The author's happy because she's watching season 4, but still wondering what have happened with Tarakudo... He disappeared! Anyway, the little shadowkhans of the episode called "The Shadow Eaters" are SO cute! ^_^ And "The Good Guys" looks like it was written by a fanfic writer! It's just me or characters are OOC in season 4? But like VampireNaomi said, that's a good thing, since it is an excuse to us, fic writers, to write OOC fics!

Thank you for all those who reviewed!

*****

Chapter 10: Family Problems

The demons glanced around themselves, completely confused. They seemed not to understand very well what was happening. Julia was amazed with them. Uncle was in the ground trying to get up. Tohru had to help him.

"Tohru, we have to seal the demons again.", Uncle said trying to keep standing up. The demons quickly noticed Jackie.

"Chan!", Bai Tsa hissed angry. Hsi Wu looked at the humans' group. He raised his brows when he saw a young girl among them. A girl whose he remembered pretty well. The same hair, the same expression, the same eyes, the same clothes.

He was a bit surprised. The last time he had seen her, she was just a little girl. Now she was a beautiful woman. Actually, without even noticing he had thought about her for all these years. In the boring Netherworld, he had nothing better do to but to watch the videos in that Super Moose camera. He had learned how to make it work properly and spent hours watching olds recordings and making new ones.

In fact, that was what he was doing until now. But suddenly, a portal had been opened right before his eyes, and Hsi Wu didn't think too much to soon decide to go through it. And now he was here, in this strange and cold place, with three of his siblings and twelve humans.

Jackie and Jade stepped back. Viper was holding Jack tightly. They obviously were in disadvantage against the demons, and their only salvation was Uncle.

"Uncle, you have to cast the chi-spell to banish the demons again.", Jackie whispered.

"Used up too much 'chi'... Uncle needs to take a rest...", he answered sounding very tired.

"Let's destroy them before they cast the chi-spell!", Bai Tsa said and her siblings nodded. They all moved forward and the humans flinched. Valmont ran to Julia and grabbed her. Viper did the same thing with Jack and Tohru tried to help Uncle. They ran along the corridor of the cave until reaching the hole. They climbed up and continued running, with the demons pursuing them.

"Hurry, Uncle! The chi-spell!", Jackie screamed and Uncle stopped with Tohru.

"Right... Tohru, help me...", he murmured and took the ingredients. A lotus flower, a fan, a gourd and a flute.

"Jackie! Jade! Come back here! We two cannot banish four demons at the same time!", Uncle yelled as he could. Jackie and Jade ran to him. Jackie was with the flute, Jade with the lotus flower, Tohru with the gourd and Uncle with the fan. Uncle began to cast the chi-spell and the demons stopped.

"No! It's that chi-spell!", Bai Tsa shouted.

"That's it! No way I am going to stay here and return to that place for the third time!", Xiao said turning to run away, and so did Hsi Wu.

"You're going to run away?!", Bai asked not believing and Tso Lan approached of her.

"Let's withdrawn by now. We can think of a plan more calmly in another place.", he said and Bai reluctantly nodded. Jackie stopped playing the flute and stared at the demons going away.

"I don't believe... They ran away...?", he said in a low voice and Uncle fell again. Jackie and Jade ran to him.

"Uncle, are you alright?", Jade asked in worry.

"Yes... Just need to rest..."

"We have to be careful. The demons ran away now, but surely they'll return.", Jackie said discouraged. He helped Uncle to get up and they decided that it was better if he recovered first so that they could banish the demons later. They went back to the group, which now was separated in two.

"Julia, how good that you are alright! I was so worried about you.", Valmont said hugging his daughter, who pushed him away.

"No, dad! You were worried about what would happen if I'm not with you to do your dirty work!", she snapped.

"Julia, you know that's not true!", he said angry.

"When are you going to understand that I already found out the truth a long time ago and that I don't like you anymore? Leave me alone!", she said turning to go away. Valmont held her arm.

"Wait! Where do you think you are going?"

"I'm going to go back to the cave. Shendu is still there.", she answered trying to release her arm.

"What? So what that he's still there? You are safe with me now. You don't have to stay with him."

"But I think it is safer to stay with the demons than stay with you!"

Jade watched how the two argued. She thought that it wouldn't be good to interfere, though she wanted to help Julia. Valmont sighed and looked at Hak Foo.

"Take her.", he ordered and Hak nodded. He approached of the girl and grabbed her tightly. She tried to break free from his grip, but he didn't move at all.

"No, leave me! Let me go! Jade, help!", she yelled and Jade flinched. She didn't know what to do, but she agreed that it would be really safer to stay away from the demons.

~/~/~

"Why did we come back to this cave?", Xiao wanted to know.

"Because someone opened our portals with the Meng Hsie pendant. I've already read about that type of spell. It requires a lot of energy, and if somebody did that, he must have very strong reasons. Let's talk to him.", Tso Lan explained and Bai looked at Hsi.

"Hsi Wu, what are you holding?", she asked and Hsi hid the camera behind him.

"Nothing...", he answered uneasy. The four demons arrived at the ritual room and saw a blond man fallen in the ground, though he was awake. Bai Tsa used one of her tentacles to grab him and lifted him until the height of her eyes.

"Why would a mere mortal like you free us?", she asked.

"Mere mortal...? Bai Tsa, it's me..."

"Shendu? I didn't recognize you. Why is your hair with that color?"

