Me: Konnichiwa Tomodachi! (I decided I could keep this opening A/N note, haha)

Raimundo: …What?

Kimiko: It means 'Hello Friends' in Japanese.

Raimundo: Well of course you'd know, Little Miss Japanese!

Kimiko: And proud of it.

Me: Okay people, I warn you to be VERY careful when you read from here on out of my story.

Raimundo: Why?

Me: Because Rai-rai, I'm gonna be trying to mislead the readers into thinking a few things.

Kimiko: Like what?

Me: Can't tell ya. It would ruin the suspense I'm trying to build up.

Raimundo: Well it surely ain't workin'.

Me: (glares at Raimundo) Rai-rai, start the chapter.

Raimundo: ElementalGuardianProtector owns nothing but Crystal and this story. And stop callin' me Rai-rai!

Chapter Four Revised

"Master Fung, we're back!" Dojo announced as soon as he landed on the Xiaolin Grounds. The Chinese Dragon let the teenage monks off of his back and changed once more into his smaller state.

It was nighttime now. The sky was black and full of bright stars.

Dojo, Clay, Raimundo, Kimiko, and Omi walked into the holy temple.

"Great, Dojo, now you can start fixing the – " Master Fung began, but was interrupted by Dojo muttering as he slithered past him with a hammer in his hand, nails in his mouth, and wood held over his right shoulder with one clawed hand, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm getting to it."

"Good. Now, my apprentices…Did you happen find the whereabouts of the Dragon of Elements from Chase Young?" Master Fung inquired. "Yeah." Raimundo answered dryly before turning and walking down the hall, towards his bedroom.

(In this story, the temple looks the same, but the inside is more "pimped out" and everyone has an actual bedroom of their own)

"...May I ask what exactly is wrong with Raimundo?" Master Fung asked. "We don't know, Master Fung. We tried to ask him all during the ride home, but he just wouldn't tell us. Rai claims that it's nothing, but I'm actually a bit worried." Kimiko admitted to her sensei.

"I... I think it has something to do with Chase's new female apprentice, Crystal."

Master Fung raised a curious eyebrow at the Dragon of Fire. "And just who this new apprentice of Chase's? Is the problem Chase's apprentice herself, or simply the fact that she is female?"

"Don't worry, Master Fung, we'll explain everything that we know and fill you in on everything that happened." Kimiko assured the old man. "Yes, and we will also tell endlessly how pretty she is!" Omi exclaimed.

"You can bet on that one, partner!" Clay agreed with Omi. "Master Fung, that Crystal girl is a hot-tie!" Kimiko sighed deeply before groaning. "Not AGAIN..."

"Man... Why do things always have to be so complicated? Can't I just get a freebie every once in awhile? I mean dang, really... Ugh..." Raimundo sighed and fell back onto his bed, fusterated.

He had some serious thinking to do.

"So that new unknown Shen Gong Wu is in Rio de Janiero, is it?… Rio de Janiero... That's... That's my home... And it's also... It's the place where we... She and I... First met." Raimundo thought.

"It's hard to believe it's been five years since I… Moved so far away from her. And since she had to go back to America…She's so different now… She barely even smiles, and she's so formal and stuffy. She isn't happy and full of life anymore. And her beautiful warm white eyes have been reduced to ice. I just can't accept that that's really her, even though I'm almost positive now that it is..."

"Oh god, Crystal, what has Chase done to you? Why have you joined the Haylin side? Why can't you remember me? Why are you so cold now? Just... Why?" Raimundo asked aloud, as though he expected an answer.

Lucky for Raimundo, no one heard him. Then, it finally hit Raimundo.

Hard.

"...Oh, man! Now that I'm on the Xiaolin side, and she's on the Haylin side, we have to be enemies!" Raimundo realized. "Am I really going to be forced to fight her? Can I do that? And when the time comes... Could I really bring her down?"

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

"Aw, man... Who is that?..." Raimundo sat up, rubbing his eyes as he fought off the twinge of irritation he felt by his thoughts being interrupted. He knew whoever it was had interrupted him with a purpose.

