Whoot! New chapter! Thanks to the two people that reviewed (Yo Fue' and MagicV). I appreciate that! I wasn't expecting any reviews for a long time actually, so I was pleasantly surprised. If you review something and it will be a while before I update, you can look at my profile for responses. If you have any suggestions or concerns, feel free to comment and witch to me about them! (bwa ha ha, I'm so pessimistic). Speaking of which, Jack is really angry in these ones...keep in mind what he just went through, though. He'll calm down into his normal self in a few days or less. And Yushi-Seck isn't in the series; I made him up, in case anyone's looking for him in the show.


It was an ungodly time the next morning when I heard the cell door rattling. I ignored it, hoping that whatever noise it was it would simply go away. I would fix it when I woke up.

Instead, something nudged my foot. I heard words, but I ignored them, simply curling up more. Something grabbed one of my feet, and I was physically dragged out of my nice dream and across a hard floor. I yelped as one of my wings caught on something, and scrabbled wildly with my hands in a sleepy haze before my foot was dropped back to the floor. I turned and saw one of the Temple fungi standing there, looking at me with a slightly smug expression. I felt a moment of panic and recoiled before everything came flashing back, along with my anger. Scowling, I stood up and brushed myself off. My head barely passed his massive shoulders height-wise, but that didn't deter me. "What's the big idea, lump-head? Ransacking my house isn't good enough for you, so you have to drag me out of bed? I guess you have to do something to make yourself adequate, huh?"

His eyes flashed mildly, but he remained otherwise calm at my attitude. Instead, he stepped aside, and I saw the female standing there. Like I saw from last night, my belt was looped casually over her arm, as if she had never removed it. I stared at the belt in disbelief, wondering why they were giving it back, before reaching for it. Instead of giving it to me, she stepped back, causing me to stumble.

"What's the big idea?" I snapped. "Give that back already!" I jumped forward, but she danced out of my reach again, somehow ending up behind me.

"You can't have that back yet."

I glowered even as the first word was spoken, and I turned to see the old man standing there, his hands clasped in front of him.

"Why not?" I demanded, standing up straight and feigning momentary disinterest in the acolyte behind me. "It belongs to me, in case you haven't noticed. You either broke or stole everything else that belongs to me, so don't you think you should at least grant me this one courtesy?"

"The Artifacts are too dangerous for a child to handle without serious consequences," the man said, unmoving. "It was a danger that they were with someone so young, especially considering they could have easily fallen into someone else's hands, someone who wouldn't hesitate to use them for their own means."

"And I wasn't?" I laughed. "Hypocrite. You really are like King Tusk, aren't you?" I suddenly whirled around and leapt at the girl, but she jumped into the air, tapped my shoulder lightly for leverage as I passed under her, and landed gracefully beside the old man. I stumbled forward before whirling around, my fists closed at my sides. "That belongs to me."

"Like the Artifacts, the items here are very dangerous. Without proper training, you could either seriously injure yourself or others."

"Well, duh, what do you think I was using it for? To plant a lollipop tree?"

"This can only be earned back once you have proven yourself worthy of its powers."

My eyes widened. "What! It belongs to me- I found each of those stones fair and square! I made the belt, and I attuned everything on it to me! No one else besides me can use it, and I use it for whatever I want, because I created it to serve me! I shouldn't have to earn back anything that already belongs to me! What sort of crack house are you running here, anyways!"

"Trust and loyalty are two of the ways you can earn it back. But you must also learn patience-"

"Why don't you confiscate your blanket back, while you're at it?" I shouted, interrupting him. I had crossed into my cell and came back out with the thin sheet in my hands. "I might not be worthy of its ability to strangle someone!" I threw it at him with that, feeling smug that he wouldn't be able to block it without some part hitting him in the face.

But I didn't know them at this time. All I knew was that they sometimes called out stupid things when they were fighting, and that they each controlled an element. That's why I was shocked into not moving when the blanket suddenly split in half, with the old man flying through the center, hand closed except for his middle and index finger, which were straight in the air. I was so startled at how fast he moved, and trying to figure out how he had done that when he took advantage of his momentum to fly forward and tap me in the face.

Was it even a tap? I don't know what it was, but he hit me right in the center of my face. Some sort of pained noise burst out of me and I fell to the floor, eyes watering like I had just been punched, even though he had barely touched me.

"Your arrogance will not be tolerated here." The man was saying even as I clutched at my face. "Your belt will remain here, to be given back when you have earned it. For now, you will be assigned some chores to keep you occupied but also give you time to think about your current situation. You will act responsibly, and you will not disrespect anyone within the Temple while you are here."

I didn't say anything, embarrassed and ashamed at my watering eyes. And I was angry. How dare he hit me like that! I wanted to wipe my eyes, but then the Acolytes would think I was crying, which I wasn't. Instead, I settled for, "Bite me, grandpa. You can take your labour and shove it."

