Difference of Opinion

"Val? Blondie!" Nat called as she came in through the front door to her friend's apartment. She kicked it closed behind her. "You left your door unlocked again. You still in bed– GAH!"

"Hey Red," Drago smirked from where he was sprawled on the couch. "How you doin'?"

Nataline stared, mouth hung open in shock. Well, she shouldn't be that shocked, she guessed, Valerie had been talking to him like a lost puppy yesterday. She shouldn't be surprised that the blonde woman had taken him home. But… Still!

"B-b-but… how did… how–?!"

"Hey, Mom!" Drago called out into the depths of the apartment. "Nat burst her last braincell, better come clean her up!"

That instantly focused Nat. Her fist clenched. "Why you son of a–"

"I resent that." Valerie appeared from around the corner. She walked right past Nat, hooking her friend's arm as she passed and dragging her off without stopping. Nat nearly tripped before she could right her feet. Val took them both into her room and closed the door behind her. "Now, I know what you're thinking–"

"Really, Einstein?!" Nat hissed in a quiet voice, knowing that it was probably best her opinions weren't overheard. "What is he doing here? I get you're trying to play happy families, but THIS is a bit much, don't you think?!"

Valerie huffed, hands on her hips. "Look, contrary to popular belief, I am NOT crazy. I'm not doing this because I think I can just waltz off into the sunset with a little demon family. I am thinking rationally, trust me."

"And what is rational about this?"

She looked away. "Drago is hurting. I don't know how or why yet, but I know he's been abused, neglected. What am I to say? Sorry son, but you're not worth my time because your skin is green?"

"How about in his timeline he's a terrorist, he tried to destroy the world, and is actively trying to do the same thing in this timeline," said Nat.

"And what if he wanted to change?"

"But he's a demon–"

"Not even a demon is all bad. The devil was once the best of the angels. Nat, Drago needs help; if he were human, would we be denying him that? If I can help save everyone by saving him, I need to try."

It was very hard for Nat to NOT picture the way Drago and her had talked when Val went missing, it was hard NOT to think about that vulnerable look in his eyes when Val had found him yesterday. "And how do you figure that?"

"Think about it," Valerie said. "If we can get Drago to reform, imagine the good he could do! He could help us find the rest of the demon-chi. You saw how he was when we were fighting Tarakudo. If he's willing to work towards a second chance, shouldn't we at least try?"

Nat bit her lip. It went against everything she'd ever been taught. It went against her better judgement. But damn it, Valerie was looking at her in a way that made her feel wrong for saying no. "Okay! You've made your point. But what about Jackie? Uncle? Captain Black? What have they got to say?"

Valerie winced. "Okay, slight hiccup in the plan there…"

"Fine." Nat groaned. "I'll help you be a good Samaritan, but on the condition that you make this work with Jackie. We can't keep a secret like this from them – it's just asking to blow back up in our faces. And Mister-Green in there wouldn't like to be your dirty little secret."

"I know." Valerie nodded. And Nat was a little proud to see that she was actually taking this request seriously. She could practically see the cogs turning inside that blonde head, formulating a plan on how she would do this. "I'll go talk to him. Do you mind watching him whilst I'm out?" At Nat's horror, Val clasped her hands together as if in prayer. "Pleeeease? I'll bring back pizza?"

"Urgh, fine! But if he touches my stuff – I'll turn him into a handbag and matching boots. Understand?"

Clouds of dust and sand were kicked up underneath Shendu's feet where he stepped. He hated the feeling. It made him feel like his scales were constantly grimy and itchy. That was why he always hated the desert. Whilst the heat agreed with him, the rest of it did not. Which was probably why he was in such a petulant mood – he'd stuck himself right in the middle of the Mohave Desert.

After finding next to nothing from the "key" at the museum, Shendu was desperate to find a lead on Tiamat. If that meant he had to scour the entire globe, then he would. He'd been trying to think outside the box – his mother was an ocean dweller, so would it not make sense to find her in the last place she would like to be? It was a long shot. If searching through every desert on earth didn't work, then he'd try to follow the paths of the recent Earthquakes, trace them like following a river upstream to its source. Or perhaps if he allowed his magical senses to stretch far enough, he might be able to feel her presence when she stirred…

So many possibilities, so many ifs. It was almost too daunting to contemplate.

Don't lose hope. Not in her and not in me.

