Chapter 21 Terms of the Agreement
"You should wake up," hissed a voice right above Jade. She opened her eyes and nearly screamed when she saw the glowing red eyes of a demon right above her. Then, she remembered.
"Get out of my face!" she shouted and struggled, trying to worm her way out of his grip. And then she realized that they were currently flying several hundred feet above the earth. He stopped struggling, but fixed her face with a glare.
Hsi Wu shook his head and frowned. "It is too bad you and your other half rejoined. You were so much more interesting before. I had no idea humans could be so demonic. But now you are back to the heroics, aren't you?"
Jade glared, his comment hurting. She could hardly believe all of the things she had done. Abandoned the J-Team, helped the demons, nearly got Captain Black killed. . .she hated to think her bad side was really so bad. Even Jackie's bad side hadn't done anything like that. "Well, I'm through helping you," she stated as Hsi Wu began to descend. They were heading into a mountainous area, and the sky demon had to maneuver deftly between tree covers. "Maybe my evil side wants to help demons, but not me. Don't worry, because I'll have all of you back to the Netherworld in the blink of an eye."
Hsi Wu gave her a look of deep disgust. "You are a fool, as all mortals of your clan seem to be. You cannot defeat us- all seven of us are free and the only chi wizards learned in the art of banishment are sealed to their doom in the demon realm. Don't think that they will survive- their flesh is all that keeps our masters content not to spread their influence into this world. I happen to like this world, Jade. Nothing can beat the freedom found here. My siblings will not be pleased with any attempts of yours. They will already be angry with the loss of the battle, and you will be killed. It is much better to collaborate, and be protected as our personal servant when the world is ours."
"Too bad the world will never be yours," commented Jade in anger. "Don't you watch movies? Good always triumphs over evil."
"Real life is different," said Hsi Wu. "The strongest win. Good and evil has nothing to do with it. I tolerate you enough that I can keep you safe if you do not do anything foolish. Trust me, Jade, this is a lesson I've learned over many centuries."
"Brother Hsi Wu?" asked a voice. "Do I hear you conversing with the mortal?" Hsi Wu froze, but obviously the demons heard nothing of importance, as emerging from the trees were Tso Lan and Tchang Zu. While Tso Lan could keep useful information to himself, Tchang Zu did not know the meaning of subtlety. It was obvious he had no quarrel with Hsi Wu, as he channeled his fury towards Jade.
"The little worm betrayed us, brothers!" he hissed. "She led us into a trap. The fool. We will rise from this defeat and seek revenge against all who opposed us, beginning with her!"
The thunder demon looked prepared to kill the girl, but Hsi Wu stepped forward and said hurriedly, "Brother, I believe the girl's intentions were honorable. This setback is merely bad luck, soon fixed. We shall need a mortal's expertise to locate Captain Black, shall we not?"
Tso Lan nodded softly behind Tchang Zu, but the thunder demon ignored his younger brother. "Hsi Wu," he said angrily. "Do you dare question my judgement? Dishonoring our family is a crime worthy of death." With a mighty fist, he swung and knocked Hsi Wu into a tree.
"Oh, shut up and leave him alone," groaned Jade, growing extremely impatient. "If there's one thing I hate, it's bullies. But I don't care about your stupid fights. I'm outta here."
"You will not leave here alive, small Chan," hissed Tchang Zu. The girl was already walking off, but Tchang Zu prepared to use his powers. But at that moment, Hsi Wu knocked off his daze and, eyes narrowed in anger, charged at Tchang Zu. Tso Lan stopped him in midair.
"Do not allow the stress of today's battle overcome your wits, brother," he whispered warningly. "We do not practice defiance against our elders, so that was certainly not your intention, was it?" He let go of Hsi Wu, and the sky demon fell. It became clear that Jade was no longer among them. Tchang Zu looked as though he were about to do something drastic, but first Tso Lan spoke. "Hsi Wu, I suggest you retrieve the child quickly, as she may be useful. If it is permissible to my brother, of course," he said as an afterthought, a mere formality.
"Yes," agreed Tchang Zu, knowing that to say otherwise would be idiocy. "You are responsible for her loss. Do not return until you have her in your claws, brother. I do not want to see your disgusting face again until you have proven yourself worthy of your blood."
