– CHAPTER 32 –

Aftermath

"B-but how...?" stuttered Jack.

"I'm sorry, Jade. It should have been me." Even when she shook her head feverishly, Uncle went on, "I had suspicions that he would want to do something like that. But when I realised what was going on, it was too late."

"Sensei," said Tohru, who had approached his master in disbelief. He touched the old man's back and shoulder as if trying to see if he was real. "How can you still be alive? We – we all saw when the demon..." he trailed off.

"She didn't kill me instantly. I am not sure what happened exactly, but when I came round, I was completely healed and had this in my hand," he said, displaying the horse talisman he held in his other hand.

"That idiot," Jade sobbed. "He had planned it all along... That's why we didn't see him during most of the fight. He collected the snake talisman so that he could paint the characters for the ritual on himself. And he saved you, Uncle."

He just nodded in response.

"Why?" she yelled, suddenly angry. "Why did he do that? Th-the – the idiot!"

"I'm sorry, Jade," said Uncle regretfully. "It should have been me –"

"No!" she cut him off vehemently. "No, it shouldn't have been you, or Jackie, or Paco, or anyone else! I swore to myself that I wouldn't let any of you die here, today! It didn't have to be that way!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. She coughed and began to cry again. Uncle pulled her into a comforting embrace, which she returned heartily.

A few metres away, Jack saw Hsi Wu watch this scene, looking very out of place, dejected, disgusted, and even a little offended. Finally, with a quiet, angry hiss, he spread his wings out and flew away.

Before Jack could have another thought, he was caught in a tight, warm hug, his face pressed against someone's shoulder. "Oh, Jack, my son! I was so worried... It'll be all right now," his mother went on whispering relieved and comforting words.

"Mom... where is Dad?" he asked. "Is he okay?"

She tensed and was silent for a while, but then relaxed and gave a brief, weak, yet happy-sounding laugh. "Yes, I think he'll be all right."

"Jackie!" exclaimed Jade. Jack gently tried to pull away from his mother in order to turn around and see his father coming out of the woods and staggering towards them. His shirt was torn and bloodied in a few places and he had bruises all over his body, but nothing that looked serious.

"Are you all right, Jackie?" asked Tohru.

"What you did was crazy! Facing all the demons at once all by yourself..." said Jade in a scolding tone, although she was still visibly shaken. She wiped her tear-streaked face and smiled faintly at her uncle, who returned it. "But you still kicked their butts. You totally rock, Jackie."

"Thanks, but I didn't really defeat the demons, Jade. I was mostly just buying time."

"Buying time for what, exactly?" asked Viper.

"For Paco," he whispered, his gaze on his feet. He hesitated before addressing his niece, "I'm sorry, Jade. While you were all paying attention to the demons, Paco came to me, invisible with the power of the snake talisman, and said he could save Uncle."

Jade stared at him, holding her breath. Then, "You knew what he was going to do?"

"No," he answered quickly, giving her an apologetic look. "But I had my suspicions. He merely told to keep the demons away from Uncle's body, to keep them busy for a while."

"What happened to the demons?"

"To tell the truth, even now I'm not sure. I think they want to finish their own conflicts before they try to team up against us. They're... a dysfunctional family, it seems."

Despite herself, Jade laughed.

"El Toro..." murmured Viper, and they turned to watch the Mexican man who had just started to walk away, staring straight ahead, his fists clenched.

"Mom," said Jack, leaning against Viper's embrace. "I wanna go home."

He felt his father's hand on his head, petting him reassuringly. "We're going home now, Jack, don't worry." He gestured at the others. "Come, let's go to the jet."

oOo

Valmont cradled his daughter in his arms, for once not caring in the slightest if his suit got stained and dirty. Julia was, by some miracle, still breathing, although it was laboured and sounded quite painful. She was choking in her own blood, coughing up some of it. Valmont hadn't been able to fathom how she could still be alive, until he saw a talisman in her hand. Since then, he'd been making sure she didn't let go of it, lest she would die immediately.

"Let... go..." she mumbled and coughed up more blood. Her fingers strained to move and drop the talisman.

"No, no, you can't drop it," he told her in an urgent, soft tone, wrapping her hand with his own to hold the talisman in place. "If you let go of it, you will die."

She choked again. "Jus' lemme... 'ie – die..."

"Why?"

She whimpered. "I' – it hurs... hurts..." she hacked.

Of course, he figured. The dog talisman granted her immortality, but it didn't heal her or even dull the pain of a wound. Her heart was literally shattered and her lungs were drowned in blood. She pain she must be feeling was unimaginable. For a moment, he wondered if he shouldn't just take the dog talisman from her and let her die, to put an end to her agony. His hand trembled and he found he couldn't bring himself to let her go.

