CHAPTER 3

Below them, the leaves were turning varying shades of crimson, brown, and gold, but the Xiaolin monks paid them little attention. Even the combined chill of the high altitude and fall temperatures could not break their focus. As they flew on Dojo's back through the sky, all they could think about was their mission.

First, they had to locate the Guiding Light. Wherever it was.

Second, they had to use the Guiding Light to find Mei, Dojo's missing friend from fifteen hundred years ago. They figured that if they succeeded in the first part of their quest, the second part would be considerably easier. At least they would have something to aid them. At the moment, they had no real leads, and without the Wu being active, even Dojo couldn't help them much.

Aside from flying them around at breakneck speeds, that is.

"Dojo!" Kimiko shouted as she clung to a scale. "I know you're excited, and you want to get there as quickly as possible, but could you please try NOT to kill us?"

Even Raimundo, who felt comfortable in the air, was holding on for dear life. "Yeah, dude, we can't really find anything if we fly off and crack our skulls open!"

"Sorry, kids, but I'm in a rush!" The enlarged mystical dragon continued to dart through the air rapidly, but he did slow his pace a bit. It was enough so that Clay didn't have to worry about anyone soiling his hat with… well, whatever they had eaten for breakfast.

Only Omi was able to ignore the dangers of riding a hundred foot dragon up in the earth's troposphere. He watched the scroll over and over again. It had been almost two months since a Shen Gong Wu had been activated, and he was excited that they were finally pursuing one. Even if they had no clue where it was. All they had to go on was the last place Dojo thought that Mei had been. If he was right, then there was a chance that she had lost the Wu there. Better still, there was a chance that she might still have it on her person, and their search would be complete the instant they found her.

Meanwhile, at Spicer Manor, a certain evil genius was also in a rush.

"Come ON, you worthless pieces of scrap metal! Get in line, and get a move on!"

Jack Spicer was barking orders at his JackBots. He was gathering them together as fast as he could, but it they weren't moving swiftly enough to suit his needs. "I'd like to leave sometime TODAY! If we don't get out of here soon, the monks could find their new friend, and then I'll be royally screwed!"

The robots made haste to leave the dark basement where Jack had built them, but some of them were still under construction. One malfunctioned, and began to run into the wall repeatedly. Another spontaneously combusted. Only a handful made it outside and went on ahead.

"Well, this is just great." Jack tossed up his hands and threw his head back in aggravation. "We're going to be late to the party, those LOSERS are going to get some new, powerful ally I can't fight, and then what? Seriously, how much more can this day suck?"

A second JackBot burst into flames, and another grabbed the fire extinguisher. Jack slapped himself in the forehead and groaned. "I really, really hate my life." He rallied his remaining bots and led them outside through a door that went outside from the basement. Nothing, not even faulty robots, was going to stop him from stopping the monks. After all, if they won… Well, it was probably all over for him.

Outside, he breathed in the crisp autumn air, and silently thanked the crow he found on the way to the temple. Without its knowledge, he wouldn't have even known what the monks were planning.

At that exact moment, the crow was returning to the home of its master in the Land of Nowhere.

The home of Chase Young.

It didn't take long before Dojo and the others were soaring above Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. Omi tore his eyes away from the scroll long enough to look at the lake. After all, his element was water, so naturally he was interested. Plus, the lake was connected to the Yangtze River, where they were headed. "You are positive that Mei was out here, Dojo?"

"Absolutely. At least, that's where she said she was going." The dragon remained focused on reaching the river. "You can ask Master Monk Guan if you don't believe me, because he was there too."

Raimundo kept his eyes peeled for the Yangtze River. "And you said she was trying to find her old village, right?"

"Yep. She said that since it was the tenth anniversary of its destruction, it would be fitting to go and visit its location. I never understood why, though. I mean, no offense to her, but it seemed kind of weird for her to go and visit something just to get herself upset about it all over again."

Omi remained silent. He found himself realizing that he and Mei already had something in common. Both had been displaced from their original homes. After Jack Spicer, Wuya, and Hannibal Bean attempted to fool him with a false town populated by robotic relatives, he had stopped searching for his parents and finally accepted the other monks as his family. But he still wondered what had happened to his real family. He couldn't have always been an orphan, right?

