I don't own Jackie Chan Adventures, the characters, items or settings used in this story. This is all pure entertainment and no money is made.

Special thanks to Alan Wilkinson who beta read this for me!

HEING MEH

Chapter 32

Jade woke up in silence. She didn't feel tired at all and it seemed like she had slept an eternity, but her body was still heavy and difficult to move. The painful throb in her chest hadn't disappeared and she didn't dare to sit up.

She lifted her head to see if she was alone or not. The simple movement felt surprisingly difficult and she let her head fall back on the pillow. A frustrated sigh escaped through her lips and she regretted it immediately. The pain in her chest flashed, reminding her that she shouldn't make sudden movements.

"How do you feel, Jade?" Xu Lin asked and Jade turned her head toward the voice of her friend.

"Xu Lin! They found you! Where did you disappear?" she asked. It was a surprise to see that Xu Lin was back with them again.

"That was very stupid of me. Jackie got me back soon. Now I know that it's no use trying to escape anything," Xu Lin replied. "But how are you feeling?"

"Not that well," Jade admitted. "It feels like I can't do a thing. As if I was a stranger in my own body."

"I think that's normal and will go over soon. You will be back on your feet before you can imagine," Xu Lin encouraged and Jade grimaced.

"Normal? I don't know. I don't even have an idea of what happened," she said. She looked at Xu Lin expecting an explanation. Xu Lin turned her eyes away.

"I don't know if I should... Jackie and Uncle may not like it," she said carefully.

"Come on, Xu Lin! Something happened to me! I have the right to know what it was!" Jade snapped impatiently.

"You really don't remember? Hard to believe that one could forget..."

"Forget what? Xu Lin, you are starting to scare me. You treat me like I was a baby. I may have a wound in my chest, but I am not dying because of it!" Jade said with her eyes sparkling in amusement. The smile on her face faded away when she saw Xu Lin's expression. "What?"

"But you did die, Jade. I was there when Shin gave you that wound," the other girl said quietly.

"What?" Jade exclaimed in shock and sat up, not paying attention to the sudden pain in her chest. "I am dead?"

"No, not anymore!" Xu Lin hurried to explain. "Doctor Necrosis revived you."

Jade pressed a hand on her temple and closed her eyes. "Necrosis... I feel like I remember something about him. He helped Shin, didn't he?"

"Yes, but he's on our side now. I think. Shin used your blood to revive an old, dead demon who wants to take over the world and destroy everything that is magical," Xu Lin said.

"That does feel a bit familiar... Maybe I will remember it all with time. But where are we now? What is going on and what is the new demon up to?" Jade wanted to know.

"This is the palace of Dai Gui, the earth demon," Xu Lin said. She hurried to continue as she saw Jade's shocked expression: "Right now we are working together with the demons because they want to destroy this Heing Meh thing as well. Mr. Valmont and his men are also here."

Jade blinked. "That means pretty much everybody..." A sly smile appeared on her face. "Jackie was right when he said this would be the greatest adventure of my life," she said. "Or my second life, or whatever," she added a bit gloomily.

"Jade, may I ask you something?"

"Sure, Xu Lin. What?"

"What does it feel like to be dead?"

Jade frowned. She didn't know what to say. She had no clear memories and it felt like she had just yesterday been in the concert in the park.

"I... I don't know," she muttered and pressed a hand on her chest. She could feel the bandages through her nightgown and wondered who had made them. "This is too confusing."

Xu Lin looked at her with compassion. "I know. I too feel like I don't understand a thing."

Jade shook her head a bit. She would have to talk about her... death when Uncle was there. He would certainly be able to tell her more. "So... Are all demons on our side? Even Shendu?"

"Even he," Xu Lin replied with a nod.

"Heh, he must not like it that much?"

"No. He is in a bad mood all the time and promises everyone that he will kill us once this is all over."

"I guess we just need to be prepared for him, then." Jade was silent for a while when she suddenly thought of something. "Oh! I had completely forgotten! Your dreams! Has Uncle found out what they mean?"

"We haven't had time to talk about them because we have been busy elsewhere. While you... slept we have prepared many projects. I was in Sweden solving a problem with Jackie, Mr. Valmont, Shendu and Xiao Fung. Hsi Wu and his group were in England looking for books to help you with, and Bai Tsa -- "

"Hsi Wu did what?" Jade herself was surprised because of her exclamation and regretted it almost at once. Why had it been the sky demon who had gone to find help for her? And why hadn't Jackie been there?

