Jade had rarely been so happy to see anyone in her life, Viper spent the entire time on her phone with the fire department, insurance company, and a dozen different offices, trying to get at least some of the mess straightened out. Hsi Wu wasn't much for conversation. Not that she really wanted to talk to him, of course, it was just that sitting here was just sooo boooring...

When she caught sight of Tohru's unmistakable bulk over the heads of the crowd, she sat up, nudged Viper, and took off at a run. Weaving in between people, she got right in front of them unseen, planted her foot, and leapt high, "Jaackie!"

"Gaaah!"

She smashed into his chest, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, which nearly bowled him over. Tohru's hand shot out to save them from an undignified tumble, and several people passing by laughed. Jackie took a moment to recover his wits, "Jade! Don't do that!"

"Haha...sorry..."

Uncle patted her head fondly, "Is good to have you back safe and sound. You seem to attract trouble."

"What can I say? I have the knack for finding adventure."

"Ha! Misadventure you mean," laughed Jackie, setting her down gently.

"Yep, that's me, little Miss Adventure!"

"That is not what I-oh never mind-it's good to have you back Jade."

"Hey, handsome," Viper reached them with Hsi Wu in tow, and gave Jackie a hug as well, making him blush.

"Hehe...uh...thank you for keeping Jade safe...um..." looking around awkwardly, he suddenly noticed Hsi Wu standing quietly behind her, "who's this?"

"Seymour, he's a friend of Jade's..."

Uncle was peering at the "boy" very intently. Jade held her breath; she should've thought of a different name that wouldn't trigger memories. Hsi Wu glanced away nervously. The old man frowned, and flicked his hand forward. The demon in disguise flinched as a small green lizard sailed towards his head. There was a green flash, the hiss of burning flesh, and "Seymour" gave a small shriek of pain.

Everything hung motionless for a brief moment, then all hell broke loose.

"AAAAIYAAA! IT IS SKY DEMON! TOHRUUUU! GET FLUUUUUTE!"

"Jade, run! Get away from him!"

"You promised!"

Jade was grabbed by the shoulders, and dragged sideways by Hsi Wu, putting her in between the demon and her uncles. Viper and Jackie dropped into fighting stances, but were clearly unwilling to attack while Jade was being used as a human shield. She wasn't too happy about that herself, though Hsi Wu probably had good reason to be scared. He whispered in her ear again, "You promised..."

She sighed and held her hands up placating, "Jackie, Uncle, everybody, wait! I can explain!" Jade reached down the neck of her hoodie and drew out the chain with the Amulet on it, "I accidentally summoned "Seymour" here with this...thing. He's not evil anymore...Well, he's still evil, but he has to do what I say now, so he's not on the evil side."

"Jade, you can't be serious! He's a DEMON! Now move!"

"No, seriously! He's on our side! And I promised him I wouldn't let him be banished again."

"You did what?!"

"You always tell me I need to keep promises I make..."

"I-oh never mind. Why do you pick now to start listening to me?"

Uncle walked to the girl and demon, "Let me see this...Amulet," Jade held it out, and he bent down to look.

After a few minutes of careful study, he looked up and nodded, "It is safe. Jade tells truth."

Everyone let out a collective sigh; even Hsi Wu relaxed noticeably.

"Jade, explain," Jackie ordered.

"Sensei!" Tohru came running back, "I got it!" He held out a flute to Uncle.

"Never mind; no need to banish the demon anymore."

"Oh...did I miss something?"

"Yep, and as soon as we get somewhere quiet, I'll explain everything!" Piped up Jade.

"That can't be too soon, I haven't known what's going on for days..." muttered Jackie.

"When I bestowed power on you it was because I considered you to be competent, was it not? Am I mistaken? Should I return you to your prison?" Daolong Wong inquired of his minions. He was seriously beginning to think he should.

"No, we was just...er...surprised. Went in after a couple of kids and didn't know there was a crazy ninja lady in there too, see. DJ Fist blowing the whole place up didn't help neither. Then the locator cloth caught fire too and we lost them..."

The hulking dark warrior mumbled something that might have been "Sorry."

