Xiaolin showdown: New Apprentices.
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way or form, own the original Xiaolin characters or concepts. Anything unfamiliar would a product of my deranged imagination, ok.
Celena looked up, and glanced about her surroundings as if snapping out of a dream. She was strumming on a bass guitar along with her three other friends who played on other instruments. The main soloist who stood hammering on a electric guitar was an Italian girl called Levina. Celena smiled to herself, that one was always charged up and raring to go, it was quite frightening. She looked across to a darker haired Spanish girl called Kalindi. The total opposite of Celena herself in every way and form. Her skin was dark with two, huge brown eyes set upon her face under a head of bushy, dark brown hair. Her fingers flew over a synthesiser, her head bobbing to the beat. Celena's pale face moved over to the drummer who just happened to be Levina's Italian twin brother. True, they were non-identical, but they nevertheless looked practically the same right down to light brown hair with sun bleach streaks and mischievous blue eyes. His mop of light brown hair flapped up and down as he snapped his head backwards and forward.
The song they were playing came to a slow end as the notes from the instruments died away and Kalindi let out an explosive breath and smiled making dimples show in her cheeks.
"That was slammin'!" She crowed spreading her arms in the air.
"Yeah, it was alright," Jantis said leaning on his drum.
"Hey bro, I wrote that so be careful what you say, si!" Levina warned, jabbing a threatening finger in her brother's direction.
Celena hooked a stand of pale blond hair behind he ear "I liked it Jantis" she said in a small voice, her cheeks blushing slightly. Jantis sniffed as he looked in her direction and she looked at the floor shyly, plucking at her guitar.
"Ha, three to one Jantis, Your out voted," Kalindi laughed. Jantis stuck his tongue out at her and chucked his drum stick at her. She squeaked as it hit her, so she threw it back but missing by quite a few inches. Jantis laughed at her as she scowled menacingly at him. Celena smiled shyly.
"Children, Children," Levina said "Don't start a fight or I'll be forced to finish it and win naturally.
She grinned as her brother threw his other drumstick at her, but neatly deflected it with her electric guitar. "Hey, watch it, you might scratch it," She pouted, she buffing her guitar with her sleeve.
Jantis shrugged, "What now?" he asked.
"We better not start another one; my folks will be home soon, it's nearly eleven." Kalindi said pointing to her watch.
"Ah, just une?" Jantis pleaded.
"Afraid not brother of mine," Levina said regretfully putting her guitar in its case.
"But, it's the last time we will play together in the next due and half weeks!" Jantis protested.
Celena felt a pang of sadness at this because, they were going to go on holiday and she would be left here with her father. She shuddered inwardly at the thought; she and her father were not on the best of terms. She looked at her friends that she was lucky to have considering her shy nature. She liked them all, even Kalindi who got on her nerves every now and then. Levina and Jantis did offer to take her to Italy with them, but her father would have none of it. Even Kalindi wanted Celena to go with her and her foster parents to Spain but the answer was the same. No. What a sad existence I lead, she thought to herself.
"Sorry bro, but that's the way the cookie crumbles, it's alright if we leave his drum kit here isn't it?" Levina asked Kalinda.
"Yeah, Dad'll put a sheet over it, it should be alright," she replied as she shunted her synthesiser into a corner of the garage.
Celena put her bass into its case and slipped her leather coat on. Levina looked at her and knew almost exactly was on her mind. Celena could never really keep anything secret from her, they knew each other to well. After all, all four of them had been stepping on each others toes for five years now. Levina strode over and embraced the small girl warmly, which made Celena blush furiously.
"I'm sorry Cel, I wish you could come with us" Levina said in a forlorn voice.
"Yeah, me due," Jantis said.
"Me tre," Kalindi squeaked "Sorry."
Levina looked up with her arm still around Celena's small shoulders, "We could always pack her up in a suitcase," She suggested.
"Yeah," Jantis's face brightened," She is small enough."
Celena blushed if not, even more.
"Come on girl, cheer up, it won't be that bad," Levina said. "Besides, you won't have to put up with us lot."
I wish that were true, Celena thought, but smiled at her friend.
"Ah see, that's better," Levina chuckled, "Come on; let's go before we get told off for lingering."
The three waved goodbye to Kalindi and walked down the road. The twins immediately started to bicker whilst Celena walked silently beside them. They got the end of the long road and parted, the twins down the right road and Celena up the left road feeling more and more miserable as she went along. Her thoughts were not of her friends or band practise, but of what would happen when she got home. Hopefully, her father would not notice her walk through the front door. With him sitting in his cushy armchair with a beer bottle in his hand, fast a sleep in a drunken stupor. Hopefully.
