I don't own Jackie Chan Adventures.
Oh, and one thing. I have recently discovered a nasty flaw in my writing style. This chapter still suffers because of it, but I have tried to pay attention to it in the future ones.
HEING MEH
Chapter 20
"What?"
Everyone turned to stare at Jackie as he made his exclamation and gawked at Xu Lin with wide eyes.
"Problems, Chan?" Shendu asked dryly.
"Um... No! Everything is fine!" Jackie said and smiled nervously.
Xu Lin, Shendu's lover?
Jackie couldn't help it, but just thinking about it made his blood boil. He thought Shendu was the cruellest, most horrible and disgusting of the demons. The mere thought of what he would do to Xu Lin if he got the chance... Sick, so sick.
"Don't worry Xu Lin. I will not let him or anyone else hurt you." Jackie promised quietly and Xu Lin nodded.
"Thank you Jackie."
Why do demons have to lust after my relatives and friends? Jackie thought desperately. First that bat admitted he liked Jade and now this. He really hoped that none of the demons decided to get interested in Viper.
He stared at the backs of Shendu and Hsi Wu. He would rather die than let them touch the girls that meant so much to him. And what would Xu Lin's parents think if they heard that their daughter had fallen into the trap of a demon?
No, that couldn't happen. They didn't know if Xu Lin's dreams showed the real future. It was possible that they just warned them of what might happen if they didn't fight it.
Yes, that had to be it.
Jackie forced himself to think about something else. His thoughts had been circling around negative things lately and he really wanted to find something happy in his life. It was difficult, but he wasn't one to get too desperate all of sudden.
Demons were their enemies, he had to admit that. But they were also very wise. Now that they were on the same side the odds of saving Jade had increased. And they could also kill that Heing Meh, or whatever he was.
Jackie could only hope that the situation would be lighter in the future.
Chow felt very nervous. He was often nervous and Finn always said that he did it for nothing. But now he thought that he had a very good reason.
Shendu was here, Valmont was a demon, he himself was a prisoner of the demons, Finn was still missing and something utterly horrible had to be going on if Chan was working with the creatures he hated. Chow didn't want to have anything to do with any of those.
He glanced at his side where Shendu was. He had seen the fire demon in his human form five years ago when he and Xiao Fung had fought over them. The demon was just as nasty as he remembered.
"Don't even think about running away. It is not worth it." the demon had said a moment ago and Chow had decided to obey him. He didn't even know where he would have run. Hak Foo and Ratso had come after them, Hak Foo because of loyalty towards Valmont and Ratso because he didn't want to be left alone.
They were all trapped now. Well, maybe Finn wasn't. The Irish man rarely disappeared without telling anyone about it so Chow wasn't very positive about him. Something nasty must have happened to him too.
He hoped it had nothing to do with the demons.
"I wonder what they want of you." Ratso whispered.
"I don't know and I don't want to." Chow replied.
"They must need you really bad. I doubt they'll just kill you." his friend continued.
"You know, that doesn't help at all." Chow said glaring at him.
"Well no, but talking about it kills time."
"I don't like the verb 'to kill' very much at the moment."
Ratso didn't say anything else and Chow figured he had realised that his friend didn't feel like talking.
The only thing that Chow was pleased with was that Valmont seemed to interest the demons more at the moment. He didn't wish bad for him, but he didn't care about him enough to want to suffer for him.
Thankfully Ratso was with him. Hak Foo was no company and Chow wouldn't have known what to do without a friend.
"This is one of my oldest books and the only one that mentions Heing Meh." Uncle said and Tso Lan looked at the book in interest.
"Fascinating. This has been written only a while after we were banished." the moon demon said. He concentrated in the text for a moment and handed the book back to Uncle.
"Does it hold any truth?" Uncle asked. He rarely questioned his books, but now he had someone who had to know more about the matter than any of his texts.
