So it's been a while since I updated. I have been mostly working on my Blackburn Jaegers and Night Riders stories, so I wanted to at least squeeze some time in for this story especially before I have to buckle down for summer class assignments.
"So your mother broke into your apartment and you actually sat down and had dinner with her?" Tim asked.
"Yup," Mala answered. "Seriously, why is it so easy for people to break into where I live? First, Drago and now my mother!"
"Totally a running gag right there," Mavis commented.
"Did you hit her with a frying pan?" Drago asked, recalling the first time he had broken into her apartment back in San Francisco.
"No, but Pearl was ready to punch her," she answered. "But that wasn't the weirdest thing!"
"Oh, it gets weirder, do tell!" Mavis exclaimed, leaning across the lunch table on her elbows as she rested her hands under his chin.
"Well, she was telling me how, you know, she can see the future and all."
"Right, Crystallomancy. She mentioned that when we met her," Tim added.
"Yeah, well she said that the only future she can't see is mine! That doesn't even make sense and why would she say that? Do you guys think she's just making this up to get close to me?"
"Eh, wouldn't be the first time a parent lied to their child in an effort to get close to them. One time my parents told me there was cake downstairs, when really it was just a trick to get me there so they could talk about my latest bad grade. People should never lie about cake," Mavis noted.
"Hang on, let's say for a moment that she is telling the truth. Why would she tell you that she can't see your future?" Remy asked.
"I dunno, but she said that's why she's keeping such a close eye on me."
"Maybe she wants to make sure nothing bad happens to you," Drago suggested.
"But what puzzles me is why she can't see your future. She can see anything she wants right? Past, present and future? But you appear to an exception to the latter," Remy noted.
"Maybe it's a family thing," Liam said, finally joining the conversation.
"What do you mean, Liam?" Mavis asked.
"Lang Yan has the power of Crystallomancy and Mala inherited her Crystal Demon Chi from her mother. What if Mala has Crytstallomancy too?" he suggested.
"Ohhh, you can see the future? Can you tell me what tomorrow's history test is going to be on? Pretty please, I swear I won't tell anyone!" Mavis whispered.
"Haha, oh that's a good one. Me, Crystallomancy?" she laughed, "You guys can't be serious! I can't see the future!"
"I dunno…" Drago started.
"What do you mean 'I dunno'?" Remy asked.
"Well remember back in San Francisco? You said to me twice that I would fail, and I did!"
"But that wasn't a prediction that was just common sense! An estimation based on how poorly you were already doing! Not me looking into the future!" she protested.
"Liam is it possible for demons to develop abilities later on in life?" Tim asked.
"It's not unheard of. Even though I was born with Shadow Demon Chi from the start, I couldn't successfully merge into my shadow until I was seven! Maybe this is a new ability that's just surfaced, or something Mala's always had but never known about."
"You guys are being ridiculous! There's a better chance of a car flying through the cafeteria than me having Crystallomancy!" Mala shouted. All of a sudden, a car flew right through the wall, smashing the windows to pieces. Students dove out of the way of the car rolled to a stop in the middle of the cafeteria before panic and hysteria spread. Mavis turned to Mala with a wide grin on her face, but before she could say anything, Mala shouted, "THAT WAS JUST A COINCIDENCE!"
As students panicked, some scrambled to flee while others pulled out their phones to record the event. "Humans!" shouted a loud, shrill voice, "Bow before the High Sun!" A large humanoid crow with wings on it's back, three arms – two on the left and one on the right – and brilliant, glowing red eyes came through the hole left by the car. "Humans and their toys," he muttered, waving his hands as he used his magnetism to raise every student's phones before crushing them with sheer magnetic force. "Where are this world's defenders! I know you are here!" he shouted as the remaining students fled in terror.
"Crap! That's Tai Ci!" Liam exclaimed as they ducked behind a flipped lunch table.
"The Sun Demon?" Tim asked.
"Yeah, that's the one! But what's he doing here?" Mala asked.
"He's obviously here for us! Who else in this school could possibly count as 'this world's defenders'?" Mavis pointed out.
"If that's true, how did he know where to find us?" Drago asked.
"And the school tradition lives on!" Mavis exclaimed excitedly.
"It doesn't matter now. He's here and if we don't contain him, people are going to get hurt," said Remy, dressed in his hunting gear.
"Wait, when did you- How did you?" Mavis stammered, unable to even finish her questions out of sheer shock.
"First rule of demon hunting: always be ready to change into your gear at a moments notice!" Remy answered.
"This explains so much, like how you're always the first one out of the change rooms for gym," Tim said.
"That's not important now!" Liam shouted.
"Right, right, sorry!" Tim apologized.
"What's the plan?" Drago asked.
"We fight him and send that demon crow back to where he came from!" Liam answered.
"Aw yeah, time to kick some butt!" Mavis exclaimed.
"No, not you!" Liam cut in.
"What? Why not?" Mavis pouted.
