Chapter 18~ Chapter of Boredom
Author's Note~ You could ostensibly skip this chapter. You wouldn't really have missed anything. I was fully intending for stuff of importance to have happened in this chapter. It didn't work out.
Peter MacCloud sat on the edge of the docks, eating a tuna sandwich and gazing over the water. From here it looked amazing- shimmering and bright blue, with seagulls overhead and the occasional sea lion popping it's head out of the water and crawling on the white rocks to sunbath. He sighed. It certainly wasn't that pretty riding back and forth from Catalina to Los Angeles harbor five times a day with his boat filled with seasick tourists and screaming babies. He finished the last of the sandwich, licked the remaining tuna off of her fingers, and took a long drink from a water bottle.
When he put the bottle down, he found himself eye to eye with a little girl. She was quite small, and he would've thought she was cute except she seemed to be wearing a strange sort of black leather, and was giving him a frankly disturbing stare. He nervously ran his finger through his sparse red hair. He didn't know how to talk to kids. It wasn't that he didn't like them- quite the contrary, in fact. But he and his wife had never had any of their own, and he didn't talk to them very often in his job. Nervously, he blinked and said
"Well, hello there, little lady" in what he hoped was a friendly voice. The girl scowled, and Peter added as a nervous after thought "Can I help you with something?"
The little girl suddenly stopped scowling, and said in an incredibly angelic voice "Excuse me, sir, but I really need to get back to Los Angeles. My friends and I are meeting my uncle there, but we don't have money. Could you give us a ride?" She cocked her head in a cute sort of way.
Peter thought about this. He technically wasn't supposed to give out rides, but he had to get back to Los Angeles. He hadn't been carrying passengers today but supplies for the island's shops, and now that his boat was empty, helping out a little girl would be costless. He smiled at her sweetly. "Sure thing, princess. We shove off in twenty minutes, so bring your friend on board and we can go."
"Okay, thank you!" grinned Jade, and then she skipped off. As soon as she was far away, she scowled and began to march towards a little shack labeled "Showers." There were two doors, one male and one female. Jade walked into the girl's showers. Individual stalls lined the walls of the shack. The air was dank and the walls had mildew and several spiders. Jade glanced around, and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, guys, come out."
The doors opened, and the demons, now in human form, came out. Jade suddenly realized how dumb her hiding place was- if any woman came in to use the showers, she'd see five men standing in there. But it was too late now. . .Jade had to check the demons' disguises.
There were many problems. All of the demons would've looked as though they were all part of the same Chinese family, except for some difficulties. First of all, only Hsi Wu and Xiao Fung were in modern day clothes, and Xiao Fung was wearing an orange prison uniform. The rest of the demons were dressed in long, ancient looking robes in patterns that resembled their coloring and powers. Then there was their hair- Tso Lan had a long ponytail. Po Kong had sparse hair in tufts like the top of her head. Dai Gui had horns and Bai Tsa had long, aqua colored hair in tentacles waving about her head like Medusa. Tchang Zu was well over seven feet tall and exceptionally muscular, and wearing battle armor.
"No!" groaned Jade. It was pretty obvious there was something strange about these humans. There were strange people all over L.A., but they still didn't need any extra attention. "No!" she exclaimed again. "You're all wrong!"
"What is wrong?" asked Tchang Zu, towering above his siblings. "Do you question our disguises?" he asked annoyedly. If he had to be a human, he was certainly going to be an above average one.
Jade sighed, calming herself. "Look, you're disguises are. . .interesting. . .but they won't work for the plan. We have to be inconspicuous. We need to wear normal clothes and have normal hairstyle and be normal sized." She noticed Tchang Zu's glare, and added "I mean, you're so impressive looking that it'll draw attention." Several of the demons sighed, and then all hairstyles except the hair of Hsi Wu's became straight, dark, and very long. All of the clothes except Hsi Wu's and Xiao Fung's became simple but imperial robes. Tchang Zu shrank slightly.
Jade sighed. Aside from Hsi Wu, the demons had seen very little of present day human culture. She wasn't sure how to explain. Then, she glanced out the window at the beach near the docks. There were people of all ages, races, and looks lying in the sand, swimming in the waves, playing volleyball on the beach or relaxing. "Listen," she said patiently. "Look at the people out there. We look and dress a lot differently today then we did back then. People usually don't wear robes, and men usually have short hair. But why don't you look at some of the people out there, and find a style you like. And Xiao Fung, please, not the prison uniform. It looks suspicious."