He looked up at Bai Tsa, who had been standing nearby for a while, just observing them as if watching a mildly interesting film. He desperately, silently begged her to do something, anything. She seemed slightly surprised that he was looking at her, of all people and demons, for help. Instead of showing any further reaction, she merely appeared to notice something far ahead.

He lowered his gaze again, cursing himself for his foolishness. It was bad enough he was looking this helpless and broken in front of the heartless Water Demon, but to beg her for help, and actually expect she would help him?

Someone cleared their throat behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see Jade Chan standing uneasily next to Bai Tsa. She waved at him awkwardly. "Hi. Sorry, I almost forgot about Julia." His daughter chose that moment to choke and cough again. Jade flinched. "Gee, that sounds nasty. Here." She produced another talisman – the horse – and knelt down next to them. "Now that she's more or less conscious, she can squeeze the talisman and heal herself."

Since Valmont had his hands occupied, Jade herself made Julia hold it.

"Come on, Julia," said Valmont encouragingly when her hand continued lifeless. He gave her a wry smile. "Pretend the talisman is Dad's neck."

Jade gave him an odd look, but he only kept smiling. After some struggle, Julia finally managed to squeeze the horse talisman tightly enough to activate it. She gasped, her eyes snapped open, and she jerked up.

"What happened? Where am I?" she asked, glancing around before focusing on Valmont and frowning. "Dad?"

"Julia! I'm so glad you're all right!" he said, holding her close.

"Uff! Ow! Dad, let go!" she protested, trying to wiggle free. Although it disconcerted him that his own daughter still found him so revolting, Valmont was pleased that she was back to herself. Finally, he relaxed and allowed her to step back. "What is with you, Dad? You were never the touchy-feeling type."

"Hey, I bet you have never been at death's door before, either," said Jade good-naturedly.

Immediately, Julia's eyes became cold, and Valmont mentally cursed the Chan girl for bringing it up.

"As a matter of fact, I have."

Jade's eyebrows shot up and she looked genuinely amazed. "Wow, really? Tell me about it," she said curiously. Valmont was appalled when she even had the gall to sit down and make herself comfortable.

"Oh, I will, as soon as you tell me why I'm covered in blood and being smothered by my own father."

The Chan girl blinked. "Don't you remember?"

Warily, Julia shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Just as well," said Valmont, giving Jade a pointed glare. "I worry enough about her mental state as it is. She doesn't need any more bad memories."

"Did you just call me crazy, Dad?" asked Julia. Valmont and Jade were having a stare down contest, however, and did not hear her. The Chan's eyes acquired a determined gleam, though they were also suddenly bright with tears.

"As bad as the memories of this day are to me, I would never want to forget them," she said. "I will never forget Paco's sacrifice... or his last words."

"It is very strange, though," remarked Bai Tsa, startling both Jade and Valmont. They had completely forgotten her presence. They looked at her as she glanced around cautiously and hissed quietly. "I don't think the spell worked. There is something wrong."

"What? What do you mean, it didn't work?" asked Jade frantically. "We all saw that bright light and then Paco and Mei Liang were gone and... and..."

"It is just a feeling," said the Water Demon. "Besides, the boy's body should not have vanished as well."

"He must have been taken along with Mei Liang's body. They were kinda –" Jade grimaced "– stuck to each other, after all."

Bai Tsa shook her head. "That should not matter. I still think she managed to escape, somehow."

"Can you feel her presence?" asked Valmont.

"No. Mei Liang is no longer in this realm, that much I can tell. But that does not mean she is dead."

"How can we be sure?" asked Jade.

"You should ask Shendu or Tso Lan. They are more familiar with that spell."

"Tch! Yeah, right, as if I would ask them." After a pause, Jade said, "But if Mei Liang really is alive somewhere, do you think Paco could be... alive too?"

Before Bai Tsa could reply, Julia spoke, "I... I remember now." They all turned to look at her. The little girl sighed, her head down. "I remember the demon called Mei Liang... and the Hun Yu jewel."

Brilliant, thought Valmont sarcastically, with a sigh of his own. He should have known better than to let Jade Chan and Bai Tsa talk about the recent events in front of Julia.

"Why did you do that, Julia?" asked Jade gently.

Julia took a deep breath. Valmont could feel her tremble in his arms, and held her close again. "I – I just wanted my mum back. I've been trying to find a way to bring her back for years. Ever since I read about a jewel with nearly unlimited powers, I've longed to find it, but it was out of my reach. But then I met Shendu and I thought he could get it for me. And he did. I had it all planned. It was perfect!"

"No, it was not," snapped Bai Tsa. "It was foolish! Do you have any idea what you were doing? That was bordering dark magic!"

"What!" shouted Valmont, paling, his voice cracking. He opened his mouth to scold Julia about meddling with something as dangerous as dark magic, but his daughter's quiet sobs stopped him.