Valerie's voice echoed through his head. Those words he'd heard her whisper both with her voice and her mind. They haunted him. As had their mental conversation from last night. She'd reached out to him, offered him something he was almost inclined to disbelieve as reality…

From the pocket of his robes, he pulled out the little gold band: Valerie's ring. She'd only worn it for a night, but in his mind, it was hers. He'd pulled it off her finger to make a show for Chan, play the monster, the fiend, the demon. Not that that depiction wasn't true – he'd been all of those things proudly. But then he remembered Valerie's face in the museum, her fear of his rage… and something inside him withered.

Abruptly, he was aware of every time he'd mishandled her, every time he'd ignored her saying 'no' to him, every time he'd used her in some capacity. And for the first time in his life, he felt true regret, true shame. This was the woman he knew he loved, and he had treated her in such a way that when she looked upon his raw emotions, she was afraid? No wonder she turned away from him. It was why he had exiled himself away from her. She brought up too much conflict in him, it wasn't safe for either of them. Even the thought of her made him want to summon a flame-portal to go to her side. He wanted her, and the problem was, he now realised he would do anything to get her. On the dancefloor, he had offered her the chance to be rid of him – it would've made him miserable for the rest of his eternal life, but he'd been prepared to face it. When he left the museum, he fully expected the Chans to sweep her off her feet and never hear from her again. It had taken him two hours to convince himself that should that outcome occur, it was for the best, and he would need to content himself with it.

But she'd been the one to contact him! Her mind had reached out to him, she'd spoken of trying to bridge the gap between them. And fire and ash, it gave him hope! But now what was he to do? He needed to find his mother, to have his answers, to know who he was, to make Valerie safe.

Tail thumping the hot sand, Shendu admitted to himself that this dead-end wouldn't be breached without a little help. He was loathed to do so, but it would appear he would need a second opinion… or seven.

With a blast of fire breath, he made a slab of glass on the desert sand. Around it, he drew the right runes and pulled on the magical energy inside him. The glass flared with light, before the hauntingly familiar dull red hellscape of the Netherworld appeared. Nearly instantly, as if they had been waiting around for something to occupy their bored minds, the faces of his siblings peered at him with various expressions of feigned indifference.

Bai Tza was the first to speak. "Ah. Shendu."

"How good of you to finally summon us." Tso Lan intoned, tongue waving lazily.

"We have missed you dearly, brother," Xiao Fung smiled toothily, but his tone was incredibly sarcastic. "Mind telling us how you managed to escape the Nether Realm?"

"Again." Growled Dai Gui.

Shendu bit back a growl as his eyes wandered over his clearly displeased siblings. His attention snagged on Hsi Wu. At the back, in his usual place on Po-Kong's shoulder. But Shendu thought it odd that the Wind Demon seemed a little… faded? Perhaps it was a trick of the light on the glass, but Shendu could've sworn his brother was more translucent than the others. However, he couldn't focus on such a trivial thing, and so dismissed it.

Instead, he drawled, "You cannot blame me for taking advantage of my unique circumstances. I'm sure you could all be free as well. If you were willing to kill each other, and then have the patience for a Dark Chi Wizard to resurrect you on this side for a specific purpose. I'm not entirely sure of your odds, though…"

And, of course, that got the ever hot-tempered Tchang Zu blasting. "You DARE to mock us?!"

"When you return," Bai Tza hissed, "you shall be punished for your disloyalty to this family!"

Even Po-Kong scowled. "We will be sure not to leave any of your spirit intact, this time."

"Threatening me is pretty pointless, dear siblings. I am alive, I am completed, and our portals are sealed. Only a cosmic power could send me back…" Shendu's gloating came to an abrupt halt, as he was reminded that there was actually a good chance of such a thing occurring. "Which is what I wish to discuss with you."

Like a shark sensing blood in the water, Bai Tza immediately picked up on his change in demeanour. And she was practically giddy about it. "Something has you nervous, my twin. Please tell me so that I can relish in this opportunity."

He took a breath and thought it best to get on with it. "Tiamat is awakening."

"What?!"

"Impossible!"

"How?!"

Shendu held up a hand to silence their chorus of horror. "There was meteor shower. It brought with it an influx of foreign chi that roused her from her many millennium-long slumber. Now the earth is being ravaged by growing storms and earthquakes. She has not yet risen – of that I am sure. But with each passing day, the likelihood of her fully reviving grows."