The demons moved collectively out of the showers and peered at the beach. There was complete silence for a few minutes, and then slowly they began to file out to explore. They got some funny looks in their clothing, but Jade figured most people would just assume that they were wearing bathing suit cover-ups.
"Pathetic," came a low whisper from behind Jade. She spun around, and realized that one demon had been left behind. He looked differently than Jade's memories of Seymour. He was not a little boy, but a young man probably in his late teens. She had to admit he had gotten the human look down. He was tall, but not so tall as to look out of place, and had only the light muscle tone of an athlete rather than a bulky warrior. His hair remained a gray color and kept the shape of his head, and yet somehow matched the kind of spiked style worn by the surfers of the area, not to mention he had a sort of scruffy beard the same as he had as a demon. He had developed a tan to match the beachgoers, and wore baggy jean shorts and a blue t-shirt that Jade had to admit was actually stylish. In fact, he was very handsome in a grumpy, moody sort of way. Jade suspected that many girls at her school would develop a crush on him. But she was too smart to fall for a demon. The real reason she was impressed was that he had managed to keep his style while looking completely human.
"What's pathetic?" Jade asked conversationally, her guard up, an edgy tone to her voice. Hsi Wu didn't answer her at first, he just gave her an angry glare, as though he hadn't even bothered to notice she was there. Finally, he bothered to meet her eyes with his honey colored ones.
"They are," he said angrily. "So obsessed with looking impressive and being superior and gaining power that they can't see the goal."
"Well, if the goal *isn't* gaining power or being superior, what is it?" asked Jade smugly with a raised eyebrow. Hsi Wu shook his head and cast his golden eyes to the cloudless skies above.
"The goal is freedom," he whispered ferverently. "But they forget that in all their foolishness."
Jade was going to ask Hsi Wu to clarify, when she noticed someone approaching. It was a woman, tall, muscular, and strong but absolutely beautiful. She had bronze skin and stormy blue eyes, as well as white blond hair falling down her back in waves. She wore extremely tight blue jeans, sandals, and a white tank top with blue patterns on it. "I chose," said Bai Tsa with a smile. Jade gave her the thumbs up, giving Bai Tsa a confused look, but then she seemed to understand. Jade knew Bai Tsa's new look would still attract attention, but the form was perfect for the water demon.
The rest of the demons began coming back. Xiao Fung was the first after Bai Tsa. His human form was exactly as it had been- a short and stocky man with an enormous chin and dramatic looks, but now he was wearing shorts, sandals, small sunglasses and a green Hawaiian shirt with blue-purple flowers on it. Jade suppressed a giggle, but knew that he'd fit right in posing as a tourist in L.A.
Po Kong then returned. She was a middle aged woman, tall and extremely large and imposing. She had long, wavy dark hair and very green eyes, a large and rather cruel smile, and heavy mascara and lipstick. She was wearing a long dress, bright green, and boots with a scaly pattern.
Finally, Tso Lan, Tchang Zu, and Dai Gui came back. Dai Gui and Tchang Zu were both obviously based on the muscular volleyball players- they lacked imagination, so had very nearly copied the looks of the young men. Tchang Zu was the taller of the two, with chin length blond hair and dramatically handsome features with a blue and yellow t-shirt and kaki shorts. Dai Gui was smaller with Hispanic features. He had dark hair, dark eyes, a rather stupid smile, and a t-shirt that said "Red Bull." Tso Lan, on the other hand, was tall but skinny and good looking in a geeky way. He had extremely pale skin, nearly black eyes, dark hair in a long ponytail, a red and gold sweater and very straight, pressed kaki pants. He didn't look exactly happy with his changed features, but Jade could tell he thought his disguise by far the best.
"Okay, good, we all look really good," said Jade proudly, looking over the demons. "Now we had better get to the boat. Who has my sister?" she asked, looking around at the demons and seeing an absence of other young girls.
"I'll get her," said Po Kong. The demon walks briskly into the showers, and came out carrying a little girl who appeared to be asleep. Po Kong could easily pass as a mother to Jade's sleeping sister.