"It has the facts correct. It is a wonder that it has not been lost. I didn't think anyone would remember this legend anymore." Tso Lan said.
Uncle frowned in thought.
"Uncle has been thinking. Heing Meh has not yet gained his true power, is that not right?" he said.
"Fortunately he hasn't. If he had we wouldn't be able to do much to stop him."
"Then why is magic so weak? You must be the last demons, there are less and less chi wizards, the nature has lost much of its true powers and magical creatures are rare. Is this because of Heing Meh? If yes, how did he do it?" Uncle asked.
"That is a good question. I have to ponder it." Tso Lan replied. Then he glanced at his left where Tohru and Po Kong were preparing a locator spell for Jade. The two hadn't really talked to each other and the Japanese was frowning. Po Kong seemed to be on a bad mood too and Tso Lan didn't have to ask why. The mountain demon always lost her nerves if someone refused to join her game.
Uncle saw what Tso Lan was looking at and snorted.
"My apprentice has a thick head." he said.
"So does my sister." Tso Lan replied. He didn't say it aloud, but he actually thought that the old Chan was the most stubborn of them all. Shendu was probably the only one who could have challenged him on that field.
"Then they fit together." Uncle said. "Have you already finished the spell?"
Tohru lifted his eyes from the potion he was brewing. It was sweet purple and smelled of rowanberries. It was also hot and the steam rose up slowly.
"Almost, sensei. We have to let it cool some and dip Jade's shirt in it." Tohru replied. He had gone and taken one of Jade's old shirts for the spell and now they had all they needed.
"This is a very complicated spell. Shin can have taken the girl anywhere and we have to be careful if we want this to work." Po Kong added.
"I know that." Tohru said.
"Just making sure. I do have more experience than you, after all. And not only in chi spells." the mountain demon said.
"I believe that." Tohru replied dryly. He didn't like that Uncle had left him alone with the mountain demon. Po Kong wasn't as repulsive as Shendu, but just being with her was enough to irritate him.
"Stop arguing. We have better things to do!" Uncle snapped and Po Kong glared at the old man.
"Who are you to tell me what to do? You are just a -- " she started.
"Let it be, Po Kong." Tso Lan commented. He sounded slightly amused and that alone was enough to silence the mountain demon. Tso Lan was as boring as a demon could be and you always needed something special to amuse him.
"Shendu and the others should be here already." the moon demon said. Uncle shrugged.
"Maybe finding Ni Tang is not as easy as we thought." he said.
"Shendu is very determined. If he wants something he usually gets it." Tso Lan said.
"In that case I think he never really wanted to defeat us." the old Chan replied with an amused twinkle in his eyes.
"I said usually."
The two concentrated in reading another of Uncle's books and Tohru glanced at them from time to time. Uncle and Tso Lan worked in union and had not argued even once. Uncle didn't even have to tell the demon what to do. It was amazing, Uncle had been the one to find the chi spells that had banished most of the demon family -- including Tso Lan -- back in the Netherworld. He wondered why the moon demon didn't seem be angry or bitter.
Tohru didn't think the demon had forgiven any of them. Saying that he had made friends with Uncle would have been even more ridiculous. The Japanese man believed that the demon had just accepted the situation for the time being and had decided to do what was the best for everyone.
He was also sure of that Tso Lan would try to kill all of them once this was over.
And yet he felt slightly envious. Uncle and Tso Lan hated each other, but knew how to appreciate each other's wisdom and experience. They had the ability to forget their differences and work together when needed. No one else in the team of demons and mortals had done that yet.
Tohru glanced at Po Kong who was adding dried leaves in the potion with a slight frown on her face. He concentrated in his own work again.
Admitting it wasn't nice, but he would have wanted to get along with the demons too. It just was so difficult.
Especially since one of them had betrayed him on the field that he was the clumsiest at.
"So this is your room?" Finn asked and tried to see the ceiling. Bai Tsa walked next to him in her human form and looked very annoyed.
