Disclaimer: I don't own Jackie Chan Adventures; JCA and all its characters are the property of Phil Weinstein, Frank Squillace and Jackie Chan himself.
A/N: Hello everyone! How's it going? Here I come with another chapter for all of you, a long one at that to compensate for the time that has passed. As always, I'll like to give many thanks to reviewers that left their words for this story. You're all awesome. One thing before I start the chapter and that must be present during the rest of the fic: the Lovecraft characters that will appear in this story (as in, the human ones) will be somehow different from their counterparts from the Mythos, since this is another universe. For more notes, see the end of the chapter, and enjoy your read!
Jackie Chan Adventures
Out of the Corner of the Eye
Chapter seven
Serve no one
From the journals of Marcus Malone. Seventh entry. March of 1947
When I started writing this journal, I never thought I would get so far as of now, and that my reasons for doing so would change so fast. I thought I would finish when I retold the demise of my former companions; I was hoping to burn down the Necronomicon and left testimony of the horrors that lurk around us without our notice. Now… things have changed.
As I indicated in the previous entry, I travelled to Massachusetts, a little town almost in the middle of nowhere called Dunwich, near Athol and another one called Innsmouth, this last one in the coast. I must admit that I found Dunwich pretty relaxing and peaceful, maybe because I have always been more accustomed to the life in great and rowdy cities. I arrived in the middle of December, and after acclimatizing myself to the local environment (for some odd reason, the air in the town was too cold, even for winter, and it carried a strange smell; albeit it doesn't bother me anymore) I contacted John Whateley immediately. I found Old Whateley, as the townsfolk call him, in the mansion he still lives in, by the top of a hill that presides over Dunwich. When I met him I thought that his nickname was very appropriate, as he was one of the older men I have met in my entire life. A tall individual with the face completely full of wrinkles, white long hair tied in a ponytail that fell at his back graciously, and the eyes, although had lost most of their color due to his age, still retained the spark of intelligence, of craftiness… the first thought that came over my mind was 'elegant'. Accompanying him was a girl of no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, who was presented to me as Lavinia Whateley, John's daughter. She's pale, both in skin, hair and eyes; but instead of a sickening white, it's of a more platinum-like tone. I thought she was beautiful from the first time I put my eyes over her. Curious and over-energetic too; and where her father seems to bear an attitude of knowing everything, she bears the one of wanting to know everything. I like that, for some reason.
Whateley asked me about my experience with the Necronomicon, which I took out of the inner pocket of my jacket in where I always carry it and put over the table while we discussed that matter. Lavinia was practically jumping of excitement when seeing it, and if not for his father's words of restrain, I'm certain she would have taken it and read it without stop. I thought that Whateley was going to appeal to my desire of revenge, or something similar… instead he asked me if I wanted to know about Lavinia's mother. He told me that she left after the girl was born, that she lives in Innsmouth now. He told me: 'You know what lies under the coasts near Innsmouth, don't you?', and I naturally knew what he was telling me. He told me, that if humanity is doomed, that if it's not important… why not create something that matters? He told me that he had various associates already; that they operate under a university in Arkham named Miskatonic that he and his peers built with their mutual money. Randolph Carter, Robert Black, Richard Pickman, Ephraim Waite, a youngster named Jie… those were the names he talked about. As of now, I have already met all of them; and I have only good words to say about each one. Whateley told me that the only thing they were lacking was someone like me, someone that had read the book and survived with his mind intact. Whateley told me that he would gave me until Christmas to think about it, and meanwhile he recommended me to the local newspaper in order to provide me with a job. I thought about it so many nights, rolling and rolling the idea in my head… when Christmas arrived, I accepted his offer; and Whateley brought home the entire troupe. I thought I would never find friends like the ones I had before, but these ones bonded with me almost instantly. That Christmas night of 1946 I laughed for real again since 1945! And since then, I have felt like a living man again.
