A Demon's Familiar

Turn 2: Boxes of Talismans

Torhu awoke with a start.

He had felt something as he slept, and while he currently had no idea what it was, his sensei had taught him to be more in tune with the flow of chi around him. It felt…not weird, per say, and for some reason, it didn't feel malevolent as his teacher often told him it would. Instead, it made him feel…hungry.

That was understandable. He'd just spent the majority of the night and well into the early twilight reading up texts for basic chi spells and incantations, with only a bowl of white rice and lukewarm tea to fuel him. Yawning, he rose from his seat and lumbered into the kitchen, only to pause at the sight before him.

"Strange…" he remarked, noticing there were various items of empty or half empty containers sewn about the room. "I didn't know sensei was home."

Looming over the pot that held the viscous, green mixture, he leaned in and took a whiff. It smelt of dried herbs and broth, much like that of chicken. And there was another scent, one he really couldn't place. Curious, he cautiously dabbed his finger into the soup before bringing it to mouth. He glanced about to make sure no one was around and took a single link of it.

"Mmmmm...," he hummed happily, smacking his lips with satisfaction. "It does taste like chicken."

He wondered who could have made this odd mixture, until he recalled that a certain hyperactive, bundle of energy upstairs was grounded. Thinking about how bored the young girl probably was, he proceeded to head into the kitchen and retrieved two cups with saucers from the cupboard, heating up a fresh batch of tea before pouring them to the brim with the steaming liquid, and then gathered everything on a tray and heading towards the stairs. Hopefully, Jade hadn't gotten herself into any more trouble. He'd only been asleep for about an hour, so what could she have done in that time?

S-J

If there was one thing Jade Chan had learned in the past hour, it was that Shendu, aside from being a vicious dictator and master of the demonic mystical arts, loved to complain.

Seriously, ever since both her and the dragon arrived back on Earth, complaining was all the demon did every step on their way towards their destination. She sighed, wondering how someone who had to be pushing at least 1,000 years in terms of age could be such a whiner. Jade had resorted to using her hands to shield herself from the onslaught of self-pitying drabble, allowing herself to replay the dragon's plan in her head.

Shendu wanted his old body back. Which was really no surprise, seeing as in this world he was little more than an astral specter whose only real purpose was to whine and whine about how horrible his existence had been and how he'd been wronged and stripped of his power and how much he hated his siblings for doing this to him and blah blah blah blah blah...

To regain his true body, he needed his Talismans. Which, last time she checked, were still somewhere in China under what was left of Shendu's palace. According to lizard lips however, that wasn't entirely the case. He then began floating in seemingly random directions that forced the girl to follow him, lest the bond between them end up pulling her again.

After a few more minutes of walking through the streets, Jade sighed in exasperation, deciding to speak up on the thought that had been on her mind the entire time Shendu was whining.

"So genius, let me ask something: how exactly are we gonna get the Talismans if, you know, they're on the other side of the world? I don't even have enough for the bus, let alone coach class." the girl noticed how people were starting to look baffled by what was a young child presumable talking to herself. She knew that no one besides her was able to see the slithering form of Shendu, but she was a bit used to being the odd one out by this point. The dragon himself turned and gave her a sneer.

"Foolish girl, you obviously aren't well versed in the ways of mystic artifacts."

Shendu ignored the 'Well, duh' his companion shot at him and continued his explanation. "The Talismans are not just tools of great magical power, they are also a part of me. Over the centuries I have lived in that stone prison, I have fine tuned my senses to the point where I can locate them easily."

"Oh wow, so that's how the Valmont's goons always knew where to look." Jade said aloud, tapping a finger to her chin. She'd always assumed it was through some kind of underground connections the crime boss had or something.

"Indeed, but as I was a statue and thus unable to be easily transported, I had to configure that aspect of my being into a more physical form. The search would've continued to be more fruitful if that accursed, fat traitor hadn't broke it with his cumbersome girth."

Jade flashed the demon a dirty look. Even if Torhu was still new and they weren't exactly on the best of terms, she still didn't like how he referred to him.

"Nevertheless, I have already located all twelve of my Talismans."

"Really? Well, that was fast. I was about another block away from calling it a day. So where are they?"

