Chapter Two

When morning came, the sun was shining, birds could be heard singing from the still open kitchen window, and four monks and a dragon were sleeping away. In the kitchen Terra, still in her PJ's, was flipping pieces of French toast, and frying bacon.

As she was cooking, she had headphones plugged into an mp3 player and bobbing her head humming 'Burning Love' as she listened to the music. Suddenly, a nose began sniffing the air and Dojo sat straight up. He looked over to the kitchen and spotted the huge pile of already cooked slices of bacon, French toast along with bowls of sliced strawberries, orange juice, and syrup on the table.

"That is the most beautiful sight I have seen in a long time." he said gleefully. Terra, who still had her headphones in, didn't respond and started lip-syncing to the lyrics. Then another moan came from the group and Clay yawned and sat up.

"Mmmm, something smells mighty good." he said as he too caught a whiff of breakfast and stood up. Dojo went about to wake up the others, Raimundo needing the most encouragement. Terra finally noticed in her peripheral vision the waking monks and took out her headphones.

"Hey, 'morning sleepyheads, I hope you're hungry." she said with a smile as she put the last of the bacon on the frying pan.

"You bet we are." said Raimundo as he sat at the small table.

"Ha-ha, good, because I made plenty for everyone."

And with that everyone dived in. The French toast was warm and soft, the bacon was hot and crispy, and the strawberries were perfectly ripened. The only one who didn't eat the bacon was Omi.

"Ok, I have to ask... where in the world did you get these strawberries?" Dojo asked with his mouth full of food.

"I grow them actually." she said as she pointed to the pot on the windowsill. And sure enough there were still a few strawberries left on their stems, fully ripened, with no flowers. Dojo's eyebrows rose in confusion when he saw this. He was sure that those had been flowers last night. Once again, an old memory came to mind, of a forest trying to stop him.

"Dojo, you ok?" Kimiko asked him, snapping him out of his train of thought.

"Huh, oh, yeah I'm fine," he guessed that the others hadn't noticed the change in the plant, "Anyway; we should probably start getting ready to go."

"Hold up there partner, there's something we need to take care of first," said Clay as he turned to Terra, "Did ya make a decision yet?"

"I have actually." she replied with a shy smile.

"Wait wait wait... you asked her already?" Raimundo asked Clay who simply answered with a nod.

"He asked me after I pinned you down last night. I slept on it overnight... and... I decided that I would like to come with you guys. There's nothing that's keeping me here and I'd like to get to know you guys better, if you guys would like me to come." Finished, she waited for them to answer. Omi zipped over and clung to Terra with a hug.

"This is excellent! We have a new friend to help us in the never-ending fight for good. And I shall teach her all that I know, and she can make us many more delicious breakfasts, and we shall train day and night..." Omi stopped for a moment to take a deep breath.

"Chill dude or you're gonna get a headache." said Raimundo as he pried Omi off of Terra who was laughing at the sudden hug.

"Thanks guys, I'm really excited to come. Just let me grab a couple of things and get ready." she said as she got up from the table. Kimiko got up as well and started to follow her.

"Do you mind if I borrowed your shower?" she asked Terra

"Not at all, there are some clean towels on the towel rack." And the two headed down the hall. When they disappeared from sight, Raimundo turned, and gave a sly smile to Clay.

"So...Clay?" he started to ask.

"Now Rai don't ya start. As you pointed out last night..."

"Whoa there cowboy, I was gonna ask for some advice."

"Yeah, and what's that?"

"Should I keep a better eye on you now that there's another girl on the team?"

Raimundo laughed as he had to duck very quickly to avoid being smacked by Clay's hat.

"Come on guys, Master Fung has to be wondering where we disappeared to by now. So let's get a move on." And with that they started getting ready

…

Meanwhile, Terra was in her room packing a few things. She had changed out of her PJ's and was now wearing jeans, a plain green T-shirt, a brown jacket, and had her hair in a loose braid. She was muttering a quick list of things when she paused, and reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a picture frame. A wishful smile formed on her face as she stared at it before she placed it in backpack. In the wooden frame was a picture of an older version of Terra wearing a long green dress standing with a man just a head taller, with sandy blond hair, a thin nose, and wearing a daredevil suit. The woman's belly was swollen and was obviously ready to give birth.

