A/N: OMG! LOOKIT! A CHAPTER! The apocalypse must be here if I'm updating! xD Please don't hate me for the insane amount of time it takes me to post. I'm really really sorry! (honestly, I am! I have no excuses and I give everyone permission to throw tomatoes and lettuce at me... well, that's a lie. You can throw cookies at me, but no vegetables :P)

Oh, I need to give a quick shout-out to the darling xxFireWarriorxx who wrote me a lovely message reminding me I haven't updated in FOREVER!

Also, thank you to everyone who left reviews (as much as I want to reply to them, I'm pretty sure no one remembers what you wrote to me :P) YOU SHOULD ALL KNOW YOUR REVIEWS MOTIVATE ME AND MAKE ME FEEL LOVED *gives everyone cookies and rainbows*

Disclaimer: The only thing that belongs to me is Rai-torture. I did not invent it, but I definitely torture him more than anyone else (That poor kid...)

Onward!

Chapter 6

I don't know what I'm supposed to be feeling right now…

There are so many different emotions swirling through my heart that I can't possibly distinguish one.

I feel like my chest is going to explode from containing all of them. Is it humanly possible to hold this much feeling inside of a body?

But… it's not so much the feelings I'm feeling that confuse me, but the absence of one particular feeling.

I don't… feel afraid.

"Come on Rai, since when have you been scared of a couple old monks?" Kimiko joked, trying to urge Raimundo to step out of the Silver Manta Ray. But he was adamantly glued to his seat, refusing to move.

"What if no one wants me back?" Rai mumbled, and Kimi rolled her eyes and tugged on his arms.

"Don't be silly, of course everyone wants you back. In fact, Master Fung sent us out to find you and bring you home. We all missed you!" Kimiko replied sincerely. Clay had gone ahead to alert every one of their return and Kimiko and Raimundo were supposed to be following after him, but with how things were going at the moment, it didn't seem as if they would be moving anytime soon.

"Maybe it was a mistake. I mean, I've been gone for two years. What if they already chose a new dragon of the wind! What if it's a chick? What if they got a chick to replace me and she's stronger than me and has powers over rainbows and sparkles-"

Kimiko slapped him. "Get a hold of yourself Rai! Honestly, rainbows?" Raimundo's eyes opened wide in surprise and he grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just nervous." He said, rubbing the nape of his neck. "I just… can't believe I'm back…"

"Rai, you aren't just back; you're home." Kimi said with a wide smile on her face. The nervous look in Rai's eyes was replaced with a calm one as she said these words.

He nodded, "Home… I'm home."

For the first time in years, I feel like I belong again.

It's a different type of belong then when I was with my gang.

This belonging makes me feel like I have a reason to live.

"RAIMUNDO!" Omi yelled out as if he was screaming a battle cry before pouncing on the taller boy and knocking him to the ground, "Oh my good friend, you have finally returned to us! I wanted to go look for you myself since I was sure I would be able to persuade you back with my amazing skills, but Master Fung assigned me the great task of watching the temple myself." Omi squished Rai's cheeks between his hands and gave him a very serious look, "You must not run away again!"

Rai chuckled, "I missed you too, Omi." He said before trying to pry the clingy boy arms off from around his waist. "Um… Omi, I kinda need my body back now…"

Omi refused to let go of Rai, and eventually Raimundo gave up and just let the younger boy cling to him. Clay and Kimiko watched this exchanged with amused expressions, smiling when they noticed how happy Rai seemed.

"Young monks, I see you've returned." An authoritative voice said from behind them. Omi finally let go of Rai, and Rai looked up wide eyed.

"Master Fung…"

"Raimundo, you look well."

Rai stood in shock for a few moments before walking to stand right in front of Master Fung. He met his eyes for a moment before bowing his body and head. "Master Fung… I know I've made some – many wrong choices in the last few years, but I'd like one more chance to redeem myself in your eyes. Please, allow me to return as one of your pupils and train under you. I want to fight on the side of good again."

There was silence. The three young monks watched nervous as Rai stood bowed before Fung, waiting for his reply. "You betrayed us Raimundo. You left the Xiaolin side for the Heylin and learned their dark arts. All that is unforgivable."

Raimundo was sweating at this point. Now that he was here – now that he finally got the courage to return – was he really going to be turned away? "Master Fung-"

"And that is precisely why we will take you back." Master Fung finished kindly.

"W-what? I don't understand…"

Master Fung held out his hand to Raimundo and helped his stand straight. "Yes, you joined the Heylin, but you also made the correct choice to leave. You proved yourself strong enough to see the light. I always knew you would return to us Raimundo. I believed you would do the right thing."

He… believed in me? All those times I felt I was alone, that no one wanted me, and this whole time… he's believed in me…

Rai cast his eyes downward to hide his tears. Even after all this time, Master Fung had faith in him. "I – thank you Master Fung. I won't let you down again. I promise; I will become the best Dragon of Wind the world has ever seen!"

Master Fung smiled. "I do not doubt that-"

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" A tall monk came yelled as he stormed forward and Master Fung narrowed his eyes at him.

