dl-sPirit: Hey everyone. Sorry it took so long for an update (ducks a random tomato) but in my defense,well, actually, I don't really HAVE a good reason.

Raimundo: Except that Roni came.

Roni: Hey.

Raimundo: By the way, guess what? We have something in common!

Roni/Raimundo: We both hate dl-sPirit for this story! (laughs)

dl-sPirit: Yeah, laugh it up you two. Don't forget, I'm the authoress!

Roni/Raimundo: (silence)

dl-sPirit: THAT'S better. :)

Roni: Disclaimer's on Chapter 1. Oh, Raimundo (whispers something to Raimundo)

Raimundo: O.O WHAT?

dl-sPirit: On with the story!

"Ok, keep an eye out for Raimundo," Kimiko instructed, looking over Dojo's back.

The three Xiaolin monks, after a small meal and a short rest had grabbed three shen-gong-wu and were returning to the mountains to find Raimundo. Naturally, everyone was concerned when Dojo had found that odd blood, but Kimiko seemed even more concerned.

It was early morning now, with the sun starting to peek over the mountains. The small amounts of sunlight helped the search, but not very much. It was still very difficult to see.

"We should land there," Omi said, pointing down to the cave. They had lost the trail there about 3 hours ago. Dojo gave a small glance to Omi, and then began to descend into a dive.

"Wait!"

Kimiko's sudden shout made Dojo pull up very quickly. Omi, confused, asked, "What is it Kimiko? I believe that-"

"Smoke," Kimiko answered, pointing slightly southwest. There, billowing smoke spoiled the morning air. "It's from a fire. Maybe Rai's there too," she added. The males looked at the Dragon of Fire, then at each other. What did they have to lose? It was worth a look. Dojo corrected his course. Sure enough, it was a fire. Circling around, everyone saw who was sitting at the fire: the Dragon of the Wind.

"Hey, partner!" Clay yelled. The brazilian looked up, a grin spreading across his face. "Give us just a tick, we're landing!"

Landing took longer than 'just a tick'. The ledge where Raimundo's camp lied was far smaller than it appeared. After three unsuccessful tries, Dojo had to settle with landing on a ledge underneath. Raimundo seemed overjoyed to see them. In fact, he seemed overly anxious, judging by how he slid down the rock face and skidded to a stop right next to them.

Kimiko noticed a few scratches on his face, and his hair was bloodstained. Apparently, when he crashed, he had hit his head.

"Man, I thought you guys were never coming!" he exclaimed, though his enthusiasm sounded slightly… off. Actually, he seemed slightly off, as if he was scared.

"Raimundo, we found your blood on one of the other mountains," Omi started, folding his arms, "How did you get from over there to here?"

"Um… I had to walk, for one," Raimundo started sarcastically. He then cleared his throat. "So, did you guys ever find that shen-gong-wu?"

"I lost it after the crash," Dojo stated bluntly. Raimundo didn't seem the least bit surprised, to Omi and Kimiko's surprise. It was if he had known this.

"Well, then, can we go?" he asked, then muttering so that Omi couldn't hear, "I've got one hell of a headache…"

"I wouldn't mind," Kimiko replied, looking around. She swore that, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. Omi nodded his head in agreement. The three quickly boarded Dojo when they realized that Clay wasn't joining them. Rather, he was observing something on the rock face.

"Earth to cowboy," Raimundo called, "We're leaving."

"Wha- Oh, sorry," Clay replied, tearing his eyes off the rock and hurriedly getting on Dojo. Dojo quickly took off.

As they left, Raimundo looked at the mountain peak. A black outline was hidden in the shadow, pinpricks of red staring at him. Then he saw a gleam of something near her, and malicious laughter echoed throughout his mind.

(---)

He couldn't sleep.

Three days had passed. When the four Dragons weren't training, Raimundo went through the scrolls, trying to find any mention of 'Roni'. Much to his disappointment, there was no mention of a creature like her. He had found scrolls on Alexander the Great, Heylin magic, and a scroll about some sort of demon dragon – but it wasn't what he was looking for.

His head hurt too. Not just from the lack of sleep, but it appeared that, when his wound was all cleaned up, it had become infected. So he was on antibiotics that had a side effect of diminishing his appetite. So, the head injury, the lack of food, the training, and the lack of sleep were wearing him down severely.

Raimundo.

He recognized that voice. It was Roni. He turned around, ready to fight. But no one was there. Maybe he had imagined it-

Yer needed ou'side 'ere.

Nope, he wasn't imagining it. He stood up, sighing. Then, he realized something: if he was needed outside, then that meant Roni was outside, so how could he hear her?

GIT DA 'ELL OU' 'ERE 'FOR I PUL' YE OU' 'ERE MESELF!

"Ok, I'm going," the Dragon of the Wind muttered. Roni's last message was excruciatingly loud. Fortunately, there was door not one yard from the scroll room. He exited and looked around. Ok, where was she?

I'm by da gate.

Ah. Raimundo jogged over to the front entrance and, true to her word, Roni was standing there. She wore a black cloak and gloves made of some sort of fabric. She had just slipped something into one of the pockets inside the cloak.

"Dere ye arr. Tuk ye long enuff," the creature said, giving a grin that could give Wuya a run for her money.

"What is it?" Raimundo demanded. He was tired and sick of Roni.

"Jus' need a lil' 'elp 'iding."

"Hiding?"

"I hafta keep ahn aye on ye, ye know."

"Are you really that paranoid?"

"Arr ye really disss sstupid!"

"Ok, ok, jeez."

"So?"

Raimundo pointed to a large apple tree. Despite the fact that winter was approached, an Indian summer had come, and few of the trees had lost any leaves. The apple tree was one of them. "Will that do?" he asked, slightly sarcastic. Roni looked it over.

"Yah, eet's gud." That surprised Raimundo slightly. Roni seemed rather picky when he first met her. She took a step forward, extending her wings. Then, she stopped.

"By da way, Raimundo," she started, " I know dat ye've bin lookin' fer meh een da scrolls. I'm not een dere. Ta fin' meh, ye'll hafta find da hidden books een da lost room." Roni gave Raimundo a significant look before flying off into the night sky.

This confused the brazilian. Though he was grateful that he didn't have to dedicate his time to reading anymore, he wasn't sure what Roni meant by the 'lost room' and 'hidden books'.

He was exhausted. Deciding that maybe some sleep could help him make sense of her words, the Dragon of the Wind went back inside.

Roni watched Raimundo go back inside and chuckled darkly. The boy wasn't quite as bright as she thought, but he still had the element of wind and that was all that mattered. In a quiet voice she said, "Rest, eat, enjoy life, Xiaolin Warriors….

"Once the Black Dragon rises, you will all pay."

Raimundo: Black Dragon?

Roni: Can't tell you.

dl-sPirit: That's right! By the way, what were you putting in your pocket?