Chapter Text
His face is getting closer.
Kimiko....how the heck has it come to this?
Why of all people is it him?
Why is Jack Spicer, the guy I once considered an enemy, an idiot and a selfish coward, going to be my first kiss?
And why... why right now is it him whom I so badly want it to be above anybody else...?
I'm the idiot.
CHAPTER 1- THE LABYRINTH LOCK
"So, let me get this straight. This Labyrinth Lock thing break dances and makes other people want to join in? I give it street cred so I can def see why you felt it's such an A-level threat to humanity." At the blatant sarcasm, a laugh, that came out more like a choked out cough, mingled in with the rushing sound of wind.
Knowing who it was that laughed, the teasing Brazilian boy grinned, satisfied, and continued, "Still, I get that over-exertion is a thing. Is it just me Kimiko, or do you think Dojo might be inventing some of these Wu just as an excuse to hang out with us? I mean we've been flying record long I'm starting to get suspicious."
Raimundo , Xiaolin dragon of the wind and renowned patriarch of wisecracking queried jokingly, prodding at the enchanted scroll hanging loosely in his hand. The Labyrinth Lock in question was supposedly a newly activated Shen Gong Wu that took on the form of a large, ancient Chinese box-shaped padlock.
"Aw no, you've not been feeling left out have you Dojo?" A sympathetic female voice asked, playing along.
"Ha ha hilarious, no I haven't, I'll have you know while you kids have been doing training exercises and playing that "Gooey...zombie" game, Master Fung and I have spent some quality time catching up on our Yoga sessions. As for this Wu: no …I mean... it's not doing that, but that's what it could look like to untrained eye from the moving image or... what do you kids call it these days? A gif? You know- sometimes magic is more up to the times than I am!" Dojo remarked somewhat bitterly as once more he struggled with the concept that had plagued him for a little over a year, being seen as relatable to the teenage warriors he now transported through the chilly skies above the Norwegian highlands. He was a fifteen hundred year old dragon who'd been through numerous battles, trials and perilous adventures with his master and long-departed friend, Dashi. He'd painfully shed his scales over five hundred times, a sign of resilience and wisdom, but, without a doubt, all of that was disturbingly incomparable to dealing with a teenager in the 21st century.
Raimundo suddenly snorted- to the deflated Dojo it was a snotty, mocking sound.
"Anyway," Dojo continued reluctantly, his voice growing impatient, "I just remember, I mean I know that this one was a huge deal! The Labyrinth Lock- this Wu does this unique and dangerous thing where it, you know…spins and you fall inside… because it er… opened up and..."
"I see! So it traps another in a manner similar to that of the puzzle box that sealed Wuya?" Omi, the youngest of the five travelers who was seated in front of Raimundo, asked with a finger and thumb caressing the chin of his bulbous head.
"Well not exactly…I think... there was something el-" Dojo tentatively began, but Omi, who had shuffled closer to Dojo's scaly, emerald face to hear him more clearly over the roaring sound of a sudden icy wind, cut him off,
"Tell us, how exactly does one activate this Shen Gong Wu?"
"Yeah Dojo, tell us. Not that you've had any problem mastering the art of explanation so far." Raimundo goaded, an impish smile disappearing into his left cheek.
"Well… like I said," Dojo answered loudly, drowning out the rush of the air and Raimundo. "It spins and then BAM, WHOOSH, open and you're in…" Dojo sniffled uncomfortably, a VIP invitation for Raimundo's pleasure.
"Of all the Shen Gong Wu descriptions you've ever given, that, by far was the best. Excellente man." he clapped slowly, his voice now shamelessly lathered in sarcasm.
"But that did not sound very informative, on the contrary, I am in fact even more confused. Why does it go BAM and WHOOSH?" Omi inquired, raising his eyebrows higher than they already were positioned on his face, puzzled by Raimundo's praise.
"Okay come on guys, give Dojo a break before he continues his Yoga routine mid-flight and throws us all off."
Dojo gave a dry laugh," Thank you Kimiko, the voice of reason! Fine!" I don't remember okay? Look you two, I'm tired. This was a long trip and I'm not some flying aircopter, or whatever it's called, that can just juice up on fuel and move along all fine and dandy - not to mention I'm getting older." He ended his list of complaints with a heavy sigh.
