Ulrich got to the garden and began to practice to clear his head. Today he went through the motions of Penkak Silat and basic Xaiolin animal style.
Sid had followed Ulrich out to the garden
"Ulrich I know how you feel…"
"No you…"
"Don't say that I don't know, Ulrich, Nana raised me from the time I was seven years old, and I'm wondering if I should have told you to go and stayed here myself." Sid said "I'm wondering, could I have made a difference, the fact that I know what Kong Li is capable of could have changed this situation. Ulrich, we have to realize something, we can beat ourselves up, ask 'what if' until we're blue in the face and it won't heal Nana's arm, it won't change anything. The only thing that we can do now is get this recipe back and watch over Nana until her arm heals so Kong Li can't hurt her worse"
Ulrich sighed and stopped what he was doing
"I guess you're right" he sighed "my blaming myself isn't helping anything. I guess, Nana is… what I mean to say is, I don't get a lot of contact with my grandparents, on either side of my family. So, when she suggested calling her Nana I jumped at it because I wanted her to be family, and well I guess it became that way to me. I hate it when people hurt my friends or family, and when Kong Li hurt her I felt like there was something I should have done, something I could have done…"
"But you know that isn't true," Sid continued
Ulrich nodded in agreement, that was all too true.
"Let's go back inside, Nana is getting worried about you" Sid said
They got inside to see that Kong Li was there
"Well well, Mei Hua, now all four children can watch you…"
"Say fall and you'll get a taste of my shoe" Ulrich said
"Ah, Ulrich, you're still here, do you…?"
"Know that secret, yes, Nana told me about that before you ever broke her arm!" Ulrich interjected furiously
"Oh really…?"
"Really…"
Kong Li attacked Ulrich who dodged the attack easily, which surprised Kong Li
"Oh yeah, I'm trained in martial arts… that was my secret" Ulrich said as Sue, Sid and Tobey joined in to retrieve the recipe.
"You haven't seen the last of me" Kong Li roared
Ulrich mock yawned in a very unimpressed fashion as Kong Li left in a huff.
"Good work, children, but Ulrich I have to say you played it a little dangerously"
"Sorry, Nana, but we did get the recipe" Ulrich said
"Just be more careful next time"
"Will do, Nana," Ulrich replied truthfully and he was true to his word about being more careful and keeping the cookbook secret.
The day finally came that Ulrich was to return to Kadic. He had learned so much more than he had ever expected.
"We'll miss you, Ulrich" Sue said
"Yeah, I'll miss sparring with you" Sid said "and… I'll just miss having you around"
"I'll miss you too" Tobey said, Ulrich and Tobey hadn't been that close, but Ulrich had to admit that he had a way of making a lasting impression on a person
"It was great to have you here, Ulrich, I am also very glad you came and will miss you a lot." Mei Hua said, her arm was completely healed by this time and Ulrich was confident that they would be fine.
"Don't worry, Nana, I will keep in touch, and who knows, we might even get to see each other again"
Ulrich left Chinatown with several new skills, including the ability to read Chinese as well he could French and do some simple magic, but he would be true to his word and not reveal the magic to others unless he got approval from Mei Hua or as he still liked to call her 'Nana'.
The End