Her feet felt suddenly heavy as lead as she pounded slowly up the street, every step filled with dread.
Eventually, she came to the doors of a large block of flats and hesitated. The urge to run was strong but where would she go? Celena let out a low sigh and opened the doors and proceeded to climb the stairs up to the fourth floor of number sixteen.
She went up to the door, paused then put the key into the lock and twisted it. Fear made her tremble as she stepped over the threshold to her doom, as she saw it.
She carefully closed the door, so that she made no sound and tiptoed down the hallway. Peered round the edge of the door frame in a timid fashion to check out the 'father situation'. Luckily, he was sleeping in his chair with his back to her. His bald head peeping over the top of the chair.
Keeping and eye on the back of his head, she tiptoed pass to get to the other door to get to her bedroom.
Suddenly, he murmured and she froze to the spot but luckily he didn't move. Maybe she was gonna make it, she thought, adrenaline pumping though her veins. Her hand extended towards door, her breath quickened.
"Celena!"
She froze, her heart in her mouth and blood pumping in her ears.
"Celena, where have you been!" a harsh voice growled from behind her.
She turned slowly to see her father lurch towards her on shaky, uncertain legs.
She trembled violently, eye wide in fear. Her lower lip trembling.
"Well? Answer me you stupid girl!"
Celena's mouth was dry and throat swollen, but still managed to squeak a response.
"I…I was with my friends."
"What!" he cried, "You, friends, pah!"
He made to hit her but Celena quickly dodged and his momentum took him straight into the wall.
Celena ran to the middle of the living room to gain advantage. Her father shouting a stream of profanities and curses made another lunge for her, but years of this sort of thing honed her agility and she sidestepped as her father tripped and crashed into the floor. As quick as her legs could carry her, she dashed to the door, whipped it open and flew down the corridor. Pushed the door open to her bedroom and locked the door, her hands fumbling on the latch as she as she heard her father thunder after her. She backed away from the door as it shook and shuddered under the hammering blows of the monster that lay behind it. She crawled to her bed, weeping silently. Her father continued to hammer on the door whilst shouting profanities at her. Celena put the pillow over her head to muffle the dreadful noise and wept uncontrollable.
I hope he gives up, I wish he'd go away she continuously thought. The lock on the door was her last defence. God knows what he might do if he got his hands on her.
She continued to cry until finally she fell into a deep, nightmare filled sleep.
In the Days that followed, Celena was very lonely. With her friends on holiday in other parts of the world, she only had the company of the walls and furniture in the daytime and her father at night. Luckily, her father was at work during the day and drunk in the evenings. She lived in continual fear of her father, hiding behind a bolted door.
Then one evening, a week before her friends were due to return, two Chinese monks turned up on the door steps.
Celena was in the middle of cooking dinner when the door bell rang. Her father roared for her to answer it and she zipped to the door and opened it, and there they stood. They looked down at Celena and smiled kindly. The first friendly expression she received in over a week.
"You are Celena Doyle, are you not?" the first monk asked. She merely stood there stupefied that they knew her name and she blushed shyly as she realised she was staring at them. She stepped aside and mumbled something about yes she was and would they like to come in.
"Thank you child," the second said and walked past her and on into the living room.
"Who he hell is it girl!" her father demanded.
"Two monks sir," She replied.
"Two what?"
He looked round as the two monks walked in and bowed respectively to him.
"What do you want?" he asked gruffly.
"We have come to place a great honour on your family." The second one said.
"Yes" The first agreed." We are from the Xiaolin temple in China."
"Yeah, and."
"We wish to adopt your daughter as a student."
Celena's heart stopped. Did she hear right? Her, of all people in a temple, her heart began to pound in excitement.
Her father, now on his feet, began to laugh.
"You two bald freaks are nuts, who would want her at some temple."
"We would," said the first in all honesty.
He laughed again, but Celena had already made up her mind in those short minutes. Anywhere away from here must be better than living with her monster of a father, so she thought she would take her chances with this temple, but to study what?
"She will receive the best martial arts training," The first one said.
"Oh no, she ain't going no where you…you crazy monk you." Her father said indignantly.
The first monk and her father continued to battle in an uproarious argument. Mind you, the only one that was shouting was her father. The first monk, however, remained calm and collected as he put forward his arguments to this angered man.
