Disclaimer: Yes! I own it! I own it all! That’s exactly why I still have to beg my parents for money and I’m writing this. In case you didn’t get the sarcasm, no I don’t own it. I do own their personalities and stuff. There’s a little of ‘The Lost Empire’ in here though.

Summary: Dwynwen was a young girl who’s only goal in life was to become a reclusive hermit and hide away from the rest of the world. But it seems the gods have other things in mind. With the help of Wukong and the others Dywn must save the world whether she wants to or not.

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CHAPTER 4

Dwynwen was sleeping peacefully on a bed with a soft breeze blowing on her face, when suddenly Wukong entered the room and yelled,

“Okay, new student, you’ve had your rest, now get up! It’s time to start your training!” Dwynwen just moaned as she turned over.

‘Oh, great. I was hoping he was just a dream.’ she thought.

“C’mon, kid! Rise and shine.” said Wukong. Dwynwen moaned as she turned over.

“You rise. You shine.” she grumbled. Wukong sighed.

“She reminds me of someone, but who?” he mumbled. He walked over to the curtains. “Come on, already! The sun is out and it’s a perfect day for training!” he said as he opened them.

“AHH! THE LIGHT! IT BURNS!” Dwynwen screamed as she ran under the bed she was sleeping in. She blink from under her bed. Wukong stared at her with a bit of irritation.

“You’re pathetic, you know that, right?” he told her. “And don’t you think you’re over reacting?”

“Maybe a little.”

Wukong growled in irritation.

“Okay, we’ll try it another way!” he growled. Then he grabbed her and literally threw her out the window! “Get out there!”

“Ow! Hey! What’s that for?!” Dwynwen snarled as she glared at him.

“To getcha movin’. As I said...” said Wukong as he jumped out the window and landed in front of her. Dwynwen noticed that he was wearing different clothes now. He was wearing matching jade green shirt and pants with gold lining. “It’s time for your training.”

“Huh? Training?” yawned Dwynwen.

“Yes. Your training. You don’t expect to make it to Suki-no-Kumi without knowing how to defend yourself, do ya? Now catch.” Wukong said as he threw a staff at her.

“Huh? Whoa! We’re going to fight?” Dwynwen exclaimed, now fully awake.

“Of course! How else do you expect to learn?”

“Forget it! I saw what you did to those bandits!” Dwynwen said as she dropped the staff and stepped back.

“Oh, c’mon! Look, it’s not even my wishing rod! See? And I’ll go easy on you, so pick up your staff. The worse that will happen is that you get a few bruises.” Wukong said impatiently.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better!”

“Just pick up your staff!”

“Fine, fine. Grumpy.” said Dywnwen. She bent down to pick up her staff, then she realized something. “Hey... Where are we?”

“Took you long enough to notice. We’re at the Emperor of China’s Palace. We made it here last night while you were sleeping.” Wukong told her as he stood there boredly. “By the way, try not to wonder alone here. This place is full of monks who have never seen a woman before and old perverted ministers, although I’m not sure you would count as a woman, but still.”

“Are we going to train or what?”

“I thought you didn’t want to train.”

“I don’t but if I wanted to get insulted, I would have stayed in school instead of becoming home schooled.” Dywnwen said as she got into a stance. Wukong looked at her and sighed.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Getting in to a fighting stance. Isn’t this right?”

“Yeah, if you want to get knocked down.”

“You must have rocks in your head from being trapped under that mountain for so long! This is how everyone on TV stands!” Wukong looked at her with half lidded eyes, then walked over to her. Then with the end of his staff, he jabbed her in the chest, making her fall back. “Whoa!”

“Obviously, the people on this ‘TV’ of yours have no idea what they’re doing. For one thing, you were off balance, so it was easy to knock you over. And your defense was terrible, which how I was able to knock you down so easily.”

“You forgot the fact that you jabbed me down hard!” snapped Dywnwen.

“I did not! I barely touched you!”

“Says the monkey who’s fought demons!” Dywnwen mumbled as she rubbed her chest.

“Stop complaining and get up! We have training to do.”

Wukong showed Dywnwen the stances of using a staff, but she kept getting mixed up and misstepping, so he had to show her again, and again. Dywnwen really tried to get it right, but it seemed that no matter how many times she did it, she kept forgetting it or getting it mixed up with another. And every time she learned one stance, she forgot another. Finally Dywnwen threw her hands in the air.

“That’s it! I give up! I can’t do this!” she said as she threw down her staff.

“We’ve only been training for a few hours and you’re already giving up?” said Wukong.

“Yes! We’ve been training all morning, and all I’ve learned is three stances, which I keep getting mixed up! And now I hungry and hurting! This is all pointless!” Dywnwen said as she turned.