"Unfortunately." she replied.
"It's kinda... big. Do you fill much of it in your true form?" the Irish man asked in slight uncertainty.
"Why do you want to know that?"
"Just curious. And I thought that if the room becomes very crowded I could move to live in the slave quarters with the Chans. You'd get more room for yourself." Finn replied. Oh, he so wished he could have done that. He would have preferred the company of stinky porcupines over sharing a room with the water demon.
Bai Tsa snorted.
"Not necessary. I am not a very big demon. This room just is very impractical. No water anywhere!" she said.
"Uhhuh."
"Besides, slaves always live in the same room with their master or mistress." Bai Tsa continued.
"Isn't that impractical? You must need at least ten slaves in the kitchen and if they all -- " Finn started but Bai Tsa's frown made him stop. Huh, the water demon was scary even in her human form and he had no desire to see what she really looked like.
"I meant certain kind of slaves." the demon said sharply.
"Oh..." Finn said and felt even more uncomfortable than before. He didn't like this at all! He had many times dreamed of a beautiful woman wanting to share her room with him. Now that it happened the woman had to be a demon. Just my luck, he thought dryly.
"Where is this palace exactly?" he asked to change the subject. He eyed the room and tried to find the fastest way out. He knew the demons had left the portal that lead in the Chan's shop open so that their new partners could travel freely between these two places.
"At the Caucasian Mountains." Bai Tsa replied. Suddenly she frowned as she eyed the carvings on the wall. She didn't look pleased with them at all.
"You mean Europe?"
"Yes."
Finn said nothing more. In his own honest opinion he had talked with demons enough for one day and now he only wanted to find a way to get out of this situation.
"Do you think this wall would look better if I painted it blue?" Bai Tsa asked suddenly.
"Huh? What? Why are you asking me?"
"Because you are my slave. That is a reason good enough. Answer me." the water demon said sounding irritated.
Finn rubbed the back of his head.
"Um, go ahead and paint." he said. Blue wasn't his favourite colour, but he guessed it would please the demon. And if she was on a good mood he had a chance to survive this.
"I don't know... Ocean green could be good too."
"Well, it's better than this brown." Finn dared to comment.
"True. Dai Gui has no taste."
"What if you painted dolphins on it?" the Irish man suggested.
"Dolphins?" Bai Tsa repeated slowly.
"Okay, that was a bad idea." Finn said quickly. He only hoped the demon hadn't got too mad.
"No, I like it! I could paint two dolphins there and a killer whale there." the water demon said excitedly. She took a step back and eyed the wall. Then she nodded. "That is a very good idea. You can help me."
"I can't draw." Finn pointed out.
"You don't have to, you fool. I draw, and you can colour the whale. I once had a lower level demon as a servant and he really looked like a whale. I wonder what happened to him..." Bai Tsa chatted.
Finn eyed the demon. In the hotel she had been angry and emphasized her own power and might, but now she was way too friendly for his liking. He wasn't sure why she was acting that way, but he guessed it was because of the palace.
Bai Tsa probably felt happy now that she was with her family again and could live in a real palace.
The place was really repulsive. He didn't like it at all and would have given almost anything to be able to leave.
Origami leaned against the stone wall and looked around himself in the dim light of the torches. Shendu couldn't bother to keep an eye on him because the demon could sense him no matter where he was, and thus prevented Origami from escaping.
That had good and bad sides. He was free to wander off without Shendu following him all the time. It would have been worse if the demon had locked him up somewhere. The situation already reminded him of his time in the French prison.
And the bad side was obviously that he wasn't free anymore. Shendu would find him no matter where he went.
Origami loved freedom and the right to do whatever he wanted. It was five years since he had last enjoyed either of those. And it was Chan's fault that he had been sent to prison. If he hadn't been imprisoned he wouldn't have had to make the stupid deal with Valmont and come to San Francisco. And if he hadn't done that the demons wouldn't have found him.