The second monk turned to Celena and looked at her sadly. "How a man like him produced a beautiful delicate flower like you is beyond me." He shook his head in regret but smiled reassuringly down at the wide eyed child. Celena blushed furiously and looked away. 'A delicate flower?' Her! No one has said anything like that before.
"Don't be shy child," the second monk said, tilting her face up towards him so he looked square into her grey eyes "Ah, I see you will make a fine dragon warrior in time but a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step, and that step, my child, is you packing. But, you yourself must first say you are willing to under go the training to become a Xiaolin Dragon. I warn you, that it will take years of gruelling training. It will be hard and slow, but I feel that you will make an most excellent warrior."
Celena looked at her father now red faced and otherwise occupied with a infuriating calm faced monk, unaware of the conversation that was taking place.
Celena did not need to think long and hard about it. Anywhere was better than this place.
Before she gave her answer, she gasped in shock as her father went to hit the monk, but the monk merely put his finger to her father's head and flicked him like a fly. Her father fell backwards and cracked his head on the floor slipping into unconsciousness with a low moan. The first monk went to check if he was alright.
The second monk looked at his fellow monk "Bother!" he said reprovingly.
"Self defence brother." The other merely replied.
The second monk chuckled and turned back to Celena who stood, staring in shook at her father's limp body.
"How do you do that?" She breathed, looking at the monk.
"With training and time you too may be able to perform that simple move."
Celena looked at the kind faced monk, then at her father's unconscious body, and back again.
"When do we leave?" She smiled shyly at her brashness.
"As soon as you are packed."
Celena packed all of her clothes and a few of the little possessions she had which included her bass guitar and a photo of her deceased mother, properly her most prized possession.
On the plane, the monks explained more to her about the Xiaolin temple and the Xiaolin Dragon warriors. She listened enrapt with attention as they explained. They told her that each dragon warrior had an element, they already had four in training who were earth, wind, fire and water. They also told her of the magical artefacts called Shen gon wu that were hidden throughout the world by Grand Master Dashi after he defeated the evil Heylin witch, Wuya and sealed her in a puzzle box that was opened and realised her. Now the temple has chosen warriors to gather and protect the shen gon wu from Wuya who threatens to plunge the world in a thousand years of darkness. Now she had already tried to do this once but their current apprentices thwarted her efforts. Now she was teamed with another who threatens the sanctity of the world; Chase Young. She hesitantly asked why she was involved, so they told her of the Scroll of Dashi revealed the first four warriors to them and now revealed four more with new elements of the Sun, Moon, Metal and Lightening and that Celena was to be the dragon of the Moon. The monks went further to say that the scroll probably revealed them in response to the growing evil in the world.
Celena could hardly believe her luck. It was hard to believe but when they finally arrived at the temple, she knew it was true.
It was early morning and life in the temple had not yet stirred. She stared in wonder at the beautiful Chinese temple that had stood for fifteen hundred years.
The two monks lead her across the vast gardens and into the great hall of the temple and at the end stood another monk. His robes however suggested that he was the master but to Celena's utter disbelief, her three friends stood beside him. All three came running down the hall and enveloped her in a hug all screaming and shouting in joy.
Master Fung clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and they regretfully put Celena down.
"From now on you will learn and train in this temple. However, you are students and must earn your rank of apprentice. The original apprentices will help you with this and ah, here they are now."
Through a doorway on the opposite side of the room filed in four, very sleepy looking apprentices. The first was a huge boy with sandy blonde hair and wearing a cowboy hat. The next was a Chinese boy, very small compared to the first. Next was a Asian girl with black hair tied in a pony tails, and after her a dark tanned boy with brown hair and green eyes. All wearing red robes, The sandy blonde and the brown haired boys had whit trousers, the Chinese boy had white trousers. However, the girl looked like she wore leggings with ballet shoes with ribbons criss-crossed up her leg to her knee. And they all wore purplely- blue sashes.
They all looked at Celena and her friends in confusion and looked questionably at Master Fung.
"These, my apprentices, are the new students, may I introduce Levina, Dragon of lightening…"
"Buongiorns"
"… Jantis, the dragon of Metal…"
"Giao"
"…Kalindi, Dragon of the Sun…"
"Hola"
"… and Celena, the dragon of the Moon"
Celena just smiled shyly, but said nothing.
The apprentices looked at each other, unable to decide what they thought of these new students.
