The plane ride was uneventful, thank God. The stewardesses were friendly and attentive…a few were cute too. The first class seat that he was sitting in was reclined nearly as far back as it could go. There was no one behind him so it didn’t matter what he did. The first class section seemed kind of empty strangely enough and even though he worried about it at first, a few drink later and he didn’t seem to care as much. He’d been in the air for about 10 hours now and most of the people were asleep. He really wished he could sleep, no matter what he tried he couldn’t seem to do it. The giant 747 engines droned on as they made their way towards China. He took the time to start studying the language. Rosetta Stone… probably the best thing since sliced bread. Streak thought as he went through the courses. Unfortunately there were so many different languages in China that he hoped he was learning the right one. It was hard, very hard. If there was one thing he wasn’t good at it was foreign languages. OK so two things… math and foreign languages.

Finally the flight started to descend. Once on the ground he went through the international flight line, through security, and grabbed his bag. He’d packed light even though he was planning on being there a while. First thing he was going to do was sight see. Beijing was an incredible place…filled with smog and people, but an incredible place nonetheless. Much of it seemed like New York only in a different language. He had the hardest time figuring out where he was going to be going the first time. The Great Wall of China obviously but while he was in the city was a different story. First thing Streak decided to do was check into a hotel. It was a pretty nice hotel but he wasn’t here for vacation, he was here on personal business. Streak spent the first couple of nights working off the jetlag and getting more familiar with the language.

His third day in China, Streak set out to sight see. It would probably be the only time he would get to. After that it was down to business. In about two days time he toured the entire of China. He’d gone from the Great Wall in the north to its southern most border near Vietnam and Laos. The country was amazing, full of history and absolutely nothing like America. It was definitely a new experience and one that he’ll never forget. Now it was time to get down to business. Streak spent the better part of two days looking for the place he’d be spending his time. He’d also gone from poor to fair with his Chinese. On his third day of camping and hiking he found himself nearing the top of a mountain. This place was rumored to have been the where many monks had first been trained. He figured if anyone could help him then it would be the monks. Streak finally arrived at the top of the mountain. It was probably the most beautiful place he’d ever been to. The door was giant and filled had intricate designs on it. Other than that there was no telling where or how the door opened. It must only open from the inside. Streak figured. He pulled on the cord that rang a bell that was next to the door. He waited quite some time before any answer was received. It was either a big place or there was no one around. ”Can I help you?” A little bald man answered the door. He spoke in Chinese and Streak took a second to register what he was saying. Streak then answered back, ”I’m here to study the Monk of the Shaolin way.”

OK so his Chinese still wasn’t that great but it was getting better. The little monk stared at him for a second chuckled, (do monks chuckle?) and opened the door a crack to get a better look at Streak. The monk had one hell of a poker face that much was true. Whether he figured Streak was just a guy trying to get in or if he was serious the monk seemed unsure. But he let him enter anyways.

The doors parted enough to allow Streak to pass through. The outside wasn't much to look at, probably because it was a really difficult place to get to. But the inside was a completely different story. Inside there were about 15 to 20 monks all bald and all wearing the customary orange robes training in this and that. Most of it was carved out of the stone from local rocks and from the surrounding mountains. Streak was in awe of the intricate paintings, carvings, and sculptures that were placed around the sanctuary.

The colors were more vibrant than any he'd seen in his entire life in the United States. The greens looked like they were straight from gems and carved into their current looks. And that was just the entrance ways. Once inside it was lavish and beyond anything he could describe. Luckily he managed to find a monk that spoke some English. Streak didn't need it all the time because he had picked up a little while ago. There was some commotion, or as much commotion that could be made from a bunch of monks that didn't speak much, could make.

He was the center of attention for at least a few days. He was glad when the newness of him being there wore off. Streak wasn't there to be the center of attention. He was there to focus and to learn. His first day there he met with the head monk. "What is the reason for coming here?" The head monk asked. There was a pause as Streak took the time to translate what he'd said into some semblance of recognizable language for him. He then responded, "I've come here to focus. I am a mutant and I have lost my powers." Streak figured that if they were going to kick him out he might as well have a good reason for being kicked out. So he wasn't holding anything back. "I'm hoping that by learning your customs and technique's for concentration. I know you are the best at what you do. Can you help?"