"He really wanted to help you. You should have seen him after you died. He cried."

Jade couldn't say a thing. She felt... weird. She was sorry for that she hadn't listened to the sky demon's warnings of Shin, but on the other hand... He was a demon and it felt very embarrassing and uncomfortable that he had cried for her.

Thankfully she didn't have to come up with anything to say because the attention of the both of them was drawn to a demon who stepped in.

Tso Lan looked at the girl with a blank expression in his eyes. Jade felt cold. Unlike Xu Lin, she hadn't had time to get used to the demons' presence. She could still remember how Tso Lan had tried to kill her five years ago.

"Is your older uncle somewhere here?" Tso Lan asked. His tongue seemed to have a life of its own and it reminded Jade of a snake. She felt sick.

"I don't know," she replied, only then realising that she had no idea where Uncle, Jackie and the rest were.

"I believe Uncle is having a conversation with Tohru," Xu Lin said. "We forced Jackie to sleep after he had stayed up next to you for hours," she added turning to look at Jade again.

Tso Lan floated past them without saying anything else or even glancing at them.

"Well, that was impolite," Jade stated when the demon was gone. Xu Lin couldn't help but agree.

"Tell me about it. I think he is always like that. The other demons at least pay attention to us and some of them are almost tolerable," she said.

Jade looked at her friend not quite believing her ears. "You can't mean that."

Xu Lin blushed. "Do you think I am wrong? You wrote me about your friendship with Hsi Wu."

"Yes, but I was a child back then. It has been years and having a demon as a friend is no longer cool. He is a demon... despite what he might have once been. He's cruel, violent and blood-thirsty," Jade said.

"I know. They all are."

Bai Tsa leaned against the wall in her rooms and closed her eyes.

Blast it…

"And I thought it wouldn't get more complicated than this," she muttered to herself.

The only thing in her mind was what Tso Lan and Po Kong had told them just an hour ago. How the two oldest demons had found out before them was a mystery to the water demon.

"Why have you called us here? And why haven't you included your dear mortal friends?" Shendu asked, as if desiring trouble with his stare. Tso Lan paid no attention to his brother but kept his eyes on the other siblings.

"I have found out something that we need to think about as a family without telling anything to the mortals. At least not yet. It would merely bother them, and this isn't even their business," he said.

"Then what is it?" Hsi Wu asked in curiosity. Bai Tsa, who had taken her true form to feel equal around her siblings, had been about to make the exactly same question. What could be so important that it couldn't be shared with the mortals? Especially since they had already told them so much.

"As you know, I was on a short trip in China to look for a book that we need to open a portal to Sha Fuju," Tso Lan said. Shendu shifted as the moon demon said the words, but kept his mouth shut.

"Yes, what happened?" Xiao Fung asked. The wind demon loved good stories and Bai Tsa could see that he thought he'd hear one.

"Details don't matter. I found my way into a temple and I was about to do research in the library. What was revealed to me was quite shocking indeed. And interesting, I have to admit that."

None of the demons said anything but waited for Tso Lan to continue.

"Almost every mortal there was brutally slaughtered and their bodies lay on the corridors and halls. I knew that something non-human had done it and continued on a bit more carefully. I got the book I wanted, but I also met the murderer."

Bai Tsa frowned. Tso Lan was not a story teller and the water demon was surprised that her brother had kept the story together this long. He would have usually just announced what had happened and stopped there.

"Who was it?" she asked putting to words what each of the demons, minus the oldest duo, had wondered.

"A demon who is about to take the name of Heing Meh."

This caused a surprised and even angry reaction in every sibling. Bai Tsa slashed with her tail and could almost smell the hatred of her siblings in the air. To her surprise she noticed that even she was hissing through her teeth.

"Did you fight with him?" Dai Gui asked and Tso Lan shook his head. Bai Tsa felt oddly disappointed. It would have been useful to find out just how strong their enemy was.

"No, but I found out something interesting. You know that our enemy was dead and was revived with the aid of young Chan's blood. It turned out that the demon is our youngest brother who died instantly after his birth."

