Raimundo opened his eyes. He looked around and stood up. He was back on their battlefield! He hadn't fallen through a portal; it had been a trick or something. It looked different though; there were craters everywhere and the sky was covered in a black cloud. The day he'd been fighting it had been clear blue skies with a firm breeze. And what about Kimiko and the others? Where were they?

He shook his head. He had a headache and something felt strange. He felt like he was two feet further off the ground than normal. His feet did look further away. He guessed that Kimiko and Clay had thought that he had fallen into a portal as well and had left; it was only to be expected that they'd retreat. Or perhaps they were still looking for him!

He opened his lips. They felt dry, as though he hadn't used them in days. He licked them softly before calling out.

"Kimiko? Clay?" He stopped suddenly. His voice much deeper than normal.

"Guys?" He tried again.

No one answered him. He looked around again. How was he going to get back to the temple if Dojo had gone? The temple was miles away.

"Guess I start walking …" He muttered.

He took a first shaky step and started to walk. He knew the way, but it seemed different. Those black clouds seemed to cast a shadow over the entire earth and it made everything look so much older and more frail than usual. The fields were gone and left with vast spaces of dirt. Chase Young must've destroyed them during the battle. What was Chase Young doing now? Attacking the temple maybe? It seemed like a likely idea; with the dragons now down by two they would make an easy target and once they were gone there was nothing to stop him from taking over.

Raimundo had been walking for hours before he came to anything that resembled a town anymore. He walked into the town and became instantly aware that it was very different from when they had flown over it. The buildings were either in ruins or in bad condition. As he walked through, he noticed that every door that had been open was slammed shut and scared faces kept appearing at the windows.

"Hello?" He called.

No one came out to speak to him. That was strange. He had never been in a village or town where the people had been so secretive or scared. Mind you, he must look a sight. His clothes were torn and apparently a lot smaller than they had been when he put them on. Then again, he wasn't the most observant person; they'd probably been like that while he was getting dressed and he hadn't noticed.

He suddenly noticed a boy about his age (About Fourteen), with brown hair and eyes, hidden in the shadows in an alleyway. The boy noticed him looking and backed off.

"What's up with you?" Asked Raimundo.

"Please Sir … we haven't … what do you want?" Asked the boy.

Raimundo was shocked. Not by the reaction, but more because this guy had called him 'sir'.

"Dude, don't call me sir," Said Raimundo, "You make me sound old."

The boy approached him, edging out of the alley way slowly, with his back always to the wall.

"What should I call you?" He asked nervously.

"Raimundo will do." Said Raimundo, raising an eyebrow, "What's your name?"

The boy looked at him, obviously confused. There seemed to be something about Raimundo that surprised him.

"I'm Yutaka." He said, looking up at Raimundo.

That was something else Raimundo noticed. This boy looked about the same height as him, but then when he stood nearer he looked so much shorter. Maybe it was just because he was shrinking away.

"Yutaka," Said Raimundo, "I need to get to the Xiaolin temple fast! Do you know some way I can get there quickly?"

"My dad can drive you there in his truck … if you're trust worthy!" Said Yutaka, with sudden aggressiveness.

"Why wouldn't I be trust worthy?" Asked Raimundo.

"Because most adults aren't," Said Yutaka simply, walking off.

Raimundo watched him in surprise before following him.

"Adult? I'm not an adult!" Said Raimundo, insulted.

"You're, like, twenty something!" Laughed Yutaka.

"No I'm not!" Said Raimundo, "I'm only fourteen!"

Yutaka stopped and looked around at him.

"Did you lose your memory or something?" Asked Yutaka.

"My memory?" Asked Raimundo, "Not that I know of."

Yutaka pointed to a water trough a little way up the path. Raimundo wandered off up the path and gazed down … before staggering back in alarm. The face that had been gazing back at him was a lot more mature than his own. He put a hand up to his face and felt stubble scattered across his chin. He didn't understand. Yesterday he had been a fourteen-year-old boy and now … No wonder he felt taller!

"Are you alright?" Asked Yutaka.

