Disclaimer: I don't own Jackie Chan Adventures or Sonic and the Black Knight. If I did, this would be what had happened in the Jackie Chan Adventures series, not being posted as a story here on . Please read and review and leave any constructive criticism, thank you, that is all.
The Blue Knight and The Dark Queen
Black Magic
A map of the Pacific Northwest appears along with three Hana Fuda Cards – the left showing the next Oni Mask, the middle card showing a forest at the foot of a mountain, and the right card showing a picture of seaweed as the mask removal ingredient – covering the map as Uncle was speaking.
Uncle Narrating: "We will find next Oni Mask in Pacific Northwest, near base of Cascade Mountains."
The cards then move, with the middle card shimmering out into the base of the Cascade Mountains as Jackie – in his archeologist uniform, which consisted of a tan shirt and pants along with brown boots – was looking up at a totem pole.
"Why did I let you talk me into this Sonic?" the archeologist.
"You said it yourself Jackie," the hedgehog spoke up as he too was looking up, "You need to train more."
"Sonic, I believe what Jackie said was that he was too heavy to climb the totem pole safely without risk of tipping the pole off the cliff and into the river," Tails spoke up as he was using his twin tails to fly up the totem pole while he held a card that had the picture of the next mask the heroes sought out. Once the fox had made it to the top of the pole, he looked at the card then at one of the faces on the totem pole, which was green with purple eyes and long orange eyebrows and had an orange mane that served as a beard. Yelling down as he began to pry the mask loose with the archeology tools that Jackie had given him, he commented, "Guys, I found the mask."
"Sounds like this guy looks just like his mug shot," Sonic commented, then turned as Jackie did and saw a pair of tall evergreens fall to the ground, revealing Hak Foo who had kicked the trees down.
"He will fit snugly upon my face," Hak Foo said as he pointed to his face, then charging in towards Jackie, he yelled, "Flying squirrel cracks acorn!"
Sonic managed to perform a homing attack that knocked Hak Foo away from Jackie and causing him to fall to the ground, but the Black Tiger responded with a kick to the hedgehog – only to hit thin air.
"Sorry Hak Fool," Sonic taunted as he prepared to wield Caliburn for battle, "But that mask is staying put."
"Says you Sonic!" Said Jade as she flew into the scene while throwing her fan at the hedgehog, who dodged it, "That mask is going on Hak Foo's face, like it or not."
"We'll see about that," Sonic shot back, and then he added to Tails, "Tails, get the mask and run for it."
"I'm trying Sonic, but this mask could take a while to pry loose," Tails spoke up as he was pulling as hard as he could on the mask that was on the totem pole before it came loose. He landed on the ground, only to be surrounded by the Enforcers. Speaking nervously he responded, "I suppose we could work this out?"
"No chance," Finn spoke as he prepared to take flight with his wings, while Ratso readied his razor sharp claws and Chow prepared his shuriken, "With the powers that Queen Jade gave us, you'll be a pelt on my head. Get him!"
Meanwhile, further down the dirt road, a cloud of dust was being kicked up as an off road van was making its way to the location of the mask with Captain Black at the wheel while Uncle was riding shotgun.
"Tohru, is mask removal potion ready?" Uncle called to the back seat where the sumo apprentice was working on the mask removal potion.
"Almost sensei," Tohru answered as he was pouring the potion from one vial into another but a bump in the road caused it to spew green smoke. He was sitting next to a red echidna with dreadlocks and white knuckles with two small spikes on each knuckle and was wearing green and yellow running shoes. The echidna was called Knuckles, and he was summoned before the trip upon the advice of Tails and Caliburn about needing some more additional help with battling the Shadowkhan.
"It would seem like we're going to have more problems if baldy keeps running over stuff," the echidna spoke up.
"So what's the big deal with these Oni masks anyway?" Captain Black asked, "I can understand Section 13 becoming home to the noble animals of the Chinese Zodiac once again, but what's going on?"
"Let Uncle worry about Oni masks," Uncle remarked, "You worry about driving."
Tails dodged Finn's shadow bolt attacks, while he was dodging swipes from Ratso's razor claws and barely dodging Chow's infinite supply of shuriken and his black steel ninjato (which was a slightly shorter version of the samurai katana). The twin-tailed fox did his best to avoid and evade until Uncle arrived with the mask removal potion, until Finn kicked the mask out of the fox's hands and into the air, where Jade caught it after wearing out Sonic. She was about to throw it to Hak Foo, but Jackie jumped into the air and reclaimed the mask just as Sonic and Caliburn had caught their second wind and rushed over to join the archeologist at his side along with Tails. The trio was just about to make their getaway only to run right into Hak Foo, Jade, and the powered up Enforcers.
"End of the line Chan," Hak Foo spoke up, before everyone heard the sound of trees being crushed out of the way and saw a black off road van stop suddenly in front of the cliff.
Inside the van, the sudden stop caused the mask potion to fly out of the vials in Tohru's hands and onto Uncle and the seat, causing the chi wizard to yell, "Aiyaa!"
"It jostled," Tohru spoke up as he held the empty vials while Knuckles was looking in worry.
"We're screwed," the echidna spoke up bluntly.
"Ingredient for mask removal spell was very rare!" Uncle yelled, smacking Captain Black with an Uncle Smack, "Who told you to drive like hotshot?"
"With no potion," the chi wizard continued, "We must ensure that nobody wears mask!"
"Will do," Captain Black responded just as Jackie rolled over the hood of the van with Hak Foo pounding his fists onto said vehicle.
