We Need to Talk About Omi, Chapter Two

[lonewolfprincess]

The dragon ride back to the temple was… awkward, to say the least. Mia tried to let things go, lighten up enough to be good company for their guest, the topic moving onto music, which everyone lit up about. Omi was… quiet, still not sure what to say or do, whether to move on as well or—

“Dude.” Raimundo broke through Omi’s thoughts, quiet but firm. Thankfully it was just the two of them on this section of Dojo’s back. “What was all that?”

Omi paused for a few seconds, decided that playing dumb would be futile, so would being stubborn and doubling up, and sighed.

“It is as I said. Mia’s tactic was honorable but reckless, and…” he flinched, shoving down the pain, “I was deeply worried Chase Young would hurt her…”

Raimundo nodded solemnly. “Not sure the ‘honorable’ or ‘worried’ parts got through, bud.”

Omi sighed. “I know…”

“So… what’re you gonna do?”

Omi sat silent for a few seconds… then scooted over to the more animated crowd, catching all their attention. Once Mia’s eyes locked onto his, he gave her a sitting bow.

“I… wish to apo—”

“Nightfall.”

Omi lifted his head to give her a puzzled look. “Come again?”

“Nightfall, the field outside the temple wall. You can come too, Jermaine.” Then Mia held out her hand and gave him a grin that was somehow both friendly and wicked. “Let’s settle this like warriors.”

“Uh… what exactly do you have in mind?” Jermaine asked, credulous at being roped into whatever this was.

“I… do not have the slightest idea.” But… he did owe her for earlier, and it wouldn’t be right to dishonor her challenge. With a firm nod, he reached out and shook her hand. “Very well, Mia. I accept your mystery challenge!”

The firm, eager grip and handshake back eased his worries.

The way her grin grew piled on a host of new ones.

“Oh, this is going to be awesome,” she chuckled, in a way that made everyone’s eyes widen and Omi gulp.



Omi and Jermaine stepped down the stairs of the temple’s main gate into the wide field of tall grass. The last vestiges of sunlight clung to the western horizon behind the mountains, trimming the deep blue sky with purple as the full moon rose in the east.

“So, we’re just… walking outside the temple, on the night of a full moon, to meet up with a werewolf who’s been scheming in her room since dinner?” Jermaine asked, starting to regret all his life choices. “You know this is horror movie nonsense, right?”

Omi patted his friend’s forearm as they departed the last step.

“Fear not, Jermaine. I do not believe Mia wishes us harm. … Well, no more harm than a spar would bring. And even if she did, we are both Wudai Warriors! It would be too easy to defeat her!”

“Riiight… that’s reassuring…” Jermaine shook his head, and he resolved to bring some horror DVDs the next time he visited.

Suddenly, loud, racing strums from an electric guitar cut through the quiet of the night behind them, and the boys jumped with very manly screams before turning to literally face the music.

Mia cackled at their scared faces, Raimundo’s boombox blasting out more hard rock behind her. She grinned wildly as she stepped forward, fists thrown into the air with pointer and pinky fingers extended.

“Welcome to the jungle, boys! Didn’t scare you too badly, did I?”

“N-no!” Omi piped up, a little higher-pitched than he intended. “No, we were not scared, merely… startled.”

“Y-yeah, we’re cool,” Jermaine stuttered, completely undermining his attempt to deepen his voice to mask any cracking.

“Suuure…” She shook her head with a bemused smile, before giving them a serious smirk. “So, here’s my challenge. Marathon spar, either two on one against me or free-for-all, your choice. No Wu, weapons, or powers. And we try to match the tempo of whatever song is playing.”

Huh. That didn’t sound so bad. Actually, it seemed kind of fun, even if Omi thought the music was loud and harsh on his ears.

“And one more thing. We won’t be fighting with just our fists…” Mia took a deep breath as she stepped forward. This would be the hard part… “I’ll be putting my heart and soul in the open, and I hope you guys do the same. Whatever we say here stays between the three of us unless we say otherwise.” She held out a hand to both of them. “Do you accept?”

Omi looked up to those gray eyes, solemn as if offering a duel to the death… or a lifeline. He knew he was hiding it poorly, a small voice in the back of his mind saying that the truth would release him, but…

Jermaine nodded as he stepped forward, firmly clasping Mia’s hand. “I’m in.”

Omi took in the sight, took a long, deep breath… and reached up to clasp their hands.

“I am also in.”

The three shared of smile… and then felt a pulse of something as soft and fast as a heartbeat spread from their hands, through their bodies, out into the field around them.