Hsi Wu sat where he had fallen and glared in defiance, but finally stood, shook the mud off his wings, and took off to where Jade had gone, grumbling.
Jade crawled through the brush, feeling the sharp spines tear at her body. She kept glancing over her shoulder, afraid that one of the demons would catch up to her. This was hopeless. She couldn't move as fast as they, and even if they didn't catch her, she didn't even know if she was moving north anymore. How would she ever get to San Francisco, or Australia for that matter? And once there, what would she do?
There was a swoop of air and a hissing voice. "Jade," he called. Jade nearly gasped. Hsi Wu was nearby. She crawled behind the brush next to her and held her breath, hoping he'd leave her alone.
"Jade," said the voice again, "Don't be foolish. I can hear the very beating of your heart, and feel the blood in your veins." Jade shuddered at his tone, and wondered if he was going to kill her. As if reading her mind, Hsi Wu said "Come out, little Jade, and I won't hurt you. Only, I can't make promises for my siblings." He was getting closer. Jade frowned, and stepped out of her hiding spot.
"Leave me alone, Hsi Wu," she said venomously, her eyes narrowed. Hsi Wu chuckled, stopping in mid air and landing next to her.
"Come. I'm taking you back to my siblings," he said, frowning. "Don't struggle, It'll only make this more difficult."
Jade stuck her tongue out. "Hsi Wu, why do you even listen to your stupid siblings? You don't even like them."
To her surprise, Hsi Wu hit her hard in the face with the back of his hand. "Don't speak ill of my family, mortal. I could kill you in one blow."
Jade glared at him, and didn't speak, but after a few seconds touched the red mark on her face with her hand. Hsi Wu's look softened.
"Jade," he said, "Don't go. I'm sure my family will not kill you if you apologize. You can be our servant, and you will be protected when the world is ours! We treat our servants well, Jade, and the work isn't too hard!" Hsi Wu frowned, considering this. "Can you play a flute?" he asked eventually.
"I don't want to serve demons," said Jade proudly.
Hsi Wu glared. "I liked you better when you were evil," he muttered.
"I'm sure you did. I'm sure you demons loved having a mortal to go around killing people with," Jade said, her look dark. She still didn't like to think that she had been so bad.
"No," retorted Hsi Wu. "I liked you better because you weren't so stuck up."
"I'm stuck up?" said Jade, chuckling in a way that showed she wasn't amused.
"Yes." Said Hsi Wu. "You think you are better than me because you believe you are good. Don't forget what lurks inside you, human. I have seen an evil as great as any demon, and she at least bothered to give the seven of us a chance."
Jade didn't respond. She glared at the demon before her defiantly, but part of her knew what he said was true. She had liked Hsi Wu. It wasn't just her dark side, either. There had been times where he had seemed almost civil. Where she would've sworn that if he hadn't been a demon, they might've become friends. Jade remembered her brief friendship with Seymour. He had been fun, funny, brave, and cool, but what's more, he had really seemed to care about what she had to say. But then he'd broken her heart. "Sorry, Hsi Wu," said Jade with a sigh. "You really aren't as bad as the others, but I'm not going to let you stop me from saving my family."
"You don't even like them, either!" protested Hsi Wu. "You told me! They always boss you around and don't take you seriously. It doesn't make sense. At least we'll take you seriously."
"I love my family," said Jade, to her embarrassment going slightly teary eyed. "They hardly ever take me seriously and Jackie bosses me around a lot, but they still care about me and I still care about them. That's-" Jade frowned and paused. "If I ever go all mushy like that again, stop me, okay? I'm gonna go save them."
"Hmm," said Hsi Wu. He didn't move as he watched her leave. He knew he couldn't go back to his siblings empty handed, but he didn't feel much like fighting Jade. Mortal child though she was, she was at least better company than his siblings. He had hoped she would stick around. It was good to have someone further down on the food-chain than oneself, but there was more to it. He liked having someone to whom he didn't have to be careful about what he said. With his siblings, he could never speak his mind out of fear.