Jackie and Hak Foo were still battling for the mask when Hak Foo kicked it into the air. Jackie went to retrieve it only to be shoved aside by Hak Foo, who in turn was knocked aside by Captain Black as he was opening the car door.
"Captain Black!" Sonic yelled, "Look out!"
Captain Black looked up just in time for the mask to land on his face.
"I believe Sir Sonic said to look out," Caliburn spoke as everyone was stunned at the turn of events, "He didn't say to look up, Captain Black."
"Tiger tears mask off before it sticks!" Hak Foo yelled as he attempted to rip the mask off of Captain Black, only to find that he suddenly had his right arm in the captain's grip.
"Guess again kitty cat," Captain Black taunted as he tossed Hak Foo's hand away. The Black Tiger responded by throwing various punches, but the captain dodged them all.
The heroes stared stunned at the display of martial arts that the head of Section 13 seemed to display.
"Whoa," Knuckles commented, "Captain Black's got game."
"That's putting it mildly Knuckles," Sonic replied.
Captain Black then threw Hak Foo into the totem pole, causing it to tip and fall across the river below. Finn, Ratso, and Chow tried to run, but were intercepted by Captain Black.
"Exit's that way," the masked captain spoke and threw them into the totem pole, which then tipped over and lodged itself into the cliff… which then started to crumble.
"Happy trails!" The captain simply said as the stone in the cliff gave way and the Enforcers fell into the river below, causing them to scream in the process while Jade took flight on her new black raven wings.
"Captain Black," Jackie asked nervously as he and the rest of the heroes moved over to the captain, "Are you alright?"
"Never better Jackie," the captain spoke.
XXX
Finn, Ratso, Chow, and Hak Foo were hanging onto the totem pole as it floated down river.
"Tarakudo's going to be one unhappy camper," Finn commented as they wondered what the Lord of all Shadowkhan would do once he found out about this situation.
"Not to mention Mistress Jade is going to inflict another spanking on us," Hak Foo added, "I'm going to guess that neither she nor Master Tarakudo will be pleased with this development once they find out."
"Well it ain't my fault," Ratso imputed, "The fox was too small for me to catch."
On cue, a fish swam in front of them as the voice of Tarakudo cleared his throat as he emerged from the face of the fish to speak with the Enforcers as Jade flew above them.
"What is not your fault?" Tarakudo asked the quartet.
"We never had a chance, big head honcho sir," Finn spoke up.
"That Oni mask," Chow continued, "It's defective."
"Yeah," Ratso added, "Captain Black's wearing it, but he didn't go all dark side?"
"The Captain Black?" Tarakudo asked, as the Enforcers all spoke up saying that it was indeed Captain Black they were talking about.
"As in, the head of Section 13," Jade piped up as her wings were keeping her in the sky, "He would be the one the Enforcers are speaking about."
"Then we now have a man on the inside." Tarakudo spoke up as he thought of the best way to break into Section 13 with this new information.
"Don't forget," Jade added, "I can sneak in and out of places."
XXX
Back at Section 13, attention was being drawn to Captain Black's facial change, as everyone was stunned and worried about the green skin.
"Captain Black," an agent spoke up, "Your face!"
"Relax, it's only a mask," the captain spoke up as he walked through.
"Does it come off?" another agent spoke up.
"Now why would I want it to?" The captain spoke as he started to do a handstand on the main monitor to everyone's amazement.
Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Caliburn walked in and they noticed the events that were unfolding.
"Okay, he's peppy." Sonic spoke at his agility.
"He's got skill and coordination." Tails added.
"He's starting to act like a showoff." Knuckles continued as he grumbled about the Captain's newfound strength.
"He has not done anything that would be foolish yet," Caliburn noted as the captain in his eyes was beginning to let the power get to his head.
"But he does not seem evil," Jackie finished after hearing Team Sonic's comments.
"Because Captain Black's inherit goodness is keeping the dark forces within him at bay for the moment," Uncle answered the questions of Jackie and Team Sonic (which is what Sonic referred to Tails, Knuckles, and himself when the three of them were together), "But we must remove the mask before it corrupts his chi, and to accomplish that we must get more spell ingredient."
"My apologies sensei," Tohru spoke up, knowing that he didn't hold the vial as he was supposed to have done so.
"Perhaps I better go with you this time Uncle," Tails spoke up, "Tohru can't fit in the Section 13 phone booth entrance and you'd be squashed. If I went it would at least make things easier."
"Tails has a point," Caliburn agreed, "If push comes to shove then we will need Tohru here in case something goes wrong."
"Very well, Tails will accompany me to get more spell ingredient," the chi wizard responded to Tails' tactical plan, "One more thing; while Tails and I are away, it is essential that Captain Black not learn the full extent of the mask's magic. He must not summon his Shadowkhan,"
"Okay but worst case scenario," Knuckles asked, "Captain Black summons his Shadowkhan – what then?"
"That is why Tails suggested that I stay behind with you while he and sensei go get more spell ingredient," Tohru replied, "If Caliburn is right, and push indeed comes to shove, then I can at least be here to cast the stun spell on the Shadowkhan that appear due to this mask."
"Apprentice makes very good point. Come Tails," Uncle said, and he and Tails left Section 13 on search for more of the mask removal spell ingredient.
"Okay, so what do we do to keep him busy?" Sonic spoke up, "Any ideas? Perhaps a few board games or something like that?"
On cue, the alarm started blaring and everyone, including the noble animals – save for Eggbert and Mordecai who had returned with Farmer Macdonald to the MacDonald farm in Kansas a few days ago after the previous Oni mask had been found – were present in front of the computer.