The specter closed his eyes, focusing as he gathered his thoughts. He stayed motionless for while, long enough for Jade to tap her foot impatiently against the concrete with folded arms. Then, his eyes flashed open and glowed an eerie blood red before dimming to their normal, but still intimidating glow.

"They are near." he hissed with an excited grin, then raised his tail and pointed to a far off building that she vaguely recalled as being a bank. "It seems as though all are gathered in that area. And I can feel their impeding use."

"Oh that's good ne-wait what?" was all Jade managed to say before a massive explosion at the bank startled her.

B-J

Agent Augustus Black lazily drank his afternoon coffee, gazing over the monitors that were stationed around the city. Ever since the world had nearly come to an end at the hands of a demonic, fire-breathing dragon, things had been rather slow by comparison. Sure, there were still mobsters, crime lords, and incredibly-talented thieves running through the city's underbelly, but in all seriousness, what could compete with a dragon?

Apparently, a fire blast produced by a certain stone, according to the video camera footage taken just a few minutes ago before the feed was cut by the resulting explosion.

Almost immediately, he had his phone out, orders already issued to outgoing officers before he quickly speed dialed his close friend. This was magical business, and situations like that were best left to the professionals. The phone hadn't even rung twice before his eyes widened upon seeing a familiar small, future agent candidate suddenly appearing on the scene. So shocked was he, that he almost didn't notice the other line answering.

"Hello?"

"Jackie...is Jade with you?" Black asked carefully, staring at the young figure as she ran in the direction of the explosion and took cover behind a car.

"Um, no. Jade's at home. She's grounded."
Jackie responded, a confused tone evident in his voice.

Black sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You might want to consider expanding that."

"Why?"

"Because right now she's at the bank with the Dark Hand. And let's just say they're all packing heat of the magical kind."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"WHA-" Black hung up before his eardrums were further battered by the power that was Jackie Chan's wail of distraught. His eyes went back to the monitor and he saw Jade frantically run to the side just as her hiding place exploded into shrapnel from a stray blast.

"What've you gotten yourself into this time, kid?"

J-S

Jade slowly uncurled herself and gazed at what remained of the smoldering mess that was formerly a black Sedan. Letting a small squeak at the sight, she then threw herself to the side as the remains were crushed by the unconscious body of a SWAT officer, the front of his armor dented thanks to a punch delivered by the Ox talisman. Taking cover behind a nearby armored truck, which she hoped wouldn't get roughed up too badly in this chaos, she poked her head out to watch what was easily the most one-sided fight she'd seen in awhile.

Chow was effortlessly tossing police officers overhead like sacks of potatoes, mixing in a tossed car and a few streetlamps every now and then. Ratso was disappearing and reappearing with the Snake talisman to confuse the cops, while handling crowd control by blasting the ground at their feet with Pig-powered heat beams from his eyes. Finn was flying around and grabbing the shocked bank security by their shirts before dropping them a considerable height onto the surrounding brick and mortar. And Hak Foo was taking out several opponents left and right with his bare hands, apparently deeming the mystical powered items unnecessary in lieu of his unmatched physical prowess. Within the scope of a few minutes, what was once a street now resembled a war-torn area.

"Imbeciles." Jade's sight broke away from the fight and looked up to notice that same SWAT officer from before, awake and free of any injuries, was glaring at the scene with narrowed and glowing red eyes. "My Talismans were meant to be used to conquer entire nations, not these pathetic excuses for warriors."

The girl wisely stepped back and allowed the demon-possessed policeman to walk forward, flames flickering at the corners of his mouth. With a snarl no man should've been capable of producing, he open his mouth and bellowed out a torrent of searing fire. It knocked a hovering Finn down to ground, alighting his polyester-blended backside as he yelped and frantically put it out.

"Geez, Chow, watch where ya throwing that stuff!" he groaned as he observed the large scorch mark left on his lucky trends.

"...That wasn't me." the Asian responded, his face baffled before yelling out in surprise and dodging to the side just as another blast of fire ripped past, narrowing avoiding being cooked alive.

"Very observant." All four men's eyes honed in on the figures walking slowly towards them: the first was a police officer with unnaturally glowing red eyes and flames streaming from his mouth, while the other was a short, pre-teen girl wearing an expression that seemed a cross between annoyed and exhausted with this whole business. "Now kindly return my Talismans and I will refrain from burning you all to a fine ash."