The monk seemed taken aback by some of the things that Streak had said. Maybe he hadn't quite said them in the right way but he was pretty sure that most of what he'd said was right. Finally the monk nodded and smiled. He was probably the first person to ever see a monk smile. "Then you shall have your training." Was all the monk said. After his meeting another monk came around and had Streak gather his things. There weren't many things for him to gather but he gathered them nonetheless. It would be the last time Streak would see the head monk, or his personal belongings, for a while.

The training started early the next day. This training was something that he didn't expect to have trouble with. If Streak thought he was in good shape then he was sorely mistaken. These monks were certainly well trained. Streak put his whole self into the training. Being solely focused on his training was good for his head. The silvermancer seemed to be clearing away any thoughts that might have been used to focu on other priorities. Now that he was there there were no other priorities other than finding his center; at least according to the monks.

After about a week or so Streak settled into a routine. Wake early in the morning, and do some chores. Then spend about three hours or so in silent meditation. The monks told him that the whole purpose of that was to get in touch with with his inner self and allow himself to focus on his true desires. Many of them seemed to be able to do this without much trouble; however, Streak was a little more impatient than them and would often get frustrated with himself and storm out of the meditation area. He was certain that this wasn't helping the other monks wither but he couldn't help it. Short from screaming there wasn't much that he could do to let himself focus more.

So it was that one day an elder monk came up to him after his stemming and fuming and talked to him. This is what he said. "Shawnson, you must learn to manage your fears and awaken your heart." They often spoke in riddles like this and Streak was about to interject that he didn't have any fears when the monk held up his hand for him to be silent. And so Shawn allowed him to speak. "Most mutants that come here don't know what they want or what they are looking for. WE help them with that. You on the other hand aleardy know what you want, or at least you think you do." They had started walking into one of the many gardens as this talk was going on. "YOu must get rid of the notion of what you think is the reason for you bing here. You must believe that you are here for a purpose much bigger and more complex than just a loss of focus."

Streak wasn't sure what this guy was talking about Maybe it was just one of the normal ramblings that he had to endure while he was here. The monk seemed to notice this and smaked him in the back of the head...Hard.Streak rubbed the spot where the monk had hit him and the monk continued speaking as if nothing had happened. "You say you are here to regain your powers. But your powers haven't been lost. Look at your eyes are they not still silver? Then they are still with you. YOU must learn how to reteach yourself and to let yourself be in control of you instead of you trying to be in control of yourself." It was at this point that the monk officially lost Streak. How could you let yourself be in control of you without you bing in control of yourself. It didn't make any sense.

The monk then sentenced Shawn to doing some extra meditation. They said that without this he would never learn what he was truly there to learn. Days past and Streak spent the entire time meditating. The only time he wouldn't would be when it was meal time or chore time. Other than that he could be found in a meditation area alone. in ally he was starting to get the hang of being all by himself. It wouldn't take long before he was getting more in tune with himself. Or at least the monks thought so. Him on the other hand he didn't seem to notice a difference. But he was feeling confient that it would't be long before he would be allowed to start a new part of his training.

His training regime for the next few months seemed to stay the same. Chores early in the morning...meal...more chores...meal...meditation...meal...meditation...bed. Then the whole cycle would start over again the next day. The monotony was starting to get to him. Streak thought he was slowly going to be driven mad from all this time alone and all this 'searching for inner meanings'.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore. Streak went up to the head monk and fumed. It was all he really could do. "I've been here for months now and all you've had me do is chores and meditate. What gives? Are you planning on teaching me what I came here to learn and help me figure out what I need to figure out or should I just go back home where I can get just as little help?"

In hindsight, it probably wasn't the nicest thing to say to a monk that took you in off the mountain and has been letting you stay there for the past few months basically rent free. The old wise monkk just gave, what Shawn has come to call his 'smile of eyes', where not only do his lips smile but it looks like his eyes smile just as big as the rest of his face. "Shawnson..." that's how he seemed to always start his conversations with Streak. "Shawnson. You have always been on the right track and we have been helping you since the moment you stepped into this sanctuary."

Streak was about to object but the monk help up his old wrinkled finger and Streak fell silent immediately."When you first came here your path was full of obstacles and turns in directions that could take you down the wrong path. We have taken you in and helped you clear away those obstacles and remake you path into the one that you have sought." Now how could Straek argue with that logic. There was nothing sid there that he could have argued with. In fact, Shawn could even feel himself calming down. The rage that he'd felt welling up inside him earlier was now subsiding. It might have ahd something to do with the man's voice or it could have just been the fact that the man was speaking and Streak coudln't help but agree with him no matter how angry he was right now.

