A/N: Things are going to start getting more intense here pretty quickly, as you can probably tell from reading through this chapter. Enjoy! I don't own Xiaolin Showdown or Xiaolin Chronicles. The Jiyi Amulet is my invention, although credit for its effect goes to my sister, Shadgirl2, who's been helping me brainstorm ideas for this fanfic.
Dojo landed back in the temple, returning to his smaller size after the young monks had dismounted.
"I reckon that wasn't half bad for your first rodeo, little partner," Clay said, smiling at Ping Pong.
"Thank you, brother Clay," Ping Pong said, bowing respectfully. "I am just glad that I was able to be of assistance."
"Alright, now that that's taken care of, Omi, get back to narrowing down the candidates. Come find me when you've got three left. I'm gonna go put the Wu back in the vault."
"As you wish, Raimundo," Omi said, turning his attention to Jermaine and Ping Pong. "Come, my young trainees. We must return to the others!"
"Aight, homie," Jermaine answered as he headed off with Omi and Ping Pong.
Kimiko looked at Clay and asked, "You wanna play War while we wait?"
"That sounds mighty fine to me, Kimiko."
Raimundo made sure that all of their Shen Gong Wu were accounted for and back in their proper places before he decided to try his little idea again.
"If we're going to be looking for the Dragon of Metal anyway, then we're bound to find the guy eventually. The Crystal Glasses can speed things up a bit by showing me where we'll find them," he said, holding the Shen Gong Wu in question, the only one he hadn't yet put away.
Just as he was about to put them on to see where he'd find the Dragon of Metal, he heard someone calling him from up above. "Raimundo, partner, you're not gonna believe this, but Omi's already got it down to three! Little feller's quicker than a cat on a hot tin roof."
Raimundo looked up, an eyebrow raised. "No kidding!" he called. "I'll be right there!" He put the Crystal Glasses back in their drawer for now, thinking, Guess I'll have to find the Dragon of Metal later. Right now, let's see who our choices are for Dragon of Wood. Bet Jermaine's one, at least.
Closing the drawer, he headed out of the vault to join the others in their selection of their Dragon of Wood.
Shortly, the four Shoku warriors stood in the training yard with the would-be apprentices Omi had selected. As instructed, he'd narrowed it down to three potentials—Ping Pong, the small monk from before; Jermaine, as everyone had expected; and a pretty blond girl by the name of Willow.
"So these are the three you think show the most promise?" Raimundo asked Omi. Given that Omi typically didn't think girls were any good in combat, he was a bit surprised at the last one.
"Oh, yes! Ping Pong, Jermaine, and Willow all show much potential. Any one of them would make an excellent Xiaolin Dragon."
"Alright, cool! Then we just need to figure out which one would be the best choice for the gig, and we've got our Dragon of Wood!" He turned to the three apprentices and said, "Okay, since you three survived the elimination round, it's time for you to show us all what you've got!"
Kimiko glanced at her phone and, seeing that it was about time for dinner, walked up and nudged Raimundo as she quietly said, "Maybe save that for tomorrow, Rai. They've been at this all day, thanks to Omi, so they could use a break."
Raimundo nodded—he hadn't planned to start them on more training exercises right then, anyway. "We're done for today, though. Dinner should be about ready, then we can show you guys your rooms, and you can just chill for the rest of the day."
Omi raised an eyebrow, confused. "But it is not cold outside. How are they supposed to chill?"
Raimundo glanced at Omi and said, "It's a figure of speech, dude. Honestly, by now you'd think you'd be starting to remember these things." To the group at large, he finished, "We'll pick this up tomorrow morning after breakfast. For now, let's go get some food."
As the three apprentices headed off, Clay asked Raimundo, "So how do you reckon we're gonna figure out which one's the Dragon of Wood? Kimiko and I've been watchin' 'em for a while, and they all seem like they could take Bodacious in the rodeo."*
Raimundo gave him a confused look and said, "I'm gonna pretend I know what you just said. Anyway, how hard can it be? We just have them run the obstacle course, maybe have each of them do some one-on-one training with all of us, and we're bound to figure out which one's the Dragon of Wood by lunchtime tomorrow, right?" Omi looked unsure and Kimiko looked skeptical, so Raimundo added, "And, if all else fails, we'll just take them out Wu-hunting with us the next time one goes active. Then we can see how they do when it's not just practice."
"A most wise idea, Raimundo," Omi complimented. "I had been thinking the same thing myself, but I wanted to give you, as our leader, the chance to go up with it before I put in my three pennies."
