Chapter 3 - Chapter 2
Submitted September 5, 2006 Updated September 7, 2006 Status Incomplete | Dashi, Chase, Guan, Wuya. Four very different people who were once held together by a powerful bond of friendship and love. This is the chronicle of their lives: the events that brought them together, and the events that tore them apart.
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Cartoons » Xiaolin Showdown |
Chapter 3 - Chapter 2
Chapter 3 - Chapter 2
Another rather upbeat chapter, though it may be the last one for a while. Though I really had to fight through parts of it, it was fun to write. And it’s definitely the longest chapter so far, which is good, seeing as the first two were rather short.
Enjoy!
---
The Beginning of the End
Chapter 2
---
“What did you want to talk to us about, Master?” asked a somewhat disheveled Chase Young. He and Guan had ended up finishing the cleaning themselves; just as predicted, Dashi and Wuya had not returned to help at all. Now the four stood in a line in front of their master in the grand hall. Dashi and Chase were at least somewhat attentive, while Wuya absently picked at her nails and Guan did his best to wring the soapy water out of his braided ponytail.
“Ahem,” Master Chang cleared his throat rather loudly, drawing the eyes of his four disciples, who finally all appeared to be listening to him. Satisfied, he began, “The matter I wish to discuss concerns your promotions to Xiaolin apprentices. As Dragon-in-training, the main focus of your training was purely physical. You were taught the fighting style pertaining to your element; now you will learn to harness the element itself.” From a small wooden box that sat on the floor next to him, he produced four rather nondescript objects: a candle, an empty cup, a small windsock attached to a thin, wooden dowel, and a simple slingshot. Handing each of the items to its corresponding child, he instructed, “Go now, young monks. When you return tomorrow, I will expect you to have discovered a way to use your elements to fulfill the purposes of these items.” With that half-explanation, he collected the box and exited the room.
Turning to the others with a baffled expression, Wuya burst out, “What are we supposed to do with these!” She held her slingshot in both hands, examining it critically. “That explanation made no sense!”
“It did, in a way...” the Apprentice of Water mused thoughtfully, tossing his cup from hand to hand. However, the expectant expressions of his friends failed to coax him into elaborating on his apparent understanding.
Slightly irked, Dashi pointed out, “It’s not all that difficult. I suppose we have to create a form of our element and use it in conjunction with whatever he gave us. Guan would have to light the candle...and I guess Wuya would have to make ammunition for the slingshot.” Upon noticing the incredulous look she gave him, he shrugged, then finished, “We’ll find out tomorrow.” With a determined nod from the other three, the Apprentices each left for a quiet area of the temple where they could attempt the seemingly simple, yet confusing task.
---
“Focus...come on, focus...” Concentrating every particle of his energy into the tips of his fingers, Guan held them lightly to the wick of the candle that sat on the floor of the meditation hall in front of him and commanded silently, ‘Fire!’ Nothing happened. He tried again, harder, but his fingers didn’t even feel the slightest bit warm. Extremely frustrated, the Fire Apprentice slammed a clenched fist into the hard wooden floor, ignoring the resulting ache in the bones of his hand. Closing his eyes and exhaling slowly, he prepared for another attempt, but was interrupted by the sound of the door creaking open. Startled out of his concentration, he leapt to his feet, eyes darting around the room, before focusing on the silhouette in the doorway.
“...Guan?” came a slightly apprehensive inquiry. Since he had extinguished the lanterns in the meditation hall, it was too dark to make out a face, but the curtain of dark hair that fell to the figure’s narrow shoulders and its soft voice made it quite obvious who it was.
Lighting one of the lanterns along the wall, the Fire Apprentice gave a relieved sigh and admitted, “I’m sorry about that, Chase. You just surprised me a bit.” He sat back down on the smooth floor next to his candle and asked, “How are you doing with your element?”
“I think I have it!” Smiling happily, the smaller boy held out the cup he had been given, and with a minute twinge of jealousy, Guan noticed that it was filled to the brim with clear water. He sighed; he was honestly happy for his best friend’s achievement, but he was extremely frustrated that he couldn’t do the same.