This stream of lighthearted banter and curious questions was the norm for team Xiaolin's journeys to locate new and unusual Shen Gong Wu. However, this had been their longest trip yet- but nothing should really surprise her anymore. Kimiko had seen it all by now after her time spent with the other elemental monks, the three boys, who despite their initial differences were now her teammates, her best friends.
"Heh, "getting," he says" In response to Dojo, Raimundo snickered and nudged Clay, who was sitting directly behind him, lightly in the gut. Clay, the Xiaolin dragon of the earth, who by nature had the most rights to complain about not being grounded for so long, had been completely silent for a while, which was far from unusual and had a wide, gormeless smile slapped across his face.
"Oh shut it. Glad to see you still have so much youthful energy," Dojo moped back- the bite to his tone slowly losing gusto with each accusation , " Back in the day there were some weird Shen Gong Wu Dashi kept the details for under wraps, that or the incidents related to them were so embarrassing that I forced myself to forget."
"Or you're just old," Raimundo offered teasingly. "My deal is, part of your job is to be some kind of Shen Gong Wu encyclopedia, right?"
Dojo enormous body trembled slightly as Raimundo continued, "It's got us this far, but today we hopped on this gig, flew around for a century and there's been nothing and all you could give us is a mind-blowing: " er it spins." Raimundo tapped on the side of his forehead and pretended to appear dumbfounded. "Maybe it's changed it's mind and wants a vacation from doing what Wu do- all the other Wu seem to have done the same, I say we call this one off for today and check out the nightlife in Oslo?" He offered.
"You're right... it has been a bit of a dry spell lately. Hmm, I heard they have some of the best museums around, not to mention their sense of style is so-"
"Not you too!"
"Sorry Dojo," Kimiko apologized guiltily.
"Listen it's real, it's active and it does spin, one hundred percent I remember that!" Dojo argued back defensively.
"I dunno man, my headache would've liked it better if you'd just said: "I have no idea where we're going," kinda like Omi did when we first met- totally useless, but to the point." Raimundo offered with a shrug and then winced, gingerly massaging his stiff shoulders. Omi glared at him ready to retort when it was Dojo's turn to cut him off,
" I know where it is, it's here, it's Norway!" he snapped. "Getting straight there was the tricky part. How about maybe next time we'll take a fly on your back?"
"Chill my dragon bro," Raimundo sedated, raising his palms in the air and continued through a smile, " if I have a back after this. At least a plane ride has reclinable seats and a destination," he jabbed, unable to help himself and turned to Clay for approval, but Clay's face was still frozen in the same huge grin.
"Dude, what's up with you?"
"Can't…talk…much...stuck…air…cold." Clay managed to mumble out through the side of his mouth.
"Seriously Dojo can we at least stop at some roadside food joint? This cowboy needs to get his butt back near some Texas-styled heat." Raimundo rubbed his palms together and blew hot air into them, then directed them towards Clay, playfully.
"Oh yes, all the more reason to be quick; we must place warmth on Clay's behind!" Omi responded eagerly.
"We really are close this time, I can definitely...," he wriggled, "yes... I don't believe it...I can feel something...I mean...of course we're here! I'm lowering altitude now," Dojo reassured, a splash of renewed energy added to his voice.
"Sure...you said that ten times already. What the heck is a Labyrinth anyway, can you at least give some info on that?" As Raimundo continued to pile on the accusations, beneath them Dojo's body seemed to slump.
Kimiko Tohomiko, who was sitting at Dojo's tail-end, had been absently staring at each of her friends' slouched frames and at times allowed their small talk to slide through her wary ears, but, on Raimundo's question she perked up again- research time. When the chance came to consult her PDA she'd take it. She had installed a unique app that gave a background to everything without needing Wifi. Wiping off the moisture that had accumulated on the screen, she searched, found and revelled in the chance to share her knowledge, it was something to do,
"Pickypedia Encyclopedia says,"
Dojo winced at the word "Encyclopedia" and frowned.