"It always had this color. I used to turn it dark because in ancient China blond people weren't common.", he answered and Bai Tsa let him go.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Take your true form.", Xiao said.

"I can't... That old man made me use more energy than necessary. I don't get to do anything else."

"So that's why only four of us were freed. Why didn't you inform us that you were going to free us again?", Tso Lan wanted to know.

"I was in a hurry. That chi-wizard prepared a locator spell to find the talismans. I didn't have time."

"Speaking of talismans, why isn't the horse talisman curing you?", Xiao asked.

"The energy lost was so much that even the power of the talismans was temporarily disabled.", Tso answered and Bai looked at him.

"And what about the Chans? They'll soon come after us.", she reminded and Tso thought for a while.

"Firstly, we have to find a hideout. We'll free our siblings that are still imprisoned. Thus, we'll have more advantage. Then we'll think of a plan. Shendu, I suggest that you get rid of your talismans. That chi-wizard will find you with the locator spell. And if you don't do that, you won't be able to stay with us.", Tso said seriously.

~/~/~

"I just say that today was a very weird day, and never again I want to do that!", Jack complained.

"Jade, did you bring the demons' photo?", Vinicius asked happily and Jade sighed.

"No, because I didn't have a camera...", she answered and Vinicius sighed in frustration.

"C'mon, Jade... Even the demons had a camera...", Jack remarked sarcastically and Jade looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't see? One of the demons had a camera of that old cartoon... what's the name? Super Moose...?"

"Hsi Wu........ What were you doing with that?", she murmured in confusion.

"Jade is lucky. Everybody is so concerned in banishing the demons that didn't even remembered of punish her or something. After all, it was her who began all this by taking that Julia to Section 13.", Jack commented and Jade stood up.

"What?", Vinicius asked.

"Nothing. I'm just going to a walk..."

~/~/~

"Come on, Shendu. That will make you feel better.", Tso said calmly.

"No! I already said that I won't dive in that cold water!"

"Stop being a real handful. Don't act like a child."

"NO!"

"It's for your own sake, Shendu.", Bai Tsa said turning from water into her true form behind him and pushing him to inside the lake.

"GAAAHHH!"

"And after you get out of there, get rid of the talismans. We need to find a hideout close to the Chan clan without being noticed.", Tso Lan continued while Shendu struggled trying to swim.

"Calm down, Shendu. This lake is shallow, you won't drown.", Xiao said amused.

"But this is horrible!", the dragon complained. Hsi Wu rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered why his siblings were so strange.

"Ah, stop being fussy. It's just water...", the sky demon said and Shendu glared at him.

"I'll remember to tell you something very similar when we visit brother Dai Gui. Only replacing the word 'water' by 'tunnel'.", he snapped and Hsi snorted.

"Idiot...", Hsi muttered, though Shendu has heard.

"What? You cannot talk to me like that! I'm your older brother!"

"Then act like one! You look like a child when you're afraid of water!"

"Why you grown bat!", Shendu shouted getting out of the lake and moving forward to attack Hsi Wu.

"Come on, you... weak human.", Hsi said smiling as he held Shendu with only one hand. Then the dragon remembered that he was still in his human form.

"Hsi Wu, don't hit your brother when he is in a human form.", Tso Lan said watching them.

"But I only have advantage on Shendu when he is like that.", Hsi Wu defended and Shendu took advantage of his distraction to punch his face and break free.

The two siblings began to fight. Shendu didn't get to take his true form yet, but some powers of the talismans were beginning to return, and luckily the fire demon had already gotten the super-strength.

"They'll never grow up...", Bai commented.

"Yay! Fight! Fight!", Xiao commemorated excited and Tso Lan and Bai Tsa glanced at him in despise and sighed.

"Let's put an end to that. Tchang Zu won't like to know that only we were freed...", Tso Lan remarked.

"Hey, you two! Stop that right now!", Bai ordered.

"I see that you are feeling much better, Shendu. Then why don't you get rid of the talismans so that we can look for a hideout?", Tso said dryly and Shendu frowned. He wanted to stay with his talismans, but it was really very dangerous to keep them now.

~/~/~

"Are you telling me that you weren't kidnapped? You really wanted to go with him?", Valmont confirmed not believing. Julia crossed her arms.

"Are you deaf? That's what I has been saying for hours!", Julia snapped. The enforcers were hearing them arguing, although they were in the thirteenth floor. Finn sighed and shook his head.

"Why can't those two get along? And here I thought that I had problems with my parents.", he commented.

"Yeah, me too. And it's always the same thing. Soon we are going to hear the sound of things breaking, doors slamming... and after three days they'll be talking to each other as nothing had happened.", Chow said.

"I don't know. I think this time is serious.", Finn said as they heard those yelling angry at each other. Then they heard the sound of a slamming door and after that there was only a mortal silence.

"Things weren't like this when Sara was still alive...", Ratso said leaning his chin on his hand.

"When Sara was still alive, those two hardly saw each other. Sara always took Julia in her missions. How do you think that Julia know so much about Section 13's security?", Finn reminded and the other two nodded. Finn took 50 dollars from his pocket.

"I bet 50 dollars that she's going to run away tonight."

*****

Hmm... Short chapter, isn't it? I've just noticed it, but I can't edit this fic again! Ok, chapter 14 will compensate, since it's huge and has few characters lines and too much narration.