"I... just wanted her back," she whispered, her shoulders heaving. Valmont sighed again, more heavily, and looked away uneasily, not knowing what to do or say to comfort her. He had never been that good at comforting people, and he had the feeling that he would just make matters worse by talking to her, considering how much she seemed to hate him.

To his astonishment, it was Jade Chan who leant forwards to save them both, "Hey, Julia, don't cry, we're not mad at you. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love." She bowed her head as well and was a silent for a moment, before going on, "But I'm sure she's –"

"You can stop now, Jade," said Julia brusquely, wiping her tears before looking up, doing her best to look composed as she fixed the Chan girl with a hard look. "I've already heard enough of all that rubbish from Finn, Ratso, and Chow. 'You gotta move on,' 'She's in a better place now,' 'She wouldn't want you to be miserable like this for the rest of your life.' I don't want to hear it anymore. I'm fine, so just leave me be."

Jade hesitated. "I can tell you're not fine, Julia, but if I'm upsetting you, then I'll leave you alone. Just... one more thing," she smiled suddenly, as if remembering something amusing. "I know Valmont mustn't be the best dad in the world – actually, I'm sure he's pretty bad –" her smile widened into a grin as she caught Valmont's death glare, "– but give him a chance. I can tell he's trying. That's a... start, I guess." She shrugged, stood up and waved at them. "Bye!" she said and turned to leave.

All was silent for a long moment, only broken by Julia's impatient voice, "You can let me go now, Dad."

oOo

The demons glared hatefully at each other as they gathered where the battle against Mei Liang had taken place. After the Chans had left, Tso Lan had sent Hsi Wu to search for the other demons and announce that the he was requesting a meeting. The sun had already set among the mountains in the horizon by the time Hsi Wu managed to find all his siblings. Tchang Zu, Shendu, and Dai Gui had been fighting one another and were now bruised and a little bloodied, but had no serious injuries. Po Kong and Xiao Fung had been found in the nearest city, at a restaurant, having been starving since they'd come to China.

"What in the Netherworld was that?" shouted Bai Tsa angrily. "I cannot believe you almost ruined everything! You have all lost your minds!"

"You have no right to accuse us, Bai Tsa!" snapped Shendu.

"That is right. You were after the jewel, as well," said Tchang Zu.

"You began to fight each other and let Chan escape!"

"That is not quite what happened!" protested Shendu.

"And why did most of you run away in the middle of the fight?" questioned Dai Gui, glancing at the siblings in question.

"I supposed one or two of you would have been enough to fight Chan. It was unnecessary for all eight of us to remain when a much more dangerous enemy was still in the loose," said Tso Lan evenly.

"Po Kong and Xiao Fung went to the city to eat!"

"This family is a disgrace! No wonder Chan always defeats you!" roared Tchang Zu.

"If I remember correctly, he has defeated you as well!" said Hsi Wu.

"Hey, weren't we supposed to be working together?" said Xiao Fung.

"Yes, and rule the world together once more," said Bai Tsa, glaring at Tchang Zu. "But you intended to betray us so that you could rule it all by yourself and make us your servants!"

"Of course! I refuse to share the world with you fools!" thundered Tchang Zu. "You have ashamed our family and lost the right to call yourselves demons. You are no longer my equals!"

"What right do you have to say that? You are the one who double-crossed your own family!"

"Hypocritical backstabber," spat Shendu.

"You are fine one to talk, aren't you, Shendu?"

"Enough!" yelled Bai Tsa. "I am sick and tired of you. I am leaving now, and, hopefully, we will never see each other again."

"Until you come back to your senses, I suggest we all go separate ways. Farewell, brethren," said Tso Lan softly, coldly, before leaving with his younger sister. Hsi Wu hissed and flew away in the opposite direction.

Once they were far enough from the others, Tso Lan and Bai Tsa stopped and stood next to each other for a while, both watching the now starry sky and the moon. Valmont and Julia stood a few steps back, watching them quietly and impassively.

"What a decline," muttered Bai Tsa.

"Indeed. It is unsurprising, though. In fact, it is a wonder this family did not fall apart a long time ago. It was bond to happen from the beginning."

"I wonder what we did wrong."

"Meditate over that, my sister, and perhaps you shall get the answers. Learn from the mistakes of the past."

She half-growled, half-groaned in exasperation, "Why do you always talk like that?"

He did not respond to that, but asked after a pause, "What are you going to do now?"

She closed her eyes and whispered, "I missed the sea – still do, in fact. When I was swimming here, I felt I could have continued there for the rest of eternity." She opened her eyes and glanced at her brother. "I can't go back to Atlantis; it is in ruins now. It's painful to watch. However, there is still at least one place with good memories for me."

"I see."

"You are going back to your own element, I presume?"

"You presume correctly."