"I hate him." he muttered to himself and started walking again. He had nothing else to do than to wander around, and the thief wanted to keep alive the illusion that he could do whatever pleased him.
Shendu was gone for a while, and he wanted to enjoy it as long as it lasted.
"We're back." Shendu announced as he stepped through the portal in Dai Gui's palace. No one was there to greet them and the fire demon frowned unhappily. He took a few steps and turned into his true form.
"We are back!" he exclaimed and everyone else covered their ears.
"I already hate this." Valmont muttered to himself.
Shendu's exclaim had been heard almost everywhere in the palace and soon people started to gather around. The first one was Dai Gui, in his true form of course. Everyone heard the sound of his steps before they even saw the glow of his eyes.
"Don't yell in Dai Gui's palace." the earth demon said sounding irritated.
"I yell wherever I want. Where is everyone?" Shendu asked.
"Some of them are preparing the spell, but most are just lazing around." Dai Gui replied.
"Well get them here!"
"Dai Gui is not your errand boy. And he thinks they heard you."
That seemed to be true. It didn't take long before everyone was there. Viper came after Dai Gui, then Xiao Fung and the rest. Even Uncle, Tohru, Tso Lan and Po Kong came so Jackie assumed that they had already finished the spell. Po Kong seemed to have something with her.
Bai Tsa was dragging Finn behind her and she looked very odd in the middle of her siblings who were all in their demon forms.
"Bai Tsa, why are you in that form?" Dai Gui asked.
"Blame yourself, brother. You have made your palace so dry that my scales can't stand it. And this place doesn't do right to my beauty either." was the water demon's reply.
"That is stupid." Xiao Fung pointed out. "And so is this place."
"This is my palace and exactly the way Dai Gui wants it to be." Dai Gui said.
"Never mind. We have more important matters at hand, so pay attention." Tso Lan interrupted. He looked around himself. "Your slave is not here, Shendu."
"I know. I shall get him." the dragon said. It wouldn't take long, he already knew where Origami was. "I will be right back."
Everyone looked at each other after the fire demon was gone.
"I see you are a human again." Xiao Fung said and tilted his head watching Valmont. He and Shendu hadn't been there when Ni Tang had turned back into a human and he hadn't seen Valmont since the man had been banished in their prison.
"Anyone can see that." Bai Tsa stated.
"Maybe, but I wanted to say it aloud anyway. What was his name again? Vermont?" the wind demon replied.
"It's Valmont." Valmont dared to say. He kept his head up, though he would have liked to withdraw behind someone else. The demons terrified him and the only thing that kept him from acting like a fool was his pride.
"He is more courageous than brother Ni Tang." Dai Gui said.
"Is that a good thing?"
"Can we turn him back into Ni Tang? Our family is not whole because of Tchang Zu's death." Bai Tsa said.
"I don't want to be a demon anymore! You have to take him out of me!" Valmont cut in. Now he realised that the demons could prove very useful too. They had created the problem that was Ni Tang, they could also remove it.
"We shall talk about it more when Shendu arrives." Tso Lan decided. They didn't have to wait for long because the fire demon returned soon with Origami.
Tso Lan looked around himself.
"Now we are all here." he said. "Each of you knows something of the situation, but only few know everything. That is why I might have to explain it all. I hope you will be pleased with my words."
"I hope that too." Jackie muttered.
"Maybe I should start by saying that everyone in this room has something to do with this. No one can say that this doesn't mean anything to them. Everyone might not be directly involved with the events, but they will affect the life of us all anyway." Tso Lan said.
What he said wasn't new to anyone, but it made some of them shift uncomfortably.
"Most of us must be interested in the legend of Heing Meh. It is an old demon prophecy, and according to it the demon of Nothing shall rise and take over the world. He will destroy all magic and bend the world to his will. He will make it to his liking and spare nothing that he thinks is against him." the moon demon said.
