CHAPTER 2

"And... done." Kimiko twisted her hair tie one more time for extra hold. Her hair had grown longer the last couple years and for that reason she has started putting her hair in a ponytail. She liked the update but missed the feeling of her pigtails flying in her face whenever she did a juliette flip. At least it was not a fire hazard anymore. Kimiko looked up at the ceiling in thought, recalling the one time she had set her hair on fire. It was during practice. Omi had shot his Orb of Tornami towards her and to exude the water, she directed her fire against him to evaporate the water. Then Raimundo had butted it and clapped a Sonic Boom. The wind had been weak enough to redirect Kimiko's embers right back towards her, setting light to her locks. They had put on a battle to get rid of the flames and in the end it was Clay who had enough common sense to dump a bucket of water on her. The dragon was enraged at the leader for giving her split ends and avoided him for the rest of the week. No Goo Zombies Seven for him. The leader had not even been allowed to be near Kimiko's room as she worked on reviving her locks; every time he tried, the door was slammed in his face or a flame ball of doom was thrown at his head. Kimiko puffed her cheeks, pouting at her reflection. I had to get a completely new hair cut because of him. Does he know how expensive that is?

Instead of waiting for an answer, she put away her brush and mascara. When she stood up to leave the room, she caught a corner of the little ticket peeking out of her purse. She shook her head and muttered to herself before putting away the ticket in her wallet, leaving it as that. Out of sight- out of mind.

But that had not been the case. Walking down the halls, Kimiko could not get Spicer's cheesy yellow smirk out of her head. He looked so happy. No! So... So smug. He's such a loser. I should of just dumped his invite when papa got off the phone. I could have just made up a story- threatened Jack to play along or I would break all of his toys. He would cry, yeah, but he always does. He's a mama's boy. At the thought Kimiko giggled. Jack was loaded. If he wanted to, he could snap his fingers and buy out her papa's toy company. Spicer could do so much- and he limits himself to his robots! Not only does he spend all day playing with robots; he sits in his parents basement all day playing with his robots? She could not imagine how his parents dealt with him. If I was his mom, I would wipe that crud off his face. If I was his dad? Ha, I would sit Jack in a corner and make him rethink his whole life over! Show him how to be a real man! By the time the dragon warrior had finished her train of thought she had reached the temple grounds.

The boys they had already begun practice. With Omi and Clay already enveloped in their own battle, Kimiko leaned against the stair rail with a smile. The youngest of the monks was using his wudai weapon as a pole to avoid Clay's craters, sailing over the cowboy with ease. With a look of determination Omi turned around, an ear to ear grin on his face. Before the gloating began Clay punched the ground and severed it in two. When Omi fell prey to the hole Clay smiled, tipping his hat back into place. "Sorry buddy. Maybe next time." That was when a spout of water shot out of the ground, sailing the dragon warrior into the sky. With a scream the cowboy crashed into the ground, making a crater where he landed. When Clay peered up with his blue eyes, Omi stood over the crater victorious. The same ear to ear grin was on his face as he laughed triumphantly.

"The heaviest will always fall the hardest to the ground!"

While Omi and Clay were roughing it out, their leader had taken part in a more tranquil exercise. The warrior gracefully jumped onto the next bamboo shoot, carefully plucking one of the feathers that floated in the air around him. Since his promotion, Raimundo had become more sophisticated. Though his anger still clouded his logic at times, the warrior was able to find more solutions to their problems in most any given scenario. Raimundo leaped onto another shoot, snatching a feather in mid air in the process, and looked at Omi. He gave the monk a lopsided smile, gesturing his hand suggestively. "I think you mean the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"Yes. That too," Omi had replied confidently.

With the battle put aside Kimiko had taken the opportunity to meet up with her team, greeting the three with a wave. "Hey guys! What did I miss?"

Raimundo smiled, catching one last feather as he slid down a shoot. The warrior jumped to the ground when he was close enough, crossing his arms as he met up with his team at the center of the field. He brushed his hair out of his face, giving Kim a playful smile. "Where have ya been? 'Started to think you ditched us."

With the remark Kimiko giggled, nudging Rai's arm with her fist. "I was just in town."

"Doin' what?"

The dragon warrior did not want to discuss her run in with the enemy- or her embarrassing invite. Instead she gave him a playful smile. "Just window shopping. No biggie."

"Ooh, that sounds most pleasant," Omi cut in chipper-ly. "Did you find anything of interest?"

With the change of topic Kimiko's smile widened. She gave the dragon of water a swift nod. "Yeah! I wish I brought my credit card but maybe next time." That was when Clay nodded, dusting the dirt and pebbles off of his robe. Omi tilted his head curiously, giving Kimiko a look of uncertainty. "What is this credit card?"

