Author's Note: This chapter was originally meant to be longer, but I decided to split it into two because it would've been too long otherwise. Plus, a lot of you have been waiting for this moment :P
Once again a huge thank you to InsanityisReality for being my Beta and giving me all of her wonderful encouragement.
Please don't forget to review!
The Highest Tower
Finding the J-Team had actually gone much better then Jade had thought it would. She'd suspected that they would be in their country of origin, seeing as Jade and Jackie and Uncle had been in China and not America in this new reality. So they'd headed to Japan for Tohru, and Mexico for El Toro and Paco. Both times, the demons that lorded over that region had not expected them. They were completely unprepared. Either they were so stuck in their own superiority complex that they were unafraid of the humans… Or Valerie hadn't ratted them out. Jade was so proud of her.
Jade knew that if nothing else, Shendu would be coming after them. She hoped that this would give her at least a little more time before he tried to bind Valerie to him. That was the ticking clock that Jade was constantly aware of.
Now, they were headed towards the lair of the Sky Demon, Hsi Wu. Honestly, Jade was dreading it. If Shendu still knew about the old reality, then Hsi Wu must be the same.
Hsi Wu's tower was tall and imposing. It quite literally touched the clouds. Jade knew that being the demon of the sky, Hsi Wu would want his home to be close to his comfort zone. But damn, that was a long way down. They were so high up that Paco started to get a little dizzy, and Uncle was finding it hard to catch his breath. But they continued to push on, until the carpet quietly and slowly brought them level with the top of the tower.
The top was built in a dome shape, but with no doors or windows, just arched openings in the walls that opened up onto great stone balconies. Candle light danced out on the dark evening, reflected off of many shiny surfaces inside. Jade was the first to climb off of the carpet and keep herself low to the ground as she crawled on the balcony. When Jackie and the others tried to follow, she held up a hand to stop them.
"Hey… you guys wait here," she whispered.
Jackie shot a worried look at her instantly. "What? Why?"
"Jade, is something wrong?" Tohru asked as quietly as he could.
"No!" she said quickly. "I… I just wanna check it out first."
El Toro placed his fist over his heart with a loud 'thump'. "El Toro will protect you, mi amiga,"
"No, I don't need help. Just stay here! I'll be right back!"
Before any of them could argue, she was already scurrying away and leaving them far behind.
Bracing herself against one of the arches, Jade struggled to keep her heart calm. Ever so slowly, she edged her way around the wall so that she could peak inside.
The floors were decorated beautifully in mosaic pictures, the colours ranging all shades of the rainbow, though sky-blue mostly dominated the picture. The tiles were polished to perfection and gleamed proudly. The walls were decorated in various reflective metals and objects, trying to catch the last light of the sky in any way possible. Jade had to stare for a moment. Was His Wu part magpie or something?
In the centre of the room, a large tub was propped up, with a very smug-looking demon inside. Hsi Wu slouched in the steaming water, bubbles frothing all around him. The mere sight of him made Jade's stomach coil. He held a brush in one claw to scrub his back. Obviously he had not noticed Jade just yet. He hummed appreciatively as he brushed along the back of his wings, red eyes opening to slink upwards. It was only then that Jade noticed an overly large birdcage hanging from the ceiling. Inside it, was none other than the sleek and beautiful Viper, though not so glamourous anymore, with her black hair now ruffled and her tanned skin smeared with grime.
"What? No music while I bathe?" Hsi Wu crooned patronisingly up at Viper. Jade grit her teeth at his smug grin. "Sing for me, my little caged Songbird."
Viper sighed before answering in a monotone: "Tweet. Tweet."
Hsi Wu snickered to himself. Unable to take it a moment longer, scowl plastered on her face, Jade walked boldly out into the room. Viper's eyes widened when she saw the little girl strut into the room like she owned the place. Hsi Wu didn't notice a thing.
"Hello Hsi Wu."
"What?" He dropped the brush in the tub in his surprise. He twisted around so fast, water sloshed over the side. When his red eyes found Jade, they widened. But an instant later, a smirk widened across his dark face. "Ah, Jade. What a pleasant surprise."
He stood out of the water and stepped out. Water ran off of his body, cascading over every dark feature. Lazily he reached for his loincloth on a nearby table and wrapped it around his waist. Jade kept her eyes glaring up at his, refusing to move them or allow the blush of embarrassment to manifest on her cheeks.
"Hope you didn't mind the height on the way up. You'll be spending a long time here," Hsi Wu couldn't keep the grin off his face or out of his voice.
"Go to hell, demon-boy. I'm not staying anywhere with you," Jade spat.
"Such a sharp tongue for a human sla…" the demon trailed off as a look of understanding eclipsed his face. Then his devilish smirk was back. "Ah. You know."