"We've got a code red alert," a technician spoke up, "Three dozen tourists abducted on Alcatraz. Let's move out people."
Three agents already wearing battle gear prepared to move out, but Captain Black hopped right in front of them.
"Stand down boys," the captain spoke up, "I'll take this one solo."
"Captain Black, I don't think that is a good idea," Jackie responded to his friend out of concern for his wellbeing.
"What's wrong Jackie?" Captain Black asked, "Don't think old 'Black Magic' is up to it?"
On Alcatraz Island in the middle of San Francisco bay, Captain Black managed to climb to a window and pull the bars aside with his newfound strength. He managed to slip inside the former prison and walked down the hallways in search of the tourists. He started hearing a faint voice saying, "help us", over and over again. Jackie had just followed him in when he noticed Sonic and Knuckles along with Caliburn present.
"Sonic, Knuckles, what are you doing here?" Jackie asked the hedgehog and the echidna.
"You watch Captain Black's back," Sonic stated, "I watch your back."
"And since Sonic's got your back," Knuckles added, "I've got his back and Caliburn's."
"There is a saying that there is strength in numbers, Jackie," Caliburn commented as the group followed Captain Black into the former prison.
"Help us, help us, help us," the voice continued as Captain Black made his way through the prison looking for the kidnapped tourists growing louder as the captain go closer to the source. The good captain jumped down to the ground floor and saw something red in a prison cell after looking in the other cells prior.
"Help us," the red floating head continued before turning around to reveal the Lord of all Oni.
"Oh, Captain Black, we never got formally introduced," Tarakudo introduced himself, "I am Tarakudo, King of all Shadowkhan. You may bow."
"The only king I bow to is Elvis," Captain Black retorted, "And I don't see you wearing blue suede shoes."
"And I don't see you wearing your mask at full throttle," the lord of all Oni spoke again, then he seemed to grow bigger as his voice continued to get deeper as he added, "But I can help you unleash its true potential."
"No sale, helium head." the captain spoke again.
"Oh well, plan B," Tarakudo returned to normal size as he floated away to reveal Hak Foo, Chow, Finn, and Ratso.
"You better cook up a plan C," Captain Black responded knowing that he could defeat the Enforcers again, "I already ate your goons for breakfast once."
"He's being serious TK," Finn spoke up, while the Enforcers were shaking at the thought of having to face the head of Section 13 again.
"We can't beat him," Ratso added, building upon Finn's comment.
"Wait for it," Tarakudo instructed as Jade flew into the prison unnoticed by everyone. She gave the word and Tarakudo used his mental powers to cause some of the bars to bind Captain Black and levitate him a foot off of the ground.
"Now watch as the good captain gets in touch with his dark side," the King of all Shadowkhan instructed just as Jackie, Sonic and Knuckles entered the scene from a floor higher up.
"This is Black," the captain spoke into his radio, "I need back up now!"
As if on cue, the shadow underneath Captain Black began to diverge into five other shadows and from each of them formed Shadowkhan; but these Shadowkhan looked much bigger than the others. They had the traditional black garb and blue skin only they had black wrappings around their knuckles and their arms were uncovered, showing the size of their muscles, while their feet were the size of normal Shadowkhan, making them almost look like shadow servants to Po Kong the Mountain Demon. The Shadowkhan surrounded Captain Black, and were standing as they awaited orders.
"Shadowkhan," Jackie simply said as he, Sonic, Knuckles, and Caliburn saw everything.
"Big ones," Knuckles added, knowing that even he may not be strong enough to deal with this.
"Caliburn, are you sure you can take them?" Sonic asked his sword, losing his cocky attitude and turning serious.
"Sonic, remember," the sword responded, "My blade and my edge were both infused with the chi wizard's magic making my blade stronger than diamond or steel and shaper than obsidian. There is nothing that I can't cut through."
Black meanwhile looked at the new Sumo Shadowkhan as they began to get into formation and marched towards the Enforcers, making heavy footsteps as they walked.
"I thought these guys were supposed to be on our side," Ratso started to panic as Hak Foo leapt to punch one of them, only to hurt his fist, causing him to yell in pain. Then to add insult to injury, one of the new Sumo Khan lifted a finger and threw Hak Foo clean through the wall and into the San Francisco bay.
Upon seeing how powerful his "backup" was, Captain Black pulled up his radio.
"Black here," the captain spoke into the radio, "Cancel that back up."
"Looks like somebody got new trainees," Sonic piped up, as Jackie, Knuckles and himself along with Caliburn walked to the captain's location.
"Things are going exactly as I had envisioned," Tarakudo said, leaving the scene.
"This is the plan TK?" Finn asked, as the Sumo Khan surrounded the Enforcers.
One of Captain Black's new ninja managed to free him from the metal binding him as three others took Finn, Ratso, and Chow away, while Jade managed to hitch a ride in Finn's shadow, knowing they were on the way to Section 13's holding cell.
"You have the right to remain silent," Sonic spoke to the Enforcers, "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
"Sonic, I don't think this is the right time to be reminding them of their Miranda rights," Caliburn commented as Jackie walked over to Captain Black, who gave him a thumbs up.
"Jackie, why didn't you tell me that I could summon these shadow guys?" The captain asked, before his voice deepened as he spoke again, "They're gnarly."
"Must have slipped my mind," Jackie replied, clearly remembering Uncle's instructions on not letting Captain Black know of the full power of the mask's magic and not letting him summon his Shadowkhan.
XXX
Out in the San Francisco bay, Hak Foo was just swimming to the shore and managed to find some dry land as he rested on the beach.