I wasn't sure whether to expect another blow, but I didn't receive one, which I was thankful for.

"Cappe has a list of chores for you. And Kalliklick had the list of rules here at the Temple. You will follow them both if you wish to ever regain your belt. And you will behave."

I wiped a sleeve across my eyes and stood up, albeit somewhat crookedly.

The old man left. And I was left with the two apprentices, each holding a paper I hadn't noticed before.

Wispy strands of incense curled around above the cindering wooden sticks, seeming to form pictures and symbols if one stared at it long enough.

But the incense sticks were not there for visual amusement; they were there to produce the calming effect their herbal scents released. A circle of monks surrounded the hollow pillar. The monks all had their eyes closed, and their hands were gently pressed together, as if they were praying. They all sat in the lotus position, meditating as the smoky strands of incense curled around.

Master Yushi-Seck walked in with barely a whisper of his passing robes and assumed his position in a hole that had been left open in the circle. Perhaps it was coincidence, or perhaps it was due to his overwhelming seniority, but the hole that had been left for Master Yushi-Seck to fill was directly opposite the door he entered and positioned on top of the pinnacle of the floor designs, speaking of him- both by position and by presence- as the leader.

One of the monks to his side stirred even as Master Yushi-Seck assumed the lotus position and began his meditations. The monk glanced over, his pale blue eyes carefully observing the old monk. His own face was old and lined, but like most of the monks here, he had aged gracefully and with dignity.

A sinuous, twining body drifted out from behind Master Yushi-Seck and curled around his neck without touching the wizened monk, slowly pausing to mouth something in his ear. When the monk showed no reaction to whatever the creature- who happened to be the Guardian of the Temple- had said, the twining body continued to circle around Yushi-Seck before drifting over to one of the other monks.

"Master Foo-young, you seem easily distracted this day."

The monk looked over to Yushi-Seck and saw the old man regarding him with calculating eyes.

"My mind wanders in an undisciplined way as I try to grasp the meaning of the events that have passed." The monk bowed his head. "I apologize if my own thoughts distract you from your meditations."

"I am not so easily distracted from my meditations as that," Yushi-Seck said with an ironic smile. "Do not give me as little credit as that."

"I apologize for my assumptions, Master Yushi-Seck."

"Do not apologize for such things, Foo-Young. There is no need." The monk bowed his head for a moment, before regarding Foo-Young again in the same, calculating manner. "What thoughts trouble you, if I may inquire?"

"The child that has been contained here." Foo-Young dipped his head in an apologetic way. "Such confinement- especially for one so young, so accustomed to independence and self-reliance, must be a stressful and terrifying experience."

"His stress is a small price to pay for saving the world from the imminent destruction outlined in the chronicles, is it not?" Yushi-Seck pointed out. "The suffering of one is nothing when compared to the suffering of many."

"That is true, of course, but perhaps another way could have been pursued-"

"What other way, Master Foo-Young?" The old monk ask calmly. His expression did not change. "I have heard his insults and rude tongue wagging ever since he entered the Temple grounds. He is young and in need of discipline. Whether his parents did not properly raise him to respect others or whether this is a route he has chosen for himself out of spite, we shall not know. His response to the hand that feeds him is a quick and terrible bite, and he does not fear punishment, as he has never had to deal with that before. What other response would he give if one of our own Apprentices, who have been fighting against his ways to earn back the Artifacts, if they were to ask him to join us for the good of all? What response would he give if you were to ask for his cooperation? The same quick and painful bite, I would imagine. This young man has been highlighted by the Ribbed Necklace. What that means is that he will eventually cause one thousand years of darkness, where everyone will suffer...or one thousand years of light, where everything will flourish. If the latter option is at the expense of his own comfort as his entire lifestyle is changed for the better, than so be it. Speak no more of such matters, Master Foo-Young, for your bleeding heart will do this matter no good. Your charges are the Dragons of the Elements, and it is your duty to train them. The duty of other Temple apprentices falls under the careful watch of the other monks, and they will help in the child's reeducation as they see fit. The rod has been spared long enough."

Master Yushi-Seck closed his eyes then, and Master Foo-Young was left to the silence of the meditating monks. He did not even realize that the Temple Guardian was entwined around his neck until he bowed his head and saw the feathered tail casually draped over his shoulder.

Foo-Young looked to his shoulder and saw the scaled face of Sarren-Du, mimicking the calculating look that Yushi-Seck had been delivering to Foo-Young throughout the entire monologue.

"What advice do I have for you?" The small dragon softly whispered into the monk's ear. "Hmm, here is something to accomplish: listen to Yushi-Seck for the time being, and grant him the disillusion of knowing his wishes will be fulfilled when he is no longer able to carry them out himself."