Kimiko, eyes too absorbed by the screen to neither notice nor care, continued informatively in a voice that was mature for her fourteen years, her heart-shaped face lightly aglow from the blue light that the PDA emitted. "A Labyrinth is a complicated structure, much like a maze, made specifically to have one lost in it," she paused to consider the statement, biting her lip.
"That's it? That's no better than what- " Raimundo began in an irksome voice, swivelling around and fixing her with an impatient stare, until Kimiko raised a finger to cut him off,
"Aand it also says- in some legends- that a Labyrinth reveals one's unmasked self or even leads them towards their true... holy cow!" Kimiko suddenly squawked in awe. "Now that's more interesting!"
"Huh? I'll have my own holy cow?" Omi asked delighted. Kimiko caught Raimundo and Omi gawking at her over Clay's fossilized form.
"How wonderful indeed!" Omi exclaimed, "Perhaps I can engage once more in the activity of milking and best my attempts with old Bessie!"
"How about no...Not that... Look guys, it's gorgeous- I so need to take a pic for Keiko!" Kimiko responded and pointed towards the scene far ahead of them:
A grand, meandering fjord with crisp waters of a cornflower blue surrounded by towering snow-capped mountains. Hanging majestically high above the fjord was a long, rock plateau that seemed to catch the sunlight on its splendid surface.
"Yes, it is truly magnificent!" Omi's eyes expanded to five times their size. "However, I find myself mildly disappointed that there will be no cows."
"Dead creepy though." Raimundo uttered in a dramatic, dark tone, that aimed precisely at cancelling out their opinions.
"You're afraid of a cow?" Kimiko teased, grinning. It was fun to make him the victim for once.
"No..." Raimundo said, smirking back.
"Creepy? I'd say it's more romantic that eerie." Kimiko mused. "Couples should totally make this a dating spot..."
So long as they keep a safe distance.
"Yeah! You're right- if you're looking to make your lover take a nose dive off the cliff when calling it quits isn't enough." Raimundo chuckled, appearing to have read her mind, his mischief had fully shifted from harassing Dojo to keeping up with their occasional back and forths. He seemed satisfied when she frowned at him. "But hey, I like a thrill. Maybe we can come back and check it out sometime?" Raimundo added, keeping his question casual.
Kimiko squinted over at the back that he now had facing her again, "by that you mean if I need an edge to kick you off when you get on my nerves?" She grinned challengingly.
"Ah, I remember being in love once- not lying when I say I was quite the catch. The ladies used to call me Diamond Scale," Dojo chuckled smugly, "serious, if you look really, really closely at them; they still have a teensy bit of a sparkle."
Raimundo stared back around at her and made a face so twisted and disgusted that she burst out laughing and then felt the resulting ache in her tired jaw.
"You can laugh." Dojo responded flatly.
Kimiko apologized carefully whist giving Raimundo a scolding glare.
"Pulpit Rock- " Dojo went on, satisfied, "I hear it's actually a great attraction for film-makers. The Labyrinth Lock has got to be somewhere around here, let's hope we don't run into any camera crew while we're at it." Dojo commented as he circled the area.
Yes, she'd been with them for over a year now, but this was usually the story each time but she was okay with that, she knew what to expect and how to work around it. Her mind sometimes worked like a computer or RPG, she had endless possibilities turbulently whirring about in there and at times warring with the others, but she was always able to choose her one best route to win and control that chaos from then on. Her father often A Shen Gong Wu would show up, they'd head out to search, they'd find it hidden in some obscure place and then...
A disturbing thought suddenly occurred to her: "then next should come Jack Spicer and his army of bots," she croaked it out to herself aloud, cringing, he often took one of two route branches: fight them, get his butt kicked by them and then make a hasty retreat or fight them, get his butt handed to him by his own mistakes and then make a more shameful exit
She didn't have too many people on her dislike list, but, the self-proclaimed, self-centered, whiny evil boy genius, Jack Spicer was one of them. Sure, he'd helped them out two months ago with a time-machine when Omi needed to travel to the past, sure, he was talented with his tech, but he'd made it very clear that it was all for his own "future world dominating" gain.