That familiar hiss of the voice, as well as the unnatural flames of the mouth combined with the red eyes made all the Enforcers pause in what they were doing, staring at the man in shock before Finn spoke up.

"Shen-Dude?!"

The possessed man groaned execrably. "All those months under my employ and yet you still use that annoying moniker. I believe I might just simply destroy you here and now..." The flames from Shendu's human mouth lit his face and the Enforcers, save Hak Foo, all backed away in unison.

"L-listen, Shen-Du-Shendu, we'll…" Finn abruptly halted his hastily conceived apology, his eyes widening in realization...and then he smirked impishly. "Hold the phone…last I checked, the Talismans weren't yours." the Irishman levitated off the ground, a smug grin on his face. "They're ours."

The possessed police officer's eyes curled in anger before suddenly becoming a bright glowing crimson, unleashing a ferocious snarl as fire curled wickedly from his jaws, casting dark shadows around the area. Jade stumbled back from the wave of pure anger emanating from the dragon.

"YOU INSOLENT, TRAITOROUS WHELPS! YOU SHALL KNOW A DRAGON'S FURY!"

A thick torrent of fire surged forth from Shendu, missing the airborne Enforcer by a wide margin, but just as he was about to fire again, a pair of heat beams slammed into his chest, pushing him back only slightly much to Ratso's surprise.

Snarling from the attack, Shendu launched another ball of fire, only to watch it be destroyed by Ratso's enhanced vision. The dragon charged forward, aiming for the pale-skinned man just as he blinked out of sight. The SWAT officer's fist sent spider web cracks through the impacted wall, grunting into annoyance before retracting his hand and lashing out with a kick, sending Chow stumbling, his attempt to rush the dragon thwarted.

"You'd do well not to underestimate me. Even in this mortal flesh, I am more powerful than you'll ever know." Chow threw an Ox-charged punch, only to grunt with pain when the demon easily countered and sent him flying back with a punch to his chest.

Shendu then ducked a flying fire hydrant and a trash can lid. Finn was grabbing and throwing everything in sight at his former employer, eager to see the demon fall and realizing just how outclassed he was. With considerable effort, he managed to raise an armored truck into the air and tossed it as hard as the Rooster would allow. Shendu narrowed his gaze, scoffing at seeing the truck headed towards him. Sending out a stream of white, hot flames, the truck's steel quickly melted to the ground into a useless pile of liquid matter, the dragon simply staring at the failed projectile with contempt.

"Whoa...talk about dragon breath." Finn commented in awe, before having to swerve to avoid a fireball.

Chow once again tried to rush the dragon, but again, Shendu simply stepped out of the way and slammed his knee hard into the man's chest. As the Enforcer doubled over from the pain, Shendu brought down his elbow for a brutal blow to Chow's back, and watched, satisfied, as the man crashed down to the ground, coughing and groaning.

Tilting his head slightly, Shendu sensed another attacker and raised an arm to block a particularly hard blow to his right, skidding backwards. He hissed slightly as his host's body, while slightly enhanced by his demonic presence, still felt the pain of fighting a comparatively stronger human.

"You fight well, dragon." Hak Foo quickly assumed a battle ready stance. "But let us see how you fare against the Black Tiger."

"Hmmph! You fool." Shendu slipped into a loose, wide stance. "What match is a tiger to a dragon?"

Hak Foo's eyes flashed. "We shall see! Tiger Pounces Dragon!"

The man shot forward, fist blurring with speed as he struck at the demon, who slid back from the attack and swept his legs forward in an attempt to trip up his opponent.

"Eagle Takes Flight!" Hak Foo declared, leaping high into the air, far higher than any normal man should've been able. Shendu raised an eyebrow in surprise at this mortal's physical prowess.

"Condor Crushes Marrow!" He yelled as he dived towards Shendu, both hands outstretched into fists. The dragon flipped out of the the mortal's path, causing him to land on the floor and leave several shattered pieces of concrete from the resulting impact. To Shendu's surprise, the man seemed virtually unharmed by it, but he quickly dismissed his shock and hissed dangerously.

"Bull Rushes Fruit Stand!" The demon smoothly dodged the attempted head charge, allowing the redhead to slam his skull forcibly into the wall. Yanking his slightly bruised head free, the Enforcer snarled before breaking into another sprint at the demon.