Each of the Demon Sorcerers exchanged glances. For once, they did not bicker or scheme. Shendu could see it on all their faces. From the way Tso Lan cringed, to how Dai Gui trembled, to Hsi Wu drawing further away from them… This was perhaps the first time Shendu could remember that they were truly frightened by something. He understood it all too well.

"This cannot be!" Po-Kong exclaimed, her booming voice making her precarious perch shake.

"I know what the cause of this is!" Tchang Zu pointed an accusing finger straight at the glass. "It is you, Shendu! You escaped back to the Earthly Realm, and it has angered our Mother. She will hunt you, and then she will come after us!"

Xiao Fung looked about wildly. "She shall wipe the slate clean of her mistakes!"

"I summoned you because I have reached a dead end," Shendu said. "I cannot find her."

Bai Tza thought for a moment. "Mother loved the ocean as much as I. My first look would have been the deepest, darkest depths of the sea."

"You did look there, remember?" said Tso Lan. "We all looked when she turned her back on us. All across the world. All of our search efforts proved fruitless."

Frustration made Shendu grit his teeth. "She must be here somewhere!"

"Why would you want to find her?" Hsi Wu's voice – the first time he had spoken since this meeting began – seemed faint and whispery, like the dozenth echo in a long cave. Yet even then, his words caught his siblings' attention.

They all looked at Shendu, different accusations growing in their gazes. It was Tso Lan who broke it with a cold laugh. "Is it not obvious? Our brother wishes to become Mother's true heir. We all know that he who bests Tiamat shall take her place. There must always be balance, after all. It seems you've grown bold in your ambitions, Shendu."

"With her power, you control the earth itself," Tchang Zu agreed. "You think that by being complete, you can compare to her?"

"Let us not discourage him, brothers and sisters," Xiao Fung's wide mouth nearly split his face with his long, toothy grin. "If Shendu succeeds, he will have the raw magical potential to completely break the barrier on our prison. We would be free."

That got their attention. As did another truth become known to them. Po Kong was the one to voice it, a cruel smile growing across her lips. "As would all the minor demons and hellish spirits. They would all come rushing into the earth dimension."

"The earth would be consumed." Bai Tza crowed.

Old habits died hard, and Shendu found his mind spinning with the possibilities this line of thought brought with it. If he had all his talismans, combined with the completion of his spirit with Valerie, could he be enough of a match for a primordial goddess? If he lost, he would be permanently destroyed from existence. But if he won… all of the Earth's power, all of its secrets, all of its very being would be his to command. If he won, he would indeed have the magical power to tear down the fabric of dimensions that separated the earthly realm from the realms of demons and beyond. His siblings could never again be a threat to him. Nothing would be a threat to him.

And then he remembered Valerie's face when she'd heard this very rumour. The hurt. She had thought him above this, and when it was revealed that he did know of this possibility (although he hadn't considered it) she had felt betrayal. If he were to prove that betrayal right… would she forgive him? He found it quite distressing that his decision was pinned on whether she would or not.

"I will…" he said after a lengthy pause, "take your words… under advisement."

Without another word, he discarded the summoning spell, and the images of his sibling's faces disappeared.

Nat sat on one side of the couch, Drago at the opposite end. They both stared at the TV as it flickered from channel to channel with the twitch of Drago's claws on the remote. He never settled on any station for more than two minutes. Nat knew that because she'd been counting. The record was one minute and forty-six seconds.

God-damn, she was bored.

She looked at the clock on the wall. Valerie hadn't even been gone half an hour yet. Jeez, how was she supposed to last a whole afternoon? Who would've thought; Natline, hard-as-nails demon-slayer, undone by cabin fever within thirty minutes. She glared back at the television, determined to not give in. From the corner of her eye, she caught Drago snapping his focus back to the screen too. He'd been looking at the clock as well.

Ah. So she wasn't the only one bored, then.

"So…" Nat said slowly, trying to think of something to break the silence. "You want coffee?"

"Nah." A pause. And then a word was rushed out as if it he remembered the customary manners when in a foreign nation. "Thanks."

He was uncomfortable. Nat couldn't blame him. They were meant to be enemies, they'd been on opposite sides of the battlefield a few weeks ago. Now they were supposed to make nice? How was that gonna work? A memory surfaced in Nat's mind, of Drago, unsure and worried about his mom. There was a real person under there, and Nat wanted to reach in and talk to him like she would any human. The voices of her family in her head, training her since she was prepubescent, was what made her hold back. Like an instinct she was trying to fight.