"Who is it?"

"It's Kimiko."

"Oh... Come in, Kim."

Raimundo watched as the young Japanese teenger walked in and up to him with a look of honest concern plastered on her face. "Damn. Did I worry her? I can handle her flaring temper, but her worry and being upset is something I just don't know how to respond to..." Raimundo mentally cursed himself.

"Rai?" Kimiko asked a she walked in and sat on the edge of Raimundo's bed. "What is it, Kimiko?" Raimundo asked. "Okay, something's up. Raimundo, please tell me what's wrong." Kimiko pleaded, desperately wanting to know what was wrong with her friend.

"It's nothing, Kimiko."

"You're lying, Rai! It has something to do with Crystal, I know it does! It's written all over your face! What is it about her that bothers you so much?"

"No, it's not about her."

"Raimundo, we've been through so much together... You, me, Clay, and Omi... Why can't you tell us what's wrong? Do you feel like you can't trust us? Do you think that lowly of us? That lowly of me?"

"Will you stop talking like that? Of course I trust you guys! You're my friends!"

"Really? Are we? Because friends confide in each other - and you refuse to confide in us."

"God, Kimiko! Just let me think, okay, Kim? Is it against the law for me to think? Can't a guy think every once in awhile?!"

"I… I just wanted to know what was wrong... I'm worried about you, okay?! Is that so wrong of me?!" Kimiko whispered, lowering her eyes. Raimundo sighed again and ran his hands through his hair.

"Look, Kim... I'm sorry. Seriously, I am. I know that you're just concerned, but there's nothing to be concerned about. I'm fine. Really." Raimundo apologized. "...If you say so…" Kimiko trailed off with uncertainty.

Change in POV

"Hm... So it seems as though my lord's plans went accordingly. The Xiaolin Dragons bought our act... How pathetic..." Crystal walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She had just been dismissed from Chase's study, where they had a lengthy discussion about their next motives.

"Why do they trust what I say so easily? Did I really seem like a victim to them? How wrong they are... I'm with my lord because I choose to be. My vision can only be reached through Chase-sama's ideals. I choose the path of Haylin. I could never be something a despicable as a Xiaolin Warrior... I owe Chase-sama my life."

"Who... Who are you?"

"I am Chase Young, the Scorpion King."

"The... Scorpion King? Where am I?..."

"Your life is nearing its end. You are gravely injuried, you have no home, and you have no means of sustaining yourself."

"I... I don't even remember my own name... Do you know what happened to me?"

"That will all come in due time. I will see to it that you know the simple things. I will also provide you a home, food, water, and a comfortable lifestyle. All you must do in return... Is summit yourself to me. If you agree... From now on, you must address to me as your master. You will do as I say."

"In other words... I must become your slave?"

"Slave? I prefer thinking you as my apprentice."

"Your apprentice... Well what exactly are you? What do you do? Where are we?"

"The important thing is, do you will to be saved? Or do you want me to take you back to where I found you and leave you there to die alone?"

"...I... I don't want to die... I'm not ready to die yet..."

"Then give me your hand. And I promise... In return of your loyalty and trust, I will take care of you. I will personally make you my responsibility."

"...I see... Then I have no other choice but to trust you and confide in you... Chase-sama. Thank you... For saving my life. I swear my unwavering loyalty to you, my lord."

"That was a wise decision... Crystal."

"Is that... My name?"

"...Regardless, the Xiaolin Dragons seem to earnestly believe they will find 'Dragon of Elements'. I mean, of course it will be in Rio de Janiero tomorrow at the specified time... But they will not find what they pursue. Not in the way any of them expected, at least. There's no way any of them could understand... Just what the Dragoin of Elements really is."

"Shen Gong Wu, Haylin, Xiaolin, Showdowns... All of this is so new to me. It's all so deep and complex, I don't know were to begin. But... I will excel in my performance tomorrow. No one can stop me from pleasing my lord Chase-sama."

