AnimeWriterTycoonGirl: Alright everyone! Welcome back to the world of Xiao Lin Showdown! I am trying to make good on my promises to revive this fic, as well as my other XLS fic: Kidnapped and I Think I like It. I apologize if there was anyone actively reading the old version of the story before I deleted it. I was just…revolted when I saw how childish it looked in comparison to my other, newer stories. Perhaps a few things from the old story will linger, but with better attention to detail and sticking to character personalities if possible.

I have but one request for my old readers of the story; I ask that you please, PLEASE, do not give out spoilers from the last story in your reviews. I would greatly appreciate it, especially since the only reviews I was able to filter were the ones given by anonymous guests.

So with that being said, I will soon end this A.N. with a grateful and warm welcome back to everyone from last time and an equally warm hello to any new readers/reviewers!

Story Disclaimer: I hereby swear I hold no copyrights to the Xiao Lin Showdown franchise and write purely for the love of writing with no desire for monetary gain.

Story Rating: Rated T for violence and minor swearing, occasional angst, and eventual character death farther down the road.

Happy Reading!

…

The world holds a fragile balance between that of good, and that of evil. Many times that balance is tipped in either side's favor. When tipped to the side of wickedness, otherwise known as Heylin, the world is consumed by chaos and sin. When tipped to the side of goodness, or Xiao Lin, the world retains a state of calmness and justice. Yet however vigorous the fight between these two entities, none moreso is the struggle for balance more heavily relied upon than by those who chose neither good nor evil. To be considered truly neutral to the pull of debauchery (Heylin) or righteous valor (Xiao Lin), a person is required to have an exclusively pure heart which is not corrupted by wickedness, or absorbed with the belief that there is only goodness.

By all definitions, the pure heart is a grey area that is equally spread to either side.

In this struggle for balance, one that has spanned for several millennia, that pure heart is finally revealed, ironically bringing about the largest tip in the balance upon its rediscovery…

…..…

"GO, GO, GO!" A tall dark skinned male shouted as the terrible sound of a beast resonated loudly throughout the cavernous medieval palace he and his three comrades were currently running through. The male, a Brazilian native known as Raimundo Pedrosa, nervously glanced behind him as he allowed a petite Japanese girl, a large blonde Texan cowboy, and a small Chinese monk who couldn't be older than twelve, to rush past him. Another roar followed soon after, accumulated by the yowls and snarls of several exotic feline guards. To an outsider, this was four teenagers sneaking into what was thought to be an abandoned castle for their own amusement and attempts to scare one another, that had went terribly wrong. What they wouldn't know was that these four teenagers are trained martial artists in the name of all that is good. They were Xiao Lin Dragon Warriors, all honing special abilities and powers concerning nature. Raimundo, the leader, honed the power of the Wind. The Texan cowboy, known as Clay Bailey, controlled the power of Earth. The petite Japanese girl, Kimiko Tohomiko, was a master of Fire. Finally, the small Chinese boy, known simply as Omi, was a master of the element of Water.

The set of powerful teenagers (and Omi) had set out that day to steal one of several important artifacts known as Shen Gong Wu. These artifacts are infused with a mystical power that transcends the laws of physics and logic and, in the wrong hands, could lead to chaos and mass destruction. There is an unknown amount of these artifacts spread all across the world, and as Xiao Lin monks, it was these teenagers' duty to successfully collect and protect these spiritual items from the Heylin, leading back to their current situation of running for their lives.

Tonight, the young monks embarked on a mission to the home of one of the most dangerous members of the Heylin, Chase Young. Chase Young, also known as the Heylin Prince of Darkness, was a ruthless predator of a man who 1500 years ago had been a Xiao Lin monk that sold his soul to obtain ultimate power and eternal youth. In exchange for his soul, he obtained a gruesome bestial form in the shape of a reptile that struck terror in all of his foes and even in that of his few allies. His martial art skills are nearly unmatched save for a few lucky circumstances, or whenever he felt like toying with his enemies. Indeed, sometimes the monks felt like Chase Young only gave half of his effort whenever fighting them off. He rarely went out of his way to enter a Xiao Lin Showdown, the ultimate tournament where each side fought for the object in question, unless it seemed that valuable even to him.

Tonight's mission had been to recover the Fountain of Hui, a wondrous fountain that would give you the solution to any problem, and the answer to any questions you have; a source of infinite knowledge. It was an incredibly valuable Shen Gong Wu, and they knew that the side of justice would not be able to succeed with it in the Prince of Darkness's possession. They had barely graced the atrium where the Wu was kept when they were spotted by one of Chase's many warrior cats, who promptly alerted its master.