"You almost ready Terra?" asked Kimiko as she opened the door, showered and ready for the day.

"Yeah, let's head on out." Terra said as she zipped close her backpack and threw in over her shoulder.

"What are you going to do about the apartment? Will someone else move in?"

"No. My aunt owns the place, so either she'll move in or it'll stay empty until I decide to come back."

"Ah. Can I ask you one more question?"

"Ask away."

"What happened to your dad? I overheard you telling Clay what happened to your mom and... I hope I'm not getting too personal." Terra was quiet for a while before she answered and simply looked forward with a distant look.

"No, you're not. I actually get that question a lot. After my parents retired from the circus, they came to live here to start a family. About a year after I was born, my parents were having a bad argument one night about bills or something and my dad went out for a drive to calm down. There were some teenagers having a party that same night, and one of them decided that he was good to drive even after drinking a lot. And well... you can guess what happened next."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's ok. I don't remember him much, but what I do of him are happy memories. So, are we ready to head out?" she said as she blinked and straightened up.

"We're ready." said Kimiko, and the two headed out the bedroom door. When they reached the living room, the sleeping bags had been rolled up and placed next to the couch, dirty dishes had been cleaned and put away, and the others were waiting by the door.

"Man what took so long, we've been ready for hours." Raimundo complained.

"I had to clean you slobber from my floor," Terra joked, "Are we good to go?"

"Yep, let's mozy on out." said Clay. When the group reached the lobby, Terra stopped to fill out some papers. Finally they got outside where Dojo hopped down and grew to his bigger size.

"Whoa." said Terra as she stared at the dragon with an amazed look. Dojo noticing this, just smiled proudly as the others climbed on.

"All aboard the Dojo express! Next stop, the Xiaolin Temple." he cried. Clay reached down and offered a helping hand to Terra, who took it without a second thought and climbed up to the others.

"Hang on!" Dojo once again cried and took off. Terra had been on airplanes before and had even ridden a hang glider as well, those were nothing compared to ridding on a dragon. The wind was roaring in her ears and the city of Blackspring grew smaller as they gained altitude. Terra leaned over to watch the city when she felt a hand grab onto her shoulder.

"Whoa there partner, lean too far and you'll fall off there." said Clay when she turned around.

"Sorry, it's just... this is amazing! It's so cool to see the world from this perspective. Do you guys travel like this all the time?" she asked

"Pretty much, it's the best way to find the shen gong wu."

"Ah. Hey, I've been meaning to ask, do most of your fights with... what's his name... end that quickly?"

"Jack? Not usually, most of the time he puts up a better fight, or at least with more robots."

"Hmm. Wonder why he quit so easily." As the ride home went on, the now five warriors chatted on. They were almost home when they got to the topic of Xiaolin showdowns.

"So, let me get this straight, if two people touch a shen gong wu at the same time, they have a showdown for it. And it can be any challenge?" Terra asked.

"That's right, and ya each have to wager a sheng gong wu for the match." said Clay.

"Cool. Do you think Master Fung will be ok with me joining you guys?" she asked.

"I'm sure he will. I bet he'll love you." said Kimiko.

"I hope so," Terra thought to herself, "I hope that this is my place in the world. Mom always moved us so much, I never felt like I belonged anywhere. But these guys, I've never felt so accepted."

"Please fasten your seatbelts and turn your trays to the upright position as we are about to reach our location." cried Dojo as he started to descend. Once they reached the ground, everyone hoped down and started to head for the opening in the wall surrounding the temple. When they reached it, they discovered that Master Fung was waiting for them.

"Ah, young monks, I see that you have returned safely. Might I ask why you took so long to get back?" he asked them.

"Well you see... we ran into a little trouble when Spicer tried to get the shen gong wu. Because of him a wire fell on Dojo, so he couldn't fly and get back. But thankfully Terra here offered to let us crash at her place after she helped us kick Spicer's butt." explained Raimundo.

"Very well, and I suppose that this young lady is Terra." said Master Fung.