"Wait," he called after her, then regretted it. What could he say? She would probably go no matter what he said. The only thing for it was to fight. But he hoped he wouldn't have to, because then she might not speak to him anymore. He'd try to convince her, and if that failed, he would use force. "Jade, how can you save them, anyways? How will you get to the island again? You don't know where it is."
"I'll get Captain Black. He'll know how to find it," Jade said automatically, despite the fact she knew she shouldn't disclose her plans to a demon.
"Well, you can't open the portal," Hsi Wu sulked. "Why don't you come back with us, instead? You can be my servant. I promise you won't have to do hard work. It will be fun."
"You're right," said Jade. "Not about the servant, but about the portal." Hsi Wu looked triumphant, but Jade continued. "So you should come help me."
"What?" thundered Hsi Wu. "A demon behave as a servant for a mortal? Certainly not. Besides, I don't see any reason why I should."
"You wouldn't be a servant," countered Jade. "More of an assistant. And, you wouldn't have to be with your siblings anymore. And once Jackie and Uncle are free, they'll surely want to banish all you demons. If you help me out, I'll return the favor, and make sure you aren't around when they do so. Sound like a plan?"
Hsi Wu considered this. He'd always dreamt of being able to leave his siblings and fly away on his own, a free demon. But he'd never imagined it wuld happen, and the prospect, although he was ashamed to admit it, frightened him. His siblings were a safety net- if anything went wrong, at least he knew they'd stand up for him. Not out of love, of course, but family honor. Still, he'd far rather be free and alone than imprisoned in the demon world with them. He nodded at Jade. "I accept your offer. But understand that I only do this out of the desire to remain free."
"Good," smiled Jade. "Let's get going."
Author's Note(s)
I hope you realize how much I suffered to get this up on time. I just received via Amazon.com Pokemon Ruby. I've been wanting this game for a year, and finally had the cash. Only a true Pokemaniac understands the joy of Ruby and Sapphire. It is even cooler than Red and Blue! I love how many sidequests there are, and I think Wally's the cutest! I felt so bad beating him. Plus, Pokemon abilities rock! My team is a Kirlia, a Mightyena, a Marshtomp, a Torkoal, and then alternating between Tailow, Minun, and Roselia, and I'm already in Lavaridge. I'm sure none of you have a clue what I just said, but if you like Pokemon, this game is for you. I now conclude our special advertising section.
DanMat- I completely forgot to answer your question for chapter 19. AU stands for Alternative Universe. This can mean one of two things- The first is that you're going to change one aspect of the show to make a fic out of it. For example, I could write a fic where, instead of Shendu being trapped as a statue again after the Dragon episode in season 3, he had gone on to conquer the world. I know it didn't actually happen, but I'm writing about what could've happened. The other is if you're writing a fic and another episode comes out to contradict it, your fic is AU. Say I was writing a fic in which Jackie finds out he is actually "The Chosen One," and then an episode comes out proving it was Jade all along, my fic would now be AU. I could keep on writing it, but everyone would know that it couldn't actually happen on the show. Hope that clears it up. Usually it refers to big changes, so if you wrote a fic in which Uncle's real name was Jack (I doubt it) and another episode came out saying it was Jerry, that wouldn't be a big deal. But if you were writing about Uncle's childhood as an acrobat and he was actually a riverdancer, you'd be AU. (Okay, now I'm just being silly.)
VampireNaomi- Wow, I'm glad my fic made you happy! Well, you know how I feel about your demons (You made me like Dai Gui!), but thank you for the compliment.
Souma Kagura- Sorry I stole your dialogue. But hey, write it anyway. It comes out of two different authors' minds, so it should give two different takes on a situation. Also, probably a bit of Valmont next chapter.
Scottishwolf- Congratulations! Eventually they always come around.
ShadowElfBard- Well, I certainly wouldn't want that to happen. . .Don't worry, nearly summer. I'm counting down the days.
Miyo86- Probably some Jackie scenes next chapter, actually. I have to get what's been going on there out sometimes; I'm just not sure when.
Yu Mutou- Well, there you go. That's what happens.
Listen up, kiddies! Check out my blog: is my blog, so it has plenty of boring entries about my boring life, but at the bottom of each entry when you scroll down is scheduling info, so you'll always know when Talismans will be late. Nifty, eh?
