Chapter I
The sun shined down proudly upon the Xiaolin Temple 1500 years later where the young new monks trained outside, bathing and dancing through the spring glow. The young monks trained with broad smiles on their faces, exclaiming to the world of whom they were and where they're from. What they did not expect was for another journey to begin for them as their master approached them, trailing along after him a small green dragon, and another figure.
The monks stopped training, and turned to their master before he spoke, but their eyes lingered on the stranger. It was a girl, no older than them, with long black hair held back by a black ribbon, silver eyes that seemed to sparkle like the stars, and fair skin that seemed as light as snow. She smiled sweetly at them, and they realized that she was wearing the same red and black training uniform that they were.
"Young Xiaolin dragons, this is a new member to the Xiaolin Temple. Her name is Aqua. Please make haste as to welcome her and explain all to her," their Master Fung spoke.
"Hello," the girl spoke, bowing respectfully to them.
"Hey, what's up?" was Raimundo's greeting.
"Howdy," Clay greeted her.
"Welcome!" Omi, the littlest, cheered with a broad grin.
"Hey," spoke Kimiko. As their master turned and walked away, the monks turned to the new girl, all smiling gently.
"Where are you from?" Raimundo asked her.
"From Kyoto in Japan," the girl spoke to them. Then the monks began explaining to her about the adventures they had, Shen Gong Wu, and the different enemies they faced, like Jack Spicer, Wuya the Heylin Witch, and Hannibal Roy Bean. However, Omi took note that her eyes sparkled for some reason when the topic of Chase Young was brought up. When Omi was going to point it out, his voice was broken when he noticed the small golden locket around the girl's neck. It was a small trinket, and he was more interested in that.
"What is this?" he pointed to the golden locket. Aqua backed up slightly, and then smiled.
"It's just a locket. My mother gave it to me for my birthday," she explained to him. "It's a family heirloom."
"It's so pretty!" Kimiko chirped. "It's so cool to see another girl around the temple. You have no idea how much I miss having girl-talks."
Aqua giggled lightly. It was probably the most childish laugh one would ever hear, but then the small green dragon began twitching at her heels.
"What's wrong, Dojo?" she spoke to him.
"Sorry, but a new Shen Gong Wu has just activated," he spoke, twitching his body into a weird form.
"Oh?" Aqua looked down away from him, and then smiled. "Which one?"
"Um…" Dojo looked pleading at Omi, and he walked away, but returned carrying a large scroll.
"It's the Charm of Samael. We must obtain it at once!" he commanded. The dragon nodded, and it seemed to have enlarged around Aqua to about 50x its normal size. As the four monks jumped onto it, Aqua held this weird expression on her face as she backed away from the dragon.
"What's wrong, Aqua?" Kimiko spoke.
"Um…I…I don't know about this…" she stammered.
"What? Are you scared of a dragon?" Dojo spoke to her. Her face flowed red, and, as Clay held out a hand for her to come on for, she looked really uneasy. Almost pale. She was scared, for some reason. But she didn't want to be rude, so she took Clay's hand, and he helped her on behind him. Although her face was still red from blushing, she didn't speak as the large dragon took to the air, and flew the five monks towards the destination where the new Shen Gong Wu would be.
The place where the Shen Gong Wu was a large cavern that glowed brightly in the dark woods surrounding it. When Dojo landed on the ground, the four experienced Xiaolin monks jumped from the dragon and landed on the ground, but an uneasy Aqua stumbled on her legs, landing on her heels, but nearly falling to her knees if the gentle Clay hadn't caught her.
"You alright there, little lady?" he asked her.
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied to him, smiling charmingly at him. She looked around, and almost at once her eyes twinkled with excitement. Omi noticed this.
"Does this place seem familiar to you, Aqua?" he asked her.
"A little…" her voice trailed off gently, and then she looked up towards the cavern. A red and gold light illuminated from the darkness within it, and at once, she started towards it. Her eyes glowed darkly, yet with an elegant aura of knowing. The other four accompanied her.
"Omi, what does the Charm of Samael do?" Kimiko asked him.
"It…it does…I am not so sure," Omi spoke honestly, though his eyes went wide with embarrassment.
"Who is Samael?" Raimundo asked.
"A…a fallen angel," came Aqua's soft voice, low and calm, yet had a mysterious tone to it.
"A what?" Raimundo asked again.
"A fallen angel. Are you guys familiar with the Christianity religion?" she stopped in her steps and turned to them.
"Yeah," three spoke, but one little one didn't respond. Omi.
"Um…what is that?" he spoke. Aqua ignored him.