"Let's go!" shouted Jade enthusiastically, and they all hurried towards the docks except Tso Lan, who simply did not run, and Tchang Zu, who walked slowly and majestically behind. They were late reaching Peter's boat, but he had waited for Jade. When he saw her seven friends plus twin, he began to stare.
"All of you need a ride?" he asked in wonder, looking them up and down. When he got to Bai Tsa he quickly stared at the ground. She grinned a slightly evil grin, that clearly said 'This is fun. . .'
"Yep," said Jade, "These are my cousins, aunt, and uncle. It's a family reunion," she said simply.
Peter shrugged, and sighed. "Well, alright, then. I'm Peter MacCloud, your captain, and I'll need to take all your names for company reasons," he said, and turned to Tso Lan, who Jade had indicated as her uncle. Tso Lan stared, and Jade tried to think of a way to give names for the demons without getting Peter suspicious. "Um, your name, sir?" Peter asked again.
Jade gave Tso Lan a look, and he knew not to give his own name. He knew of many cultural names, but wasn't sure which were appropriate in modern times. "We are the Chan family," he said, giving a surname he knew. "I am. . ." he thought of the few modern names he had heard. "Valmont Chan."
Peter frowned, thinking that Valmont was a bit of an odd name, but didn't comment. He then turned towards Po Kong, but before he could say anything, Hsi Wu stepped in. He had been the longest in the mortal world, and knew more mortal names than any of the rest. He began to name each of his siblings, using the names of students from Jade's class. "This is my Uncle Valmont, my Aunt Doris, and my cousins Anthony, Lauren, John, and Drew," he said gesturing to Tso Lan, Po Kong, Xiao Fung, Bai Tsa, Tchang Zu, and Dai Gui respectively.
"Anthony?" muttered Xiao Fung. "I want a better name then that. Why can't I be Valmont?"
"I would prefer to be introduced first from now on," instructed Tchang Zu, newly dubbed Drew. "And incidentally, as the oldest I should be the uncle and Tso Lan the cousin."
"Okay," said Peter in slight bewilderment, nodding to Hsi Wu, who was the only one who wasn't acting as though these names were new to him. "How about you and the little girl?"
"Oh, yes. This is Jade. She is a very distant and inferior cousin," said Hsi Wu, making Peter change his mind about him being the sane one. "And I am Seymour." Jade frowned at the insult to her, and practically snarled at Hsi Wu's chosen name.
"Well, it's good to meet you all. Uh, Mr. Chan?" he said, nodding to Tso Lan. "Would you sign here please? Just a liability form." He handed the paper to Tso Lan, who scrawled 'Valmont' across the paper and handed it back to Peter.
Peter pocketed the paper, and then smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you all. Welcome aboard. It'll be about two hours to Los Angeles, so make yourself comfortable." He walked into the ship's control room, leaving his passengers.
As the boat left the dock, all of the demons followed Peter's command to make themselves comfortable. Xiao Fung instantly lay across the sofa, watching the television that was turned on in the corner with a bored expression. Bai Tsa walked out to the bow of the ship and stood in the spray of the water, looking jealously at the sea lions that played near the boat. Dai Gui found the luggage storage closet and shut the door, curling up inside.
Po Kong began making herself at home at the snack bar, although presently she became seasick and sat next to Xiao Fung on the couch. Tso Lan found an unoccupied corner of the ship and sat meditatively, making things levitate. Hsi Wu made for the top of the ship, nearer to his domain, found found Tchang Zu already there, making himself look important. He was shooed back below deck, to the only seats not taken by a demon who found him annoying.
Just a little girl. Neither Jade nor Hsi Wu was very happy about the seating arrangements. Jade crossed her arms and glared at nothing in particular. Hsi Wu still sat there. She sighed, and began drumming her fingers against the bench. He was still there. "Isn't there somewhere else you can sit?" she snarled. "There's plenty of other seats. Go sit with Po Kong or something."
"I will sit where I please, mortal!" snapped Hsi Wu. He crossed his arms and stared angrily at the floor. A breeze ruffled his grey hair, and he sighed, looking out the window. Jade glared back, but then became bored with that. She continued drumming her fingers against the bench. Then, she began kicking her feet. "Stop that," muttered Hsi Wu in discomfort. She kicked extra hard. "Stop!" he shouted. "It is bad enough that I am forced to sit inside this horrible cabin, I do not also want to be annoyed by a puny human girl!"