Jermaine blinked. “What was that?”

Mia looked between the two of them before shaking her head, just as confused and looking ready to pull away.

“No idea… Still figuring out how these powers work.”

“It did not feel bad, though.” Actually… Omi thought it felt nice. Somehow like the light, cool fabric of the Shroud of Shadows.

Mia smiled, surprised and flattered at the appraisal, before releasing their hands and dropping into a low stance.

“Okay, okay… let’s get this started already.”

The boys grinned, and all at once the teens broke into a flurry of movement.

Omi punched and chopped and kicked with almost blinding speed, agile but straightforward jumps propelling him around the tall grass like a pinball. Jermaine’s style was poised between Omi’s and Raimundo’s, still fast and hard but with more flourishes and feints, quickly-changing footwork like the field was a basketball court.

Mia didn’t have the luxury of years of practice for that kind of speed, or the strength to defend for long, but she did have stamina and determination. She could field the volley of blows with hard blocks, and when a move sent her sprawling into the grass, she’d try to hold onto her opponent and counterattack from the unexpected angle, jumping to her feet with a flipping leap once they got away.

“I’m worried about you, Omi!” Mia cried out, even as she fell to her back to deflect Omi’s latest pounce with a kick. “It’s not just the Chase incident; you’ve been off for days!”

“She’s got a point, man,” Jermaine said, arms crossed to fend off a barrage of Omi kicks. “I haven’t heard you brag once since I got here!”

“Omi? Brag?” Mia shook her head credulously as she rose and steadied her stance. “Not once have I ever heard him brag.”

Omi cringed as he skidded to a halt in the grass, eyes closed. “‘Modesty reaps rewards, arrogance reaps pain.’”

Jermaine blinked in shock and… worried pain. What on Earth was going on?

Mia, though, grimaced as if slapped in the face.

“Proverbs? Really?” She rooted her stance deeper and took a harsh breath through her nose. “Fine, I’ll start for real then. Leopard Strike!” She ran towards Omi, hands chambered in claw position for once she closed the gap. “You saying you didn’t need my help was a low blow! I thought we were teammates! I thought you meant it when you said I was worthy!”

Oh. Omi froze, almost but not quite missing the opportunity to block her incoming strike, grabbing her arms and using her momentum to throw her over his head.

“Turtle Throwing Lion!” Mia rolled on the ground behind him, and Omi pivoted to keep her in his line of sight. “I did mean it! And we are teammates! But I am also your senior in training! It is my duty to protect you, not the other way around!”

Mia scoffed as she rose, eyes wide with fury. “That’s garbage, Omi! Wolf Attacking Ox!”

She charged at him again, trying for a feint on his left but still easily deflected.

“I don’t know what being the Xiaolin Dragon of the Moon means to you,” she rolled as Omi spun her away to the ground, running at him again to pounce from above, landing roughly on her feet when Omi deflected her again, “but to me it means more than being some little damsel whose only job is to glow while the big stwong Wudai and Shoku Warriors take all the risks!” She screamed as Omi once again fended off her attack. “I’m not going to be a Dragon-in-Training forever, and I’m always going to be older than you!” She ran at him with a barrage of punches, all easily blocked. “I have just! As much! Of a right! To protect you! Just like you have the right to be protected!”

Omi growled as he shoved her away on the last block.

“Against Chase Young?! The five of us can barely lift a lamp to him, and we are all Wudai Warriors! If he was not busy toying you, he could’ve—” the words caught in his throat again… so he shoved them down, pushed new ones out with a shout. “You do not know what he is capable of, Mia!”

“And you do.” Her growling voice was low, even, no drops of question, sarcasm, or even anger as she looked to both of them.

Omi hung his head in shame. Jermaine nodded grimly.

“Chase made me think he was some great Xiaolin master for the good side. Trained me for the better part of a year before Omi dawg opened my eyes.”

Mia… blinked at him, utterly baffled. “You… really? That guy?”

She was… trying not to judge, but considering that to her ears Chase Young’s voice had the echoes of hundreds of doomed dragons clinging to it, and to Tori’s Sight his soul looked like something Lovecraft would cook up if he had a lizard phobia, it was hard to picture how anyone could misread the “Obviously Evil, Kicks Baby Carriages For Fun” signs.

Jermaine began to rub the back of his neck, grateful the falling shadows could hide a blush, but Omi held up a hand and shook his head.

“That is what I mean; Chase Young is most devious with his words. And… he was a Xiaolin master once.”

I thought he could be again… The words rested right on his tongue, why couldn’t he just say them?