“Not true! True you haven’t learned as much as I’d have liked you too, or even as much as a normal student should, but at least you know a little more than you did before.” said Wukong.

“Stop! Just stop it! I can’t do it! I just can’t! So I give up! That’s all there is to it. My world’s gonna disappear and I’m probably just going to die!” said Dywenwen as she sat cross legged on the ground. Wukong gave a irritated sigh.

“Fine. Obviously I’m trying to push the ground.”

“Say wha?”

“You’ve already given up before you’ve begun! You set your mind on, ‘I can’t do it.’ ‘It’s impossible.’. And since your mind is set on that, then there’s no point in trying! I’m not going to waste my time with someone who’s already given up.” Wukong said as he picked up the staffs and started to walk away. “Come find me if ever really do want to learn something. In the mean time there’s a change of clothes in the room I threw ya out of. Go change into them.” Then he left the court yard, leaving a very sad Dywnwen.

Dywnwen sat there for a few minutes, then stood. She went back to the window Wukong had threw her out of and climbed in it. She now that she was awake, she noticed that it was simple, old, monk style room, but still nice all the same. She then noticed that there were some clothes at the bottom of her bed. It was a long sleeved purple shirt with silver lining.

She thought about it and realized that if she went tramping around this world in her clothes, she would attract a lot of attention. And attention was the last thing she wanted.

As she changed she thought about what Wukong had said. And in a way he was right. Dywnwen had a bad habit of always giving up before she even tried, but that’s the way it always worked. He said it himself. She wasn’t a warrior. She was just a pathetic little hermit who want to hide away in her little hole.

That was it.

With a sigh she left the room. She knew Wukong had told her not to wonder alone, but she couldn’t see him right now, and she couldn’t find Yulong, so...

She walked down the long halls alone and looked around. It seemed so peaceful.

“Ah. What’s this? A young woman walking around the palace alone?” Dywnwen turned and saw a old man dressed in very fancy robes. She suddenly remembered what Wukong had told her.

“Uh, sorry sir. I’ll be going now.” she muttered. She turned and suddenly the man asked,

“Do you play chess?”

“Huh?”

“Chess. It’s a game I got from a traveler on his way through here. It’s hard finding someone to play with though since this game is from another country.” the old man said.

“Uh, well I know how to play, but...” Dywnwen started.

“Oh, good! Will you please be so kind as to share a game with me?” the old man asked as he clapped his hands together. Dywnwen looked him over. He seemed harmless..

“All right.” she said slowly. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Great! The board’s right over there.” he said as motioned his hand to a old fashion chess board. “Would you prefer black or white?”

“Er, black I guess.” said Dywnwen as she sat in a old Chinese cushion. It was a old fashion chair, so it wasn’t that comfortable. She sat up her pieces and the old man made the first move since he was white. As they played Dywnwen thought of her home and how much she really missed it. Not the small apartment that had become her little hole, but her life before she and her brother moved into that apartment building full of weird people.

When she was younger she and her family were apart of a circus, but it didn’t get enough money so it had to be shut down. There was one chance to save it, but...

Dywnwen had made one mistake while doing a high trapeze act, and in attempt to save her, her mother and father had fallen to their deaths.

One mistake...

That was all it took.

“I win.” said the old man suddenly, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Huh?”

“I win. I have captured your king, you see.” the old man said as he held up the black chess piece.

“Oh...”

“If you don’t mind me saying, young lady... You seem really distracted.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” said Dywnwen as she bowed her head. “I’m just thinking. That’s all.”

“Perhaps I could help. Even though I’m just a old man.” said the old man with a sight chuckle.

“I don’t think you’d understand.”

“Maybe you’re right. Your Teacher said you were travelers. You must miss your home.” said the old man as he sat up the pieces again. Dywnwen was silent. “It is always difficult being away from one’s home, but you have to look at the bright side.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. You have a chance to better yourself. To see things no one else has. To learn about things you’ve always been curious about. You need to take advantage of the situation, make it work for you. Tell me, is there something you want that you could not obtain in your home?”

“Not exactly...” Dywnwen clutched her fists and the old man smiled kindly at her.

“It is not a sin to be afraid. Everyone is afraid when they first begin a long journey. No one is ever born brave. When we are born, we are all afraid of what lies in this world. We learn to brave as we grow. The more we learn, the more we live... The braver we become.” he stood. “I must be off now, but if you have any troubles, you should go see your teacher. I’m sure that if you give him a chance, he will listen to your troubles.” then he left.

Dywnwen stared at the chess board.

“Hello, Dywnwen.” said Xuanzang as he suddenly appeared behind Dywnwen. Dywnwen squealed as she fell back right through him.