"These midday swims are becoming quite the habit with you, aren't they Hak Foo?" Tarakudo asked as he formed from the sand next to the martial artist, having noticed that the Black Tiger had already been thrown into a body of water twice on the same day.
"Black has beaten us again!" Hak Foo spoke in anger over this latest defeat to Tarakudo.
"Calm down. By summoning his Shadowkhan," the King of all Shadowkhan advised as he explained the rest of the plan, "Black has sealed his promotion from Captain to Demon General!"
"What of Mistress Jade?" Hak Foo asked, "How does she fit into this plan?"
"With any luck," Tarakudo asked, "She's already in Section 13's vault room by now, bringing us the other Oni masks."
XXX
Back at Section 13, the place was filled with Captain Black's new Shadowkhan. Some were at the computers operating the various machines, while some were overlooking the maps of the city. Jackie, Sonic, Knuckles, Caliburn, and Tohru were wondering what happened here.
"Where did all the agents go?" Jackie asked.
"Mandatory leave of absence," Captain Black spoke up as he was now wearing his black trench coat, and standing next to three Sumo Khan.
"Meet the next generation of law enforcement Jackie," the captain spoke as he introduced his new Shadowkhan Police.
"Captain Black, they are ninjas!" Sonic spoke up, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"Normally Sonic is usually laid back in situations like these, which would cause us to butt heads at times and make us rivals," Knuckles added, "But in this case he has a point. We are worried about your safety."
"I for one find that messing with the dark arts invites bad news and nothing good can come out of it," Caliburn continued, "As they say, 'the road to darkness is paved with good intentions.'"
"Caliburn is right," Tohru finished, "We are all worried about your sudden change in personality since you summoned your Shadowkhan. I think it would be wise if you were to get some rest."
"I'm perfectly fine, and these are my ninjas, obeying my every command," Captain Black spoke up.
"Loyal, efficient, tireless," the captain continued as he was beginning to feel the full power of the mask, while Shadowkhan were seen doing various duties such as manning the computers, mopping the floors, and generally walking around the base on duty.
"Even as we speak, they're out there, cleansing the streets of scum."
On cue the sounds of a cell door opening caused everyone to look.
"Hey, we got another one," Black spoke up as the scene shifted to a guy in a butterfly suit being held by the Shadowkhan.
"But I didn't do anything," the costumed man spoke before being thrown into a cell along with a biker, some pedestrians, a guy in a trench coat, and an actor in a knight's costume. The butterfly suit man continued, "I'm telling you, I'm innocent!"
"Yeah, yeah, save the drama for your mama," Chow commented as he, Ratso, and Finn were in a cell of their own. Nobody noticed, however, the shadow that Jade hitched a ride on began to form but remained a shadow, revealing itself at a later time.
"Captain Black," Jackie asked out of shock, "What did all these people do?"
"Its what they didn't do," the Oni possessed captain responded.
"Run that by me again," Sonic spoke up, "I didn't quite catch that."
"They're not one of us," the captain spoke again in a whisper.
"How can you be sure?" Knuckles asked in suspicion.
"The mask knows who's naughty and nice," the almost-Demon General Black answered the echidna, "It tells me who to punish."
Then he went away, leaving the heroes alone to question their predicament.
"Where are Uncle and Tails?" Jackie asked in a whisper.
"They are probably still getting more of the spell ingredient." Tohru answered, "Japanese seaweed is very rare, and if the first batch hadn't spilled we would've been able to remove the mask from him by now."
"More to the point," Caliburn spoke up, catching the heroes' attention, "I can feel dark traces of evil from the captain. The demon within the mask is beginning to corrupt his mind. We need that mask removal potion soon."
"Let's go Knuckles," Sonic spoke up as the quintet began to find a place where they could plan their next move, "We better call Tails and Uncle and tell them what has happened during their absence."
"Hopefully they'll have found the mask removal ingredient by now." the echidna commented.
XXX
Meanwhile, out in the middle of the sea near an island which was presumably close to Japan, Uncle and Tails were getting on their scuba gear while the technical fox had brought with him a water proof communicator that had a video screen function so he could speak with Sonic and the gang. They were in Tails' custom plane the Tornado, which had a seaplane mode so that they could leave when they found the ingredient. The plane also had a laboratory for Uncle to work on the mask removal potion.
"Here is where we will find more rare seaweed for mask removal potion Tails," Uncle explained as he held up a card with the picture of Japanese seaweed inside a watertight plastic zip lock bag.
"This is the perfect place to find the seaweed," Tails answered, "Hopefully the others have the situation under control back in San Francisco. Though I do question my choice of leaving Tohru back there with Jackie, Sonic, Knuckles, and Caliburn."
"Tails, despite your use of science over magic," the chi wizard said to the technological/electronic genius, "You are a brilliant strategist and you have a good heart. Those are qualities that would make you a good warrior someday."
"Thanks Uncle," Tails replied to the wizard. Just then his laptop, which he specifically had calibrated to ring if Sonic were communicating with him via videophone, started to ring.
"Tails," Uncle spoke up, "Your magic waffle iron is ringing."
"Oh, it's probably from Sonic. Nothing too serious," Tails spoke up, "He probably wants to know what's up."
"Tails, magic waffle iron is blinking red," Uncle continued as the fox made his way over to his laptop, which caused him to get a worried look on his face. Typing a few commands in, the fox managed to put the communication on the main screen of the plane, which showed Sonic, Jackie, Tohru, Knuckles, and Caliburn in Jackie's old room inside Section 13, not knowing that the Queen of the Shadowkhan was listening in on their conversation. The other noble animals were moved to Farmer Macdonald's farm for their own safety by the quick thinking of Tails before he left.