Drago continued to flick through the channels. "Picky?" she said at last.

"Nothin' to watch," he grumbled. "When you been through so much shit, all the cop shows, medical dramas, realty TV, it all feels like a kid drawing what he thinks life is like. It don't scratch the surface."

Nat turned her head to finally really look at him, her eyes going up and down to assess him. "Funny… that's how I look at it."

He stared back, his red eyes meeting her green. A shiver raced over Nat's skin, leaving gooseflesh. She turned back to the TV. After a moment, she heard Drago say: "Only thing I've ever been able to watch and enjoy is the really outlandish things. Like big fantasy. Stuff that goes all out and is so ludicrous but doesn't care."

"Hmm," she smiled. "Never took you for a guy who loved cheesy movies."

The silence returned, but it didn't seem so oppressive this time. Nat tried to study Drago from the corner of her eye, in a way so that he wouldn't notice. He was green, scaly, he shot fire from his hands and mouth, and he was clearly demonic in origin. But he had a mom, he liked spicy food and he loved cheesy movies. All these things that contradicted each other and made no sense but seemed to all fit into the puzzle that made him up.

"You can stop staring," he said without looking at her. "I know it's weird."

"I'm not staring!" she snapped a little too defensively. Then, after a moment of fighting back a blush at being caught, she said, "Yeah. Okay. It's weird. I'm supposed to kill you on sight, but here you are: sitting around on my friend's couch, flicking through the TV, and I'm meant to feel fine."

"I'll tell Mom you love her."

Nat didn't bother to hide her sideways look this time. "You and Val are getting close. It's nice to see."

He shifted uncomfortably. "I wouldn't say close. But… yeah, I suppose."

"You're serious about turning over a new leaf?"

When he looked at her, those red eyes seemed to no longer belong to the lost teenager she'd been comfortable sitting next to. Instead, he looked ancient, vengeful, demonic. "Imagine you lost everything, a long time ago. It was all your fault. You carried that all your life. And then, all of a sudden, there's this chance for you to get it all back."

"Who wouldn't take that chance…?"

"But then imagine that this chance means you need to abandon everything that happened to you. It has now been rendered meaningless, unimportant, dismissed! That in taking it, you have to give up on the person you are, on everything you stand for."

And just like that, he let the demon recede, relaxed, and went back to flicking through the channels. Nat consciously unclenched her fingers from where they were dug into the arm of the couch. The intensity of his feelings was a little overwhelming in how relatable he made it all seem. "Wow…"

"Yeah."

Nat now watched him repeat through all the same channels with new eyes. This 'pretending' to be normal, whilst bunkered down and hidden away, with all the knowledge of the past bearing down on his every thought… No wonder neither of them could relax!

"You know what?" she said and jumped up to her feet. "We need to act normal."

Drago frowned up at her as if she'd dropped a dozen IQ points with one sentence. "Uh, Red? You gone blind? I can't be normal."

"Sure you can," she grinned and tossed him his over-sized jacket. "You just need to go to a place where nobody cares."

Though he complained, Nat was rather happy (wasn't that an odd thing to admit) to see him put on his coat anyway. "Where's that? A shelter for the blind or a satanic cult?"

"A blend of the two." Her smile grew wider. "We're going to a bar."

Section 13 was rather quiet when Valerie arrived. Considering everything that had been happening recently… Well, she wasn't sure what she had expected, exactly. But this didn't seem to be it. Were all the agents out in the field? A worrying thought occurred to her that they might all be out hunting Shendu. Should she warn him?

One problem at a time, Valerie, she told herself.

As she came down the hall towards Captain Black's office, she went over in her head one more time all the lines she would say to Jackie when she saw him. Nat was right, she had to convince Jackie of her plan. They were a team, the Chan Clan, she couldn't keep something like this a secret. But her mental rehearsals were cut short when she heard three voices coming from Black's office. She waited outside, but thankfully the door was slightly ajar, so she could hear what was being said.

"… the problem, Jackie," Captain Black was saying, "is that we have two demons out on the loose and nothing seems to be working in tracking them down."

"Shendu is completed," Uncle said in his usual I'm-so-smart-and-everyone-else-is-dumb voice. "His magic can dispel Uncle's tracking!"

"I'm still unsure on what exactly 'Completed' means."

"Shendu's powers have grown drastically," said Jackie's voice. "In hindsight… perhaps him escaping his stone imprisonment was not a matter of if but when."

