Hsi Wu clung to the underside of a rock platform, floating in the Demon Netherworld. He had just been banished from Earth, and was frustrated with himself. He had had a perfect opportunity to gain power in Earth, to come up with a plan to free his brothers and sisters, to defeat their enemies...and he had botched it! What had gone wrong?
He thought back on the events of the day. He knew what had caused his downfall: that trinket Jade had given him. A stupid charm given by a stupid mortal child, and she had used it to track him, to locate him, and to destroy him.
Thinking about this, he wondered...why had he kept it? When it was revealed that he was Hsi Wu in disguise, why had he kept the trinket? Why hadn't he tossed it right then? Or later, when he'd gotten away with the old man? Why did he wait to get rid of it until AFTER it had been used against him?
It's not like it meant anything to him. It's not like he had actually LIKED the girl. It's not like it had been...the first gift anyone had ever given him. It's not like...the look of betrayal on her face when she saw he was really a demon...had actually hurt...
He fingered the place on his chest where the trinket had hung. It was just half of a yin-yang charm, one she had then used to track him to his location, and then destroy him. Why did he miss it so much? ...why did he regret throwing it away?
And why was he so upset to see her give it to the sumo, when he watched from the demon netherworld. And why was he watching her?
Shaking his head, he flew into the netherworld, trying to understand himself.
Jade turned away from her chat with Uncle in the Netherworld. *Okay,* she thought. *All I have to do now is wait for Uncle to lead me to the portal, and-* "Where's my camera?" she asked suddenly.
"YOU!" She flinched back and was suddenly pinned to the ground by a clawed blue hand. "What are you doing here?"
"Hsi Wu!" She stared into the demon's face in shock and fear...then saw her camera in his other hand. "Uh...hi?" She tried to be calm, but this close and without any defense...she was terrified.
Hsi Wu snarled in her face. "Why are you here in the netherworld? Did you think it might be a fun place to visit? Or was it just your usual reckless charge into headlong danger for thrills finally catching up to you?"
Jade gulped. "Seems like the latter," she mumbled. "Are...are you going to feed me to Po Kong now?" she asked in fear. After hearing what the mountain demon had said about hors d'oeuvers, she figured she knew what her fate was going to be.
Hsi Wu tilted his head back and forth a few times. "...no, I don't think so." Spreading his wings, he grabbed her by the shoulders in his foot claws. "If you are here, your family will be trying to get you out. If WE have you, we can get Shendu to compel their cooperation." He took flight, carrying her.
Deciding to gamble, Jade tried to negotiate with Hsi Wu. "Hey, the portal will be opened at least twice, right? Once by the Panku Box, and once when Uncle casts the banishing spell, right? But the banishing spell for this portal is keyed to Shendu, and he's a spirit. Wouldn't that mean that two could pass through the portal, one at a time? Since, according to Uncle, there's no way to hold it open for all of you."
Hsi Wu seemed to think about this for a time. "Your logic intruiges me. Go on."
"Well, if you make sure I get out through the portal when it opens the first time, and stay close to it, I can cast the spell to open it the second time and let you out. Then there won't be any way to send you back anymore. What do you say?" She knew she was taking a risk, making a deal with a demon, but she was trapped and needed a way out. She figured she could weasel her way out of it later.
"An intruiging offer, but what guarantee do I have that, once you're out, you'll set me free?" Hsi Wu wasn't slow by any means. He had managed to stay hidden and active in the human world longer than any of his siblings.
"I promise I will. Scout's honor." Jade held her hand up to prove it.
Hsi Wu cracked up laughing. "Like you're a scout!"
Jade chuckled nervously. She hadn't really expected that to work.
Hsi Wu shook his head. "As appealing as a deal like that would be...I have seen what my bretheren do to traitors, and that is not a fate that appeals to me. We shall simply have to see what happens. You are quick and cunning, so I'm sure you'll come up with something to keep my bretheren from killing you."
Jade stared up at Hsi Wu, confused. "And why aren't you?" she asked, unsure if she wanted the answer.
Hsi Wu was silent for a time. "Why indeed," he muttered at last.
Later, as Jade blew him a kiss as she passed through the portal, he once again muttered, "Why indeed..."