"All those who have anything to do with magic are in danger. That means my whole family and some of you mortals. That is why we have to join our forces until we have defeated Heing Meh." Po Kong continued for her brother.
"That demands struggle from us all. Heing Meh is very strong, almost invincible. My brother Shendu has worked to open a portal in Sha Fuju, a world that holds all answers. He has found the three keys that we need to succeed. We have the two guardians of Sha Fuju." Tso Lan said and pointed at Viper and Origami. Both blinked.
"We are some kind of guardians?" Viper asked in surprise.
"What does it mean?" was Origami's question.
"We don't know yet how to open the portal, but we need you. Once we have done that we can send the Chosen of Dreams to enter Sha Fuju and ask our questions. Not just anyone can step in Sha Fuju, only chosen few are capable of that. Fortunately for us Shendu has found one of the Chosen too." Tso Lan continued.
"And who is he?" Jackie asked.
"He." the moon demon stated and one of his four hands pointed at Chow. The man jumped.
"Me?"
"Yes, you. Your mission is to enter Sha Fuju for us." Po Kong said.
"What if I don't want to?" Chow asked.
"We suspected you might say that. That is why we have something that might make you reconsider." Tso Lan said. Bai Tsa drew Finn from behind Dai Gui and grinned.
"Finn!" Chow exclaimed in surprise. He hadn't noticed his friend until now. To his relief he noticed that the Irish man seemed to be okay, but he also felt sorry for that he had to be a part of this. "What are you going to do to him?"
"That depends on Bai Tsa, your friend is her slave. If you do not do what we want she can come up with something highly unpleasant. She is a demon after all and demons have a cruel imagination." Po Kong said.
Jackie didn't like that and it showed on his face. No matter how important something was, he didn't want to blackmail anyone like that. Besides, he believed that Bai Tsa could hurt Finn anyway just to amuse herself.
"We can talk about that later. We haven't told everything yet." Tso Lan said. "Heing Meh has summoned a servant called Shin who has captured the young Chan. The girl must be important to Heing Meh, and that is why it is important for us to save her. That is the reason why the Chans have joined us."
"Didn't you join us?" Viper asked.
"But what does this all have to do with me?" Valmont wanted to know. He had listened to this story like everyone else, but now he wanted to know something that touched him too.
"I was about to tell that. According to Hsi Wu you have tried to suppress your inner demon all these years and that has made you unbalanced. You can't notice it yourself, but you are falling apart. You haven't been able to accept Ni Tang or make room for him, so he is trying to break free. That will eventually destroy you." Tso Lan said.
Valmont blinked.
"Well take him away inside of me! I don't want him!" he demanded.
"Ni Tang is a half of you, desire it or not. You are going to destroy yourself." the moon demon stated.
"But -- " Valmont started, but he wasn't allowed to continue.
"We can discuss this later too. Now we have to concentrate in saving the young Chan." Tso Lan said.
"Well finally." Hsi Wu sighed. They had been wasting enough time already!
"I and Tohru have prepared a spell that will show us where Jade is." Po Kong said and took out Jade's shirt and a cauldron with the potion Tohru had brewed. "When I dip this shirt in this it should activate."
The mountain demon dipped the shirt in the potion and drew it up again. The cloth was now glowing dim light, but nothing else happened.
"Is that all?" Shendu asked.
"Wait."
The shirt rose in the air and grew in size. It lost its shape and turned into a glowing circle. Finally it stopped above them and flashed once before showing them something.
"Jade!" Jackie exclaimed. He and everyone else stared at the shirt that had turned into a magical reflecting mirror, and showed them Jade. The girl was sitting on a bed hugging her knees brows frowned. She seemed to be alright and it made the Chans, their friends and Hsi Wu sigh in relief. No one else cared much of her condition.
"What use is this?" Shendu asked angrily. Yes, it was a good show, but it would hardly help them to find Shin.