"Hey, Kim, can you not…"
She only heard the words faintly as she lolled her head to the side in thought. She had once on a very slow day happened to fleetingly wonder (very minutely) why it was that Spicer wanted to rule the world? Simply for the sake of living up to his "evil" title? Did he think that winning at evil was a contest- that it wouldn't also involve messing up others' lives? Maybe she thought of this again now more than ever because the idea of him showing up and messing with their chances to get in some good rest would certainly drive them willingly over the cliff. She really wasn't in the mood for his cheap attacks and petty banter. Not that she felt for it any other time.
"Yo Kim-i-ko…!"
One thing's for certain, Kimiko deliberated, Jack wears all of what he is on his grimy overcoat sleeves and they could be summed up with a single word: "jerk."
"Ring ring, calling Kimiko, hello!?"
"Huh? What is it now Raimundo?" She asked a little sharply, his singsong voice tugging her from her irritated thoughts. As he stared at her, confused, she yawned widely and rubbed a tear from her stinging eyes. Understanding and a sympathetic smile decorated his features.
"Uh...You okay, really sleepy huh?" He cocked his head, concerned, this was often a rare show for Raimundo. It wasn't to say that he was never concerned for his friends, as difficult as that might be to notice for an outsider, but she knew he leaned more towards hurling a mean joke to stir an uncomfortable atmosphere rather than openly reveal any sign of actual worry. It could just be her drained brain talking- but she'd noticed that he'd been acting a lot friendlier with her ever since he joined back with them after the events of last year.
"Mmhm..." She mumbled distractedly.
"Yeah, me too." He swiveled around so that his back was now facing Dojo's head. "You spaced out for a while there girl. I was trying to tell you not to jinx it by mentioning Spicer and asked what Wu you got on you again?" He raised his voice suddenly,"We'd been flying for so unnecessarily long that I almost forgot my own name."
Mr. Diamond Scale cleared his throat loudly.
"Oh…yeah?" She responded, her tone softening, "Sorry Rai- along with the Star Hanabi I've got the Lotus Twister."
Damn, did I let my mind stumble on Spicer for that long ?…Never again!
Raimundo studied her disgruntled expression carefully - the caring light in his eyes was slowly being snuffed out by a mischievous glint poised to stir trouble.
"Oh... I get it. Did I disturb you from planning up a few date ideas for this "romantic" location?" He teased, moving his eyebrows up and down.
"HECK NO!" she blurted, a little too ferocious- the idea was ludicrous. "With him? Not in this universe or any other!"
Raimundo only raised one eyebrow this time, stunned by her reaction. Omi peered over the top of Raimundo's shoulder, curious and Dojo mumbled something to do with modern kids not using inside voices. Kimiko fumed to hide her embarrassment. They didn't need to stare like that, she just wanted this over and done with, no obstacles, she was allowed to vent.
"Woo wee it sure is one hell of a sight!"
"Glad to see you finally melted Clay." Raimundo chuckled, ignoring or maybe just trying to steer the attention away from Kimiko's random outburst.
Once she'd calmed down a bit, she was reminded of the fact that it was nice having Raimundo back in their small group. Kimiko had initially been furious upon his teaming up with the Heylin side- a moment of prideful pettiness she would normally associate with a certain gothic idiot. She'd chosen to overlook the impatience and anger that had been slowly festering within him the days leading up to his betrayal- thinking that he'd be Raimundo- mope, mull it over and then return to his care-free self, except, that hadn't happened.
However, when he re-captured Wuya, re-grouped with the Xiaolin warriors and apologised, she forgave him instantly, well, almost instantly save a few choice teasing words and a disapproving shake of the head. She'd missed that sense of normalcy and humor he'd brought to their crazy, abnormal life.
In Raimundo's absence, they'd had Jack. Things had been too hectic, too chaotic, too fast for her to have studied any effects Jack had had on their dynamic. He'd floundered around. They asked him to be helpful. He screwed that up. She'd gotten mad. The one positive thing that she could currently strain from her memory was the look he wore when Omi asked him to stay. He understood the concept of pity at the very least.
She grumbled,
What's my problem!?
She was thinking about Spicer again- this trip needed to end. Then again, she had gotten to see that view.
