Chapter 17~ Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch. . .
"Well? Now what?" These were the scornful words spoken by Hsi Wu to Jade. They had just set their party down on Catalina Island, a small island not too far off the coast of Los Angeles, but far enough that no one would see them except the occasional camper who'd assume they were suffering from dehydration.
"If you can't figure that out, then I suppose I have my work cut out for me! It's so obvious!" huffed Jade in annoyance at the bat like demon. Tchang Zu puffed out his chest in annoyance.
"Hsi Wu, you disgrace all of your siblings," he said indignantly, giving a look to the others that made it clear he knew what she was talking about. The others mimicked that look, and Hsi Wu looked sheepish. But when his siblings weren't watching, he cast a suspicious glance at the girl.
Jade picked up a brown rock and cast it into the ocean angrily. Hsi Wu was not as dumb as he looked. Truth was, she didn't have much of a plan, and this was grating her nerves. She was Jade. Not only did she always have a plan, she always had the best, most creative plans anyone could've come up with. And now, when it actually mattered and someone actually wanted her to plan, she was stuck. Come to think of it, her planning senses had completely failed her recently. It was as though it took awhile for thoughts to travel from her mind to her actions. She had known reading a spell from a random spell book was stupid, but she had done it anyways, just because she had wanted to.
Oh, she would be the first to admit she did some pretty rash things. Well, okay, so Jackie would be the first to admit that, but Jade wouldn't deny it. She put herself in a lot of dangerous situations without thinking. Thing was, usually she then thought of a plan to get out of it. Jade liked to baffle people. They couldn't decide whether she was incredibly foolish or incredibly clever. The truth was, she was both. Jade's dark brows arched up. Yes, she was both, just as there was always that part of her that wanted to have fun and be selfish, and that part that wanted to help people and impress Jackie. Sometimes it was as though there were two different people inside her.
She spun around suddenly, to the demon's interest. They had been waiting for the girl to make her move, but they had not expect her to advance so suddenly on her sister. "You!" the girl hissed. "It's your fault."
The other girl blinked sanctimoniously. "I didn't do anything wrong." Unless it was Jade's imagination, her other half was becoming slightly bolder. If Yin had parts of Yang, did Yang have parts of Yin? Remembering her experiences with Tiger Jackie, Jade knew that this was so. But it didn't seem to be enough.
"I need to have conference with my sister regarding the nature of the attack," said Jade innocently to the demons. This did not go over well. Every demon's expression screwed up in protest. But it was Hsi Wu who spoke first.
"We can't leave her alone! She can't be trusted. It was stupid to even trust her this much!" he shouted, waving his wings frantically. Hsi Wu hated Jade for a reason which was totally unknown to their siblings. But Jade's eyes narrowed. She knew why. She was angry at him for betraying her trust and humiliating her, and he towards her for totally kicking his butt all the way back to the demon realm. Pride was at stake her, and pride was something the two of them had a lot of. Fortunately, other demons had a lot of pride, as well.
"My brother, perhaps I heard you wrong," said Tchang Zu dangerously. "Did you just say that my decision to bring the small Chan with us was stupid?"
"O-of course not, brother," said Hsi Wu, landing on the ground in recognition of his own defeat. "I merely-"
"Good," snapped Tchang Zu. "Child, you may have a minute of conference. Most of we demons recognize the honor held between siblings, even if some do not. But if you try to escape, you and your sister will die."
Jade nodded her agreement. It wasn't as though she wanted to escape, but she hoped she still could if she changed her mind. Her did she no longer posses her escape artist talents, as well? She pulled her sister into the bushes, hopefully out of earshot of the demons. She noticed several, including Hsi Wu watching them out of the corner of their eyes.
"What do you want?" asked yin Jade calmly, not at all bothered that she had been dragged into the bushes.
"I need. . ." Jade winced, "your help. Somehow, when we split apart, you managed to take along with the sissy part of me, the planning side. I can't think of a plan! Can you?"
Jade's sister blinked, and looked thoughtful. "I have a plan how to rescue the J-Team. How about we do that plan?"
"No!" exclaimed Jade, then lowered her voice. "Are you stupid? If we try anything, they'll kill us! And they can. I know! You help me take over the world, and I'll save the J-Team. Deal?" asked Jade desperately.
"No deal! I can't help you hurt people. Not even to save my friends," said the other Jade, her eyes brimming with tears. "Besides, you already promised we'd save Jackie. So you're gonna do it anyways, right?"