"I know."
"Then this makes this an official reunion, doesn't it?" He took a step towards her, only for Jade to sidestep out of his way. "Why did you come here? To lock me away? To seek justice against me?"
"Something like that," she murmured.
"Or perhaps you couldn't help yourself. I know you didn't come all this way by yourself, or without a way to defeat me. So why give me this warning?"
Her feet didn't stop moving as they circled each other, even when she practically growled out: "I wanted to see the look in your eyes. To tell you I'm gonna send you straight to hell."
"No, you were drawn in. The compulsion of one's Other is quite a strong one."
"You're wrong."
"Am I?" he raised a brow at her. "Why do you think Valerie stayed with you for so long? She should've run for the hills as soon as she found out a demon was after her."
For a moment, Jade faltered, doubted. Her mouth blurted out the first denial that came to mind. "Val wanted to stick with us."
"Oh, it was more than that. She was pulled in, a subtle magic pushing her towards Shendu. It's so slight, you never realise it until you know it's there. The universe pushes you to unite with your other-half, your chi calls out and pulls you close together until you are joined."
"Your wrong, demon-boy." Jade shook her head. Though Hsi Wu's words slithered inside her head, causing her to doubt, to consider it as truth, she still refused to believe.
"You just gave your whole game away because of this. That tells us who's right." He grinned triumphantly. He leant down towards her. "Face it, Jade, you can't escape this. No matter how hard you try."
"Keep dreaming."
"Always so stubborn. Have you forgotten so quickly that you owe me?"
Jade's feet stopped dead. "I don't owe you nothing!"
"Oh yes you do," his eyes turned sharp and piercing. "You remember how it was me that snuck you through to the Eighth Door, that got you past all my brothers and sisters. They would've wanted you dead if they'd seen you. I got us through that door."
He continued to circle her. Jade's feet were rooted to the ground. She couldn't find the will to move them as she let him walk around her.
"And if I remember correctly… we had a deal."
"Deal?"
"Yes, once we were out of the portal, we'd be bound together. Well guess which side of that portal we're on now…"
Jade found her voice along with her outrage. "Not gonna happen!"
"Oh it will. You seem to forget that I have excellent leverage." He gestured up with a claw to Viper in the cage.
Jade returned her scowl on him, desperate to cover up the way her stomach was doing in flips n terror. "You're going down."
"Fine, play it that way." The sky demon finally sneered. He crouched, and Jade was suddenly reminded of a big cat ready to pounce. "I only have to bide my time, anyway."
"Jade!" shouted a voice.
The pair of them looked over to see Jackie and the others rushing into the room.
"Jackie!" Jade shouted back.
Hsi Wu snarled. "Back away! The girl is mine!"
Before anyone could stop him, he snatched Jade up into his claws. The girl shrieked, both in surprise as well as the painful feeling of energy filling her up until she thought she would explode. El Toro was the first to reach them, but Hsi Wu batted him aside with a sweep of one of his massive wings.
Jackie was there a second later, seeming to appear out of nowhere. A look of fierceness was on his face, one that Jade had never seen before. He looked like he wanted to kill Hsi Wu. With a yell, he thrust his fist into the demon's face. With the power of the Ox Talisman, the punch sent Hsi Wu shooting backwards with a yell. He dropped Jade in the process, and crumpled against the far wall.
Jade rolled up from her fall, panting to regain her breath. Jackie helped her up and pushed her back towards where Uncle and Paco were waiting with the Chi-Spell. As Uncle put his hands together to begin the chant, Jade all but snatched the flute out of Paco's hands. She turned back to watch as Hsi Wu picked himself up and launched himself at Jackie and Tohru. This was now personal.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao… Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao…" Uncle murmured to himself. Jade saw the moment when Hsi Wu recognised the words and stiffened. She brought the flute to her lips and began to play the notes, never taking her eyes off of the scene in front of her.
Hsi Wu's eyes widened in fear. He clapped his hands over his ears, as if he could deny ever hearing the sound. "What?! Who's playing the flute?! I despise the flute!"
Their eyes met a second before the Chi-Spell took effect. Jade smirked up at him. "Told you I would."
"Nooooooo!" the sky demon screamed as he was pulled off of the ground and into the gaping red hole that had appeared out of nowhere.
In the silence that followed, the team just took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief. None more so than Jade.
However, it was broken by a confused voice. "Who are you guys?"
Jade looked up and grinned at her old role model. Tohru and El Toro quickly set about lowering the chain of the cage to the floor, as Jackie opened it and helped Viper climb out of it.
Jade grinned at her friends. "Everybody, say hello to Viper. The craftiest member of the J-Team."