When Kimiko had heard they were going to Norway- somewhere she'd always wanted to visit, she decided to dress for the occasion. Her hair was its natural black, parted to the side and in one low, wavy braid that reached just below her hips. She'd accented it with hair clips on both sides shaped like angel wings and of a glistening silver. She had on a black, long-sleeved cheesecloth, v-neck shirt with a maroon coloured, leather, Viking- inspired waistcoat. Her Culottes pants were also maroon and accessorized with a large silver-coloured belt. To top off the ensemble she wore a medium grey, fur-lined coat that just about stopped at the top of her tall, black, strappy leather boots. Comfortably on her head was a zig-zag patterned, grey and white woolen hat to keep out the cold.
Before her mom had passed away, she'd always used to dress up her and her sister in fantastical clothes to their amusement, so Kimiko had continued the trend which she enjoyed to hype her up for their quests. Not to mention she had connections to several Tokyo street style designers, so why not show them off a bit?
They were approaching the fjord now; near enough to see it in detail and low enough make a landing if need be when Omi cried out, "wait, stop Dojo! I think I spotted something out of the top of my irises."
"That's "the corner of my eye" partner."
"Correct!"
They landed on a pathway that lead towards Pulpit rock and Dojo shrank to his original size.
"Omi's right, something's over there!" Kimiko had seen an object dangling from a branch that seemed to be stuck in the rock face just beneath the cliff's edge. The glow of the mid-afternoon sun bounced off its surface.
Dojo suddenly whipped on a magnifying monocle, from Kimiko had no idea where, to inspect what it was before they made their way over.
"Yep, that's got to be the Labyrinth Lock. I sense it. Told you we were close." Dojo added cheerfully for Raimundo's ears to hear. The warrior addressed merely scoffed.
Without sparing another second, they ran, lethargically still, legs dragging and feet scraping towards the cliff's edge. Before they could reach close enough to the Wu, which Kimiko could now observe was a metallic, blood red- an odd colour for a padlock- they heard a dismally familiar buzzing noise.
"You jinxed it Kim." Raimundo commented plainly. They warily assumed a messy fighting stance as a smug Jack Spicer and ten of his Jack bots hovered before them.
"Well, welly well! It's the Xiaolin failures looking all washed out," he'd noticed the bags under their eyes and their half-defrosted cowboy.
" You're more than outmatched and the way I see it, I got this Wu locked! Ha, get it? Locked?" Jack cackled wildly at his own sad attempt at a joke.
"Spicer, your jokes are as flat as Daddy's farmland after harvest day and I'd say you're looking more pathetic than before without that old ghost hag on your shoulder… which is saying something." Clay taunted gaining back his life force.
"Shut it meat-face… I don't need Wuya on my side with these new beauties," he gestured with his thumb at the Jack bots.
Those new beauties looked very much like the old trash piles, his technological sense was outdated, Kimiko thought, scoffing.
"I got here fine on my own." Jack finished and scratched at his nose, she could tell he was obviously lying.
"Seeing as you took longer than us, I'm guessing you were just as lost as Dojo? I'll be honest, I'm kinda impressed you made it at all." Raimundo ridiculed, with a slow nod of his head.
"I wasn't lost!" Jack and Dojo argued simultaneously.
"What happened to your devious doppleganger?" Kimiko pitched in, fired up. One Jack in their lives right now was more than enough.
"I reckon Jack just didn't have the stomach to face himself anymore," Clay suggested. Jack's eyes flicked between them growing as wide as his lip grew pouty.
"Seems like even you aren't on your own side." Raimundo joked, smiled at Kimiko and together they pushed their own lips out at at Jack in mock sympathy. Jack snarled and stuck out his tongue childishly.
Whilst they engaged him, Omi used their distractions to edge closer to the Shen Gong Wu. It was a simple tactic, one which Jack often fell for given his penchant for monologuing. To make things better, Jack didn't have Wuya with him to steer him back on track. Using his small stature to his advantage, Omi rolled across the craggy ground, making a wide arch away from the group and hopping from one side of the cliff to the other- low and silent.
"Stuff it Douche-mundo! Robo Jack was acting up, what can I say- he's me, but I mostly blame the added hormones chip. He needs a bit of tweaking to reach this perfection. " Jack pointed to himself with two pale, crooked fingers. "I'm the real MVP, the main character of this evil conquest and you all will eventually bow before me!"