Daolong Wong turned slowly, and they fell silent. He let them endure his withering glare for a minute, "Your bungling, however, has not seriously harmed my plans, or you would be screaming right now."

The dark wizard let the threat hang for a moment, "My sources indicate Chan and the Chi wizards have come to the east coast to rescue Jade. For the moment, Section 13 is vulnerable...There are some things we need."

"Oh, I see...yo' want us to break in and steal the Talismans...that's b-"

"Silence! We do not seek such puny trinkets anymore. In any case I do not think the Talismans remain in this world. The two artifacts I want are much more...potent, even in their incomplete stage. And once we find the Core, the forces of good will be hard pressed to stop me."

"Wh-"

"I SAID SILENCE!"

Daolong Wong waved his hands and dissolved his warriors into smoke. He'd let them stew in the shadow world while he prepared a spell to let them exit the Citadel over San Francisco. It would take time, but would be much quicker than emerging randomly, maybe in Antarctica or somewhere else unpleasant. Demon magic was not his strong suit, and it never hurt to be careful.

Off in a park near the airport, Jade finally finished explaining her story, with many interruptions. Uncle had insisted on some little ritual with his blowfish to probe her for location spells, which only turned up residues, and Jackie could barely sit through a sentence without some exclamation or another. Tohru kept quiet, but he looked concerned. As expected, Viper hadn't taken the revelation of Hsi's identity well; she looked ready to kill the Sky demon. Being enslaved by someone, however briefly, tends to create that sort of feeling.

Once she finished, everyone sat quiet for a moment. Jackie spoke first, "I can't say I approve of some things..." Hsi, who was staring at the ground trying not to be noticed, received a pointed glare-he was collecting quite of few of those today, "But on the whole...well done. I don't think things could've gone much better."

Jade beamed.

Tohru nodded, "Daolong Wong suffered quite the defeat. His prisoner is gone, Sensei is still with us, he has lost the element of surprise, and we know where his lair is. The only success he had was the wyvern poisoning Jackie," Jackie elbowed him in the ribs, Hsi Wu perked up, "and-what? Is your shoulder hurting again?"

"Poisoned?!" Jade yelled, "And you didn't tell me!?"

"Er...I didn't want you to worry. You didn't exactly tell me everything either..." another glare at Hsi, he was certainly collecting a lot of those today.

"That's different!...sort of, anyway. It's not as if he can kill me or anything."

Uncle broke in, swiping two fingers at both of them, "Do not worry, wyvern venom is slow acting! It is why we are out here anyways! I need to pick up special ingredient for antidote! A bigger problem is why Daolong Wong has wyverns in the first place; they are not bound by dark Chi."

"I...might be able to shed some light on the subject..."

Everyone turned in surprise to Hsi Wu. The demon stammered to a stop, then continued haltingly, "Wyverns are creatures of the Sky...and my servants. I tried to call them earlier...but it seems he has taken control of them...along with my fortress," he hung his head, "This is not how I imagined my triumphant escape from the netherworld..."

He looked so dejected that Jade just had to say something positive, "Look on the bright side; at least you get to be with the winners this time!"

"What makes you so sure you'll win?" Hsi Wu glared at her.

Jade frowned back. She was just trying to be nice, which was way more than he deserved! She couldn't quite keep the irritation out of her reply, "Well...I don't know...how about uncles with epic magic and kung-fu skills, a super-thief-turned-hero, Tohru-who hits like a truck and casts spells like Merlin, a secret agency with near unlimited resources, and last but not least...moi! What does Daolong Wong have? Demon Chi's gone, Shadowkhan are secure, Pan-ku Box is out of doors to open, Talismans are-uh-safe...all he has is some random Dark Chi Warrior-mooks!"

Hsi Wu sneered back, his eyes burned red, the light around him dimming. Jade scooted away from him on the bench towards Jackie. Uncle and Tohru reached for their blowfish.

The Sky demon slammed his fist down furiously, "Shadowkhan? Ha! Talismans? Ha! You think you have seen all there is to the world! You have no IDEA what powers lie hidden in the dark, forgotten corners that haven't ever seen the light of day! Things that even us demons feared to handle, and probably shouldn't have. He knows; he already has the Circlet, and once he lays hands on the other Relics, we are all going to DIE!"