CHAPTER 2

"Okay, let me get this straight. Some glowing woman with a necklace told you to search for her in a dream, and you think you should listen to her, even though you have no clue who she is?"

Kimiko had a disbelieving look on her face. It was obvious that she thought the story was ridiculous. She, Omi, and Clay were gathered around Raimundo outside of the main hall of the Xiaolin temple. A chilly autumn breeze made the dragon of Fire shiver, but she had her hands on her hips in a confrontational stance.

"But I'm telling you, this was more than just a dream!" Raimundo threw his hands up, irritated. "It was more like, oh, I don't know, some kind of vision or something!"

Omi looked thoughtful. Clay just shook his head and said, "I don't know, Rai. It sounds kinda funny to me. I mean, even if it is true, how do you know if you can trust her?"

"I don't know," snapped the dragon of Wind. "I could just tell, okay? She just didn't feel evil to me. And I know what evil feels like." He couldn't believe that the other monks thought he was full of it.

"Well, I still don't like it…"

While the monks continued to debate, Master Fung walked out of the main hall with Dojo on his shoulders. The elderly monk immediately noticed that something was out of the ordinary. "Is there a problem here?"

"Yes, Master Fung," said Omi. "Raimundo has had a most interesting dream, and he was telling us about it. Perhaps you can use your wisdom to discover its meaning?"

Master Fung raised an eyebrow, sighed, and turned his attention to the dragon of Wind. "Well, since you are using your training time to discuss this, it must be important. Please explain."

So Raimundo once again explained every detail he could remember. As he continued to recount his dream to Master Fung, he noticed that Dojo showed an unusual interest in the woman and her necklace.

In fact, he seemed to be anxious for some reason. Before Raimundo even reached the end of his summary, the dragon's eyes were popping out of his skull, and he interrupted to ask a question. "Um… did she by any chance say anything to you?"

"Yeah, she did. She told me to 'use the guiding light', and I could find her. And she told me she was a friend. But why did you want to know? Are you some kind of dream expert now?"

Dojo spoke hesitantly. "Well, it's just that I think I might sorta, kinda, maybe know who you're talking about. Eh… eh heh…" He gave a small, timid chuckle.

Master Fung narrowed his eyes. "Dojo Kanojo Cho, be truthful. Do you know this woman?"

Dojo looked down sadly, sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I do. Or I did, anyway. She was a friend of mine from a long time ago." He looked up again. "Her name's Mei. I'd recognize a description of her anywhere."

Kimiko looked at him questioningly. "If you two were friends, then why have we never heard of her?"

"Because she disappeared fifteen hundred years ago, and it's not exactly the sort of thing you just bring up."

Omi looked thoroughly confused at this statement. "But Dojo, I have been to the past twice, and I have never seen her! When did she vanish?"

"Hmm… Let me think." Dojo rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. "Oh yeah! It was right before the big battle where Dashi locked Wuya in the puzzle box. But I wasn't around her when she disappeared, so I don't know how it happened. Unfortunately." He looked down again, seemingly upset that he couldn't explain himself better. "I wish I had been, but I probably wouldn't have been much help. Stupid, useless me!" He started sobbing and blew his nose on Clay's sleeve. Clay grimaced, and then patted the dragon gently on the back.

Suddenly, Raimundo's face brightened. "Hang on a sec, you guys! Remember what she said in my dream? She left us instructions on how to find her! We just need to find out what this light thing is first, and then maybe we can get some answers!"

Dojo stopped crying abruptly. "That's right," he said. "I almost forgot all about that already! We can use what she said, and find what she was talking about, and then find where she is!"

Omi stared at him quizzically, and then looked at Kimiko. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I believe I know what Mei was speaking of," said Master Fung, who beckoned for the other monks to follow him inside the temple. He began an explanation as they walked. "I have heard brief accounts of Mei and her disappearance before, and I know that she had accompanied Grandmaster Dashi, Master Monk Guan, and Chase Young on their campaign to stop Wuya. Therefore, as a member of this group of Xiaolin warriors, she was likely knowledgeable about the Shen Gong Wu. Am I correct so far, Dojo?"