"Yeah, we felt bad because she lost her job so we asked if she'd like to join us, and she said yes." said Kimiko.

Master Fung took a good look at the new arrival and studied her for a while. Terra, not having said a word since they landed, studied him back and felt like she was staring at a memory. Master Fung on the other hand, had a feeling he knew who he was looking at. But he had to make sure that it was indeed her.

"I hope that you feel welcomed here young Terra." he finally said. Terra blinked a couple of times.

"Thank you. I hope that I'll be helpful here." she replied with a smile

"Come, let us find you a room as the monks start on their chores." said Master Fung.

He led the way to the rooms as the monks groaned at the upcoming chores and Dojo slithered onto his shoulder. Terra followed as she clutched to her backpack feeling a little nervous once again. For some reason, the man in front of her made her think of a forgotten memory. As they walked, Dojo was whispering something into Master Fung's ear. It wasn't until when Dojo finished that Master Fung spoke again.

"Tell me young Terra, where do you come from?" he asked

"From my home town, Blackspring." she replied.

"Hmm... and where are your parents?"

"I'm afraid they're not alive."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that you will find happiness while training here."

"Thank you. May I ask a question?"

"You may." he said as they reached an empty room in the hallway. Terra placed her bag on the floor before asking, turned, and looked Master Fung right in the eyes.

"Where... I mean... have we ever met before?" she said after trying to find the right words.

"I am not quite sure myself. But I know a way of making sure."

Master Fung then turned to a window where a pot full of dirt was sitting. He grabbed the pot and held it in front of her.

"If you are who I think you are, then you'll know what to do." he told her. Terra turned a slight shade paler as she stared at the pot. She hadn't shown anyone this for a long time or shared her secret. But for some reason, she felt as though she could trust this old monk.

And so, slowly and surely, she reached over and placed her hand just above the pot. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and focused on the pot.

For a moment, nothing happened. But suddenly, a tiny sprout began to grow and poke out from the ground. It continued to grow as leaves began to form on the sides and the top began to swell and burst open to reveal a daisy. Once it was fully bloomed, Terra took her hand away and the daisy stopped growing.

"Wow." Dojo said quietly as Terra looked into Master Fung's eyes once again with a hesitant look.

"Have you told the other monks yet?" he asked her.

"Not yet, I'm afraid of what they'll think. I haven't had the best luck with people knowing about it." she replied as she glanced at the floor

"I am quite sure they will be most understanding, dragon of life."

Terra looked up in surprise at the new name she had received and smiled as a joyful tear started to form. She was about to say something when the Omi entered the hallway.

"Ah, Omi, you're just in time. Would you go and tell the other monks that we will train instead of doing chores for now?" Master Fung asked

"Oh yes Master Fung, will Terra train as well?" Omi asked excitedly.

"Yes, she will indeed young monk." said Master Fung. And with that, Omi dashed down the hall to the others. Terra was frozen to the spot for a moment, training would mean showing off skills, and showing off her skills would mean her secret would be out.

"What do you mean by train Master Fung?" Terra asked.

"If you are to be part of the team, the others will need just as much trust as you. Does this make sense?" he replied. Terra thought about it for a moment before answering.

"I suppose, they'll find out anyway." she said as she turned to go down the hallway.

As she walked, she thought about the few times that she had revealed her secret to someone.

"This time is different though, I just showed Master Fung and he understood. But then again, he was expecting it to happen," she thought to herself, "No... I'm not going to hide anymore, I'm going to show them and hopefully they'll accept me." She took a deep breath, when she reached the door and went outside to find Clay waiting for the others. He had changed into a red shirt and white pants with a blue sash. He then looked up and saw Terra walking over.

"Hey there, find your room ok?" he asked her.

"Yeah I did. Hey... can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, what'd that be?"

"When we train here in a minute, well...don't freak out at my... moves I guess."

"Ok... I suppose" he said confused.

Finally the others arrived, who had also changed into the same outfits except for Kimiko who wore a sort of dress/robe. They then started stretching. Terra took off her jacket and followed suit. When Master Fung arrived, he waited for the monks to finish.

"Young monks, because Terra is not used to using the shen gong wu, we will simply training your dragon skills. Each of you will face the other in a race to touch the other before the other does." he explained.