"We're at school Mavis, people will recognize you and Tim, but not us in our demon forms and… and Remy in his hood and scarf," Liam added as Remy pulled his hood over his head and his scarf up so that it covered his face. "You head to Kuang's with Tim and get working on the banishment spell. We'll try to hold him as long as we can so you'll need to hurry!"
"We're on it. Come on, Mavis," Tim said.
"Fine, fine, I'm coming," she muttered, upset at having to miss the action that was sure to go down.
Tai Ci caught sight of Mavis and Tim as they ran towards the doors. The demon raised his hand, lifting one of the metal cafeteria tables, but before he could send it flying at the two humans, a fireball struck the demon crow in his face. He stumbled back, caught off guard by the blow and the cafeteria table roughly dropped onto the floor. "Who dares?" he sneered. The demon turned to the direction the fireball came from and saw three demons and a masked hunter. "My, my, she didn't say Earth's protectors would be demons, traitors to their own kind."
"She? Who's he talking about?" Drago asked.
"The Wolf Eyes told me that you children would be my undoing, though she did not say her spawn would be among you," Tai Ci spoke, focusing his attention on Mala.
"My mother?" Mala asked.
"Yes, the Wolf Eyes, the Crystal Prophetess, she goes by many names. She foresaw my defeat by your hands. What a ridiculous notion! The great Sun Demon Sorcerer defeated by mere children! So I have come here to change this future she saw!" he declared, raising his three arms and using his magnetism to levitate every metal object near him.
"Ah!" Remy felt himself being pulled forward by Tai Ci's power.
"Remy!" Linos cried out after his friend.
"Hm, you seem to have a lot of metal on you. Allow me to relieve you of your equipment, hunter," Tai Ci smirked, waving one of his arms as every sword, dagger and metallic equipment flew off of Remy's body and floated in the air above Tai Ci. Remy dropped onto the floor roughly as the crow towered over him menacingly. He brought his hand down, forcing the swords and daggers to rain down onto Remy, who raised his arms to shield himself from the attack as best as he could. But before the blades could strike him, Linos appeared out of Remy's shadow and pulled his friend back into the shadow with him before resurfacing back by Mala and Drago.
"Damn it, he's got all my weapons!" Remy cursed.
"It's ok, Remy. Is there anything else you have on you that he can't get?" Mala asked.
"My blood vials, but that's about it. All my weapons and stun grenades are metal!"
"That'll have to do for now. Everyone remember the plan? We keep Tai Ci busy until Tim and Mavis get back with the spell. He even tries to leave the school campus, you turn him around!"
"Right!" the others said in unison while nodding their heads.
"Tim! Mavis! What are you two doing here? You should be in school!" Kuang scolded as the pair rushed into his store towards his back workshop.
"Yeah, long story, Kuang. One of those Demon Sorcerers Daolon Wong freed showed up at our school throwing cars and shit! Huh… I guess it's not that long of a story," Mavis explained.
"Oh my, where are the others? Are they all right?" he asked, joining the pair in his back room.
"If we don't get back with a banishment spell, they won't be for long!" Tim replied, pulling out one of the large volumes from Kuang's bookshelf.
"Which demon was it?" Kuang asked.
"The big black bird one with the weird third arm," Mavis said, trying to show a third arm on her, albeit unsuccessfully.
"Uh, Tim?" Kuang asked, instead deferring to Tim for the answer.
"Tai Ci," he answered while quickly flipping through pages and scanning the passages for a specific spell.
"Oh my, Tai Ci, that's not good!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah and there's no telling how long the others will hold out. I need to find Tai Ci's banishment spell and the object representing the original Chi Wizard who defeated him," Tim said. Deep down, he was greatly worried for his friends, but knew that if he was going to help them, he had to focus on the task at hand. He couldn't fail them.
"Well, that's the right book for the spell, but if you want the immortal object, it'll be in this history volume," Kuang said, pointing up to one of the books higher up. "Ah, Mavis, could you help me get that?"
"No problem!" she chirped, climbing up the bookshelf, grabbing the book Kuang pointed out before jumping off the bookshelf. "Here ya go!" she smiled, handing him the book.
"Thank you my dear. We must hurry, some of the ingredients will take time to prepare."
"Where's Tim with that damned Chi spell?" Linos shouted, sinking into his shadow in order to avoid another car Tai Ci sent at him.
"Chi spells take time to prepare, Linos! We just have to keep Tai Ci busy to give them time!" Mala cried back as they hid behind a crystal barrier.
Tai Ci floated above them and raised his arms, raising up the arsenal of bladed weapons he had relieved from Remy. While he did this, Remy threw his blood vials towards Tai Ci, but the demon peeled the hood off of a car and used it to shield himself from the blood. He lightly brushed his hand over the four blades that hung from the fabric around his waist. The blade floated up as their opened up into three-bladed circular discs. "You are this world's defenders? I don't know what I was worried about," he smirked.