The monk continued to speak. "Since you feel that your leanring from meditation has come to an end I feel that it is time that we introduce you to the next stage of learning. Go to Brother Cho and he will begin your instruction on the next level of learning." Streak bowed slightly and left to find Brother Cho. Brother Cho was to be found outside in an area of the sanctuary that Streak had yet to go to. This is promising. Streak thought as he approached the monk.

And so it wen that Brother Cho was in a new area of the monastery that Streak had been told was off limits. The area was actually slightly guarded by one of the other monks that had been there years before him.

The gate had writing on it that Streak had finally learned. Thanks to the many hours studying he texts in the monks library he'd learned what some of the symbols meant. The door itself was a solid wood that looked like Mahogany. The first symbol that he saw was the Phoenix, a majestic and king of birds to the Chinese. The on right below it was a crane, a brother of the Phoenix. There was also a tiger, dragon, rhino and ox. These animals all had significant meaning in the Chinese culture.

The doors swung open for him, something they'd never done before. "He's expecting you." the guard monk spoke as Streak walked past him. The inside was completely different than the place that he'd been spending his time for the past few months. The doors closed behind Streak and there was only one other person in the arena, because that's what it looked like, except for him.

As the young silvermancer walked closer to Brother Cho he noticed different types of weapons all over the place. The didn't really know what to expect. When he was close enough he heard Brother Cho speaking.

"Here you will learn the path of the monk. Their protection has been of vital importance to the people of china since we were founded. Now you will learn to harness the anger inside you and release it in a proper manner."

At this point Streak was throughly confused. He thought he'd been spending the last however many months learning to harness and release his anger. Soon Brother Cho spoke again. "Stand on the poles." was all he said. Streak looked to his right and saw a huge array of poles varying in height and width staked into the ground.

Promising. He thought as he began climbing onto the closest pole, which happened to be about 6 and a half feet tall, which was just enough to make him have to jump for it. As he began pulling himself up he started getting hit in different directions. "Ahh. What the hell?!" he wasn't expecting that that's for sure.

The beatings continued and he quickly pulled himself the rest of the way up so that he was standing on top of it. As he looked back down for the monk he wasn't there. Streak was sill confused. "Where'd he...?" but he was soon cut off by the sound of another person on he pole directly next to him.

Shawn was about to ask how he got up there so fast but was interrupted by a strike from a bamboo staff to his midsection. All the air was gone from him and he was soon back on the ground. Not exactly a nice landing or a nice start to his new training. "Get up! Get up!" that was all he heard as he tried to catch his breath and get back onto the pole. Every time he got up there came the stick to knock him back to the ground again.

He must have hit the ground at least fifteen times in a row without fail. The last time he got up he was really feeling the workout. Having to pull yourself up by basically just your fingers that many times was hard even if you were an experienced rock climber.

Finally he was ready he knew it was coming and as it came he caught it. Without meaning to a victorious smile escaped his lips. Sure he'd been in plenty of fights but this guy was full of surprises. As soon as the smile was finished forming Streak was being thrown again. This time it was head over heels as he was flipped right off and into the hard dirt again. "You have to be sure of what your goal is. Know your limits and then push past them. That is the only way for improvement." This was getting ridiculous. There was no way he could be giving him life lessons while beating the crap out of him. Streak climbed back up, with great effort.

This time he caught it but quickly let it go in fear of being thrown off again. "Why do you cower from my weapon? Does it scare you? Or are you giving up?" The monk continued to chide him like this for the next minute or so until swiftly, and without warning, he struck Streak in the back of the head with the weapon almost causing him to fall off again. Streak managed to keep his balance, barely, as just as he though he was safe and done seeing stars the other end hit him and he dropped to the ground one more time.

This time there was even a little bit of silver blood that he spit out before climbing back up. Now he was getting mad and determined. The silver blood was proof that he hadn't completely lost his powers and he just needed to reactivate them. Which he didn't know but that was just what the monk had wanted. They continued on like this for quite some time, the sun had even started to set and a few of the monks even gathered about to see what was going on. This left Shawn to suppose that no one had gone this log before, either that or they liked watching the abuse he was getting.

Streak was starting to get a hang of the game. Unfortunately clouds had started to roll in. In this area that meant only one thing. Rain. As he saw a strike coming he moved to a pole behind him a little further away from the mean monk with a big stick. No sooner had he gotten his balance on the new post than the monk had closed the distance and was swinging at him again.