Jade raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sissy Jade? I kind of lied." Seeing her sister's shock face, she shrugged, and pointed at her and then to herself. "You good, me evil. Duh."
"You're just going to let everyone die?" shouted Jade in horror. The other girl frantically shushed her. Fortunately, it actually helped Jade's case with the demons, they didn't care if everyone died. "Listen," continued yin Jade. "You have to save them! They're our friends! I know you have good in you somewhere, because nobody can be all evil, Uncle says."
Jade shrugged. "No, I'm not all bad. Why do you think I've kept you alive for so long? But I don't even like the J-Team. There wouldn't even be a J- Team without me, but they're still always trying to boss me around. I'm glad they're probably dead. Now help me plan, or you'll find out that I'm still mostly bad."
"I won't help!" screamed Jade. "How can you talk about our family like that!" She sniffled back angry tears, and then, without warning, kicked her sister in the jaw. The attack took Yang Jade completely by surprise. She fell backwards onto the ground.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" whispered yin Jade in horror, bending over her sister and extending a hand. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Tears came back to her eyes. "I'm a bad, bad person!" she wailed. "Want me to find you an ice pack?"
Yang Jade sat up, and delivered her sister a hard blow to the head. Jade fell back, and sniffed again, but this time because her nose was beginning to bleed. Without warning, the other girl pounced and began unleashing all the fury of Jackie's kung fu instruction on the other girl. Yin Jade didn't want to hit Jade again.
She crouched down, hands on her head, wondering if she was going to die. She knew she should fight, Jackie was counting on it, but she just couldn't. She didn't like yang Jade as much as it was possible but a nearly completely benevolent girl could dislike someone. But she also knew that this girl had once been a part of her. When they were together, she acted bad, but she was still mostly good. It seemed the only way to save Jackie and the world would be to be reunited with this awful person. With that thought, she passed out.
Yang Jade stood over the unconscious girl. For a few moments, she considered killing her, but couldn't. It was like Jade had said- she wasn't completely evil, but the good in her disgusted her. She wanted to be cruel and ruthless like the demons. But Yin Jade was so much a part of her- more than a sister, she really was her. Yang Jade could not bring herself to finish the deed. She dragged the girl out from the bushes. The demons were nonplussed, they understood sibling disagreements.
Yang Jade's eyes narrowed. If she couldn't think of a good plan, she'd just do things her way. She played enough video games to be able to organize a perfect attack on the world as long as she had the right weapons, and the demons and talismans were perfect.
"Okay, here's the plan," she instructed, then remembered her position. "If it, of course, suits you, my lord," she said humbly to Tchang Zu. She had to remember that although she was in charge of the attack, she was still a servant and an expendable one at that. "All of you change to human form, and we take a boat back to Los Angeles. Don't want to lose the element of surprise. Once we're in the city, we'll get cracking on the takeover. We can't just division off, though. We need to help together to have better luck. Los Angeles is a really important city, and the United States is a really powerful country, so if we're successful then it gets way easier from here since everyone will be properly scared. But if we fail, we go down hard. Got it?"
Tchang Zu grinned, happy to approve this plan. Tso Lan looked ready to protest, for the thunder demon knew his brother as a demon of subtlety. And for Bai Tsa, the thought of taking a boat was incredibly demeaning. But once Tchang Zu gave his approval, everyone else grudgingly agreed. The plan was simple, brash, and required a lot of firepower. Tchang Zu liked it.
Author's Note~ This chapter came out of a particularly bad case of writer's block. I couldn't for the life of me think of a good plan, and then it hit me- what if Jade couldn't either? ^_^ Oh, just so you know, I hate skipping between worlds, but I just had to set up the situation with Jackie last chapter. The story should focus mainly on Jade and the demons for awhile. In the long run, what goes on with Jackie is more important, but a lot has to happen on earth before the Onacdr plot moves forward much. But I may add a bit of Jackie stuff soon. I know exactly where the story goes from here on out, but some of the details and timing eludes me. Thanks for your patience. Oh, and FYI, the State speech qualifiers are coming up soon, so my schedule may get very disrupted. But on the brighter side, I just got a laptop, so I'll be able to write while out of the house.
My parents once made me go to a week away camp on Catalina Island. It was camp hell on earth. Trust me, if I had seen a crop of demons camped out there, I wouldn't have even been surprised. Plus, the water around the island is all choppy, so I was taken quite seasick on the voyage. And I don't get seasick easily. Tohru would *not* approve.