The dragon nodded, and opened the door leading into the room where the Ancient Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu was kept. Master Fung continued talking as they entered and approached the scroll. "If Mei knew the properties of the Shen Gong Wu, then there is a high possibility that she would be able to determine which one would be best suited to locating her."

All of a sudden, Raimundo felt as if he understood. "Master Fung," he asked, "are you saying that this 'Guiding Light' thing is a Wu that we haven't found yet?"

"Precisely, Raimundo." He picked up the scroll and held it so that the children could read it. "The Guiding Light is a Shen Gong Wu that can be used for two purposes: either as a source of light, or a means to locate things that are lost." The scroll depicted a figure wearing an amulet, which began to shine.

"So, it's sort of like an all-purpose metal detector?"

"Yes, in a way. All you have to do is identify whatever you wish to find, and it will lead the way. The closer you are to your goal, the brighter it will glow." The image on the scroll grew brighter, and then faded.

Dojo frowned, and tilted his head. "Yeah, it COULD work." He put air quotes around 'could'. "But that's only if we manage to find the Guiding Light, and I don't think that's too likely."

"Why not?" asked Kimiko. "If it's just a regular Wu, then you can just sense it when it activates, right?"

"Normally, I'd say yes. But in this case I don't really know for sure, because Mei had it with her when she went missing. It's one of few Wu that I never got the chance to hide. For all I know, it doesn't even exist anymore."

The monks were silent. Nobody knew quite how to respond to that. They all stared at their feet, crestfallen. Could Raimundo's dream have been wrong after all?

Master Fung was the first to speak. "Even if you do not know the location of the Guiding Light, that does not mean you should not at least try to find it. The box left unopened will often hold the greatest treasures."

Dojo still looked unconvinced, but Raimundo was determined. "Master Fung is right. We have to go. I mean, maybe we won't find it, but at least we'll know we gave it our best shot. It can be our next big quest!"

"Yes!" Omi was practically bursting with excitement. "We will definitely find it! It is so nearby that I can almost smell it!"

"So close you can almost taste it."

"Why would I want to taste it?"

Master Fung smiled as the four Xiaolin warriors dashed out of the room. Their enthusiasm was contagious. Only Dojo was still gloomy. He sighed, and followed the monks outside.

Circling above the temple was a lone crow with observant eyes. It took note of the conversation, and flew off into the distance to report to its master. Instead, the bird was intercepted, and the message received by someone else in the area.

Someone with a helipack and plans to steal certain magical artifacts from the Xiaolin temple.

The fiery-haired albino boy grinned evilly when he saw what the crow had seen. "So, the Xiaolin losers have a new friend, huh? Well, I'm not about to let THAT happen! They won't get so far with me on the case! That's right, they'll have to deal with Jack Spicer, evil boy genius!" He flew back towards his home, laughing maniacally the whole way there.

Author's Note: I just realized that it would be a good idea to say something. First of all, I don't own Xiaolin Showdown or any of it's characters. The only things I own are Mei and the Guiding Light. Second, this is my first fanfiction, so there's bound to be errors of some sort. Go easy on me. XD And third, I know it's rated T, but nothing really T rated has happened. When it does, it's mostly going to be stuff that you wouldn't see in the cartoon. Mostly involving violence. I won't get into that here, because it'll spoil the plot. But anyway, enough of me blabbing on. I hope you all enjoy this story.

And yes, in case you haven't read the summary and come to this conclusion, there's going to be Chase x Mei. Why? Because I always thought it would be interesting if Chase had a love interest BEFORE he became evil. There may also be hints of RaiKim. Also, depending on what seems best, this story will either have a ton of chapters, or will be split into different stories. The second option seems better to me at the moment.