"Team, huh?" the woman said with a thoughtful finger tapping against her full lips.
Jade didn't notice Jackie come up beside her until he was kneeling next to her. He spoke to her in a soft and quiet voice. "Jade, what happened back there?"
The girl quickly looked at the ground. "It's nothing now. Nothing but a bad-dream. Probably best if you didn't know."
They were cut short when a flash of lightning split the sky, a boom of thunder sounding a second later. Paco screeched and flung himself into El Toro's arms.
Viper looked up at the ceiling and swallowed nervously. "Err… guess you didn't know Hsi Wu was scrubbing up 'cause he was expecting company."
Jade followed her gaze upwards towards one of the upper balconies. From the clouds stepped out a large and imposing figure. One she'd seen before.
"The thunder demon!" Jackie exclaimed in alarm.
Tchang Zu wasted no time in attacking as he launched a spear of lightning at the group. They scattered to avoid the bolt. The demon jumped into the arena and roared at them. Instantly, El Toro and Tohru tried to launch themselves at him, only to be flung back when Tchang Zu sent electricity surging throughout his body.
It caused a ripple effect, making the floors rumble underneath them as Jade and Paco ran for the outer walls. A stray bolt of lightning struck in front of her, and a massive hole crumbled open. Jade and Paco screeched in alarm but couldn't put the brakes on fast enough. She slipped through the hole with a scream. Her watch finally came unlatched with all the brutal punishment she had put it through and tumbled down to the ground far, far away. She clung to the edge of it with her finger tips, her feet dangling over the dizzying drop below. A slender hand suddenly reached in and snatched hold of her arm.
Jade looked down and tried not to hurl. "He-he… time flies when you're having fun…"
"Give me your hand, sweetie," Viper said as she reached down to offer her free hand. Jade gladly gave it. The woman helped her up and the three of them quickly raced towards safety – relatively speaking, of course.
She looked around the column to see Jackie grasping onto the Ox Talisman as he watched the fight between Tohru and Tchang Zu. He bounced from foot to foot, readying himself to leap in at a moment's notice.
"Leap and kick, leap and kick, leap and kick…" he whispered to himself like a mantra.
Tchang Zu batted his opponent aside, and that was when Jackie struck. Running in as fast as he could, he leapt into the air. He shouted a battle cry. Tchang Zu looked up just in time to receive a heel to the face. The demon cried out in pain as he fell to the ground with a loud 'thump'.
"Go Jackie." Jade smiled – finally, her uncle was getting his mojo back.
"Your house-man is good, Yade. But El Toro is the best!" Paco grinned.
"No time for that now, Paco," Jade brushed him off. They both ducked back and went to Uncle's side. The old man was pouring himself over a book and his bag of spells, looking a paler shade of white and startling with every lightning bolt. "How's that portal spell coming, Uncle?"
Uncle looked up at her, his eyes wide with panic. "You did not mention that the thunder demon would be in this domain! We do not have the symbol of the immortal who originally defeated him!"
"And it's not like we can pull castanets out of thin air," Jade murmured, her own nerves starting to get the better of her. How were they supposed to win this without banishing the demon?
"Castanets?" Paco piped up. "I prefer the maracas, but they are too large for my pockets."
And sure enough, from his pockets he pulled out two castanets. Jade thought she could kiss him. Without further ado, they began to set up the spell.
She heard a shout and turned in time to see El Toro collide with Jackie, sending both of them sprawling to the floor. Out of Jackie's hand tumbled the Ox Talisman. In a panic, Jackie scrambled up and tried to run after it, to catch it. But there was nothing he could do as the precious magical artefact went tumbling over the side of the balcony and falling far away into nothing. Jackie looked over his shoulder and glared at the Mexican wrestler.
"Sorry," El Toro mumbled.
Whilst the three men wrestled against Tchang Zu, they were unexpectedly helped when Viper came flipping into the scene. Swirling and weaving her way around Tchang Zu's blows, she struck back with a few kicks of her own. Of course, without the aid of the Ox Talisman to help them now, the group was having a tough time of staying ahead of the mighty and vicious demon.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao… Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao…" Uncle murmured lowly.
Jade itched on her toes as Paco clacked the castanets together, smiling to himself as if it were a music only he could understand. A green light enveloped his hands and the instruments he played. It shot out from him and quickly enveloped Tchang Zu. The demon screeched as he was propelled off of his feet and sent hurtling into a red portal right behind him. As it closed behind him, the group let out a sigh of relief.
"What are we waiting for?" Uncle snapped impatiently. "To the Book of Ages!"
Shendu reached out a hand and plucked the falling stone out of the air.
