Beetho: So. . .how do y’all like it so far?? I hope you all are enjoying it; though I know it’s SO unoriginal!! Well, here ya go, Chapter 3!!

Chapter Two

Kimiko led Jack out into an old lot behind a broken down and busted gas station. They had mailed the letter to Jack’s parents, telling them where they were off to, and even gave them a call. They were okay with it; they were kind of the parents who weren’t too fond of rules and restrictions. Only the real important ones - which were to them: “no underage drinking or drugs, do your best to listen to the ‘man’ no matter how bogus the rules, and no killing anybody or anything for fun”. So, they didn’t really give a crap. They waited there for a few moments, until Jack got impatient and asked, “What are we waiting for?” Kimiko hesitated on answering. She surveyed the skies for a few more seconds before Jack repeated himself. She smiled and pointed into the distant horizon.

“There! That’s what we’re waiting for.” Jack squinted his eyes and shielded his face from the afternoon sun.

“What are you looking at?” he inquired, seeing nothing.

“There!” she exclaimed. Kim was pointing to a green speck that was getting bigger and bigger. Jack looked again, trying real hard to see what she was pointing at. Suddenly, he saw it.

“What the—?!” He backed up against the burned walls of the gas station. He wasn’t the one to believe in ghosts and the mystical and supernatural, but this really threw him for a loop. A huge 48 foot, green dragon.

Kimiko began to jump up and down, waving her arms around as to get it’s attention. Her actions screamed excitement. She started to shout. “Over here! Dojo, over here!” Jack ran up to her and pulled her into the shadows of the gas station.

“What the hell are you doing?! Do seriously want that thing to come near us?! It might eat us or something!” he shouted. Kimiko just laughed.

“Chilax, Jack. He’s a friend and our ride to the Xiaolin Temple,” she reassured. He looked up at the large green reptile as he landed in front of them. He kept behind Kimiko until it shrunk down to two feet. Then he stepped out from behind her, looking confused.

“Dude, you looked cooler all enlarged. . .” Dojo pouted.

“Hey! You’re talking to a mystical, magical, kick butt dragon here!” Kimiko picked him up, squeezing him tightly.

“Omg, long time no see, Dojo! I missed you! Have you heard from the others yet? How’s Master Fung? Oh I bet Shannel’s excited, isn’t she!” she rambled, not taking a breath. The little dragon’s eyes bugged out at Kimiko’s much improved upper body strength.

Jack stared at them. Mystical dragon? Master? Was he hearing right? He turned his baseball cap backwards and leaned up against the burnt walls of the gas station, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Kimiko finally let go of Dojo and turned to the teen.

“Are you ready to go?” Dojo maximized his size and whipped his tail around. Jack looked up at him, wide-eyed.

“Is. . .it safe?” Dojo let a low growl escape his lips.

“So first you insult my natural size, and then you question if my flying is safe?? Kimiko, are you sure you got the right kid?”

“It wasn’t just the flying I was asking about. . .” Jack said under his breath. Kimiko dragged him over to Dojo and jumped up on before him.

“Dojo, relax. I’m sure you’ll learn to like him. I recall that you weren’t too found of us when we first came to the temple. Especially Raimundo,” she replied, waving at Jack. “C’mon! Hope on!”

“Yes, but Wind always seems to get on my nerves. You weren’t skeptical.”

“Well, I’m a girl. And you know boys. . .”

Jack glared up at her. He gripped Dojo’s scales and positioned one foot as if he were ready to push up and climb. “What’s wrong, kid? Scared? I might look intimidating, but I wouldn’t hurt a fly!” Muttering insults to himself, Jack pushed off some scales and climbed up and seated himself behind Kimiko. Dojo laughed. “Next stop, Greece!” The red head’s eyes widened. He was about to object to the long flight, but Kimiko turned around to stop him.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there before you know it!”

Two hours later, Jack could smell salt water. On his back, looking up between the V his legs were making, he could see Kimiko kneeling and searching below. He sat up and looked down. They were flying over a coastline. Suddenly, Dojo declined, causing Jack to slide forward, almost vertical. He gripped his cap and reached one hand behind his head to grab hold of one of Dojo’s scales. Kimiko leaned forward like a jockey in a race, laughing to herself.

“Omi!!”she shouted. Dojo almost came to a sudden stop in midair, leveling out, causing Jack to slide forward towards Kimiko. He could hear a girl scream and stumble back on wet sand.

“Greetings Kimiko!”

Jack sat up and adjusted his hat. He cocked his head at Omi, the little yellow man, who was grinning up and Kimiko and Dojo. Kim jumped down to give the monk a hug. Dojo shook Jack off – causing him to land in the damp sand - so he could shrink back to his normal size. He then hopped over to join in on Kimiko and Omi’s group hug. Then Jack noticed the girl. . . .

“OMI! I missed you, ‘ole buddy, ‘ole pal!” Dojo’s grin was so big it took up most of his small face. . . . He did his best to wrap his hands around the monk’s large head. Omi sighed and patted him reluctantly.