"Hi Tails, what's up?" Sonic asked in his usual cheerful mood.
"Uncle and I are just about to get the rare seaweed for the mask removal spell," Tails responded, "What's going on?"
"How do I put this," Caliburn answered, "Tarakudo ambushed Captain Black at Alcatraz and forced him to summon his Shadowkhan."
"Aiyaa!" Uncle yelled, "I told you not to let Captain Black summon his Shadowkhan!"
"It wasn't our fault," Jackie spoke up next, "Tarakudo took Black by surprise and now he's got Section 13 crawling with ninjas."
"At this rate, Black will have earned promotion to one of Tarakudo's Generals," Knuckles reasoned, "Please tell me you have the mask removal potion ready?"
"Aiyaa," Uncle spoke again, "We can't remove mask from him until we get more rare seaweed. You must make sure Captain Black doesn't fall into the dark side or he will be as corrupted as Jade."
"How do you suggest we do that?" Knuckles shot back, "Captain Black's Shadowkhan are about the size of Tohru – they threw Hak Foo through a wall with only one finger!"
"Did you forget the stun spell Tohru made?" Uncle almost screamed at that point, "That will be your best defense against the Shadowkhan – and did you forget Caliburn's new power?"
"Right, we almost forgot," Jackie spoke up as Tohru wanted to have one more word with his sensei.
"Sensei, Tails," Tohru asked, "How long will it take for you to return with the potion?"
"Given that fox has ingredients for mask removal potion and that he already has a base potion," Uncle explained, "We should be back shortly."
"Okay then," Sonic spoke, "We'll handle things here."
"I know you can. Don't worry," Tails advised, "We'll have the potion ready in time."
"Rodger that Tails," Tohru spoke up as the conversation ended, with the heroes unaware that Jade had heard every word they said and was about to tell her newest general everything.
Once the connection with Jackie and the gang ended, Uncle and Tails dived down to the location of the Japanese seaweed and started to pluck some of the seaweed to forge the removal potion.
XXX
Back on the other end of the communication line, after Jackie had closed the door, he held a meeting with the rest of the group.
"If the Oni mask keeps "talking" to Captain Black," the archeologist spoke in worry, unaware that Jade had a pair of Shadowkhan eyes spying on the heroes yet again, as she created a viewing screen to allow Captain Black and herself to see and hear what the heroes were speaking of, "Who knows what it will tell him next."
"If we keep him inside Section 13 until Uncle and Tails get back, what's the worst that could happen?" Sonic asked, just before the group all realized something at the same time.
"The other Oni masks!" The five heroes yelled in unison, knowing the damage they could do in the hands of darkness.
"We have to snag those face huggers before Captain Black remembers that they're still in the vault!" The hedgehog hero suggested.
"In case you haven't noticed already, Section 13 is crawling with his Shadowkhan Police. This will not be easy; they can sneak in and out of places when we least expect it," Knuckles reminded, and then he asked, "Speaking of sneaking in and out of places have any of you seen Jade since we found the mask?"
"Aiyaa!" Caliburn yelled, and then regaining his composure he continued, "We haven't seen her since Sonic's battle with her in the mountains!"
"Then there's a problem already," Tohru reminded, "Jade has a tendency of finding out things she shouldn't know and she can think three steps ahead of us. I should know, considering how she removed the Rooster Talisman from the Bavarian shield during Jackie's very first talisman related assignment, back when I was working for the Dark Hand."
Captain Black, who had seen and heard everything through the eyes and ears of his Shadowkhan, simply said to himself, "Bad move Jackie."
"More like lousy on his part," Queen Jade spoke up after having emerged from the pool of shadow she had used to bypass the onion spell. Then she continued, "Well, what are we waiting for? Finn, Ratso, and Chow are sure to want their ninjas back considering the new powers I've given them to reflect the tribe that best suits them."
Jackie was peering around the corner of a wall as he saw Jade conversing with Captain Black. The archeologist had already told Tohru to wait at the vault so Sonic could retrieve the masks. Jackie was just about to find a way to bolt before he ended up in the line of sight of Captain Black. The Oni possessed captain was looking pretty pissed off and Jade was nowhere to be seen.
"Where are you going buddy?" Captain Black asked in a menacing tone.
"I'm just out for a stroll," Jackie answered trying to look casual, "Nothing to worry about."
"Oh, like say, to the vault?" The soon-to-be new general asked, having already heard about Jackie's plan, compliments of Jade.
"No, not really," Jackie answered.
"Jackie, Jackie, Jackie," the captain spoke as a shadow formed behind Jackie and transformed into a Sumo Khan, "I thought I could trust you. I thought we were friends."
"We are friends, and that is why you must listen to me," Jackie replied, "The mask is turning you into one of Tarakudo's Generals."
The archeologist/martial artist continued while managing to swipe Captain Black's card and tossing it discretely to Sonic, who received it and managed to race as quickly as he could to the vault, "You must resist it. Remember who you are."
"Nonsense, the mask lets me see things clearly," the captain responded, "Like the fact that you want to betray me and swipe the rest of the Oni masks. And since you're not one of us, you can join the others."
"Captain Black!" Jackie yelled as he was being carried off to a cell by one of the Sumo Khan, "Listen to me, not to the mask!"