Chase did not take it well, instantly transforming into his bestial form. In his mind, the foolish children were planning to obtain answers from the knowledgeable fountain of how to destroy him, strip him of his power, or even turn him once again to the Xiao Lin side. Any of those options proved to be too great a threat for him, and he was currently hunting them down within the great vastness that was his home along with several dozen of his feline minions.

"Oh, my friends, I am afraid we are most in for it small time!" Omi cried out as they raced down another long corridor, none of them having the slightest clue where they were and if they were any closer to an exit. To make matters worse, they failed to bring the Fountain of Hui with them, meaning it was in Chase Young's possession for yet another day until they could hopefully try again. Provided they live after this failed attempt.

Raimundo groaned at the words of his perpetually naïve friend, who hadn't the slightest understanding of modern idioms. "We're in for it big time Omi! Geez, even when we're running for our lives you can still butcher up a cliché!" he complained. Kimiko glared at the Shoku leader with piercing blue eyes as they turned around another hallway.

"What does it matter if he screwed up another saying? It'll be the last one we'll ever hear if Dojo doesn't wake up soon!" she snapped, her eyes flicking back towards the miniature green dragon that was precariously cradled in the large cowboy's hands. Dojo was the monks' primary method of transportation, transforming into a forty foot long dragon in order to fly them all across the world and collect the precious artifacts. But as of right now, he was useless after the heavy blow to the head he received from a particularly vicious black panther. "If he doesn't wake up soon, we'll have to find some other way out of here fast!" she continued.

Raimundo looked behind him; as of right now he could only hear the sounds of the beasts, which meant they had an advantage in speed for now. His eyes snapped forward again when he realized that there was a dead end in front of them. "Crap!" he seethed, feeling particularly hopeless right now, as he could nothing for his friends and teammates. There was a window high above them, but Raimundo would never be able to generate enough wind to carry them all up there in time before Chase caught up to them. Their best bet would have been Dojo, who was still out cold. His eyes flitted about quickly as the noises behind them grew louder. "That door! Clay, try and open it, quick!" he ordered, as his eyes settled on the ancient looking door that was to the left of the wall.

Clay looked like he wanted to protest; who knew what kind of nefarious things could be behind it, after all? Though he knew he had no choice if he and his teammates were going to make it out of here alive, so he immediately set to work opening the large door without a sound, and the four of them (with Dojo) slipped inside and he sealed it just as swiftly as he had opened it, making it appear as though it had never been disrupted.

None of them risked looking around the room as they slumped to the floor panting, desperately trying to regain their breath now that the adrenaline was fading off. Raimundo's keen ears were able to make out sounds from behind the door and held up a hand for everyone to keep as quiet as possible. Carefully, he pressed his ear up against the door.

Chase Young's normally smooth baritone, which was currently altered due his transformation, could be heard right outside of the door and Raimundo swore in his mind, unable to do anything if Chase opened the door in that instant.

"…must have awoken and flown them out of the window. But just to be safe, sweep the rest of the palace. Look for any evidence that could imply the meddlesome monks are still here. Should they be, I want them alive; I shall deal with them personally. Now go!" he could hear the ancient warlord command to his many servants. Raimundo winced as the Heylin Prince slammed a powerful fist into something solid (presumably the wall adjacent to the door) and held his breath until he was sure that the coast was clear.

Raimundo closed his eyes in relief and let out a quiet sigh. "Ok, I think we'll be good in here until Dojo wakes up." He decided, turning around to look at his teammates with a grin. None of them were looking at him, and were instead looking in horror at the center of the room. Raimundo didn't understand until he did so himself.

Of his initial impression of the room, it looked like a large indoor pool of some sorts, though he doubted the Heylin overlord swam laps for exercise or leisure. There were smooth rocks that allowed for warming off and a large gaping hole in the ceiling that allowed for sunlight to pour into the room. When Raimundo had seen that he had been so relieved that there would be an instant way out once Dojo woke up, but then he finally saw what everyone else was gasping at.

Within the large pool was a young girl, at least he thought it was a young girl from what he could see, lying at the bottom of the pool.

…

AWTG: Alright. This is a rather short chapter, but it's able to get the point across a lot better than the first time I wrote the story. The next chapter will be longer, and then from then on I'm intending for chapters to be roughly around 5000 to 8000 words long. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter will be up very soon.

~Ciao!