That night, after the celebrations, Whateley and I headed for our rooms with maybe a couple of cups of wine over the needed. When I entered my bed, I heard the door to open and close again, and in the verge of minutes, I found Lavinia inside my bed, looking at me happily and asking for me to read the book for her, to teach her the secrets of the stars. I could feel that she was naked under the sheets while she snuggled against me. So I naturally obliged to her request.
The book always goes with me, albeit Robert and I work into creating copies that he keeps in storage in Miskatonic's library and that we plan to scatter around the world once we start expanding, even if they don't compare to the original. Carter and Whateley provide with found (although the students of Miskatonic pay enough for us to hire new staff and redirect some of the money to our project) and supervise the project; Robert selects candidates when he's not copying the book, Ephraim and Jie direct the process (the rituals) always under my guide, and if something goes wrong or someone gets his nose where it shouldn't have, Pickman and his 'family' take care of it. We will be ready to start with the principal phase of the project (we named it Whateley Project, after all it had been his idea first) by September, or so predicts Carter. By the way, I think that he and Robert are somehow romantically involved, but I cannot avoid feeling anything that's not happiness for them. After all, after everything we have been doing under Miskatonic and engineering in Innsmouth over the last months… judging their orientation would be hypocritical.
But some part of my mind tells me that I should write this down. If you considerer, at the moment of reading this journal, that my deeds can be understood as immoral, or ethically despicable, have this in mind. I'm doing it for the best of humanity; I am contributing to our species' survival, our species' importance in the cosmos and our evolution. Me, who was nothing but a messy reporter two years ago! I am making history! Not Truman, not Stalin, not anyone else! Me!
Lavinia tells me that I shouldn't be writing these journals every time she sees me from the bed; that all of them (as in, you) are nothing but retrogrades and racists that wouldn't understand. I suppose that she has pretty much the reason there; but then again, I love her with every part of my soul and body, so some bias could be showing there. I think I will propose to her in summer, even if Whateley has already accepted and bless our union.
Well, judge by yourself.
San Francisco's Subway
Blasts of chi magic flew through the air to strike a monster to no avail. Deafening roars shook the walls of the station, and Jackie Chan felt as if he was a child again, in one of the stormy nights after losing his parents, when he had been waked by the thunder and lightning that danced in the sky, and he had exited the bed he was still unaccustomed to, and gone out of his room in search of his mother. Oh, and how dark and terrible looked the halls of the antique store back then, when he was small, weak and insignificant; when Uncle still was nothing but a face he had seen in numbered occasions, when he was wary of turning every corner because he feared what could be founded behind them. The same feeling of pure, illogical, natural and inexplicable terror that Jackie had left behind so much time ago after years of learning how to use his body as a weapon, how to be confident and brave; that very same feeling of terror had returned now, brought back to the surface by the creature in front of him.
Jade Chan was no different, her body almost paralyzed after the creature had first roared with all its might and the blast of Tohru and Uncle had proven useless. The teenager girl had spent four years honing her skills, both physical and psychological, and her experience with demons, evil wizards and the like since she was a child had made her think that she could never be scared like a baby again. She was wrong. This creature was proving her wrong; its very existence was proving her wrong! Her!
For their part, Finn and Vanessa were in the same boat; as none of them were predicting to come face to face with such a thing during their little, spontaneous date. They were just cursing internally for taking the elder's order about riding him and the sumo instead of heading to her apartment and forget about what they had seen.
The Shoggoth was clearly enjoying the futile show that his soon-to-be nourishment was providing, as agents of Section 13 fired their weapons towards it, the bullets making small holes in the slimy amber-purple flesh that the creature's regeneration ability patched in less than a second. The Shoggoth thought of it amusing… until Captain Black ran upstairs and came back to the station with a bazooka that he had probably picked from the jeep in which Uncle and Tohru had come. He aimed the weapon at the creature and fired, the projectile striking the Shoggoth into whatever excuse it had for a head, creating a big, gaping hole that the creature's regeneration lasted almost a minute into filling again with flesh, the same time that Black had lasted in recharging his weapon. Not good, wounds of that caliber meant the use of more quantity of biomass in order to regenerate, and the Shoggoth didn't want to use all the biomass it had put in stock over the last weeks by devouring the people of the tunnels. And so the amusement ended… and Hell ensued.