"Nobody's making you sit here," said Jade moodily. "Go ride in the lifeboat for all I care."
"Shut up," said Hsi Wu. Jade glanced at him and felt an unexpected dose of the elusive yin in her. She realized that none of the demons would let Hsi Wu sit near them because he was the smallest, no one would stand up for him, and frankly he was also really annoying. She'd seen how they hit him around. But despite the fact that he was probably the demon she hated the most, she felt a surge of anger for his sake. She dealt with enough people at school who picked on her just because she was small, didn't have any friends, and was maybe just a bit annoying to them. She hated bullies even more than she hated Hsi Wu. But she was on the demon's side for now, so she merely followed his command, and shut up.
It was boring. Jade was probably the most bored she had been in her entire life, including the time Jackie gave his abysmal presentation at school career day. She almost wished her sister was awake. . .then maybe she'd have someone to talk to. She glanced at Hsi Wu. He was staring out the window, and didn't look like he wanted to be disturbed. She sighed and lay her head in her hands. Hopefully they'd be in Los Angeles before she lost her mind.
Hsi Wu:: Tso Lan:: Tchang Zu:: Bai Tsa:: Dai Gui :: Po Kong:: Xiao Fung
Author's Notes~ 100 reviews! This calls for a celebration! My 100th reviewer is known only as '?'. Thank you, anonymous '?'!!!
I truly meant to have finished with the battle of L.A. in this chapter, but I tend to ramble on. Still, I thought you might like me to stop and go into some detail about the demons human forms and why they choose them.
I am writing this story on my new laptop! That's right! It is the most spiffilicious laptop in the world. *hugs laptop* Hopefully this will cut back on some of those long delays in my fics, since now I can write while I travel, in my room, on the couch, in the car. . .the possibilities are endless!!! Lol. Oh, just so you know, that long boring name bit wasn't completely random.
Forgive me that this is late and isn't beta'd. I put writing it off until now, because I've been in a mood to write some Harry Potter fanfic lately. plugI don't know if any of you read Harry Potter, but if you have, check out my fics on my account, Rinnington. . I write mainly fics about MWPP, especially Remus, although I am writing a rather. . .odd parody fic about Mary Sues in HP fanfiction. I'd love to get a review from one of you./plug
DanMat- Heeheehee, that baby episode sounds hilarious. As for your fic idea, I'll admit I'm not a big fan of crossover fics, but it does sound like a good idea. So, how will Jumba locate the tiger? Will Jackie and the crew be in it? Will it be in Kauai or San Francisco? We know how much Stitch has always wanted to visit S.F. Will Lilo meet Jade? These two have quite a lot in common with each other. Will Nani meet Jackie? Lol. They could hold a seminar on the strategies for raising disobedient little girls with a tendency to get involved in dangerous and unusual activities. You know what would be funny? If to stop Jumba, Lilo used the talismans. She'd have more powers than Stitch. I wonder how he'd feel about that. *grin* Tell me when you write this thing.
Scottishwolf- Yes, you're right about Uncle and Tohru, and as for Paco, you'll find out later. Thank you for your compliment about the demons. I haven't seen most of the demon episodes in so long it's hard. For example, I watched the Xiao Fung episode awhile ago and realized I've been doing him wrong. But writing the demons is kind of fun. ^_^
Yu Mutuo- Why, thank you! I read your fic "Trouble Follows Me," btw. I hope to read the rest of your stuff.
Flamestrike- Hmmm. . .are yin and yang going to beat the demons, or will the J-Team intervene? Some new developments in chapters coming up will prove that one of these choices is an impossibility, and that there are worse things out there than the demons. That's all I'm going to say.
ShadowElfBard- Let me know when you watch them! I'm curious. Oh, and is it just me, or did they replace JCA with Scooby Doo this morning? Why? Why would they do that? Is it just today, or. . . say it ain't so. . . forever?
VampireNaomi- Lol, I thought the Jades fighting was kind of funny. I can just picture Jade fighting with herself in my mind. I can also picture L.A. under demon attack. *grin*
Souma Kagura- In response to your question, partially, yes, but there's simply an undertone that reminds me a lot of Ni Tang. However, the one that concerned me is coming up, involves Paco, and was invented before I read a chapter of Heing Mei which includes something rather similar. I'll say no more.
