Chapter 2

Chase Young had been brooding for the last several weeks. He sent away food, ignored Wuya and Spicer's pleas for his attentions, and instead, he spent most of his time with his crystal eyeball.

Chase had many powers at his disposal; teleportation, telepathy, but his favourite of all was his crystal eyeball. It sprouted up from the floor of his home, a gnarled twisting dead branch of twigs and crumpled black leaves, flourishing into one huge, orange and unblinking eyeball.

It stared endlessly at the ceiling, never moving. Never blinking. But when Chase Young stared into it, he could see things. People. Locations. Whatever he wanted.

But lately, his attentions had been on one thing: her.

He had spent hours, days, simply watching. Brooding. Plotting.

He could see her now, training in the yard with her friends.

There were so many crass ways he could take her from the temple. There was plain old simple kidnap, but no.

Despite all that Chase was, he would not simply take her. He still had some honour. And besides, the other Dragons would only come and fight to bring her back.

Perhaps he could trap her in his home? No, keeping her prisoner wouldn't do either. That still would cause the dragons to come searching for her. And all four of them united against him would be a worthy adversary.

No, there could be only one course of action.

"If I do this, I must do this the honourable way." He thought aloud.

Take her now...The beast hissed in his ear, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"No." He told it firmly. "I will not kidnap her."

He got to his feet, and paced from one side of the room to the other.

"There is only one way." He said, quietly. "I must get her to agree to stay here, and to never leave."

She'll never agree... came the voice again.

"She will..." Chase said softly. "But only if I force her hand..."

He felt the beast cackle with delight, subdued once more, until he was left, pacing the floor again, slotting the pieces in his complicated puzzle together.

But in the meantime, he could begin preparations. Steps that he could begin to take to ensure that his plan was a success.

With a look of determination, Chase Young closed his eyes, and cast his mind to the Xiaolin Temple.

XXX

Kimiko's day began as normal; hitting her snooze button three times, slumping into the shower, spending several expletive-filled minutes in the bathroom trying to tie her hair into perfect bunches, before sloping off to the kitchen for her usual morning fix of caffeine and sugary cereal.

Clay and Omi were both already awake, chipper as usual on a cool Wednesday morning. They were having a staring competition, with Omi's eyes streaming with tears that were dangerously close to dripping into his cereal.

"Morning." She grunted, pouring herself a cup of coffee from the coffee machine.

There had been some changes to the temple over the past few years. Master Fund had spent the last few months travelling the world, taking a vacation from babysitting four teenagers for the past seven years.

So the Monks had been left to run the Temple, completing chores, rescuing Shen Gong Wu whenever it appeared and keeping their bodies in top physical form.

All of the Xiaolin Dragons had kept their youthful energy from when they had all joined up seven years ago, but now they were all 21, and felt as though they had hit the jackpot.

Between them, they diplomatically ran the Temple, with Kimiko and Omi finishing chores, Clay cooking for the group, and Raimundo and Clay repairing and restoring sections of the temple. Omi would also regularly do a stock-take of all the Shen Gong Wu, while Kimiko would often set up the training yard for them to practice in, setting various challenges for them all to complete.

They still kept their competitive streaks, holding occasional contests to see who could do the most push ups (Raimundo) sit ups (Omi), squats (Kimiko) and Clay, who was arm-wrestling champion.

But mostly, their lives were happy. They rarely even had competition from Spicer anymore, Wuya had disappeared somewhere, and Chase seemed to have crawled back into his volcano.

Overall, things had been quiet for the past year or so, and it was beginning to grow tiresome, and so practising mastery of various skills was something that occupied most of their days.

Today was basic combat skills again, as yesterday had been too.

Dojo was asleep on the table, snoring between Omi and Clay, as Omi finally yelped and blinked, his eyes streaming. Clay laughed, though his eyes were bright red and swollen.

Kimiko rolled her eyes, sipping from her cup.

"Where's Rai?" She asked, taking another mouthful of coffee.

"Not sure." Clay answered absently, rubbing his eyes. "Think he's in the yard."

Kimiko nodded. It was unusual for Raimundo to be absent from the breakfast table. He was usually the first and last one there, stuffing his face with a cheeseburger or poptarts or some other form of junk food.

So, Kimiko took a leisurely stroll towards the training yard, sipping her coffee as she went. There had been a few mod cons made to the Temple since Master Fung's departure. WiFi had been a welcome addition, plus a TV and a gaming console, but they hadn't lost their discipline. They knew that training came above all else. Master Fung had drilled that lesson into them well.

They expected him back within the next month or two.

