed before, and it was frankly starting to scare him.

"This time, I win," he snarled. "I'm going to show our family what a failure you really are."

Raimundo stared at him a moment longer, then straightened.

"Fine," he relented.

"Rai, no!" Kimiko shouted.

"Let's go: Xiaolin Showdown!"

The Pedrosas' shrieked as the ground crumbled beneath them to reveal stone that rose to four storied high. Rai and Zephyr wobbled as the earth extended so there was five feet between them; as always, Jack and his teammates were opposite the monks, who were calming down Rai's family. The foliage disappeared and was replaced by glass, revealing the lava below. Jack and his friends looked down and swallowed hard.

"It's always lava..." Stryker sighed.

Jack shrugged.

"Maybe the writer couldn't think of anything else," he answered.

They stared at the fire a second longer, then they both furrowed their brows and gave each other quizzical looks. Meanwhile the monks managed to get the Pedrosa's to breathe again.

"It's an illusion," Kimiko told them. "Just keep close and you'll be okay."

"This feels a little too real to be fake!" Rosa cried.

"Well...it's not exactly fake-"

"Then what is it?" Antoine asked.

"That...is hard to explain..." Omi stammered.

The sky darkened to a deep gray as the brother's prepared to do battle. While Raimundo appeared to wrestle with the thought of going after his own kin, Zephyr looked downright excited.

"Gong yi tan pai!" they shouted.

Zephyr suddenly flickered out of view. Rai furrowed his brow, then yelped when something slammed into his back. He did a summersault and twisted to see his brother in a very familiar form. His body was black, his dreads floating around him like snakes, his eyes glowing the same light green flame as the aura around him. It appeared as if his anger was fuel for his powers. Rai knew what that color meant too.

"You control Wind?" he asked, not a speck of tone in his voice.

"Surprised?" Zephyr's ethereal voice crowed.

"Not really. Actually makes sense."

"Wow..." Jack marveled.

"So...glowy mode is good?" Stryker asked for the others.

"Uh, that means Zephyr has the powers of a Wudai Warrior!" Jack told them. "That's only a step under Shoku!"

"I'll enjoy taking that blade of yours, Brother," Zephyr hissed as he floated into the air. "It'll be quite befitting the new Dragon of Wind."

If Rai felt emotion he didn't show it. Clutching the Blade tightly he dodged a whirlwind Zephyr shot at him, then ducked down as his brother swooped in to deliver a blow. Zephyr rose up higher and held his hands above his head, creating a ball of air that he hurled at Rai. Seeing no way to dodge, Raimundo dropped the sword and caught the orb in front of him. It shoved him back towards the edge of the glass, but he dug in and managed to stay on the platform until it dispersed. He saw Zephyr dive for the Blade, and instantly lunged for it. The brothers reached it at the same time and began a tug-of-war, fighting to knock the other off the Blade.

"C'mon, Zeph, this isn't the way to go!" Rai shouted. "You gotta know that!"

"I don't gotta know anything!" Zephyr yelled, throwing a punch before grabbing the business end of the blade. He was lucky it wasn't sharp. "You got everything! The least you can do is let me take your sword!"

Rai struggled to keep his grip for a second longer, then sucked air in and shouted. A wave of heated air exploded in Zephyr's face, flinging him off the sword and sending him skidding towards the end of the platform. He cried out as his body slid off, then circled back onto the glass. He'd grabbed hold of the edge at the last minute. Raimundo shook his head at Zephyr as he rose again, the defiance on his face.

"Don't make me do this..." Rai mumbled to himself.

Against his wishes, Zephyr started shooting for him, gaining speed quickly. Rai cringed and leapt into the air, narrowly missing the plow from his brother. Before he fell his body started glowing that light green color; two shadowy wings flitted from his back as he was suspended in the air. Aside from them Rai's form was still the same as his Wudai form. The other monks had to watch in awe; they had yet to see Raimundo's Shoku powers. His family stared in shock.

"So that's what you can do..." Zephyr hissed, more to himself than to Raimundo.

Rai looked down at the Blade of the Nebula. It too was black and frothing, shifting into the form of an axe. He turned to Zephyr.

"Are we done now?" he asked, trying to be gentle with his words. "Or do you still want this fight?"

Zephyr barred his teeth. His answer was to fly straight at Raimundo, much like he had done only a few seconds ago. Rai seemed to cringe, then his wings expanded to become four times the size of his body. They spread back, as if Raimundo were going to take off, but everyone recognized what was going to happen.

"Oh, this'll hurt..." Clay groaned as he, Kimiko and Omi, the Pedrosas', and Jack's group drew back for cover.

Zephyr was the last to realize. He hesitated too late, and within a second Rai's wings came together, slamming into him with such a force it caused an eruption of dust to cloud what happened from view. It shook the ground and cracked the glass, knocking the others to their knees. And then everything was still.

After they were sure it was over, both teams returned to the edge. They focused on Raimundo, who was slowly dropping to the ground, the Shoku form dispersed now. He staggered on his feet, then slumped to his knees, wearily shaking his daze away. He caught sight of the Blade in front of him, and slowly reached for it.

A shriek blasted from his throat as Zephyr's boot slammed down on his wrist, stopping him as he was inches from the Wu. He looked up at his brother's snarl; his powers had worn out as well, and he looked ragged, but rage kept him on his feet. He kicked the Blade up to his hand and pointed it at Raimundo, a wicked grin on his face.

"It's not very sharp," he taunted as Rai squirmed under his boot. "But I don't know. I think it'll get the job done."

Clay had to hold Kimiko back as she screamed and lunged to stop Zephyr. He raised the sword over his head, pointed straight down for Rai's face. Even Jack and the others were staring with wide horrified eyes, uncertain if they should do something or let this happen. Only Raimundo was unconcerned, as he'd seen something strange start to crawl up his brother's arm.

He realized what was happening when Zephyr hitched and screamed out. The Blade was melting into Zephyr's skin, cracking the flesh and turning it black. His breath caught in his throat when it continued to climb up his arm, towards his face. Rai lunged forward and grabbed the sword, dimming the glow slightly. Even against his pain, Zephyr didn't release the Wu.

"Let go!" Rai shrieked as the air swirled around them. "You have to let go!"

Zephyr shouted something back, but Rai was unable to hear him. He pulled and pulled at his weapon as the glow continued up his brother's chin and started to go to his eye. Zephyr's knees buckled again, and then he felt the glass give out from under him. Rai caught a glimpse of his face returning to normal, then threw the Blade aside and reached out for his brother. Zephyr slipped from his grasp and fell to the lava below, leaving Rai to do nothing but stare down in horror.