"What is your meaning?" Master Foo-Young meant to ask, but the dragon had unwrapped itself from his shoulders and sped away at a speed that would have made a charging cheetah jealous.

"What do you want, losers?" I snapped, not expecting an answer.

"Rude much?" The girl, Kalliklick, observed lightly.

"Destroying, ransacking, stealing and kidnapping much?" I shot back. "And here I thought I was supposed to be the bad guy."

"Master Yushi-Seck has been more'n enough patient with you, I imagine," The large one said in an accent that made him sound like a redneck who lived in a rotten wooden shack, playing a banjo. I snickered at the imagery. "It's time you started payin' some people the respect they should be rewarded for not losing their cool at your rudeness."

"Rudeness?" I snapped. "Want to talk about rude? What about destroying my home, Billy-bob? How's that for rude?"

"We kind of didn't have much of a choice," The girl spoke up, rolling her crystal blue eyes. "We needed to find you before anyone else could."

Not being able to think up a suitable response, I settled with, "Whatever," and looked at the split blanket, trying to figure out how the old man had moved so fast and how he had cut the sheet in two. I hadn't seen any knife.

"I have a list of your chores," The accented guy said. "Though I'm for doubting you'll be obliged to do any of 'em."

"You're doubting correctly," I said cheerfully. "Get out of my way."

They both moved aside, albeit with irritated expressions on their faces at being bossed around. I walked past, making another snatch for my belt as I passed the girl, but she seemed prepared and simply stepped backwards, out of my reach.

I walked out of the tower and was blinded by the sunshine. Good grief, that was harsh. I hated mornings; nighttime was so much better. My schedule in the mornings was to simply stay in my lair and plan out new constructs, or traps that would better help either the defense of my castle (which I decided to focus on primarily when I got back).

I stretched out my wings, cramped from the close quarters of my cell and closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my wings.

"So," I said, after a moment. I turned around and was a little taken aback to find that both of the Acolytes were watching me curiously, almost with fascination. Angry at being examined like a bug under a microscope, I spoke up. "SO," I said louder. "What stupid game do I have to play to get my belt back?"

The Acolytes looked at each other. An expression of...something...passed between them, and I was at a loss to interpret it.

"Behave," the accented one finally said. "Be respectful to everyone around you, follow the rules of the Temple, and try and better yerself."

I looked from Acolyte to Acolyte. Something went unsaid between them, something that I didn't know. Something that, for whatever reason, they weren't telling me.

I turned away, and looked at the sky. That had been my freedom before. Now, feeling uncomfortably light after my belt had been taken away, I was at a loss. Did I leave? Leave for what? Once I got back, there would be a lot of cleaning to do, and that was almost useless without my magic. Magic I had which couldn't be accessed without my focus stones. And all my constructs were probably ripped apart by now. Which meant that there was a lot of heavy physical labour to be done, and the only one available to do it would be...me.

Me? Physical labour? I scoffed. Not in the same sentence, unless there was a negative connotation attached. My stomach grumbled, and I looked back at the Acolytes, who were waiting patiently. "Do you have anything to eat around here that would feed something a little bigger than a bird?"

"As long as you're willing to eat it instead of tossing it around the room like a slobbering dog," the girl said, crossing her arms.

"Maybe if I was given something a little more edible, you wouldn't have to worry about me tossing it aside. What's with all the grass, anyways? I'm not a cow or a rabbit, so I don't need any of that."

"That's our staple here at the Temple," the cowboy-wannabe said. "Lots of fiber, protein, and a tall glass of milk to wash it down."

"Whatever. Where's your fridge? Never mind, I'll find it." I started walking in a random direction, glancing over the buildings as I did so. The one over there was where King Tusk had all the Artifacts hidden, so an eating area or food storage spot that would have people coming and going all the time would be inconvenient to the security of the place. But all the other buildings- they all looked the same. Which one would have food?

I picked one randomly and began walking towards it. Finding a door, I smirked and began to shove it open.

"I wouldn't do that, partner-"

"If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it." I snapped, kicking the door the rest of the way open. I had barely gotten it open when a blurry object whirled at me and hit me straight in the chest.

"Oof!" I said as I was knocked to the ground. I scrambled a little, and I could tell the other person was doing the same, as we struggled to get away from each other and stand up. "Wanna watch where you're going, loser?"

The teenager brushed himself off and scowled at me. "Eww, its you. How about you pay attention to where you're going, goggle-brain? I was in the middle of something."

"Raphielle, why are you not fighting?" Came a voice from inside. I was too busy glaring at my attacker- and he was returning the glare equally- to watch the approach of one of the Acolytes.

"He's still fightin', just not with you anymore." Cappe answered.

"It wasn't my fault- I was just going to rebound off the door when Spicer here decided to kick it open."

"Maybe its time you started paying attention to what you're bouncing off of." I returned peevishly. "I'm not a trapeze, in case you haven't noticed."

