First off: I am so sorry for the late update! It's just that I've been so busy with holidays and homework cramming and the New Year and then my friend's birthday party and everything... but I won't bore you with my life so I'll shut up and here's chapter one. (I promised it was Xiaolin Showdown related – see? Now you can't sue me. ;D)

Just one question though: should this story be rated T or K+? I'm having trouble deciding... help would be greatly appreciated!

Now, on with the story!

Chapter One

"Kimiko?"

A soft knock on her door alerted her and she turned her head at the sound of her name. "Yes?" she answered, knowing immediately who it was. She could probably recognize his voice a mile away.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

She could almost see his trademark smirk plastered across his face as his words reached her ears. Grinning and shaking her head, she lifted herself from her chair and shut her laptop before going towards the door.

She turned to knob and opened it to see the green-eyed Shoku warrior grinning down at her, his eyes twinkling playfully.

"So what do you want?" she asked him expectantly, crossing her arms.

He shrugged. "Oh, I don't know," he said carelessly. "Just wanted to talk, I guess." His gaze traveled up her body and she blushed, her cheeks turning pink.

"Rai, stop it!" she told him, self-conscious of herself. "Just out with it."

Raimundo grinned down at her. "Wanna go for a walk?" he queried. "It's only five. We could probably go around the garden and make it back in time for dinner at six." He gazed at her. "You up for it Kim?"

Kimiko's heart started to pound. But in a good way. An hour alone in the garden… She liked the sound of that. Smiling up at him, she said, "Sure. I'm game."

A huge smile made its way across his face. "Then let's go."

He took her hand and led her outside. Kimiko felt a tremor of excitement rush up and down her arm where he had grabbed her hand. Outside, a light breeze was blowing and the air was cool. She breathed in deeply, the air fresh and sweet.

They walked for while, talking of nothing but enjoying it all the same. Night started fall and the sky turned darker and darker until they could just make themselves out in the night. A sudden cold wind started to blow and Kimiko shivered slightly.

"Cold?" Raimundo asked her.

"I'm okay," she answered, not wanting to sound weak.

And then she felt something warm on her shoulders. She looked up in surprise at Raimundo, and realized he had taken off his Shoku robe and placed it onto her back. All he wore now was an undershirt and his pants.

"Aren't YOU cold now?" she inquired.

"Nah, my element is wind, need I remind you? I barely feel anything."

"Lucky," she said, punching him playfully in the arm.

He turned to face her and lifted a hand to brush back her raven black hair. "You're so beautiful Kimi," he said softly.

Kimiko's heart began to race. He leaned his head in, and Kimiko closed her eyes, lifting her head towards him. Just as their lips were about to touch…

GONG! GONG!

"Wake up everyone! We got a live one at twelve o'clock!"

"Huh? What?" Kimiko blinked her eyes open and rubbed them groggily as she pulled herself out of bed. Wait… bed? She was in bed? What had happened to her walk in the garden with Raimundo? Her mind snapped into focus and she realized she wasn't outside, but in her room. She felt her spirits fall. It had all just been a dream.

"Come on peoples! We don't have all night! This wu's important!"

"Dojo, can't cha just wake us up norm'ly 'stead 'o bangin' a gong like there's no tomorrow while screaming yer head off? You sound like a pig about to get butchered," she heard Clay say as he slammed his door open and walked out of his cubicle.

Kimiko sighed in annoyance. It was midnight. Why the heck would a wu reveal itself at midnight? She, for one, needed her beauty sleep. And for another, she was having such a nice dream too!

"Well, this wu's pretty darn powerful, so if you all would just get your lazy butts up and out of bed we could retrieve it faster, get back faster, and get some more sleep," Dojo snapped back. "Do you think I like waking up in the middle of the night to collect wu either?"

"Someone obviously didn't get enough shut-eye," Clay muttered under his breath.

"Hey, I heard that! And I'm usually not a night dragon, which is probably why I'm so cranky."

"I'll reckon."

Groaning, Kimiko heaved herself out of bed and dragged herself outside, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Yawning and stretching, she said to Dojo, "So what's this all-mighty wu that we need to get?"

"I don't know yet," Dojo answered. "If everyone would get out of their rooms already…"

"My friends! Please excuse me for being late!" Omi shouted as he rushed towards them. "I was having a most delightful dream in which I was the greatest Xiaolin warrior of all time!"

"There's a shocker," Kimiko muttered under her breath. "And speaking of shocker, it's none that Rai's the last here as usual."

"He sleeps like a rock and can literally sleep through anything," Clay agreed.

"Not unlike you," Dojo mentioned, crossing his arms. "At least he doesn't snore the temple down."

"Hey!" Clay cried out in indignation.

"He's Shoku warrior too," Kimiko put in, rolling her eyes. "Supposedly the 'most responsible one'," she added, putting air quotes around 'most responsible.' Motioning towards his room, she declared, "Someone should go wake him up already."