Intriguingly, she exchanged an amused glance with the man behind them. When she looked at Tso Lan again, she was trying hard to hold back a smile – and failing miserably. Humour coloured her voice as she said, "If you have too many unwished guests, you are welcome to my place for at least a few weeks, Brother. I wouldn't want one of the only sensible members of the family to be driven insane, after all."

Tso Lan frowned, giving her an inquisitive glance. He did not really understand what she had meant by that, and it pained him that Bai Tsa knew something that he did not. "Unwished guests?" Spirits, perhaps?

"Have you ever seen a rocket?" she asked innocently.

"I might have read about it somewhere."

"What about artificial satellites?" asked the human man rather smugly, adding insult to injury. Tso Lan turned to glare at him. "I will be fine in the moon; any intruders will be taken care of, so trouble yourself not with me." He then turned back to Bai Tsa. "In any case, what is he doing here? I would have thought he would have attempted to escape at the first opportunity."

"He knows I would have gone after him – and found him."

As though to confirm that, Valmont folded his arms and put on his best long-suffering, resigned expression.

After a minute of silence, Bai Tsa frowned and spoke again, "I do wonder what happened to the Hun Yu jewel?"

Her curious eyes met his angry ones. Yet another thing he did not know the answer to. This really was not his day.

Epilogue

"Pregnant?" said Jackie in disbelief to the phone. "H-how can that be?" His astonished gaze fell upon Uncle.

"Uncle will not explain the birds and the bees to you again, Jackie," said the old man, raising his gaze from the book he had been reading. "You should know it by now, anyway; you have a son."

"Uncle!" exclaimed Jackie, horrified as well as angry, casting a quick glance at Jack. "I was just told my niece is pregnant! This is no time for jokes!" He paused and, back to the phone, he said uncertainly, "This isn't a joke, is it?"

"No," came Viper's reply. "Jade mentioned that she had been feeling sick in the morning. I got suspicious and told her to take the test. It was positive. She... also asked me to keep it a secret until now."

"Is that why she left? Why? Why even keep it a secret? Did she think I would..." he trailed off as a horrible thought occurred to him. The demons had kidnapped her and kept her prisoner for quite a long time. What if one of them had forced himself on her?

"She knew that if we'd told while she was here, you would fuss over her," said Viper, oblivious to Jackie's distress. "I guess she wants some time for herself. She was very upset over Paco's death... especially since Paco's the father."

"Oh..." Jackie closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "I – I see," he said faintly. "That makes sense, then. I think. I just wish she would have let us help her."

"I know. Maybe she'll be feeling better in a few weeks, so – ah, just a sec." Jackie heard her muffled voice speaking to someone else briefly. "Jackie? I have to go now. We'll talk later, okay? Bye, love you."

"Love you too. Bye." He hung up and turned to Uncle, who had been watching his nephew carefully. "Uncle, Jade is pregnant!"

"I gathered that much. Seeing as you only have one niece, I did not think you were talking about another," said Uncle gruffly.

"Viper said Paco was the father."

"Jade is going to have a baby?" asked Jack. At Jackie's nod, he looked excited. "Wow! Is it going to be a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know that yet, Jack. It's still too early to tell." Though, by the looks of it, I don't think Jade would tell us even if she did know, he added mentally.

Uncle frowned and glanced around. "Where is that lousy apprentice?" he asked and then shouted, "Tohruuu!"

"Coming, Sensei!" The Japanese man hurried down the stairs, nearly stumbling at one point. The three Chans blinked and stared at him. He was dressed in a suit and was carrying a bouquet of roses in his left hand. Noticing the odd stares, he stopped and prompted worriedly, "Sensei?"

"Where did you get that suit?" asked Jack.

"Tohru, what is the meaning of this?" his master demanded to know. Tohru looked away, fingered his tie, and rubbed the back of his head, blushing slightly.

"I, um, I have a date."

"Ah... really?" As surprised as he was, Jackie still managed to sound almost casual. "Who is she?"

"S-she's, ah..." He checked his watch and looked even more flustered as he headed to the door, stuttering, "E-excuse me, I have to go now. I'm late!"

oOo

Xiao Fung opened his mouth, his head tilted back, and let all the popcorn in his bowl drop into it. Next to him, Po Kong did the same. He grabbed the remote control and began switching the channels on the TV.

"Modern humans sure know how to have fun," he commented.

"And how to make eating even better that it already is," added his sister.

"But staying here is getting a little boring. We've spent, what, weeks in this city. It doesn't have anything new to offer anymore. I want to go visit some other places. Like, uh, like Brazil! I've heard it's paradise; cheery music, dance, beer, beaches, sexy women..." he grinned.

"Why don't you just go, then?" she asked him impatiently, throwing her now empty bowl aside. The entire floor was covered in a mess of empty snacks wrappings and bits of food, but neither of them cared about it.