“And that’s why I wanted to get him off your backs. Badger Biting Elk!” Mia turned her attacks to Jermaine, trying and failing to sweep kick him before launching into a barrage of low strikes. “He’s already hurt you at least once each, right?” Mia spat out a growl. “Knew he was a sleazeball from day one, but anyone that tries to mess with kids?” She paused her attack and backed off, clutching her arm as fur and claws began to sprout. “You don’t deserve that.”

Omi bowed his head again. “Jermaine does not… I—”

“Only joined him when he tricked and forced you into it,” Jermaine cut off bluntly, arms crossed. “Homegirl’s right. Swan Playing Trumpet!” Jermaine exploded towards Omi with a flurry of sweeping knife-handed strikes, all blocked but not without some effort. “If Chase really thought all his ‘join me on the dark side’ nonsense would work on you, he’d just wait you out. He’s got nothing but time. So, the clown had to cheat. And you and the others fought to get yourself free before the week was even out, which… has anyone done that before? Just upped and left him?”

Omi thought… and shook his head. “Not to my knowledge.”

“Then you two might be the first,” Mia said with a calm, sure smirk. “Getting out of a situation like that is always something to be proud of, no matter how long or how much help it takes. I meant every word back there; you’re so much stronger than him, Omi. You’re worthy too.”

Jermaine smiled and nodded so gently… but both warriors gasped in alarm as Omi fell to his knees, the long grass nearly swallowing him up.

“That is not it…” Omi sniffed, hastily wiping at tears that fell despite his embarrassment. “It isn’t… I… I failed miserably on my Wudai Quest in every way, except to realize I am not meant to be a leader. A-and this afternoon… I treated you most shamefully, Mia. I—”

“Hey…” He looked up to that suddenly soft voice, the Moon Dragon kneeling in front of him with such a gentle smile. “You seriously think I don’t get it? I am… probably never going to fully forgive myself for how I spoke to you guys in that alley…”

“What? But we—whoa!”

Before he could finish, Mia suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace.

“I’m not sorry for trying to protect you, Omi. But I am sorry I scared you that much…” She pulled back to look at him, her own eyes glassy with tears. “Getting angry when you’re scared sucks, right?”

Omi let out a hiccup of a laugh, unable to say or do anything more than nod and try to wipe away more tears.

Jermaine’s eyes were the only ones still dry, but his smile was just as warm and soft as he knelt down in the grass, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. Mia gave a still-tender grin and pulled him swiftly into the hug.

“Same goes for you, Jermaine. You got out, and that’s what matters.”

Jermaine nodded. “Thanks, girl.”

The three stayed there like that for a long moment, oblivious to the metal instrumental in the background gradually slowing down before ending on a long guitar note accompanied by a gong crash.

Mia gasped. “Oh my gosh, it’s Orion!” She jumped out of the group hug, oblivious to the boys falling over and bonking their heads together as she ran over to the boombox, somehow cranking up the volume even higher.

Omi popped his head up from the grass first. “Orion?”

Mia grinned and nodded, hurriedly gesturing for them to come over. They did so just after the guitar note finally faded, and the bass guitar entered back in, playing a short, gentle, waltzing, almost playful melody, gradually joined by crystalline notes on the synth on each loop. Then, finally, the drums and electric guitar returned, but even then the drums were simple, and the guitar notes long, lazy, almost gentle as they wove up and down the scale.

Omi’s eyes widened in awe. “This is… actually most beautiful.”

“Gee, thanks.” But it was clear from her voice and teasing smile that she wasn’t offended at all.

Their gazes all turned skyward again, taking in the bright moon and shining stars, letting the sweeping metal waltz wash over them, guarded by shadows and… still. Serene. It’d been a long time since Omi felt this deeply at peace…

Then all too soon, two quick drumbeats brought the melody to an end, and the electric guitar returned to long, crunchy notes to signal the steady charging melody from the first third of the song. As the thrumming melody slowly faded away, Mia rose up to pause the boombox.

“So… what’d you think?”

Jermaine smiled and nodded. “That was tight! Didn’t know old-school rock could go that soft.”

Omi’s smile was much softer, sweeter. “It… felt like us. All of us…”

Undaunted charges into battle to protect the world, punctuated by moments of peace and unity. How fitting, that this song would share a name with the Wudai Orion Formation.

“Yeah, Enter Sandman and Master of Puppets are Metallica’s big hits, but Orion’s always been my favorite.” Mia nodded, raising the devil horns into the air again. “Rest well, Cliff.”

