I disclaim Xiaolin Showdown and all its characters, I in no way profit by writing this fanfiction.

(though, If I DID own XS, Chack would totally be canon and there would be a LOT more seasons, lol)

hope you enjoy the story!

Chapter 40

Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo, and Clay took a seat at the table as Clay's grandmother set bowls down in front them, spooning large helpings of a delicious smelling curry into the bowls.

"Wow, that smells GREAT!" Dojo said, sticking his head out from under the rim of Clay's hat. The old woman chuckled, and set out another bowl for the dragon " Well, hello there! Help yourself..." she smiled, turning to look at Clay and the other monks "...It's SO good to finally meet your friends, Clay..." she said as she leaned over, smooching the young mans cheek as she removed his hat, and ruffled his hair "No hats at the table, Clay"

"Yes, Meema" Clay said obediatly, putting his hat on the back of the chair

Mrs. Yates was the exact opposite of her husband...While his features could be described as rugged, or Neanderthal-like, SHE looked like a beautiful fairy grandmother with fine, delicate features that would not have been out of place in a tokien-esque Universe, had she been an elf...Why someone like HER would be married to someone like HIM, well...

Life was funny that way.

"Yeah...Just a shame he brought them over for a bunch of nonsense..." the older man grumbled, take a drink from a bottle of some kind of beer his wife had given him. "Comin' over here just to nag us about a bunch of stupid sh-"

"Kanuna!" the old woman snapped warningly

The old man huffed, grunting out a muffled apology as he began working on his food. Mary shook her head, giving a soft sigh "That man...Sweetie..." she said, smiling over at Clay "We're both grateful for your concern...But your stubborn mule of a grandfather is right about one thing... We're really not..." she trailed off, a pained expression on her face "...We CAN'T go through another war like that again...The first one was bad enough..." she said as she sat down to her meal She was several bites in before she spoke again "...We barely made it out with our lives the first time...I just don't think we could go through all that again..." she said softly as she resumed her meal "...It took us a long time to recover...We had nightmares for decades after it ended..." she shuddered, putting a hand on her husbands shoulder, which he absently laid a hand over as he said nothing, and continued to eat. "Kanuna would hear noises in the night, and it would send him into a panic attacks..."

"PTSD...?" Kimiko asked softly, looking at the man with concern

"...Somethin' like that..." Kanuna grumbled as he took another swig of his beer "...It's in the past... And that's where it belongs" he added with a stern, firm tone "...Ain't no point in talkin' 'bout it now"

Clay sighed, setting down his spoon "I'm sorry, GrandDaddy...Meema...I didn't mean to bring back any bad memories...I just don't want Hannibal Bean to get to you...I want ya'll to be SAFE!"

"We're safe HERE, Clay..." his grandmother smiled reassuringly "...We've been here for a long time...Trust me, ee can manage just fine on our own... If you want the weapons, we'll gladly turn them over... But we're not going anywhere...I'm sorry if you're disappointed."

"I'm mostly just concerned that-" He started, being cut off as Kimiko's Satelite Cell Phone began to ring rather loudly.

Everyone at the table turned towards the japanese girl, who gave a nervous laugh "Ooh, that's me...Hold on a sec..." she said, pulling out the device "...Huh?...It's Master Fung"

"Master Fung?" Omi repeated, looking surprise "He does not usually call us when we are on a mission..."

"What's the Fungmiester want?" Raimundo asked in between bites of his curry

"I dunno, let me see..." she said, pressing a button as she held the phone to her ear "Master Fung? Yeah, it's me, Kimiko, is everything okay? You don't normally call us during-" She started, her face suddenly going pale as she gasped, dropping her phone, which clattered to the table loudly "KAMI!"

Raimundo stood quickly "Kim, what's wrong?" he asked, frowning seriously. Kimiko picked up the phone with shaking hands "...Yes...Yes, I'm still here, Master... We'll come back right away...Yes..Yes, as fast as we can... Goodbye..." she said, ending the call as she just stared at the phone in shock, sinking slowly back into her seat

"Kim?" Clay asked, his voice concerned, and worried "...What's wrong? You're paler than cat that caught caught in the cream"

"We need to get back to the temple RIGHT NOW" Kimiko said standing upright and shoving herself away from the table, grabbing the bowl and shoveling the food that was left into her mouth.

"Kimiko, what HAPPENED?!" Omi said, grabbing her sleeve. The dragon of fire looked down at the little bald monk and sighed, wiping her mouth on her sleeve as her hands curling into fists, her eyes closing as she gritted her teeth

"...Chucky Choo is dead..."

