FicWad

Disclaimer: Nothing here is mine. Don't sue me! ...please.

Ok folks. This is my first Xiaolin Showdown fic so if there's any spelling mistakes or cannon inconsistencies please do not hesitate to tell me and I'll change it. It's a bit dark as the title and summary might suggest. Well, give it a go.

A Light in the Darkness

By Chaimera

The young woman moved silently through the squalid back alleys of the sprawling city. A watery street lamp was the only thing that lit the darkness as she jumped from shadow to shadow.

Even if someone had seen her, they would have taken no notice. These back streets were full of the homeless and hopeless, dead ends in more ways than one.

Something rustled in the darkness and the woman paused, frozen in a spot of light, like a statue in a museum. Had there been anyone there to see her, they would have been given a good and rare chance to study her closely. Dark hair was pulled away from her face and into a long braid that fell down her back. Bright eyes surveyed the quiet street intently, taking in every detail from top to bottom, her face a study of concentration, biting her bottom lip ever so slightly. A long curved scar ran across her face, giving her a distinctly dangerous look. The white line that marred the otherwise beautiful face started above her left eyebrow and curved down across her eye, ending at her cheekbone. She was dressed all in black, and simply. Cargo pants, tank top, tight fitting jacket. If one looked close enough, they could see a metallic glint from under her jacket, near her hip. Certainly not a woman to mess with.

She began to move again now, small, lithe body jumping easily over a fence and into a yard. Footsteps and voices could be heard from a distance, echoing down to her position. She sped up now, climbing a ladder to a roof, moving swiftly from building to building, hiding in shadows and flitting over surfaces so that the next second, it was as if she was never there.

Finally, she paused, glancing around again before darting in a roof top door and disappearing.

The man sitting at the desk slammed down the phone and growled at no one in particular. Jack was in a foul mood. Wuya had ruined any economy there was. Hell for a business man. Of course, he was still the richest person in the world, asides from Wuya, but that wasn't the point. Jack had matured since the early years. He found a certain satisfaction in actually working for his profit. Suddenly a nasty grin split his face. There was always the black market economy that was always booming. He'd been involved in the black market for years now. He got a great feeling from doing something Wuya neither approved nor knew of. He'd grovel and beg and get her to forgive him if she ever found out, but until then.... He grinned again and chuckled to himself. He loved being second in charge of the world.

Jack barely heard the door open and close and when he looked up his grin got even bigger. Speaking of things Wuya didn't approve of....

Kimiko looked at the man before her with pure loathing. The red haired man grinned at her and she felt her stomach turn. Kimiko had been 'dealing' with Jack for almost three years now. The resistance was in shambles. Omi, Raimundo and Clay were all missing in action; nothing had been heard from them in years. Morale, medical supplies, food and safe hideouts were all in short supply and Jack Spicer was, defying all logic, the only one who would deal with known resistance members. Kimiko knew he had his own motives, she had seen them first hand, and then he would never give them anything that would actually give them an advantage, but he got them medicine and food when it was desperately needed and that was the reason she was currently standing in the little toads office, high above the poverty and despair that he and Wuya had caused.

He stood and moved forward, smiling deviously, and took her hand.

"Kimiko. What a pleasant surprise."

Jack approached the young woman before him. She was certainly a sight to behold. Despite the long scar that defaced her, she was still quite beautiful. While good looking in her youth, she had grown into a beauty to rival the gods. Her form was lean and athletic, her breasts, big but not so much as to be disproportionate to her size, her face was like that of a fallen angel. Sometimes, it worried him that he might be in love with her. A twisted love, but love none the less. After all, it was he who had caused the scar. He loved the power he felt when being around her. She never accepted his offers though. She was stubborn, but one way or another, she would be his one day.

She looked at him scornfully and pulled her hand out of his.

"Enough with the fake pleasantries Jack. You know why I'm here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Need medicine? Food? You should really look into some money making ventures."

"Unfortunately, I've got the mark of Kane." She gestured to the scar running over her eye.

"Yeah. You should thank me for that really. You never have to work again."

Kimiko clenched her fists, practically trembling with rage. The nerve...

"What do you want this time Jack?" Her voice was tightly controlled.

Jack smirked. "Oh you know what I want Kimi."

He grabbed her by her waist and spun her around, backing her up against his desk. His hand went up to her face, holding it in place as he kissed her harshly.

He pulled back and grinned at her.

"You know there's only ever one payment."