"So, it's basically a game of tag, seems easy enough." Raimundo commented.

"Since you seem so sure, why don't you and Omi go first?" said Master Fung. The two monks looked at each other with a smirk, both confident that they would win.

They then took their places a few feet away, and there was a moment of silence.

"Begin." Master Fung said, and with that the two went at each other. Raimundo sent a blast of wind straight at Omi's head. Omi then jumped to the side and sent a stream of water back at Raimundo. Omi came running right behind the stream as it splashed Raimundo. But before he could touch him, Raimundo jumped over Omi's head, turned quickly around, and tried to tap him.

Omi then jumped away from him and sent the water all over the ground and Raimundo's feet. Raimundo parachuted into the air before Omi could freeze the water. Raimundo then landed on top of Omi's head and tapped him.

"Winner, Raimundo..." Master Fung said as the two came back to the group "...who would like to go next?"

"I'll go." Terra spoke up.

"I will too." Kimiko said.

"Very well, take you places..." Master Fung said. Terra could feel her heart beat harder as she walked. She looked over at Clay, who gave her a quick-thumbs up. When they were in their places, Terra took a deep breath.

"Begin." Master Fung said again.

Terra got into a fighting position as Kimiko dashed toward her. Kimiko then jumped into the air and sent a fireball at her. Terra was barely able to jump out of harm's way. She then flipped in the air as Kimiko landed and turned to face her. Terra then raised her hands with her palms forward. Kimiko raised an eyebrow in confusion. All of the sudden, several ivy plants began growing out of the ground and reached for Kimiko. Clay, Raimundo, and Omi gaped in awe at what was happening in front of them. Kimiko sent small fireballs at the ivy plants as they continued to go after her. But finally one came from behind and wrapped itself around her waist. As she struggled to get out of its grasp, Terra was rushing forward to Kimiko. When she reached her, she tapped Kimiko on the forehead, and the ivy plants retracted into the earth.

"Winner, Terra." Master Fung said.

All anyone could do for a while was just stare at the feat they had just witnessed. When Terra glanced at the ground, positive that she had scared off her new friends, they all started cheering.

"Woo-wee, that was greater than daddy's homemade barbeque." Clay stated.

"That was indeed most impressive, I cannot believe my sight." Omi claimed.

"You mean eyes, and I can't agree more, that was killer dude." said Raimundo.

"All I have to say is that evil better watch out for you. You're amazing." said Kimiko as she hugged Terra.

"Y... you guys mean that?" Terra asked incredulously.

"Of course we mean it. How come you didn't tell us about it before?" Kimiko asked as she let go of Terra.

"Well, I haven't had the best of luck with telling people about it before.

"What else can you do, can you bring zombies up from the ground?" Raimundo asked.

"Ha-ha... I'm afraid all I can do so far are plants, small animals, and minor injuries." Terra replied.

Omi then turned to Master Fung with a quizzical look on his face.

"Master Fung, is Terra a dragon like us?"

"She is indeed Omi, she was lost for many years. But we will discuss it later. For now, I believe that it is Clays turn. Who would like to go again?" asked Master Fung.

"I'll go." Terra said, this time much more confidently.

"Very well, take your places..." Maser Fung said.

Terra and Clay did so and each took a deep breath. Terra gave a quick smile to Clay, and he returned it.

"Begin." Master Fung said

This time Terra did not hold back, as soon as the word had left Master Fung's lips, ivy plants once again shot from the ground. Clay then kicked the ground as a boulder came rising out up and sent it flying towards Terra. Terra then raised her hand and some ivy shot across forming a net, catching the boulder. Once the boulder had fallen to the ground, the ivy then started forming basically monkey bars. Terra then jumped onto one and started flipping through the air and jumping from one to another. Clay began running underneath them trying to keep up with Terra as he sent smaller rocks cutting through the ivy.