Omi tilted his head. “Why would a cliff need to rest?”

“Ah…” Mia fought down a chuckle. “No, no, it’s… the bassline we just heard? Cliff Burton is the one who played it, he’s one of the best bassists in the world. He wrote most of the song too.” Her face sobered. “This was years ago but… the band’s bus crashed on tour, and… he didn’t make it.”

Oh. Both boys’ faces fell. Jermaine bowed his head and tapped his fist to his heart.

“Respect.”

Mia nodded. “The last time Metallica played it was at his funeral. To this day, they haven’t played the song in concert, at least not wholly.”

Omi nodded soberly, shrinking back into himself. He… didn’t know how to honor his own grief, or even if he should. His friends were alive, present, but… he’d still seen their deaths. But if he acknowledged it here, that would mean letting the others know…

“HEY, GUYS!”

The three of them jumped up at Tori’s voice from the top of the stairs, all of them dismissing the feeling of a bubble bursting. The Sun Dragon waved her arms frantically, still clad in orange floral-print pajamas and a pink silk bonnet.

“Sorry to interrupt, but DJ’s sensing a new Shen Gong Wu!”

“On it!” Mia hefted the boombox in her arms, marching up the steps to balance speed and care with the heavy but delicate equipment.

Jermaine… hesitated, giving Omi a look. “You okay, man?”

Omi rose, sober and not quite at peace, but… surer than he’d been in days. He nodded in kind.

“I believe I will be.” He turned to the stairs, a determined smile slowly blooming. “Now, let us get that Shen Gong Wu!”



Raimundo opened the Ancient Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu as they rode on Dojo’s back.

“Ah, I was wondering when the Meteor Maul would show up,” Dojo exclaimed as the Scroll showed the silhouette of a war hammer, one blunt end of its head balanced with a long, curling horn of a spike. “Whoever wields it can increase the surrounding gravity.” The little illustrated warrior hammered the ground, causing his opponent to fall to the ground as if trapped under a hydraulic press, a nearby tree snapping down as well. “It’d be nice if I didn’t have to deal with the hot flashes though…”

Everyone cringed as the giant dragon they were all sitting on began to sweat, less concerned with his suffering and more about the moisture and the smell threatening their clothes.

“I have so many questions about how a reptile has sweat glands,” Mia winced, “and I want none of them answered…”

Kimiko outright stood up, not wanting her outfit ruined. “Please tell me someone brought a transportation Wu…” Unfortunately, everyone shook their heads. “Uuuuugh…”

Thankfully, their destination wasn’t too far off. It was a small, remote island in the middle of the Pacific, not far enough east for the sun to start rising. Thankfully, they had plenty of light from the full moon overhead… and from the vigorous streams of lava pouring down from the mountain’s top.

“Uh… Dojo?” Jermaine winced. “You sure this is the right spot, man?”

The giant dragon nodded as it flew closer. “That’s what the heat rash is telling me…”

“Right…” The Wudai Warrior sighed. “Remind me why I decided to visit again?”

“Because you missed our company?” Omi asked innocently.

A blink… and then Jermaine chuckled, offering his homey a sincere fistbump.

“Well, got that right.”

Thankfully, there was still quite a bit of solid ground not being consumed by lava flows, and the pack of teens disembarked on the black rock cliff high above the shore.

Tori closed her eyes, taking in everyone’s auras before spotting the pillar of golden light.

“Okay, I think I see it. It’s further up the mountain on—”

“Tori!”

Mia’s shout made the Sun Dragon’s eyes snap open, and she looked up to find her sister guarding her from stepping towards a small eddy in the lava.

“Phew, thanks, Sis.”

“Here, this might help.” Omi pulled out a black-lacquer statue of an insect, gold scrolling decorating the shell and ruby eyes glinting in the lava-light. Grinning, everyone reached out to touch it. “Black Beetle!”

The Shen Gong Wu glowed, and in an instant the small statue expanded into a large black raft, floating perfectly unharmed on the lava. Everyone piled in, Raimundo taking point at the back of the raft, pulling out a familiar bronze sword.

“Sword of the Storm!”

A gust of wind ushered from the spinning blade, and everyone shouted as the wind propelled them up the mountain, surfing on the lava flow like a white-water river.

Dojo burped from where he was limply coiled around Clay’s shoulders. “Great… heat flashes and motion sickness… And I was having a nice night too…”

Mia rummaged through her backpack before pulling out a tiny handheld fan in colorful plastic, wordlessly pointing it at Dojo’s head. A flick of a switch, and the buzzing fans produced a tiny stream of air. It would’ve been pitiful for a full-sized human, but for the tiny little dragon, the wind aimed right at his face felt like heaven.

