Raimundo Pedrosa had been facing the bathroom mirror for an hour and a half. He was practicing getting something important off of his chest. (A/N: now if you're wondering what he's doing, he's actually practicing… or at least trying to practice… confessing his undying love to Kimiko Tohomiko.)
Raimundo: Kimiko, I_ you see, Kimiko, I've always_ Kimiko, I've been meaning to tell you_ OH, why can't I do this even in front of the mirror?!
Dojo: Raimundo, shen gong wu alert! What are you doing in here anyway?
Raimundo got a little nervous about the subject and swiftly attempted to avoid it. So, he played dumb and just denied doing anything.
Raimundo: What are talking about, Dojo? I wasn't doing anything in here!
Dojo: If you say so. I've already called on the others and they're all ready to hear what the wu and its primary purpose are.
Raimundo followed Dojo to the hall where the others were. Omi, Ping Pong and Clay had their suspicions about what Raimundo was doing when he was facing the bathroom mirror, but, Kimiko just thought he was in there just to compliment himself like she thinks he usually does. It was a good thing for Raimundo that Kimiko thought too much that he was an egomaniac to be aware of his feelings for her… but, it sure did a number on his heart that she was still completely oblivious to the crush he had on her ever since they had all joined the temple.
Clay: You sure took yer time facing the bathroom mirror, didn'tcha, partner?
Omi: Most certainly, Raimundo. That is usually something we would expect from Kimiko.
Ping Pong: Oui oui! You must've been quite busy with something in order to have not heard any of us calling you from where we were to where you were.
Kimiko: Come on, guys! Get real, will ya? He was probably just complimenting himself in the mirror like he usually does. You all know how egotistical he can be.
Raimundo: Hey, I resent that statement!
Raimundo's brain: But, it's a good thing that she doesn't know what I was really up to before I can even tell her.
Ping Pong: Any way, Dojo… what magic does the "Watch of Hypnos" shen gong wu possess?
Dojo: It has the power to hypnotize anyone whose eyes are facing the watch. The hypnotic command on the victim can only be broken by the one who hypnotized them… or someone who feels very much for them if that person yells at them loud enough to wake them up.
All of the monks reacted the same way.
Omi: We better not waste any time getting a hold of this watch! We can't let any of the Heylin forces get their hands on it!
They flew on Dojo to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana in the US of A. They had arrived just in time for Mardi Gras. But, they didn't have the time to celebrate it… for they were on a mission. Kimiko wound being the one to find pocket watch-like shen gong wu. She reported back to the others and then, Dojo confirmed that it was, in fact, their wu. But, Jack Spicer came out of nowhere and snatched it from out of Kimiko's hand.
Jack Spicer: So long, xiaolin losers!
Raimundo went after Jack, grabbed the Watch of Hypnos, and challenged Jack to a xiaolin showdown.
Raimundo: Jack, I challenge you to Xiaolin Showdown! My Sword of Lucida against your Monkey Spear!
Jack Spicer: I accept, loser! Name your game!
Raimundo: A timed race to where the watch lies! First one to beat the clock and take the wu for himself wins!
Raimundo and Jack Spicer: Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown! Gong Yi Tan Pai!
The scenery changed and Raimundo and Jack Spicer were now racing against the clock… as well as each other. Jack Spicer was just about to claim the watch when Raimundo took out the Sword of Lucida and rode it to catch the Watch of Hypnos just before Jack managed to reach it. Raimundo had won the showdown.
Raimundo: And that's the way the "xiaolin showdown" cookie crumbles, Jack!
Ping Pong: Fantastique, Raimundo!
Clay: You did it, partner!
Omi: Well done, Raimundo! You have won the showdown!
Dojo: Way to go, kid! You did well for your first shoku showdown on your own!
Kimiko: Great air surfing, Rai!
Raimundo: But, it looks like the sun is about ready to go down for the night! Dojo, can you fly us back to the temple?
Dojo: Ugh, oooh, too much beignet goodness from the Mardi Gras celebration.
Raimundo: Of course, and of all the shen gong wu missions where we forget to bring the Bluray Manta Ray with us.