Black hummed in agreement. "That still doesn't tell me how we're going to solve this issue."

"We need to know what they're planning." A rustling of papers. Jackie tapped his foot in thought. "Father and Son out in the world? That cannot be a coincidence. I intend to find out why."

Valerie winced. Of course she knew that it was a coincidence, and how to explain it. But of course, she couldn't explain that until she won the debate she had come here to wage with Jackie. One battle at a time. First, convince him that not all demons were inherently evil all the time. Second, alleviate his suspicions of Drago and Shendu conspiring by telling him the full truth. And then, if she hadn't completely melted Jackie's brain with all this, she could warn him about the primordial goddess about to rise up and destroy the world.

She waited patiently for Black, Jackie and Uncle to finish their meeting. As they came out of the office, she called for his attention: "Hey, Jackie?"

"Valerie," he was surprised to find her there – and was that something else she saw in his eyes? Whatever it was, he quickly pushed it aside. "I did not expect to see you here."

"I…" Calming breath… jump in the deep end. "I came to talk to you, actually."

Again, he was surprised, but this time pleasantly so. "I'm going to the cafeteria. Want to join me? It feels like it's been years since we could enjoy the simple things together."

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Alright, lead the way."

They went down together. Jackie asked after Valerie's mother and they chatted away about the mundane, the 'simple' things. It was nice. To just be trivial and not worry about the end of the world. The cafeteria was mostly empty, and they managed to pick a table right in the middle of the hall and still have no one around them to listen in. Perfect.

Valerie let Jackie enjoy most of his food and continue to talk about the little things. And then, she said: "Jackie… the anniversary of my dad… it's coming up."

His jaw dropped and his spoon slipped from his fingers. "Oh. Wow. Valerie, I had no idea."

"Yeah, well." She rubbed her arms. Damn, she thought she was over this, but now her throat felt like it was going to constrict and suffocate her. Despite the fact that all of this was true. "It got me thinking. Quite a bit, actually. My dad was one of the best cops in his precinct. He always caught the bad guy. But he was always a big preacher of rehabilitation. When I was young, I understood it as a concept, but never gave it much thought. When you're a kid, you just agree with the point of view of your parents, because… that's all you know. You know what I mean?"

Jackie nodded. "I get that."

"And then… when he…" she couldn't say it. It still hurt too much. "When he died, I was furious. My dad's chief at the station wanted to push for his murderer to get a lighter sentence. To have more chance of rehabilitation. That if he were given life opportunities, education, then maybe he'd lead a different life. And I couldn't stand it. My dad fought to stop crime but he wanted to help the criminals, and look where it got him! He was the best the force had to offer, and his killer could get off easy?"

"When it's so personal, it's hard," Jackie said, reaching across the table to take her hand in his. "You just see him as a monster who took away someone you loved. It's easy to forget that that was a boy who had a childhood, friends, dreams and goals that were broken because life was too much."

"But that's just it," Valerie grasped onto her friend's hand desperately. "I'm starting to understand. Jackie… My dad always told me that not everyone CAN be redeemed, but everyone should have the CHANCE. The good in people is worth more than the bad we think is in them."

"Wise words."

This was her chance! "Exactly! Jackie, I think I know how to solve your demon problem. What if we don't have to fight the likes of Drago and Shendu? What if we could change them? Make them good?"

"What?!" he recoiled from her, leaving her to grasp empty air. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly. It's been ticking away at the back of my head. Drago is a kid. Despite how much older he seems, he's only a few years older than Jade. Life has been bad to him, that shouldn't mean we cast him aside and refuse to consider any good in him."

Jackie scoffed. "And what about the terrible things he's done?"

"I'm not saying he should be absolved of guilt and completely forgiven! He's done bad things, and he should atone for them. But that's the difference: atonement, not punishment."

"It wouldn't work."

His immediate refusal, his stubbornness, made her narrow her eyes at him. "What makes you so sure?"

"Drago and Shendu are both demons, Valerie. They live on bad Chi. They cannot be good! It is not in their nature."

"So what, we just assume that all they can ever be is bad? Nothing good can come from them, ever?!"

"Yes!" the vehemence with which he said it felt like a slap. "Valerie, I don't know how I can explain it, but my gut is telling me that there is no redemption for demons. They are evil, and must be stopped!"

"Whatever happened to the greatest victory is the battle not fought?"