Bai Tsa didn't have to glance at Hsi Wu to know that the sky demon froze when he heard Tso Lan's words. Hsi Wu had been created to replace the dead brother and he had lost his humanity because of it. The water demon didn't even want to know what the sky demon had to be thinking.

"How can that be? He was a pathetic creature as he died. Are you telling us that he was revived in full strength?" Shendu asked.

Tso Lan nodded. "Yes, he is an adult and fully developed in every field. This does make the situation a bit more complicated and perhaps we need to reconsider our plan. Do we want to attack our own brother?"

"Let's do it! He has already sent his servant on us and it's just right if we show him his place!" Hsi Wu growled. Each demon turned to look at the winged one, but he stood straight under their eyes.

"I agree with that worm and for once I am not ashamed to admit it," Shendu muttered.

"Good. I was hoping you would think so," Tso Lan said. "We won't take pity on him, but send him to his second death."

"It'll be the first time we can drink our own blood," Xiao Fund remarked darkly.

The moon demon snorted at the comment and the decision was made.

Bai Tsa wasn't sure whether she agreed with her siblings or not. Of course she wanted to punish the arrogant demon who had tried to kill two of them and was to blame for this mess, but... it felt somehow wrong to attack her own family.

She opened her eyes and slithered to The Eye of Atlantis. She had moved it to her own rooms after showing it to Tso Lan.

The demon placed her scaled hand on the pearl. Only a couple of words and a little concentration and she would be able to see their enemy in her mind. She could spy on him and hear everything he said. That was why she had retrieved the old artefact in the first place.

"Not yet," she decided. Soon, but only after she had taken care of some other matters. She wasn't quite used to the thought of killing her own brother yet and didn't want to see him.

Bai Tsa turned her eyes on the pearl. She would have to find out something to do while Tso Lan, Po Kong and the mortals prepared the spell for Sha Fuju. She knew she couldn't help them with that, but she wasn't about to lay useless either.

She glanced at the dark walls. She still hadn't done anything about them. Perhaps it was the time to begin.

"Finally something useful to do for my slave," she muttered to herself.

"This is going nowhere. We don't have to stand this anymore," Finn announced suddenly.

"What?" Ratso asked glancing at his friend. The Irishman gestured at the entire room.

"This!" he said. "We are treated like dirt! The demons and Chans act like they are so important, but they pay no attention to us. We are kept here like animals and only when they need us they bother to glance at our direction."

"And how does this differ from the way we were treated by Valmont?" Chow asked.

"Well hey, perhaps we have never received as much respect as we deserve, but this is too much. We have to do something," Finn said with a shrug.

"What? You want to tell Shendu that he should respect us more?" was Chow's next question.

"No! I just mean that we should at least know what is going on. They keep talking about how they need you for some thing of theirs, but do you even know what they are about to do? Thought so. We should at least be informed of the plans concerning us and be able to have effect on the decisions," the Irishman said.

"You have a point. Besides, it's really boring here. I wish we had something else to do," Ratso said.

Finn glanced at the silent Hak Foo. He knew that the warrior understood him the best. He was about to state that they should at least be able to leave when they wanted, but he didn't have the time to say anything else before Bai Tsa slithered in.

It was a small surprise to see the water demon in her true form because she had complained about the dryness of the palace so loudly that everyone must have heard it. It was also a bit unnerving as the scales and red eyes reminded them of what she really was.

"I need you now, slave. You can help me paint the walls of my rooms," the demon announced. Chow glanced at Finn with a lifted brow and the Irishman didn't miss it.

"You can't just barge in and tell me what to do," he announced lifting his head. Damn, Bai Tsa had really chosen a moment to come in...

"And why not?" the water demon asked and bent playfully closer. Finn swallowed.

"Because I have rights too and I am sick of no one listening to me! No one has the right to force me into anything," he said much more sharply than he had originally intended. Bai Tsa slit her eyes and didn't look amused anymore. Not at all.

"Why so arrogant, slave? Who do you think you are?" she asked.

"Why do you even want to order me around?" Finn asked ignoring the demon's question. "The truth is that your family has no power in our modern world and you want to keep me as a slave to feel that you are capable of even something. At least that makes you feel a little less pathetic!"