Noticing the troubled expression on the other young monk’s face, Chase approached his friend and knelt across from him, the stubborn candle sitting between them. “I guess it’s not working so well for you,” he said sympathetically, not really expecting an answer and not receiving one. Reaching out an olive-skinned hand, he ran his fingertips over the length of the candle, examining it thoroughly, before moving to do the same with his friend’s hand. The Fire Apprentice started at the unexpected touch, and a moment later, Chase quickly retracted his hand with a hiss of pain. Guan’s fingers felt strangely warm, and he realized that in that moment of surprise, he had accidentally conjured a flash of fire. Unfortunately, the candle wick had not ignited, and the younger boy now had an angry, red burn mark to show for it. Guan opened his mouth to apologize, but the Water Apprentice shook his head with an honest, though slightly pained laugh. “See, you did it!” he exclaimed happily, offering the candle to his mortified friend. “Now you just need to learn to control it.
Sighing, Guan once again extended his hands over the candle, focusing his energy and mentally ordering it to light.
Nothing happened.
“I’m never going to get this!”
---
“That doesn’t look like practicing your element, Dashi,” Wuya pointed out grumpily, sorely tempted to pelt the bald boy with one of the stone projectiles she had managed to create for the slingshot. From the doorway of the room where she stood, his back was facing her, so she was unable to see exactly what he was doing. His hands moved constantly and erratically through the air in front of him, and as she proceeded into his room and moved around in front of him, she realized that they were circling a shimmering, translucent golden cloud that was suspended in the air and shone with an almost blinding light. His slanted eyes, though open, were glazed and sightless, and his round face was utterly devoid of expression as he worked. Whether or not she cared to admit it, she was utterly fascinated, and she watched as intently as if she was in a trance herself. Slowly, the Wind Apprentice’s hands began to abandon their random gestures and instead to trace a definite pattern within the golden mist, and as the shape was defined, the cloud began to condense and solidify. The form was that of an eccentrically-shaped blade with a cylindrical handle, made entirely of gold. Dashi traced ornate designs over the now completely solid sword, and his fingers left grooves matching the drawn patterns in the metal. Suddenly, he thrust out his hand and grabbed the handle, the glow of the magic fading. For a moment, they both stared, but he snapped back to reality first and, smirking, asked smoothly, “So, how long have you been here?”
Wuya turned red with embarrassment and turned her back on the other child, stammering, “N-not long.” She hid her interest in what the Wind Apprentice had been doing by berating him. “Why aren’t you practicing your element?”
Smirking more widely, Dashi answered simply, “I am. The windsock was too easy.” Pointing over at the limp windsock, which he had balanced upright by wedging it between a pair of tables, he exclaimed, “Watch this!” After flipping the newly-created weapon from hand to hand a few times, he held the handle and began to swing it in front of himself in slow, dramatic circles. The golden sword flashed impressively as the spinning accelerated. Bracing his feet while still twirling the blade, the Wind Apprentice shouted, “Sword of the Storm!”
A monumental gust of wind burst from the vortex of the swirling blade, threatening to rip the flimsy windsock from its pole. Laughing, its controller began a more complicated pattern of spins, and the colliding winds twisted into a miniature cyclone. Luckily, Dashi decided then that the demonstration had gone far enough, and desisted, causing the winds to die down. He gave Wuya an expectant look.
The Apprentice of Earth had to suppress a slight smile. She reminded herself that she ought to be disgusted by such obvious showing off, but she was rather grudgingly impressed. To avoid having to say anything, she discreetly focused her energy into her left hand, and just like her earlier practice, a rough stone appeared, though a bit larger and far lighter than before. Fitting it into the slingshot, she aimed carefully for his, in her opinion, rather inflated head and fired. Since the rock she had conjured was so full of air that it had no real weight or density, she was quite sure that the impact would not seriously harm the other monk. Nonetheless, he never saw it coming.
“Hey! That was completely uncalled for!”
---
“That was wonderful, Chase!” Wuya gave an uncharacteristic squeal and squeezed the Water Apprentice tightly around his diminutive waist. Offering her an honest, if rather innocent smile, he returned the congratulations. The next morning had come, and the Apprentices’ elemental abilities were being assessed by the temple master. With the appearance of little or no effort at all, Chase had managed to send a shimmering arc of water through the air and into his cup, like a crystal fountain. Next, Dashi had demonstrated his wind abilities also quite easily, using both his own energy and that of his new Shen Gong Wu. Although Master Chang was exceedingly impressed with his two youngest students, he was rather less pleased when Wuya had decided to show off her stone slingshot projectiles by shattering several of the grand hall’s windows. And unfortunately, Guan had still been completely unable to light his candle, and having become quite embarrassed and depressed, was being consoled by Dashi.