The gardens at the Temple were beautiful. Clay had a fondness for flowers and animals, and he tended the garden as a hobby, and it was incredibly beautiful. Pink, cream and red flowers blossomed along the hedges, with ivy climbing along the walls.

She walked through it, smelling the scent of lilies on the air and breathing in the day's cool breeze. The sun was shining, peeping through two clouds, and Raimundo could be seen in the distance, pacing in the training yard.

Confused at his strange behaviour, Kimiko approached him with a raised eyebrow. "What's up, Rai? You okay?"

Raimundo didn't seem to notice her for a second or two, but when he registered her appearance, he jerked his head upright. Kimiko saw that his eyes were dark and he looked exhausted. He hadn't washed and stubble had appeared on his chin.

"Have you been out here all night?! You look awful!" Kimiko said, aghast, and Raimundo only sighed, sinking slightly.

"I can't sleep." He said, miserably. His hair had lost all its regular bounce and was flat on his head, his skin was pale and sunken, his eyes a dark purple under his eyes. He slouched as he walked, and he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks instead of a single night.

"How come?" Kimiko asked, passing him the rest of her coffee, which he downed gratefully.

"I don't know. That's the most frustrating thing." He said with a sad sigh.

"What does that even mean?" She asked.

"I don't know, Kim." He sighed again, turning away from her. "Something's not right. I can feel it in the air."

"Are you having a premonition?" Kimiko asked, half-teasingly. She knew Raimundo would perhaps not appreciate the joke in his current mood.

"It's more than that." He told her, seriously. "It's not just knowing something might happen, I'm absolutely certain of it. I can feel it, somehow, I don't know. It's not a gut instinct... It's more like..."

"Tiger instincts..." He whispered, miserably.

"Rai, are you sure you're okay? How long have you been awake?" Kimiko touched his arm tenderly. He is exhausted, she thought. He needs rest.

Raimundo looked as if her touch had stung him, and he flinched away from her. He stared at her, his eyes wide and maddened.

Kimiko looked up at him. "Raimundo, you're sweating... Are you sick? You need to rest." She told him firmly, wrapping her arms around him. "Let's get you in bed."

"You don't understand..." He sighed as Kimiko pulled him back towards the Temple.

Kimiko led him to his bedroom, forcing him to clamber into bed. She tucked him in, like a caring mother, and touched his forehead tenderly.

"Jesus, Raimundo, you're burning up." She muttered softly.

"I know it sounds crazy. Believe me, I do." Raimundo told her in a weak voice, his eyes closed. "But it's true. I can feel it. Something's happening. Something isn't right. I just don't know what."

"Shh." She said, pressing a finger over his lips to get him to stop talking. "Stay here. Sleep."

She left him for just a few moments while she called to Omi and Clay, who were both tidying up after their breakfasts.

"There's something up with Rai." She told them both, and Clay looked up from the sink sharply.

"What do you mean?" He asked, pushing his hat out of his eyes.

"He's delirious. Says there's something bad coming." She moved to the sink, dampening a dishcloth so that she could try and bring down his temperature. "Isn't making much sense, but I don't think he's slept."

Omi raised an eyebrow. "Is he sick?" He eyed the cloth.

"I think so." Kimiko said, rinsing the excess water out. "I sent him to bed but I'm going to stay with him for a while. I don't want him to wander off."

"Good idea." Clay said, drying the final dish from the sink and putting it back inside the cupboard.

Omi got to his feet from the table. "I'll call Master Fung."

Much like an over-protective parent, Master Fung always wanted to be told when one of them was sick, so that he could rush back to check it wasn't something serious, dangerous or evil in any way.

Kimiko nodded at both of them, and returned to Raimundo's side, pressing the cooling cloth to his temple.

"Kim?" The boy whimpered softly. His brow was slick with sweat, so Kimiko dabbed at it softly.

"Yeah, Rai?" She whispered back.

"You'll feel it soon too. And Omi and Clay." He mumbled, not even opening his eyes.

"You're creeping me out, kid." She said with a gentle smile, taking his hand in hers. "Just rest, will you? And stop talking so much bull."

He grunted in response, and Kimiko was fairly sure that he fell asleep almost instantly.

She stayed with him for several hours, concerned about his high temperature, dabbing at his forehead.

Kimiko watched Raimundo sleeping peacefully, and smiled softy. She was full of love, respect and admiration for all of the boys.

Being the only girl here had been tough at first, but she had learned that it didn't matter. They were all like brothers to her. She would have given her life for any of them. And they would have given their lives for her too. But still, she had always felt a little closer to Raimundo. Perhaps it was because they were less eccentric than Omi and Clay.