Ping Pong: What about Zippy Lou, Sister Kimiko?
Kimiko: I left Zippy Lou back at the temple after the last shen gong wu mission tired him out. You remember? The one where I won the Kwanli Morpher, but then it was stolen by you-know-who's sidekick?
They all remembered that mission. Kimiko had won the showdown against Shadow, but an evil, pitch black parrot that was then revealed to be Salvador Cumo's helper stole it from her. The evil bird took it all the way to Lacatraz, and the Kwanli Morpher wound up aiding Salvador's escape. Zippy Lou was tired and injured after the battle while trying in vain to get Salvador back to Lacatraz.
Clay: I suppose we could try to get back to the temple via jet plane.
Kimiko: In New Orleans during Mardi Gras? The planes will be fully booked! Let's face it, guys… we'll just have to stay somewhere overnight.
Omi: Sleep somewhere other than the xiaolin temple?! I cannot!
Ping Pong: What is the problem, Brother Omi? It is just staying in a hotel room. You need to let yourself grow by being more open to new experiences.
Omi: I do not believe you, Ping Pong! Hotels are bad places! I have heard that people are capable of getting lost in a hotel!
Kimiko: Well, I don't know about all of you, but I'm not willing to sleep on the cold hard ground of New Orleans. So, whether Omi appreciates it or not, I'm going to find us a hotel to stay in overnight.
Raimundo: I'm with you, Kim. I'm not sleeping on the ground in this city where you can get hauled away by the police… for sleeping on the ground.
Clay: Let's go, Omi. Like it or not, we can't get back to the temple by tonight.
Ping Pong: Oui, oui, Brother Omi. We are just going to have to stay in this city just for tonight.
Omi: But, I think staying in a hotel would be unsafe!
Kimiko: Come on, Omi. That's completely ridiculous.
Raimundo: Yeah, Cheeseball. The only reason you don't want to stay in a hotel is because it's not what you're used to. Ping Pong's right, you know. You do have to be open to new experiences if you want to mature.
Omi: I'm already plenty mature! I don't need to be any more mature than I already am!
Kimiko: I'd hate to break it to you, Omi, but you're only 10. Come on and let's go at least look for a hotel to stay overnight.
Dojo: Wait for me! Don't forget about me!
Raimundo: I suppose I'll let you ride on my shoulder, Dojo.
Dojo hopped upon Raimundo's shoulder. With Dojo on his shoulder, Raimundo felt like Dojo was telling the truth when he said he'd eaten too many beignets at the Mardi Gras celebration.
Raimundo: OK, really thinking you should cut back on the beignets and all other sweets and pastries for a while, Dojo!
Dojo: Gotcha!
Then, Dojo belched out a loud belch.
Dojo: Oooh, that hurts!
The young monks and Dojo spent hours looking for a hotel to stay in, but all of the hotels in town were fully booked. When the last hotel clerk told them the hotel was already full of people, they decided to go further down the street to keep looking for a place to spend the night.
Final desk clerk: (Southern Accent) If ya'll happen to come across an old-looking mansion down that way, I would not recommend staying there, either!
Raimundo: Thanks for the tip, but we aren't gonna stop looking for a place to stay for the night! If it has to be that mansion you just mentioned, then so be it!
Final Desk Clerk: Ya'll don't understand, young people! It's for yer own safety! That old mansion has more activity but less people there than ya'll think! They say it's even haunted!
Omi: Raimundo, I believe we should listen to that man. I do not wish to stay somewhere that might be haunted.
Clay: I agree with Omi. Who even knows what could happen to us if we go there or if we'll even able to get in there?
Ping Pong: Oui oui. What if it is not even human friendly?
Raimundo: Come on, Ping Pong. That's just ridiculous. It's probably full of people, and if they're willing to take us in for the night, that'd be great. If not, we'll just have to keep looking for someplace else to stay.
Kimiko: Rai, I really think we should listen to the terrified desk clerk. I think it's a sign that we shouldn't go anywhere near that mansion.