Now, for a brief session of Q & A with all of my most beloved reviewers! *hugs everyone*
Vampire Naomi- You like CyrRa? *shrug* The whole reason I left her off so late is b/cause I wanted a loyal fanbase before I introduced her. I figured by this point you want to know what's gonna happen before you boycott me. Even I think she's kind of annoying, but there wasn't any other way to do her. But she does get more interesting later. Would I hurt Paco? Of course not. Don't worry.
Souma Kagura- Well, don't worry, you've got your demons here. Lotsa demons coming up. ^_^ Yes, I have notoriously long Author's notes. After the story's done, I'll probably go back and edit them. They're long because I enjoy these little chats with my reviewers. I think you guys are the coolest *ever* and it's nice to be able to get to know you. ^_^
San Fransico- Ooookay. . .well, Hsi Wu can turn human, so his mouth will get smaller. And no Viper/Jackie for a long while. That element is present in this story, but it isn't very important.
DanMat6288- Aww, Lilo & Stitch. I just love that movie, to the point that my computer desktop is Stitch. I haven't seen many of the show episodes, though. I saw the Tank episode today, and you're right, it is like the Shadow Eaters. Never seen the Babyfier episode, but it makes me so curious? Who becomes a baby? Is it Stitch? Or Jumba? hysterics That would be so cute!/hysterics. I read your fanfic, btw, and have an idea for one of my own. I just need to think of a name and number for the experiment.
ShadowElfBard- They so randomly changed the time of JCA from an early but acceptable 8:00 to *shudder* 7:00. Arg. I have friends who missed some serious episode-age because of the time change. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll put Season 4 into reruns any day now. I missed "The Good Guys" when it first showed, but I got all caught up. I will update indeed, never fear.
Miyo86- Hmm, some of the things you said were interesting. *evil, knowing grin* Uncle, Paco, & Tohru are safe, but why were those three captured? Think on that. Also, some problems may throw a wrench into Evil Jade's schemes.
Just a note: I have to go, since I have a huge research paper to write this weekend. It's eating my Saturday. Then, next weekend, when I would usually write a chapter, I have a Speech thing to go to. Shouldn't take all day, so I'll try to get a bit done. . .we'll see. But if I'm a week late, don't worry. I promise I won't take a month this time.
Bye! Thanks for reading.
"Well? Now what?" These were the scornful words spoken by Hsi Wu to Jade. They had just set their party down on Catalina Island, a small island not too far off the coast of Los Angeles, but far enough that no one would see them except the occasional camper who'd assume they were suffering from dehydration.
"If you can't figure that out, then I suppose I have my work cut out for me! It's so obvious!" huffed Jade in annoyance at the bat like demon. Tchang Zu puffed out his chest in annoyance.
"Hsi Wu, you disgrace all of your siblings," he said indignantly, giving a look to the others that made it clear he knew what she was talking about. The others mimicked that look, and Hsi Wu looked sheepish. But when his siblings weren't watching, he cast a suspicious glance at the girl.
Jade picked up a brown rock and cast it into the ocean angrily. Hsi Wu was not as dumb as he looked. Truth was, she didn't have much of a plan, and this was grating her nerves. She was Jade. Not only did she always have a plan, she always had the best, most creative plans anyone could've come up with. And now, when it actually mattered and someone actually wanted her to plan, she was stuck. Come to think of it, her planning senses had completely failed her recently. It was as though it took awhile for thoughts to travel from her mind to her actions. She had known reading a spell from a random spell book was stupid, but she had done it anyways, just because she had wanted to.
Oh, she would be the first to admit she did some pretty rash things. Well, okay, so Jackie would be the first to admit that, but Jade wouldn't deny it. She put herself in a lot of dangerous situations without thinking. Thing was, usually she then thought of a plan to get out of it. Jade liked to baffle people. They couldn't decide whether she was incredibly foolish or incredibly clever. The truth was, she was both. Jade's dark brows arched up. Yes, she was both, just as there was always that part of her that wanted to have fun and be selfish, and that part that wanted to help people and impress Jackie. Sometimes it was as though there were two different people inside her.
She spun around suddenly, to the demon's interest. They had been waiting for the girl to make her move, but they had not expect her to advance so suddenly on her sister. "You!" the girl hissed. "It's your fault."
The other girl blinked sanctimoniously. "I didn't do anything wrong." Unless it was Jade's imagination, her other half was becoming slightly bolder. If Yin had parts of Yang, did Yang have parts of Yin? Remembering her experiences with Tiger Jackie, Jade knew that this was so. But it didn't seem to be enough.