It was the wind master's turn to jump into the conversation, making himself known as he put the yellow monk into a headlock, rubbing Omis head with his fist. "It's a piece of plastic people use to buy stuff instead of money smart one."

At this Omi's eyes glitter in wonder. "Aah! And you can use this plastic in exchange for goods without the aid of currency?"

It took Kimiko a few moments to wrap her mind around what Omi had implied. She gave him an uncomfortable smile, patting his shoulder. "Well, sorta." She broke away from the group, walking over to the chest of Shen Gong Wu. Kim bent down and picked out her Star Hanabi, tucking it into her sash as she dug around for the other Wu. She first tossed Clay the Fist of Tebigong, then Raimundo his Sword of the Storm. Omi's was the last Wu to be passed out, specifically for Kimiko's own purpose of finishing her explanation. "You have to pay the money back though- and more for interest."

Omi caught the Orb in his hands, staring at his reflection. He did not know what interest meant, but he was smart enough to catch 'pay more'. The monk shook his head in disapproval. "What a strange device."

Clay laughed along with the others, securing the Wu on his hand with a challenging smile. He tipped his hat, stating in his southern drawl,"Alright ya'll. Let's get back to-."

Raimundo leaped high into the air, smiling mischievously as he spun the sword in his hands, causing a whirl wind to form and catapulting him higher into the air. "Sword of the Storm- Wind!"

Dojo slithered onto the battlefield, snout dug into a scroll as he twitched. His tail was shaking uncontrollably and his eye twitched whenever he scanned a new sentence, trying his best to stay in a straight line. The dragon waved an arm to beckon the warriors over, calling for their attention with his projecting voice. "Hey kids! I- woah!" Before he could finish his sentence Dojo was propelled into the air, caught in the relentless storm of a tornado. Raimundo kept spinning, getting a kick of being at an advantage at the field- he had not realized he had dragged the dragon along. Frantically the other warriors started to wave their arms, fighting their way through the wind to grab Rai's attention. When the leader realized the team was not fighting back he flicked the sword to a stop, landing on his feet with a questioning brow. Dojo was not as lucky and was thrown into a tree. Raimundo winced at the sight and forced a smile, setting his sword down and kicking it to the side. Kimiko put her hands on her hips in disapproval. Clay lowered his hat over his eyes, shaking his head. Omi was the only one to spring into action, crouched on a free branch next to the tangled dragon. The monk gave Dojo a friendly smile. Kimiko looked over with a worried glance, hands shading her eyes from the intense sun. "Dojo. Are you okay?"

The dragon, tail still twitching, had put a thoughtful hand to his chin, staring at a passing cloud. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Don't mind me." That was when the dragon got uptight, flailing his arms helplessly. "What do you think? Get me down from here!"

Omi smiled and quickly worked Dojo out of the tree. When the dragon was loose, he fell to the ground. Unprepared for the fall he face planted, rubbing his snout with a groan. The monk forced a smile, dropping next to Dojo and patting the top of his head. The reptile sighed and cracked his back as he let out a sigh of relief, tail rattling and eyes drooping in content. "Thanks Omi. I needed that."

"Dojo, quit messin' around," Rai impatiently interjected.

Clay nodded. "What was all your hootin' and hollerin' for?" That was when Dojo had explained a new Shen Gong Wu revealed itself. The warriors glanced at one another in surprise. There had not been an active Shen Gong Wu for a while. One going active now was a miracle- but on another occasion. Omi had made plans to hone his martial art skills and made no time for distractions, Raimundo was going to meet up with the elders to discuss some ideas he had for the dragons and the temples, Clay had no plans but found the new Wu inconvenient, and Kimiko had made an appointment at the salon that she would now have to reschedule. Clay frowned. "Hoo wee. That's mighty unpleasant."

Kimiko agreed, kneeling down to Dojo's level. "What is it?"

"The Genie Moo," Dojo replied. He opened the magic scroll and the image changed into a black and blue image of a cow shaped figurine. The scroll then proceeded to show a demonstration of the new wu, the holder facing it towards the opponent. The warriors watched as a mist exchanged between the two people in the drawing, the two now having a different personality than before. Then Dojo explains, "Whoever holds this Wu can swap personalities with whoever they please."

Raimundo smiled and punched the palm of his hand, staring up at the sky with a challenging smirk on his face. "Lets go get that Wu!"

With that the dragon tossed the scroll to the side and expanded to one hundred times his size. Clay was the one to pick up the scroll, knowing it would be best to keep it as a reference, before hopping onto Dojo. Omi hopped on as well, and Raimundo was able to use the wind to propel him onto the reptile. Kimiko had trouble finding her footing but Raimundo lent her a hand, giving her a chivalrous smile as they flew off. The dragon of fire settled in front of the leader with a pout. "I could of got on myself."

"You're welcome."


There we go. Chapter 2 up an' running. ^^

Chapter 3 to be up soon! Feel free to R&R!