Dragons will be Dragons
Summary: How did Clay, Kimiko, and Rai get their powers, and how did they get drafted to the temple as dragons? Follow each of them through their stories as they gain control over their elements and, ultimately, their lives…
Please note that this is not really how I think the dragons were revealed. I just sorta let my imagination get a little… playful, that's all. On the plus side, doing that let me outline the story and finish a few chapters in a time span of three days… the downside? I didn't get to put my REAL thoughts down, and I squandered my four-day vacation away working on it. Oh well…
Oh, and sorry if I butcher Clay's background or character, I've only seen a few episodes with him in. (sorry!)
Estimated length of this story: 10 chapters. You have been warned. But not all of them are as long as this one. 3 chapters per character.
A Cowboy's Dictionary:
'som'n'-- something,
'mayhap'--maybe,
'm'boy'--my boy,
't''--to,
'tarnation'--your guess is as good as mine
Note: I do not own Xaiolin Showdown... what a surprise...
Ch. 1 to create a mountain
When Clay woke that morning, he knew something was wrong. ALL wrong.
He woke with a start, nearly falling out of bed, he was so… surprised? Scared? He couldn't tell. All he could tell was that there was a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, and that the room around him was far too small.
He forced himself out of bed to stand, feeling wobbly on his feet. That, too, was wrong. He never felt unsure of his place on the earth, or unsure of his balance, not even after a rodeo or after he'd been on a rickety wagon for six straight hours. So why, then, did the earth heave before his eyes?
The blonde boy shook his head, messy hair going this way and that before settling down on his face. Now that he'd shaken his head to clear his thoughts, Clay's vision steadied. But he still felt confined, wobbly… the wrongness of the air just bit down on him. Hurriedly, he dressed, trying to forget about the feeling.
Heading into the kitchen, he met his family's smiling faces. "Hey, Clay, did'ja sleep in maybe?" His Mom asked, elbowing him playfully and looking at the clock. It was nearly noon.
"I guess I'm not feelin' so hot today, that's all," Clay mumbled in response. Didn't any of his family feel the wrongness, like he did?
His mother and father exchanged glances, his mom leaning over to check for a fever. "You seem well enough," his mother said, worried. "Though I suppose that don't count for much, do it?"
"I'll be fine, ma," Clay shook his head, knowing it was a lie. The wobbly knees and the confined feeling continued. "See, I just need a day off or somthin', just to get on my feet again," he explained. His mother found herself nodding as he talked. His sister, cleaning the table, turned to glare at him as if to say 'a day off? Then I should get one, too!' but she said nothing.
Clay's father nodded. "Well, if you think you need some time off, feel free. Just try not to make this a habit, Ok, son?" he said, letting him go. Now his sister turned to glare at her father, annoyed. She opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it when she glanced at Clay. The blonde boy swayed for a second, then left without breakfast.
Once outside, he headed for the lake, where he hoped things would settle down.
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His sister found him there, skipping rocks into ol' uncle Milo's lake. He looked positively miserable. "Y'know, Sometimes I wish I was ma and pa's favorite. Sometimes I wonder if you do this just to tick me off!" She started, an edge in her voice.
"Jesse…" Clay began, not feeling in the mood.
The girl sat down beside her brother. "But then I saw you, swayin' on your feet, and it makes me think som'n's up." She concluded.
Clay picked up another rock, inspecting it. "Jess, I told ma an' pa, I'm fine. I just need to-" he stopped, his face draining of all color. In his mind, the earth heaved before him, shaking violently, crushing through the land. It wanted to move, rip, tear, smash…
"What in tarnation?!" Clay shouted, falling sideways off the rock. The next thing he knew, his sister Jesse was helping him back up, worry etched clearly on her face.
"You don't seem fine t' me." She grumbled. "Stop your lyin' and start explainin'!"
Clay fought his sister's grip, until it became clear that he was severely weakened. He jerked his arm from her grasp at last, sitting back onto the earth. Now everything seemed to be fine, but earlier…
"Don't tell me ya didn't see it!" Clay glared at his sister half-heartedly. "The earth was shakin' worse than a pig sent to the slaughterhouse!" he exclaimed. Jesse blinked at him, wondering if she ought to take him to a doctor or something.