Not loosening her vice-like grasp of Chase’s blue-and-red-clad waist, Wuya temporarily returned her attention to their elderly master and asked bluntly, “Master Chang, I have a question. Yesterday, you made it sound like everything you were going to be telling us was bad news. What was all the foreboding about?”
The somber, brooding expression once again darkened the temple master’s face and after a contemplative pause, he explained, “I assure you, young monks, that my apprehension is not unwarranted. You see, your elemental training is not the only thing I need to speak to you about.” Walking slowly across the smooth, wooden floor to one of the few unbroken windows, he gestured to the outside and elaborated, “At this age of the world, monsters populate the Earth as widely as humans.” At this statement, Chase’s eyes darkened and his expression turned momentarily pained, but the other children were too absorbed in Master Chang’s speech to take any notice. The elderly man continued, “Cyclopes, serpents, wicked dragons... Your responsibility as Xiaolin monks is self-improvement, to achieve all you can in the discipline of your lives; you know this already. But your responsibility as Xiaolin warriors is to oppose evil wherever it rises, to fight for the cause of good. Now that you have reached the rank of Xiaolin Apprentice, you are ready to accept this duty.”
During their master’s speech, Dashi’s characteristic cocky grin had returned full-force and, unable to contain himself any longer, he burst out, “Yes!” Twirling the Sword of the Storm, he exclaimed, “I’ve been waiting for this chance!”
Wuya snorted, folding her arms in front of her developing chest. “Just don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
With grim determination, Chase pointed out, “This won’t be easy.” Still doubtful, Guan said nothing.
Before they could begin a real conversation, Master Chang interrupted ominously, “Listen to me well, young monks. As confident as you may feel, your abilities- not only your elemental, but your physical as well- are only beginning to develop. Candles and slingshots will not help you against the truly powerful monsters. When you begin to go on quests, you must do only what I tell you to do; there is more danger in these missions than you suspect.”
He was immediately answered with a small chorus of “Yes, master,” but as the young Apprentice warriors resumed their excited conversation, he sensed that they did not truly comprehend the power of the evil forces they would face. They were young, naive, and foolish, and like all young people, they believed themselves to be invincible. As he imagined everything that could go amiss in this new stage, the sense of foreboding increased.
He hoped he was wrong.
---
End Chapter 2
---
Oh dear. Do I smell the distinct odor of foreshadowing?
Feedback is much appreciated.
Enjoy!
---
The Beginning of the End
Chapter 2
---
“What did you want to talk to us about, Master?” asked a somewhat disheveled Chase Young. He and Guan had ended up finishing the cleaning themselves; just as predicted, Dashi and Wuya had not returned to help at all. Now the four stood in a line in front of their master in the grand hall. Dashi and Chase were at least somewhat attentive, while Wuya absently picked at her nails and Guan did his best to wring the soapy water out of his braided ponytail.
“Ahem,” Master Chang cleared his throat rather loudly, drawing the eyes of his four disciples, who finally all appeared to be listening to him. Satisfied, he began, “The matter I wish to discuss concerns your promotions to Xiaolin apprentices. As Dragon-in-training, the main focus of your training was purely physical. You were taught the fighting style pertaining to your element; now you will learn to harness the element itself.” From a small wooden box that sat on the floor next to him, he produced four rather nondescript objects: a candle, an empty cup, a small windsock attached to a thin, wooden dowel, and a simple slingshot. Handing each of the items to its corresponding child, he instructed, “Go now, young monks. When you return tomorrow, I will expect you to have discovered a way to use your elements to fulfill the purposes of these items.” With that half-explanation, he collected the box and exited the room.
Turning to the others with a baffled expression, Wuya burst out, “What are we supposed to do with these!” She held her slingshot in both hands, examining it critically. “That explanation made no sense!”
“It did, in a way...” the Apprentice of Water mused thoughtfully, tossing his cup from hand to hand. However, the expectant expressions of his friends failed to coax him into elaborating on his apparent understanding.
Slightly irked, Dashi pointed out, “It’s not all that difficult. I suppose we have to create a form of our element and use it in conjunction with whatever he gave us. Guan would have to light the candle...and I guess Wuya would have to make ammunition for the slingshot.” Upon noticing the incredulous look she gave him, he shrugged, then finished, “We’ll find out tomorrow.” With a determined nod from the other three, the Apprentices each left for a quiet area of the temple where they could attempt the seemingly simple, yet confusing task.
