AN: I'd say thank you to my reviewers, but I have none. (pouts) Well, fine, then. I'm off to watch YGO Abridged and eat ramen. I own nothing but broken dreams! (overdramatic background music goes here)

Enjoy.

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That was how he found himself riding on the little dragon turned huge, hands gripping the slippery scales as Clay laughed at him. Mr. Bailey liked flying – on an AIRPLANE!

This was different, wind rushing everywhere until his face felt frozen. Air slammed into his ears and cut off sound while filling his head with the typical wail of the wind. Clay was talking to Raimundo, but the wind blew their voices away. How on Earth anyone managed a calm conversation like this, he'd never know. He silently swore to himself as his face went numb from the wind that if he survived this, he was going to stay on the ground for a good long time. Mr. Bailey would never have thought flying on a dragon would be physically taxing, but oh, it was. Perhaps this was some sort of ploy on Master Fung's part to subtly train the young Dragons. He wouldn't put it past the old man, he thought as he clung tighter to Dojo. If there was one thing life had taught him, it was that every instructor in the world always had some 'bright' idea like this that was heck on Earth. The wind laughed at him and snatched his hat away. Karma was not on his side. He reached for it, his big gloved hand too bulky to move fast enough and grab it…

And Kimiko's dainty, small hand snatched it back from the wind. He turned to her, noting the aqua wig she had on, which probably helped keep her from freezing at these high speeds. The smart girl had a thick shirt on, too. He wished he'd had that kind of foresight. Mr. Bailey smiled at her, black eyes revealing not a little embarrassment. He was, after all, a grown man and he should have been able to keep his hat on in a little wind. Once again, she probably thought he was a moron.

"Thank you kindly," he said. He would have muttered it, but she'd never have heard it with how fast they were going. "Maybe you could hang on to it until we land, on a count of this is my first time flying."

Kimiko grinned. A genuine, friendly grin that made him glad to know her, and replied, "Sure thing. And don't let Clay get on your nerves. He fell off his second time flying."

He laughed as Clay's ears turned scarlet. He could only imagine what that had looked like. "Well then, I'm ahead of the game, aren't I?"

Kimiko laughed, a lark like sound that made him grin.

There was silence after that. To Mr. Bailey, the air seemed to have changed. It no longer whipped at them. Instead it nudged and flicked their heels and hands as they glided by. The sun warmed their faces and he couldn't help but smile. Was it possible that he was feeling giddy, now? He was never giddy. And, lord have mercy, he couldn't keep this darn smile off of his face. He fought to keep from grinning like a fool, but a look at Kimiko's joyous face, eyes closed and smile wide, made him smile too. This was part of her element; the sun. It struck him as odd how much older and dignified she looked with the sun warming her. She appeared as some sort of being made of heat, fire, and light. Did all Fire Dragons love the sun this way? She'd fit in so well in Texas, he thought with a lovestruck sigh. She'd be at home there, just her, him, and the sun...

Clay looked at him funny, and Mr. Bailey straightened up. He tried to be proper for the rest of the trip, not grinning like a fool, not chuckling like a lovestruck puppy, just sitting hard as a stone. Blinking, he attempted to clear his head of that vision of the Dragon of Fire, looking so angelic. He avoided looking at her, because if he did he'd start acting like that again, and it confused him why he was doing so. Where the heck were all these lovery dovey thoughts even coming from? He needed to clear his mind right now, before things got worse. Every now and again, though, his eyes would flicker back towards Kimiko, who met his eyes each time and looked at him with nothing more or less than curiosity. It was odd to think of her fighting, of Clay fighting. Stranger still was the idea of the two of them fighting on the same team. Did it really work, a small, Japanese girl and a large, Texan boy? Maybe Clay's massive bulk helped upset the size difference she created, but no matter how much tactical information went through his head, Mr. Bailey could not for the life of him picture her as anything except delicate.

Then they landed and the battle commensed.

A boy dressed in all black gloated over his newly acquired Orb of Tornami. He looked too pale, in Mr. Bailey's opinion. He couldn't be albino, because he had red hair, yet he didn't have any other explaination for those horrifically pale eyes and strange coloration. The boy displayed his pride like a flag - clearly he'd obsessed over this and his hard work had paid off. Nothing was worse, Mr. Bailey decided, than when a kid with an ego got an ego boost. But just because they'd been beat to the chase didn't mean they were cut off from the pass. Keeping out of sight for the moment, the group formed a semi circle. Mr. Bailey couldn't help but shake his head at the idiocies of Jack Spicer. That boy needed help, serious, psychological help, and he needed it now. If he could have, Mr. Bailey would've called the redhead's mother in. (Jack looked like a momma's boy.) As it was, the planning was left to the Dragons.

"Jack Spicer already has the Shen Gon Wu," Omi informed them, not disheartened in the least. "But we can still surprise him." Ah, so that was the point of landing behind a building. "I have a very good plan."