Raimundo: As much as I'd like to take the paranoid desk clerk's advice, it seems like that mansion is our only option left.
Final Desk Clerk: Ya'll are gonna regret ignoring my advice. Mark my words.
The xiaolin monks left the hotel and continued down the road. The lights began to get dimmer and dimmer. All of them, aside from Raimundo of course, had begun to get a bit scared of what might be at the mansion they were headed toward against the desk clerk's advice and their own common sense. On the way to the mansion, Raimundo asked Dojo if there was any instance when the Watch of Hypnos wouldn't work, worried about if it would be used on any of his xiaolin comrades.
Raimundo: Dojo, is there anyone who the watch possibly wouldn't work on?
Dojo: Well, if I remember its powers correctly, people who have a superior intellect aren't affected by the watch, at all. There's also people who are too dumb to be affected by it.
All the monks: Like Jack Spicer?
Dojo: Yeah, like Spicer.
When they finally got to the mansion, it was surrounded by a high, vine-covered fence. The others took it as a sign that they should leave the premises of the mansion before they could even get the chance to go inside even the grounds on which the mansion was, but Raimundo was too insistent on finding a place to spend the night for his own good… and for the good of the others, too.
Raimundo: Uh, hello? We're looking for a place to stay the night, and… well, we couldn't find a place in the city, so we were kind of hoping that this place had a vacancy… or two.
From inside the mansion, the seemingly living owner of the mansion looked at all the male monks and Dojo with a look of somewhat nervousness and lack of trust. But, when the young man saw Kimiko, his eyes immediately lit up, and he decided to tell his butler to open the gates and let them all right into his mansion for the night.
Just as the monks were about to turn around and try to find someplace else, the gate mysteriously opened for them. They started to head inside the grounds with Raimundo leading the way, while the other monks walked in a huddle behind him. Dojo was on Clay's shoulder, and shook like a leaf as they got further inside the grounds of the old-looking mansion.
Raimundo: I didn't think they could have an automated gate in an old mansion like this one.
Kimiko: Raimundo, I'd hate to be a paranoid pessimist, but I don't think that gate was automated. I think we're walking on the grounds of a haunted house!
Raimundo: Kim, you know me, and you all know that I believe you can't trust any theory that can't be explained by science. Repeat after me, guys… there's no such thing as ghosts or haunted houses or zombies, werewolves, vampires, or any other creature of the undead!
Omi: Raimundo, my friend, if I may interfere_
Raimundo: That's "interject", Omi, and I told you all to repeat after me… there's no such thing as ghosts or haunted houses or zombies, werewolves, vampires, or any other creature of the undead!
Clay, Kimiko, Omi, Dojo, and Ping Pong: There's no such thing as ghosts or haunted houses or zombies, werewolves, vampires, or any other creature of the undead!
Raimundo: Thank you, guys! Now, was that so hard to admit?
Kimiko: I guess not. But, I still think we're on the grounds of haunted house!
Clay: I gotta agree with Kimiko… sorry, Rai! No offense to yer scientific explanations, but I don't think this a normal house.
Raimundo: Of course, it's not a normal house, Clay… it's a mansion!
Clay: That ain't what I meant, Rai-buddy!
Omi: I knew this would be a troublesome journey. We cannot stay here, at all!
Raimundo: Well, I don't think we should look a gift horse in the mouth… like what you guys are doing, right now!
Ping Pong: None of us are looking the gift horse in the mouth. We are all simply being cautious… aside from you, Raimundo.
Raimundo: You guys are all getting scared over nothing.
Kimiko: Oh, really! "Scared over nothing"?! Then, why does this mansion have a cemetery for its backyard?!
The others and Dojo cautiously came over to catch a glimpse of the backyard… and, sure enough, the entire backyard of the mansion was, indeed, a cemetery, and a very old-looking cemetery which looked like it had not been tended to in a while, at that.
Kimiko: Well, Raimundo, where's your scientific explanation for this part?
Raimundo: I guess that there is no logical explanation for an old-looking, overly vine-covered cemetery as the backyard. I suppose we will just have to go back the gate and keep looking for another place to stay for the night.