Author's Note~ You could ostensibly skip this chapter. You wouldn't really have missed anything. I was fully intending for stuff of importance to have happened in this chapter. It didn't work out.
Peter MacCloud sat on the edge of the docks, eating a tuna sandwich and gazing over the water. From here it looked amazing- shimmering and bright blue, with seagulls overhead and the occasional sea lion popping it's head out of the water and crawling on the white rocks to sunbath. He sighed. It certainly wasn't that pretty riding back and forth from Catalina to Los Angeles harbor five times a day with his boat filled with seasick tourists and screaming babies. He finished the last of the sandwich, licked the remaining tuna off of her fingers, and took a long drink from a water bottle.
When he put the bottle down, he found himself eye to eye with a little girl. She was quite small, and he would've thought she was cute except she seemed to be wearing a strange sort of black leather, and was giving him a frankly disturbing stare. He nervously ran his finger through his sparse red hair. He didn't know how to talk to kids. It wasn't that he didn't like them- quite the contrary, in fact. But he and his wife had never had any of their own, and he didn't talk to them very often in his job. Nervously, he blinked and said
"Well, hello there, little lady" in what he hoped was a friendly voice. The girl scowled, and Peter added as a nervous after thought "Can I help you with something?"
The little girl suddenly stopped scowling, and said in an incredibly angelic voice "Excuse me, sir, but I really need to get back to Los Angeles. My friends and I are meeting my uncle there, but we don't have money. Could you give us a ride?" She cocked her head in a cute sort of way.
Peter thought about this. He technically wasn't supposed to give out rides, but he had to get back to Los Angeles. He hadn't been carrying passengers today but supplies for the island's shops, and now that his boat was empty, helping out a little girl would be costless. He smiled at her sweetly. "Sure thing, princess. We shove off in twenty minutes, so bring your friend on board and we can go."
"Okay, thank you!" grinned Jade, and then she skipped off. As soon as she was far away, she scowled and began to march towards a little shack labeled "Showers." There were two doors, one male and one female. Jade walked into the girl's showers. Individual stalls lined the walls of the shack. The air was dank and the walls had mildew and several spiders. Jade glanced around, and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, guys, come out."
The doors opened, and the demons, now in human form, came out. Jade suddenly realized how dumb her hiding place was- if any woman came in to use the showers, she'd see five men standing in there. But it was too late now. . .Jade had to check the demons' disguises.
There were many problems. All of the demons would've looked as though they were all part of the same Chinese family, except for some difficulties. First of all, only Hsi Wu and Xiao Fung were in modern day clothes, and Xiao Fung was wearing an orange prison uniform. The rest of the demons were dressed in long, ancient looking robes in patterns that resembled their coloring and powers. Then there was their hair- Tso Lan had a long ponytail. Po Kong had sparse hair in tufts like the top of her head. Dai Gui had horns and Bai Tsa had long, aqua colored hair in tentacles waving about her head like Medusa. Tchang Zu was well over seven feet tall and exceptionally muscular, and wearing battle armor.
"No!" groaned Jade. It was pretty obvious there was something strange about these humans. There were strange people all over L.A., but they still didn't need any extra attention. "No!" she exclaimed again. "You're all wrong!"
"What is wrong?" asked Tchang Zu, towering above his siblings. "Do you question our disguises?" he asked annoyedly. If he had to be a human, he was certainly going to be an above average one.
Jade sighed, calming herself. "Look, you're disguises are. . .interesting. . .but they won't work for the plan. We have to be inconspicuous. We need to wear normal clothes and have normal hairstyle and be normal sized." She noticed Tchang Zu's glare, and added "I mean, you're so impressive looking that it'll draw attention." Several of the demons sighed, and then all hairstyles except the hair of Hsi Wu's became straight, dark, and very long. All of the clothes except Hsi Wu's and Xiao Fung's became simple but imperial robes. Tchang Zu shrank slightly.
Jade sighed. Aside from Hsi Wu, the demons had seen very little of present day human culture. She wasn't sure how to explain. Then, she glanced out the window at the beach near the docks. There were people of all ages, races, and looks lying in the sand, swimming in the waves, playing volleyball on the beach or relaxing. "Listen," she said patiently. "Look at the people out there. We look and dress a lot differently today then we did back then. People usually don't wear robes, and men usually have short hair. But why don't you look at some of the people out there, and find a style you like. And Xiao Fung, please, not the prison uniform. It looks suspicious."