“Ooooh…” He melted against Clay in relief. “Thanks, sweetheart…”

The cowboy offered her a brief smile too. It was always sweet, when she showed off her kinder side. … Not to mention he really, really didn’t want to wash dragon barf out of his clothes, so he was thankful for that too.

A glint caught Kimiko’s eye, and she leaned over the side of the raft to point to a rock jutting out from the flow, and resting neatly on it…

“There, the Meteor Maul!”

The massive war hammer, nearly a foot over Omi’s head, nearly blended into the dark lava rock around it, only the bronze scrolling over its cast-iron head giving it away.

Raimundo altered the stream so the Beetle would stay in place. Kimiko and Clay both stood up and cracked their knuckles.

“Longhorn Taurus! Wudai Crater, Earth!” A stiff rise of his hand, and a massive wall of rugged black rock shot forth upstream of the Shen Gong Wu, diverting the lava away.

“Cat’s Eye Draco! Wudai Mars, Fire!” An upward flick of her wrist, and the heat of the remaining lava and surrounding rock shot into the air in a harsh cloud of steam, hardening and cooling the ground enough for them to walk on.

Omi disembarked first, everyone following close behind.

“The Meteor Maul is ours!”

Just as his hand reached out to grasp the Maul’s handle, a giant mechanical hand plucked the Maul from the rock like a toothpick. The kneeling Jack-Mech rose to its full height, Jack Spicer and Wuya both hovering proudly near its head.

“Jack Spicer!” Omi called out as everyone shifted into fighting stances.

“Ain’t it past your bedtime, boy?” Jermaine called out, shaking his fist at the Evil Boy Genius.

“Hey, the only one who sets my bedtime is me!” Jack hollered back. … Before realizing what he just said, blinking, and clearing his throat into his fist. “Jack-Bot, Attack!”

Yes, he only had the one Jack-Bot. But at this size, one Jack-Bot was probably all he needed. As it handed off the Meteor Maul to its master, it lifted one large, boot-like servo, ready to stomp down. Everyone scattered with shouts. Omi looked over his shoulder to find Raimundo just barely leaping out of the way before the giant metal foot reached the jagged ground.

“Omi…! Use the Sands of Time…!”

No… Omi stiffened, adrenaline flooding his limbs but he couldn’t move…

“HEY! Down here, Mobile Suit Junkheap!” Mia shouted, fist shaking up at the colossus.

Hot white light arced down from the robot’s shoulder to a suddenly barrel-like servo, and aimed it at the tiny pest. Clay gasped, tackling her out of the way of the cannon’s bright white laser.

“FIRE, FIRE, FIIIIRE!” A barrage of bright white cannon fire, faster than Omi could count. He and Raimundo dodged in time… Clay…

Omi’s chest tightened, no, no no no, he couldn’t freeze like this, he needed to move, why wasn’t he moving?

Kimiko gritted her teeth as she leapt in front of Tori, hand flying to her satchel.

“Arrow Sparrow, Fire!”

The bot managed to stagger back a few paces… but then it bent down, sharp metal claws pinching around her backpack and hoisting her into the air.

“Hey!”

Kimiko squirming in the robot’s grasp. Evil Jack Spicer, Emperor of Darkness, gave her a thumbs up… before flipping it downward, grinning sadistically…

“NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”

Omi’s form flooded with Water, Kaijin Charm extended and sparking like an ocean thunderstorm without being called.

The roar of waves rushed up from behind them, to the left, to the right, cresting over the top of the volcano, until the whole island was perfectly encased in a dome of sea water.

More water rushed up the mountain to the battlefield, the rocks and lava hissing futilely as the sea drowned them up to the Warriors’ ankles, snaked up the Jack-Mech’s giant body and winding down the arm holding Kimiko aloft to the elbow.

The watery vines suddenly hardened with deafening cracks, and sharp spikes of ice the size of Omi himself skewered every inch of the offending bot, and the sheer force finally forced it to release its grip.

Kimiko was too shocked to do more than shout as she fell. Raimundo leapt from the waterlogged stone to catch her, crouching deeply in the landing.

“Omi, it’s alright, we’ve got her!” Raimundo called out… only to gasp.

Omi’s hand was still outstretched, Charm still throwing wild arcs of raw power. But more disturbing was his friend’s face, blank, frozen with fear even as raw Water took over his form.

“Omi?! OMI!”