Omi had been the weird bald kid that bossed them around so much when they first joined. He had been funny at first, but it had taken a while for him to finally give her the respect she deserved. His strange habits of sleeping on his head, meditating for hours on end and extreme joy at the slightest technological device made him feel more like a weird cousin, than the brother he had later become.

Clay had been a cowboy, through and through, still was, which couldn't be further from Kimiko's technology-loving city of Toyko. Kimiko had thought him strange in their first few days at the temple, but his strange hobbies made it difficult for them to find a common ground. And then she discovered his heart of gold, and fell in love with his kindness.

But Raimundo had always been much like her. Kimiko couldn't join in Clay's wood-whittling hobby, or get the hang of Omi's constant meditation, but she and Raimundo could go head to head on Goo Zombies 2 or play soccer with ease. Somehow, she had clicked with him first, and in a sense, she had always felt like he simply understood her better than Omi or Clay.

But they had all become her family. She loved them all dearly,

After staying at Raimundo's side for a few hours, she slowly and carefully got to her feet, tiptoeing out of the door to rinse the cloth once more and to take a much needed bathroom trip. By the time she was washing her hands, she heard a familiar SWOOSH overhead, and knew that Dojo had just landed somewhere, probably carrying Master Fung back from wherever he had been vacationing.

Dashing to the front of the Temple, she smiled warmly. Master Fung wore a blue beach shirt covered in tacky yellow flowers, sunglasses, and shorts that showed off his pale and hairy legs. She had to force herself not to laugh as he jumped down from Dojo's back, giving Omi and Clay a big hug as they stood waiting to greet him.

Kimiko rushed over, throwing her arms around him. He beamed at the sight of her.

"Master Fung." She said, positively glowing with happiness.

"It's good to see you all. I have been away for some time. I should visit more often."

Dojo coughed loudly, shrinking down to his normal size. "Or, you know... you could take me with you..."

"You are needed here, Dojo." Master Fung replied calmly, as Dojo pouted.

"I take it Omi called you?" Kimiko asked, and Master Fung gave a short nod.

"Yes. He was right to do so." He said, glancing past Kimiko towards the Temple Door. "Take me to him."

Kimiko, Omi and Clay led Master Fung to where Raimundo was sleeping. Still sound asleep, Raimundo snoozed oblivious, even as the four talked in hushed voices around his bed and Kimiko continued to dab at his sweating brow.

Master Fung placed his hand on top of Kimiko's gently. "Tell me what happened."

Kimiko repeated the story as gently as she dared, so she did not wake up Raimundo. Master Fung was an excellent listener, nodding as she continued whispering. When she was done, Master Fung nodded once and dismissed the other three monks from the room with a wave of his hand.

While Master Fung examined Raimundo's condition, the others busied themselves, catching up with chores.

Finally, as dusk was approaching, Master Fung emerged from the room, and called the others into the dining room.

"Let us have tea." He said quietly, and Kim, Omi and Clay obliged.

Soon, they were all huddled around the dining table, 4 cups of steaming hot green tea in their hands.

"What do you think, Master Fung?" Omi said, after taking a long sip of his tea.

"I believe Raimundo is in no danger." The old man said calmly.

"Why's he acting so strangely?" Clay questioned further.

"It is nothing of concern. He will recover in time." Master Fung smiled softly. "I have administered a herbal remedy."

Master Fung sipped his tea. "When you first contacted me, Omi, I suspected that there could be evil at work here, but I see little evidence that there is anything to worry about. His temperature is already lowering. It is likely that the lack of sleep led to some form of hallucinations. Nothing more."

"So he's gonna be okay tomorrow?" Clay pressed.

"Yes, Clay. He will wake tomorrow likely feeling perfectly refreshed." Master Fung reassured.

"So you have no idea what he was talking about? What those 'tiger instincts' were telling him?" Kimiko asked.

"It is likely nothing to concern yourselves with, young monks." He said kindly. "It is not unheard of for Xiaolin Dragons of Wind to be intuitive to whispers of evil, to hear and see things before they come true."

"Like scents carry on the wind, sometimes secrets, whispers can be carried through the air, manifesting themselves into the minds of Dragons of Wind. It is rare, though not unheard of. I suspected that Raimundo may perhaps possess this power, though I see no evidence to suggest that this is true."

Omi and Clay stayed with Master Fung a while more, but Kimiko went back to check on Raimundo.

He was still snoring gently, and he was no longer sweating, much to her relief.

She entered his room, intending to straighten his blanket, get him some fresh water for his bedside table, and open the window a little, but the moment her hand touched his bedsheets, his hand shot up and grabbed hers.