Kimiko, urging Omi to hurry up so that they wouldn't wind up having to do a Showdown, continued to layer on the insults. She usually tried to keep respectful to people unless provoked, but, Jack always deserved it. "Perfection? Where? You're basically the NPC of your own life!" She beamed at him smugly and Jack let out a dry, fake laugh, glowering.
"You know your way around technology, so you're faster than these other morons, but still oh so very slow Kimiko- come out of the digital world and accept the mechanical empire I'll create . You know, maybe next time I'll go for a Zombie bot, they're all the rage now on the evil dark web, not to mention I- " Jack paused. Dojo, nervous and agitated, was making a circular motion with his fingers, signalling for Omi to get a move on, unfortunately, Jack, who noticed he wasn't garnering everyone's full attention, caught the action. His triangular-shaped eyes morphed into slits as he shot a glance behind him. "I get what you're doing, enough wasting my time," he seethed and a heavily-ammunitioned Jack bot appeared before Omi, barring his path.
"Ultimate Jack bots attack!" Jack ordered loudly and immediately, before they could contribute to any more insults.
Kimiko, not missing a beat, rocketed into the air with her signature move, "Judolette flip" and easily took out a share of three "ultimate" Jack bots with streams of blazing fire.
"Allow me to make up for that jinx!" Kimiko addressed Raimundo as she darted towards where the Lock was beneath the cliff.
She was still disturbed that she'd had Spicer in her thoughts for even a second- this aggravating villain who constantly tried to off them.
Jack himself was already heading towards the direction of the Labyrinth Lock on his helipack whilst the others had just finished destroying the Jackbots that came at them…well, except for Raimundo, who yelled in frustration and sent his two Jack bots flying off the side of the cliff mere seconds after.
"Knock yourself out girl...but... don't take that Omi-level literal" he called back at her between, kicks, punches and shoves, a little out of breath. Normally, these bots were a cinch for them to destroy, but with sleep deprivation thrown in, they were just a tiny bit more meddlesome. Like having to swat a mosquito instead of a fly.
"You see, if Raimundo was at Xiaolin Apprentice level, he would have also defeated these simple enemies very quickly."
"Omi, don't you dare start with that again!" Raimundo and Omi bickered away- but to a focused Kimiko it became background noise.
"LOTUS TWISTER!" She cried out and stretched one long arm to grab onto the cliff's edge, impulsively leaped into the air and swung out into the daunting open above the fjord's water that was miles below. She'd been caught up by adrenaline and obligations, but once she felt the cold air engulf her, sense kicked in and she chanted to herself-
Don't look down, don't look down, focus on snatching the Wu.
She took a grab with her free hand for the Lock just as Jack reached for it, but, seeing her lunging explosively in his direction startled him and he clumsily flung backwards on his helipack. To him she was dangerous and reckless. The push of his retreat was so forceful that one of his lanky legs accidentally kicked at the branch that the Lock was hanging from and sent the Shen Gong Wu propelling downwards. To her Jack was clearly a dolt.
Oh crap... I've got no choice, look down! Kimiko internally cried.
She gulped in the fresh air, her heart beating wildly and extended her reach with the Lotus Twister to as far as it would take her whilst Jack twisted in mid air above her and dove for the Shen Gong Wu as it fell. She managed to grab hold of the large padlock's body at the exact moment as Jack took hold of its shank. She let her Lotus Twister-ed arm that was clutching at the cliff go free so that she could grab onto the large Labyrinth Lock with both hands.
She relied on the pull of Jack's helipack and the powers tied to a Xiaolin Showdown to keep her afloat. It was difficult having to be so dependant on something else but in the flurry of activity, this became the best course of action.
She was right, she was alright. She steadied her breathing, making sure to plaster a generous look of loathing on her face as she glared at Jack.
They hovered in midair, holding onto the now illuminated Shen Gong Wu with their eyes locked in a challenge; hers a sky blue and defiant and his, a taunting but cautious crimson red. Their bodies were angled opposite each other at almost 180° as if they were para-diving.
Kimiko was just about to shout it out when a triumphant Jack beat her to it.
"I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! My lovely Kimiko- " she flinched at the word "my."
"When was the last time we Showdown-ed again?" He grinned baring all of his teeth.