Bai Tsa backed away hissing, as if the Irishman had hit her and the tentacles in her head whirled dangerously. Finn blinked and was starting to feel that his speech hadn't been such a good idea after all.

"Nice knowing you," Chow stated quietly making Finn glare at him.

"How dare you talk to me like that? Do you even know what I could do to you?" Bai Tsa asked in rage and slithered to Finn, grabbing him from the collar of his jacket and lifting him above the floor.

Finn didn't feel quite as courageous as in the beginning, but there was no way to back away anymore. All he could do was to try to survive somehow.

"You never told me what you are capable of doing," he pointed out.

"I thought you mortals had a little more imagination," the demon snapped. She drew a deep breath and dropped the man on the floor. "I will come up with a punishment when we are painting the walls."

"I don't think I made myself clear..." Finn muttered. Bai Tsa grinned at him.

"I am giving you an opportunity to help me voluntarily. You don't want to know what it would feel like if I forced you into it."

Finn sighed in frustration. Why couldn't things just for once go like he wanted? Well, at least he hadn't been brutally killed just for mouthing his opinion. "Are you coming?" he asked turning to his friends.

Chow and Ratso glanced at each other.

"She's all yours," the Chinese said avoiding his friend's eyes.

"Well, thanks for the support," Finn said dryly. He knew that if there was a real, immediate danger his friends would be there with him, but if it was just painting with a demon...

One glance at Bai Tsa proved him that she was still on a bad mood. She had got mad quickly and it would take a while before she looked at anyone without frowning.

"Well! Come on! We are busy!" she hissed.

"What surprises me the most is that she has time to think about painting when everyone else is trying to save the world..." Finn muttered. It was quite ridiculous. Everyone else had a goal, but Bai Tsa was always planning or doing something else.

And yet what she was doing was more natural than others' business. They took care of magical portals, prophecies and mighty demons, but Bai Tsa somehow had time to concentrate on every day tasks. Such as painting.

She was weird, even when compared to her siblings.

"I really like the idea you gave me last time. I thought I'd put the dolphins here and a couple of whales here. What do you think?" the demon asked once they were in her rooms.

"So now you do ask my opinion?" Finn stated slipping his hands in his pockets. He hoped that Chow and Ratso had come too. With them the experience might have been tolerable.

Bai Tsa glared at him. "You are never pleased, are you?" Without waiting for Finn's reply she turned her back on him and slithered to paint pots she had got ready for them.

Finn looked in half interest as the demon placed a pot of black paint in front him and threw a brush at him. "I told you I can't draw," the Irishman said.

"And I told you that you may only colour. Leave the rest to me," the demon said. She took one of the pots and made her way to the wall with it. Then she dipped her claws in the paint and started to spread it on the wall.

Finn watched how she painted and for a while it was interesting. Bai Tsa seemed to have a perfect picture of what she wanted and she paid no attention to anything else.

After a while standing alone and watching how someone else worked was not as much fun as Finn had once thought, though.

How did I ever get involved with this? he thought to himself.

"Hi, Jade. Are you feeling better?"

Jade lifted her head in surprise when she heard Viper's voice. She greeted her friend with a smile. "Sure! Soon I'll be up and joining you!"

"Well, maybe not immediately," the woman said with a wink. "Knowing Jackie he won't let you go before every doctor on the planet agrees."

Jade grimaced and knew that Viper was right. "Come one. Look at me, I am fine. Surely you can tell Jackie that I need no extra treatment?" she asked hopefully.

"I don't know. I doubt he'd listen to me. He has barely ever done that," Viper said.

"But he has when it has been useful," Jade reminded. "Really! I'm sure I could stand up right now."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Xu Lin said.

"Why not?" Jade asked slightly irritated. Why couldn't anyone realise that she was sick of being sick and lying on the bed for hours?

"Think about it, Jade. So much has happened to you and you shouldn't play with your wound. Let it heal. You will have time to adventure," Viper said.

Jade didn't say a thing, but couldn't help but agree with her friends. She didn't have to like it though, and she felt angry. Why was it that there was always something stopping her from doing what she wanted the most?

"Well, how soon do you think that -- " her sentence was suddenly interrupted when she yawned. She suppressed it and blinked a couple of times.

"You need rest, Jade. We better let you sleep. We'll come back to check on you in a few hours. I also think that Uncle and Tso Lan need me. Come, Xu Lin," Viper decided.