"Take cover!" Drago shouted as Tai Ci waved his arm, sending all the metal weapons raining down towards them.
"Remy! Hurry!" Linos called as Remy ran in a serpentine formation to dodge and avoid his own weapons. As he neared Mala's crystal barrier, he jumped forward to slide right behind the barrier. Right before he made it, one of Tai Ci's circular blades came by and sliced his palm.
"Ah!" he hissed in pain, clutching his arm as he landed roughly behind Mala's barrier.
"Remy! Are you ok?" Mala asked.
"Don't touch me!" he quickly shouted, covering his hand and moving away from them.
"She's just trying to help!" Linos shouted back.
"I know, I'm sorry! But we all know what happens if any of you touch my blood!" he reminded. "This might actually work out."
"What do you mean?" Drago asked.
"None of my blood vials hit him, but if I can get in close, I can give him a direct exposure to my blood," Remy explained.
"It's our best chance! Drago and Mala, you two distract Tai Ci while Remy and I come at him from behind. If we can get Remy's blood on him, it should weaken him enough," Linos commanded.
"Right!" Drago and Mala said in unison as they jumped out from behind Mala's barrier.
"Hmph, to think, me defeated by mere children? Humans and filthy half-breeds? Perhaps the Wolf Eyes does not see as clearly as she thinks," Tai Ci taunted as he fired a bright beam of solar energy from his eyes. In response, Mala raised a large crystal pillar that absorbed the beam. She raised two similar ones to her side as the beam traveled through the second pillar to the third before being redirected right towards Tai Ci. The demon crow nearly fell out of the sky after being struck by his own attack, but he regained himself in mid-air before glaring viciously at Mala. "You redirected my Sun Beam," he muttered, "You will pay for this wretched half-breed!" Tai Ci shot his arm forward, the chain on his shackle extending forwards towards her.
"Mala, look out!" Drago shouted, pushing her out of the way as the chain wrapped firmly around his waist and one of his arms.
"Hm? Oh well, I'm not picky over who I finish off first!" Tai Ci pulled the chain and Drago swiftly into the air.
"Drago! Hang on!" Mala flew up, trying to catch up to Drago as Tai Ci flailed him roughly back and forth.
"I don't think so, girl!" A chain from Tai Ci's other wrist wrapped securely around her ankle, swiftly bringing her back to the ground. She landed roughly on her back and as she tried to sit up, she felt the chain around her ankle creep up the rest of her body, binding her arms and legs tightly. As Mala struggled against her restraints, Pearl rushed over to her master, sharpening her rounded paws into talons as she tore through the chains and helped Mala up.
"Thanks, Pearl. I can't get close to Tai Ci…" Mala thought out loud. "Oh, I have an idea! Hang on, Drago!" Mala raised her hand, materializing a crystal sword in the air. As Tai Ci kept flinging Drago around, he reached for Mala's crystal sword and sliced through the chains that bound him. However, this sent him flying off into a far away tree and he landed right in the thick branches and leaves.
Before Tai Ci mount another attack, he felt something wrap tightly around his legs. "What the?" He looked down to see shadow tendrils wrapping tightly around his legs before reaching up for his wrists. "Ah, what is this?" he hissed angrily, trying to fight his bindings.
"Remy, now!" Linos shouted as he brought his hands together. Remy towards him and jumped onto Linos' hands, who then hoisted him up as hard as he could. Remy flew right up to Tai Ci and grabbed the crow demon around his neck with one arm before pressing his bleeding hand right into the demon's face.
"Ahhh!" Tai Ci cawed, trying to shake Remy off while the demon hunter pressed his hand against Tai Ci's eye and the middle of his face right above his beak.
"Remy, look out!" Linos shouted. Remy turned his head sharply just in time to see his own weapons pointed down on them. He quickly released his hold on Tai Ci as the blades came down right into Tai Ci's back, causing the demon crow to caw in pain and anger. "Nice one!" Linos cried as Remy landed flawlessly next to him.
"We got it! We got the spell!" The four teens looked over the source of the voice to see Tim and Mavis running towards them.
"Then let's end this!" Linos shouted.
"Ok, ok, spell: check, compass: check. Ok, here we go. Yu mo gui guai fai di zao," Tim began, repeating the enchantment over and over as the spell and compass began glowing. A bright beam fired out from the compass towards Tai Ci as he cried out in defeat. However, before the portal appeared, the light faded and an invisible force knocked Tim back roughly onto the ground.
"Tim!" Linos called, rushing to his friend. "You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered.
"Uh, that didn't look right guys… was that supposed to happen?" Mavis asked.
"No, a portal was supposed to appear. Why didn't a portal appear?" Mala asked, confused.
"Hahaha, you have failed. This world is as good as mine!" Tai Ci angrily declared, turning to face them with his vicious glowing, red eyes and menacing burn scar across his face from Remy's blood.
Well, how was that? As usual, I'm interested in hearing any thoughts or concerns you have about the story and characters. ^_^