"I need to have conference with my sister regarding the nature of the attack," said Jade innocently to the demons. This did not go over well. Every demon's expression screwed up in protest. But it was Hsi Wu who spoke first.
"We can't leave her alone! She can't be trusted. It was stupid to even trust her this much!" he shouted, waving his wings frantically. Hsi Wu hated Jade for a reason which was totally unknown to their siblings. But Jade's eyes narrowed. She knew why. She was angry at him for betraying her trust and humiliating her, and he towards her for totally kicking his butt all the way back to the demon realm. Pride was at stake her, and pride was something the two of them had a lot of. Fortunately, other demons had a lot of pride, as well.
"My brother, perhaps I heard you wrong," said Tchang Zu dangerously. "Did you just say that my decision to bring the small Chan with us was stupid?"
"O-of course not, brother," said Hsi Wu, landing on the ground in recognition of his own defeat. "I merely-"
"Good," snapped Tchang Zu. "Child, you may have a minute of conference. Most of we demons recognize the honor held between siblings, even if some do not. But if you try to escape, you and your sister will die."
Jade nodded her agreement. It wasn't as though she wanted to escape, but she hoped she still could if she changed her mind. Her did she no longer posses her escape artist talents, as well? She pulled her sister into the bushes, hopefully out of earshot of the demons. She noticed several, including Hsi Wu watching them out of the corner of their eyes.
"What do you want?" asked yin Jade calmly, not at all bothered that she had been dragged into the bushes.
"I need. . ." Jade winced, "your help. Somehow, when we split apart, you managed to take along with the sissy part of me, the planning side. I can't think of a plan! Can you?"
Jade's sister blinked, and looked thoughtful. "I have a plan how to rescue the J-Team. How about we do that plan?"
"No!" exclaimed Jade, then lowered her voice. "Are you stupid? If we try anything, they'll kill us! And they can. I know! You help me take over the world, and I'll save the J-Team. Deal?" asked Jade desperately.
"No deal! I can't help you hurt people. Not even to save my friends," said the other Jade, her eyes brimming with tears. "Besides, you already promised we'd save Jackie. So you're gonna do it anyways, right?"
Jade raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sissy Jade? I kind of lied." Seeing her sister's shock face, she shrugged, and pointed at her and then to herself. "You good, me evil. Duh."
"You're just going to let everyone die?" shouted Jade in horror. The other girl frantically shushed her. Fortunately, it actually helped Jade's case with the demons, they didn't care if everyone died. "Listen," continued yin Jade. "You have to save them! They're our friends! I know you have good in you somewhere, because nobody can be all evil, Uncle says."
Jade shrugged. "No, I'm not all bad. Why do you think I've kept you alive for so long? But I don't even like the J-Team. There wouldn't even be a J- Team without me, but they're still always trying to boss me around. I'm glad they're probably dead. Now help me plan, or you'll find out that I'm still mostly bad."
"I won't help!" screamed Jade. "How can you talk about our family like that!" She sniffled back angry tears, and then, without warning, kicked her sister in the jaw. The attack took Yang Jade completely by surprise. She fell backwards onto the ground.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" whispered yin Jade in horror, bending over her sister and extending a hand. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Tears came back to her eyes. "I'm a bad, bad person!" she wailed. "Want me to find you an ice pack?"
Yang Jade sat up, and delivered her sister a hard blow to the head. Jade fell back, and sniffed again, but this time because her nose was beginning to bleed. Without warning, the other girl pounced and began unleashing all the fury of Jackie's kung fu instruction on the other girl. Yin Jade didn't want to hit Jade again.
She crouched down, hands on her head, wondering if she was going to die. She knew she should fight, Jackie was counting on it, but she just couldn't. She didn't like yang Jade as much as it was possible but a nearly completely benevolent girl could dislike someone. But she also knew that this girl had once been a part of her. When they were together, she acted bad, but she was still mostly good. It seemed the only way to save Jackie and the world would be to be reunited with this awful person. With that thought, she passed out.
Yang Jade stood over the unconscious girl. For a few moments, she considered killing her, but couldn't. It was like Jade had said- she wasn't completely evil, but the good in her disgusted her. She wanted to be cruel and ruthless like the demons. But Yin Jade was so much a part of her- more than a sister, she really was her. Yang Jade could not bring herself to finish the deed. She dragged the girl out from the bushes. The demons were nonplussed, they understood sibling disagreements.
