Chapter Text
It was a cold winter day when a couple fishermen were out at sea. The waves were calm and the sky was clear until one of the men noticed how quiet everything was. The seagulls had flown away and their nets were coming up empty.
The older fisherman looked around while the younger one fretted over the empty net. The old man squinted at the water when he noticed a dark shadow beneath the surface. As the shadow grew bigger, something stuck out from the water like a shark's fin, only it looked more like a horn.
The older fisherman immediately started prepping the boat to leave while the younger man looked at him with confusion. The older man pointed at the encroaching horn and the young man dropped the net and hurried to get ready to leave.
Before the men could get too far, the horned creature destroyed their vessel and left nothing behind except the wreckage and a spreading pool of deep red.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jade Chan was looking forward to celebrating the Chinese New Year with her family and friends in San Francisco until she was approached by the Ben-Shui Order, claiming that she was the Chosen One they had been searching for. Jade recalled the last time they had claimed that Tohru was the Chosen One, only to find out they were wrong. Now they were back and saying that she was the true Chosen One, and the reason they hadn't come to collect her sooner was because she was still a minor. Now that she was 18 years old, they had traveled to Uncle's Rare Finds to take her back to their temple and have her past life memories restored.
To say that she was reluctant to go was an understatement. "But Jackie! Why do I have to go now? It's almost Chinese New Year! I don't want to spend it in a Himalayan temple!"
Jackie Chan scratched the back of his head as he explained, "I know, Jade, but this is very important to the Ben-Shui Order."
"Important to them? What about what's important to me? It's my first Chinese New Year as an adult! I should at least get to celebrate before leaving." Jade stared at him with large brown eyes, pleading for him to reconsider.
"Order is positive Uncle's shop is home to Chosen One," Uncle declared with certainty. "If they speak true, and you are the one they seek, then best go quickly before dark forces move first."
"But if they're wrong, then I'll be spending Chinese New Year trying to come home. If they're right, I might not be able to come back at all!" Jade crossed her arms over her chest and huffed out an annoyed sigh. "Besides, the Chosen One is forbidden from fighting. What should I do if something happens on the way to the temple?"
Before Jackie could answer, the lead monk, Tenzin, said, "The Chosen One is allowed a Champion in case anything happens to pose a threat along the way."
Jade grinned and asked, "Can Jackie be my Champion? That way, if they're wrong about me, he'll already be there as a backup Chosen One."
Jackie wagged his finger and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jade. I already have an appointment with a museum in Spain, so I won't be able to go with you."
"Then who's gonna be my Champion?" Jade counted the potential candidates on her fingers. "Uncle's too old and Tohru is out of town visiting his mom. Viper is working undercover in France and El Toro is on a worldwide masked wrestling tour. Who else is there?"
"We'll figure something out," Jackie assured her with a smile.
Later that night, Jade snuck out of her room and into Uncle's study. The whole residence was asleep, but she kept as quiet as a mouse just in case.
She used the screen of her phone as a dim light to search through shelves of books until she settled on a specific title. She quickly skimmed through the different spells until one caught her attention.
She smirked as she read the spell's description and list of Ingredients. "I may not be allowed to fight back, but nobody said anything about emergency self-defense chi spells."
The following morning, Jade and the trio of orange-robed monks were at the airport and waiting to board their plane. She fumbled with the long sleeves of the white robe she was forced to wear and checked her watch as she impatiently tapped her foot. "What's taking so long? If this 'Champion' doesn't get here soon, then I'll just have to-"
"I am here, Señora Jade!"
Jade turned towards the deep voice behind her and saw a tall masked boy about her age with tanned skin and toned muscles. He pronounced the J in her name like a Y due to his thick Mexican accent and she resisted the urge to correct him. Instead, she rolled her eyes to the ceiling and exclaimed, "This is supposed to be my Champion? Paco?!"
Paco scowled at her disapproving tone and said, "I can handle it! I am the Great El Toro Fuerte's protégé and I swear to protect you from any danger."