The Shoggoth used one of its tentacles to hit the ground, cracking the floor and making the nearest zone to its vast body to tremble as if a tremor had hit it. Jackie tumbled a little before falling to the ground; the motion could have been comical if not for the situation. But at least, falling served Jackie to snap out of his shock and move from his position before a bunch of agents passed almost over his head, charging at the creature yelling like barbarians warriors of some distant past. It was clear that they weren't following any strategy, any logic of battle; being fuelled by their pure instincts and the fear that the creature inspired in their hearts instead. The resulting struggle wasn't pretty.
The Shoggoth just rolled over itself, plastering and absorbing some of the agents as it crushed them under its body, while it used its tentacles to grab the remaining ones. Those met the creature's maw, of course; being dropped almost kindly inside the circular mouth of the being. Teeth rend flesh and tore apart bones and organs, the agents becoming rapidly unrecognizable masses of blood and other fluids, their biomass adding at the Shoggoth's immediately. But the screams, the worst part were the screams. Those screams of terror, of pain, of losing oneself inside the creature, becoming part of it… it were those screams that made uncle and niece snap completely out of their shocks and regain mobility.
Even if she didn't like weapons, Jade went back to captain Black's position, making signals to the bald leader of Section 13 in order to shot another projectile with the bazooka; which he did immediately. The shot struck the Shoggoth again, making it growl in pain and annoyance as almost the entirety of the biomass that it had collected just now by consuming the agents was spent into healing its new wound. The one to charge now was the creature, directing its mass of eyes at the Chan Clan and the remaining agents.
The humans evaded the incoming attack as best as they could, the Shoggoth clearly angered with them now. Who did they think they were? They were nothing but food, the creature needed to feed in order to gain strength, and it was clear that if the bald human continued shooting the only outcome would be losing biomass in a stupid manner. Why couldn't they just behave like good humans and get inside its mouth so the Shoggoth could…? A green glow distracted the creature then, a sphere of energy being positioned in front of its many eyes. The Shoggoth looked at the group of humans, the older one having raised his two hands in its direction, and being quickly muttering something with his eyes closed; the chant that the old man was reciting becoming louder and louder as the glow of the ball intensified.
Uncle opened his eyes then, both of them violently glowing green, and the sphere of energy opened and enveloped the Shoggoth in a dome of green chi energy. The creature started to pound the construct as soon as it enveloped it; for years it had been at the service of the Fungi from Yuggoth, and now they tried to contain its might again? Ha! Shoggoths cannot be contained!
Meanwhile Uncle fell to his knees exhausted, Tohru rushing to him in order to assist him. "We must find a way of defeating this… I don't even know what it is," Uncle said while panting.
"Sensei, what was that just now?" Tohru asked incredulous.
"A spell of my own design, inspired by the magic that melds with the physical forms of the opponents," Uncle explained. "I picked the idea from one of my duels with Daolong Wong."
"But… but that's Dark chi magic!" Tohru protested.
"A defensive variant, my brilliant former apprentice," Uncle continued his explanation; meanwhile the Shoggoth continued to strike against the walls of its new prison, starting to create small cracks over it. "It won't last long; Uncle is not accustomed to use it. But it will give us time."
"Then how the hell do we defeat this thing?!" Jade yelled as she and Jackie put themselves in front of the remaining agents, Black and the chi wizards. Behind Tohru, she could see how Finn and that woman he had brought with him were in the center of a small formation the remaining agents had made. Good, protect the innocents, that was good.
"I could try shooting it again," Captain Black said. "But I don't know if it's having any effects or not."
"Whatever, but… Jackie, where are you going?!" Jade shouted as she saw her uncle approach a figure that was currently trembling in the ground, hugging herself.
"Po Kong," Jackie said to the possessed woman. "You have to help us."
