Omi sighed, as he often did any more, as the dragons rode Dojo to the next activated Wu. He had been down for two months, ever since he had found the truth, not that the others believed it. Clay was a bit skeptical, but Raimundo and Kimiko had flat out denied it, thinking Wuya had either done something to Omi or the wu, and since it wasn't their past, they could look back into it like he had, leaving only Dojo to believe it (Master Fung had taken a strangely neutral stance on the whole situation).
Even Omi aside, things had been weird, there had been at least 5 wu that had activated, but with no sight of Wuya, Jack, his grandfather or any heylin force at all. At this point, they debated whether they all needed to go at all.
Soon, the team set down in a remote area of the Japanese Alps. The wu itself was easy enough to find, the Ninja Sash was wrapped around a statue. Easy a retrieval as usual, Kimiko walked up and grabbed it, only to be surprised as it started to glow.
"Kimiko, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown," A voice called out, as someone came from around the back of the statue.
It was Katnappe, but she had forgone her normal cat-suit, save for the clawed gloves, for a black robe with red trim and sash.
"Katnappe!"
Ashley smiled, "I'll bet the Tangle Web Comb against the Star Hanabi."
"I wondered when one of you would show up."Kimiko growled, "Fine, Katnappe, What's the game?"
"Ah, ah, ah," the blonde said, ticking her finger, "I'm not finished, I also throw out a Shen-Yi-Bu dare, my Imo-Gazer, against your...Cat's-eye Draco."
Kimiko gasped, "What?"
Like the cat who caught the Canary, Ashley smiled, "It is a Wu, isn't it? And with such a Purrfectly adorable name, you didn't think I'd want it?"
Kimiko was hesitant, remembering what happened to Omi when he used the elemental Wu, but even with just hers, Katnappe would be a danger-
"Or," Katnappe cut off her thoughts, "I guess you can chicken out and just let me take the sash."
"Fine," Kimiko ground out, "What's your challenge?"
Smirking, Katnappe turned to the other dragons, before surprising them by bowing, "That is not up to me."
A husky chuckle made the male dragons jump, turning to find-
"Wuya?" Dojo gasped out.
Ignoring the gecko, the heylin witch spoke, "Each of you will stand atop a pillar, last one knocked off loses." She then tossed the Tangle Web Comb to Katnappe, And you'd better win, Ashley, or your training before now will seem like vacation."
The blonde swallowed a lump in her throat, "Yes, sifu."
"Ashley?"
"Sifu?"
"You heard the woman," Katnappe said, "Let's go-
Xiaolin Showdown!
In a flash, both girls were atop separate stone plateaus, above a glowing river of lava.
"Gong Yi Tanpai!" Katnappe called out, echoed by her opponent.
"Hey, back away from the little guy!" a call came from the sidelines, distracting Kimiko enough that she was almost caught in a shot from the comb.
On the sidelines, Wuya had sat down and pulled Omi into her lap. She shot a quick glare at the Latin boy, "Oh, be quiet, can't a mother spend some time with her baby boy?"
"Yeah, like I'm buying that Vader stuff for a second."
"So, eh, you have a student Wuya?" Dojo cut in.
"Well..."
"I want to learn from a former Shaolin Dragon and...and become a Heylin dragon, and beat that tech geek into the ground."
Wuya chuckled, "She made a very convincing argument."
"Come on, Kimiko, let them have their Mommy-son moment." Ashley taunted, firing another comb blast.
Glaring, Kimiko dodged, "I wouldn't believe that if you showed me a DNA test," Charging the Cat's Eye Draco into the Star Hanabi, she let loose a massive fireball at the cat-burglar.
Katnappe took a deep breath as the fireball approached and raised the comb high. Swinging it down, the line extended from it as it, to the surprise of the Monks, cut through the fireball like a whip, causing it to dissipate. Acting quickly, knowing the surprise wouldn't stun her opponent for long, she lashed the comb-whip out as it wrapped tightly around Kimiko's left arm, covering both of her wu.
Growling, Kimiko pulled against the ropes, fighting as Katnappe did the same, before she noticed the blonde leveled a hand towards her, flat and palm down, she drew back and jabbed at the air-
"Matabi's Claw"
Kimiko was caught off guard as the clawed gloge erupted in blue flames that shot at her, taking the form of a large paw that hit the Fire Dragon, stunned for a moment too long, and knocked her off the pillar, ending the showdown.
With a flash, Kimiko hit the ground, hard, and looked up to see Katnappe wearing the Cat's-Eye Draco, With Wuya standing behind her.
The witch blew a kiss to her son, "Sorry mommy has to run, but I'll visit soon, Omi," she promised, before placing a hand on her student's shoulder.
"Me too," Ashley agreed, before blowing a kiss, "I'll be by to see you soon, Cutie."
Seeing Omi's blustering blush and the fury on Kimiko's face, both Heylin women felt their job was done, and disappeared in a ball of green fire.
~~Chase's Lair~~
Appearing in a ball of flame, Ashley immediately knelled before her teacher, awaiting her judgement.
After a moment of silence, Wuya spoke, "You did well, Ashley, but you were also lucky. Kimiko was not expecting you, nor did she expect you to have elemental power as well. You won, but had she been able to recover, chances are good that you would have lost or at least been forced to a draw, so don't get cocky." Moving quickly, she removed the gem from her student's shoulder, "The elemental Wu is a big win, yes, but I don't think your power is at the level needed to control it yet."
Ashley sighed, letting out a grumbled, "Yes, Sifu."
"But, a win is a win, and you have progressed in leaps and bounds since you've begun, but that is no reason to slow down. If we continue at this pace, it won't be long before you are ready to use this and pound that tart with her own weapon!" She smiled an evil smile, which was mirrored by her student. Walking away, she motioned her student to follow "Now, let's go eat, we have a big day tomorrow."
"We do Sifu?" Katnappe asked, "What are we doing tomorrow?" She was almost fearing an answer. She loved the results, but Wuya's training was torturous, and if it got even worse...
"We'll be moving to the next phase of my plans," The witch answered, turning around sharply, "It occurs to me that we only have a Heylin Dragon of Fire, so tomorrow, we'll try and recruit some prospects for Earth and Air."
"And what about Water, Sifu?"
Chuckling mysteriously, Wuya tousled the blonde's hair, "You'll see, Ashley, you'll see when the time comes."
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And there we go, something new. A couple things, first, if you didn't catch on, Katnappe is wearing robes like Omi's when he was evil, only with her cglove claws because her old fighting style would probably involve them a lot, and Matabi's Claw isn't a Wu, it's meant to be an attack like Ju-Do-Lei Flip or Typhoon Boom.
And should we move this story to it's own thread?