"That time I beat you! Remember? You fell off a cliff sort of like this one and onto your face just like normal- like the loser you are- which is always."
"Really easy with words aren't you? That's why you're still my favourite." Jack breathed, his tone was a combination of hopeful and condescending. His voice was gravelly, openly amused and often started in a high cadence, to Kimiko it sounded like it was only just breaking. He was such a creep with his cheesy "smooth talk" but a big cry baby when it came to the actual fight.
"Just shut up and name the game Spicer." This sort of trash talking which her sleepy mind had hoped to avoid was the way they'd usually greet each other and she didn't expect that to change anytime soon. No matter what length of time they spent in each other's company, there was no way they could see eye to eye- they were of two different mindsets, on opposing sides and shared nothing in common except their knowledge of the world of Shen Gong Wu. This was how it was and Kimiko was fine with that.
"Hey....play nice…whatever. The game is Hang gliding- the Lock will continuously fall until one of us is able to catch it on gliders. Think of it like flying a broomstick and catching the Golden Snitch" Jack snickered- a sharp, cackling sound. "My Shroud of Shadows against your..." he paused, "Star Hanabi," his grin oozed with a combination of pride and relief.
Kimiko opened her mouth in protest.
"Uh uh, it'll be way too much of an advantage if you get to use that long arm of yours with the Lotus Twister," Jack answered knowingly.
"And you going invisible makes it fair game?" Kimiko argued.
"It is. I called the Showdown, I make the rules," Jack crowed and aimed a twisted, satisfied smile at her. She gritted her teeth.
"Fine. I'll burn you to the ground." She smiled as Jack's own smile faltered.
"Let's go Xiaolin Showdown!" Kimiko barked, suddenly dead focused.
They roared in unison, "GONG YI TAN PAI!"
Up on land the other Xiaolin warriors were watching them and shouting their support for Kimiko.
Dojo, on the other hand, began to pace.
"No… there's something…what is it? Labyrinth Lock…Labyrinth Lock…GAHH!" Dojo suddenly exclaimed.
"What in tarna- why're you hollering Dojo?" The normally composed Clay jumped, startled by the sudden outburst.
"That must be why the scroll gave us such a messed up example! Why it was so tricky to pinpoint and...oh no… " Dojo grew paler, overlooking Clay's confusion. " This is bad…so bad! Kimiko! Release the Wu! You weren't supposed to touch it at the same time!" Dojo yelled, panicked as he dashed closer to the edge.
"Dude are you crazy? If she let's go now she'll fall!" Raimundo berated, animatedly.
"Not to mention we forfeit the Xiaolin Showdown." Omi added, perturbed by Dojo's lack of determination.
"Trust me," Dojo said loudly, addressing mainly Kimiko and Jack. "It's a much better alternative, let that thing go Kimiko, I'l just catch you! This Wu isn't your average Wu!"
Kimiko had already sensed something was off when they grabbed hold of the lock, but Dojo's words just served to confirm her suspicions.
"Okay…correct me if I'm wrong here," Jack began, "when we shout "Gong Yi Tan Pai" doesn't the whole place start changing up all wonky and crap and we get into the game? So... tell me why that isn't happening right now?" He asked shakily and his voice grew shakier with each word. Only it wasn't Jack's voice that was shaking, but it was the Lock itself that had begun to vibrate violently.
"Stop doing that you freak!" Kimiko ordered once she realized with panic rising in her stomach that she was unable to let go.
"It's not me, are you making it do this…? You… annoying, crazy, rich Asian woman…I..I don't like this…mommy!" Jack started to wail, his voice rising several octaves as they rocked from left to right.
Kimiko growled just as loudly back, "I'm not doing this either you dense jerk... it's got to be the Shen Gong Wu!" Her voice trembled with every jolt.
There was a quick flash of light and the two of them were thrown high into the air. The Labyrinth Lock, floating on its own, suddenly began to spin rapidly. The Shen Gong Wu had released them, but was now pulling them inwards. Their helpless bodies orbited around it, sucked into its vortex and shrinking in size to fit.
Jack was swallowed by the lock first and the last thing Kimiko heard before she fell into darkness was the sound of her panicked friends shouting her name.