Captain Black just looked on as he heard an alarm that meant the vault had been opened. Sonic had just managed to open the vault with Tohru's help as the Japanese sumo/chi wizard apprentice went to the dojo to prepare the stun spell to act as back up in case the Sumo Khan were too much for them. Sonic and Knuckles managed to get into the vault, not knowing that the Queen of all Oni had followed them in.
"Oh Sonic, Knuckles," Captain Black called as he headed for the vault, "Don't go and make Captain Black mad."
"Black, a fine name," the Sumo Tribe General mused to himself, "The color of darkness."
"Sorry, but access has been denied," Sonic boasted as Knuckles easily locked them out of the vault. Captain Black growled as a massive pool of shadow seeped through the cracks of the door and into the vault. The shadows then reformed into Sumo Shadowkhan, along with even more shadows forming into the Shinobi, Razor, and Bat Shadowkhan from the previous three tribes. Sonic and Knuckles stood there dumbfounded at the turn of events.
"How'd they get into the vault?" Knuckles wondered aloud.
"Knuckles, these are Shadowkhan." Sonic reminded, "They can travel through shadow."
"Shadowkhan were known for finding cracks in defenses and exploiting them," Caliburn commented, "Though Captain Black only has control of the Sumo Khan, so how did these other Shadowkhan show up?"
"Guess who," Knuckles began and Sonic finished, "Jade, Queen of the Shadowkhan."
"And she's got company," Jade's voice rang out as she flew down on her new raven wings, still wearing her battle kimono, just as Captain Black entered the vault, "The Queen of all Shadowkhan is in the house!"
"Now Sonic, you weren't thinking of taking our masks were you?" Captain Black asked as he had the Sumo Khan remove the three Oni masks still on the wall.
"Now you've yielded to the darkness within you Captain Black," Caliburn yelled, "You've become greedy – with only the little upstart being a power hungry tyrant making her slightly worse than you right now!"
"Caliburn's right," Sonic spoke up, "You've only got one face and Jade doesn't even need the masks to control the Shadowkhan tribes."
"But we've got three partners in darkness," Jade shot back snidely, "And they're just itching for a makeover."
"A warrior who fights for justice and truth such as the Captain Black I met and befriended would never do such a thing!" Knuckles yelled.
"Sorry, but the Captain Black you knew is on permanent vacation," the demon possessed captain spoke as he was about to make his exit.
"Well, he's about to catch the next flight back!" Sonic yelled and without warning he grabbed the Tiger Talisman and fired it at Captain Black, separating his good half, who was wearing his red shirt and gray pants and shoes, from his evil half, who was still wearing the mask and the trench coat along with the Light Captain Black's outfit.
"I haven't been myself lately," Light Captain Black spoke as he rubbed his head.
"Your dark side hasn't been himself either," Knuckles explained as he brought Light Captain Black up to speed on what was happening.
"So you've gone and yanked Captain Black's Yin from his Yang?" Jade commented as she and Dark Captain Black were about to leave with the Oni masks.
"I feel like a burden's been lifted," Dark Captain Black said as the duo locked up Light Captain Black, Sonic, Caliburn and Knuckles up in the vault.
"So now what?" Light Captain Black asked the group only to get a vault door opening in response.
"I heard the commotion and now Jade plans to give the rest of the Oni masks to Finn, Ratso, and Chow," Tohru stated as he was the one who opened the door.
"So let's even up the odds," Sonic suggested and used Caliburn's power to summon a pair of twin gilded blades that resembled tomahawks held by sword handles.
"Nice blades," Knuckles examined with a pleasing look. "So what are they?"
"That's one of the sacred swords known as Galatine," Caliburn explained. "I have infused it with some of the magic that Uncle gave to my blade and edge so you'll have a fighting chance against the Shadowkhan."
"Well then what are we waiting for?" Knuckles stated as he plucked the Ox Talisman off and gave it to Light Captain Black, "You'll need this if you plan to defeat your dark side."
"Sweet, the power of an ox in my pinkie," the Light Captain Black praised.
"Let's get moving," Sonic stated, "Jackie's behind bars and Uncle and Tails are MIA, so we're on our own."
"Sonic is right," Tohru added, "We will have to hold off possibly four Shadowkhan armies until sensei and Tails return."
"Let's go kick my butt," Light Captain Black said.
XXX
Meanwhile, Jackie was sitting in a cell with the rest of the prisoners.
"What's the matter Chan?" Chow asked in a taunting voice, "Don't you like your room?"
Ratso chortled as he spoke, "Maybe you should complain to the management."
The grey skinned Enforcer laughed, before Dark Captain Black made his appearance with two Sumo Shadowkhan, and Queen Jade flew into the scene.
"Boys, we've come bearing gifts," Dark Captain Black called as he presented the other three Oni masks to the Enforcers, causing Jackie to try and stop them in a futile attempt. Once the quartet were facing the Enforcers, Jade instantly slapped the masks onto Finn, Ratso, and Chow, giving them control over the Bat, Razor, and Shinobi Shadowkhan tribes once again.
Sonic rushed in with Caliburn prepared, only to find that he was too late to stop them from giving the rest of the masks to the Enforcers.
"What's wrong, Sonic and Caliburn?" Chow taunted as he carved through the cell door with his newly powered shadow ninjato, "Don't you like our makeovers?"
"Yeah, afraid we're going to kick your butts again?" Ratso added as he grew out his razor claws.
"Except this time, you don't have Spyro, Cynder, Eggbert, Mordecai and Super Moose to help you out," Finn finished, "Prepare to meet your maker!"
"You'll have to catch me first!" Sonic taunted as he got out a bottle of seltzer water and fired it at Jade, drenching her in carbonated water.