"Fine … no." Said Raimundo, suddenly shaking his head, "I don't understand. I was only fourteen and now … Chase Young!"

Yutaka gasped behind him and Raimundo looked around.

"Chase Young … are going to fight him?" Asked Yutaka, hope filling his young face.

"I have been doing … or I had …" Said Raimundo.

He suddenly remembered something.

"Do you know Kimiko and Clay and Master Fung?" He asked urgently.

"I think I've heard their names, but I don't know who they are." Said Yutaka, "The adults in this town are always talking about people who I'm 'too young' to know about."

Yutaka's face filled with a resentment that reminded Raimundo strongly of himself.

"I need to get to the temple. Please can you help me?" Asked Raimundo seriously.

Yutaka nodded and gestured for Raimundo to follow.

An elderly woman had been watching the pair out of the window and walked across the room and picked up a strange looking device. She stepped out of the front door as soon as the two were out of sight and lifted it into the air. Her voice croaked out of her mouth as she pointed the device straight up.

"Thorn of Thunderbolt!"

A shaft of lightening shot out of it and rose high into the air. The old woman sighed and went back into the house. The signal had been sent. Now all she could do is wait.

They entered one of the houses near the edge of the town. Yutaka invited Raimundo to sit down and walked towards the stairs.

"Dad!" He shouted.

A man of about forty walked down the stairs. Like his son he had brown hair and eyes. From another door came a woman with blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Yutaka!" Said his father sharply, noticing Raimundo, "What have I told you about talking to anyone!"

"Dad, it's okay!" Said Yutaka.

"Don't you dare say it's okay!" Shrieked his mother, "What if he's one of them?"

"He's not." Sighed Yutaka, "He's got amnesia or something, he can't remember a thing. He thinks he fourteen and wants a lift to the temple."

"That could be a trick!" Said his father darkly.

"Dad, seriously. If you had seen him." Said Yutaka, shrugging.

The man looked at Raimundo, who bowed politely.

"Why do you want to go to the temple?" Asked the man without bowing in return.

"It's where I live." Said Raimundo.

"Where you … don't you know?" Asked the man.

"Know what?" Asked Raimundo, dreading the answer.

"The temples in ruins. Has been now for about five years." Explained the man.

Raimundo stared at him. This was a sick joke. Five years? Seriously?

"I remember when Chase Young attacked it. I wasn't on either side back then. None of us were, but then Chase Young started attacking villages for no reason at all and we started supporting …" He stopped as his wife gave him a warning look, "Well. Either way there's no temple now."

Raimundo looked down at his hands as they balled into fists before his eyes snapped back up at the man.

"I still need to go." Said Raimundo, "There's things I need to do."

"Well, if you insist." Said the man, "But no one lives there now. At least, we don't think anyone does."

"Thank you," Said Raimundo, standing up.

As they left the town, the old woman appeared in the doorway of her house. She was still clutching the 'Thorn of Thunderbolt' in her hand and looking around apprehensively. However, it appeared that no one was approaching. She sighed and turned around.

She gasped as she saw a person dressed completely in black with a black mask on. In this gear they resembled a 'high-tech' ninja. Behind the black goggles, the eyes thinned into slits. A voice, altered by a mechanical device placed in the material of the mask cam from the person. Because of this device it was impossible to tell if they were male or female.

"You signalled us. Why? State your business." Came the deep voice.

The old woman faltered under the person's dark gaze.

"A young man …" She stammered, " … came through the village. He was talking about … about …Nihon."

The person looked sharply down at an angle and made a short 'hmm' noise through their mechanical mask before snapping their head upright again and nodding.

"You have been most useful. We thank you."

With that the person was gone. It was their job to be neither seen nor heard, but these people were trained to perfection and frightened many, though it could be worse. The old woman wheezed slightly and leant against the doorframe for a moment, clutching her heart before sinking into a chair and dropping the Thorn of Thunderbolt onto the faded carpet.