Bringing his hand back down, he looked to see that it was the Ox Talisman nestled snuggly in the palm of his hand. He sighed as the talisman sunk into his flesh, its power infusing with his soul. A small piece of himself was returned as he felt unequalled strength rush through him. He clenched his fist and looked back up at the sky where the talisman had appeared from. He'd known he'd been close. Following Chan had not been difficult, all he'd had to do was craft another talisman finder and was able to track after them at a lazy pace. So far he'd followed them to Japan and across the Pacific Ocean to Mexico and now here. It seemed that Chan was on a demon-hunting campaign, as each of the regions was mysteriously missing their Emperor after his visit. Shendu didn't know how Chan knew how to do this, or why he was suddenly doing it, but he knew he had to stop it.
His claws soothed his snarling dragon steed as he himself growled up at the sky. He was just in time to see a shadow fly out of the tower and soar off into the distance.
"Chan!" Shendu screeched in fury as he watched the carpet fly from Hsi Wu's tower.
"So he IS behind this…" came a voice, and Shendu turned to see the ghostly images of three of his siblings, Bai Tza, Tso Lan and Dai Gui. None of them looked too happy as they stared down at Shendu. He saw their eyes note how he was riding one of his dragon minions – which he would have no need for if he could fly… which he needed the Rooster Talisman for… which Chan now possessed.
"And things were going so well," Tso Lan murmured almost to himself.
"We were almost beginning to like you, Brother," Bai Tza commented with a hiss.
"Err-Ah… W-what do you mean?" Shendu said nervously. He was almost back to full strength and an equal match to his siblings, and arguably now more powerful than any singular one of them. Despite this, their combined efforts would be a challenge for him, and he needed their help if he was to defeat Chan before the mortal took from him all he had worked so hard to achieve. "I was just coming to visit…"
"Right now, on your big day?" Tso Lan asked with dead sarcasm.
"Hsi Wu, he has been banished to the Nether World!" Dai Gui snarled, his deep and gravelly voice grating down Shendu's spine.
"Along with Po Kong, Tchang Zu and Xiao Fung…" Bai Tza added.
As Shendu dismounted his steed, his foot stepped on something that crunched beneath his weight. Looking down, Shendu curiously lifted his foot to see something on the ground which was groaning out a whirling mechanical vocal sound. Picking it up between two claws, Shendu brought the object to his face for closer inspection and noticed the sparks and whirling wheels within the broken casing. A voice spoke from the machine (something about a moose) before it died. Shendu narrowed his eyes at the object suspiciously.
"Technology…" he trailed off as suddenly, the last piece of the puzzle fit into place, and Shendu realised where all of this had come from. "The Child!"
"But how?!" Dai Gui's red eyes widened.
"She somehow escaped the historical alterations!" Tso Lan exclaimed as he turned to the others.
"And if SHE knows of the history that WAS…" Bai Tza trailed off.
"Then Chan now knows of the Book!" Shendu finished for her, his eyes narrowing as he realised his enemy's intention. Suddenly this situation seemed much more dire then he'd initially feared.
"We must act swiftly, and get to the Book before they do!" Tso Lan declared.
"You three make your way there," Shendu ordered, not caring for the glares they sent him at his tone. "Even with my Talismans, Chan will not arrive at the book until tomorrow. You will take more time reaching it, I however live closest to the Book, and will meet you there in the morning. There is one other thing that I must take care of first…"
"Ah yes, your little play-thing," Dai Gui spat at his brother's back as Shendu went to climb back onto his steed. Shendu had to remind himself that his siblings were apparitions at the moment, so trying to harm them would only make them angry.
"Your infatuation with this mortal is most concerning, Brother," Tso Lan grumbled in his smooth and deep voice. "It will be the undoing of you,"
"We have more important issues and you would rather go and play with your pet!" Bai Tza screeched in furious spite.
"Careful what you say, sister," Shendu growled out, barely restraining his temper. "Human she may be. But by tonight, she will be my wife, and your sister by marriage."
"She is unworthy!" the water demon hissed.
"You may change your tune when she is producing you little nieces and nephews to teach and care for," Shendu's eyes glinted, the very idea warming his insides with a dark glee. It only added to his pleasure when he saw Bai Tza shudder with revulsion.
"You're disgusting!" she growled.
"Leave him be!" Dai Gui snapped – much to Shendu's surprise, he always thought Tso Lan would be the one to defend him if anything. "If he wishes to be a fool, then let him!"
"I will see you all in No-Man's-Land tomorrow at dawn." Shendu cut them off before Bai Tza could scream her indignation and start another argument. The three demons nodded, before their images disappeared. Shendu then urged his dragon to take off and swiftly raced it back on the fastest winds towards Hong Kong.