---
“Focus...come on, focus...” Concentrating every particle of his energy into the tips of his fingers, Guan held them lightly to the wick of the candle that sat on the floor of the meditation hall in front of him and commanded silently, ‘Fire!’ Nothing happened. He tried again, harder, but his fingers didn’t even feel the slightest bit warm. Extremely frustrated, the Fire Apprentice slammed a clenched fist into the hard wooden floor, ignoring the resulting ache in the bones of his hand. Closing his eyes and exhaling slowly, he prepared for another attempt, but was interrupted by the sound of the door creaking open. Startled out of his concentration, he leapt to his feet, eyes darting around the room, before focusing on the silhouette in the doorway.
“...Guan?” came a slightly apprehensive inquiry. Since he had extinguished the lanterns in the meditation hall, it was too dark to make out a face, but the curtain of dark hair that fell to the figure’s narrow shoulders and its soft voice made it quite obvious who it was.
Lighting one of the lanterns along the wall, the Fire Apprentice gave a relieved sigh and admitted, “I’m sorry about that, Chase. You just surprised me a bit.” He sat back down on the smooth floor next to his candle and asked, “How are you doing with your element?”
“I think I have it!” Smiling happily, the smaller boy held out the cup he had been given, and with a minute twinge of jealousy, Guan noticed that it was filled to the brim with clear water. He sighed; he was honestly happy for his best friend’s achievement, but he was extremely frustrated that he couldn’t do the same.
Noticing the troubled expression on the other young monk’s face, Chase approached his friend and knelt across from him, the stubborn candle sitting between them. “I guess it’s not working so well for you,” he said sympathetically, not really expecting an answer and not receiving one. Reaching out an olive-skinned hand, he ran his fingertips over the length of the candle, examining it thoroughly, before moving to do the same with his friend’s hand. The Fire Apprentice started at the unexpected touch, and a moment later, Chase quickly retracted his hand with a hiss of pain. Guan’s fingers felt strangely warm, and he realized that in that moment of surprise, he had accidentally conjured a flash of fire. Unfortunately, the candle wick had not ignited, and the younger boy now had an angry, red burn mark to show for it. Guan opened his mouth to apologize, but the Water Apprentice shook his head with an honest, though slightly pained laugh. “See, you did it!” he exclaimed happily, offering the candle to his mortified friend. “Now you just need to learn to control it.
Sighing, Guan once again extended his hands over the candle, focusing his energy and mentally ordering it to light.
Nothing happened.
“I’m never going to get this!”
---
“That doesn’t look like practicing your element, Dashi,” Wuya pointed out grumpily, sorely tempted to pelt the bald boy with one of the stone projectiles she had managed to create for the slingshot. From the doorway of the room where she stood, his back was facing her, so she was unable to see exactly what he was doing. His hands moved constantly and erratically through the air in front of him, and as she proceeded into his room and moved around in front of him, she realized that they were circling a shimmering, translucent golden cloud that was suspended in the air and shone with an almost blinding light. His slanted eyes, though open, were glazed and sightless, and his round face was utterly devoid of expression as he worked. Whether or not she cared to admit it, she was utterly fascinated, and she watched as intently as if she was in a trance herself. Slowly, the Wind Apprentice’s hands began to abandon their random gestures and instead to trace a definite pattern within the golden mist, and as the shape was defined, the cloud began to condense and solidify. The form was that of an eccentrically-shaped blade with a cylindrical handle, made entirely of gold. Dashi traced ornate designs over the now completely solid sword, and his fingers left grooves matching the drawn patterns in the metal. Suddenly, he thrust out his hand and grabbed the handle, the glow of the magic fading. For a moment, they both stared, but he snapped back to reality first and, smirking, asked smoothly, “So, how long have you been here?”
Wuya turned red with embarrassment and turned her back on the other child, stammering, “N-not long.” She hid her interest in what the Wind Apprentice had been doing by berating him. “Why aren’t you practicing your element?”
Smirking more widely, Dashi answered simply, “I am. The windsock was too easy.” Pointing over at the limp windsock, which he had balanced upright by wedging it between a pair of tables, he exclaimed, “Watch this!” After flipping the newly-created weapon from hand to hand a few times, he held the handle and began to swing it in front of himself in slow, dramatic circles. The golden sword flashed impressively as the spinning accelerated. Bracing his feet while still twirling the blade, the Wind Apprentice shouted, “Sword of the Storm!”