"Don't you want to come with me?"

"No. I have my own plans. The only place I intend to visit in the near future is my homeland." She took her human form, wearing a rather elegant dress and some makeup. "Do I look good?"

He shrugged, his attention having already returned to the TV. Po Kong went to the bathroom so that she could look in the mirror and make sure she looked presentable.

"I'll be out all afternoon and maybe all night as well, so don't wait for me," she told her brother when she returned to the living room.

"I wasn't going to, anyway," he said dismissively, then finally seemed to notice her for the first time. "Where are you going? Is it a date?"

"How perceptive of you, Brother. Yes, it is a date. And if I am any lucky, I will get to learn many interesting things about the Chans, such as their weakness."

Even after she left without another word, Xiao Fung could just stare at where she had been standing for a while, his jaw slightly dropped. Had she really said what he thought she had said? If so, that meant she was going out with...

He grinned and sat back comfortably on the couch, pleased and proud.

"Sister Po Kong is so clever. Too bad the others underestimate her so."

oOo

Valmont sighed and gazed at the sky, leaning over the balcony of his luxurious room in a hotel. He wondered why the Demon Water had insisted on coming to Rome. Not that he disliked the idea (so far); he had always liked Italy and had many acquaintances here, and it was certainly safer than San Francisco. Of course, he would have to abandon most – if not all – of his criminal activities for a while, which meant no money incoming.

He heard a soft splash behind him and did not even have to turn and look to know it was Bai Tsa. He resolutely kept his eyes on the dark sky and tried to look indifferent. Right next to him, a blue-haired woman leant on the balcony to watch the moon. Reflexively, Valmont also looked at it.

"I wonder if Brother Tso Lan has already gone mad with those things the humans keep sending to the moon. Even when we were children, he would always hide there to escape the insanity of our family."

He glanced at her and cursed himself when he found himself unable to prevent his eyes from lowering to her rather revealing neckline. "I imagine being related to Shendu wasn't easy," muttered Valmont when he could finally tear his gaze away from her.

"We all hated him for it, we wished there was a way to disturb his peaceful little world." She smirked and lowered her gaze so as to watch the streets and people below. "Rome was a beautiful place in the Ancient Times. It still is. So many buildings were preserved. That is good."

He tapped his fingers on the balcony. Why was she here, pretending to want to make idle chat with him? "Would you get to the point?"

She looked puzzled, but couldn't hold back an amused smile. "Excuse me?"

"Why do you keep following me?" he snapped. "Why have you become so obsessed with me? You didn't want anything to do with me when we first met!"

"When we first met, Shendu was in your body. Next time we saw each other, you were green and scaly." She sneered, as if the last words had summoned a very sickening mental image. "Green and scaly brings me back very bad memories."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Of what?"

"Dhai Jiang," she shuddered at the name and proceeded to mutter something in what sounded like Latin. "My disgusting excuse of a fiancé. He was a lizard demon."

"What did he do for you to hate him so much?"

"He existed. Oh, and tried to molest me – on a regular basis. Completely obsessed with me."

He smirked and tried to stifle a chuckle. "Now you know how I feel when you."

She blinked at him innocently and said a sickly sweet tone, "Why, Valmont, do you find me repulsive?"

"What do you think?" he snapped at her. "You're a demon! You think I'm your servant!" Disgusted, he stormed out of the balcony and into his room.

oOo

Bai Tsa quietly followed the blond man into the room, pausing and stepping back to inconspicuously watch him from the doorway as he sat down on the bed and took a deep, tired breath. She felt her heart flutter when, oblivious to her presence, he untied his hair and began to unbutton his suit. She watched each of his movements avidly, her eyes lingering on his well-toned muscles when he took his shirt off. Her hands twitched with the sudden urge to touch him, to feel him.

Taking a liquid form, she crossed the room by going under the bed and reappeared in her human form right behind the man. She leant over him, her chin nearly resting on his shoulder. "You know, you never did tell me your first name. It feels odd to call you by a surname all the time." She brought her arms around him and pulled him close to her chest, hearing his breath hitch and noting how tense he suddenly got. She let her hands travel over his chest slowly, fervently, her forehead pressed against his soft hair. Abruptly, she pulled away and got up, firmly holding his face so that he had to get up as well. They stood face-to-face, her hands cupping his face, their noses almost touching and their eyes staring deeply into each other's.

"Oh, Lord," he whispered faintly to himself, his eyes wide.

"I want you, and I will have you, whether you like it or not," she hissed, letting her hands slip to his shoulders. "So you will tell me your name now."

He swallowed several times and looked like he was trying to look away, but his eyes refused to leave her face. Finally, he closed his eyes and said, "Julian."

"What?" she asked, frowning.

He gulped again and said slowly, "My name is Julian. Julian Valmont." He looked pained.