"That is not your call to make Monk Gyasta. I have accepted Raimundo back as my pupil; you have no say in the matter." Fung said calmly. Monk Gyasta was fuming.

"How can we possibly trust him? He's betrayed us all! For all we know, he's still working for Chase Young and is deceiving us to discover our secrets! I refuse to accept anyone who had been on the Heylin side as a member of the Xiaolin Temple!" Monk Gyasta huffed. The words stung Raimundo's pride, but he didn't dare speak up for himself. Fortunately he didn't need to.

"Now listen here! Rai's been through enough without your verbal abuse! He made some mistakes, but he's only human!" Kimiko yelled, jabbing her finger at him angrily, "Master Fung already forgave him, so don't you go get all up in his face about his past!"

Monk Gyasta sneered at her, "Know your place trainee! You are not even a Dragon yet! You have no right to speak that way to me!"

Clay stepped forward to stand besides Kimiko and Omi rushed to her other side, "Actually par'ner, she's voicing all three of our opinions. We might just be 'dragons-in-training', but we're the only dragons there are right now, so I'm pretty sure we can speak that way when it's to defend a friend."

Master Fung smiled at how much his students had grown. Standing up to defend a friend, even when faced with someone who had authority over them, was a good trait. Monk Gyasta's face was slowly turning red and he began to splutter "Now you listen here-"

"No, he's right guys…" Rai said quietly, much to everyone's surprise, "I made a huge mistake and I joined the Heylin side. I can understand why you wouldn't want to trust me, but…" the look of desperation in Raimundo's eyes hardened, "I at least want the chance to gain back your trust!"

All three other monks smiled and came to stand besides their friend, "If Rai is forced to leave; well, then we all leave, sir. We aren't the 'Xiaolin Dragons' without our dragon of the wind." Clay said confidently. Kimiko and Omi nodded in agreement.

Monk Gyasta's face was now bright red with anger, but he couldn't go against all four of the dragons and the master monk. "Fine! But if I find you doing even one thing wrong, I will see to it that you will be stripped of your powers and a new dragon of wind will be found to replace you!" He yelled angrily before stomping off. Rai watched him go, worry evident on his face.

"Great, I haven't even been back for an hour and somebody already hates me." Rai said with a chuckle, "Just like old times."

O.o.O

"Wow… I feel like I'm stepping into a time capsule. You guys left my room exactly as it was! Well, except it's probably cleaner now. I used to keep it a mess if I recall right." Rai said with a chuckle, plopping down onto the mat that served as his bed. "I can't believe you guys didn't empty it out or anything."

Kimiko stood in the doorway grinning, "Well, duh. We knew you would come back to us one day, so you needed a place to come back to."

Raimundo was quiet for a few moments before sitting upright and crossing his legs, "Hey Kimi," he said quietly, "do you guys really believe in me? I mean… that was the second time I've gone to the Heylin side. What if I – what if I'm not strong enough… what if I go back again?"

"Rai…" Kimiko squeezed herself into the small room and sat down next to the Brazilian boy, "no matter how many times you leave, we'll always be here to bring you back."

"Hmm," Rai hummed, digesting the answer. His friends really did want him back and it was…weird. He hadn't expected that returning could be this simple. "Hey Kimi, thanks."

"For what?" She questioned.

Rai laid back and placed his arms under his head so he could stare up at the ceiling. "For helping me realize what I needed. As horrible as this sound, I don't regret going to the Heylin side. And no matter how much I want to pretend it's not true, Chase has been a huge influence on my life. But I was so blinded by everything that I didn't realize just how much I was losing." He chuckled, "I think it finally clicked in when you slapped me. Even when I was with my familia I felt that something was missing. And I realized it was you. This. Everything I had! I missed fighting for good, I missed hanging out with you guys, I missed being able to slack off in chores and training and just relaxing and having fun. I missed the balance we had. With Chase, it was always training. With my gang, it was fun, but I was unmotivated. When I'm here with you guys, everything feels… perfect."

Kimiko didn't know how to respond to that, but it seemed that Raimundo wasn't looking for a response. He continued, "So thanks… you helped me realize that what I was living before wasn't living; it was just surviving. You saved me from a boring existence filled with hate and pain. So thank you," he flashed her a bright, happy grin, "for saving me."

Kimi blushed, "Yeah well…. Don't run away again and then I won't have to save you!" She said, punching him in the arm. He laughed.

"It's a deal."

Thank you.

Because without you…

I couldn't have saved myself.

So thank you for Saving Me.

A/N: ASJDFHADJFEOIQHD! FINALLY FINISHED *dies* I hate how this chapter came out (actually, I pretty much hate this whole story at this point .) but there will still be an epilogue (eventually since I really want to write it)

Guys, this was unbeta-ed. unproofed, unEVERYTHINGed! I just wanted to get it up already! Thank you EVERYONE who read this and stuck with me despite my sporadic update (assuming anyone actually DID. I totally understand if you gave up on me considering I half gave up on myself xD)

IF YOU REVIEW I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER! (seriously, I will.) The epilogue will be posted regardless of reviews xD I just need to ... you know, write it .

Thank you again everyone! Hope you enjoyed!