Thunder rolled in the distance and he could feel the air temperature dropping. Lighting stuck somewhere higher in the mountains and more thunder was heard. Mostly Streak was focused on not getting hit, and he wasn't doing to good at it so far. Rain started to come down. In this part of the world it didn't just sprinkle here and a little rain there. It monsoon rained. The elevation they were at was such that it was hard to tell if ideas sleet or rain but it was still cold, wet and coming down hard. So hard in fact that Streak could barely see the monk in front of him anymore. See the staff coming was going to be near impossible. Blow after blow was rained down on Streak as his clothes immediately got soaked completely through. The stings he was getting were just as merciless as the rain. "You can just give up now and we can resume later or we can keep going. It's your choice." Although that was said he knew that quitting wasn't an option tonight.

Steak spit out another wad of his silver blood to the muddy ground. "Let's do this." he said with determination Ingrid voice and salty blood taste in his mouth. The monk smiled, not that Streak could see it from the near blinding rain.

Yet another strike with the staff came at him. It hit him square in the back and Streak let out a cry of pain. Still he remained on the post for probably the first time all day. Another swing came, this one at his head. He ducked and the staff hit nothing but rainwater. "Haha!" Shawn accidentally let out. He didn't mean to he was just really excited that for the first time today he managed to not get hit. That was a mistake.

The next thing he knew Brother Cho started swinging much faster and harder. He managed to block a few dodge a few and get hit by a few. But he was still hanging on. A few times he almost fell off but he used the other poles around him to hang on and push himself back up.

The blows continued to come, even while he was trying to get his balance. Every strike stung worse than the last. He was getting welts from it all and a few were even bleeding just from the sheer number of times he'd been hit there.

This was getting ridiculous. Not that it was ridiculous before but he was having enough of it. A strong strike came at his face and the silvermancer caught it with one hand. There was no motion or anything to it when the staff stopped in his hand. Even Brother Cho was impressed. He monk didn't even try to get the weapon back.

Streak brought one hand down and broke the staff clean in two. The bamboo just shattered like it was a twig. There was not real sensible reason for it to have broke like that but it did. Still carrying part of the staff in his hand he jumped off the pole and started to walk out.

Sore, bloody, bruised, and ironically feeling a little better about the reason he'd come here he left to get warm. There was shouting from Brother Cho for a whole be eventually the distance and the rain blocked that out too. Streak dried off, warmed up by the dire and quickly dozed off not to wake until morning.

The next morning came to soon for Streak. When he finally awoke he was warmed and dry. There were silver streaks of blood on his arms and he had plenty of bruises to prove that he'd been through an ordeal he previous night.

There was an odd silence in the place when Shawn walked in to the meal area. It was normally silent but today it felt like all eyes were on him when he walked in. He wasn't sure why. Maybe no one had done what he did before. He wasn't really sure. Needless to say, the gossip in the temple was next to zilch.

After breakfast and some serious icing his more serious bruises he made his way back out the arena. The other monks were involved in their chores by the time he made it there. Streak was so sore from the beating it was ridiculous. It even looked like Brother Cho was surprised to see Shawn drag himself into the arena. "Shawnson I'm surprised to see you after the beating u took yesterday." he looked Shawn up and down taking his physical appearance. "Your will is what will keep you going through this tough time. It will be your rock when all else has left you to the elements. It is stronger than your body... But something tells me that u already know that, don't you?"

"I've been through worse in my past. What you did was nothing." Of course he was talking bigger than he currently felt. Heck, if a strong wind had come it probably would have knocked him over. "You should remember, I have been through many inhumane trials and tribulations that would test the very sanity of normal man. Take that into consideration for the next time you try to push my will."

It definitely wasn't the smartest thing do him to say but it was a crucial thing that he needed to get across to this monk. He may have been used to pushing the monks to a certain point but he was going to be hard pressed to reach that point with Streak.

His training soon started with learning some of the basic moves with he weapons. He already knew quite a bit of it because of his previous knowledge in martial arts so things seemed to move relatively quickly. Before lunch he was fighting two on one with a similar bamboo staff that he'd been struck with many times the past night. Brother Cho was impressed with the swiftness that Shawn was picking these things up and he sped up the pace on Shawn to keep him challenged.