"This is different!" he yelled angrily. "Look at everything they've done! Shendu enslaved the world in an alternate reality, has tried to kill us multiple times! Drago is trying to steal power in order to bring on the end of the world! And you want to tell me you somehow have evidence that they can be on our side?"

"I never said we should forget or forgive those things!" She grit her teeth, she couldn't shout back, couldn't meet his anger with her own frustration. If she did, everything was over. "But Jackie, I – of all people – am in a unique position to see how we might be able to stop all these bad things from ever happening again–"

"No, Valerie." His voice had turned cold, his eyes belonged to a stranger. "You are just in the position where you believe you have more power than anyone else on the board, when in fact you are just a pawn to everyone!"

Whatever comeback she'd had planned, it died on her tongue. She was too shocked, too hurt by such a mean comment to function properly. This was Jackie! How could he say such a thing? Where had all this hate come from?

A flicker of regret, and he cast his eyes away from her. "I'm sorry, I have to go. See you later."

Just like that. Turned down, dismissed, abandoned. Valerie sat at their table, staring blankly at her food. Like a cold limb slowly accustomed to warmth, she felt the numbness recede, and her fury replaced it. With a vicious shove, she stood and her chair went flying out behind her. People were staring at her now. Ignoring them, she stormed out of the cafeteria.

Outrage hastened her steps. How could Jackie speak to her like that? Dismiss her ideas, insult her in such a way! And more to the point, what was she going to do now? She couldn't just kick Drago out of her life, she'd seen how torn up he was, deep down. If she rejected him because of Jackie's prejudices, it would destroy him. This was her one chance to save Drago from the path of darkness. In all the books she'd ever read, nothing was ever easy for the hero, no happy ending came without a cost.

As she marched and as her mind turned over to rethink her plan, her initial anger began to recede to be replaced with a familiar lonely ache. Yet more secrets she didn't want to keep, and more ways her friends saw something wrong with her. But she had to do what was right. Even if it hurt.

On her way out of the base, she came past Jackie's "apartment" door. Or rather, the quarters he and Jade had taken up as their own. Evidently, Jackie wasn't there, as he'd rushed off in the opposite direction when he'd left the cafeteria. An elderly man was leaving the room instead; he was distinct-looking, with a moustache that resembled a yard-broom with eyebrows to match and a balding head. Valerie knew him – he was the physician at Section 13.

Valerie realised that Jackie must've taken her advice yesterday and made Jade see a doctor. "Sir?" she stopped him. "Sorry, I'm a friend of the family. Miss Payne? I wanted to know if Jade's doing alright."

"Ah, Miss Payne, yes. I was told about you." He mumbled in a southern drawl. "Frankly, Miss, I'm not quite certain what is the matter. Jade's degradation… it baffles everything I've ever come across. It's not an allergic reaction and it doesn't behave like a normal disease or virus. If anything, I would say this is closer to a psychotic break."

Valerie blinked, astonished. "W-What do you mean?"

"Well, the girl keeps whispering to herself. Talking to voices only she can hear. Won't look at her own reflection." The doctor seemed to not notice how still Valerie had gone, and nodded to himself. "Anyway, I must deliver my report to the Captain. Good afternoon, Miss Payne."

Something was ticking at the back of Valerie's brain, telling her this was important. Slowly, she approached the door. Suddenly, it seemed like it were the gates to some ominous castle that held a monster inside. But Valerie strengthened her resolve and knew she had to talk to Jade. The poor girl had been suffering for a while without anyone knowing what was wrong. Yet Valerie now felt this itch down her spine that felt familiar.

As she reached out to touch the doorknob, a tingle travelled up her arm. A sense of wrongness jolted through her veins like an electric shock. It was like a bad smell, of rot, of decay, that something was off about the world and every normal instinct screamed at her to run the other way. She almost did.

"Jade?" she gently called out, slowly turning the handle. "Is everything okay?"

Inside, the room was darkly lit. That humming grew more insistent, making Val's stomach turn over and over. It was cold too – she could see her breath fogged before her face. Was the AC running overtime in here? As Valerie's eyes adjusted to the gloom, she made out the shape of a child sat on the floor. She had her arms wrapped around her knees, whispering into her lap as her shoulders shook. The girl's hair was drenched with sweat, and her skin looked… grey?

It took Valerie a moment to recognise her. She swallowed the lump of dread in her throat. "Jade?"

