He had changed. No. He had transformed. Images flickered behind his eyelids, the scornful memories mockingly poisoning his thoughts. It had seemed so long ago, but the same familiar faces still haunted his vision, the looks of pity and contempt still piercing his soul. It had become almost natural to him... defeat. He had almost accepted his permanent place at the bottom rung, constantly surpassed by both his enemies and his dubious allies. He had promised himself he would never forget that time. Even as the features of his sworn enemies had begun to fade and he could no longer recall their voice, he would still run the memories over and over, never failing to spur him on, to spur him further away from the time where his fight against those retched monks was less than futile. He was weak and he knew it. His thin, thread-like body and feeble mind let him down time after time, but now...

"Now it's different..." Jack mumbled, as he sinuously flowed from one stance to another. In the years he had been away, his adolescent body had transformed into a sleek muscular frame; not too big, but perfectly formed for his build so that he could duck, weave and strike with deadly accuracy. Flaming hair tumbled carelessly around his face as beads of sweat formed on his forehead, carefully sweeping his feet against the cold, concrete floor, kicking and striking imaginary foes.

"Of course it is different dear Jack. You have me..." A fierce voice called out from the gloomy and sheltering shadows of the room. That voice... It pulled at his muscles, lead his arms and legs like a puppet on a string as his strikes became more ferocious; his eyes transfixed on the image following his movements in the cracked mirror in front of him.

"You're nearly ready Jack." The voice had moved forward slightly into the light and revealed the delicate female figure who possessed it. "And revenge will be sweet..."

The temple's grounds were still in that sleepy state between dawn and the glaring eastern sun. Graceful Bluebirds sang sweet melodies in the trees, resonating them into the still morning air as the other wildlife gathered at the fountain to bathe. A perfect picture of natural harmony. This picture was shattered at the sound of a shrill voice shouting over the temple gardens.

"You're goin down Rai!" Kimiko's mocking voice carried on the soft wind across the temple's grounds.

"Bring it on Baby!" Was her opponent's patronizing reply.

"Star Hanabi, Fire!" Kimiko spat the command with as much venom as she could muster. "And don't call me Baby!"

Escaping the path of the flaming arrows with ease, Raimundo laughed at her anger. He knew when Kimiko got angry her fire got that little more dangerous... but the trick was to get her so angry that she lost control- that was her weakness.

"C'mon, Baby... you can do better than that!" Raimundo taunted her further. "OK, OK. I'll go easy on ya... bein the only girl an all..."

Kimiko's eyes burnt deep red and her blood boiled, rising the heat dangerously to her pale skin. Thrusting the star towards Raimundo, she let the burning energy inside her explode outwards through the weapon.

"Fire!" She screeched, but her poisonous anger soon subsided for the stomach churning fear rapidly enveloping her body as streams of fire burst into the air, covering the sky with an auburn blaze before hurtling downwards to rain upon them. Kimiko could only stare at the furious sky with terrified eyes until a familiar voice broke the spell.

"Orb of Tornami!" A waterfall of torrential rain rose into the sky, calming the flames and soaking the grounds in the temple.

"Thanks Omi." Kimiko mumbled, her head bowed in shame.

"Woah girl! That was great!" Raimundo beamed. Kimiko just groaned and collapsed into the floor feeling the droplets of water cool her face.

"You must be more careful Kimiko..." Omi started his 'High and mighty/ I'm better than you' speech before she zoned out and gazed across the grounds, looking for something more interesting to concentrate on. She saw Clay under a sturdy tree, eyes fastened shut, calmly meditating and completely unfazed by the events. "Why can't I be that calm?" She thought out loud, slightly startled by her own voice.

"We've all got a bit rusty" Raimundo offered, placing a reassuring hand gently on her shoulder. "Chase Young won't let Wuya off her leash to fight us for the Wu and God knows what happened to Jack, so there's no-one to stop us really."

"I wonder what happened to Jack." Omi said in a concerned voice.

"Maybe he just gone an given up bein evil. He's bin gone a couple of years..." Clay had snapped out of his trance and had joined the group on the refreshingly moist grass. But even he admitted that wasn't like Jack. He always just... kept fighting.

"Things are quiet without him..." Rai said, reminiscing.

"Don't tempt fate guys." Kimiko warned, sitting bolt upright. "Now he's not here to steal from us, life is a lot easier. We've got to keep it that way." They all knew she was right. With Jack gone and Wuya now Chase's lapdog, things were a lot easier and they could finally relax.

The monks' thoughts were interrupted by a familiar groaning approaching them. It was Dojo, crawling along the ground and moaning dramatically.

"No, no, don't help -I insist..." Dojo groaned sarcastically, letting his tongue roll out towards Kimiko, who was looking slightly disgusted by the rash covering his body.

"Lovely..." She said backing away from him, scratching her own arms.

"Dojo! Have you been eating form the medicine cabinet again?" Raimundo sighed, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at him.

Dojo looked shiftily at him. " No...maybe...Ok, yes." He wheezed, scratching his flaking scales right next to Kimiko, who squirmed and promptly moved next to Omi.

"What have we told you about-?" Raimundo began to ask.

"But they're all so pretty..." Dojo interrupted, his eyes widening slightly, gazing at nowhere in particular.

"What is your purpose here, Dojo?" Omi asked as the green dragon turned to his direction.

There are Shen Gong Wu coming!" He replied, darting around Raimundo, scratching his scales. "About 5 or 6 of em are gonna reveal themselves."

"Urgh, Dojo!" Raimundo whined, pushing the little dragon off his lap and scratching at his own body. He couldn't help but laugh at Omi though, joyfully jumping around the grounds.

"Yes!" Omi said excitedly, rubbing his hands together.

"Bout time!" Clay exclaimed, high fiving Raimundo. There hadn't been any Shen Gong Wu reveal themselves for at least 3 months, and all the monks were becoming restless.

"It might be a while yet though, guys..." Dojo added, his tail twitching rhythmically. Kimiko giggled quietly at the eagerness of her friends, putting her hand on Omi's shoulder and turning to Dojo, a mischievous grin playing on her lips.

"We'll be ready..." She said, determination naturally coating her voice.

In the temple, master Fung continued to meditate in the silence of the Shen Gong Wu chamber, slipping in and out of consciousness as he fought for the serenity that surrounded him. Once he let the beautiful calmness consume him, he woke abruptly by a sickening feeling assaulting is senses and rising to claim his entire body. Something was wrong. The monks' lack of opponents had made them idle, their senses dulling as the danger dwindled from their surroundings. Clearly, they couldn't sense this unsettling feeling that had overcome him so easily. The sensation was all too familiar to him. When Wuya acquired her body again, he sensed the power approaching, but this was different. It was terrifying. Whatever was coming was powerful, and he couldn't help but fear the worst. The monks were not ready.