She smirked. That poor girl, having been named after her hated father, of all people. With long, slender fingers, she brushed a lock of his silvery hair. "What? Don't you like your name?"

"No, not really..."

"Shame. I quite like it." She stroked his cheek. "And now that I know it, we can do what I have been longing to do for a long time. Something that I haven't done since I was sent to the Netherworld."

"Wh-what –" she cut him off with an abrupt, passionate, almost violent, kiss, her tongue exploring his mouth, tasting him. Before he could recover his wits to either return it or try to escape, she dug her nails into his shoulders and shoved him onto the bed. She knelt down on it and crawled to him until she was over him, her body brushing his. She kissed him again, and, this time, he returned it ardently. To her slight surprise and great satisfaction, he also began to feel her body and try to get her clothes off. She smirked again.

"Not so repulsive now, am I?" she asked him breathlessly, her face as flushed as his.

"No, not really," he gasped before kissing her again.

oOo

Tso Lan opened his eyes and looked up, his tongue whipping the air as his irritation increased. The moon wasn't as peaceful as it used to be. His meditation was constantly interrupted by those strange devices that the humans sent to the moon. When would they learn that he wanted to be left alone?

After destroying one of the so-called satellites, he stood up from his rather comfortable spot and floated away from that region. He came to a halt when he saw what looked like a flag – it had red and white stripes and a blue square with stars. His eyes glowed in anger. How dare they! With a simple wave of his hand, he tore the flagpole out of the ground and threw it into the space.

Cursed humans.

After a few minutes wandering, he stopped, glanced around, and – seeing no more devices – sat down. He didn't immediately close his eyes to resume his meditation, however, but looked at the blue planet called Earth dispassionately, as though it were to blame for the existence of the human race. It was quite a nice world and all of his siblings lived there, but if the humans kept invading his territory with those blasted satellites, rockets, and flags, he would seriously reconsider his early plans to move the moon and consequently destroy Earth.

He frowned and narrowed his eyes. His head had been aching for a while. He glared at the sun, cursing its excessive brightness, and stood up again. Perhaps he should go to the dark side of the moon.

oOo

With a wince and a yelp, Finn dropped his chopsticks in the bowl of noodles and began to heave, his eyes watering. "It's too hot!" he complained, though it ended up sounding more like, "Ish 'oo haw'!"

"Of course it is," Chow told him. "That's why you gotta eat it very fast. Slurping."

"You're joking, right?"

"Can't we just wait until it cools down a little?" asked Ratso, looking at his own soup of noodles as if it were poison after Finn's little display.

"No."

"Ow, I can't feel my tongue..." moaned Finn, a hand over his mouth.

Chow ignored the both of them and continued eating his noodles.

"You know, Hong Kong isn't that bad," said Ratso after spending the past few minutes blowing on his soup.

"Yeah, well, as long as the other kinds of food don't burn your tongue into ashes, I guess it's an okay enough place," said Finn.

"How do we go back to San Francisco, though?" wondered Chow.

Suddenly, Finn's face brightened. "Say, what if we don't go back to San Francisco and stay here in Hong Kong?" At the other two men's baffled stares, he went on, "Just think about it! We could start over, find new jobs..."

"Hmm..."

"Come on, what've we got to lose?"

"Maybe it's not a bad idea," conceded Chow.

"What do you think, Ratso?"

"Hey, isn't that Hak Foo?"

"Huh?" Both Finn and Chow turned to look in the direction Ratso was pointing and, sure enough, the Black Tiger was just entering the restaurant. He didn't walk so much as marched to the bar and ordered something in Chinese.

"Hey, Hak! Long time no see!" greeted Finn.

"It's been a while. How've you been?" said Ratso.

"What are you doing here in Hong Kong?" asked Chow.

Hak Foo turned his head to face the three other enforcers and scowled.

"I was told Valmont was here," he answered.

"Well, yeah, he was. How'd you find out?" said Finn. When the warrior refused to answer, he cleared his throat and went back to the original topic, "I don't think he's still here, though. The demons must've taken him back to San Fran."

"They have not," said Hak Foo.

"Well, then..." Chow exchanged glances with his companions. "Then we have no idea where he is now."

"He could be anywhere in the world right now, from Alaska to the Fiji islands!" said Finn.

Hak Foo looked so disappointed (for Hak Foo, which really wasn't that much) over going back to square one and failing his master that Finn was momentarily taken aback. It was an odd expression for the Black Tiger. He wondered if he should be afraid that the warrior would commit a suicidal ritual to retrieve his honour or some garbage like that.

"Hey, me and the guys were thinking about starting over here in Hong Kong. If you have nowhere else to go, you could come with us."

"A splendid idea," answered not Hak Foo, but a new voice right behind them, scaring the daylights out of the first three enforcers.