"After him!" The queen yelled as the Enforcers summoned their respective tribes of Shadowkhan and sent them after the hedgehog, who took to speeding down the corridors with his natural speed and cunning.
Light Captain Black had taken to pulling on the bars of Jackie's cell door, who in turn had rushed out and shoved the head of the butterfly costume on Dark Captain Black's head while the good side of Captain Black slammed his dark side with the bars of the cell.
"Tiger Talisman?" Jackie asked.
"Brought out the best in me," Captain Black answered as the duo made their rendezvous with Tohru and Knuckles.
Sonic was racing through the base at maximum speed and saw a Sumo Khan in his way, so he dodged by running along the wall.
"You know what they say about big enemies, right Caliburn?" Sonic asked as he dodged a fist.
"The bigger they are," Caliburn answered as the duo sliced up a Sumo Khan on the way, "The harder they fall."
"Jackie, it is good that you are alright," Tohru said as Jackie and Captain Black's Light Side joined them, but the look on his face was troubling so he asked, "Were Sonic and Caliburn able to protect the other Oni masks?"
"Jade slapped them onto the Enforcers before Sonic could even reach them," the good side of Captain Black spoke up, "Now let's reclaim them."
"That will have to wait, because we have company," Tohru replied as the shadows formed around the group into about fifteen Sumo Shadowkhan.
"Now I'm glad Tails told you to stay behind," Jackie said as they began to battle the Shadowkhan with Captain Black's good side using the strength granted to him by the Ox Talisman to fend off the blow from one Sumo Khan while lifting him into another, causing them both to disappear.
"I'm as strong as any one of you bruisers," Captain Black stated as the Sumo Khan surrounded him, but he continued to keep fighting.
Tohru had taken to using his natural strength by blocking and defending the blows and by tripping them, causing the Shadowkhan he was facing to disappear into dust as he wondered how Knuckles was holding up. The echidna in question was swiping Galatine and its twin at the Shadowkhan while he somehow managed to feel the fire within him surround his blades. Not being one to question these things, Knuckles took to using his new fire blades to slice and burn up the Shadowkhan, while still managing not to get incinerated by the blades himself. Meanwhile, Jackie was doing his best to avoid and evade with his natural skill and even tried to kick down a Shadowkhan, but his efforts proved futile after falling on his butt. He then blocked several attacks, but he felt the sting as he shook his arms. He then managed to trip a Shadowkhan, causing it to fall and disappear into a puff of smoke.
"Uncle, Tails," the archeologist said to himself for the heroes' sake, "Hurry up."
XXX
Uncle and Tails were outside the phone booth entrance to Section 13 with the potion in hand to remove the mask from Captain Black.
"Quickly Tails," Uncle called to the fox as they were entering the elevator entrance, "We must get the mask off of Captain Black or there will be no telling what Queen of Shadowkhan will influence him to do next."
"I know, I know," Tails replied as he followed the wizard into the elevator, "Sonic's probably in the thick of battle by now and so is everyone else."
Once Tails and Uncle were in the booth, the door closed as they were heading into Section 13 via elevator, with Uncle yelling "Aiyaa!" in the process.
Meanwhile, Sonic and Caliburn were running at full speed – though the hedgehog hero was holding onto the Rabbit Talisman for good measure in case he needed an extra boost in speed. The Bat Khan were following him through the corridors using their wings so it was hard to lose them, but Sonic managed to stay ahead. The hedgehog hero managed to dodge the occasional shadow bolts they threw at him, but because of his dodging with his quick steps he didn't notice a large hand from one of the Sumo Khan rise from a pool of darkness until it had grabbed onto one of his shoes and lifted him into the air as the Sumo Khan emerged from the shadow with the hedgehog still holding onto Caliburn.
"I demand you put us down now," Caliburn demanded, "Sonic may be small but together we are very powerful and formidable."
The Sumo Khan narrowed its eyes as it began to haul Sonic and Caliburn over to Captain Black's Dark Side.
"Any suggestions?" Sonic asked the talking sword.
"For now relax," Caliburn advised, "And hope Uncle and Tails return with the mask removal potion."
Speaking of Captain Black, his good side was still in battle with Sumo Khan as he continued to beat down the Shadowkhan.
"Oh Captain Black," the Dark Side of Captain Black spoke up as he saw his good side still fighting the Sumo Khan. He Jumped down to the bottom floor and faced his good side, "Section 13 isn't big enough for the both of us."
"Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the Light Side of Captain Black fired back and on cue the two began to battle and though Captain Black's Yang was stronger and more ruthless, Captain Black's Yin was more cunning and had a sense of justice and willingness to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, Tohru and Knuckles were starting to get overwhelmed not just by the Sumo Khan but also by the Shadowkhan from the previous three tribes, which were being summoned by Queen Jade, and Jackie was still dodging attacks from the Sumo Shadowkhan.
"Where is Uncle when you need him the most?" Knuckles asked as he, Jackie, and Tohru found themselves standing together.
"I am sure that he is on his way," Tohru answered as he continued to fire his stun spell at the Sumo Khan while Jackie continued to pummel the other types.
Sonic had managed to somehow get free from the Shadowkhan holding him and was now speeding down the corridors to the main base, where everyone else was in the middle of combat. Wasting no time, the hedgehog hero started slicing up Shadowkhan like no tomorrow, until a bladed fan flew in his direction causing him to look up as he saw Jade as she flew to the ground.
"Sonic the Hedgehog," the Queen of the Shadowkhan spoke as she summoned up to ninety Shadowkhan, thiry from each of the previous three tribes along with another ten Sumo Khan for muscle to keep Jackie, Tohru, and Knuckles busy, "Must we always meet like this?"