"Bear Claws in Fury!" Shendu quickly dodged the man's open palm as it tried to scratch at him with a fierce blow, and with a snarl of annoyance, Shendu brought up his knee hard into the man's stomach, a grin of satisfaction evident as he watched the mercenary practically fold in half from the blow. Removing his leg, the demon swiftly planted an axe kick to Hak Foo's face, sending him skidding across the ground.

"Is this really the best you mortals can do?" Shendu wondered aloud mockingly, slowly walking towards the downed man with malicious intent.

"Maybe now, you traitors see who your superior is."

Glaring down at the stunned man beneath him, Shendu raised his borrowed foot, prepared to slam it into Hak's downed form.

"Hey, Shendu!"

The demon turned in the direction he'd been called and saw Ratso, his arms securely locked around Jade's struggling form. "One move and the shrimp here turns extra crispy!"

The pale-skinned man's eyes glowed with a hissing aura of golden light, showing to his former employer that he meant business. He didn't know why the mini-Chan was here with the demon, but his guess that she was somehow important to the demon was proven correct, as with a low growl, Shendu dropped the his host's foot hard on the pavement, lips curled back in anger with his teeth clenched. He cared little for the Chan girl, but her role as his Familiar was just too important for him to lose.

It was all the opening Chow needed, rushing forward and sending Shendu soaring with an enhanced punch and watching as the man hit the side of an armored transport, tearing through the metal with surprising ease and leaving a gaping hole.

"Oops..." the Asian sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Wasn't that ours?"

"Doesn't matter." Finn slowly lowered himself to ground level, a victorious grin on his face from beating the demon who used to boss them around. "Big V can buy a new one with the withdrawal from this bank we just did. Plus, the ransom we'll get for Ol' Chan's niece-"

"Ooommmph!"

The Enforcers turned in the direction of Ratso's grunt of pain, before being followed by a thud as he collapsed to the ground, the direct result of Jade's tactical strike to Ratso's family jewels.

Releasing his charge as he felt pain flood his body, the girl landed shakily on her feet before quickly running to retrieve the dropped Talismans. Before the others could even react, she was gone in a burst of speed via Rabbit, using the momentum of her charge to ram right in Chow. He yelled out as he flew through the air, hitting an overturned car and dropping the Talismans he possessed, which were swiftly retrieve by Jade, who looked down at them with satisfaction before blinking from sight as a sewer lid hit the area she'd been standing in.

"Argh! No fair!" Finn shouted in frustration, high in the air as he was capable while scanning for any hints of the Chan girl. "How am I supposed ta hit ya if I can't see ya?"

"Tag!" was all Finn heard before he was caught by the girl's sneak attack as she jumped off the roof of a car in his direction. Let it be known: Snake plus Rabbit plus Ox equaled the mother of all sucker punches. The man could've sworn one of his ribs cracked before he was sent hurtling to the ground, his body aching as he felt the Horse and Dog leave him along with the other mystical items of power. Blinking back into view, the girl jumped into the air as she held all of the Talisman's with the help of the Rooster.

"Hey Shendu, head ups!" The girl's hands flicked and all twelve of the zodiac Talismans were flung into the gaping hole on the side of the armored car, disappearing into the interior just as Jade felt strong arms wrap tightly around her form. "Dog Catches Frisbee!"

Jade struggled against the might that was Hak Foo's grip, legs flailing about. It was getting very hard to breathe in the Enforcer's tough grip, and if he didn't let up, she was certain she'd pass out from lack of air.

"RWOOOOOOOOOOAR!"

Everyone's heads snapped up at the vicious roar that resonating from the transport. The truck rocked on its springs, sending the frame into a series of sharp creaks and moans. A fierce screech ripped through the air, followed by the shredding of metal as a pair of wickedly sharp claws tore through the roof of the truck. They peeled the reinforced steel apart like it was paper, allowing a scaly, golden bronze head and torso to emerge from within. The head of an incredibly powerful and vicious demon snapped upwards and roared once more, marking the return of Shendu to his flesh and blood form.