"…You didn't see, did you?" he asked. She frowned, the answer clearly being 'no', and Clay hung his head.
"Ya know, bro, you've been actin' jumpy for a few days now." She said, sitting next to him on a rock. She picked up a stone and tossed it into the lake. Clay opened his own hands to find the rock he'd been holding earlier was nothing but loose dirt—he'd crushed it completely.
"Maybe ya ought to enjoy yer break." Jesse went on, not believing her own voice. She hated Clay—hated how their parents always favored him, hated how he was always better than her… at everything. But something just wasn't right, and when it all came down to the basics, Clay was her brother, and that was that.
You don't go ill wishing family, especially not when they looked as distraught as Clay did right now.
She glanced over to him, watching as he poured the dirt from his hands. Clay himself was deep in thought. The sight of the crushed stone had silenced him—he wasn't that strong—but his sister kept him silent. So Jesse went on. "Ya know, what you need is a good old fashioned rodeo. Som'n to steady you and all." That comment made Clay's head snap up. Steady him?... his sister had just given him an idea.
He stood, and Jesse shot a glance over to him, suspicious. "Relax, Jess. I just figured it'd do me some good to get away from all this." He glanced around.
"To where?" Jesse asked, keeping an eye on him.
Her brother hesitated. "To the mountain, I guess," he answered finally.
This made Jesse smirk. "Ya goin' to be practicin' your fightin' arts?" she asked, making him jump. "Ah, don't worry bro. I won' tell the folks what yer up to. Nice to know you aint such a goodie two shoes as I thought, though."
"How long have you—" he stopped, seeing the earth twist in front of his eyes again. He shook his head clear of the image, and turned to his sis.
"…Known? Oh, since two months or so ago, when I went to get that revolver fixed for pa in the city? I dropped down to ol' cousin Debbie's dojo for a bit, and she was talkin' 'bout how proud she was about your progress in the martial arts an' all." She smirked. "I didn't let the family know, if that's what yer askin'." She said, making Clay blush vividly. "Go on. If it'll make ya feel better."
Clay hesitated, then nodded. Carefully he picked his way across the land, heading towards the mountain—his mountain.
Jesse watched him go, seeing him stumble slightly as he walked. His composure (or lack thereof) made her worry. She stood, wondering if her brother was really ok. Then a thought occurred to her; go get Cousin Debbie. It wouldn't be suspicious for her to show up, and Clay wouldn't be as guarded around her. And if she just explained things to Deb, then she'd be more than happy to keep an eye on Clay.
With that thought, she headed off towards the city.
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There were two things Great Grandpa Grittius had taught him before he'd died, the first was to always respect your elders. The second was Kung Fu.
Oh, sure, his folks weren't that keen on the idea, in fact, they were near ashamed of their relative. But Clay had always looked up to Grittus, and thus had learned the art of Kung Fu as his great grandfather saw fit. Even after he died, Clay still visited the dojo, though mainly it was because his great grandfather had friends there, and students.
He only practiced on his own. Being rock solid and sturdy was always important when fighting, not to get knocked over and beaten, so that's mainly what he practiced. The punches were just for fun. Not that he would ever use them, not ever, because he didn't fight with Kung Fu. It was just a way to remember his Grittus by.
With that thought, Clay stepped back to do another cleansing breath. He even considered doing meditation—something he was awful at. It probably wouldn't help, though. After all, it wasn't him that was wrong, it was the earth! The earth that wanted to bend, to jump, to break under his feet… that was what was wrong. But then, if that was truly where the wrongness was from, then the others should have felt it, too. Instead, he saw his mother's smiling face, his sister's confused expression when he explained how the earth was upset. They didn't get it.
"Why?" he asked the air. Of course, it didn't answer. The earth, too, had no answer for him, just a shaky composure. "Why don't they feel the earth is wrong today?"
"What's that, Clay?" a voice came from behind him. Clay snapped around to meet the newcomer, nearly loosing his balance again. There, on a nearby rock, sat Cousin Debbie. Actually, she wasn't really his cousin, she was Great Grandpa Grittus's daughter's best student, the owner of the temple. A friend. Slowly, Clay relaxed.