"WHAT?!"

"...Hannibal Bean snuck onto the temple grounds...and murdered him... and stole his heart..."

"Oh, my gods..." Omi said, his hands going to his mouth, a look of shock and horror on his face. Dojo looked pale "Chucky is...? But...No, he...I just saw him this morning...!"

"Dojo...I'm SO sorry, Clay started, reaching out for the dragon, who shoved his hand away as he began to hyperventilate "No, I...I-I can't breath...This can't be happening...This CAN'T be happening!"

"Dojo-"

"NO!"

The little dragon jumped off the table, slithering outside as quickly as possible, barely holding back his tears as he burst out the front door, letting out a cry of pure pain as he transformed into his true size, flying up into the air at full speed, writhing in pain as deep sobbing roars broke from him...Sounds of raw, unnatural SCREAMS of grief that would echo for miles around.

Clay grabbed his hat as the other monks rushed out after the dragon. Standing in the doorway of his grandparents home, Clay raised his hat to cover his face, frowning as he grit his teeth, his empty hand curling into a fist, a few tears leaking into view on his cheek as his knuckles cracked

"That...bastard..."

Kanuna laid a hand on his grandsons shoulder and sighed heavily, his eyes narrowing as he looked over at his wife "Mary...Go get the trunk..."

Mary nodded silently, squeezing her husbands shoulder as she vanished back inside. It had been YEARS... Decades even... since they'd last held their weapons.

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Omi watched the dragon with a pained expression, tears in his eyes as one of his hands clutched at his robe, above his heart. "...We need to go back to temple..." he mumbled

"Yeah...Right now." Raimundo agreed, putting a hand on Omi's back. "You stay here...I'll go see if I can talk him down..." Raimundo muttered, moving towards the weeping dragon.

Kimiko wrapped her arms around Omi, pulling him into a hug "...I can't even imagine how Master Monk Guan monk must be feeling...Today was their anniversary! They had a surprise party planned...!"

"Chucky Choo got a surprise alright..." Omi muttered "...Just not the one they were expecting..."

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"Clay..."

"Yeah, Meema?" Clay asked, turning around, only to blink as he saw his grandmother standing there holding something wrapped in cloth

"You'll need these..." Mary said, unwrapping the cloth carefully, revealing a small, intricately carved box covered in artful patterns and runes to her grandson "...Take them..."

"Are these-" Clay started, reaching out to lift the lid of the box, only for Kanuna to place his hand on the lid quickly, keeping it shut "Yes it is. Don't open that HERE" Kanuna said firmly "There's a seal on the box that keeps them from being detected through magical means... You keep that box shut until you get back at the temple, ya hear?" he said with a stern frown

"Yes sir, GrandDaddy..." the earth dragon said, nodding in understanding "I won't..."

"Good boy..." the man sighed, patting his grandsons shoulder before pulling him into a tight bear hug. Stowwing the box away, Clay returned the embrace. Mary joined him in, squeezing their grandson tightly as she peppered kisses on his forehead

"You be safe out there, Clay..."Mary said, patting his cheeks gently "...We can't stop you from doing what you have to do...But PLEASE be careful..."

"I'll try...I love you, Meema...GrandDaddy..."

"We love you too, Clay..." she said, kissing his forehead again, "...And Please...come visit us more often?"

"Of course..." Clay nodded, giving a weak laugh as he sniffed, wiping his eyes on his sleeve as Raimundo was finally able to coax the dragon down from the sky.

"CLAY! COME ON, WE NEED TO GO!"

"I'm comin'!" he yelled, turning back to his grandparents with a nod, tilting his hat to them "I love ya'll...Be safe!" he called, tilting his hat to the couple before he turned and bolted over to his friends and fellow dragons.

The couple would watch as the four young monks leapt onto the still mourning dragons back, and disappeared into the sky above.

"Honey?"

"Yeah?"

"...Do you think we made the right choice?"

"...I don't know"

"Clear your mind, Spicer..." Chase muttered softly as they sat together in the garden "And remember your breathing..."

"Right, yeah, I know " Jack grumbled "It's just...Clearing my mind isn't exactly EASY, you know?"

The two of them were sitting on the ground in Jacks newly renovated garden, practicing meditation...to help Jacks mind and soul learn to be in focus, and in tune with his element. So far, there had been little success in getting Jack to properly do so.

"Then just try to think of as little as possible, Spicer...Think of something boring"

"THAT I can probably do..." Jack chuckled "A lot of things are boring to me...Say, what do you think about when you meditate, Master Chase?"