Terra raised a hand as an ivy vine flew over and wrapped itself around her wrist. Terra closed her fist on the ivy and swung down from the ivy bar that she had been perched on. As she swung down, Clay caught sight of where the vine was attached to an ivy bar, and sent a rock at it. Terra hadn't noticed this as she raised her free hand and ivy plants began forming around Clay who had also raised a hand. The rock that Clay sent flying cut through the vine and sent Terra falling towards the ground. Clay was struggling with the ivy as he raised some earth to catch her as one piece of ivy finally caught ahold of him. Terra landed on the risen earth and was sucked into it up to her neck. Clay was finally overcome by the plants and trapped as well. There was a moment of silence.

"It is a tie." Master Fung said.

And with that, Clay released the earth and Terra sent the ivy back into the ground. Terra was brushing off some dust as she walked with Clay back to the others

"Good job from all of you. This was an excellent start for our newest warrior, but there is still one more thing that we must do." said Master Fung. He then pulled from inside his sleeve a brand new red bundle with a blue sash on top, and handed it to Terra.

"Wow... this is... I... I don't know what to say." stammered Terra.

"If you will go change, we all need to discuss what this will mean. Omi, would you be as kind to wait for Terra?" asked Master Fung.

"Yes Master Fung." said Omi as he followed Terra back to her room. As Terra walked, she tried to remember a time when she felt this accepted. Not many came close to how happy she felt now.

"Terra, might I ask you a question?" Omi asked once they were inside the building.

"Yeah, go ahead." she said.

"What is the most power you have had to use?"

"Oh, well... I guess that would have to be when I broke my leg when I was about ten. I was climbing a tree trying to do a trick my mom had taught me. I wasn't being careful, slipped on a branch, and fell."

"Have you ever brought anything back to life?"

"Only small animals, like birds that had flown into a window."

"Do you think you could bring a person back?"

"Maybe, but hopefully not. A bird is one thing but a person is different."

Terra reached her room finally and stepped inside. "I'll be just a minute."

Once inside, she pulled close the curtain hanging on the doorway. She was about to start changing when she paused and looked at her bag. She opened it and took out the picture of her parents, smiled slightly, and placed it on the ground next to the wall.

"I'll make you proud guys." she whispered and continued changing. Once done, she followed Omi out the building, across the courtyard, into another building, and into a room where everyone else was sitting on the floor in a circle. Incense was burning and the windows were closed.

"Ah, now that we are all here, I must explain a few things." Master Fung said as Omi and Terra sat down across from him.

"As you heard me tell Omi earlier, Terra here is a dragon like the rest of you," he continued, "But unlike the rest of you, Terra is one that only comes every 900 years or so, Terra is the Dragon of Life. When we found out that she had come to our world, Dojo and I went to go and try to find her."

"That's why you recognized me. What happened, I don't remember that long ago." said Terra.

"Chase Young happened. I will not go into much detail about that night, you will need to discover more on your own. But I will say this, he attacked you and your mother and fought us as well. Dojo tried to get you both to safety, but once he landed, your mother ran off and we were unable to find you." said Master Fung

"Who's Chase Young?" asked Terra.

"He's a no good snake in the grass is what he is." said Clay.

"Chase Young is a Haylin warrior, who use to fight for good and has lived for thousands of years. He went looking for Terra that same night. With her in his possession he would continue to live for thousands of years and never have to worry about partaking in drinking the Lao-Mang-Long soup." said Master Fung.

"And that's bad I'm guessing?" asked Terra.

"Indeed. Inside you, there is a great power. It can give life, as you all have seen with her done with the plants, and in time you will discover that you can do more." he continued.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Kimiko asked.

"Chase will eventually learn of Terra's presence at the temple and will try to take her. We must do everything we can to prevent him from taking her. For the time being, Terra will train alongside you monks and hopefully we will be ready for when he does come." said Master Fung.

"How will having possession of me make him live forever, I'm not that powerful?" asked Terra.

"We do not know yet. We believe that Chase has found an ancient ritual that will help him achieve this." said Master Fung

"Do not worry Master Fung, we will be ready for Chase Young's attack." said Omi as he jumped up and leapt into a fighting pose.

"I have one more question... if Chase does get a hold of me, and somehow makes me give him immortal life, what happens then?" Terra asked.

"It would mean the beginning of ten thousand years of darkness for our world." said Master Fung.

"Is it just me, or does that seem to be the answer a lot?" asked Raimundo.