Deb was just getting started, though. "Mayhap your sister was right, maybe you aint up to face the day yet." She commented, standing and brushing herself off. "I figured I'd find ya here, but I wasn't expecting ya t' be in such lousy shape!" she exclaimed.
Clay sat. "I'm well enough." He told her. "It's the earth that's wrong!"
"You sound as strange as my friend, Master Fung does when he's off saying parables. And believe me, that's not good."
"Master… who? Never mind," Clay said quickly when Debbie opened her mouth. When Deb got to talking, it would take an earthquake to make her stop.
Debbie sat next to the blonde. "Now, tell me what troubles you." She said.
Clay sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Well, nothin's solid no more. It's like the earth is goin' t' swallow up the ranch or som'n." he complained. "I can't even see straight, let alone catch my balance."
"How're you t' know you aint just sick, Clay m'boy?" she asked, picking up a pebble from the ground and twisting it in her tough, powerful hands.
"Because…" Clay paused, frowning. Something stopped him from speaking… what was it? It was… it was…
Deb watched him, eyes serious. She believed Clay—he never lied to her—but something wasn't right with him, either. "You think the ground's goin' to melt under your feet? That the earth's goin' to throw a temper fit and bring this mountain crashin' down around our ears?" she suggested.
Fear, he realized. He was almost too scared to speak. "That's precisely what's goin' t' happen, miss."
Deb frowned. She always knew Clay was special, like the boy just had a certain insight for what came next. And if that was true then… She stood and brushed herself off. "Well, if ya believe that, then why're you here? We'd best get off this mountain." She said.
"You believe me." Clay said, sounding half astonished.
"You never gave me no reason to doubt you before, right?" the old Kung Fu master retaliated. "B'sides, I get this feelin' that you know as much as he does." She didn't say who 'he' was, but Clay had no time to ask. He stood, and an awful feeling overtook him.
"We aint gonna make it." he said. His face drained of color again, and he sent himself reeling backwards until his back hit the mountain face with a resounding 'thud'. Once again, the earth rose up to meet him, but this time everyone else saw it too.
An earthquake.
Even though she was ready for it, Debbie lost her balance. The earth shifted violently under her feet, and suddenly she had no support. The shock ripped through the earth, leaving it shaking and crumbling… stones jumped from their resting place and the edge of the platform where they stood gave way. She threw herself to the mountain's face, falling in next to Clay.
Then everything seemed to get still. Both humans looked up from the ground. "Is it over?" she asked Clay, who sat up.
He looked at her, his eyes slightly crossed, and he looked up. Deb almost knew the answer before he said it.
"No."
Almost immediately, the rocks above them moved, then shook, then they fell.
They were headed straight for them.
"NO!" Clay shouted, pushing all his weight into the mountain in an attempt to stand. The boy crushed the solid rock that he found in his hands, fighting the dizziness in his vision. He would stop the rocks, tell the earth to behave, because he was their master…
The mountain bent to obey him. Under his hands, the stone morphed and bent, manipulated by him. With a great explosion of power, the rust-colored rock beneath his hands thrust itself away from the mountain, shielding them from the falling boulders. When the boulders came to rest at the bottom of the mountain, all fell still. Clay chanced a look to Debbie. She sat, wide eyed, on the ground, and suddenly Clay realized he'd done something inhuman.
He'd just told the earth to move. And it had listened.
The look over Debbie's face passed, however, and she stood, looking less frightened. The action gave Clay the courage to step away from the mountain.
He shouldn't have done that, though, because he felt sick again.
He turned to Debbie, feeling the earth give way under him, but he knew it was just in his mind. "Watch out for aftershocks," he said, then passed out.
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End notes: Well, how was it? R&R! But please keep in mind that I took some liberties while writing this—I know little about Clay, since I keep missing a bunch of episodes with him in. Who really taught him Kung Fu? I don't know. Is his family really against martial arts? I don't know! Is this how he got his powers? Most likely not, but hey, I'll say it again—I took some liberties. It would be appreciated, though, if someone told me if I got something wrong…
(Next Chapter is Kimiko-centric, how she gets her powers.)