Kimiko clenched her teeth as he began to kiss the side of her neck while slipping her leather jacket off her shoulders. She felt disgusting and dirty but if she didn't go along with Jack's disgusting demands, people would die. She yelped slightly as he bit down on her shoulder. She grimaced as he ground against her, pushing further back onto the table. He pulled her top off, climbing on top of her. Kimiko closed her eyes as she felt his hand scrabbling at the belt of her trousers. In times like this, everyone had a job to do, a burden to carry, a price to pay. This was hers.

Kimiko shrugged back into her jacket as Jack did up his fly. He looked up at her.

"A truck will meet you just outside the city limits tomorrow. It'll have everything you need."

She nodded, not finding it within herself to speak to him. He walked up to her and grabbed her face again, giving her another kiss.

"Why don't you stay with me Kimi? You could have everything you wanted. You could help me rule the world."

Fire flashed in her eyes and she pulled out of his grasp.

"Not in a million years Jack Spicer and you know it."

He laughed and his hand went to her ass. "You used to say that about this." He squeezed. "And now look where we are. We'll see Kimi."

She turned and walked out the door. He grinned at the spot where she was standing. One of these days, she would be his.

Kimiko dropped down to the dark street and grimaced. She limped slightly as she made her way out of the city. She looked at the bruises on her wrists and upper arms, felt them on her inner thighs. Jack got out of control during sex. He tended to forget he was with another person and not an inanimate object. She sighed and continued on, heading for the mountains. She didn't know where it had all gone wrong really. Even with Jack. He didn't used to be evil, not truly. Now it seemed he had achieved his dream. Kimiko hated him more that she hated Wuya.

It had been six years now. Six years since Wuya had returned to power and this time, she had stayed there. Master Fung had died soon afterwards, then Omi had disappeared, then Clay. Raimundo had been the last to go and the presence Kimiko had mourned the most. That had been four and a half years ago. There were other people out there, willing to fight against Wuya but they were continually beaten down. Now they were simply a bunch of out laws, trying to survive.

She looked up at the massive cave entrance. It seemed ironic that no one had ever thought of looking for them there. Of course, if it had been her, she wouldn't have thought of it either. She knocked and the door slid open. She didn't even flinch as the door boomed shut behind her and she looked around the huge cavern. It looked empty but she knew better.

She turned and found herself looking into a pair of narrowed yellow eyes. She rolled her own blue ones and pushed the man back.

"Gods Chase, do you have to be so dramatic. A simple 'hi' would have sufficed."

He frowned. "I'm sure."

He approached her and she backed away warily. She didn't fear him (not like she should have, at any rate) but she was still nervous. He was the one to roll his eyes this time and he stepped up to her, taking her chin in his hand, much like Jack had done, but his touch was unusually gentle. He moved her face up, examining the bruises on her neck and shoulders, taking in the various bite marks as well.

He let her go and stepped back, shaking his head. "Why do you let him do these things to you?"

She took another step back, drawing her jacket around her protectively. "If I don't, we don't get what we need and people die. What do you care anyway? You're evil too, you just don't like Wuya."

"There is a difference between evil and depraved Kimiko." He looked at her seriously. "Besides, we have been in allegiance for the last four years. I will not lie and tell you have not developed a certain fondness for you."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "That is probably the strangest sentence I have ever heard you say."

The dark haired man smiled. "Kimiko, over the last four years I have trained you, taught you to fight as you never could before, shown you the ways of the dark so that you could fight fire with fire. It is a choice that I may one day regret for you have grown into a formidable warrior. Despite my dark ways, I do not wish to see you get hurt and what that boy does to you, I could barely stand, even if I did not care for you."

Kimiko's look softened. "Fine you win. I like you to, against all my better judgement and I understand. It's not that I like any of this either." She limped over to a step and sat down, facing the evil fighting master. "But if I don't do what Jack wants, we dot get food. We don't get medicine."

Chase scowled. "The only reason you needed to go in the first place is because those foolish boys tried to take on Mala Mala Jong."

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it now. I'm gonna get some sleep. He's sending a truck tomorrow. Usual time. Wake me."

Chase watched the young woman go up the stairs and shook his head. Such a waste, being on the side of light. Of course, that's what Jack thought to. He growled to himself and left to go hunting. If he ever got his claws on that boy, he would rip him to shreds.

Kimiko looked around the grey stone walls of her small room. It was even sparser than the one that she had lived in back at the temple. A mattress laid in the corner of the room with a bed roll, beside it a chest, holding her few surviving personal items and some spare clothes, folded neatly at the end of her bed. Shedding her jacket and trousers, she lay down on her bed, fully intending to sleep, but found that the state eluded her, as it had been doing more and more often lately. With a wave of her hand she lit the small lamp and sat up. Opening her chest she pulled out a small bundle of photographs tied with string. The last thing she had of her friends, her family. She rifled through them, looking for one in particular. It was one of the group. Omi was standing to the forefront, flashing a victory sign at the camera, a huge grin on his face. Clay stood, towering behind him laughing at something Dojo had hissed into his ear. Raimundo stood beside those them, his arm slung over Kimiko's shoulders, dragging her to his side. He was smirking mischievously, trade mark glint in his eye. Kimiko herself had a long suffering smile on her face as she let the young Brazilian pull her to him. It had been a good day, only a short time before Wuya had once again become whole and all to real.