"Look at the candles and the carvings on the wall." Tso Lan said.
"Yes, what about them?" the fire demon asked.
"You can always charm candles to act like that, but if there is enough dark chi they will do it without a command. And the carvings tell us that much chi has been used to build that place. Most of the magic in this world is dead, so it shouldn't be difficult to locate such a place." the moon demon replied.
"How long will it take?" Hsi Wu asked impatiently.
"An hour, possibly. We can leave tomorrow."
"Why not tonight?" Jackie asked. Tso Lan snorted softly.
"We can do that, but I supposed that you mortals want to rest first." he said.
"No. We have already wasted too much time. We can rest after we've saved Jade."
"As you wish."
Finn felt slightly unreal. He had hoped that Chow and Ratso wouldn't have to be involved with this, but he was also happy for not being alone.
Okay, he was alone. That huge boss man Shendu had dragged all other Dark Hand members somewhere and Finn had no idea of where they were. He had decided to wander off since Bai Tsa didn't seem to mind and hoped that he'd see his friends somewhere.
"You are very choosy for a mortal." he heard someone say ahead of him and stopped. It was a female voice, and considering the words, a demon too. And because it wasn't Bai Tsa it had to be Po Kong.
Finn thought the mountain demon was ugly enough in her human form too, and he didn't want to meet her. He was just about to turn around and creep away when he heard a much more familiar voice.
"I am sick of this game. What do you want?" Tohru asked. Finn froze and tilted his head in interest. That sounded as if Tohru and Po Kong... Heh, that was a funny thought.
Po Kong snorted.
"I want what I wanted five years ago." she replied.
"You are a demon."
"So what?"
"Demons are unable to want or feel what I wanted back then. I have understood that now and I don't want anything from you anymore." Tohru said. He tried to sound cold and did quite well.
"Can't you forgive?" Po Kong tried her luck thankful for that none of her siblings was around. Bai Tsa was probably the only one who could have understood why she bothered to talk like this with a mortal. The water demon had always liked the game more than the result.
It was silent and Finn could imagine Tohru blinking.
"Forgive a demon? Even if I forgot what you did, there would still be many more of your crimes." the Japanese man said.
"Those didn't hurt you." Po Kong stated.
"I am hurt when I know you committed them." Tohru said quietly. "I am tired of this conversation, Po Kong. Leave me be."
Finn heard as Tohru walked away, but he figured that Po Kong was still there. He almost hit his head against the wall when the mountain demon talked to him.
"Now that Tohru left you can show yourself."
"Um, so you knew I was here?" Finn asked as he walked to the demon hoping that she wouldn't decide to punish him somehow.
"Of course. Do you think I am stupid?"
Finn thanked his luck for that Po Kong couldn't read minds. He had never considered the mountain demon very intelligent.
"So... you and Tohru...?" he started carefully. Po Kong glared at him and the Irish man cursed himself. What, was he trying to get himself killed?
"None of your business." Po Kong snapped.
"Well no, but Tohru can be unbearable once you've betrayed him once." Finn said. He glanced around himself and -- for the first time during the adventure -- hoped that Bai Tsa would appear. The water demon could have dragged him away and saved him from the mountain demon.
Po Kong frowned.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Finn shrugged.
"No one likes to be betrayed, but Tohru takes it very hard. You should have seen him after Valmont made him fight against Shendu. He thought the whole Dark Hand had abandoned him and he left us never talking to us in a friendly way again. And we used to be friends." he said.
Po Kong looked thoughtful.
"So... I just need to win his trust again." she muttered to herself.
"No offence, but that will be difficult. Tohru doesn't easily trust those who have hurt him before." Finn pointed out.
Po Kong smiled at him.
"You forget that I am a demon. I can do anything." she said.
Xu Lin sat on the floor leaning her back against a wall and watched as Shendu and Dai Gui had a conversation. She could hear the demons' words, even though they were at the other end of the hall. The three of them were the only ones who had stayed after Tso Lan had finished his speech.
