Disclaimer – I don't own XS or any of its characters.

AN – Wooo on to chapter 2! Hope I didn't leave you hanging too much… I don't think I did x.x anyway if you have questions or youre confused about something just ask and ill try to get it straitened out! Thanks for reading!

The Protectors

By Tippy

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Kimiko wasn't sure what she was seeing. The light had faded leaving the figure of a girl in its place. Her clothes were a brilliant white; a sleeveless robe that hung almost to her knees and white Capri leggings. Her short brown hair wafted slightly with the still fading energy.

Beside her, Raimundo spoke, his voice filled with a mixture of shock, disbelief and terror. She almost didn't catch the name as he said it and she turned back to look at the girl. Did he know her?

Suddenly, the creature's clawed hand shot forward grasping the girl around the throat and lifting her off the ground. Oh my–… its going to kill her!

The girl's hands reached up, trying to pry the black fingers away with no success, but one word could be heard as she gasped out for help. "…Rai"

Kimiko didn't have time to think of what to do when a fierce wind began to whirl beside her. She turned, her eyes falling on the brown haired monk, his eyes set with an anger she'd never seen before. She could almost feel his power growing as he straitened up, his fists clenched.

She let go of his arm and stepped back, shocked at what she was seeing. The figures of Clay and Omi stepped up beside her, their gazes also set on their friend as the rage they couldn't understand began to consume him.

He wasn't thinking anymore, wasn't planning his next move or trying to figure out what was going on. All he knew was something evil was attacking his sister. He could feel the immense energy streaming from him, ready to lash out at any moment. The dark creature finally turned its crimson gaze to him and it opened what could be conceived as a mouth, letting out a piercing screech that sent the other monks to their knees.

Unaffected, Rai crossed his arms over his chest, his hands flat as he prepared to attack. He could still see her, twisting in the monster's grip, slowing dieing. "Not this time…" Rage coated his words and he let loose two massive blades of air, each one slicing through the darkness of the creature's arms and into the wall behind it. The screeching grew louder and filled with what anyone could have guessed was pain. The black claws around the girl's neck disappeared and she fell to the floor, coughing harshly as she choked on the fresh air.

Without a second glance at the dark being, Rai darted forward and lifted his sister off the ground. Turning, he ran, following the others as they stood and retreated through the open doorway.

The monster's cries began to fade the farther the group got from the home. Dojo quickly changed and everyone leapt on, Rai still clinging to the shivering girl. They took off and all but Rai turned to see the dark creature emerge from the open doorway. It was soon out of sight as Dojo made for the temple.

Raimundo could feel the tremors start to decrease as they moved away from the threat. Her breathing had become steadier and she finally turned to look at him. Hot tears were suddenly stinging his eyes, but he quickly suppressed them as he spoke, his voice soft.

"You okay?" She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she reached a slender hand up to touch his face as though she was afraid he wasn't really there. A moment passed as her fingers moved over his cheek and caught a tear that had escaped. Her green eyes began to glisten and with one quick movement she wrapped her arms around her brother a cried into his shoulder.

The others rode in front of the two siblings and were now watching as tears began to fall from their leader's closed eyes. They were still confused about the whole situation, but it looked like they'd have to wait for their answers. No one was ready to talk yet.

oOo

By the time they'd made it back to the temple, the tears had stopped falling, but the two siblings continued to hold tight to one another, afraid that if they let go the other would disappear.

Dojo set down in the training yard and master Fung stepped out of one of the buildings. He hadn't expected them back so soon, but was hopeful they had returned with the task complete. What he saw told him otherwise.

Omi, Clay and Kimiko quickly dismounted and walked over to the confused master. He turned his gaze down to them waiting for some kind of explanation for what had happened, but he only received confused glances.

They turned to watch as Rai allowed himself to slide off of Dojo's back, the girl standing up beside him, grass bending under her bare feet. The dragon shrunk down to his smaller size and found his place atop master Fung's shoulder as the others stepped towards the siblings.

For the first time that day, the other monks noticed the strange resemblance the girl had to Raimundo; the same height, hair and eye color.

"This is very strange." Omi whispered to Clay and Kimiko.

"Raimundo, perhaps you can clear up the confusion?" It was more of an order than a request.

Rai turned to the elder monk, his eyes slightly pink from earlier. "I can… but…" His words trailed off.

"But what?" Master Fung continued, but he didn't answer.

The girl was the first to register something was wrong. "Rai?" His head turned to look at her and he gave a weak smile before falling forward. She let out a yelp in surprise as his weight fell against her and she did her best to keep him from crashing to the ground. The others were quick to step forward and help, the group laying their leader on the soft grass.

"Quickly, get him inside. I will alert the healers." The order was heard and the three xiaolin monks gathered up their fallen friend. Before she was able to follow, master Fung placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. Her eyes shot up to him, a flash of anger catching his eye. "We will talk later." She nodded, the anger gone in an instant as she hurried after her brother.

They had placed Rai on a bed in a small medical room. His eyes remained closed and his form still, but tension vas visible in his face as his body fought exhaustion. The girl had joined them soon after, her eyes focusing on the boy in the bed as she passed the others to be next to him.

Kimiko waited for the girl to visibly calm before she stepped over to join her. "Are you okay?" She wasn't sure what else she could say.

She turned to look at the raven haired monk and gave a weak smile. "I'm fine." She looked to her brother again, then back to the others. "I'm sorry, I haven't really been able to talk to anyone but Rai." Her Brazilian accent was unmistakable. "My name is Carlyna."

Kimiko smiled and was about to respond, when someone standing in the doorway cleared their throat. They turned to see master Fung and two other monks approaching.