"I suggest that now would be a good time to finish your chores done young monks," to which the monks rose from their spots, "Terra, why don't you join Clay with the dishes."

Terra nodded and followed Clay as the rest of the monks left the room to do so. A thousand thoughts were going through her head as she walked, but one question kept popping up.

"Did mom know anything about this, is that why we moved so much?" she thought. It wasn't until Clay asked her a question that she realized that her mind had been wandering and that the others had gone their own ways.

"Sorry, say that again." Terra said.

"I asked what ya thought about all that." Clay replied.

"Oh... I'm not quite sure. I do believe in what Master Fung says though, that Chase getting ahold of me would be bad. But I can't understand why he won't tell me about what happened that night."

"Maybe it's like he said, it's something that ya need to find out for yourself. Do you remember anything from that night?"

"Not much... just a bright light, and running through the town. What do you think Chase did?"

"Whatever he did, it couldn't have been good."

By now the two had reached the kitchen and silently started on the dishes. Clay washed and rinsed as Terra dried and put them away. After a while the silence was starting to get to Terra so she decided to end it.

"So tell me what your home is like Clay, what's your family like?" she asked.

"Well... before I came here, I use to live on a ranch in Texas with my Ma and Pa, and a sister named Jessie. But I also have a bunch of cousins, aunts, and uncles." said Clay

"What kind of ranch is it?"

"Cattle, but we do have old Bessie. Omi tried to milk her once when all of us went over there. Needless to say, he would've had an easier time finding a tick in the middle of winter, but he did get her finally."

Terra chuckled as she imagined Omi chasing an old cow around a barn.

"Can I ask you one more question Clay?" she asked.

"Sure thing." he said. Terra was quiet for a while before she asked.

"Why didn't you stay with me the night I had the nightmare and pinned Raimundo to the floor?" she finally said.

"Well... it didn't seem like the proper thing to do. My mama always taught me to treat a lady with graciousness and courtesy. I didn't mean anything rude by leaving ya alone; I was just trying to be respectful."

As Clay was explaining this, Terra had frozen in place, surprised that anyone would think of her as a lady. A warm feeling was spreading through her chest again like it had when Clay had said goodnight to her after the nightmare. Except this time it didn't stop there, it kept spreading to her whole torso and her face. Terra found that she liked the feeling.

"That's really... sweet of you. You know, not a lot of people have made me feel as welcome as you guys," she said, "and I've never had any guy treat me as you do. I guess I just wanted to say thanks, and that I hope I'll be able to pay you all for your kindness. It's the first time I've felt at home ever since my mom left and... well... thank you." she said.

Clay just stared with a half-smile when Terra had finished. His heart had started racing when she said that he was sweet and still hadn't slowed down. It made it go even faster when she had said that other guys hadn't treated her the same way. Ever since he had laid eyes on her, a saying his mother had told him kept popping up in his head.

"Clay, when you find that special someone, you treat her like a precious flower. If you do that, then you'll always have love."

"I'll do just that mama." he thought.

The two of them continued to do the dishes as the day turned into night; both having a smile plastered to their faces as the worked. Eventually they finished the dishes and they started to head to their rooms. As they walked through the courtyards, both kept sneaking glances at each other and tried to think of something to say to the other.

At one point, Terra glanced at the sky and noticed all of the stars. Living in the city, one could only see a fraction of what she was looking at now. Clay nearly left her when she stopped and just stared at the sky. He stopped as well and just smiled as he saw her eyes widen.

"Lot more of them here than in Blackspring aren't there?" he said.

"So many more." she nearly whispered. Clay walked over to her side and gently took her hand.

"It's getting late, we best head inside now." he said. Terra looked back at him and blushed when she saw where her hand was.

"Ok then." she replied and the two headed to their rooms.

Once there, they said goodnight to each other and laid down in their beds. As they both fell asleep, the smiles stayed on their faces.

Sweet, chapter two is finally done. Sorry it took so long, moving to a new house and terrible writers block tend to slow me down. But I'm quite proud of this one and can't wait to finish the next chapter. Tell me what you think so far in the reviews, constructive criticism is welcomed.