"Po Kong can play with her spells, but they won't matter much in the final fight." Shendu said. "We have to kill Shin with our bare hands."
"You are very eager to attack him. He has not even hurt you." Dai Gui pointed out. He was just kidding though, bloodshed appealed to him as much as to his brother.
"Because of him I have to look at Chan's face and let him live." Shendu said. "That is a reason good enough to hate Shin."
Dai Gui chuckled.
"Maybe you are right."
"What do you mean, maybe?"
Xu Lin's shoulders sank and she lowered her eyes. The more she learned of Shendu the more she feared him. The fire demon represented everything that she found repulsive. He was scary, cruel and cared about no one besides himself.
"You there! What are you doing?" Xu Lin lifted her eyes again when she heard Shendu's angry voice. The fire demon had turned to look in her direction and took a step closer.
"I sit here." the girl replied.
"Go sit somewhere else." Shendu said. Xu Lin stood up and crossed her arms behind her back.
"Do I disturb you?" she asked.
Shendu slit his eyes dangerously.
"Didn't anyone teach you any manners? When a demon tells you to do something, you don't make questions!"
Xu Lin blinked and would have taken a step back if the wall had let her.
"I'll go." she said.
"That was unexpected. It really looked like she was disturbing you." Dai Gui pointed out when Xu Lin had gone.
Shendu snorted.
"I don't want a friend of Chan's to hear our plans. The great hero might decide to forbid killing Shin." he said.
"Hardly, Chan hates him just as much as -- "Dai Gui started, but Shendu interrupted him.
"Silence!"
"Dai Gui thinks Shendu is being childish." the earth demon announced.
"No one asked Dai Gui's opinion." Shendu mocked. The truth was that he had felt slightly uncomfortable near Xu Lin. The girl was the one who had dreamed of him.
And he didn't like that.
Shendu had grown up surrounded by magic and legends and he knew that a dream that repeated itself usually meant something. And the girl had dreamed of him before even knowing who he was...
He didn't know what could happen and couldn't brace himself for that. All he could do was to watch and wait. With luck he would survive unaffected by the meaning of the girl's dream.
A good thing was that Xu Lin wasn't curious or rude like Jade, she clearly knew her place. If there was something Shendu really hated, it was the rebellious attitude of modern mortals.
Jackie was in a pretty positive mood. Jade was alive and didn't look injured. On top of that they were practically on their way to save her.
Uncle had sent him back to the shop to get a few books that they hadn't brought with them yet. The old man suspected that they would need them to find a way to get to the place where Jade was.
He hurried his pace, the faster he was, the sooner would Jade be free.
When he arrived in the hall where the portal was he stopped. He had believed that everyone was away doing something, but at least one person had nothing to do.
Origami sat in front of the portal and stared at the ceiling. He barely moved when he noticed Jackie.
"Going to run away? I can hardly blame you, but I can't let you go either." Jackie said as he stepped closer. Origami chuckled dryly.
"You'd waste your strength, Chan Jackie Chan. I can't go anywhere without Shendu knowing about it." he said.
"What do you mean?" Jackie asked.
"What do you think I mean? The cursed dragon had bonded us and senses me no matter where I am." the Japanese thief snapped.
"Oh. I didn't know." Jackie said in uncertainty. Despite that he had never liked Origami -- even during the short while when he had thought he was innocent -- he could only be sorry for him. Being involved with Shendu was horrible enough, but the thief had actually been robbed of his own life.
"Noticed." Origami stated. He didn't realise it himself, but he was silently playing with his odd broken object.
"Viper has one like that too." Jackie said.
"Thought so. I should have never picked this up."
"I don't think you had a choice." Jackie stated. Origami didn't reply and Jackie stepped through the portal into Uncle's shop.
As much as he hated to admit it, he believed that none of them had a choice anymore.
To be continued...