A/N: Hey guys I'm sorry I never update I kinda lost motivation for a while with a bunch of stuff going on. Also about the story I'm sorry it's going so drastically from the Xiaolin fandom but I promise after this chapter its going right back. I just thought Haylee deserved a bit of background.

Chapter 4

I was 5 years old when my mom died of a disease that I never knew the name of. To be honest I didn't even know she had it. I would see her every day and looking back at it I always knew she was sick, but I never thought it would kill her. I thought about my mom a lot that morning and as I did so I decided to think about one of my happiest memories of her.

Living in Ireland we had many trees around to look at; a sight I've missed ever since we moved to the flatlands of Texas. My mom would always take me out into the forest surrounding our house. The first time she did that she picked out one specific tree, one that didn't necessarily stand out from the rest, and proclaimed it to be our tree. From that day on we would play in the forest then rest under our tree. Every once and a while we would even go on picnics; my mom, my dad and me, and we would even eat under the tree. For the last month however I noticed that we would only go to the forest every once and a while and we didn't go at all the last week…

From out of nowhere a voice snaps me out of my memories. "Hello? You still there, sweetie?" I blinked and finally came to my senses. I looked around and felt a weird nudging inside my head. What the hell? "Now is that any way for a young lady to speak?" I jumped, the voice was not only in my head but it was able to hear my thoughts.

I'm sorry. Was I seriously talking to a tree? It appeared so, but I was completely fine with it.

Hours passed as I spoke to my tree, the slight nudging sensation in my head slowly growing more and more pronounced. By the final hour it became more than I could take and had to leave my tree alone for fear of falling unconscious from the now awful pain in my head. As I walked from my tree the pain subsided and I finally noticed my surroundings. The sun was going down and out of everything that was happening, from strange dreams to talking trees; all I noticed at that point was just how beautiful the sight before me was. I watched in pure silence from the porch as the sky lit up with brilliant oranges, reds, and pinks. The stars above me already started to twinkle against the black of the sky slowly chasing away the colors. I breathed deeply, closing my eyes and smiling as I took in the sweet smell of nature.

Behind me I heard a long low whistle. The sharp sound in the silence surprised me and I turned around quickly with a gasp. My dad laughed and shook his head at my reaction. He messed with my hair and in his strong Irish accent he said simply "Sure is beautiful isn't it? Nature that is" I looked up at him leaning against the wall and simply smiled my embarrassed smile and nodded before looking back at the sky. It engulfed the land from horizon to horizon illuminated by an almost too large full moon. It was just breathtaking to say the least. I looked back to my dad and then I remembered what he had said that morning. Curious, I stood up.

"Daddy," I said looking at my feet and twiddling my thumbs, "about my tree, why did you call her a her, and why did you tell me to talk to her?" I looked up at him, he had a mischievous smile and it looked like his emerald green eyes got sorta misty as he looked into the distance. After a while he let out a humorous sigh, shook his head, and ruffled my hair.

"You're a special young lady" he mused, "…just like her…" With that he gave me a kiss on the head, smoothed my hair, and said goodnight. I stood there mystified looking into the never-ending horizon. I lay on my back to count stars when I suddenly remembered the envelope from Clay. Instantly excited I jump up to run inside. I turn to face my house but I could have sworn I saw something move in the trees not even a yard away. I should investigate it further but it's probably just an animal of some sort and the livestock is safe inside for the night, plus I'm much too excited about the envelope.

Inside my house I quickly and quietly walk to my room stopping for a split second in front of my dad's room. Inside I heard light snores and couldn't help but to smile to myself. I sprinted to my room, lightly jumping over the loudest floorboard. I don't want to wake daddy, he needs sleep if he's gonna be dealing with me AND Clay. I silently crept into my room and with one movement got to my desk and flicked on the small lamp. I picked up the letter and sat on my bed with my back to the window. With shaking hands I almost couldn't open the envelope, but sure enough I finally was able to rip out the letter that was inside. I excitedly read the horrid chicken scratch that is Clay's handwriting.

Dear Sis,

I don't know if this is the most convenient time for you and dad, but I've decided that I'm coming for a semi-surprise visit.

Of course reading this I got really excited. Maybe my dream was actually true. I almost didn't finish reading as my excitement for this news grew. Suddenly a horrifying thought occurred to me: maybe my dream was truer than I realized; maybe there was a reason for him visiting that was already explained. At this thought I looked back to the letter to finish reading it.

Now you out of everyone knows that I ain't one to beat around the bush. So I think it's best if I just tell you the reason I'm coming out. You are in danger… I don't know what kind but it's serious. I know you and I know you think you can protect yourself and I'll admit with that right hook you got you're probably right. But you need to know this and I'm coming out with some friends so we can help.

So I was right. My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach. I couldn't handle this. He was right, I was tough but I want to see him on better terms. The worst part of this though is how was my dream so close to predicting that he was gonna visit and why? If my dream was any more accurate, I definitely couldn't handle the danger that was coming my way. My dream replayed in my head several times as I studied the strange fighting technique that everybody was using.

Suddenly, I was drug out of the window without even the chance to scream.

A/N: Hey guys. So yay! An update and I'm proud to say that although I will not update daily I'm definitely updating weekly and I'm in dire need of feedback. So if you guys have any comments or CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, please tell me. I am just getting back into writing fiction. So keep at least a slightly open mind. I do apologize for any grammatical mistakes. Thanks!