Yang Jade's eyes narrowed. If she couldn't think of a good plan, she'd just do things her way. She played enough video games to be able to organize a perfect attack on the world as long as she had the right weapons, and the demons and talismans were perfect.
"Okay, here's the plan," she instructed, then remembered her position. "If it, of course, suits you, my lord," she said humbly to Tchang Zu. She had to remember that although she was in charge of the attack, she was still a servant and an expendable one at that. "All of you change to human form, and we take a boat back to Los Angeles. Don't want to lose the element of surprise. Once we're in the city, we'll get cracking on the takeover. We can't just division off, though. We need to help together to have better luck. Los Angeles is a really important city, and the United States is a really powerful country, so if we're successful then it gets way easier from here since everyone will be properly scared. But if we fail, we go down hard. Got it?"
Tchang Zu grinned, happy to approve this plan. Tso Lan looked ready to protest, for the thunder demon knew his brother as a demon of subtlety. And for Bai Tsa, the thought of taking a boat was incredibly demeaning. But once Tchang Zu gave his approval, everyone else grudgingly agreed. The plan was simple, brash, and required a lot of firepower. Tchang Zu liked it.
Author's Note~ This chapter came out of a particularly bad case of writer's block. I couldn't for the life of me think of a good plan, and then it hit me- what if Jade couldn't either? ^_^ Oh, just so you know, I hate skipping between worlds, but I just had to set up the situation with Jackie last chapter. The story should focus mainly on Jade and the demons for awhile. In the long run, what goes on with Jackie is more important, but a lot has to happen on earth before the Onacdr plot moves forward much. But I may add a bit of Jackie stuff soon. I know exactly where the story goes from here on out, but some of the details and timing eludes me. Thanks for your patience. Oh, and FYI, the State speech qualifiers are coming up soon, so my schedule may get very disrupted. But on the brighter side, I just got a laptop, so I'll be able to write while out of the house.
My parents once made me go to a week away camp on Catalina Island. It was camp hell on earth. Trust me, if I had seen a crop of demons camped out there, I wouldn't have even been surprised. Plus, the water around the island is all choppy, so I was taken quite seasick on the voyage. And I don't get seasick easily. Tohru would *not* approve.
Now, for a brief session of Q & A with all of my most beloved reviewers! *hugs everyone*
Vampire Naomi- You like CyrRa? *shrug* The whole reason I left her off so late is b/cause I wanted a loyal fanbase before I introduced her. I figured by this point you want to know what's gonna happen before you boycott me. Even I think she's kind of annoying, but there wasn't any other way to do her. But she does get more interesting later. Would I hurt Paco? Of course not. Don't worry.
Souma Kagura- Well, don't worry, you've got your demons here. Lotsa demons coming up. ^_^ Yes, I have notoriously long Author's notes. After the story's done, I'll probably go back and edit them. They're long because I enjoy these little chats with my reviewers. I think you guys are the coolest *ever* and it's nice to be able to get to know you. ^_^
San Fransico- Ooookay. . .well, Hsi Wu can turn human, so his mouth will get smaller. And no Viper/Jackie for a long while. That element is present in this story, but it isn't very important.
DanMat6288- Aww, Lilo & Stitch. I just love that movie, to the point that my computer desktop is Stitch. I haven't seen many of the show episodes, though. I saw the Tank episode today, and you're right, it is like the Shadow Eaters. Never seen the Babyfier episode, but it makes me so curious? Who becomes a baby? Is it Stitch? Or Jumba? hysterics That would be so cute!/hysterics. I read your fanfic, btw, and have an idea for one of my own. I just need to think of a name and number for the experiment.
ShadowElfBard- They so randomly changed the time of JCA from an early but acceptable 8:00 to *shudder* 7:00. Arg. I have friends who missed some serious episode-age because of the time change. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll put Season 4 into reruns any day now. I missed "The Good Guys" when it first showed, but I got all caught up. I will update indeed, never fear.
Miyo86- Hmm, some of the things you said were interesting. *evil, knowing grin* Uncle, Paco, & Tohru are safe, but why were those three captured? Think on that. Also, some problems may throw a wrench into Evil Jade's schemes.
Just a note: I have to go, since I have a huge research paper to write this weekend. It's eating my Saturday. Then, next weekend, when I would usually write a chapter, I have a Speech thing to go to. Shouldn't take all day, so I'll try to get a bit done. . .we'll see. But if I'm a week late, don't worry. I promise I won't take a month this time.
Bye! Thanks for reading.