"Mostly my latest plots on how to take over the world..." he informed "Or how to convert Omi and the other xiaolin monks over to the side of evil..."

"Yeah yeah yeah...You and your weird obsession with the cheeseball..." Jack snorted, rolling his eyes

"Young Omi has great evil potential..." Chase informed, raising an eyebrow "He would make a worthy minion"

"Yeah, I'm sure..." he grumbled, shaking his head before he glanced back over at his master "Say, that reminds me..."

"Yes, Jack?"

"All your minions are big cats, right?"

"Most of them, yes."

"What would Kimiko turn into, like, if you transformed her? Japan doesn't have any big cats, does it?"

"No...Probably a Tigress..." Chase said after a moment " She'd make a lovely one, I think..."

"Yeah, I could see that..." he nodded in agreement "What about Clay? Mountain Lion?"

"Almost certainly..." he nodded "Either that or perhaps a jaguar...They've been known to enter the southern US rarely...But logically, a Mountain Lion would be more practical..."

"Wait, they do?" Jack asked, a grin quirking up at the edge of his mouth"That's pretty cool...Raimundo would be a jaguar for sure, though" he said as he stretched out his arms and back "Going back to Omi, though...What exactly WAS he, when you transformed him that one time?" he asked, raising an eyebrow "he looked KINDA like a normal cat...But bigger"

"Catopuma Temminckii"

"...Say what now?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow at his master

"The Asian Golden Cat..." Chase clarified "It's a medium sized wild cat found in southern China..."

"Ooooh...! I've never seen one in person before"

"They're more common in other parts of Asia" Chase explained "I thought it would be an interesting addition to my collection."

"Gotcha...Though I imagine larger cats are easier to use as warriors...Then again, Omi is pretty competent for someone so small..." Jack shrugged "...What do you think I would turn into?" he asked curiously.

Chase was silent for a few moments as he considered this uestion "Hmm...A Cheetah, perhaps..." he mused "Delicate, in some ways...But still capable..."

"Not to mention the killer eyeliner, huh...?" Jack smirked, raising an eyebrow

Chase snorted "Of course THAT'S the part you'd be concerned with...Though I'd be lying If I said that the thought HADN'T crossed my mind..." he admitted with a small smirk.

Jack laughed heartily, shaking his head as he and Chase resumed their attempts to meditate. Chase watched with one eye open as the young man took deep, calming breaths and began to relax much more easily than before. Regarding his new apprentice, he felt his mouth quirk up into a small smile. Spicer had shown a lot of improvement over the last few months... Being the new Dragon of Metal, he would be a worthy student and partner in evil...

But thank the evil gods he'd finally grown out of his annoying, clingy habits from his younger days...

Then again...considering how clingy his parents were, and his lack of support in the fields of evil, and his massive genius, and various health-related issues, and being ignored and belittled by everyone...Perhaps Spicers issues had less to do with being annoying and more of a lack of structure and opportunities to improve...Maybe Spicer never HAD been all that BAD, apart from being rather clingy and whiny...But then again, THAT could very well have been a result of his lack of proper socialization combined with his over-enthusiasm...

Well...The past was the past. This was the NOW.

And NOW...Spicer was shaping up to be a FINE apprentice.

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Hannibal watched the two from the comfort of his ying-ying bird's head, perched on the roof high above as he looked down at the two

"Aw...Look, Ying-Ying... Chase and Jack are gettin' along... Just look at that smile on Young's face..." His smile darkened as a wicked chuckle escaped his throat "How wholesome, and sweet...Let's see how long it takes to wipe that smile off his smug little face of his...

...So...

2020 has been friggen insane, huh?

Things have been crazy, but, I'm still alive, and I hope all of you are okay too...

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I was going to post it up earlier this year, but things have been crazy, and I've not been in the best place, mental health wise, so writing has been a lot more difficult than usual...

Here's the thing, I actually had to write this chapter TWICE.

When I finally was able to get into a good place to write this chapter, my computers hard drive decided to die, and I lost all my files...including this chapter..

It took me a while to get my laptop back from the shop, due to the Corona keeping most of their employees out when i had this taken in, but everything is good now, and I was able to re-write the chapter again.

...about 3 months past my scheduled update time .

Hopefully I can get the next chapter out VERY soon. I plan to post the next few chapters much more frequently, to try to make up for being so goddamn late. Current plan is to update once a month.

Stay safe out there, everyone. Be sure to practice Social Distancing, wear your masks, and wash your hands. I care too much about my readers to want even a single one of you to risk yourselves getting ill :(

I love you all

~Xilex90~