They would start with one attacker but soon the second would start in and the fight would be on. They would I until either Shawn was hit or he hit them. They were all experienced and so was he. Unfortunately he had less free time to spend with this weapon than they did. Whenever he was in a fight he seemed to use whatever he thought would benefit him the most. He wasn't restricted to one weapon like here. Pretty soon he was becoming almost invulnerable with this weapon. Many of the monks tried but they couldn't seems to get him. He was definitely just as skilled as their most experienced people here there was no doubt about that. Soon they broke for lunch and he was told that he would resume his chores for the rest of the afternoon.

The afternoon came sooner than he liked and he did his chores and spent time meditating until sundown.

The next few days followed along the same course as they did when he started his weapons training. The only exception was that he spent a lot of time in stances and doing slow almost yoga like movements and a lot less time getting the snot beat out of him. It started out very Tai Chi and soon evolved into other aspects of the martial art. All the movements started out slow and soon evolved into a faster version of the same move he'd been doing hundreds of times in that one stance. His legs would tire quickly at first; but as with anything else he soon started to get used to it and he was able to hold it longer and longer than the previous time.

The next week he started learning a different weapon that the monks used. It was a great weapon and actually very dissimilar to ones that he'd used before. Fortunately he picked it up quickly and the time continued to fly by. Between training in the morning and chores in the afternoon he didn't have much energy but to shower and sleep to get ready for the next day. No matter how bad his days were he always looked forward to the next day because he never really learned the same thing two days in a row. The pace was fast but there was a lot of things to cover.

Shawn seemed to continue to impress Brother Cho with the speed at which he was able to pick up everything. It wasn't too long before he had seemingly completed his training. One morning, earlier than normal, Brother Cho called on Shawn to the edge of the compound. He said this when Shawn finally joined him. "Look at what you see." Shawn looked out. It was still dark outside and there wasn't really much of anything to see. The normally beautiful mountains were covered by a thin veil of clouds and the stars were obscured by the early morning haze.

They stood on a grassy outcrop of land at the edge of a steep cliff. Around them mountains rose up higher than the precipice that the monastery was currently located on. Below them was the forest and a few small towns that supplied the monastery with food and milk and such things. The forest was covered in a low fog and oddly enough the only place that didn't seem to be covered in fog or haze was the monastery. Howler monkeys could be heard calling throughout the forest to each other trying to find their friends in the fog. Birds could also be heard calling and waking up from their night sleep. The seemed to climb up the mountains on every side of them but the monks had cleared the trees out of this area to make a spot for themselves. The sun was just barely come up and the first rays of light were hardly peaking over the crests of the mountains that loomed above them. Currently the grassy outcrop has just a few rocks in the area. Other than that it was pretty much just a small grass field overlooking a long way to wave goodbye if someone fell.

"I...I don't see anything." Shawn said to the monk in perfect Chinese. It had been a while since he had actually spoken English. Since then his dreams had started taking on the language of Chinese and his fumbles with the language disappeared seemingly overnight. He continued to look in case there was something that he was supposed to see. Maybe there was a big foot out there or something. He wasn't really sure. It wasn't often that Brother Cho called on him to chat. They never really had a brotherly love going on like they both seemed to have with everyone else in the monastery. If anything Shawn thought this would be the guy to throw him off a cliff in the middle of the night. Maybe he was right and he was about to get pushed off the cliff.

"Exactly." Shawn wasn't following, but that was normal when it came to this monk. "Before the sun creeps over the mountains the land is shrouded in darkness and anything could be out there. But.." As the monk was talking the sun crept over the mountain and the haze started to disappear. The light cut through the fog like it wasn't even there. Slowly Shawn could even see the fog and haze disappear and leave room for a crystal clear day ahead. The sun continued to rise and the monk continued to talk. "But when the sun reaches things there is a different aura that replaces the nightly one. It is like this every day. The darkness gives way to the light. So it must be with ourselves. I have seen the darkness that lay inside you when you first arrived at this place. I was your strongest opposition to keeping you here. I didn't think that you could be taught. I didn't think you could learn. You have humbled me."

Brother Cho had never talked to him like this before. It was a little disconcerting to hear. It was like he knew something was going to happen and he was going to leave or die and he was making his last confession. The air was thick with dew and it only seemed to get thicker as the monk continued. The sun continued to blast the fog with its warming rays and the shadows continued to slowly recede until they would be no more. "You were right that first day you came to me wanting to learn the martial arts way. You are able to take more than any normal human. I don't know if it's from experience with what you've been through in your past or if it's from your will and determination.