"...The name's Raimundo Pedrosa."

Suddenly remembering the Dragon of Wind, Crystal sighed in fusteration before undressing to change into her night clothes, pondering all the while."Raimundo Pedrosa… Hmmm... Why does that name sound so... Nostalgic? And why does that boy himself seem so…I don't know… Familiar?

"It's like I've heard his name before somewhere. I can't quite put my finger on it, but maybe something about him reminds me of my former life... After all, I seem to unconscioisly drop my guard around him... But all I can remember is waking up in Chase-sama's palace with this half of a locket clutched in my hand."

Crystal approached the mirror on her fancy and expensive dresser. She wore a silk white nightgown with her long hair flowing wavily down her back. After examining her reflection, she reached over and grabbed a golden half of a heart-shaped locket from off of her dresser.

"...Heh. I've grown so found of this necklace... I've even grown into claiming it as my own. I guess it might as well be... I did wake up on the verge of death with no memories with it my hand. I have no idea where the other half is, though… I wonder what happened to it." Crystal thought.

"I sense that you are troubled, my princess."

"...My guardian. I am so grateful that all of my memories of you are still in tact... I don't what I would have done without you, my lord Chase-sama, and my lady Wuya-chan helping me through this past week... Because of my memory failure, I have pretty much been reborn."

"Your Highness, there be no reason for you to speak so formally to me. I have know you since the very day of you birth. There is no one who shall ever understand you better than I."

"Heh, that is true, isn't it? Keeping this strong face is so... Hard. I'm not quite fitting into this Haylin exterior I've created for myself to please my lord Chase-sama... But... I cannot allow the Xiaolin to continue! I will please my lord Chase-sama, and I will also eliminate the Xiaolin Dweebs!"

"Xiaolin... Dweebs?"

"Yeah! That's my name for them, you know! But I can't say that to their faces - I have to be a formidable and respectful opponet! Not to mention professional!"

"Haha! Your Highness, forgive me, but you are just so cute when you start pouting so determinedly."

"What? I'm not pouting! I am feared! I am powerful! I am almighty! I am a Haylin Warrior!"

"So you claim. But anyway, what about Raimundo? Chase suspects you will be facing off against him, if all follows accordingly to his plans. Tomorrow, you should be facing him in Rio de Janiero."

"...Yes, I am aware of that. But why should that matter? It doesn't matter if he seems a little familiar... It's probabaly nothing, Besides, he's my enemy. I am Haylin, and he is Xiaolin. We were born to hate one another."

"Your mother... She was a Xiaolin Warrior."

"But didn't you say she left Xiaolin after getting serious with my father, who was Haylin, because they saw her as a traitor?"

"That is correct."

"It's so weird that I'm being told about my own life by someone else, heh! It's a little weird... The first time I opened up that locket, I saw a little boy's picture in it... He's about eleven years old, and he's the splitting image of Raimundo... So it makes me think... Whoever that necklace belonged to knew him. Or if that locket really is mine... Then maybe I knew him in my 'past life'. That makes me wonder even more who he was to me... But that was then and this is now."

"Don't worry. You will find the answer to all these unsolved questions."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because I believe that there is a time and season for everything. Allow everything to play out, if I may suggest so to you, my princess."

With a sigh, Crystal crawled into bed. She carefully slid the locket under her pillow and got comfortable, ready to sleep. "Thank you... Artemis. I know I never say this enough to you, but... I would be lost without you."

"I will always be there when you need me. Viva la princia." (this means "you are my one and only princess")

And with a pleasant smile playing across her lips, Crystal closed her eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Me: And that's the end of the revised version of chapter four. Much different from the original version, but I prefer it :D

Raimundo: Yeah, yeah, of course you prefer it.

Me: It makes me mad that the surprise in this is kinda spoiled, though! Oh well... So be it xD

Raimundo: (shakes head) You always have to be diabolical and make things hard on people, otherwise you'll pout, don't you?

Me: Pretty much! Haha! Read and review please!