The demons moved collectively out of the showers and peered at the beach. There was complete silence for a few minutes, and then slowly they began to file out to explore. They got some funny looks in their clothing, but Jade figured most people would just assume that they were wearing bathing suit cover-ups.
"Pathetic," came a low whisper from behind Jade. She spun around, and realized that one demon had been left behind. He looked differently than Jade's memories of Seymour. He was not a little boy, but a young man probably in his late teens. She had to admit he had gotten the human look down. He was tall, but not so tall as to look out of place, and had only the light muscle tone of an athlete rather than a bulky warrior. His hair remained a gray color and kept the shape of his head, and yet somehow matched the kind of spiked style worn by the surfers of the area, not to mention he had a sort of scruffy beard the same as he had as a demon. He had developed a tan to match the beachgoers, and wore baggy jean shorts and a blue t-shirt that Jade had to admit was actually stylish. In fact, he was very handsome in a grumpy, moody sort of way. Jade suspected that many girls at her school would develop a crush on him. But she was too smart to fall for a demon. The real reason she was impressed was that he had managed to keep his style while looking completely human.
"What's pathetic?" Jade asked conversationally, her guard up, an edgy tone to her voice. Hsi Wu didn't answer her at first, he just gave her an angry glare, as though he hadn't even bothered to notice she was there. Finally, he bothered to meet her eyes with his honey colored ones.
"They are," he said angrily. "So obsessed with looking impressive and being superior and gaining power that they can't see the goal."
"Well, if the goal *isn't* gaining power or being superior, what is it?" asked Jade smugly with a raised eyebrow. Hsi Wu shook his head and cast his golden eyes to the cloudless skies above.
"The goal is freedom," he whispered ferverently. "But they forget that in all their foolishness."
Jade was going to ask Hsi Wu to clarify, when she noticed someone approaching. It was a woman, tall, muscular, and strong but absolutely beautiful. She had bronze skin and stormy blue eyes, as well as white blond hair falling down her back in waves. She wore extremely tight blue jeans, sandals, and a white tank top with blue patterns on it. "I chose," said Bai Tsa with a smile. Jade gave her the thumbs up, giving Bai Tsa a confused look, but then she seemed to understand. Jade knew Bai Tsa's new look would still attract attention, but the form was perfect for the water demon.
The rest of the demons began coming back. Xiao Fung was the first after Bai Tsa. His human form was exactly as it had been- a short and stocky man with an enormous chin and dramatic looks, but now he was wearing shorts, sandals, small sunglasses and a green Hawaiian shirt with blue-purple flowers on it. Jade suppressed a giggle, but knew that he'd fit right in posing as a tourist in L.A.
Po Kong then returned. She was a middle aged woman, tall and extremely large and imposing. She had long, wavy dark hair and very green eyes, a large and rather cruel smile, and heavy mascara and lipstick. She was wearing a long dress, bright green, and boots with a scaly pattern.
Finally, Tso Lan, Tchang Zu, and Dai Gui came back. Dai Gui and Tchang Zu were both obviously based on the muscular volleyball players- they lacked imagination, so had very nearly copied the looks of the young men. Tchang Zu was the taller of the two, with chin length blond hair and dramatically handsome features with a blue and yellow t-shirt and kaki shorts. Dai Gui was smaller with Hispanic features. He had dark hair, dark eyes, a rather stupid smile, and a t-shirt that said "Red Bull." Tso Lan, on the other hand, was tall but skinny and good looking in a geeky way. He had extremely pale skin, nearly black eyes, dark hair in a long ponytail, a red and gold sweater and very straight, pressed kaki pants. He didn't look exactly happy with his changed features, but Jade could tell he thought his disguise by far the best.
"Okay, good, we all look really good," said Jade proudly, looking over the demons. "Now we had better get to the boat. Who has my sister?" she asked, looking around at the demons and seeing an absence of other young girls.
"I'll get her," said Po Kong. The demon walks briskly into the showers, and came out carrying a little girl who appeared to be asleep. Po Kong could easily pass as a mother to Jade's sleeping sister.