The car slowed to a halt on the path, but by then the damage had already been done. Raimundo had seen what remained of his home. It was nothing. The roofs of the many buildings had been ripped off and the walls were falling down all over the place leaving a frail skeleton of what had once been the proud and beautiful Xiaolin Temple.

"Do you want me to take you back?" Asked the man, Yutaka leaning out of the black window.

"No …" whispered Raimundo softly, "I … I want to stay here for a while … you can go home."

"I'm sorry, …" Said the man, "I wish we could do something for you."

"You can't." Raimundo said shortly, "Thank you."

Yutaka's father nodded briefly before telling Yutaka to get back into the car and driving off.

Raimundo walked slowly up the path, the gravel crunching under his shoes (Which were rubbing painfully since they were at least a size too small) and gazed dazedly at the temple ruins. The gates were still closed, but the wall had collapsed so they merely looked strange, trying to cut off his path, which was already unblocked another way. He entered the temple grounds and looked around.

For a moment, his memory rushed back and could see the temple in all its glory. The garden was green with potted plants lining the path and a pond half way up which path wound around on both sides so you could walk past either the roses on one side or the tulips on the other and still watch the sun glinting of the smooth surface of the pond filled to the brim with cool water. Beyond the path was the blue-roofed temple with the pillars at the entrance with the steps leading down to welcome them as the entered. Once up the steps you could stand in the shade of the roof and look back down on the path and see the beauty of the garden once more before walking into the main building. Once inside there were countless rooms and other buildings to visit. The great hall with its high ceiling, which was so far up you couldn't see it through the shadows at the top where the light could not reach. The kitchen with its wide sink and long surfaces often littered with dirty plates and bowls. Their rooms were small and private, but still open enough to talk to those next door while you fell asleep. There was the corridor that opened up onto the courtyard. It was light and there was a small round table where they could all sit and talk to each other and the courtyard itself was part garden and part training area. There was the stretch of grass and the trees and more potted plants and on the other hand there was the obstacle course, which would be changed regularly to match their training needs. The Shen-Gong-Wu vault was not far from here. The dark, circular room with the pillars and countless bells hanging down. It was a tall building with a glass roof so that light could shine down during the day, but the monks could sit and meditate under the stars with lit lamps at night and a fire would be burning in the centre, sometimes with a large cauldron on top. Raimundo could smell that incense now …

A bird squawked overhead and Raimundo was brought back with a rush. The temple lay in ruins. Nothing of his fondest memories remained. He was in a different temple, with a different past. It was no longer his home. It was an empty shell. He sank to his knees and wept.

"What am I doing here?" He called through the tears, "Why is this happening? What happened in the past to destroy my home?"

Raimundo suddenly stood up and dived to the side, just in time to see a foot hit the earth where he should've been. A person dressed completely in black was standing there. A mask pulled over their face.

"Who are you?" Asked Raimundo.

The voice that replied was deep and mechanically altered.

"Why were you asking questions in the village?"

"I asked you first!" Said Raimundo as the person aimed a punch at his face and he sidestepped, grabbed their arm, turned around and flung them over his shoulder.

They landed head first in the mud. Raimundo laughed, just as another person dressed in black appeared at the top of the gate. Standing tall and thin. This person jumped into the air, span around and spread out their leg and kicked Raimundo in the back of the head as he stood their laughing at their companion.

Raimundo staggered and fell forwards, stunned. The 'high-tech ninja' tied Raimundo's hands behind his back and pulled him up. Raimundo's head lolled forward and the person holding him barked at the other to get to their feet.

"What are we going to do with him?" Asked the other, getting to their feet.

"We'll take him to Nihon," Said the Raimundo's captor.

"Will Nihon see him?" Asked the other.

"We shall see."

Raimundo's head span as he finally lost consciousness and his thoughts filled with the single question that was on everyone's lips. Who is 'Nihon'?

(A/N) Who is Nihon? Good question. Of course I know, so I don't have to ask! I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I'm trying to make the chapters longer than those in my other stories and I intend to try and upload these faster. If I can get on the damn computer! Please R&R, luv Becky.