She wanted to cry, desperately at times. For all that she had lost. For all that she now had to bear but she couldn't. She hadn't shed a tear in a long time. She placed the photos back into the chest and lay down again, forcing herself into a fitful and nightmare filled sleep.

The sun was just setting as Kimiko, Chase and several other able bodied member of their small resistance group waited on the out skirts of the city for the truck to come. Jack, evil bastard that he was, had not gone back on his promises yet.

Kimiko shifted uncomfortably in her crouched position, still feeling the effects of her encounter with Jack. Chase eyed her and frowned. She simply waved him off. She knew his concern was less for her and more for the successful procurement of the supplies. They would come, but getting them back with out being caught by Wuya's ever present enforcement officers would always be a challenge. They didn't have to wait much longer and Kimiko smiled slightly as she felt the seven men beside her tense. One thing she had learned from Chase was to keep cool and loose in battle.

Also very useful when lying, she had later discovered.

They were half way through the unloading of the truck when a black figure dropped down from a rooftop and grabbed some of the supplies before racing away down a side street. Kimiko heard Chase growl beside her but she put out her arm, stopping him from pursuing.

"No, you stay here and make sure those guys don't screw up. I'll go after this guy."

He nodded and Kimiko took off, practically flying down the street after their thief. She turned a corner and saw him a head of her. He looked back and picked up speed when he saw her in pursuit. He was wearing a balaclava to mask his identity and was dressed all in black like her. Kimiko frowned and sped up as well. He didn't look like one of Wuya's men. Didn't act like one either. The mysterious thief took another corner and Kimiko smiled to herself as she followed. He had just walked into a dead end. She rounded the corner and saw him looking up hopelessly at the sheer brick wall of a fourteen storey building. She skidded to a halt a few metres away from him. She took the few moments before he noticed her to study him. He was a good foot taller than her. A slender build belied wiry muscles that she could see now that she was up close. He only wore a black t-shirt and cargo pants similar to her own, and the balaclava.

She coughed and he jumped, spinning around quickly. There was gauze over his eyes, so she was talking to a blank mask when she addressed him.

"Ok, I suggest you give that back to me." She gestured to the bag he held. "You can do that nicely and tell me who you are or..."

The stranger threw the bag aside and took up a fighting stance. Kimiko shrugged and did the same.

"Hard way it is. Don't say I didn't warn you."

And the battle began.

Kimiko was impressed with the stranger's skills, but unfortunately for him, she had been training with the foremost master in martial arts. The fight was fierce with each of them landing an equal amount of blows. While Kimiko was faster and more skilled the stranger's height and greater natural strength equalled the playing field. She jumped up, planning to place a flying kick to his jaw but he caught her ankle and sent her flying to the ground. Kimiko growled and got back to her feet quickly but as soon as she did the stranger was there. He grabbed her by the shoulder and Kimiko brought her knee up hard to his groin. She was tired of fighting fair with this guy. In this city there was no such thing. The mysterious fighter stumbled back in pain and she placed a well aimed kick to his chest, sending him sprawling on his back. Kimiko pulled out the wicked blade that she always had with her and pounced on the stranger, placing the knife at his throat.

"Now, do you want to tell me who you are?"

Silence reigned for a few seconds before she heard his voice for the first time. It sounded surprised.

"Kimiko?"

"Wha...?"

Her momentary surprise that this guy knew her name was enough for him. He grabbed her shoulders again flipping them over, reversing positions. Kimiko heard her blade skitter across the concrete and into the darkness. Here she was, pinned beneath this man with no weapon. She'd never admit it, not even to herself, but she was absolutely terrified.

She looked up at the stranger's non face as one hand rose to unmask himself. With a swish of black fabric Kimiko found herself looking into surprised, angry, concerned green eyes.

"Raimundo?"

End Chap.

Well, thats that. Any problems, tell me. I might bump up the rating at a later date. I'm not sure. Well, if I even continue will be up to you people.

Do I get a cookie?

Should I throw myself of a bridge for writing this?

Feed the author. All flames shall get bricks thrown at them which shall smash them into itty bitty word pieces, rendering them useless.

Slán for now.