"Well, with all your fancy-smancy magic, maybe you can turn yourself into one!"

"Numbskull!"

"Metalhead!"

"Boxer-brains!"

"Hunchback!"

"Whoah there, partners!" The buff teenager said, pushing his way between the two of us and shoving us apart to arm's length. "Cool yer tempers! We don't need snakes hissin' at each other on a day like this- territory's big enough for all of us! Now, Jack, I tried to warn ya, but you ignored me. Don't charge ahead like a bull with his knickers tied and you won't have to worry about gettin' inta accidents like this."

"With my what tied!"

"And Raphielle, settle down! Name callin's for children, and we're all a little older than that, huh? Now, let's try and get along a little better for the future."

"He was calling names too!"

"Whatever." I said, flipping a hand at them dismissively. "I'll just look somewhere else."

I had barely walked a step before tripping over the Acolyte who had been standing right behind me.

"Watch where you're going, Cueball!"

"See?" I heard Raphielle say accusingly.

"I apologize for my tripping, Jack Spicer." The tiny monk said, jumping up and offering me a hand. I swatted it away and got up by myself. "I was just hoping to wish you good hospitality in staying here, and express my happiness that you have finally decided to join with us. Congratulations on making the right choice!"

"I'm only staying here long enough to get my belt back," I said. "Then I'm leaving."

"Leaving? But why?" The little monk ran to keep up with my pace, looking up with huge eyes. "You could stay here and learn all sorts of things so that you can help us protect the Artifacts from falling into the hands of evil!"

"Duh- I am evil!"

"Well, yes, but being good is just as fun." The monk suddenly flipped over and began walking on his hands. "See? I can teach you to walk on your fingers! Have you ever done that before?"

"Do I ever want to do that?" I said, rolling my eyes. I suddenly stopped. "Why are you following me?" I turned around, but the other two were gone.

"I wish to teach you many things!" The monk said. He gave me a big smile, then suddenly ran behind my back. I was about to continue walking when I felt someone grab one of my wings.

"Hey!" I shouted, snapping my wings open. The monk was clinging onto one of them, touching it carefully. I scowled and grabbed the back of his pajama-thing (whatever these monks wore), and dropped him on the ground in front of me.

"Do you have a problem with personal space?" I shouted before stomping away.

"Did they hurt?"

"Huh?" I looked down to see him keeping pace with me. "What?"

"Your wings. Did it hurt when the Artifact implanted itself into your back? That must have been mooooost painful indeed!"

"It didn't hurt," I lied, waving him away. "Why don't you go beat someone up? Like Raphielle, for instance. I'll bring popcorn."

"Popcorn? Is that similar to corn?"

I rolled my eyes and looked upwards, wondering why it had to be me. "Hey, cueball why don't you make yourself useful and show me to the nearest food."

"Of course! Was food not left for you?"

"Not anything edible," I answered, following him. "Do you have any Tacos? Or how about a hamburger? I would love a hamburger and fries."

On top of one of the buildings, keeping careful watch, Cappe and Kalliklick sat. Cappe was whittling a piece of wood down to the shape of a cow, but although Kalliklick had her PDA in her hand, it was unused.

"Do you think he'll stay?" Cappe said, slicing a long chip off to form the curving gut of the mammal.

Kalliklick shook her head. "He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be forced to stay here when he doesn't want to. Not to mention he's an inconsiderate jerk with too much eye liner." She sighed, and sat down next to Cappe. "Do you think the prophecy is true?"

"Why should I have any reason to doubt it?" Cappe asked, shrugging. "Its written by a man who predicted a lot of the things that 'ave already happened, years after he wrote it down."

"But he also said Wuya would win against Dashi and one thousand years of darkness would reign," Kalliklick pointed out. "He was wrong then. What if he was wrong again?"

Cappe considered this. "If you were told you were going to fail a test, would you give up?"

Kalliklick blinked. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Humour me, Kalliklick. What would you do if someone were to tell you you were going to fail an exam, and have to redo the year as the result?"

"I would study harder," she answered. "And I would ace it."

"A little psychology involved there," Cappe chuckled. "What if the Seer did the same thing? Said that darkness would reign, no matter what, and caused Dashi to fight all the harder, knowing it was all or nothin'? After all, if he said that Dashi would win, he might have made the man overconfident and accidentally caused him ta fail."

Kalliklick considered this reasoning. "It makes sense. But he didn't chronicle the world ending if Jack didn't join with us; he gave two options. Darkness, or light."

"A little bit obscure, if ye ask me," Cappe agreed. "But I dunno what the Seer was thinkin'. I imagine he phrased it that way so that things would work out- but who knows? All I can say is this: I hope that Master Yushi-Seck made the right choice in having us find 'im and bring 'im 'ere."