The girl's face darted up. For a brief moment, her eyes flashed red. "NO! GET OUT!"

With a scream, Jade leapt off the floor and ran for the bathroom. Valerie rushed after her, those eyes having shocked her into action. But before she could reach her, the girl slammed the door shut – so hard it cracked the frame. A scrape of metal on the other side – she'd locked it!

Jade's chest physically hurt where her heart was pounding so fast. Valerie banged on the door and Jade pressed her back against it. Panic made it hard to think, hard to breathe – why did her body hurt so much?! She'd managed to keep it together long enough for the doctor's visit, but Valerie knew too much, she'd figure it out. At least, that's what the voices in Jade's head made her believe.

When did this all get out of control? She'd been hearing his voice in her head for what felt like forever! At first, just whispers when she was on the cusp of sleep or daydreaming. But it had built up more and more, until she couldn't stop hearing him! Hsi Wu was always in her dreams now, and sometimes she could swear she felt him touch her – but not like a real touch, more like a ghost, a whisper against her skin. And now she was SO sick! When was the last time she'd had a full night's sleep? When was the last time she'd had a day – an hour – without pain?

And now everyone was going to find out in the way she didn't want them to, and it was all falling apart!

"No, no, no," she whispered to herself. "This isn't happening!"

"Jade?" she heard Valerie's voice, muffled through the door. "Are you alright? Open the door!"

"Go away!"

Why was it so hot in here? She needed a freezing shower; that normally made her feel better. And hopefully Val would think she needed privacy and leave her alone. But as she passed the mirror, something caught her eye. She stopped and stared. A face was over her face!

Jade screamed.

"What was that?!" Val's voice demanded.

Jade couldn't look away from the image of Hsi Wu's head overlapping hers in the reflection. She shouted out instead: "I said go away!"

Hsi Wu's reflection grinned at her. So this is what Valmont saw when he was possessed by Shendu? Weird! And creepy and horrifying in all the ways that made her skin want to crawl off her body!

"The walls are all tumbling down now, Jade." His lips moved in the mirror but she heard the words in her head. "They think you're crazy."

"Liar!" Jade hissed at him. "I am NOT crazy!"

"Says the girl talking to her own reflection."

It occurred to her exactly what this looked like. She slapped herself – this had to be a dream. But no, the reflection was still there. She pinched her arm, still no change! Why wasn't this all going away?! "No! Nonononononononono!"

Terror rose up in her throat, and then, with a violent, breathless gurgle, Jade vomited. She only just had enough time to aim it down the toilet at the last minute. Green gunk flew out of her mouth to fill the bowl. Her stomach clenched painfully – she hadn't eaten properly in days. Her legs gave out as she heaved again. Her skull felt like it was splitting open.

"Why does it hurt so bad?" she whimpered when the vomiting subsided.

"Because I'm here now, Jade," said Hsi Wu in a voice that was way too smug. "I'm with you. And this sickness is not going away until one of us comes out on top."

"This is MY head – you can get out!"

"I'm afraid that's not gonna happen." He giggled. "But I admire your stubbornness. Always did. That's what your precious Seymour liked about you too."

Jade wanted to punch him at the mention of that name. She growled and tried to stand up – she wanted to look at him in the mirror again when she smashed it! At first, her legs refused to work. Even her bones hurt! But with gritted teeth and a refusal to buckle, Jade crawled and climbed and forced her way back to the mirror. Her body was shaking by the time she reached it, but she made it! She glared murderously at the demon's reflection, and he actually looked a little impressed.

"By the looks of it, that stubbornness means you won't let me win this."

"Damn right!" she hissed.

"Shame. Because of that, I don't think you'll last much longer."

As if on cue, Jade vomited again, smearing the mirror with it. It kept going and going, until she thought she wouldn't breathe again! When it finally stopped, Jade's voice was hoarse as it transitioned into an agonised wail. She lost her balance and fell to the floor. That pain was masked by all the others. Everything hurt so bad… was she dying?

"Jade! I can hear you! Open this door! Let me help!" she could hear Valerie's voice, distantly. Jade pitifully reached towards the door, but it was too far, and her arm too heavy. "I'll call security!"

"Make it stop…" the girl whispered.

"Hmmmm," came Hsi Wu's voice thoughtfully. "Well, there is a way to stop it."

"There is?"

"Of course, there is, silly. We're Others, after all. You just gotta get connected to that sacred bond between us."