"You should wake up," hissed a voice right above Jade. She opened her eyes and nearly screamed when she saw the glowing red eyes of a demon right above her. Then, she remembered.
"Get out of my face!" she shouted and struggled, trying to worm her way out of his grip. And then she realized that they were currently flying several hundred feet above the earth. He stopped struggling, but fixed her face with a glare.
Hsi Wu shook his head and frowned. "It is too bad you and your other half rejoined. You were so much more interesting before. I had no idea humans could be so demonic. But now you are back to the heroics, aren't you?"
Jade glared, his comment hurting. She could hardly believe all of the things she had done. Abandoned the J-Team, helped the demons, nearly got Captain Black killed. . .she hated to think her bad side was really so bad. Even Jackie's bad side hadn't done anything like that. "Well, I'm through helping you," she stated as Hsi Wu began to descend. They were heading into a mountainous area, and the sky demon had to maneuver deftly between tree covers. "Maybe my evil side wants to help demons, but not me. Don't worry, because I'll have all of you back to the Netherworld in the blink of an eye."
Hsi Wu gave her a look of deep disgust. "You are a fool, as all mortals of your clan seem to be. You cannot defeat us- all seven of us are free and the only chi wizards learned in the art of banishment are sealed to their doom in the demon realm. Don't think that they will survive- their flesh is all that keeps our masters content not to spread their influence into this world. I happen to like this world, Jade. Nothing can beat the freedom found here. My siblings will not be pleased with any attempts of yours. They will already be angry with the loss of the battle, and you will be killed. It is much better to collaborate, and be protected as our personal servant when the world is ours."
"Too bad the world will never be yours," commented Jade in anger. "Don't you watch movies? Good always triumphs over evil."
"Real life is different," said Hsi Wu. "The strongest win. Good and evil has nothing to do with it. I tolerate you enough that I can keep you safe if you do not do anything foolish. Trust me, Jade, this is a lesson I've learned over many centuries."
"Brother Hsi Wu?" asked a voice. "Do I hear you conversing with the mortal?" Hsi Wu froze, but obviously the demons heard nothing of importance, as emerging from the trees were Tso Lan and Tchang Zu. While Tso Lan could keep useful information to himself, Tchang Zu did not know the meaning of subtlety. It was obvious he had no quarrel with Hsi Wu, as he channeled his fury towards Jade.
"The little worm betrayed us, brothers!" he hissed. "She led us into a trap. The fool. We will rise from this defeat and seek revenge against all who opposed us, beginning with her!"
The thunder demon looked prepared to kill the girl, but Hsi Wu stepped forward and said hurriedly, "Brother, I believe the girl's intentions were honorable. This setback is merely bad luck, soon fixed. We shall need a mortal's expertise to locate Captain Black, shall we not?"
Tso Lan nodded softly behind Tchang Zu, but the thunder demon ignored his younger brother. "Hsi Wu," he said angrily. "Do you dare question my judgement? Dishonoring our family is a crime worthy of death." With a mighty fist, he swung and knocked Hsi Wu into a tree.
"Oh, shut up and leave him alone," groaned Jade, growing extremely impatient. "If there's one thing I hate, it's bullies. But I don't care about your stupid fights. I'm outta here."
"You will not leave here alive, small Chan," hissed Tchang Zu. The girl was already walking off, but Tchang Zu prepared to use his powers. But at that moment, Hsi Wu knocked off his daze and, eyes narrowed in anger, charged at Tchang Zu. Tso Lan stopped him in midair.
"Do not allow the stress of today's battle overcome your wits, brother," he whispered warningly. "We do not practice defiance against our elders, so that was certainly not your intention, was it?" He let go of Hsi Wu, and the sky demon fell. It became clear that Jade was no longer among them. Tchang Zu looked as though he were about to do something drastic, but first Tso Lan spoke. "Hsi Wu, I suggest you retrieve the child quickly, as she may be useful. If it is permissible to my brother, of course," he said as an afterthought, a mere formality.
"Yes," agreed Tchang Zu, knowing that to say otherwise would be idiocy. "You are responsible for her loss. Do not return until you have her in your claws, brother. I do not want to see your disgusting face again until you have proven yourself worthy of your blood."