The dragon's head snapped in Jade's direction, eyes narrowed as he spotted his familiar seized within the stunned mercenary's arms, before snarling and raising a claw, drawing both him and Jade skywards. With a flex of his wrist, Hak Foo felt his arms forced apart against his will, releasing the girl and causing her to fall a few feet on the ground with a startled shriek. Landing on her bottom on the rough ground for the second time that day made the girl groan, as well as shoot Shendu a vicious glare while she rubbed her bruised rear end.

The revived Demon Sorcerer paid no attention to her though, only having eyes for Hak Foo, who was swiftly pulled forward, forced to stare at the expression of a furious dragon. The man knew he was helpless under the control of the Talismans, but he maintained a neutral expression as best he could even as a drop of sweat went down the side of his face.

"You'd do well not to touch my things." Shendu growled, ignorant of the look of swelling rage on Jade's face from the dismissal of her personhood.

The remaining Enforcers looked at Shendu, then at each other for a moment before deciding to turn tail and run. Three steps in, they too were hoisted into the air, fighting for the return of gravity. Shendu raised himself from the shredded remains of the armored vehicle, all four men in his levitating grip. He flicked his head and Jade was snatched into the air as well, much to her displeasure. Before she could even voice it though, the dragon turned in another direction and shot off, carrying both her and the men with him and out of sight.

No sooner did they leave than did a blue SUV suddenly screech to a stop at the front of the wrecked building. Rushing out of the car, the renowned archeologist and demon slayer Jackie Chan looker at the scene in utter confusion and shock. He noticed the myriad of overturned, melted, and destroyed vehicles, dozens of unconscious officers and the piles of broken black asphalt that was unmistakably the work of the Dragon Talisman. But what stole the show was the armored truck whose roof had been completely shredded, as if someone or something had pulled the metal back like a lid.

"What happened here?" his own voice snapped him out of his stupor and he immediately looked around for his niece. "Where's Jade?"

"Jackie."

Upon hearing his name, Jackie turned and saw his long time friend, pulling up in a black van with a grim expression. "You might wanna come with me. You're not gonna like this."

Chan gulped at the thought of his day getting even worse, before muttering under his breath. "...bad day."

S-J

Valmont tapped his cane impatiently against the floor of the fish cannery. He'd expected his men them to be back already, seeing as how they had the aid of some very potent magic, after all. They were to go to the bank, rob it, and return with a large enough sum to pay for a more…respectable base of operations. Preferably one that didn't reek of fish.

He heard the doors slam open with more force than was necessary. No doubt Hak Foo found the excursion to be less than preferable. After all, with enemies like Jackie Chan in the world, facing off against common peacekeepers would seemed like quite the step down. Nonetheless, he would have to scold the muscular man about releasing his anger on his property, no matter how much it pained him to call this hovel such.

"Honestly, Hak Foo, if you must vent your anger, please do so on more appropriate-"

Whatever he had left to say died in his throat the moment he came face to face with the all-too-familiar, fear-inducing eyes that were as red as the blood moon. He stumbled backwards with a yelp, instinctively swinging his cane forward and watching in stunned shock as it easily snapped against the dragon's head. Now completely defenseless, he managed to look past the demon's form to see his Enforcers and surprisingly, the Chan girl standing a few feet behind.

"Don't just stand there you imbeciles! Do something!" he bellowed, mustering up as much authority as he could into his voice.

All four of the men blinked and gave a look to each other, before Finn started chatting up to Shendu about current events, Chow and Ratso walked over to a table to read the newspaper, and Hak proceeded to a corner and promptly started to perform one-fingered push-ups. The Chan girl simply stood off to one side and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, seemingly the only one besides Shendu to pay any attention to Valmont. The Brit looked on in shock, floored that his underlings had refused to acknowledge him. A torrent of angry and obscene shouting attempted to voice itself, but was instantly silenced as he suddenly felt his body be hoisted weightlessly into the air until he was eye level with the dragon.

"Valmont…" the dragon's tone sounded far more civil than he remembered or expected. "I see you've been...surviving well since my banishment." Shendu said with a hint of sarcasm, nudging over a crate of fish with his foot in distaste before turning his attention back to the Brit. "Tell me, did you enjoy the treasure I rewarded you with?"

Any fear Valmont harbored for the demon was momentarily forgotten as he balled his fists in rage and glared menacingly at the reptile. "You know damn well how I enjoyed your treasure! After all that work, all that time, and all that energy: all to have it slip between my fingers and turn to dust! I upheld my part of the bargain and you reneged on our agreement!"

