"Shendu!" As Shendu was making his way out of the Demon Netherworld to possess Jackie, Hsi Wu waylaid him briefly. "I would speak to you about something."
"Yes, brother?" Shendu asked him. "What is it?"
"Your plan to alter the book of ages has merit...but I have a concern...and a means to neutralize it."
"Oh? And what is that, brother?"
Hsi Wu settled on a rock. "Do you remember what fail safe is in place in each generation to prevent historical tampering?"
"Yes. The fate touched. Those touched by history and the flow of time, whose nature allows them to unknowingly protect the flow of time." Shendu recited the old lesson. "What of it?"
"I do believe you must admit that the child played a far greater roll in our defeat - for all of us - than any of us would care to admit. I believe her to be fate touched."
"Hmm..." Shendu thought for some time. "And if she is, what are we to do?"
Hsi Wu smiled. "Just listen to my plan, and you will understand."
Shendu listened for a time, then smiled. "It is a good plan. It is as the humans say...divide and conquer."
Jade walked into Shendu's throne room, nervous at being in his presence with no means of defense. WHen he beckoned her closer, she came, pasting a fake smile on her face.
"Why do you not bow?" Shendu demanded.
Jackie got in front of her. "Please excuse my slow witted niece."
Jade breathed a sigh of relief. Jackie was still looking out for her, and maybe he beleived her story about the alterations to history.
After Jade had dealt with clipping Shendu's nails, she was ready to run out of there as fast as appearances would allow, but as Jackie was bowing them out, Shendu spoke, "Wait!"
Jade froze, and almost paniced when Shendu seized her to hold her up. Jackie came forward. "Lord Shendu, has my slow witted niece displeased you?"
Shendu stared at Jade, and she managed to keep the smile on her face, as though there wasn't a thought in her head. Shendu spoke then. "She has been a less than stellar servant, forgetting her duties and role. Perhaps she would do better in a service more fitting with her intellectual status. ...My brother has been complaining of loneliness. He can't seem to find the right sort of companionship in his own realm. He has...certain tastes, and children only stay beautiful for so long. Perhaps a gift will ease his mind and yearnings...for a time." Shendu tossed Jade onto the back of a Dragon servant. "Hold on tight now, child. It's a long way down!" Shendu laughed as the dragon took flight.
Jade didn't even dare call out to Jackie, afraid of being found out. Clinging to the dragon, she waited until they achieved some altitude. Once flight leveled out, she took stock of her situation.
*Okay,* she thought. *I've been seperated from Jackie, I'm being sent to be a-* she shuddered *-companion to one of the other demons, one of Shendu's brothers, and there's nothing I can do to escape the situation. ...the best I can hope to do is survive. And that means keeping up the act for as long as possible, and keep my eyes open for a chance to escape.* To that end, she turned off her watch and slipped it into one of her shoes, to keep it hidden like the fragment of the Book of Ages.
Looking ahead, she saw the tower rising into the heavens that the dragon was approaching. *Alright,* she thought to herself. *This demon likes high places. That means it's either Tchiang Zhu of thunder, Tso Lan of moon, or-* She saw the bat like wings and gargoyle-esque features. "Hsi Wu of sky," she mumbled, afraid. If any of the demon sorcerers was likely to examine her close enough to see through the act, it was him. He spent the most time with her, and knew her mannerisms. She had to be careful here.
When the dragon landed, she slid off and immediately went to hands and knees, desperate to not meet his eyes, for fear he would see the truth. "Dread Master," she said, as servile as she could manage.
Silence greeted her. She could feel Hsi Wu's eyes on her. "Look at me Jade," he said suddenly.
She looked up slowly, keeping her expression to the blank, stupid smile that had fooled Shendu, trying to keep her thoughts out of her eyes.
She managed to hide her shock when she saw the flash of pain in Hsi Wu's eyes. "I didn't want to believe..." he mumbled. "I knew you would be different, but I had hoped..." He turned and glowered at the dragon. "You are dismissed!" he snapped, and the dragon flew off. He rounded on the other servants that were up there. "Out! All of you, out!" The servants fled, being carried down from the tower by winged creatures.
Jade suppressed a shudder. She was alone at the top of a miles-high tower with Hsi Wu, and no apparent way down or out beyond the obviously fatal one.
Hsi Wu turned back to her, his eyes...soft? "Follow me, please," he said. It was all Jade could do not to show her shock at his use of human courtesy. She followed him to a door in a pillar she hadn't noticed. A spiral staircase led down to another door, which he opened for her. "You will stay in here," he mumbled. "I've laid some clothes out for you. Get changed and rejoin me, please." He turned and headed back up the stairs.
She stepped into the room and suppressed a gasp. A large bed with silken sheets in her favorite colors, a large clothes chest, and...Melvin the Super Moose plushies?
Walking forward, she examined them. THey weren't mass produced, each one was hand sewn...and it looked like whoever had sewn them hadn't understood the concept of a cartoon moose, as they appeared to have attempted to make them look like a real moose.
Taking off her shoes, she hid the fragment of the Book of Ages and her watch under the massive pillows. She would know where they were, and they weren't likely to be discovered by accident. She could tell the sheets were magiced to repel stains and dirt, which meant they wouldn't need to be changed. She turned to the pile of clothes she had been ignoring.
They were an exact match to her normal outfit from her school days, except they were made from the finest silk. "Woah," she whispered. "Obviously, Hsi Wu remembers the old timeline as well...and is doing...something." As she got changed, she mumbled, "I hope Shendu was wrong about Hsi Wu's motives...I really hope he was wrong."
Once she was changed, she returned to the open air room, once more putting up her slow witted guise. As far as she knew, it was the only thing that would keep her alive. She almost dropped it when she saw what waited for her. A table full of food awaited her, lit by candlelight as the sun had gone down. There were various types of food...everything from demonic foods for Hsi Wu to the human foods she had seen here...and even cheeseburgers and french fries!
Hsi Wu smiled towards her, sadly. "Feel free to serve yourself," he said, watching her. He pointed to a tray.
She walked forward and picked up the tray. Carefully, she did her best to add some of every human food presented, trying not to show favortism, although the smell of the cheeseburgers was mouth watering.
Hsi Wu smiled as he watched her eat. She tried to figure out what he was doing. SOmething about all of this didn't make sense. It wasn't like there was any real urgency in figuring it out, though. She really had nothing but time.