"People are creatures of habit and herds. Most of the world will follow one thinking. Another part will think something else. You are that third part. You can take both sides. See both angles and you will be able to persevere through it all. Do you understand?" The monk was making some sense but Shawn was still finding it hard to accept the fact that he was talking to him like this. Slowly shawn nodded and replied, "I think so." He looked in the monks eyes for just a moment and saw something off in them.

His eyes usually conveyed a look of confidence a look of strength and calm. Today they looked sad. They were glassed over with water. Not like he'd been crying all night, but more like the cool air was stinging them and he was about to drop a bombshell on Shawn. The monk turned his head to look out over the forest. By now the suns rays completely covering the forest and the sun itself was sneaking over the tops of the mountain. It's on days like these that you had to be thankful you were alive to see the sunrise Shawn thought. Shawn's eyes followed the monk's to try and find where he was looking. He couldn't find it. The monk continued.

"Today is a special day. It marks the day that you came here exactly one year ago. Every monk here celebrates it differently, many meditate, others continue on like nothing has happened. Me? I prefer to take the time to smell the roses. Metaphorically speaking obviously. There is a reason I've brought you here. Do you know what that reason is?" Shawn could hardly believe it. Had he really already been here a year? Had time flown by that fast? It didn't seem like it. For the... Oh heck Shawn had lost count how many times he'd been confused and lost by the monks sayings. It seemed like the billionth time since he'd been here.

Shawn shook his head. The monk didn't laugh or smile, or criticize him for not knowing what he meant. The monk continued talking since he knew that was the only way to fill Shawn in on the meaning. "The day you came here I had a dream. That dream was unlike any that I had ever had before. I foresaw your coming to the temple to train weeks before you arrived. I don't always get dreams this confusing so close to people arriving here." Here the monk trailed off causing Shawn to turn and prod him with a question.

"What was the dream?" He knew that it was rare for a monk to dream about things that they couldn't interpret. He'd actually gotten good at interpreting his own dreams meaning since he arrived here; and now there wasn't a dream he couldn't discern the meaning from by himself. The monk look surprised when Shawn spoke. Almost as if he'd been dreaming again and Shawn had just woken him up.

"I saw the monastery on fire. Explosions were going off everywhere and things were burning, people were running about. It was not good. Then a silver came flowing from the mountain like water heading down after a melted snow. The amount of the liquid was enormous. The thing that was different was that it changed course from going down the river to engulfing the monastery. It washed everything away until there was nothing left. We tried to fight it back but it came on like a flood and there was nothing we could do. Then the dream shifted into another sene. The silver was still around the buildings but it was much calmer almost if at piece, like a smooth flowing river and no longer a torrent. When you arrived and aw your eyes I knew that the dream was about you." Shawn was still confused. There was no way he could turn into a flood of silver. Never could and he doubted he ever would.

"So you think I'm going to destroy the monastery? Is that why you didn't want me here and you don't treat me like you treat all the others?" The monk looked taken aback. He quickly regained his composure and retorted with a simple reply. "Not at all. I think that someone is going to try and destroy the monastery and you will be the only one that can save us. I didn't want you here because I thought you would cause the dream to come true. I thought you were what caused the attacks and the destruction. I thought you were bringing about the end to this great monastery that has been here for hundreds of years."

Shawn started to understand. "So you think someone is after me. Do you think that whatever happened in your dream is going to happen today? I still haven't gotten my powers back, even though I have done everything that has been asked of me by you people. There's no way I could be that person. Maybe your dream is wrong. Maybe you're wrong. Even when I did have my powers I couldn't turn into a flood of silver. There's no way I'd be able to do that now." The monk slowly shook his head and looked at the grass under his bare feet. Shawn felt bad he didn't want to be mean or cause an attack on this place. It'd been his home for the past year and it'd been nothing but peaceful since he was here. He simply didn't believe that something like that was going to happen. "Are you saying that you won't help the monastery?" The monk goaded him looking for an answer.

"No I just think you dream is wrong." With that the monk walked away leaving Shawn staring out over the forest below him. The heat started to radiate through and warm the land around him. The fog had cleared completely and he the forest was one of the most beautiful places he'd seen in his entire life. The talk had disturbed him. It wasn't always that one got news like that from a monk. Usually it was just something that was read about in stories. As he looked out over the forest an uneasiness came over him. He didn't know what it was for, maybe the monk was right, what if someone was out to get him and he brought them here? What if he brought all this pain that the monk saw onto these unsuspecting and innocent monks. He couldn't let that happen something had to be done.