“Dojo, you’re the one who dropped me off here several days ago! How can you miss me already?” he inquired. Omi removed Dojo from the side of his head and tilted his head up toward his fellow monk. “Kimiko! I am so glad to see you! It’s been too long! Is he the one?” he asked her, pointing to Jack, who was still sitting in sand. Kim nodded and waved Jack over.

“Is she the one?” she asked, pointing to Ursula. She was standing in the water, looking at Dojo, not nearly as scared as she was when he was 48 foot.

“Ursula! You must come here! I’d like you to meet some friends of mine, and a soon-to-be-friend of yours!” Omi exclaimed, waving his hands to Kimiko, Dojo, and Jack as if he was presenting a prize.

Ursula cocked her head and stared at the strangers. She stared at Dojo for a long while, and then looked over to Kimiko. She stopped on Jack and their eyes met. He gave her the same puzzled look back, but then quickly looked away. Ursula looked down and walked toward Omi. “This is Kimiko and Dojo!” he said happily. Kim gave her a friendly smile and Dojo gave her a huge grin and waved his hand wildly. “We should be off then! Raimundo and Clay are waiting with the others!” Omi and Kimiko jumped onto their dragon’s back. Ursula was completely lost, so she waited for Jack. He climbed up onto Dojo, and Ursula copied, taking a seat behind him, slightly off to his left.

“Where to now, Dojo?” Kimiko asked.

“Batan Island, Philippines!” he shouted over his shoulder, taking off.

Kimiko and Omi sat up near the front on Dojo, leaning over his forehead, talking about Master Fung and Shannel. The two teenagers sat toward the back in silence. Every once and a while, Jack would peek back to look at Ursula. Whenever he did so, she was staring straight at him. It made him self-conscious. Did he keep turning around at a bad time? Or was Ursula staring at him even when he looked away? Either way, he sat up straight, resting his arms on his knees, keeping track of every move he made. Jack felt a tap on his left shoulder. He actually had a reason to look back at her.

“My name is Ursula,” she introduced herself softly. Jack had turned all the way around to face her. He stared at her extended hand and then to her half smile.

“Jack,” he replied, shaking her hand. It had a soft olive complexion to them, and they were cold. Jack returned the small smile and watched as Ursula’s blue eyes played peek-a-boo with his as her long brown hair blew wildly across her face. They exchanged a few more word - mostly Ursula asking Jack were he was from, and other questions like that, and he gave her quick replies.

In little less than two hours from when they left Greece, they neared a large chain of islands. The Philippines. Dojo, tired of flying already, moved around in the air, skimming the ocean water and doing bunny hops to keep his mind off napping. Once he neared one of the islands, Dojo quickly inclined, hoping not to draw too much attention to him and his riders. On a nearing cliff on the opposite side of the island, Kimiko and Omi could see two dots. One was waving what looked like a brown hat around to get their attention.

“Clay!” the friends shouted with glee. Jack and Ursula leaned to the side to see who else would be joining them.

Dojo landed on the cliff and gently leaned to the side so the Dragons could slide off. Kimiko jumped up and hugged Clay. He gave her a big ‘ole bear hug back. Omi smiled up at him and then shot a glance to Ester.

“Greetings Clay!”

“Howdy, ‘lil partner!” he replied, extending his arm down to pat Omi on the head. Clay set Kimiko down and waved Ester over. “Ester, these are some friends of mine: Kimiko, Omi, and Dojo.” The islander came to stand beside the cowboy. She wasn’t as frightened of Dojo as the others, but she looked at him unsurely. It wasn’t everyday you saw a 48 foot dragon.

“Hi.” Ester waved. Kim and Omi smiled.

“It is most nice to meet you Ester,” Omi said, running up to her to shake her hand. She took his hand and smiled at the small monk. Omi stood four feet, and Ester was about a foot and a half taller, though a bit shorter than Jack, who was the tallest out of the teenagers.

“Same here,” she replied, a bit more opened minded to what was going on.

“Y’all heard from Raimundo yet?” Clay inquired.

“Nope, which is why out next stop is Wiluna, Australia!” their dragon exclaimed. Omi and Kimiko climbed up onto Dojo after Clay.

The kids climbed up on and sat toward the back again. They sat in a spread apart triangle and looked at one another. Ursula sat curled up, hugging her knees, staring at Ester, and Ester shifted uneasily at the Ursula’s stare. Jack sat away from them, so when he extended his legs he wouldn’t kick Ester, who sat across from him. After a half an hour of silence, Ursula scooted toward Ester and extended her hand. “Hi; my name is Ursula. What is yours again?”

“Ester,” she replied with a grin, shaking her hand.

“So you are from the Philippines? Beautiful. . .” Ursula mused. “I was looking at the shores as we flew over them, and their absolutely wonderful! You are lucky. I have lived in Greece all my life and waking up to the shores of Chios was becoming a tiring routine. It is nice to see other places.” Ester laughed.

