Once again…I'm sorry. Didn't mean to take so long to update.

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One week had gone by and nothing seemed to get done. Raimundo couldn't help but notice this, and was growing impatient. No one had attacked, and it concerned him. At the same time, his friends had been behaving strangely around him.

Clay, who was the most mature, seemed to react well to it, and would still spar with him, but refused to talk to him, and would leave the table for any meal when Rai came in, usually late. The blond cowboy wouldn't tell anyone what he thought of the change, and refused to speak on the topic of Rai completely.

The change in Kimiko had been slightly more unusual. She seemed keen on helping him with anything he was doing, and even stopped herself from sharpening her tongue on him as she usually did. He wasn't sure, but Rai got the feeling she had a slight crush on his older form.

As disconcerting as that was, Omi's reaction truly frightened him. From the start the young monk was always willing to talk to him, and spar with him. It had seemed nothing had changed between the two, including their friendly rivalry. Then came what concerned him. Omi started to ask questions about what it was like.

How did it feel to be older?

Did his element react differently to him, as it appeared to?

Did he feel stronger?

Could Omi use the wu to make himself older?

The last question had come after an intense sparring match that left both boys panting and exhausted on the ground. They were staring up at the night sky when Omi commented on how he really did seem like a leader now. Rai shrugged it off at first, but Omi countered again, asking if the wu would change you to any age you wanted. Cautiously, Rai responded to the affirmative.

That was when he asked. At first Rai jumped up with shock, fully intent on telling Master Fung, but slowly Omi explained what he though. The more he listened, the more the Brazilian wanted to talk him out of it.

"We don't know the side affects to this! If I could I'd go back to how I was right now!"

"That is foolish! You have an unbelievable amount of power now! If you could just learn to control -"

"Don't you see," Raimundo cut him off, "if this power had developed slowly, like it would if I aged properly, I wouldn't have to worry about not being able to control it!"

The monks and their team mates had come out now to see what had caused the fuss. Rai looked at them, all of them with pain and disgust, before storming off. Master Fung walked off with Omi to have a long talk, leaving Clay and Kimiko alone in the now deserted cool night air. Dojo coughed, interrupting the silence.

"Wha' is it partner? A new wu?"

"Nope. But I wouldn't worry about them."

Kimiko turned to Clay with a weak smile.

"We've got a lot to get used to now hu?"

"Yup. Still, tha's wha' concerns me most."

"What?"

"All tha' power Rai's got tha' he don't know how ta use, an' Omi wannin' to 'ave jus' as much."

The rest of the night was uneventful, quiet almost to the point of concern. The next morning Omi privately apologized to Rai for his brash words. Also, Rai was surprised to find that Clay didn't leave when he sat down for breakfast, and Kimiko seemed to include everyone in the conversation, not just him. For the first time since the change, the dragon of wind was feeling alright.

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Chase wasn't one for relying on others. He would have rid himself of the misfit army a long time ago, and his own personal fan boy, if they hadn't proved so dam useful. More often than not though, they seemed a hindrance. The only time they disrupted his plans worse was when they weren't under his thumb.

He'd spent most of the last week thinking g of a plan. The rest of his time was spent watching over his "troops" and their so called special training. It was obvious they had no idea what to think, and were close to deserting, causing a ruckus. With the intense training he put them through, he would gain two advantages.

One was good for many things. They were left tired and with the impression that he knew exactly what he was doing, and another plan was already underway. This kept them close and loyal, for the time. The other thing it did was increase the strength and skill he could rely on them for.

At first, some protested that they were more then simple solders, and each one was great in their own right. Slowly they came around though, when he said his plan would go forward, with or without them. Even the insufferable red-head trained daily.

Chase was surprised Spicer would even attempt to train his body when he relied so heavily on his machines. None the less, Jack still found time to build his ridiculous contraptions between workout sessions. He was still physically weak and couldn't take a hit, mentally or physically, but Jack's spirit certainly seemed to change. Still, he had to watch that his allegiance didn't change when it finally came down to it.

He got the distinct feeling that Spencer would drop everything to be good, if only Chase would too. He knew the boy admired him, but he wasn't sure if that was because he wanted to be strong, evil, or wanted a chance to show Chase that good wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. Either way, he was going to keep him at a distance.

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Short chapter. Sorry, hope you enjoyed.