//------------------------------// // Wings Mantled // Story: Three More Things! // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// ‘Seymour’ walked beside Jade as she made her way towards the shop, excitedly describing some of her past adventures. Hsi listened intently, knowing that information would be his greatest asset in the present struggle, and the more he knew about his opponents, the better able he’d be to counter anything they threw at him. Besides, most of her stories were of how she had assisted her family thwarting Valmont’s work for Shendu, and anything involving the suffering of his fire-brother was worth listening to. Admittedly, some of the stories even caught him off guard. “Cthulhu?” he asked in surprise as Jade got to that story. “You accidentally summoned Cthulhu?” “Not completely!” Jade offered contritely. “It was just a facsimile, and it didn’t last long enough to summon the real thing.” She then went into the full story of that incident. As Hsi listened to the rest of Jade’s stories, he began to come to a realization. Jade, the Qi Lin, the Wizard...they were all fully capable of handling anything thrown their way. Even the plan of overwhelming power by attacking them with the entirety of the Brotherhood at once - well, six of them now - had at best an equal chance of succeeding or failing. Trying to confront them solo as he was to recover his tail seemed tantamount to suicide with all they had at their disposal. ...he’d never been more excited in his life! Early on in his life, ever since he’d been born from the heart of an atmospheric storm caused by an uncontrolled discharge of Dark Magic, Hsi Wu had discovered that even for one as weak - relatively speaking - as him, there was little that could prove a true threat to a pure-blood Elemental Demon Sorcerer. Tso Lan had come to a similar conclusion, and both had begun actively seeking out those that could potentially be such threats. However, where Tso Lan sought them out to either eliminate them before they could threaten him or recruit them to serve him, Hsi Wu sought to push them towards the fullness of their power so he could challenge them. As much as the Brotherhood sought total global domination, Hsi Wu only went along with it because he knew that meant they’d be fighting the entire world. The world would produce those who could battle Elemental Demons, and he lived for the chance to battle them! Of all the siblings, he’d be the most likely to turn against the Brotherhood if only for the chance to battle them, if he could manage it without facing the fate of traitors by being targeted by all of them in concert. Pushing his mind, his body, his magic to their limits...that was his ultimate desire. But now he needed more information. “Some of what you’re saying seems off,” he pointed out to Jade. “If things were that intense, wouldn’t authorities have stepped in?” “Authorities to handle magic didn’t already exist yet,” Jade responded ruefully. “...wat?” Jade chuckled. “It has to do with how Shendu died, and those pendants of my cousins’ I told you about. There was...some sort of wave of power...” She shook her head. “I’m still making sense of it all, but it made magic ‘normal’ for the entire world, and history...adjusted to take that into account. We’re still figuring out where everything fits in. Since we were at the epicenter, we don’t remember the changes.” She smirked eagerly. “It’s been kind of fun, piecing it all together.” It was a struggle not to grin from ear to ear for Hsi Wu. An advantage! While the Chans may have powerful allies and the resources of magical authorities, they didn’t know who to ask for what! A bit of misinformation at the right time could easily turn the tide. This was going to be fun! “You want to see something really cool?” Jade asked as she stepped up to the shop, pushing the door open. Hsi Wu started to follow, only to notice the glow of the protective charm. “Are...are you sure it’s okay to come in?” Jade shrugged. “Uncle’s not strict about bringing friends over.” A frown crossed her face. “Or at least I assume not. Never had friends to bring over before...” She shook her head. “Well what are you waiting for? Get in here!” Smiling, Hsi Wu crossed the boundary, the invitation granting him entry. It wouldn’t be long now. Soon he’d have his tail, and he’d be able to begin his campaign against the Chans, to see who would emerge triumphant. He would not seek to strike death, though. He would only strike death on those who sought the same for him, and he already knew that the Chans only sought to reimprison him. As such, he wanted to force them to submit. His endgame was to have them bound to him by magic, sworn to his cause. Not only would that be the penultimate triumph...it would grant him an ace in the hole should he ever decide to break ties with his brothers! ...it was a pity he wouldn’t get to have more conversations like this with Jade, though. She had quite the mind, and he found he wanted to see more of it outside the battlefield. Still, there were always regrets. As Jade moved up to the chest, three cleared throats derailed Hsi Wu’s thoughts. He and Jade both spun, seeing the three fillies staring at them, Apple Bloom tapping one hoof disapprovingly. “Really, Jade?” Apple Bloom demanded irritably. “Ain’t we taught ya better than showin’ off like that?” “I wasn’t going to open the chest enough for the tail to escape!” she insisted defensively. “Just enough for Seymour to get a look at it!” “Hsi Wu is the Sky Demon,” Scootaloo pointed out. “We don’t know what all he’s capable of. What if he can turn himself into mist and hide himself in someone’s pocket? Or remotely turn his tail into mist and summon it to him once it has a way to him?” ...mental note: find out if I can actually do that, Hsi Wu thought to himself. “Wouldn’t he have done so by now if he could?” Jade pointed out. “Like, to escape without losing his tail?” “We