"What are you, some kind of ladies knitting club?" Mr. Bailey demanded, much more businesslike now that he had his hat on. The brashness of his statement made Kimiko raise an eyebrow, although this time Clay didn't do likewise. "Just in there and hog tie that runt!"

Clay paused, then when Raimundo nodded at him, he replied sharply, "Yes sir!"

Mr. Bailey looked at them as a group at that moment. Kimiko had watched out for Clay and Omi's feelings earlier. Clay didn't want to leave because they needed him. And now Raimundo, who had comforted Clay on the ride over, was willing to go along with this new plan just because it came from a team mate's father. There was a lot of trust here, Mr. Bailey realized. That was good. That was the foundation of any relationship, and it was especially important here, in a team. Granted, their team was rag tag as heck and not all that organized, but at least they had some trust in each other. It was almost family-like.

"Hey!" Omi still wanted his plan used, but in Mr. Bailey's opinion Omi needed to be taken down a notch anyway.

"Clay!" clearly Kimiko had wanted them to go in together, not Clay rushing off by himself. Mr. Bailey sighed. Rule number one on the ranch was to always have someone watch your back, and here his son was going it alone. Brilliant. Just, simply, brilliant.

"Oh boy," Raimundo commented. Just because he wanted Clay to be close to his dad didn't mean he thought the plan itself was good.

Clay tackled Jack, which made Mr. Bailey question how competent this villain was if he couldn't look around to see if someone was coming. Clay wasn't exactly hard to hear coming, either. Stupid momma's boy had no place in a fight. The Earth Dragon and evil genius rolled over and over, both caught off balance. But he hung on, just like Mr. Bailey had taught him. Those who did not back down never lost in the end. The Orb of Tornami fell to the side with a curious metallic bouncing sound.

The others stood for a moment and watched as Clay wrestled with his enemy. Then they bolted for it, Kimiko in the lead. She looked as if her one mission in life was to get that Orb. Mr. Bailey watched them work with interest. So, this was the team Clay raved about in his letters home. They moved fast, and he could tell they would strike hard. Good. Yet nothing was good enough for his son. They needed more teamwork, more interaction, some signals, something! They were working without nearly enough communication, in his opinion. What was that Bible verse - if the blind lead the blind, they'll both fall into a ditch?

That about summed it up.

"Orb of Tornami," Omi called, hoping it was one of those rare Shen Gon Wu that would come to him.

It wasn't.

Jack's robots got the Orb before they could. Kimiko's eyes burned like blue flames. Out of breath and angered, she stared Jack down. Her sharp mind was like a fire now, almost out of control but in check enough to keep the blaze from damaging anything. Mr. Bailey could see why she was what she was element wise. He also saw something akin to anxiety in her eyes when she looked at Jack. He recalled Clay having said Jack captured her once before, and he froze. If that pale red-eyed hyperactive momma's boy had so much as laid a finger on her, Mr. Bailey was going to take him down Texas style…

Wait a minute, why was he thinking this? He wasn't in this battle, he reminded himself. He needed to be on task. He'd come here for Clay, not for Kimiko Tohomiko.

The robot handed Jack the Orb, and everyone tensed considerably. The air stilled. They all seemed to be feeling the same thing, which was as interesting as it was disturbing. That was how it worked with some teams, though, so Mr. Bailey sat back and watched the human drama unfold before his beady black eyes. It was all he could do in this moment. No one knew what Jack would do with the Orb of Tornami, but, well, it couldn't be good.

"Lookie, lookie," Jack mocked confidently. "The gang's all here."

"Drop the Shen Gon Wu, Jack," Clay made it a threat, in a voice subtly laced with venom. Mr. Bailey frowned. He hadn't taught his boy that. He'd never taught his son to like the idea of hurting another person, even an enemy. It was something to be done out of pure need, not enjoyed.

"Well Clay, since you asked nicely, I'll," here the boy grinned evilly, "Laugh in your sorry bumpkin face! Hahaha!"

If looks could kill, Jack would have been dead several times over by the look in Raimundo's and Clay's eyes. They both looked disgusted and Mr. Bailey could tell they were about to attack. He didn't blame them. Jack was irritating to him already and he'd only known the boy for a few minutes. Unsettled though he felt, he also felt it was time to intervene. This redhead needed to be taken down a couple notches even more than Omi needed it, and Clay was just the person to do it.

"Boy!" Mr. Bailey shouted, "Get in there and waste that chump in the chops!" No son of his was going to be called a bumpkin.

Clay nodded and charged at Jack with all his might, determined not to let his father down. He was going to show him what a Xiaolin Dragon could really do. For once, though, Jack's brain worked and his heli-pack gave him an unfair advantage. In the air, he grinned maniacally.