"Wh-who are you?" stuttered Chow, his glasses slipping down his nose as his eyes widened. The blond man who had spoken appeared quite ordinary, except for the fact his green eyes glowed red when they all turned to look at him.

"Shendu? Is that you?" said Finn in disbelief. "What are you doing in Hong Kong?"

"In case this small detail has escaped your mind, this is my territory."

"Ah, but wasn't that a long time ago?" said Ratso.

"Silence!" hissed the disguised dragon. He then smirked. "I am quite aware of the fact you are not the most competent men in the world, but at least we already know each other and I have something to start with."

"What are you talking about?"

Shendu chuckled and drummed his fingers in a very Mr. Burns-like way. "How would you like to work for the next great crime lord?"

"Say what?" said Chow.

Finn laughed uncertainly. "Do you even know how to be a crime lord?"

Shendu sneered, his eyes clouding and glowing. He looked like he was recalling unpleasant memories. "I did much more than serve as decoration for Valmont's office when I was trapped in the form of statue. You wouldn't believe how much one can learn by just watching a crime lord work." He snapped out of his flashback and focused on the four men again. "So, will you work for me?" he asked with a polite tone, but the men could still hear the threat lying behind it. They exchanged a glance. Could they actually refuse and still live to see another day?

Finn didn't think so.

oOo

Jade heard the window of her room open and immediately knew Hsi Wu had finally found her. She sighed and rose from her sprawled position on the bed. Crouched on the windowsill, the Sky Demon had a stern expression on his face, his eyes hard as he glared at Jade.

"Why did you run away?" he asked her.

"I didn't run away, just came back home," she said simply.

"I thought San Francisco was your home. Didn't you hate Hong Kong?"

She lay down again, her gaze fixed on the ceiling vacantly. "Nope, it's nice here."

"Did you know Shendu is here in Hong Kong?"

"Tch! See if I care..." She closed her eyes.

"It is just a matter of time until he finds you, and then he will undoubtedly come to kill you."

She began to hum unperturbedly.

Hsi Wu hissed in irritation. "Fine! Be that way, then! Anyway, I'm not here to warn you about Shendu."

"Oh, reaaaaly?"

"Will you stop that?" he snapped. "What is wrong with you? Oh, wait, I know." He leapt into the room and stepped close to her, his eyes glowing red as he sniffed. "Yes, I can smell it now. You're pregnant with that mortal's spawn," he spat the last word.

"First of all, 'that mortal' has a name, Hsi Wu, and it's Paco. Second, the 'spawn' you speak of is not his, it's yours, you moron!"

He hissed and grabbed her head with one hand, making her yelp in surprise. "What did you say?"

"Exactly what you heard, unless you're going deaf!"

"So you say, and yet..." He looked at one picture of Paco that Jade had brought from San Francisco, resting on her nightstand. Releasing her head, he took the frame in his hand and sneered at the picture. "You have been tremendously upset over his death, and now you treat me like an enemy."

"You have yourself to blame for that! You did nothing to help us in the fight."

"What could I have done? I can't go against all my brothers and sisters!"

"Maybe you can't. Maybe you could have done nothing, after all. But I still have the feeling you wouldn't have done anything to help even if you could."

"That doesn't seem a very fair logic."

"Life isn't fair."

"You should have still come to me to talk about my child! You belong to me, Jade, and so naturally does he."

"Your child? Belong to you?" She got up from the bed. "Neither I nor my child belong to you – or to anyone, for that matter. I am no one's property!"

"You are, have been since you let yourself be taken by me!"

"It was practically a one-night stand!"

"With significant repercussions," he pointed at her belly. She covered it with her hands protectively. "And it wasn't only 'one night'."

"So that's what I am to you? A property, a... a pleasure tool?" Just pronouncing those words disgusted her, and she was left with a bitter taste in her mouth.

"It was never anything else, Jade. What did you think I wanted you for?"

"You said you loved me!"

"Foolish, naïve girl," he sneered. "You should know that my concept of 'lover' is rather different from yours. To demons, 'love' does not equal 'happy feelings' or any of that nonsense, but it is mostly lust. That's basically all there's to it." She was so taken aback and incredulous that she didn't even back away or protest when he approached her until they were almost touching. His voice was now taunting, "Don't be so appalled, Jade. You cannot censure me when you did just the same thing."

"I never –"

"Don't lie to me, and don't lie to yourself! You never loved me, Jade. You loved the danger, the thrill of getting involved with a demon, a mortal enemy of your family at that. Your rebel self just couldn't let such an opportunity pass, could it?"

She shook her head in denial. No, it wasn't like that at all. Hsi Wu was just trying to mess with her head, to shift the blame onto her. "That's... not true." Yet, the words sounded hollow even to her own ears.