"Oh, did I?" Valmont found himself pulled closer to the demon's face, heat wafting from the dragon's breath. "I promised to give you my vast riches and they were indeed yours. Did you not just say you held it, effectively acquiring it?"

"Oh I did...for a handful of minutes before your exile triggered it and the palace's destruction!"

"I promised you the treasure Valmont...I just never said for how long." The dragon's mouth curled itself into smug grin full of sharp teeth and he crossed his arms and chuckled. Valmont literally growled for a few seconds, before unclenching his fists, head hanging in defeat.

"What do you want then?" he asked, spreading his arms wide, gesturing to sea-scented walls around him. "As you can see, we are currently in less than satisfactory conditions. And what is the Chan girl doing here?"

"Your minions will do, for now." he demon remarked offhandedly, vaguely aware about the Irishman's rambling about some place called Vegas. "They have proven to be at least somewhat useful in the past and I shall need their assistance for my latest venture. And the girl is of no concern to you."

Valmont sighed heavily, rubbing his temples in preparation for the headache that was to be the result of what was no doubt going to be a magical undertaking. "Alright then, when do we start?"

He felt a tug as he was drawn closer, the dragon's smile curling up sinisterly and revealing even more of his sharp teeth. "I never said I needed you now, did I?"

"Wha-what?!" Valmont wheeled back, trying to distance himself from the monstrous sorcerer, a futile attempt seeing as he was being held up in the air by Shendu. "Y-you need me! Without my fortune and connections, you'd never survive long in this world!"

The dragon scoffed, erecting his slightly slouched posture and holding up a claw. "One, I don't really need you, especially since you have proven more than willing to betray me at the first opportunity. Two, I have no need for riches or your petty mortal connections as I have my own methods of obtaining what I desire. Three, I ruled over one of the largest empires in history and survived for nearly a millennia after that. And lastly," Shendu growled as he drew the increasingly terrified man in close, their faces nearly touching. "who are you question my abilities when yours have proven so severely lacking?"

The crime boss managed to get out half a word before he was suddenly propelled away from the dragon at great velocity. Shendu forced the worthless mortal forward and through the roof with all his might, sending Valmont screaming as he sailed far away over the ocean and into the horizon, before completely going out of sight.

A horrified Jade covered her mouth with both hands at the sight, while the Enforcers, save Hak Foo, cringed.

"Um...ok. That was pretty much overkill." the girl commented dryly, taken aback by the rather brutal punishment dished out to the Englishman. Sure, he'd tried to have her and her family put six feet under more than once, but still…

"I have no need for worthless mortals." Shendu's gaze fell upon his newly re-acquired servants, who were all trying and failing badly to contain their fear at the subtle hint in the dragon's words. "Let that be a reminder to you all."

"Uh," the head Enforcer backed away with his hands raised in a sign of surrender. "th-that's cool. We got it Shen-Dud-Shendu. Boss man. The big bad drag-"

"Quiet." The demon hissed, smoke curling from the edges of his mouth. The man promptly shut his mouth and made a zipper gesture to signal he got it.

"Now then, with the worthless scum out of the way, I do believe I have yet to properly introduce you men to my newest ally."

Jade, who was idly shifting back and forth on his feet, perked up upon being mentioned, before feeling herself being compelled to be closer to Shendu. With a roll of her eyes, she complied with the silent demand, walking in front of the dragon at the spot he wanted her to be, cringing slightly when she felt the lizard rest his claw on her shoulder.

"This is Jade Chan. My Familiar."

As the overgrown garden snake prattled on about her new station, Jade found her mind drifting to recent events. Like back at the bank, when she had decided to help Shendu, despite originally having no desire at all to help the dragon succeed in getting his Talismans back.

Sure, when the only options available were either going with the ruthless and somewhat incompetent Enforcers who were likely to sell or ransom her off at the earliest convenience, or a demonic, fire-breathing lizard who most likely saw her only as meal ticket and human shield, the lesser of the two evils was a huge toss-up.