"Yeah, leave me alone and go have fun with demons and criminals..." Jade muttered in annoyance.

"You will get enough of them. Trust me." Viper grinned. It didn't really make Jade feel any better.

"I doubt it..." she muttered once she was left alone.

For a moment Jade lay there eyes closed and tried to fall asleep. She really tried, but it was no use. She was tired, but also too curious to hear and see everything.

"This won't do," she snapped at herself and sat up carefully. Every movement sent pain through her chest, but she decided to ignore it for the time being. She wasn't a doll, after all.

She pushed the blanket aside and placed her feet on the floor. For a moment Jade sat there and then she stood up.

It wasn't as horrible as she had feared. She almost lost her balance when she couldn't lean on the bed anymore and she had to seek help from the wall. The uncomfortable position made her wound throb more and Jade straightened quickly while blinking away the tears of the sudden pain.

Jackie will kill me, she thought, but it didn't make her stop. She had to see what was going on before the whole adventure was over with. She walked in determination and used her other hand to find support in the wall. Every once in a while she felt like she was about to fall.

Where should she go? She didn't know the palace at all and had no one to ask for advice. They would just make her return to the bed and make sure she didn't run off again.

I'll just take a quick glance around and that's it, she promised herself.

When she had walked for a while everything started to get bigger. The ceiling was high above and the corridors very wide. Jade remembered Xu Lin saying that the palace belonged to Dai Gui. No wonder everything was demon-size.

She felt slightly insecure wandering around in a nightgown. The excitement made her feel warm and enthusiastic -- just what she wanted.

Tso Lan hadn't tried to kill her this time, so she suspected the other demons would act the same way. Oh, she so wanted to meet one of them! Not Shendu of course, but someone else. Not too close, but a glance would be nice.

She hadn't got very far when she noticed that walking had become more difficult. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath and closed her eyes when her chest ached.

I'll take a quick rest, she thought and leaned a bit more on the wall. She was surprised for that she had got tired so soon. Perhaps Jackie and others had been right...

"Jade? What are you doing here?" A shadow was cast on her and the girl lifted her gaze. She tried to back away as she saw the sky demon, but then realised that she didn't have to be afraid. He didn't have the permission to hurt her.

"I am taking a look around," she replied.

"I didn't think your uncle would let you go this soon," the demon stated. Jade brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"What makes you think I need his permission?" she asked.

Hsi Wu merely snorted.

"You know, Hsi Wu..." Jade started then. The demon tilted his head and frowned.

"Yes?"

"I am sorry for that I didn't listen to you. Saying this is not fun, but I was wrong and I should have done as you told me," Jade said.

"Then maybe you will have enough sense to listen to those wiser than you next time."

Jade frowned at the statement. Hsi Wu was being very rude toward her. It didn't really surprise her, after all, she had ignored him and went with Shin, but didn't their old friendship mean anything? Was there anything left of it?

"Why did you even try to warn me? I wouldn't have thought that a demon cares about the fate of a mortal," she said just as coldly as the demon a moment ago.

"I don't," Hsi Wu growled. "I merely didn't want Shin to achieve anything. I knew he was trying to get something from you and I wanted to stop it."

"I see. Not that I expected anything else."

Jade took a few proud steps past the demon and went on. Her wish had come true and she had met a demon, but it hadn't been exciting at all. Now she was only on a bad mood.

"You shouldn't be here alone. Shendu roams here too," Hsi Wu said staring after her. Jade couldn't be bothered to glance back at him.

"I know," she said rebelliously. The thought of meeting the dragon in his true form didn't please her, but she didn't want to show it to Hsi Wu.

"Then you are stupid. He hates you and your family more than before, if it just is possible, and will do anything to get his hands on you," the sky demon warned.

"I know that too. I haven't forgotten everything," Jade said.

"So you have forgotten something?"

Now Jade turned to look because something in Hsi Wu's voice told her that he was very relieved and hopeful.

"No, I have no clear memories of what happened after Shin forced me on the altar," she said.

"So you don't remember what happened right before..." Hsi Wu grew silent looking uncertain for the first time under Jade's eyes. She shook her head.

"I don't." She blinked. The sky demon's form was confusing in front of her and she couldn't see his features clearly anymore. "Stay still so that I can see you..."

