Hsi Wu cursed as he collided with yet another wall of light; crashing away from it in much the same way he had rebounded the first time he had encountered one of these walls. His speed had dropped drastically since then, though that was a purposefully move on his part to lessen the force of the impact. So far it had done him little good.
A very deep and irritated growl emitted from the transformed sky demon; he knew full well that this exit would have to be written off as well. Damn it! He cursed again, ramming into a wall purely out of frustration and spite. The resulting dent was certainly bigger than what a rodent could manage but it was in no way big enough for him. With the mood he was in now, Hsi Wu could very much imagine razing cities and not being appeased.
Why the hell were all the exits blocked?
The magic before him flickered dangerously, bucking and kicking where all had been calm before. Surprised by the sudden action, Hsi Wu broke away from his thoughts to gaze upon the wall; horror replacing confusion as the barrier lurched forward.
Shit! The demon inwardly screamed, jumping out of the way just as the magic slammed into the place he had previously occupied. Running at demon speed the moment his paws touched down, Hsi Wu was now very much aware that the wall he had cursed mere seconds ago was now chasing him back through the tunnels.
Or perhaps chasing wasn't quite the right word, to Hsi Wu 'herded' seemed to be a much better description. After all, with every tunnel he bypassed only those that led back the way he came were magic free. The thought of what awaited him at the end almost had Hsi Wu skidding to a halt; his brief hesitation earning him nothing more than singed fur.
Why was he being led back to that howling beast? Did the magic want him to cause more commotion than he already had?
At the speed he was going now it was only a matter of time before the tunnel ran out. As if spurred by his thoughts alone, the pin prick of light that was the entrance appeared on the horizon. With one last sigh, Hsi Wu barreled out into the light. The tunnel was magically sealed the moment he left its confines, effectively locking him in with a very excited beast.
The Sky Demon looked up at the ancient dog he had met earlier, now howling loud enough to wake anyone within a fifty mile radius. Well,He thought with a shrug, finally giving in. If I'm going to do this than it might as well be in style, no way I'm dying as a gerbil.
With the barest of seconds, Hsi Wu once again resumed his full demon form; a wide and evil grin now playing across his features. Who knew? Maybe this would be fun after all.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Drago landed lightly in what appeared to be a grassy clearing; the full moon already high above him in a pitch black sky.
"The human world," He breathed, savoring the fragrant air. "Finally."
With a dull thunk, some small object shot out of the portal before it closed; falling softly to the ground near his feet. With amused curiosity, Drago knelt down to gather up his uncle's moose camera; an image of the person he despised most now frozen on its smooth screen.
With a terrifying hiss and a burst of dragon flame, the moose themed device erupted into a ball of fire.
"Chan. . ." The fire demon snarled, clenching his smoking fists with a familiar range. Images of that infuriating girl, both as a child and as a woman flashed through his head with an almost painful clarity. A couple of trees caught fire as he remembered how easily she had trapped him in the past, forced him to endure her child self and younger uncles. It was her fault he had been in the netherworld at all.
The sound of sirens called him back to reality with an annoying jolt. He had not realized his temper induced forest fire would draw attention this fast. Damn cops, they had definitely gotten better at their jobs since he had last dealt with them. Those lazy pigs hadn't known their donut holes from their asses when he had roamed San Fran.
He jumped out of sight and into one of the few non-burning trees; a smug smile tugging at his lips when he realized what view it afforded him.
He hadn't realized that he had touched down on a hill; much less a hill that looked over a prison. The smug smile turned into a grin as he contemplated what this may mean for him. Were any of his old homies within those walls? If they were than he would have company very soon; he knew enough about prisons to guarantee that much.
Leaping off his perch, the young dragon effortlessly sped through the country side; avoiding cops and firemen alike in his quest to sneak a closer look at the facility. Drago was not a clumsy youth, he knew no one would be able to track him down if he truly put an effort into being stealthy.
Eventually Drago got lucky and struck upon a well-paved road; deserted except for the clearly marked information sign. And there, written clearly upon green metal, were the words: San Quentin State Prison. This time Drago laughed, a wicked laugh that came from the pure thrill of this discovery. He knew this prison; better yet he knew that if his minions had been caught, then this is where they would have gone.
Punching out the front of the next cop car to come down the road; Drago popped the hood back into shape and tossed the unconscious officers into the bushes. Changing into his newly acquired uniform and morphing into a carbon copy of its original owner, the demon disguised as a cop drove calmly to his next job.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Jade awoke with a start as Scruffy began howling for the second time that night; grumbling with irritation as she slid from under the covers and slipped on her lace slippers.
"Scruffy." She grumbled tiredly, half stumbling to where her dog still barked, "Give up on that mouse already and go back to-" She stopped, too stunned to speak by what actually stood before her; it was definitely not a mouse.
There was a seven foot tall demon sorcerer standing in her living room, a look of complete shock playing across his features as he took her in.
For some reason, this was the moment her mind chose to show her exactly how she appeared to her old enemy. Hair ruffled from sleep, eyes bloodshot, and dressed in pink lacy pajamas complete with lacy bunny slippers; Jade knew she was turning ruby red. Oh God, what an impression.
"You," Hsi Wu gasped, seemingly just as lost for words as she was. "What are you doing here?"
"Me?" She demanded, his accusing tone effectively snapping her back from cloud nine. "You're the one standing in my living room!"
The sky demon quirked an eyebrow as he seemed to process this information. "Yours?" She nodded as he looked pointedly at the still barking Scruffy. "Is he yours too?"
"Uh. . . yeah." Jade blinked, surprised both by the demon's polite tone and by the fact that her dog was still causing an uproar. The appearance of Hsi Wu had all but shoved it from her mind, who would logically focus on their pet when a man who'd enslaved millions stopped by for tea? "Scruffy." She said firmly, knowing that the noise would only distract her from getting down to business. "Down."
Scruffy looked at her like she was insane but backed off anyway, grumbling all the way. Idly she wondered if dogs could curse; if so then that was probably what he was doing.
"I thought you didn't have a dog," The sky demon remarked smugly, leaning against the wall and raising another infuriating eyebrow. "Or is this another demon's tail playing dress up?"
He remembered that? Jade had never really chalked that incident up to anything important but hey, Demons had different thought processes. Still, she needed to stay on topic. She wasn't here to reminisce.
"Things change." She began curtly, only stopping as she felt his eyes rove her form.
"Obviously." If possible, her ruby blush deepened even more; the sky demon shamelessly checked her out once more.
"Anyway." She coughed, trying to cover her embarrassment. "Why are you here?"
"Hell if I know sugar," he shrugged, moving over to lounge on her sofa despite her protests. "Shendu's spell brought me here but there's something else happening too."
Jade frowned at both his words and the name he had so nonchalantly called her. "Something else."
He gestured vaguely over to the mouse hole where, once she followed his gaze, one could see a shimmering green light covering the entrance. Once she had watched it for a few seconds the light flickered and disappeared.
"It's a magical barrier." Hsi Wu continued airily, answering her unspoken question. "It prevented me from running too far and then chased me back here." He sighed and ran a claw through his head spikes. "I don't know what it is but no magic I know will work against it."
Jade's eyes were wide as his news registered within her head. "So I'm stuck with you inside my house?"
The demon shrugged again but this time it was accompanied by an evil grin. "Guess we're roomies."
"Ugh," Was it healthy to feel like bashing one's head into a wall. "Bad Day. . ."