While Omi sat and thought, Raimundo's eyebrows furrowed. "Her town was destroyed? How?"

Dojo slowed down abruptly and thought. "Actually, she kind of skimped on the details. But it was definitely attacked, she said."

"By who?"

"That's the part she didn't explain. Either she didn't like being reminded of it, or she just didn't know."

In almost no time, Dojo was flying above the river. "Hey," Kimiko asked, "do you actually know where her village was?"

"Sure I do!" Dojo sounded offended. "I wouldn't bring you guys out here if I didn't know! Sheesh, have some faith in an old magical dragon, will you?"

"Sorry, I was just wondering." She crossed her arms and stared down at the lengthy river. It seemed to stretch on forever, and in comparison, she felt small and insignificant.

"Just keep looking out for it. Try to find anything that looks like ruins."

"Can do." She pulled out a couple of Shen Gong Wu. "Let's see… how about… the Eagle Scope!" The telescope responded to her and extended. She used it to investigate more closely, while Clay and Raimundo did their best without an aid.

Several minutes passed as they examined the banks of the river. They had already descended somewhat so that they could better see the land, but it all looked pretty much the same. Just miles and miles of roaring water as far as the eye could see.

Kimiko spotted it first. "Ruins, dead ahead!"

Dojo moved downwards slowly at first, but then he saw the same thing Kimiko had. "I see them! I see them right over there! All right, now we're making some progress!" He accelerated towards the spot, and seemed to gain energy as he drew near, focusing on the ancient village.

Kimiko was still looking through the Eagle Scope, and scanned the ruins. Suddenly, she saw something that caught her eye. Something shining in the sun.

The balding head of a very familiar monk.

She gasped, and nearly dropped the Scope. "Guys! By the ruins! Isn't that Master Monk Guan?"

The dark crow approached the stone gates of Chase Young's home in the Land of Nowhere. It hovered in the air as its master walked outside. "Welcome back, crow," Chase said. "Tell me, what news do you bring? Anything interesting?"

The bird flew once in a circle, and then perched itself upon Chase's index finger. Chase lifted the bird up to his face, and stared into his eyes. The first scenes were of the bird's flight above the temple, and transitioned into the conversation it overheard about Raimundo's dream. He stood breathlessly, listening with increasing interest to the monks' discussion. Specific parts stood out to him, and replayed in his mind.

"'Her name's Mei. I'd recognize a description of her anywhere...'"

"'Because she disappeared fifteen hundred years ago…'"

"'I know that she had accompanied Grandmaster Dashi, Master Monk Guan, and Chase Young…'"

Chase closed his eyes and frowned, lowering the bird on his finger. "So… what does this mean?" He opened his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows. "Is she… returning? After fifteen hundred years, could Mei really still be alive?"

The crow flew away, cawing. Chase walked towards the edge of the cliff in front of the stone gates, and glared out into the shadowy wasteland as the crow continued to depart. "Well, crow. That certainly was… interesting." He clenched his fists, and his dark eyes flashed. "Now I just need to determine how to handle this… situation."

Miles away, the pale boy with the fiery red hair soared above the Yangtze River with his helipack, closely trailed by his robots. "I can do this," he said to himself, with a determined look on his face. "I can get this Wu. I just know it. And nothing- not faulty Jackbots, or cheeseball monk losers, or even Heylin witches- will get in my way. Not this time!" He pulled his goggles down over his narrowed eyes and kept flying.

Author's Note: So, funny story! I started my second semester of college back in September shortly after I began this story,and I was all, "Yeah! I can TOTALLY write this and finish it by December or something!" Then my life got taken over by studying. And studying. And yet more freaking studying. (Especially for chemistry. Ugh. I'm not even majoring in chem. But whatever.)

Anyways, I was looking through all my Word documents, and I was deleting things I don't need. That's when I came across this chapter. And was like, "Dang. I totally forgot that I had this story to write. :O"

Yeah, I know. That's not a funny story at all. But anyway, here's chapter 3. I started it two months ago, and finished it because I missed writing it. More updates will probably be likely in mid-December, or the end of November. Because I don't want to completely lose track of where I am. At least I managed to get Chase into this chapter. And I PROMISE that Rai and the others WILL do something actually important soon. In the meantime, enjoy! :)