Hsi Wu sat where he had fallen and glared in defiance, but finally stood, shook the mud off his wings, and took off to where Jade had gone, grumbling.
Jade crawled through the brush, feeling the sharp spines tear at her body. She kept glancing over her shoulder, afraid that one of the demons would catch up to her. This was hopeless. She couldn't move as fast as they, and even if they didn't catch her, she didn't even know if she was moving north anymore. How would she ever get to San Francisco, or Australia for that matter? And once there, what would she do?
There was a swoop of air and a hissing voice. "Jade," he called. Jade nearly gasped. Hsi Wu was nearby. She crawled behind the brush next to her and held her breath, hoping he'd leave her alone.
"Jade," said the voice again, "Don't be foolish. I can hear the very beating of your heart, and feel the blood in your veins." Jade shuddered at his tone, and wondered if he was going to kill her. As if reading her mind, Hsi Wu said "Come out, little Jade, and I won't hurt you. Only, I can't make promises for my siblings." He was getting closer. Jade frowned, and stepped out of her hiding spot.
"Leave me alone, Hsi Wu," she said venomously, her eyes narrowed. Hsi Wu chuckled, stopping in mid air and landing next to her.
"Come. I'm taking you back to my siblings," he said, frowning. "Don't struggle, It'll only make this more difficult."
Jade stuck her tongue out. "Hsi Wu, why do you even listen to your stupid siblings? You don't even like them."
To her surprise, Hsi Wu hit her hard in the face with the back of his hand. "Don't speak ill of my family, mortal. I could kill you in one blow."
Jade glared at him, and didn't speak, but after a few seconds touched the red mark on her face with her hand. Hsi Wu's look softened.
"Jade," he said, "Don't go. I'm sure my family will not kill you if you apologize. You can be our servant, and you will be protected when the world is ours! We treat our servants well, Jade, and the work isn't too hard!" Hsi Wu frowned, considering this. "Can you play a flute?" he asked eventually.
"I don't want to serve demons," said Jade proudly.
Hsi Wu glared. "I liked you better when you were evil," he muttered.
"I'm sure you did. I'm sure you demons loved having a mortal to go around killing people with," Jade said, her look dark. She still didn't like to think that she had been so bad.
"No," retorted Hsi Wu. "I liked you better because you weren't so stuck up."
"I'm stuck up?" said Jade, chuckling in a way that showed she wasn't amused.
"Yes." Said Hsi Wu. "You think you are better than me because you believe you are good. Don't forget what lurks inside you, human. I have seen an evil as great as any demon, and she at least bothered to give the seven of us a chance."
Jade didn't respond. She glared at the demon before her defiantly, but part of her knew what he said was true. She had liked Hsi Wu. It wasn't just her dark side, either. There had been times where he had seemed almost civil. Where she would've sworn that if he hadn't been a demon, they might've become friends. Jade remembered her brief friendship with Seymour. He had been fun, funny, brave, and cool, but what's more, he had really seemed to care about what she had to say. But then he'd broken her heart. "Sorry, Hsi Wu," said Jade with a sigh. "You really aren't as bad as the others, but I'm not going to let you stop me from saving my family."
"You don't even like them, either!" protested Hsi Wu. "You told me! They always boss you around and don't take you seriously. It doesn't make sense. At least we'll take you seriously."
"I love my family," said Jade, to her embarrassment going slightly teary eyed. "They hardly ever take me seriously and Jackie bosses me around a lot, but they still care about me and I still care about them. That's-" Jade frowned and paused. "If I ever go all mushy like that again, stop me, okay? I'm gonna go save them."
"Hmm," said Hsi Wu. He didn't move as he watched her leave. He knew he couldn't go back to his siblings empty handed, but he didn't feel much like fighting Jade. Mortal child though she was, she was at least better company than his siblings. He had hoped she would stick around. It was good to have someone further down on the food-chain than oneself, but there was more to it. He liked having someone to whom he didn't have to be careful about what he said. With his siblings, he could never speak his mind out of fear.