"Well?" Master Fung said in a slightly impatient tone.
The small Chinese boy stepped forward and bowed to the new students.
"Hello, I am Omi, Dragon of water, pleased to meet you my fellow students."
"Whatever Omi." The dark boy said in a Brazilian accent, " I'm Raimundo, Dragon of the wind. This is Kimiko of fire and Clay of Earth, ok?"
Master Fung raised an eyebrow.
"Good, I need some breakfast, I'm staving." Raimundo said.
"Master Fung"
"Yes Omi."
"I hope it's not impertinent to ask, but why do we need new apprentices? We do fine on our own." Celena looked at Levina who had rolled her eyes skyward and whispered something in Italian to Jantis who chuckled.
The little boy, Omi, looked up at the girl Levina but the boy, Raimundo asked what she just said that it's rude to whisper. "If you have something to say, then say it!"
Levina looked squarely at Raimundo and her eyes glittered, "I said, 'Assomigliano ai pomodori surdimensionati!"
"What in blue heavens does that mean?" The tall boy said in a Texan accent.
Levina turned to her brother and bowed slightly. "Brother, translation per favour."
Jantis grinned helplessly.
"My dear sister here said 'They look like oversized tomatoes.' More or less"
Kalindi sniggered and Celena managed to stifle a laugh behind her hand clasped over her mouth.
"Yeah, real funny." Raimundo said in a huff.
Kimiko, on the other hand, was beaming ecstatically at the new students,
" What you so happy about?" Raimundo asked gruffly.
"I'm no longer the only girl." She said in a small squeak. She ran up and gave Levina and Kalindi a big hug, then embraced Celena.
She looked at Celena, "Wow, I love the colour of your hair." And she smiled warmly at the shy girl.
Omi's face brightened as if a thought came to him. "Oh, more girls." He said in a voice full of wonder. "Maybe it won't be so bad after all." He smiled and practically skipped over.
Clay smiled, "I'm glad to meet new friends" and he took off his hat in a show of respect.
The only one who did not look happy was Raimundo, who glared at the two twins who now talked animatedly to Kimiko and Omi.
"Ah, come on Rai," Clay said, trying to reassure his friend.
Raimundo humphed, still glaring at the twins.
"Put it this way partner, at least they might have to do most the chores."
Raimundo's face brightened at the thought and looked up at his friend, Clay.
"I suppose your right, Clay, But if those two do anything, I'll get my own back." He chuckled evilly and Clay cast a worried look at his friend.
"I have a bad feeling about this," he whispered to himself.
Celena could not be happier, it was probably the happiest she ever felt.
Just then a green lizard like creature appeared, sliding along the floor like a worm. It let out a huge yawn, stretched, and scratched its belly. "What's all the commotion about?" It said. "Can't a dragon get any sleep around here?"
It looked up and its eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa! I think we gained some extra bodies."
"My new students, this is the Dragon Guardian of the scroll, Dojo Konojo Cho. Dojo, these are the new students, Kalindi, Jantis, Levina and Celena." Master Fung indicated each one in turn.
"Ah, so these are the students that the scroll was talking about."
"Yes Dojo."
"Hi, pleased to meet'cha." It said looking at each on them with a toothy grin.
"A real dragon?" Jantis looked at Dojo dubiously. "Looks like a dodgy little worm to me."
All of a sudden, the little lizard wasn't so little anymore and all the new students gasped in surprise. Celena looked at Dojo in wonder and smiled despite the slight fear that tickled in her stomach. She had not smiled so much in her life.
The forty foot dragon towered over Jantis and growled at him.
"A dodgy worm you say," Dojo growled menacingly, "Do I look like a worm now shorty!"
Jantis suddenly looked very small and he trembled slightly with wide eyes unable to look away from the huge face of the beast that loomed over him. "Prego lo perdona," Jantis squeaked, "Sono spiacente."
Dojo looked at Levina "What did he say?"
"Ah, please forgive, I'm sorry." Levina replied.
"Humph, that's alright," Dojo said shrinking to normal size, "Just don't do it again."
"Si, Si" Jantis nodded.
Master Fung nodded slightly, his expression calm and unreadable.
"Its time you new students got settled in. Follow me and I will take you to your new quarters where you will find your possessions."
He turned and walked towards another doorway, followed by the new Xiaolin Dragons.
Levina came up to the side of Celena and asked "So, what do you think?"
Celena looked up at her friend and smiled shyly.
"I think this is the best thing that has happened to me, ever!"