"Would you three escort our guest to one of the other beds?" Omi and Clay nodded. "I will join you shortly."

When Carly didn't move Kimiko stepped over and place a gentle hand on her shoulder. "He'll be okay. We won't be far." She could still see the distress in the girl's eyes, but she soon nodded and followed the three away from her brother and the monks.

They made it over to a bed and with little force had the girl sit down. She looked exhausted; her cheeks puffy from crying. Clay, who had left for a moment, returned with a glass of water and handed it to the girl.

"Thanks, Clay." She voiced tiredly.

Confused looks were passed around the group as the girl sipped at the water. "Pardon me, but… how'd you know my name?"

Carly turned to him, puzzled by his question, but her eyes widened with understanding and a light blush brightened her cheeks. "It's… kind of hard to explain."

"Now might be as good a time as any." They all turned to see master Fung approach. "Carlyna, was it?"

She nodded; the blush still apparent. "Carly is fine too." The elder man nodded and waited for her explanation to begin. "I guess I should start from the beginning…"

Over the next half an hour, Carly proceeded to tell them about her death at the age of ten and how the years after were spent inside her brother's amulet. At that she had noticed the trinket dangling from her neck; somehow missed during the previous events. She told them of how she'd known them for as long as Rai had, if only from inside her brother's mind.

"Whoooy, that's one heck of a life story." Clay exclaimed, earning a small smile from Carly. "So you know pretty much all there is to know about us, huh?"

She nodded before glancing down at her hands. She was still a bit shocked to see them. Having spent so long without a body, the rediscovered sensations were hard to get used to.

"Thank you for sharing this information with us, Carlyna." Master Fung spoke before turning to the three xiaolin warriors. "And now, perhaps one of you can tell me what happened to the Yin yo-yo."

"We are not quite sure, master." Omi spoke truthfully.

"It was strange. Some kind of creature appeared out of no where. It was all black and had hands with sharp, pointed fingers." Kimiko did her best to imitate the monster that had attacked them earlier. Beside her, she felt Carly shiver and quickly resumed her normal stature.

"And you did not see the yin yo-yo during this time?" Master Fung asked after a short silence.

"No, but it could have been in the cabinet the creature came out of." The black haired monk answered.

The elder monk stopped the think again. "And when did you appear?" His question was directed at Carly.

When the girl remained quiet, her eyes still focused on her hands, Kimiko quickly interjected.

"After the monster appeared, Rai told us to leave, so we started to…" She paused, suddenly recalling the horrible event. "but… when we got to the door, Rai was too far back when it… attacked." The crack in her voice was hard to miss.

"It used some kind of spear," Clay continued, his voice haunted with the memory. "There wasn't any time to stop it…"

"It didn't hurt…" The small voice was almost missed. The group turned to Carly who still had her eyes downcast as a tear ran down her cheek. "It just felt… evil… and then… I wasn't there anymore… I couldn't hear him. And I remember seeing it in front of me… choking me…" Her words trailed off into silence.

Master Fung was quiet for a moment before standing. "There is something I must look into. Please take care of Carlyna until I return." The monks nodded and their master left the room.

They turned to see that the girl's attention had moved and she was now staring across at her brother who still lay in the bed.

"What's wrong?" Kimiko asked anxiously.

"He's waking up."

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Man… I'm tired… his thoughts were hazy as he stared into the darkness around him. Who keeps poking me? He felt it again; something jabbing into his side. It was annoying.

"Can you see anything?" He asked, but received no answer. "Carly?" Still nothing. This sent his heart racing as he tried to call her again and she wouldn't answer. Something was wrong. He needed to wake up.

The monks who had been checking over the boy let out a surprised yelp as his arms shot out, pushing them away. His breathing increased as he fought to regain consciousness, his arms continuing the thrash about.

Carly was the first to make it to his side, grabbing one of the hands in her own and taking a seat next to the bed.

The others watched on as she softly began to talk to him and could visibly see their leader relaxing. After a moment, he stilled and slowly his green eyes opened. He looked around, catching the smiling faces of his team before resting his gaze on the girl beside him.

"Carly?" His voice was weak. She nodded, smiling down at him. "It wasn't a dream… you're really here…" He felt her squeeze his hand and with what little strength he had, he sat up and flung his arms around her.

His mind was screaming that this couldn't be real; she couldn't be real! She was supposed to be dead, locked away in the amulet, but here she was, her arms wrapped around him, her voice whispering to him. Then he started to remember; the dark creature, the overwhelming evil and then she was there.

Gently, she let him fall back onto the bed. He wanted to say something; tell her how happy he was to see her, but he couldn't find the words, so he said the first thing that came to him. "You look different…"

She smiled; a real smile. "Yeah, I supposed I do." And then her smile fell. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Just tired… what happened?"

"You collapsed after we got back from fighting that creature." Kimiko spoke, stepping to the other side of his bed; Clay and Omi beside her. He gave her a puzzled look. "You got stabbed… remember?"

He frowned. "I did?" With his free hand, he pulled up his shirt to reveal the area where the spear had struck, only there was no mark; no sign of him ever being hit.

"This is most confusing." Omi stated, rubbing the side of his head. The others agreed as they looked on.

"Perhaps I can explain." The group turned to find master Fung as he stepped up to the base of the bed, a scroll held in his hands.

Tbc…

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Accursed dialogue DX! I was having issues getting explanations done… but I did it!!! Hopefully it all sounds okay x.x and I hope yall liked it! Hopefully not too mary-sue for Carly x.x im tryin reeeeeal hard to keep her character toned done. Anyway Thanks so much for reading! Chapter 3 will be up soon!