As the days went by the haze and fog grew thicker. Shawn found himself sitting in the spot that Brother Cho had brought him to for many days. Many days he'd watch the sun rise over the mountains and many days he'd watch the heat bake the fog away like a pot starting to boil. For some reason something that Brother Cho had said to him had bothered him. He couldn't really figure out what it was. There was no reason for it to have really affected him this way. He'd been told many mysterious things since he'd come here, but this one was the most disconcerting. It was like he'd just been given a prophecy about terrible events that he brought on and he was supposed to know how to stop these events. 

The chores and the training seemed insignificant since he'd been told all of this. There was nothing that seemed to matter as much as what he'd been told. Shawn felt like he was just biding his time, waiting for the inevitable to happen. For death to strike his final blow to this ancient monastery. Even though his training didn't suffer his mediation certainly did. He was starting to have dreams about what he'd been told. Different scenarios would play out for him every time he'd spend a little bit of time meditating. There was nothing he could do to stop it. Shawn even sank into a bit of depression knowing what was to come. This could explain why people weren't supposed to know their future. It was horrible. 

One morning it was apparent that Brother Cho hadn't been just making this up. It was before sunrise, as had turned into the usual with him, and the fog and haze seemed to penetrate Shawn right to his bones. The air was heavy with what was coming and he had a feeling that today was going to be the day. As he watched the sunrise, for the twentieth time that month he looked up and saw what the monk had been talking about. Before the sun could penetrate through the haze and whisk it away like it did every morning he looked up at the mountain. From the top of the mountain he could see what looked like a silver flow coming off it. It took him a minute to realize what exactly it was. He'd never seen fog this thick before, but sure enough it was rolling down the mountain almost like a liquid. For a moment it looked like a cloud had forgotten how to float and ran into the mountain, causing it to fall down to earth. 

The sun rose more and Shawn couldn't even see the forest. This wasn't a normal fog or haze that he'd been watching for the past month or so. This was different somehow. The air was thick, and considering their elevation that was unusual. It seemed to linger in his mouth and he felt like he had to drink in the air just to fill his lungs. The solitude that he'd bought on by coming here seemed to finally set in. There was no way around it. Sure he'd made friends since he'd been here but there was no real person that he could trust like he could his friends back in the mansion. 

Home. He hadn't thought about home for such a long time. It had been almost a year since he'd thought about his home, his friends, his family. No fights since he'd been here, none real anyways. No busy streets, no smog, no angry New Yorkers or anti-mutant protesters that he had to stop from hurting a defenseless mutant. None of that. Was he neglecting his responsibilities? Was he shirking them and placing the charge onto someone else without so much as asking someone to take this burden? Suddenly a voice spoke, "Is it really your responsibility? Were you really charged with it? No. So why should you worry so much?" For a second it was almost as if the voice was inside his head. Then he realized that it wasn't and that someone else was really there. 

Shawn spun around and saw the head monk himself standing behind him. Shawn took a step back to get some space. How could he possibly know what he was thinking about? It was almost as if he'd been reading his mind. Shawn replied, "No. But shouldn't I be worried about what I'm missing back home? Is that so wrong? I've spent a year in this place isolated from the rest of the world and there is no one that seems to care. Shouldn't that bother me? I mean I haven't even talked to my family or friends since I've bee here. I know the rules... When you join you forsake all your past life's possibilities and indiscretions. I know... and I have. There just one problem... No one has bothered to try and find me or contact me. Why? I would have thought the X-Men would have tried to find me but maybe they found someone to replace me since I'm useless without my powers." 

Master Fu seemed to see where this was going and it was time that he took action. "Shawnson," He was the only one that called Shawn that. "This life that you chose in coming here or living there would have ended in the same way. Either way you have found that you are looking for. You have found a way to center yourself and absolve yourself from all of your past. There is no way to erase your past. Thinking that is just foolish. You need to look at the past as how you got to who you are right now and who it will shape you into in the future. Most people don't know who they are or who they will be. Even if they think they know the answer they are always searching. You have found your way faster than most. Your path is not here living out the rest of your days with us." This caused Shawn to pause. How could he possibly know that? Master Fu looked out over the fog that covered the forest below before continuing. "You are right in saying that those are our rules. However, you have never taken the last step and I have never offered it to you. Haven't you thought that odd?" 