caught him off guard, and the flute was weakening him,” Apple Bloom countered. “At full strength and with preparation, he might be able to make it rain frogs fer all we know...or sic Sharknados on us!” ...also find out what a sharknado is, that sounds ridiculously awesome. “But-” “Jade, I know you just want to impress the new boy and make a new friend,” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “But when we took you on as our student, there was an understanding. You aren’t just a kid anymore. You have to take responsibility for the magic you’re learning, and the magic you interact with.” Jade lowered her head. “So why don’t you go look up a spatial binding spell so we can keep the tail within the chest even with the lid up? Then we can let your new friend see it.” Jade’s eyes lit up. “I’ll get right on that!” “In the meantime, we’ll talk with Seymour upstairs, okay?” Sweetie offered. “Maybe we can find something a little less dangerous for all of us to do.” As Jade raced off to the library, Seymour obediently followed the three Qi Lin upstairs, doing his best to maintain a properly awed expression at being in the presence of such magically potent creatures. It wasn’t that difficult. When a door slammed behind him and he found himself standing in a runic circle he didn’t recognize with a massive venus fly trap based plant monster staring down at him, he began to regret not taking better precautions. Apple Bloom stomped her hoof at the edge of the circle, and it glowed with an orange light, filling the air with the scent of apples. “What’s your opinion of Jade?” she asked calmly. “She seems really interesting,” Hsi Wu responded immediately. “A really quick mind, very clever, and very intense. It would be really enjoyable to spend more time with her and get to know her better. I haven’t met anyone like her in hundreds of years-” He bit his lip. Why did he say that last part? “What’s your name?” Apple Bloom asked. “Hsi Wu-” Hsi bit his lip again, then tried to force out the other name. “I mean, Hsi Wu-” His eyes widened. “What did you do to me?” “Harmony Circle of Honesty,” Apple Bloom answered immediately. “It links two beings through it, making it impossible for them to lie. Lots more efficient than other interrogation methods.” As Apple Bloom stepped back, the circle dimmed. “So now what?” Hsi Wu demanded angrily, shifting his hands towards claws. Any magic would take too long to gather in this confined space, so he would have to rely on brute power and hope he didn’t take too much damage from striking good magic creatures. “We have a proposition for you,” Sweetie Belle offered sweetly. “Put your claws away, and we’ll talk civilized.” Seeing the good magic charged vines of the plant beast slithering his way, he replaced his human form. “Go on.” “Jade has a hard time making friends,” Scootaloo began. “Probably because of all the magic we’re involved with, among other things. But you seem to be on good terms with her.” “You know I did that just to get my tail,” Hsi Wu pointed out dryly. “Accordin’ to the circle, ya like hangin’ with her regardless,” Apple Bloom countered. Hsi Wu ground his teeth, but said nothing. His interest in Jade beyond the immediate concerns was not something he’d wanted potential enemies to know. “There’s a Spring Dance coming up at the school,” Sweetie Belle continued. “Jade wants to go, not that she’ll admit it. We’d like her to go too, just so she can have a bit of normal. So here’s the deal. You be her friend, spend time with her, take her to the dance, and make sure she has a good time. Take no hostile action against us or the world until then. In exchange, we return your tail with no spells on it.” “And how do I know you’ll keep your word?” Hsi demanded irritably. “Or that I’ll keep mine?” “Because we’ll swear it with the Circle active,” Apple Bloom answered readily. “It’ll bind us all to the promise.” Hsi Wu frowned. He didn’t like trusting magic he didn’t fully understand. “...and if I refuse?” “Then we’ll feed you to Audrey,” Scootaloo responded immediately, gesturing to the now grinning plant beast. “You’ll end up stored immobile in his stomach dimension where you’ll be slowly digested by good magic charged stomach acid to provide him with energy over the course of 1000 years.” Hsi Wu raised an eyebrow. “He doesn’t look part Sarlacc,” he pointed out dryly. The three fillies shot wide grins at each other. Sweetie Belle then turned back to Hsi Wu. “Well? Do you accept the deal?” Hsi Wu shrugged. “It’s not like I have a choice,” he responded gruffly. Inside, however, he was actually quite pleased. These opponents proved just as capable as he’d hoped, to have already outmaneuvered him to this extent. Not only that, the binding promises would actually give him an umbrella of safe activity, since being bound to not do harm would mean magical authorities couldn’t take action against him. He would have plenty of time to prepare. Grinning, the three fillies stepped up to the circle. They placed their hooves on it, and it once more glowed orange with the scent of apples. Script took shape in the air between them, detailing the discussed oaths and no more. “Repeat after us,” Apple Bloom instructed. “Cross my heart, hope to fly,” they intoned together, making motions with their hooves to indicate what they stated, “stick a cupcake in my eye.” Hsi Wu shivered. Somehow, that promise held a great deal of power behind it, a power he couldn’t quite grasp. He made a mental note not to even try to break the promise. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” As he spoke, he used his hands to mimic the motions. The magic of the circle sunk in, binding all four. “Now let’s see what progress Jade’s made on that spatial binding spell!” Sweetie declared eagerly before the three fillies raced for the door. Hsi Wu shivered a bit, but quickly followed. This was going to be quite challenging...he could hardly wait!