Hope was a powerful thing, and it lent her enough strength to sit up. "How do I do that?"

"Look deep inside yourself," he instructed. "Find the link that connects us together, like a bit of thread tying our souls as one. Grasp it."

Jade closed her eyes. Jackie and Uncle had tried to get her to meditate a lot of times before, but Tohru was the only one who was halfway successful. She managed to open the door in her mind that led her down through the levels of her consciousness. Deep in the dark abyss she imagined the thread that Hsi Wu described. She took hold of it, and felt a jolt like she'd touched an electric fence. Reeling it in like a fisherman pulling in his line, she went along the length of thread. At the end of it… was that a flute?

Her body rocked so badly she thought another earthquake was erupting underneath her. But no, the room stayed still. There was a burning sensation in her right hand. Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? Like wind was rushing into her face too hard and fast to swallow.

"W-Wait! What was that!" she asked, alarmed. Something was wrong, she felt like a doe knowing it was being hunted, something coming at her at speed.

"You did it!" Hsi Wu crowed in triumph in her head.

"Did what!?"

"You called my Chi! The part of my spirit on that damned flute. It's coming for you."

"What?!" she screeched.

He laughed. "And when it gets here, there'll finally be enough of me to take you over completely. I'll finally be free!"

"NO!" Hopeless despair filled her and she tried to crawl away, as if just vacating the spot she'd been in would save her. How could he do this to her? Why had she listened?! She reached for the door again, she had to get help! "I won't let it! I won't let you in!"

"Say 'Chi-Spell'!"

Jade saw the otherworldly light come through the wall and zap straight towards her. She tried to dodge away, but there was no getting away from it. It was absorbed into Jade's body, and all at once she felt like someone had blown too much air into her lungs – she was going to burst from the pressure! Pain ignited along every nerve, every fibre of her being. It overwhelmed her already frail body. Jade let out a scream, and then the world went dark to the sound of demonic laughter.

The sound of Jade's scream cut Valerie like a knife. And then, it abruptly cut off. Valerie's heart stopped.

"JADE!"

Desperation and fear made Valerie's next kick more powerful than all the ones that had come before it. Finally, the door burst open, the lock snapped. Ignoring the pain in her jarred hip, Valerie rushed into the bathroom. The smell that hit her made her want to gag. Vomit filled the toilet and smeared the mirror.

"Jade! Where are you?!" Valerie called out, looking around. It wasn't until she nearly stepped on the girl that she noticed her in a crumpled heap on the floor. "Jade!"

Lifting the child into her arms, Valerie checked for breathing and a pulse. Both present, if a little erratic. Frantically she tried to shake Jade awake, but she was unresponsive.

Had she hurt herself? Had she fallen and bumped her head? Had she passed out from so much vomiting? Valerie inspected every inch of her, looking for wounds. But she found none. Jade was undernourished and sickly, but otherwise was unharmed. As Valerie moved the girl's arm, she noticed something on her right hand. A deep, angry red scratch had been carved into her palm. But there were no sharp objects lying around – Jackie always kept razors well-hidden, and Valerie couldn't see any lying around now if Jade had managed to find one. But no, Valerie realised she recognised this slash. It started beneath Jade's index finger and went diagonally to the left corner of her palm. Just like a bonding mark.

Why was it on the wrong hand?

Unsure of what else to do, Valerie reached out to that part of her brain she'd found last night. She had to contact Shendu, he had to know what was wrong with Jade!

'Shendu!' She called out.

His response took a moment to come through, and when it did, he sounded confused, worried. 'Valerie? What is wrong?'

'It's Jade! Something's happened!'

He gave an irate growl. 'What has that reckless child gotten herself into NOW?'

'I don't know! She's been ill for days! And there's this weird mark, like–like a bonding mark.'

A pause. And then, urgently: 'On which hand?'

'The r-r-right.'

Another pause. Valerie was about to scream for answers, when she heard Shendu give a snarl. 'That sneaky gremlin!'

'Shendu, can you help her?!'

'Possibly…' He said. 'If it is not too late. But I cannot come to you…'

'I'll take her to my apartment. Meet me there!'

A/N: YES! We are finally going to address Jade's condition. I know it seems like we've spent AGES building up to it, but we've had loads of other things that I needed to get through first in order to make the next chapter work. So I'm sorry it's taken us this long but I promise we are going to get to it!

A big thanks to iloveDracoDH for being an amazing BETA!