"Wait," he called after her, then regretted it. What could he say? She would probably go no matter what he said. The only thing for it was to fight. But he hoped he wouldn't have to, because then she might not speak to him anymore. He'd try to convince her, and if that failed, he would use force. "Jade, how can you save them, anyways? How will you get to the island again? You don't know where it is."
"I'll get Captain Black. He'll know how to find it," Jade said automatically, despite the fact she knew she shouldn't disclose her plans to a demon.
"Well, you can't open the portal," Hsi Wu sulked. "Why don't you come back with us, instead? You can be my servant. I promise you won't have to do hard work. It will be fun."
"You're right," said Jade. "Not about the servant, but about the portal." Hsi Wu looked triumphant, but Jade continued. "So you should come help me."
"What?" thundered Hsi Wu. "A demon behave as a servant for a mortal? Certainly not. Besides, I don't see any reason why I should."
"You wouldn't be a servant," countered Jade. "More of an assistant. And, you wouldn't have to be with your siblings anymore. And once Jackie and Uncle are free, they'll surely want to banish all you demons. If you help me out, I'll return the favor, and make sure you aren't around when they do so. Sound like a plan?"
Hsi Wu considered this. He'd always dreamt of being able to leave his siblings and fly away on his own, a free demon. But he'd never imagined it wuld happen, and the prospect, although he was ashamed to admit it, frightened him. His siblings were a safety net- if anything went wrong, at least he knew they'd stand up for him. Not out of love, of course, but family honor. Still, he'd far rather be free and alone than imprisoned in the demon world with them. He nodded at Jade. "I accept your offer. But understand that I only do this out of the desire to remain free."
"Good," smiled Jade. "Let's get going."
Author's Note(s)
I hope you realize how much I suffered to get this up on time. I just received via Amazon.com Pokemon Ruby. I've been wanting this game for a year, and finally had the cash. Only a true Pokemaniac understands the joy of Ruby and Sapphire. It is even cooler than Red and Blue! I love how many sidequests there are, and I think Wally's the cutest! I felt so bad beating him. Plus, Pokemon abilities rock! My team is a Kirlia, a Mightyena, a Marshtomp, a Torkoal, and then alternating between Tailow, Minun, and Roselia, and I'm already in Lavaridge. I'm sure none of you have a clue what I just said, but if you like Pokemon, this game is for you. I now conclude our special advertising section.
DanMat- I completely forgot to answer your question for chapter 19. AU stands for Alternative Universe. This can mean one of two things- The first is that you're going to change one aspect of the show to make a fic out of it. For example, I could write a fic where, instead of Shendu being trapped as a statue again after the Dragon episode in season 3, he had gone on to conquer the world. I know it didn't actually happen, but I'm writing about what could've happened. The other is if you're writing a fic and another episode comes out to contradict it, your fic is AU. Say I was writing a fic in which Jackie finds out he is actually "The Chosen One," and then an episode comes out proving it was Jade all along, my fic would now be AU. I could keep on writing it, but everyone would know that it couldn't actually happen on the show. Hope that clears it up. Usually it refers to big changes, so if you wrote a fic in which Uncle's real name was Jack (I doubt it) and another episode came out saying it was Jerry, that wouldn't be a big deal. But if you were writing about Uncle's childhood as an acrobat and he was actually a riverdancer, you'd be AU. (Okay, now I'm just being silly.)
VampireNaomi- Wow, I'm glad my fic made you happy! Well, you know how I feel about your demons (You made me like Dai Gui!), but thank you for the compliment.
Souma Kagura- Sorry I stole your dialogue. But hey, write it anyway. It comes out of two different authors' minds, so it should give two different takes on a situation. Also, probably a bit of Valmont next chapter.
Scottishwolf- Congratulations! Eventually they always come around.
ShadowElfBard- Well, I certainly wouldn't want that to happen. . .Don't worry, nearly summer. I'm counting down the days.
Miyo86- Probably some Jackie scenes next chapter, actually. I have to get what's been going on there out sometimes; I'm just not sure when.
Yu Mutou- Well, there you go. That's what happens.
Listen up, kiddies! Check out my blog: is my blog, so it has plenty of boring entries about my boring life, but at the bottom of each entry when you scroll down is scheduling info, so you'll always know when Talismans will be late. Nifty, eh?