At that moment Mr. Bailey saw something that unsettled him further: the look of hatred in Clay's eyes. He hadn't taught Clay to be a hater. He'd taught his son to be a fighter, yes, but a level and calm one, not one like this. Earth was not the pissy, hate filled element of glaring last time he checked. Mr. Bailey sighed and shook his head. This was the reason Clay needed to come home. This was why he wasn't sure if Clay should be a Warrior. Only men should fight, and Clay wasn't a man yet if he had that look to him. It was killing Mr. Bailey to stand here and watch, but he had to admit he was glad he was here to observe. He saw some things he liked and some he hated. Jack Spicer fell into the latter category.

"Orb of Tornami," Jack commanded giddily, and a flood of water poured out.

"Whoa, partner," Clay stammered as he slipped.

He slipped, skidded, and flew right into his friends. The crash was painful looking at best, and there was a loud crashing sound to go with it. Mr. Bailey cringed. That had to hurt. Clay was 170 pounds of solid... something. That landing could have taken them all out under worse circumstances. Kimiko groaned and Mr. Bailey flinched again. Kimiko was a little girl, and Clay weighed at least twice what she did. That had to have hurt, and badly.

"A perfect strike!" the redhead sneered. He rose a few feet further into the air. "Well I'd love to stay and gloat, but I'm told I do to much of that." Here he glared at the purple apparition next to him, who seemed to be the real brains behind the operation.

"Oh so true," Wuya commented. Mr. Bailey shuddered at the sound of her voice. She sounded more evil than Jack. (Not that that took a lot.)

"So I'll just say my patented exit line," Jack concluded. "So long, losers!" Then he let out a laugh that was insane in nature.

There it was again – that look in Clay's eyes that Mr. Bailey hated. No one should look so angry. Everybody won some and lost some. To feel hatred even when he had almost won wasn't the sign of the gentlemen Mr. Bailey had worked hard to raise. Mr. Bailey started towards them to voice his objections, yet before he could say anything, the other Dragons did, as soon as they were coherent enough.

Raimundo voiced the question that needed desperately to be asked. "What were you thinking, Clay?"

"Yes! I had a very, very good plan!" Omi objected, waving his hands. "Lots of kicking and flipping and-"

Kicking and flipping may not have been the best idea, however Mr. Bailey had to admit that it would've been better than tackling Jack. Tackling. With no logic whatsoever behind it. What was Clay thinking at the time? Mr. Bailey's black eyes fell on Kimiko, who was gingerly pressing a hand against her lower left ribcage. He frowned. She really could have gotten hurt there. He'd told Clay to look after the little lady of the Dragons. After all, it was common courtesy and Clay was supposed to be a gentleman representing Texas. And what had Clay done? He'd knocked right into her.

Mr. Bailey's eyes softened as she bit her lip hard to hold back a tear. His heart went out to her. She was so small, yet she had big courage. For a moment her expression caused him to flash back to when she'd look so much like a fiery goddess, and he made his decision at that moment. It'd be a shame to see her get hurt like that again, or anyone else for that matter. She knew how to dodge a blow. Most people didn't. He had to take Clay back home until the boy remembered some of the basics of being a gentleman and a fighter. Clay was big enough to squish Omi and Kimiko at the same time, and until he learned to be more aware of himself he had no business fighting along side them.

"I'm sorry," Clay told Omi, apparently not noticing Kimiko's pain or Rai rubbing the spot on his head that had made very solid contact with the pavement, "But I had to prove myself to daddy."

That was it. Mr. Bailey moved forward. "The only thing you proved is what a mistake I made letting you join this silly Xiao Pow ring-a-ding quest in the first place."

He glanced over at Kimiko, who was standing shakily, leaning awkwardly to her left. That kind of injury was something he'd hoped not to see on someone so young. These people looked after Clay. Kimiko supported him, Raimundo was his best friend, and Omi had a good, big, openly loving heart. They were there for him even when he'd been totally reckless. In short, the Dragons were a family, and Clay had stopped pulling his weight. If Clay didn't appreciate the fine qualities in his friends, he didn't deserve to be near them. What kind of boy was he that he couldn't look after them when they'd looked after him? That was what he shoulda been doing, not tackling and diving around willy-nilly.

"Say goodbye to your pals, Clay," he informed his son, "'Cause you're going home to Texas. And you ain't comin' back."

Kimiko stifled a gasp. The girl didn't even hold a grudge for the blow Clay had accidentally dealt her. She just looked to her friends, startled by the decision. The sadness in her gaze made Mr. Bailey sigh. He knew this wasn't going to be easy on anyone. But it was for the best. Clay needed to be more of a gentleman. And he could only learn that at home. Mr. Bailey tipped his hat towards Kimiko, who nodded once. No one else caught the gestures but the two. For a moment, there was a connection, an understanding.

It was the only comfort Mr. Bailey had as he marched his son off.