"Oh! Allow me!" Omi cried gleefully. "I will be delighted to help out and wake up our fellow friend!" Reaching into his robe, he pulled out the orb of tormani. Upon shouting its name, the orb released a myriad of water into Raimundo's room.

They heard shuffling, and a, "I'm up, I'm up!"

Two minutes later, a very wet Raimundo came out of his room, glowering, and the Xiaolin gang (minus Raimundo) started to laugh.

"That's what you get for sleeping the way you do," Kimiko assured him, still giggling.

Raimundo responded by glaring at her, which only caused her to laugh harder. But even with a glare on his face, Kimiko couldn't not notice how irresistibly cute he was. Any expression whether it was hatred or annoyance or joy seemed to look good on him.

She continued to stare at him, her giggles ceasing, until Rai's glare turned to a knowing smirk as he asked, "What's the matter Kim? Can't stop drooling at my hotness?"

Kimiko immediately stopped and answered by punching him hard. "Dream on, Rai."

Omi only cocked his head at them, confusion in his eyes, but Clay smothered a laugh, knowing fully the exchange that was going on between his friends.

As Dojo took out the scroll to see what wu it was, Raimundo shot Kimiko a smug smile that clearly said, 'I know you were checking me out.'

Kimiko replied with a hard look that said, 'You wish. Get over yourself.'

"Ah, the silver dagger," Dojo read without noticing a thing. "As the name implies, the wu is a dagger that is pure silver. It can cut through anything in a single graceful swing, and can puncture anything in a single stab. A very simple weapon but a very dangerous one too. It can be to used to enter any building! All the user has to do is stab the wu into a wall, then cut a square, remove the wall he cut out, and climb inside."

Everyone crowded around the scroll and saw a miniature figure holding a dagger and in one swift movement, had cut a giant slab of diamond in half.

Clay whistled. "And diamonds are the hardest things on earth."

Dojo snapped the scroll closed and super-sized. "So what're we waiting for? Let's go folks. This one's a biggie."

Dojo tossed the scroll to Raimundo and then super-sized, motioning for the monks to hop on.

"Wait, aren't we going to get time to change?" Kimiko suddenly asked.

"No time," Dojo replied, shrugging.

"Aw, Kim, I'm sure you can survive one night out wearing your Xiaolin robes instead of some flashy outfit."

"Shut up, Rai," Kimiko muttered darkly as they got on and flew off.

While they were ascending, Dojo suddenly realized that it was not only midnight, but a full moon as well. With that observation he remembered another key point about the shen gong wu he hadn't elucidated. He realized that he had left out an important detail while explaining. For a moment he considered telling them about it, but then changed his mind, figuring, 'why worry the monks about something that probably wouldn't be an issue?' The fact was that the silver dagger could also be used to slay werewolves. But none had been active in centuries. He shrugged the idea out of his mind as they flew on, not knowing how wrong he was to do so.

Deep in the heart of China at around the same time, a boy no more than seventeen years old made his way out of his lair and into the clear, night air. His home was in the middle of an enormous forest, far away from any society, and he liked it that way. His house was simple with a mat and a couple of cabinets here and there plus other necessities. He ate by hunting and gathering and farming, and bringing water from a fresh spring back to his lair each week.

After stepping out of his cabin, the boy started to walk, his overgrown jet black hair falling constantly into his forest green eyes. He was tall and muscular, had a strong form, and an angled face. He also took pride in his dark and handsome aura he seemed to emit and attract all the girls back when he had lived in a society.

Well, almost all the girls.

His heart started to pound in pain as a name from 1500 years ago came into his mind the way it always did no matter what. And with the name came her sapphire blue eyes and ivory skin, her slender and beautiful figure, and her lustrous long black hair.

No, he would not think about her. He couldn't – it was too painful.

But the name invaded his mind like smoke invades one's lungs.

Karina.

His eyes started to glow yellow as his muscles tightened and his flesh ripped and his bones reformed. He gazed up into the night sky and realized that it was midnight, and a full moon.

A full moon, he thought bitterly. The full moon he had once thought so beautiful and romantic had now become his curse. And Karina… no matter how much he had loved her, he couldn't save her from it.

Actually, he thought as he dropped onto all fours, black fur starting to grow all over his body, the same color as his shaggy hair. It had been his own fault. His own impudence and idiocy, not to mention passion, that had him the way he was.

He had loved Karina, but she wouldn't return his love. He had wished for her love, and with the wish came a curse. A curse that followed him everywhere and would not let him rest in peace.

His face became a snout and he started to run through the woods on all fours, so fast he was only a midnight black shadow against the trees.

And the curse had killed her. He had lost control to his animal instincts. He had eagerly ripped her throat open, so eager to taste her blood and flesh. He had loved her, but had also killed her nevertheless.

And now it was 1500 years later, but the memory was as vivid as ever in his mind. And he knew in his heart it was never leave him, not until he died. And being immortal, that was a problem.

