Once the sleigh was off, the rest of the group prepared to follow the locator spell to wherever Daolong Wong had secreted Santa's cottage. Jade had wanted to go on 'the ultimate joyride' of riding in Santa's sleigh, but two things prevented that. First, while the sleigh was large to carry the sack of toys, Tohru and his 'helpers' filled the rest of it up rather tightly, even with Lucia sitting in Tohru's lap to give her sisters more room. Second, Sweetie Belle had insisted Jade and Hsi would accompany the rest to confront the dark wizard.
"Attempting to steal Santa's chi is a desperate gamble," Sweetie had explained, "and with everything else he's done, we can only assume he is desperate in this regard, meaning he'll have brought everything he has at his disposal. This is an all or nothing roll of the dice for him, and he'll unleash everything he has against us so long as there's even a chance of success. That means we need to bring everything we can to bear against him to match."
The conclusion had been accepted all around, even if Jackie wasn't the only adult present who was uncertain about the idea of bringing the children along for such a fight. However, there wasn't anymore time for debate as the spell completed and Santa's exact location was deduced. Elvin immediately warped the group to the isolated spot in the Himalayas, where they found themselves landing on a transparent purple dome. "Dark Chi Barrier," Uncle observed thoughtfully.
"Clever," Hsi Wu observed as he examined it. "It's creating a pocket space cut off from the rest of reality, locked in time-space. As long as the barrier remains with Santa inside, his chi won't start to catalyze. If it catalyzed, he could smack Daolong Wong around without half-trying no matter what the old fool brought. We need to get inside and keep Daolong Wong from successfully stealing Santa's chi long enough for the barrier to break."
"And how are we supposed to get inside while we wait for the barrier to be broken?" Jackie asked, panting as he shouldered Balance Breaker. "I tried breaking it with my sword, but it just bounced off!"
"Recirculating magic," Uncle observed. "A good counter for a static weapon. It will take time, focus, and energy to breach the barrier...and in the meantime we will need power and skill to hold off Daolong Wong."
"Then leave the barrier breaking spell with the girls and I!" Jade spoke up quickly. "If it's a Dark Magic barrier, Hsi should be able to figure out a way to pull the rest of you inside, right?"
"Already have, if that's the plan," Hsi offered quickly. He glanced towards Uncle and the others.
"Solves all the problems and keeps the girls out of danger?" Jackie asked in surprise. "I'm almost afraid to ask what the catch is."
"If the girls can't break the barrier, the rest of you will be trapped inside forever unless Daolong Wong is slain," Hsi explained flatly. "And he can leave whenever he wants."
"...that's quite a catch," Viper murmured thoughtfully. "But a risk I can accept."
"Here is the spell," Uncle said softly, handing a scroll to Jade. "Take us through, Hsi."
Nodding, Hsi folded his arms with his hands extended forward and flexed his whole body. He slowly expanded as his human form faded out, leaving behind his demon form from the other timeline, standing taller than everyone present with a body fully fleshed out with muscle. "Let's do this," he growled, his voice gravelly and echoing as he flexed each muscle as he adjusted to the cold air.
Uncle, El Toro, and Jackie stared in shock. The three fillies turned wide smirks Jade's way as her cheeks colored from memory. Viper whistled appreciatively. "Damn, girl!" she said to Jade in amazement. "You got lucky!"
"Viper!" Jackie yelled out, aghast and somewhat offended.
"What?" Viper countered playfully. "Just because I'm window shopping doesn't mean I'm ready to turn in my loyalty card. And you have to admit, he's hot!"
"That he is," a hissing voice whispered from Jade's shoulder.
Turning, Jade saw a tiny version of herself resembling how she'd looked in the other timeline as 'Queen of the Shadowkahn'. Thankfully, the wardrobe was more modest as it was still her at her current age rather than an adult, but it was still unnerving. "Uh..."
"Really!" a prim voice declared from her other shoulder, coming from a tiny Jade wearing a pure white monk's robe, arms folded with hands hidden in the sleeves. "Aren't we a little young to be thinking such things?"
"We remember what it's like to have adolescent eyes," Queen Jade countered. "And besides, did you see those abs? You could grind meat on them! And that butt!"
Jade blushed brightly as she turned away. "Sweetie, please tell me I'm not crazy?" she asked as she gestured to her shoulders.
"If you mean your shoulder angel/devil equivalents, no I can't see them," Sweetie Belle offered readily. "But they are a documented phenomenon, though they can only be seen by the one whose 'consciences' they are and by those of other people."
"...so talking to yourself is no longer considered a sign of insanity?" Jade asked in surprise.
"As long as it's to a 'hallucination' of your conscience, nope," Sweetie confirmed.
"Familiars can see them too, though," Hsi Wu spoke up awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"Oh can they now?" Queen Jade purred eagerly, tugging suggestively on her dark gown.
"Going through the barrier now!" Hsi Wu called out in terror as he grabbed the others and dove through.
On Jackie's shoulders, Tiger turned to Kitten. "Okay, maybe we do need to keep a closer eye on Jade and Hsi Wu if that's how her 'dark' side thinks."
"Thinks? What about how she dresses?" Kitten countered. "And acts? It looked like she was about to start s- ...s- ..."
"Stripping?" Tiger supplied. "Yes, I noticed. You can say it, you know."
"Not about my niece!" Kitten called out desperately. "Where did she even learn to act like that?"
"You have to ask?" Tiger countered, pointing at Viper.
"I'm suddenly very glad I couldn't see Jade's consciences," Jackie murmured thoughtfully.