"Let's go!" shouted Jade enthusiastically, and they all hurried towards the docks except Tso Lan, who simply did not run, and Tchang Zu, who walked slowly and majestically behind. They were late reaching Peter's boat, but he had waited for Jade. When he saw her seven friends plus twin, he began to stare.
"All of you need a ride?" he asked in wonder, looking them up and down. When he got to Bai Tsa he quickly stared at the ground. She grinned a slightly evil grin, that clearly said 'This is fun. . .'
"Yep," said Jade, "These are my cousins, aunt, and uncle. It's a family reunion," she said simply.
Peter shrugged, and sighed. "Well, alright, then. I'm Peter MacCloud, your captain, and I'll need to take all your names for company reasons," he said, and turned to Tso Lan, who Jade had indicated as her uncle. Tso Lan stared, and Jade tried to think of a way to give names for the demons without getting Peter suspicious. "Um, your name, sir?" Peter asked again.
Jade gave Tso Lan a look, and he knew not to give his own name. He knew of many cultural names, but wasn't sure which were appropriate in modern times. "We are the Chan family," he said, giving a surname he knew. "I am. . ." he thought of the few modern names he had heard. "Valmont Chan."
Peter frowned, thinking that Valmont was a bit of an odd name, but didn't comment. He then turned towards Po Kong, but before he could say anything, Hsi Wu stepped in. He had been the longest in the mortal world, and knew more mortal names than any of the rest. He began to name each of his siblings, using the names of students from Jade's class. "This is my Uncle Valmont, my Aunt Doris, and my cousins Anthony, Lauren, John, and Drew," he said gesturing to Tso Lan, Po Kong, Xiao Fung, Bai Tsa, Tchang Zu, and Dai Gui respectively.
"Anthony?" muttered Xiao Fung. "I want a better name then that. Why can't I be Valmont?"
"I would prefer to be introduced first from now on," instructed Tchang Zu, newly dubbed Drew. "And incidentally, as the oldest I should be the uncle and Tso Lan the cousin."
"Okay," said Peter in slight bewilderment, nodding to Hsi Wu, who was the only one who wasn't acting as though these names were new to him. "How about you and the little girl?"
"Oh, yes. This is Jade. She is a very distant and inferior cousin," said Hsi Wu, making Peter change his mind about him being the sane one. "And I am Seymour." Jade frowned at the insult to her, and practically snarled at Hsi Wu's chosen name.
"Well, it's good to meet you all. Uh, Mr. Chan?" he said, nodding to Tso Lan. "Would you sign here please? Just a liability form." He handed the paper to Tso Lan, who scrawled 'Valmont' across the paper and handed it back to Peter.
Peter pocketed the paper, and then smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you all. Welcome aboard. It'll be about two hours to Los Angeles, so make yourself comfortable." He walked into the ship's control room, leaving his passengers.
As the boat left the dock, all of the demons followed Peter's command to make themselves comfortable. Xiao Fung instantly lay across the sofa, watching the television that was turned on in the corner with a bored expression. Bai Tsa walked out to the bow of the ship and stood in the spray of the water, looking jealously at the sea lions that played near the boat. Dai Gui found the luggage storage closet and shut the door, curling up inside.
Po Kong began making herself at home at the snack bar, although presently she became seasick and sat next to Xiao Fung on the couch. Tso Lan found an unoccupied corner of the ship and sat meditatively, making things levitate. Hsi Wu made for the top of the ship, nearer to his domain, found found Tchang Zu already there, making himself look important. He was shooed back below deck, to the only seats not taken by a demon who found him annoying.
Just a little girl. Neither Jade nor Hsi Wu was very happy about the seating arrangements. Jade crossed her arms and glared at nothing in particular. Hsi Wu still sat there. She sighed, and began drumming her fingers against the bench. He was still there. "Isn't there somewhere else you can sit?" she snarled. "There's plenty of other seats. Go sit with Po Kong or something."
"I will sit where I please, mortal!" snapped Hsi Wu. He crossed his arms and stared angrily at the floor. A breeze ruffled his grey hair, and he sighed, looking out the window. Jade glared back, but then became bored with that. She continued drumming her fingers against the bench. Then, she began kicking her feet. "Stop that," muttered Hsi Wu in discomfort. She kicked extra hard. "Stop!" he shouted. "It is bad enough that I am forced to sit inside this horrible cabin, I do not also want to be annoyed by a puny human girl!"