“Don’t do that!” she snarled through deep breaths. The ghost monk chuckled.

“I apologize.” he said.

“And where have you been all day?”

“I needed to rest, so I have been in your mind. Why? Did something happen?”

“Well... Kinda.” Dywnwen said as she rubbed the back of her head. “I kinda had a argument with Wukong.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. We spent all morning learning the right ways to stand with a staff, and I finally gave up. I just couldn’t do it, Xuanzang! I just couldn’t.”

“I see. So you gave up before you even tried.” Xuanzang said as his eyes saddened.

“Well... I just don’t see the point. The world I live in isn’t that good. I mean, there are wars, people are more corrupted by greed and power, the world is being destroyed and everything else. Why would anyone want to save a world like that?” Dywnwen asked.

“But... What about all the good things?” Xuanzang as he looked at her with those kind eyes of his. “What you say is very true, but what everyone seems to forget is the good thing people have achieved. In the future you have medicine to cure the ill, you have rights and more freedom, you have more food so no one has to starve. Sure your world is not perfect, but what world is? You have a lot of wonderful things in the future. Surely they must be worth saving.”

“Gee... I never thought about that...” said Dywnwen. Xuanzang chuckled.

“Most people don’t. Living things tend to remember all the bad things and forget the good things.” he said. “I believe in you, Dywnwen.” Dywnwen was quiet.

“I guess I should go apologize to Wukong.” she said as she stood. “But he seemed pretty upset. I wonder if he’ll talk to me.” Xuanzang smiled kindly at her.

“You won’t know if you don’t try.” he told her.

“I guess you’re right.” Dywnwen said as she walked down the halls. As she walked a thought accrued to her.

What if she screwed up? If she failed and her world was destroyed? All it would take... is one mistake and everything could be lost. That’s why she never bothered to try anything really. One mistake and everything could be ruined. Why should she try? If she failed then it would be all her fault. And the guilt... would crush her. That’s why she didn’t want to even try, but now she was stuck and had to try. But she didn’t want all that guilt on her if she failed.

She took a deep breath.

She was scared. Really scared. She wouldn’t be so scared if she was an immortal like Wukong. He could do whatever he wanted and never worry about dying. She would do anything if she could become immortal. She vaguely wondered if Wukong could teach her.

She stopped.

That was it! Wukong could teach her! Maybe if she was really good student, and impressed him he would teach her to become immortal! Yeah! That’s way better motivation than saving any world.

“You seem very happy.” said Xuanzang next to her.

“I just suddenly became very dedicated to being Wukong’s student.” Dywnwen said.

“Oh. I’m glad.” smiled Xuanzang. Nether of them noticed a small shadow creep into her eyes.

After a few minutes Dywnwen finally found Wukong. He was in a small garden sitting on a rock, over looking a lake. But now that Dywnwen found him, she was a little scared. What should she say?

“Well? Go on.” said Xuanzang.

“But... What should I say t him? He might be really mad at me still.” Dywnwen said nervously.

“Just go talk to him. Try to explain to him, maybe he can help you.”

“Do you really think so?” she asked. He smiled at her.

“You won’t know unless you try.” he said. Dywnwen sighed.

“I guess you’re right.” she said. Then she took a deep breath and walked over to Wukong. “Um... Wukong?” she said slowly.

“What?” said Wukong right away. Dywnwen gulped as she looked at the ground.

“I... I’m sorry. You were trying really hard to teach me today. You trying to be patient and everything. You even gave me a real chance today and I blew it big time. It’s just... I’m really scared. I’m bad at not giving up. I always want to give up before I try. Before I make a mistake. I... I’m not strong. I know that. But so what? So what if I’m not strong? What’s wrong with being weak or shameless? There are a lot of people who aren’t strong, but have done great things. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do great things or not, but...” she continued to looked at the grown as she clenched her fists and remembered what Xuanzang said. “But I at least want to try. After all a wise dead man once said, ‘You’ll never know unless you try.’. So... Even if I fail, I want to try. I really want to try, even though I may just be pushing the ground as you said. So... Please! Give me another chance as your student!” she begged. There was a silence and then Wukong appeared in front of her and lifted her chin.

“First rule: I like to be looked in the eye when I’m being spoken to.” he said as he made her look into his eyes. “I’ll give ya another chance, because mainly I made a vow. I vowed that I’d make a warrior out of you and I will.” Then he stood straight, the light of the setting sun, glowing around him. “From this day forward your Buddhist name shall be Xin Zixin, 12 disciple of the ‘Awakened’ generation.”

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I know, I’m just writing this for myself, but oh well. At least I know it’s here.

Dywnwen’s new name means ‘New Self-confidence’. Wukong though it would fit her best. So now she will be known as Xin.