꒾ CHAPTER 8 ꒾

HEAVY FOOTSTEPS WERE THE ONLY SOUND HEARD as Shang's father lead the adults through the hallways of the Ten Rings. Ju slowly fell into step with Xialing, seeing that she was very fidgety and on edge.

"You ok?" she whispered.

The woman turned her head and locked eyes with Ju.

"Yeah"

Ju, not fully convinced, nodded slowly as she looked ahead once more. They still had no idea where Wenwu was taking them, so it was fair for all of them to be extremely careful and nervous. Xialing began fiddling with her pendant.

At last, Wenwu stopped in front of a room. Each wall was made with stone that had carvings in each layer. In the far middle wall, there was a sculpture of a dragon, it was very detailed and beautiful, but the eyes were cut out. Wenwu turned to Xialing and Shang, while putting out his hand in front of the woman, silently asking for the pendant.

Xialing hesitantly took the necklace off, softly placing it in her father's hand. In his pocket, the man pulled out Shang's, making Katy's eyes widen considerably.

Wenwu walked toward the dragon, carefully placing each pendant into each eye. They fitted perfectly. The man stood back in front of the rest of them, as if waiting for something. Ju looked at him confused. Suddenly, water sprouted out of the wall. She stepped back as her eyes widened with awe.

If Ju was being completely honest, the sight was beautiful. The water did not sodden them, only float around the adults, creating different shapes and textures. A small bubble formed in front of her, and she couldn't help but let her childish side shine through as she put her hand through it.

Much to Ju's surprise, the water engulfed her hand, making it a makeshift glove. The woman laughed softly as the water tickled her fingers. Her smile turned into a frown as Wenwu started talking, for it made the liquid wash away and move into the air again.

"This...this is where it all started children." The man said.

Everyone looked confused, but Shang was the one to voice all their thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

Wenwu faced his son with an intense look on his face.

"This is where I heard your mother"

That was the moment where everything changed. Where Ju knew that this was real. There was no turning back now. Maybe it was the fact that Wenwu still believed that his wife was still alive. Maybe it was the fact that she knew that he knew about the gate. The Gate that held the most dangerous spirits to ever exist. She knew that.

She knew that because those spirits killed her family.

If the spirits drove him to Ta Lo, there was no telling what he would do. What he could do under the influence of those damned things. Her breathing started to quicken as she thought of all the scenarios. Every thought rapidly flying across her brain, feeling as if her head might explode from the overwhelming amount.

Ju heard other snippets of Shang and Wenwu talking back and forth, about the father believing he could bring back their mother.

Apparently, Ju missed the rest of the conversation because she was pulled out of her thoughts as Katy grabbed her hand, leading her out of the room with the others. She began to gently rub small shapes across her friend's hand, sensing how panicky she was being. Ju subconsciously leaned into Katy, feeling drained.

As the girls caught up with the others near the helipad, they were pushed toward the middle.

"And what if we don't want to help you?"

Everyone turned toward the voice, wondering who dared question their master. Of course, the source came from Shang.

"Mom is gone Dad" he continued. "She isn't coming back." The boy held a certain sadness in his eyes, as if he was having trouble accepting it too.

Wenwu's eyes darkened as he looked down at his son.

"I will get my wife back, no matter the cost." He turned to a guard beside him.

"Lock them up until they cooperate"

Ju stepped back into Shang, the man wrapping his arms around her to stabilize the woman. Guards filed all around them, gripping their arms tightly and guiding them toward the doors. One accidentally touched the cut on Ju's cheek. She hissed in pain of the contact.

The guards pushed them harshly into a concrete cellar underground, locking the gate to escape. Ju rushed toward the rusted bars as the men walked away, banging at the metal pieces.

"Let us go you bastards!" she yelled, attempting to get their attention. One of the men took her katanas, which eliminated any chance to break the bars. To make it worse, her mental energy was too drained to use her powers.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. She could feel their hot breath on her neck.

"Hey Ju..hey..it's ok" Shang whispered in her ear.

Ju turned her head at the sound of his voice, resulting in their faces being mere centimeters apart. Both of them were heavily breathing and if they just closed the space-

"Hey guys!"

Katy walked in with Xialing.

"We found another door." The latter told them.

Ju and Shang looked at each other once more before awkwardly straightening up, and much to Shang's dismay, Ju slowly left his arms. She walked with Katy toward the door while Xialing stayed behind.

His sister tilted her head, "How long have you been together?"

Shang widened his eyes at the question, rapidly shaking his head.

"What-"

"Oh come on. You seriously don't think no one sees the way you look at each other?" Her brother looked at her with wide eyes.

Xialing just scoffed and walked toward the direction that Ju and Katy went. She called over her shoulder.

"Just get together already!"

Shang had his jaw slightly dropped and was incredibly confused. He shook his head and quickly scurried after his sister. The first thing he heard were screams.

"Oh my God!"

"What the hell is that?"

"Where are the eyes on that thing?!"

Shang rushed toward the doorway to see an old man and a very odd looking creature. He immediately jumped back into a wooden crate.

The man spoke up, "You guys can see him too?" he took the wide eyes as an answer.

"Ha! Yes! Morris they can see you too! I'm not crazy!" his heavy accent shining through.

"I'm sorry..who are you?" Ju queried.

"I'm Trevor, and this is Morris." He answered, holding up the creature.

"How did you get down here?" questioned Xialing.

"The Mandarin kept me down here after that whole Iron Man incident." He replied.

"Wait-but who are you?"

"I'm an actress love!"

Ju blinked.

Shang spoke again, knowing about the Iron Man situation in Malibu, "So..my Dad broke you out of prison..just to put you back in here to kill you?"

Trevor nodded vigorously while grinning.

"Yes!"

"Do you know how to get out of here?"

He pondered the question for a moment, stroking his beard.

"There's a hidden doorway that leads to the garage." He offered.

"We can steal a car to try and get to Ta Lo before Dad" Shang realized.

Everyone else nodded. Ju turned to Trevor.

"Do you know where the door to the garage is?"

"You know it love!"

•••

Ju stood next to Katy as they hid behind a wall in the garage. She could see Machete and the person who took her katanas, talking about something random. They had to find a way to get past them. Ju got an idea.

"You guys go," she told them, "I'll cover you"

The rest nodded but Shang asked, "You sure?"

"Yeah-it'll be fun"

She slid past him and slowly snuck up against the guy that took her katanas. She wanted first hit at him. No one took her katanas. Ju picked up one sword and banged it against his head to knock him out. Machete was startled and tried to punch her, but she grabbed the fist and twisted it around his head, putting the arm out of its socket.

The man cried out at the sound of a pop. Ju crouched down and swept him under his feet, making him fall on his bottom. She grabbed her other katana and ran toward the car that the others had stole while she kept the guards busy. There were other men though.

Trevor was driving very quickly, trying to get through the garage door before they closed. Katy was screaming at him to slow down so that Ju could get on. Shang looked back at Ju in panic, seeing that she was running at full speed.

The car had just made it past the gate, and Ju slide her body under it as the door just closed with a bang. She quickly jumped onto the trunk of the car and got in with her friends through the window.

"Hey" she greeted their shocked faces out of breath. Xialing had a huge grin on her face as she patted her on the back.

"Where to now?" Katy questioned.

Ju looked ahead as she set her katanas in her lap.

"Home"