"Well, I just thought you thought I wasn't ready yet." The monk smiled. It wasn't something that he saw often. The monk continued. "Shawnson... You are meant to return home and live your life there. Use what we have taught you and you will see that we will always be right. I have seen it." Seen it? Did he mean in like a vision? There was something odd about it all. That made two monks who had given him cryptic messages about leaving. Maybe they were all psychics or something. That settled it... Shawn was going to do something. What, he wasn't quite sure yet. But he was going to do something.

Shawn couldn't help but sit for quite a while. Most of the day in fact he spent sitting, staring out over the forest. It was well past noon, and the fog had been long gone, but he sat there. He wasn't sure what to make of everything. He'd pretty much just been told by two separate people that he wasn't meant to stay there forever. He couldn't say that he didn't agree with them. He'd been living amongst the monks, learning their ways for a long time. Oddly enough he had been feeling pretty restless as of late. Maybe they were able to sense that about him. There was really no knowing. If they knew that he wasn't meant to live his life here then did they know that he was going to be knocking on their door almost a year ago? They certainly seemed to know that he was a mutant when he arrived; although that didn't take a psychic to figure out. His eyes mostly gave that away. His mind was a blur. Thoughts raced in one side and out the other and they all started to cluster together creating one big New York sized rush hour in his head. It was almost dizzying, all the thoughts that were running amok in his head at the moment.

He couldn't seem to separate one from another. He sat there for so long that even a bird seemed to think him a statue and landed near him. Streak didn't even look at the bird. He was to deep in thought. Suddenly a sadness came over him. He wasn't meant to be here. The monks had been right. He'd learned all he could from them and now it was time for him to go about and find his fate and confront it instead of hiding from it. He hadn't realized that that's exactly what he'd been doing the entire time he'd been living with the monks. Shawn wasn't just there to learn to fight, or to meditate, but the underlying reason for him was to hide. He hadn't realized it at first. The pain he'd been through in his life so far had been so deep that, subconsciously, this was the only way he felt that he could get away from it all. All the pain. All the strife and poverty. All the struggles and fights and all the hatred left miles behind him. Now it all seemed to be rushing back, calling to him almost. It was as if he knew in his heart that something was going wrong and he needed to get back to set things straight.

When he stirred the bird got scared and flew away squawking. Shawn pushed himself to his feet and walked in to the temple where the monks were meditating. None moved when he walked in. Many were so deep in meditation that the only thing that would have disturbed them is an earthquake. The only one that stirred was Master Fu. He silently got up and motioned for Shawn to follow him. They left the temple and walked into his office. Shawn hadn't been there since he first came to this place. It looked like it hadn't changed since the last time he was there. The sun even looked like it was in the same spot as it had been a year earlier when he first set foot in the office. So much had seemed to have changed sine he came here, yet somehow he had a feeling that nothing had really changed. Everything was probably exactly the same. Master Fu seemed to have read his mind as he sat behind his desk. Shawn sat in the chair offered him and Master Fu spoke. "So you have made a decision." It was more a statement of knowing rather than a question. Shawn just nodded. It broke his heart to have to do this, especially when he felt like he still didn't get what he was looking for out of this place. The monk interrupted his thoughts, "You have chosen. There was nothing that we could say or do to make you choose differently. The choice had to be yours and yours alone. We never forget our brother no matter how short of a time they have been here."

"That doesn't make it easier." Shawn mumbled. The monk seemed to hear him and just smiled knowingly. "I feel that I'm being called back to America. I get the oddest feeling that I have finally found the reason for being here. For some reason I feel that I came here expecting to get my powers back, and now that I'm here I feel that the real reason I came was really just to hide from my problems. I think I have to go back." The monk just nodded. Streak knew the conversation was over and there was nothing more to say. There wouldn't be a big send off. No big party or farewell dinner. These monks, they didn't own anything anyways. Shawn got up, bowed to Master Fu and walked out to collect his things. Once he'd gotten everything back he left. Just like that. No goodbyes, no tears, just the knowledge of what he'd learned and that they were always going to be praying for him. We never forget our brothers. The last words the monk had said to him echoed in his head as he made his way down the mountain. It would take a week or so for him to get to any civilization that would be able to take him back to the United States. The journey would be much simpler than it was going to the temple. For one he knew where he was going this time and for another he knew the language and was able to communicate with people easily. He couldn't help but wonder what lay in store for him when he got back to the mansion. How much would it have changed in the time that he'd been gone? And what lay ahead of him in his future.