He continued to sprint through the woods, his mind consumed with misery and anger. But then he screeched to a sudden stop, his thoughts no longer on Karina.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Something was wrong. He didn't know what, but he could sense it. An image started to form inside his head. Hazy at first, it soon morphed into what looked like a dagger. A dagger that was pure silver, with no gems to decorate the hilt or anything. Just pure silver.

A dagger that was pure silver? What was so special about that? It seemed to be important for some reason, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Then he remembered something that had occurred in the past while he was in his wolf form.

He had been out hunting, running around freely when he had stumbled upon a house. It was ransacked, and seemed as if no one had lived in it for a while for dust and cobwebs were everywhere. He strained his ears for the sound of blood pounding, but heard none, and knew no being, whether animal or human, inhabited the place.

Knowing no one was about; he had stepped in cautiously, sniffing around for food or valuables. He trotted around the house, his superior night vision allowing him to see everything clearly. And then he had seen a dash of silver under the full moon.

It was a silver necklace, and the silver had shimmered and sparkled under the glow of the moon. Greed overtook his heart, and he started towards it, already deciding that he would take the silver back to his lair. But as soon as his paw came into contact with the silver, a burning sensation had engulfed his entire leg. He had leapt back in pain and alarm, confusion and anger in his eyes.

He placed his snout onto the necklace to sniff it, but the same fiery feeling returned, and he was forced to retreat, his perfectly clear eyesight becoming hazy and his sense muffled. His eyes watered as he stood three feet away from the silver necklace, wondering why he couldn't touch it.

It was his one weakness, he realized. When he had been a normal human he remembered reading something: werewolves couldn't touch silver. And if a weapon of silver somehow found its way to his heart, he would be killed. That was the only way a werewolf could be killed.

Coming back to the present, he knew he had to retrieve the silver dagger that had taken shape inside his mind. He couldn't stay hidden forever, and sooner or later, someone would use it to kill him. Not unless he had it safe in his possession.

Better safe than sorry, he determined.

But how would he retrieve it? It was silver. There was no way he could even touch it. And what's more, where was it?

Kendrick raised his snout to the full moon and howled, hoping desperately for a plan to form in his mind soon.

A raven black crow that had been watching the Xiaolin temple carefully suddenly flew from his perch when the monks and Dojo had departed and began to flap his wings furiously towards his master's lair.

His master had sent him to watch over the temple, to notify him if anything went wrong or if an important shen gong wu revealed itself or what not. And the crow had a feeling that this wu that had just revealed itself was a significant one.

Cawing loudly as he neared the seemingly uninhabitable volcano in which his master lived, he tucked his wings snugly against his body and began a nosedive. As he neared the invisible door, it suddenly swung open and the crow soared inside, the door clanging shut behind him.

He looked around for his master, and found him near the fountain, his eyes closed, and practicing his tai chi movements.

For a moment the crow hesitated, debating on whether or not he should tell his master the news immediately or wait until he was done with his practice. His master was very picky and did not look kindly upon those who disturbed him.

As if sensing the crow's presence, Chase Young's eyes snapped open as he stopped his tai chi and, looking directly at his servant, said to him, "You may commence the message, crow."

Feeling relieved the decision was done for him, the crow flew over and perched himself onto his master's shoulder. Then, placing his beak to Chase's ear, the crow whispered the message.

When he finished, a smile started to pull at the edges of his master's mouth. But Chase did not reveal anything to him and simply said, "You may leave now, crow. Your duty had been fulfilled."

The crow nodded his head in consent, and flew off.

"The silver dagger, eh?" he mused to himself once he was alone. "The wu would immediately attract the attention of any werewolf still alive in the world… so then perhaps…"

An evil plan began to formulate in Chase Young's mind, and he smiled to himself.

"Crow! Come back! I've another errand for you."

His faithful servant flew back once more and landed on his shoulder.

"Retrieve the tongue of saiping for me," Chase told the crow. "Now!"

The crow nodded his assent and flew off back towards the Xiaolin temple. Chase Young watched until he disappeared over the horizon, and then let a smile cover his face.

Well, hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. Not much happened here – it was basically just to set the stage for the main portion of the story, which actually probably won't start until chapter three. But who knows? I have yet to write the rest up.

Anyways, I'd greatly appreciate it if all who read would leave a review. I don't mean to sound like a "review beggar" but I was a bit disappointed in the amount of reviews I received for the prologue. Maybe I'll just blame that on the fact that the prologue had nothing to do with the main characters... anyways, point is: please review if you read this! Reviews greatly encourage me and help me to write faster, and another thing is: I don't wanna spend my time writing a story that no one will read... that's just a waste of time. So if you want this story done, please review so I know at least I've some fans out there... And if you're an anomynous fan I promise I'll let anomynous reviewers review as soon as I figure out that it's safe. D

That's all for now.

xxFireWarriorxx