She jumped, startled, and looked up to see Raimundo smiling at her. "Made you jump." He said, teasingly.

Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Welcome back, Raimundo." She said, sighing, but she was happy to see him back to his normal ways.

"You had us all worried there for a sec." She told him, sitting on the edge of his bed.

He stretched. "Yeah, sorry about that... I don't know what got into me."

"Master Fung thought you went all psychic on us, predicting some kind of terrible evil approaching, end of the world, that sort of thing."

Raimundo only gave a shrug. " I remember feeling like there was someone else in the Temple, and getting up in the middle of the night to explore. I couldn't shake the feeling. No matter how hard I searched, there was no one there. It was bugging me. The more I tried to work it out, the more frustrated I got. I think I just went a little crazy for a sec there..." He smiled up at her, seeming much more like the lovable boy she had grown up with again now.

"Well, no more nightime strolls, please." She ruffled his hair playfully. "Now go back to sleep. Master Fung will make me do extra chores if he knows I disturbed your rest."

"Yes nurse." He said with a wink, sliding back down into the bed and closing one eye. "Wake me up when it's time for my sponge bath..."

Kimiko smiled and rolled her eyes. "I can tell you're feeling better, Rai..." She chuckled to herself as she left the room.

That night, when she curled up in her bed, she tossed and turned for most of the night, unable to find a comfortable sleeping position. She drifted in and out of a shallow sleep, before eventually giving up at 3am.

She tiptoed past a snoring Clay and a slumbering Omi, poking her head in on Raimundo once more, to see that he was absent from his bed.

Worried, she explored the Temple, looking for him in case he had taken a turn for the worst, and then she heard soft voices coming from the dining room area.

She crept towards the voices, afraid at what, or who, was in the temple.

"I don't know..." One voice said softly. "I was so sure."

"You need not worry, young monk." Came the reply. Kimiko breathed a sigh of relief. It was only Master Fung and Raimundo, who were just chatting at the table.

She chuckled to herself, and went to walk into the room, before Raimundo spoke once more and made her freeze in her tracks.

"Do I tell her?" Raimundo asked, his voice unsteady.

Me?

"No, Raimundo. You must not tell Kimiko. It would only serve to worry her."

What are they talking about me for? Tell me what?

Kimiko pressed her back to the wall beside the doorframe, listening intently.

"But Master Fung... what if I'm right?"

"The future is not always certain."

"But I still feel it, Master Fung. I can still feel that something is wrong. Doesn't she deserve to know?"

Know what?

Kimiko tried to lean her head forward, to peep around the corner to see if she could see them talking, but there was no way without them seeing her. Though it was dark and she would be hidden in shadow, little escaped Master Fung's gaze.

There was a slight pause, and Kimiko held her breath, in case they suspected someone was listening.

"Not yet, Raimundo. We must be patient. It is possible to be too cautious, act too hastily on these things. Should anything unusual happen, we will inform Kimiko of what you suspect."

Kimiko's heart thumped heavily against her chest.

What does he suspect?

She thought about throwing herself around the corner, demanding to know, but Master Fung was stubborn. He would never tell her if he didn't want to.

Rai, however, would crumble like pastry if she demanded answers.

"I don't know for sure, Master Fung..." Raimundo continued, "But I can just feel it. Something bad's coming. And it's got to do with Kim, somehow. I don't know how, but it does. I could just... feel it on the air. Sense it somehow."

"I believe you, young monk." Master Fung said with reassurance. "But this experience is new for you. It's possible you are misreading the signs."

"No," Raimundo said flatly. "I know what it is I feel, and it's definitely that."

"Perhaps you are right. We will keep a close eye on things over the next few days. Should anything suspicious happen, we will alert Kimiko to be on her guard."

There was a small pause again then, and the sound of movement once more.

"Have you told Omi and Clay?"

"No. Only you."

"Good. Let us keep this between us for now."

"Yes, Master Fung."

"I think I should get some sleep," Master Fung said, and Kimiko heard the bones in his back cracking as he stretched.

The sound of chairs scraping against the floor came then, and Kimiko scarpered as quietly as she could.

Her head swam with thoughts and longing to know more.

She decided to press the issue with Raimundo in the morning and headed back to her bedroom, knowing that Raimundo was likely to peep his head into her room to check that she was sleeping, though she doubted sleep would come tonight.

If an evil is coming, why is it coming for me?

What evil?

Why me?

Her head posed further questions, and Kimiko spent the rest of the night trying to think of answers that never came.

When dawn came, she awoke with little sleep and plenty of questions.