A monumental gust of wind burst from the vortex of the swirling blade, threatening to rip the flimsy windsock from its pole. Laughing, its controller began a more complicated pattern of spins, and the colliding winds twisted into a miniature cyclone. Luckily, Dashi decided then that the demonstration had gone far enough, and desisted, causing the winds to die down. He gave Wuya an expectant look.
The Apprentice of Earth had to suppress a slight smile. She reminded herself that she ought to be disgusted by such obvious showing off, but she was rather grudgingly impressed. To avoid having to say anything, she discreetly focused her energy into her left hand, and just like her earlier practice, a rough stone appeared, though a bit larger and far lighter than before. Fitting it into the slingshot, she aimed carefully for his, in her opinion, rather inflated head and fired. Since the rock she had conjured was so full of air that it had no real weight or density, she was quite sure that the impact would not seriously harm the other monk. Nonetheless, he never saw it coming.
“Hey! That was completely uncalled for!”
---
“That was wonderful, Chase!” Wuya gave an uncharacteristic squeal and squeezed the Water Apprentice tightly around his diminutive waist. Offering her an honest, if rather innocent smile, he returned the congratulations. The next morning had come, and the Apprentices’ elemental abilities were being assessed by the temple master. With the appearance of little or no effort at all, Chase had managed to send a shimmering arc of water through the air and into his cup, like a crystal fountain. Next, Dashi had demonstrated his wind abilities also quite easily, using both his own energy and that of his new Shen Gong Wu. Although Master Chang was exceedingly impressed with his two youngest students, he was rather less pleased when Wuya had decided to show off her stone slingshot projectiles by shattering several of the grand hall’s windows. And unfortunately, Guan had still been completely unable to light his candle, and having become quite embarrassed and depressed, was being consoled by Dashi.
Not loosening her vice-like grasp of Chase’s blue-and-red-clad waist, Wuya temporarily returned her attention to their elderly master and asked bluntly, “Master Chang, I have a question. Yesterday, you made it sound like everything you were going to be telling us was bad news. What was all the foreboding about?”
The somber, brooding expression once again darkened the temple master’s face and after a contemplative pause, he explained, “I assure you, young monks, that my apprehension is not unwarranted. You see, your elemental training is not the only thing I need to speak to you about.” Walking slowly across the smooth, wooden floor to one of the few unbroken windows, he gestured to the outside and elaborated, “At this age of the world, monsters populate the Earth as widely as humans.” At this statement, Chase’s eyes darkened and his expression turned momentarily pained, but the other children were too absorbed in Master Chang’s speech to take any notice. The elderly man continued, “Cyclopes, serpents, wicked dragons... Your responsibility as Xiaolin monks is self-improvement, to achieve all you can in the discipline of your lives; you know this already. But your responsibility as Xiaolin warriors is to oppose evil wherever it rises, to fight for the cause of good. Now that you have reached the rank of Xiaolin Apprentice, you are ready to accept this duty.”
During their master’s speech, Dashi’s characteristic cocky grin had returned full-force and, unable to contain himself any longer, he burst out, “Yes!” Twirling the Sword of the Storm, he exclaimed, “I’ve been waiting for this chance!”
Wuya snorted, folding her arms in front of her developing chest. “Just don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
With grim determination, Chase pointed out, “This won’t be easy.” Still doubtful, Guan said nothing.
Before they could begin a real conversation, Master Chang interrupted ominously, “Listen to me well, young monks. As confident as you may feel, your abilities- not only your elemental, but your physical as well- are only beginning to develop. Candles and slingshots will not help you against the truly powerful monsters. When you begin to go on quests, you must do only what I tell you to do; there is more danger in these missions than you suspect.”
He was immediately answered with a small chorus of “Yes, master,” but as the young Apprentice warriors resumed their excited conversation, he sensed that they did not truly comprehend the power of the evil forces they would face. They were young, naive, and foolish, and like all young people, they believed themselves to be invincible. As he imagined everything that could go amiss in this new stage, the sense of foreboding increased.
He hoped he was wrong.
---
End Chapter 2
---
Oh dear. Do I smell the distinct odor of foreshadowing?
Feedback is much appreciated.
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