Jade narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't need protecting. The only reason you're here is because these guys," she jerked her thumb at the smiling monks behind her, "won't let me fight."
Tenzin stepped forward with his hands folded into the sleeves of his robes. "The Chosen One is a being of peace, not violence."
Jade huffed out a frustrated groan. "Let's just hope nothing tries to jump us on the way to the temple."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in another time and space, a winged gremlin-like demon was flying through the vast emptiness that was the Netherworld. There was nothing but constant red-orange sky and floating rock platforms as far as the sky demon could see. It was all utterly boring.
As he flew, Hsi Wu fiddled with an aged moose-shaped camera, a souvenir from his last encounter with the bane of his immortal existence. He scowled at the black screen that used to play back the few recordings it had saved. For a while, it was the only source of entertainment he had aside from taunting his seven demonic siblings. Now it was just a useless piece of plastic that he couldn't bring himself to dispose of.
Hsi Wu recalled the young girl known as Jade. It was her fault his tail was cut off in the mortal realm. It was her fault he was banished back to the Netherworld. It was her fault he didn't make it through Shendu's portal. It was her fault Shendu's Book of Ages plan fell through. Everything was Jade Chan's fault.
As Hsi Wu grumbled to himself about his misfortune, he heard his name being called in the distance and grimaced when he realized who it was. He quickly stashed the dead camera on a floating rock mound and flew towards his beckoning sister.
When he arrived, he let out a heavy sigh. He was expecting another meeting with the rest of his siblings, but it was only his mountainous sister Po Kong. She smiled at the sight of her comparatively small bat-like brother and said, "About time! I need you to give me a massage. My back muscles are so stiff I can't stand it!"
Hsi Wu glared but obliged to his sister's request as best as he could. When he was done, she snatched him from the air in her massive hand and tossed him away with a laugh.
He growled under his breath and made his way back towards his old toy. However, he was stopped by his brother Tso Lan. Hsi Wu sighed but put on a neutral mask. At least his brother of the Moon wasn't as annoying as the rest of his siblings.
When Tso Lan floated towards his winged brother, the insect-like demon of gravity tilted his head curiously. "Something troubles you, Hsi Wu?"
Hsi Wu blinked and let his mask fall away to annoyance. Nothing really got past Tso Lan. "I just detest being stuck in this boring dimension again. Nothing new."
Tso Lan watched Hsi Wu closely and said, "Perhaps not, but you seem to be in a particular mood as of late."
Hsi Wu let out a sigh and let slip just enough truth to sate his brother's curiosity. "I spent two days in the Mortal Realm before getting banished again. The alternate timeline was restored in just as much time. That brief taste of freedom has only made this place all the more unbearable."
"I do sympathize, brother. If only the Chans were more thoroughly dealt with from the beginning, we would be ruling the Mortal Realm by now. Though Shendu bears the lion's share of that failure, we all bear some of it as well for letting it happen twice." Tso Lan turned to leave before Hsi Wu could respond. "Should anyone manage to escape the Netherworld again, their demise should become top priority."
Hsi Wu scowled as Tso Lan left to bother someone else. Once he finally made it back to the weathered camera, his anger spiked. He picked it up and squeezed it in his claws, adding more scratches to the aged surface. "If only there were such a possibility of escape. I've flown all over this realm and have found no such chance of freedom!"
In his rage, he threw the camera away. He watched it fall until it suddenly vanished into thin air.
He blinked. Then he carefully drifted down, following the same path as the camera. When he reached the area where it had vanished, he hesitated before reaching out a claw, and recoiled when he felt an invisible tug.
He narrowed his eyes and tore off the end of his loincloth. He carefully held it up to the space and watched as it was pulled from his grasp and, like the camera, suddenly disappeared.
His red eyes widened, then narrowed as a wicked, toothy grin stretched across his impish face. He had no idea where he would end up, but anything was better than here.
Hsi Wu let out a cackle as he took the first chance of freedom he's had in millennia. "You better hope I don't find you, Jade."
Without a second thought, he let himself get sucked through the rip in space and time.