"But, deep down, you knew all along that you loved not me, but that mortal... Paco." He kept his eyes closed for a moment, reflectively. "Demons' law says we should kill any rebelling lover. I won't kill you, though." He glanced at her stomach again, a calculating flash in his eyes contrasting with his impassive expression. "This could be very interesting."

"Get out!" she screamed. "Leave me alone! I don't want to see you ever, ever again!"

"Unfortunately for you, Jade, humans sometimes don't get what they want. Demons, on the other hand, usually do. I will leave now, but believe me when I say we will meet again, sooner than you think." He threw the picture against the wall with all his might, shattering the frame and the glass in it. Then, he leapt onto the windowsill and jumped out.

Jade stomped up to the window and yelled, "You bastard!" at the top of her lungs, leaving her with a sore throat and a headache. She closed the window shut and hurried to retrieve the fallen picture. She caressed it, looking at the smiling face of the tanned Mexican boy and his brown eyes.

That night, she sat in the dark at her desk, in front of her laptop. She was determined to tell someone about her theory. It was also time to contact her family, her parents as well as her Jackie and everyone else at Uncle's shop. She still felt terrible for lying about her child's parentage, taking advantage of Paco's death even after he sacrificed himself to save her, all because she was too afraid to confess she had had an affair with a demon. She felt even worse after talking to Hsi Wu earlier that day. She was disgusted with herself. How could she have let that demon play with her feelings and deceive her yet again?

She sighed. He had been right, though; it had been partly her fault, as well. She should have known better. It's just that – it just felt so good! To be by his side, to be held by his strong arms while they glided above the clouds and closer to the beautiful stars...

Yet, the demon's touch and words had never made her heart warm and flutter like Paco's last words had. His last words, said to her and her only, to be treasured and cherished forever.

Jade... I love you.

Ever since that fateful day, she had been dreaming of him every night. She just wished she could remember them. When she woke up, she would always forget what had happened in them and could only recall blurry, vague images.

The room got suddenly darker and Jade noticed that she had been so lost in thought that the screensaver was now on. Okay, time to stop dreaming and get down to business.

Who should she tell about her theory first? There was no way she was going to ask Shendu! Uncle might be able to give her an educated opinion on it. She then remembered El Toro and how depressed he had been ever since Paco's supposed death.

She began to type.

¡Hola, El Toro! ¿Qué tal? (first thing we learn to say in Spanish classes)

I don't know if any of the other guys has talked to you about me... If they showed any concern for my health (mental or physical), they probably exaggerated a lot. I'm fine, really, I'm having a great time here in Hong Kong. I admit I kinda missed it here. Of course, San Fran is still WAY better! I think I'll go back there next month...

I have many things I need to tell, well, everyone. Even now, the very thought makes me cringe. I screwed up big time. I hope no one hates me when they find out... But this is another story, for another time.

Anyway, I've been thinking about that day when we fought Mei Liang and the other demons. This may sound crazy, but I don't really think Paco is dead. There is a slight possibility that he's alive in some other realm. Bai Tsa (one of the demons) said she's pretty sure that there was something wrong with the spell. I thought long and hard about what she said and did some research. (Gee, now I sound like Uncle!) And yes, that's the real reason why I came to Hong Kong. I did NOT run away!

I didn't want Jackie and the others to know because they would have thought I was desperate and in denial or something. I won't go into details, but from what I gathered, yes, there's a chance Paco's alive. I mean, we never did see his body, now did we? I'm telling you, he was totally taken to another dimension! And although his injury was fatal, he could have gotten help in whatever other world he ended up. Let's hope so!

Con cariño,

Jade Chan

Smiling pleased to herself, she sent the message. Now, on to send a message to Jackie and the others. She crackled her knuckles and let her fingers twitch and hover over the small keyboard. They began to tremble after a minute there, and she felt a drop of sweat roll down her temple.

They were so going to kill her.

The End

This story is dedicated to VampireNaomi, who has been a wonderful friend and whose works, particularly Ni Tang, inspired me to write this story, as well as many others. Thank you so much!

Special thanks to Contessa Lestrange, who is also a great friend and introduced me to the world of fanfiction, and, of course, to everyone who has reviewed this fic and motivated me to continue writing.

Many thanks also to everyone who has read the fic, even if they never reviewed.

Wow, I can't believe it's over! I've been writing this story for, what, almost three years now! I can still remember when I was getting the first baby plot-bunnies for it; the plot was going to be completely different from all this (much worse, too). It was my very first fanfic and I'm aware of the numerous mistakes in it, but I'm still rather pleased with the way it turned out. I know some of you probably hate me now, but I did what I had to do. Please accept my apologies.

There will probably be a sequel, but I really wish I could finish my other stories before starting yet another one. There is a very slim chance I'll post the first chapter some time in the near future, but only if I'm struck with large amounts of inspiration and have time to write it down. In other words, don't hold your breath...