"Well, what can I say," Sonic shot back, "You make me sound like I'm a babe magnet."
"Sonic this is no time to be foolish," Caliburn scolded, "Keep a level head in the battle to carry the day."
"You're right Caliburn. Let's do this!" Sonic yelled as he and Jade began their sword duel while the rest of the heroes were occupied.
Meanwhile, Light Captain Black and Dark Captain Black were going at it with each not giving the other any room for a blow. Suddenly a fist appeared from nowhere and tripped up Captain Black's good side, causing him to drop the Ox Talisman, leaving him at the mercy of his dark side.
"Weakling," the Dark Side of Captain Black spoke as he hit him with a right hook, while Jackie rushed in to help only to be intercepted by a Sumo Khan.
"Give it up Sonic," Jade taunted as she was still dueling Sonic with the power of the Jian and the Dao Sword, "You could never hope to beat me in a duel, even with Caliburn's help."
"We'll see about that you little upstart," Caliburn spoke up as Sonic had him block yet another attack, "It's not the weapon that makes the difference."
"It's the warrior holding the weapon," Sonic added, and to prove it he tossed Caliburn to Knuckles, who had understood his meaning and tossed Galatine and its twin to Sonic, who caught them with ease, "Now let's see you handle this."
"You'll pay dearly for that," Jade shot back as she continued to swipe at the hedgehog, while Sonic countered with the power of the Galatine and its twin.
Meanwhile, Tohru and Knuckles were still fending off the Shadowkhan as best as they could, but even with Caliburn's help the odds were getting slimmer as more and more Shadowkhan showed up. Suddenly, the Shadowkhan managed to overwhelm Knuckles and Tohru and one managed to grab Caliburn as Jade managed to knock Sonic to the ground, causing him to groan in pain. Captain Black's good side had taken some massive damage since losing the Ox Talisman, and his dark side leapt high in the air and aimed a drop kick at the good side of the captain, causing him to groan in pain.
"I'm embarrassed that we're even related," Captain Black said in disgust to his lighter side as he heard the Enforcers appear, "Ah, my partners in darkness."
Jade had one of the Bat Khan restrain Sonic, Knuckles and Tohru by binding them to a pole with the power of shadow, as she held the hilt of Caliburn to her face to speak with the sword.
"How does it feel to know that you've lost?" The Queen of the Shadowkhan sneered at the blade.
"Even though I'm down, I'm not out," Caliburn retorted, "You of all people should know that evil will never win and the forces of goodness will triumph over the forces of darkness."
"You sound just like the old man," Finn stated as he stated, "Speaking of whom, where is he?"
Captain Black's good side was still on the ground trying to stand as he saw Tails discretely pass him a vial with the mask removal potion to remove Dark Captain Black's mask. Uncle and Tails had arrived by using the element of surprise provided by Caliburn while he was lecturing Jade.
"Jackie!" Uncle yelled, "Tails and I told you to protect the masks and not let Captain Black summon his Shadowkhan!"
"Captain Black doesn't live here anymore old man," Dark Captain Black spoke up, not noticing that Light Captain Black just got his second wind and his hands were now glowing with the mask removal potion.
"Guess again Sparky," Captain Black's good side spoke up as he gave his darker side a punch to the face, flooring him in the process. Thinking quickly, Captain Black's good half tugged on the mask and pulled it clean off the face of his darker half, thus causing the Sumo Shadowkhan to disappear and Section 13 to return to its usual bright setting.
Jade once again was a little annoyed at the loss, but considering that Finn, Ratso, and Chow were still masked, and knowing how Tails was, she didn't want to take any chances and prepared to warp herself and the Enforcers out of the base to their hideout. But not without a few chilling parting words.
"You may have defeated the Shadowkhan general of this tribe," the Queen taunted in her best intimidating voice possible, "But there are still five more masks floating around, and next time things are going to be different."
"Bring it on!" Sonic challenged even though he was still restrained by the shadow, "We'll beat you and your lackeys every time."
"The next mask that's located, something is going to change," Jade fired back as she made a corridor of darkness to travel through, "This will be one of the most important masks, with the spirit of one of the toughest demons you'll ever face in your entire life."
"We'll see," Knuckles fired back as the queen left with the Shadowkhan still present as she tossed Caliburn back to the heroes, "We'll see indeed."
"Look, I know we've been at each other's throats but, friends?" Light Captain Black spoke to his darker half, who had just recovered from the effects of the mask and extended his hand and shook hands with his lighter side who had the tiger talisman in his palm. This caused the two of them to be reunited into Captain Black again, who was still holding the mask.
"Good to see that you're back to your old self Captain Black," Tails spoke up after having used the blowfish to dispel the shadows around Tohru, Sonic, and Knuckles.
"It's good to be back Tails," Captain Black spoke up as he handed the young genius the Oni mask, "You may want to put that in the vault."
"One more thing," Uncle spoke up, "We must not only get back Oni masks the Dark Hand thugs are wearing but we must research the next Oni mask we run into."
"If what Jade says is true, then the next Oni mask may the strongest we've faced yet," Tohru spoke up, "We had best do research at once."
The heroes all nodded in agreement, knowing that after four Oni masks had been found, the real battle was about to begin.
Next time things really heat up in more ways than one during the hunt for the next Oni Mask. The heroes will have more than just the Oni to deal with as the Queen's new personality and power leads her to start showing off her killer new form and a new plan putting one of our heroes face to face with their own worst fear. Don't forget to review, thank you that is all.