"Well, you guys know about the enemy in that religion, right? The Devil? Satan? Lucifer?" Aqua asked them. Three nodded, one still looked confused. "Well, before the Fall of Grace, he had a name before Lucifer. It was Samael. And as an angel, Samael was given much power and elegance, more than the Creator himself. But there was a price to pay for such grace. He rebelled against his Master, and was brought to Hell. But before he fell, his name was stripped from him, and so was the beauty granted to him. The Charm of Samael is meant to represent the beautiful and elegant power of the once Angel of Grace."(1)
As she spoke, a dark omniscience surrounded her, cold, soft, and barely comforting. It seemed like a light layer of loneliness had suddenly become visible, and took to her body for shelter. The monks suddenly felt something that seemed almost inhuman. They didn't know what it was, just that it was there. It was wanted to be there. It wanted to tell them something. Something important….
"…A flicker of innocence…and the coldness of loneliness…the flame of passion…and the water of love…all torn away by the stab of betrayal…."
"That voice…" Aqua looked up in surprise, and at once ran towards the cavern, the monks following her. As she entered the cavern, the red and gold light shined brilliantly throughout the abyss, and Omi ran forward before her, immediately sighting the charm. A red, gold lining pendant hung from a gold chain on the wall of the cave, but before Omi could reach it, a large stream of wind poured into it, and Omi was immediately blown away, directly into Aqua. An annoying voice rang throughout the darkness, and the monks prepared to fight as they recognized it.
"Ha! You Xiaolin losers are so pathetic! The Charm of Samael belongs to me! Jack Spicer! Evil boy Genius!" a boy dressed in a black cloak hung in the air by his helicopters and taunted the monks, his red hair swaying in the wind he caused.
"Jack Spicer! You shall not obtain that Shen Gong Wu!" little Omi yelled from the ground, jumping to his feet and pouncing towards the new stranger, while the new girl, Aqua, arose to her feet, strangely bothered by the air in the cave. She stepped out, feeling herself suffocate by an invisible intoxication within it. She looked around the darkness, and a dark voice spoke from within it.
"So, the Xiaolin Warriors have a new member to the group."
At once, a woman jumped down from the canopy of the woods, her long, fanning red hair flowing behind her, her dark green eyes flickering with evil and darkness. She raised a hand to the new girl, but Aqua slapped it away, and her eyes glowed darkly, turning immediately from the woman, only to collide with another solid figure, and being sent to the ground.
Aqua looked up to find herself being towered over by a man with long, dark hair flowing behind him in the wind. His fair face shimmering his eyes, which were gold, slit like the eyes of a beast, and emanated evil into her heart. A familiar feeling to her, but she couldn't place it.
"Yes, I see you are right, Wuya. A new whelp added to the chaos," the man spoke evilly to her. His eyes lingered on her own eyes, and then drifted upward to her dark hair, and noticed the black ribbon she wore. He brushed it off, but glared at the girl. "Tell me, young girl, what is your name?"
"It's Aqua, and you?" she shot back at him.
"You may call me Chase Young!"
At once, the man flew towards her, and struck her hard in the abdomen with his fist, and, although she took the hit hard, she brushed it off and jumped feet away, glaring darkly at this stranger. Her silver eyes were like the daggers of an assassin. Her posture was still, yet ready to fight.
"Ah. I have heard of you, Chase Young, from the Xiaolin warriors. Nothing but bad publicity towards you, I see," she spoke darkly. Her voice seemed calm, yet soft. As if this was nothing more than a conversation between the two of them. Chase was startled by this action, but said nothing as he tried to attack the girl again. Instead of contacting her, she dodged his attack by swinging her body backwards, (some might call it a back-flip), and her heel made contact against his face. He stumbled back, and when the girl regained her composure, she stood up, and took the ribbon out of her hair, only to tie it up again, but in a different style. Almost resembling a ponytail.
That style….
Chase quickly brushed the thoughts from his mind. It was nothing more than a coincidence. But this girl looked so much like her. Her eyes, her hair, her body, it all looked like her. The only thing was her voice, her mannerism, her personality. She was rough and wild, taking to him like some punk on the streets. However, she was polite and kind. She was always looking up to him, like a hero, a friend. She wouldn't so much as disrespect him in any form or manner. This new girl…wasn't her. It couldn't be her.
Aqua turned away from him, turning back towards the cavern, and a soft voice came from it. A voice that she recognized, somehow. She blinked as the voice faded away, but then was replaced by another voice. One that instantly brought surprise and relief to her heart.
"Aqua! We got it! We got the Shen Gong Wu!"
"Kimiko!" Aqua ran towards the entrance to the cavern, and saw her four allies exit, Raimundo swinging the Charm of Samael around in his clasped hand. The marking on the charm were as clear as day, though. The marking of Samael. The pentagram. (2)
"Aqua! We did it! We got the Shen Gong Wu! We are the gun!" Omi cried cheerfully.
"That's 'we are the bomb,'" Raimundo corrected him, bringing the charm down to her sight, and she reached out. Aqua's fingers trailed the carving with interest, and she smiled happily. When she turned to see if the two strangers she was fighting were still there, she noticed that they were gone. Where did they go? And why was that boy, Chase, so interested in fighting her? She wasn't anything special in particular.