But for some reason, when she saw Shendu crash into the side of the van, something inside her had reacted instinctively, and then after that…

"It felt like I was on auto-pilot or something…" she mused to herself, cupping her chin in thought. Whatever had happened, it hadn't been completely out of her control. She could still do something willingly, like think about which Talisman combo was best to use to ambush the flying Irish, but other than that, all of it had felt outside of her control. Both her body and the majority of her mind had been in agreement on one thing: Protect Shendu.

The big question for her was simple: Why had she done it? And the other, more disconcerting question: How could she stop before she ended up actually hurting someone to order to carry out that goal?

B-J

Uncle's Rare Finds was packed.

Under normal circumstances, the elderly shop owner would be elated and swiftly order his family and possible apprentice to secure a sale. However, the dozen or so men surveying the store, armed with enough firepower to take out half the neighborhood and then some, signaled that these were not normal circumstances.

In the back store room, the student of Chi Master Fung was glaring deeply into his tea. Across from him, Agent Black and Jackie were also staring off into the deep green liquid, as if searching for answer within the cup.

"Aiya!" Torhu nearly dropped the tray of cookies he'd baked, arms fumbling wildly to regain his balance. "Jade has been taken captive by Shendu!"

"Yes, Uncle. I just told you that five minutes ago-Agk!" he exclaimed, his usual response to having two fingers rapped sharply against his skull.

"Shendu holds Jade, but for what reason?" he inquired with a thoughtful expression.

"Ransom maybe, or to use her as bait for Jackie-GAH!" Black rubbed his forehead from the unexpected rap and shot a glare at the old man.

"Shendu is immortal Demon Sorcerer with vast mystical might and knowledge, not common thug." Uncle explained as he sipped from his cup, gathering his thoughts. "Shendu must have other motivation for taking Jade."

"Like what?" Jackie asked, voice laced with worry. "What possible reason could Shendu have for wanting Jade? To teach her?"

The old man cupped his chin, tilting his head in thought. "Maybe...Jade is young, but from what Uncle saw in kitchen, is also resourceful with magic. Perhaps he wishes for a pupil. Like Uncle."

It would've been comical how the sumo shrunk under the old man's withering gaze if not for the present atmosphere. Jackie rapped his fingers hurriedly against the table, gears turning in his head in fits and starts. He could not fathom the reason behind this sudden abduction. For what possible reason could the demon want his niece? He dearly hoped it was something as simple as ransom, but he quickly dismissed it. Shendu didn't seem the sort to rely on wealth. That left the option of educating her…and he shuddered at the prospect of Jade learning to wield demonic spells. For more reasons than one.

As the group continued to discuss things amongst themselves, they failed to notice the scurrying rat on the floor. It was swift, darting beneath the table before any stray glancing could catch sight of it. With a blur of speed, it rush out towards the rear of the room, where it stood and looked up at the towering bookcase. With that same burst of activity, it was zipping from shelf to shelf, completely unnoticed by the men conversing just a few feet away. It suddenly jerked to a halt, nose twitching as it examined a particular leather-bound tome, before narrowing its eyes and easily grabbing it with its teeth.

Then, with a twitch, it shimmered from sight; the men none the wiser.

J-S

"Finally." Shendu hissed, scooping up the offered volume from the mercenary's outstretched palms. "You've done well, Hak Foo."

The man nodded to his master before allowing the faintest of smirks to upturn his mouth. Praise, in any form, was a very welcomed sentiment. And would help to establish a pecking order amongst their group, where he would naturally sit atop of.

"I don't get it." Jade stopped toying with the strings of her hoodie to address the demon. "Why go through all that for some musty old book?"

"This tome," Shendu shot the girl a glare, annoyed at her title of such a crucial piece of his-and by extension her-master plan. "is the key to unlocking the doors that seal away my brethren,"

For the next few minutes, the temporary lair was filled with mostly silence, interrupted only by the occasional ruffling of a page or a grunt from Hak Foo as he once again exercised his body. Jade had tried to look over the dragon's shoulder-for she refused to touch him if she could avoid it-but the demon was impenetrable to her nosing efforts. He was, however, becoming increasingly annoyed by the young girl's prodding and had to fall back on calming breaths not to rip the tome in half from the sheer intolerableness that was her insistent intrusion.

"Ah, here we are." he stood, ignoring his Familiar's inane babble. "The Pan'ku Box."

Author's Notes Revised: Bit more character interaction and corrected grammer.