"Nobody's making you sit here," said Jade moodily. "Go ride in the lifeboat for all I care."
"Shut up," said Hsi Wu. Jade glanced at him and felt an unexpected dose of the elusive yin in her. She realized that none of the demons would let Hsi Wu sit near them because he was the smallest, no one would stand up for him, and frankly he was also really annoying. She'd seen how they hit him around. But despite the fact that he was probably the demon she hated the most, she felt a surge of anger for his sake. She dealt with enough people at school who picked on her just because she was small, didn't have any friends, and was maybe just a bit annoying to them. She hated bullies even more than she hated Hsi Wu. But she was on the demon's side for now, so she merely followed his command, and shut up.
It was boring. Jade was probably the most bored she had been in her entire life, including the time Jackie gave his abysmal presentation at school career day. She almost wished her sister was awake. . .then maybe she'd have someone to talk to. She glanced at Hsi Wu. He was staring out the window, and didn't look like he wanted to be disturbed. She sighed and lay her head in her hands. Hopefully they'd be in Los Angeles before she lost her mind.
Hsi Wu:: Tso Lan:: Tchang Zu:: Bai Tsa:: Dai Gui :: Po Kong:: Xiao Fung
Author's Notes~ 100 reviews! This calls for a celebration! My 100th reviewer is known only as '?'. Thank you, anonymous '?'!!!
I truly meant to have finished with the battle of L.A. in this chapter, but I tend to ramble on. Still, I thought you might like me to stop and go into some detail about the demons human forms and why they choose them.
I am writing this story on my new laptop! That's right! It is the most spiffilicious laptop in the world. *hugs laptop* Hopefully this will cut back on some of those long delays in my fics, since now I can write while I travel, in my room, on the couch, in the car. . .the possibilities are endless!!! Lol. Oh, just so you know, that long boring name bit wasn't completely random.
Forgive me that this is late and isn't beta'd. I put writing it off until now, because I've been in a mood to write some Harry Potter fanfic lately. plugI don't know if any of you read Harry Potter, but if you have, check out my fics on my account, Rinnington. . I write mainly fics about MWPP, especially Remus, although I am writing a rather. . .odd parody fic about Mary Sues in HP fanfiction. I'd love to get a review from one of you./plug
DanMat- Heeheehee, that baby episode sounds hilarious. As for your fic idea, I'll admit I'm not a big fan of crossover fics, but it does sound like a good idea. So, how will Jumba locate the tiger? Will Jackie and the crew be in it? Will it be in Kauai or San Francisco? We know how much Stitch has always wanted to visit S.F. Will Lilo meet Jade? These two have quite a lot in common with each other. Will Nani meet Jackie? Lol. They could hold a seminar on the strategies for raising disobedient little girls with a tendency to get involved in dangerous and unusual activities. You know what would be funny? If to stop Jumba, Lilo used the talismans. She'd have more powers than Stitch. I wonder how he'd feel about that. *grin* Tell me when you write this thing.
Scottishwolf- Yes, you're right about Uncle and Tohru, and as for Paco, you'll find out later. Thank you for your compliment about the demons. I haven't seen most of the demon episodes in so long it's hard. For example, I watched the Xiao Fung episode awhile ago and realized I've been doing him wrong. But writing the demons is kind of fun. ^_^
Yu Mutuo- Why, thank you! I read your fic "Trouble Follows Me," btw. I hope to read the rest of your stuff.
Flamestrike- Hmmm. . .are yin and yang going to beat the demons, or will the J-Team intervene? Some new developments in chapters coming up will prove that one of these choices is an impossibility, and that there are worse things out there than the demons. That's all I'm going to say.
ShadowElfBard- Let me know when you watch them! I'm curious. Oh, and is it just me, or did they replace JCA with Scooby Doo this morning? Why? Why would they do that? Is it just today, or. . . say it ain't so. . . forever?
VampireNaomi- Lol, I thought the Jades fighting was kind of funny. I can just picture Jade fighting with herself in my mind. I can also picture L.A. under demon attack. *grin*
Souma Kagura- In response to your question, partially, yes, but there's simply an undertone that reminds me a lot of Ni Tang. However, the one that concerned me is coming up, involves Paco, and was invented before I read a chapter of Heing Mei which includes something rather similar. I'll say no more.