"What do you mean? I am not moving."

"Look at yourself, swinging in every direction..." Jade took a step back, but it only resulted in her falling on her knees. Hsi Wu stared for a while, but then lifted her on his arms.

"Stupid," he hissed to himself. "Too sick to do anything and too stubborn to believe it!"

"Ah, finally. We have been expecting you," Tso Lan greeted Viper as she stepped in their little library.

"Well, I have other things in my life besides staying here all the time," the woman remarked with a shrug.

"You shouldn't have. We are busy enough already. Thankfully we have got past the most difficult phase and have found out how to reach what we want. Take a look at here." Tso Lan spoke with child-like enthusiasm and Viper was able to hear joy in the demon's voice as well.

I will never understand book worms, she thought to herself.

Uncle, Tohru, Origami, Po Kong and Chow were also there. The two male criminals didn't look very happy with anything that was going on around them. Viper was quite disappointed as she wasn't able to tell anything from their expressions.

Tso Lan showed them a book and held it in his arms as if it was a child. "I found this book in China and it tells with great detail what we have to do. We only have to go through every phase so that everyone remembers them, and then we can open a portal in Sha Fuju."

Chow shifted and Viper glanced at the man. She guessed they were all thinking about the same thing.

"What do we have to do?" she asked.

"Do you and Origami have the halves?" Uncle asked. The both of them showed the artefacts to the old man. Viper was quite surprised for that she hadn't even remembered its existence. It had almost become a part of her.

"I assume I am free to go after this?" the Japanese thief asked.

"That is up to Shendu. My brother might be a pain, but I will not tell him what to do with his slaves," Tso Lan said.

"I don't think you should treat us like this. We are important to your plans and you need us," Viper stated. She hated the way Tso Lan acted. The moon demon was quite annoying with his way of showing that he didn't care about them the least.

"We have no time to go through this again," the demon said. "I and old Chan have decided to open the portal in one of the halls. It is spacey and will provide us with enough room to gather everything in the same place." He gestured at his collection of books and spell ingredients as he spoke.

"We will need my entire family for the spell. The chanting will create a magical field inside which it's easy for you to unite the halves and open the portal. After that you will step in for a couple of minutes and ask a question. Are you listening to me?"

Chow flinched a little. "Yeah, sure."

"Good. You have to ask 'How can we get rid of Heing Meh?' and nothing else. After that you return and tell us the answer," Tso Lan said with a nod.

"And then it's over?" Viper asked.

"Yes. After that we will know how to stop him from taking over the world and can concentrate on that," Uncle said.

"So it seems that this adventure is about to end."

"Jade? Jade!"

Where has she gone now? She hasn't changed at all! Jackie thought to himself and sighed. He had woken up and had gone to check on Jade. He had found the girl's bed empty. It hadn't really surprised him, but he had been disappointed. The girl should have had enough sense to stay in bed.

Jackie froze when he saw Hsi Wu flying toward him. He noticed Jade's limb form in the demon's arms and his first thought was naturally that he had done something to her.

"Hsi Wu!" he exclaimed and the demon landed in front of him. Jackie ran to him and snatched Jade from him.

"What happened?" he asked angrily and in worry. At least Jade was still alive and didn't look more hurt than before.

"She ran off and started to wander around. It was too much for her and she fainted," Hsi Wu stated and didn't even try to stop Jackie from taking the girl. "She should listen to others."

Jackie couldn't have agreed more, but he didn't say it aloud. "Why are you so interested in her?" he asked instead.

Hsi Wu looked surprised to hear the question. "What?" he croaked.

"You have been quite eager to save Jade lately," Jackie said with a tight voice. "And if your words are true, you have taken care of her before. I may have to thank you for stopping Shendu from killing her five years ago."

"I don't need your approval, mortal."

"I know. However, I want to know what Jade means to you. You must have a reason for worrying about her so," Jackie insisted. He felt terrible talking about Jade like that to a demon, but he had to know. Only then he would be able to decide what to do.

Hsi Wu straightened to his full height and spread his wings. "She is just another mortal to me. Protecting her is merely a nice hobby," he said.

Jackie looked at the demon and nodded then. "Good. That was what I wanted to hear." He turned around and started to carry Jade away.

To be continued...