“Well, the shores of Batan have gotten sorta trying. I wish I could go to Greece. I’ve never left the island before!” she replied. “My parents aren’t the traveling type, and they don’t have the money to take leisure trips all the time.”

“I have only left Chios once, and that was to go to Orlando, Florida. The beaches there are beautiful too, but too much people for me. Chios does not get as crowded.” The girls giggled.

“Hey, Ursula, why don’t you speak using contractions?”Jack inquired. Ursula cocked her head. “Ya know, like ‘don’t’, ‘doesn’t’, ‘you’re’?” The brunette shrugged.

“I have never really thought much of it. It is quite silly, actually,” she replied. “My best friend and I used to play silly games when we were little. One of them was to see how long we could speak without using contractions. She enjoyed that game the most and she would always win. It got to the point where not using contractions had become a habit for her. At the time, I thought it was weird - like you probably do now.” She paused in sighed. “I guess I do not use contractions to honor her now. To remember.” Ester and Jack stared at her.

“Well, remember what?” he inquired.

“Her.”

“Why?” Ursula frowned. She was about to reply but the monks interrupted.

“Raimundo!!” they shouted. The kids moved out of their triangle and leaned over Dojo’s side, seeing sand, sand, and more sand. They could see Raimundo waving and a boy that must have been around Jack’s height, if not a bit taller, sitting on a large rock. Kimiko jumped off Dojo before he landed or even came to a complete stop. She rushed up to Raimundo and threw her arms around his neck.

“Rai!” He lifted her up and hugged back. Clay walked over and patted his friend on the back.

“Nice to see you again Raimundo!”

“Haha, hey Kim, Clay, Omi! Dudes, long time no see! Why didn’t any of you ever call or something?” Raimundo set Kim down. “Guys, this is Parker.” The teen stood up and walked over to the group, acting as if he didn’t even notice Dojo.

“G’day mates,” he greeted.

“Howdy!” Clay replied, tipping his hat; Kim waved. Omi jumped up and down in excitement.

“We have done it Xiaolin Dragons! We have succeeded in finding the new monks! Now we must be off to China! Let us hurry!” the little monk shouted. He jumped back on Dojo and eagerly jumped up and down near his head. “On ward!”

“Ha, hey, wait for us,” Raimundo joked he leaped up onto the dragon’s back, followed by Kimiko and Clay. “Hey Dojo!” he greeted.

“Raimundo!” Dojo thundered. “Nice to see ya again pal!”

Parker was the last to get on. The teenagers stared at him, curious. They also wondered why he was the only one of them who didn’t fear Dojo. Parker walked up to Dojo and grabbed on to his scales to climb up. He was too busy looking up and down the dragon to watch where he was grabbing. His foot slipped and he began to slide down. Ursula, being the closest to him, quickly leaned over and grabbed Parker’s hand, pulling him back up. The brunette seated himself next to her and tipped his hat.

“Thanks a bunch, sheila,” he thanked. She made a face.

“Um, you are welcome. My name is Ursula,” she greeted, holding out her hand. He took it and smiled.

“Name’s Parker.”

“It is nice to meet you, Parker.” Jack and Ester scooted up toward them.

“Hi, my name’s Ester.” She smiled, brushed her hair back and waved Parker returned the greeting. Jack simply shot his hand up then back down.

“Jack.” Parker nodded his head.

“Hey.”

The four monks and the four teens spent most of the flight to China talking - either catching up or getting to know each other. The Xiaolin warriors were ecstatic to be together again. They had all gotten notice of the kids they had to set out to find at the same time, but they started their search from wherever they were at the time. Being together again felt so good, like they were never apart. They had all split up until the new monks arrived, and went back to where they had come from before being summoned to the Xiaolin Temple in the first place. Master Fung had said that way they would all be spread out, ready for the new monks wherever they may appear (not that they even went after the nearest monk to their hometowns...). Their master found a way to get a hold of them, and that he did. Now that they had gathered the new monks, the second half of their journey had just begun, and so began a new journey for a new set of students. As for the four teenagers, they sat and discussed where they were from and pondered cluelessly on why they were being summoned to China, of all places.

***

Theo walked ahead of his master, sniffing the trail out of curiosity. They had never left the Land of Nowhere since Chase’s absence. The witch knew it was useless to try beating the current Xiaolin monks to the new students, so instead she figured she’d wait near the Xiaolin Temple to take a look at what she’d be dealing with. As the two crossed the border marking Chase’s old domain, the light immediately hit them, causing the Heylin witch to wince and stop. She could hear something. Using her hand as a shield, she looked up into the sky to see Dojo soaring across China, making his way to the Xiaolin Temple. Theo growled, being able to smell him and the much hated Xiaolin monks.

“Come, boy. We must hurry if we want to find out about these new monks. . .” the brunette said with a slight laugh. She grabbed onto her wolf’s collar, and then they were gone.

Beetho: OK, well, tell me what ya think.

R&R please.