Raimundo rolled his eyes. Honestly, Omi's ego got old after a while. They'd been training together for almost four years now, yet the kid still acted as if he was better than everyone else most of the time. "In order, it's 'come up' and 'two cents,' Omi," he said as he headed for dinner.
"Man, nothing beats Mom's spaghetti and meatballs," Jack said as he entered his lair after dinner. His Jackbots had nearly finished repairing the hole in the wall, and he was seriously thinking that he should keep three or four on reserve as just his construction crew, given how often he had to fix things around his own home.
However, he didn't give any more thought to that when he saw the guest waiting for him in his evil lair—he'd know that armor and long, black hair anywhere. "Greetings, Jack."
"Chase Young!" Jack cried, startled but also excited. After all, Chase was one of his evil heroes. "What brings you to Jack Spicer's evil lair? Wait, don't tell me. You want to team up and take on the Xiaolin losers together? Oh, I knew you'd see the brilliance in the idea eventually!"
"I certainly wouldn't call the idea of 'teaming up' with you brilliant. However, you may prove of use to me. I am, once again, considering taking on an apprentice."
"Wait, again? But I thought I failed the test last time!"
"You did. However, my previous apprentice chose to side with the Xiaolin warriors, so the position is open once again. I'm offering you a second chance. Will you accept?"
Jack looked around, wondering where his competition was, and asked, "And who am I competing with this time?"
"There is no competition, Jack. You are the only one to whom I am granting this opportunity. However, make no mistake. Just because you are the only one I have selected does not mean that I will accept you as my apprentice. To determine if you are worthy, I have a test for you."
"Okay, what's the test? Is there a Shen Gong Wu you want me to get? Or maybe I have to—"
"Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to sabotage the monks. Currently, they are searching for two new elements to add to their team—Metal and Wood. These are the last of the Chinese elements, or the wuxing. Legend has it that, should the Xiaolin monks manage to gather all five Chinese elements and the Western Wind element, they will become powerful enough to defeat evil once and for all."
"Whoa, defeat evil once and for all? No way! Those guys have got nothing on us! Am I right, Chase?" He crossed his arms, looking pleased with himself.
Chase was already tired of dealing with this fool, but he just put a hand to his face. Today wasn't the day to pound Jack Spicer into a pulp, even if that did sound more appealing than training him as a Heylin Dragon. "Currently, the dragons are seeking a monk to take the role of Dragon of Wood. Once they have them, then they will only need one more element in order to rid the world of evil once and for all. I have sent one of my own to infiltrate their search, however. Your task is to ensure that they choose the girl known as Willow as their Dragon of Wood. I don't care how you do it as long as she is the one left at the end. If you can somehow manage that, then I'll accept you as my apprentice. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal, Chase! Don't you worry, I won't let you down!"
"I find that hard to believe." He turned to leave then, adding, "Once you've accomplished your task—and no sooner—you may come to my lair to inform me of your success. Should you fail, never show your face to me again if you wish to keep it intact."
With that threat delivered, Chase left as Jack swallowed hard behind him.
While Chase was out speaking with Jack, Wuya was running through some ideas of her own. Yes, it was true that the Xiaolin warriors would be far too powerful if they had all six elements, even more so than if they only had the traditional five. However, there were multiple ways to make sure that never became an issue.
"Relying too heavily on Jack's blind hero worship of Chase is a recipe for disaster. We have to ensure that the six elements don't come together, and what better way than to tear apart their already existing team?" She smiled wickedly. "Besides, if I bring one of them to my side, then perhaps I can finally put Chase Young in his place and find a way to restore myself to full power. And I know just the monk I want." She laughed, knowing that she could accomplish three goals at once if she did this correctly.
It was about time a certain Dragon paid for his betrayal, after all.
Elsewhere, far away from all life, Hannibal Roy Bean laughed maniacally. He had found just the item he was looking for. As he held up a simple pendant made of rose quartz, he said, "The Jiyi Amulet. With this, I can take one of those Xiaolin Dragons as my own." He sneered. "I told Chase he'd regret choosing to work against me. Now, the only question is which of the monks I should take under my wing." He glanced at the bird he rode and asked, "What do you think, Ying Ying?" The bird shrieked in response, and Hannibal just laughed.
Bodacious was known as "the world's most dangerous bull" in the rodeo world. He was one of only 2 bulls to win bucking bull world championship titles in 2 different organizations.