"Ready to go home, Aqua?" Clay asked her, bringing her back from her thoughts. She smiled at them, and nodded. Soon, Dojo enlarged himself again, and the six of them took off back towards the temple.
The girl and her friends had disappeared into the sky as the large green dragon flew off, taking them with him. Standing in the trees, watching them float away, was Chase Young and Wuya, both looking after them. That girl caught his attention, Wuya could tell easily. Even to her, the new Xiaolin warrior seemed familiar. From long ago, that is. She looked like her, acted like her, but she didn't sound like her. It was probably, more than anything, a coincidence, as it had been 1500 years since she had seen her. What was strange, though, was that if this girl was her, she didn't fight like her. The only apprentice to Dashi had died long ago by Chase's hand. Chase never revealed why he killed her, or the motive for it, but it was well obvious that he had.
Akuariusu wasn't found until the morning after Chase had killed her. Dashi and Guan had set out into the field to search for her after revealing the horrible news to her, and found her body, blood covered and all, in the grass. It was unknown who killed her then, but there were tears in her eyes that had not dried yet, to show she was mourning. Wuya didn't come into knowledge of this until she had regained her body back after joining with Chase. Chase told her that he was the one that killed her, and secretly, he went to her funeral, a burying of her ashes.
Now, his gold eyes seemed to shine with some sort of interest in this new warrior. It was strange, and awkward to see something like this. Normally, the only other person whom Chase had shown any type of interest in was the little one, Omi. So, why was he suddenly so interested in this stranger?
"Chase, you know that can't be her," Wuya reminded him.
"I know that, Wuya. I can tell it is not her, yet…she looks so much like her. And that ribbon…" Chase's voice trailed off softly. A soft memory came to his mind.
He saw himself standing over a young girl that was sobbing, her dark hair in her face, hiding those silver pools of hers. She was young, and mourning the loss of someone she cared about so. Yet that pretty face of hers was being ruined and hid behind that ebony mane of hers. Her hands were up to her face and seemed to cradle the tears she shed. Inside, he felt a similar, yet not as horrible, pain that she felt then.
"Here," he spoke to the girl, pulling from within his blue robes a black ribbon. She looked up at him as he brushed back her hair and tied the ribbon through it. Now those eyes of her, and the tears that streamed down those light cheeks, were visible to all eyes. "That way, everyone can see you. A pretty face like that shouldn't be hidden."
Her smile that day seemed to have lighten up his world after that. She always wore that ribbon, and when she fought or battled anyone, she would undo the ribbon, only to do it up again, tighter, and hold almost all of her hair back so it wouldn't get in her face. That ribbon was one of her most prized possessions, and she would never get rid of it.
"Come on, Chase, let's go home," Wuya spoke, disappearing, and Chase soon followed her, looking back only briefly to the sky where the green dragon had disappeared.
"Ah, yes, the Charm of Samael. An excellent addition to the collection of Shen Gong Wu that you monks have gathered," Master Fung spoke as he walked down the long, curving stairway into the secure cavern below. The five monks watched as he disappeared, and then they started talking.
"Where were you, Aqua? You missed it all!" Raimundo spoke.
"Yes. We kicked Jack Spicer's butt and he flew away crying like an infant!" Omi cheered, a broad smile on his face.
"I don't know why he continues trying to get the Shen Gong Wu. His Jackbots are as weak as ever, and no one wants to help him. He should stop right away!" Kimiko tried.
"He's as low as a snake, and as pathetic as a worm," Clay spoke, tipping his hat. Aqua just smiled on as the four of them gloated and bragged about how they obtained the Charm of Samael. However, her thoughts were else where. She seemed distant from them all, and her eyes sparkled with an interest and expression that was unusual for a girl her age.
"What are you thinking about, Aqua?" Kimiko's voice brought the girl back to reality.
"Oh? Nothing, Kimiko," she spoke calmly to her. Her eyes changed immediately. Happy, comforting, assuring, and calm. "It's just…when you guys were trying to get the Shen Gong Wu, I met someone."
"Really? Who?" Raimundo spoke, interest in all of their eyes.
"Well…it was the one you told me about. Chase Young," her face flew a light blush, and her eyes held a sparkle to them. All four of them were shocked by her expression, and they back up.
"You met Chase Young? What did he do to you!" Kimiko growled.
"Nothing. He did nothing. We just fought, that's all," Aqua assured her.
"That guy is a creep. He's tried to take over the world once already, and almost succeeded. He turned Omi evil on us!" Raimundo yelled with rage.
"Yes, and it is thanks to my friends that I had not been lost to the Heylin side forever," Omi spoke with appreciation towards his friends. Aqua just looked at them, her face and expression cold and hard, impossible to tell what went through her mind, as neither her mouth moved, nor did her eyes shine. It was like the face of a statue.
"Well…I need to rest. I will catch up with you guys tomorrow."
With that, the girl turned and walked out of the room, her long ebony hair trailing behind her back, and just before she disappeared into the shadows, her black ribbon reflected off the candlelight of the room, catching their attention only briefly….