The Mountain Demon looked at Jackie with the eyes she had stolen, clearly surprised. "Help you?! You are my enemy, Chan!"
"Yes, I am." Jackie stated calmly and then pointed to the still imprisoned Shoggoth. "But if you don't help us here, you'll understand firsthand what everyone you have consumed felt when you ate them."
Po Kong looked at the; for now, restrained creature. "You… you don't understand! It's just like the thing in the Netherworld, just like it! We don't stand a chance!"
"No, you are wrong…" Jackie heard someone behind him. Uncle had approached them, clearly recognizing his nephew's good idea, albeit he was leaning against Tohru. Jade and the agents were still mounting guard against the Shoggoth. "You are a Demon Sorceress, aren't you? Then Uncle knows that you know very strong dark chi spells. Dark magic specializes in harming and destroying the body, so Mountain Demon can harm creature."
Po Kong pondered the offer of his former enemies. She looked at the Shoggoth again, clearly afraid of the fact that the dome of chi was now severely damaged and cracked. It wouldn't last for much longer.
"I… agree." Po Kong said. For the time being, she added in her thoughts.
"Then start to cast spell, now!" Uncle yelled.
Po Kong did as she was told, quickly to start chanting in her own, dark purple energy running through her body and condensing in her hands. Her chants were in a language Jackie didn't understand, not even recognize as 'human'. Clearly demonic, then. He didn't like to side with a Demon Sorcerer, but (and this thought scared him to no avail) it was clear that the Mountain Demon was the smallest of two Evils here.
The Shoggoth pounded against the dome once again, now its structure cracked completely. If there was something similar to a laugh for its species, the creature made then a sound similar to it. The Shoggoth struck the dome one more time, breaking free of it at last. The creature roared again and directed another onslaught into the agents' direction. Then, however, Po Kong stopped chanting, a massive blast of dark chi emerged from her palms, very similar to the ones Daolong Wong used in his battles in the past, just way bigger. The blast was strong enough to not only strike the Shoggoth, but to also make it fly a few meters and clash against a wall of the station. The creature regenerated but one thing was clear to it, the demon, and the humans. That had hurt it.
Energy, energy and biomass were being lost at every second. All the work, all the hunts in the tunnels, for nothing, nothing at all! The Shoggoth roared in anger, it couldn't be like this. It was running out of time, the moment of the Awakening was approaching, the creature was certain of it, it could sense it… It needed to feed, it needed to do so now, and these humans weren't being helpful in the slightest!
The Shoggoth smacked its tentacles against the ground again, sending another, yet smaller, tremor around the ground. Uncle was able to pick in these details.
"Creature has gotten weaker! Uncle yelled. "It can't keep regenerating forever! Attack! Attack! Attack!"
"You don't need to tell me twice," Black said as he launched another projectile against the creature. But as if normal for humans, or the majority of species that populate this planet, Captain Black had made the error of underestimating a Shoggoth and its wonderful ability to adapt to any situation. And in this moment, the Shoggoth evaded instead of accepting the attack, making the projectile to strike the wall behind it… and the tubes carrying some king of gas in it. Talk about Murphy's Law.
The explosion damaged the creature the most, as the flames were practically entirely consumed by its body. Regeneration kicked in, leaving the creature even weaker. How much biomass had in reserve now? If this continued like until now, the Shoggoth could be forced into losing its own mass into the regenerations, and it didn't want to do that. Fortunately, the explosion had rendered the humans almost defeated, and the creature grabbed the two that were nearer and ate them in order to regain some strength. Then, tired of this place, the Shoggoth did what it had must done since the beginning. Head to the streets.
Po Kong, who due to the benefits of having an empowered body was the only person still conscious after the shockwave of the explosion, looked at the Shoggoth go, and shortly followed afterwards. What a magnificent creature; she thought. Well, as Hsi Wu always put it, if you can't defeat them, join them!
Dreaming…
"Age must be catching up to you, Chan, because I don't remember you being so useless." Shendu remarked with a grin as he and Jackie were sitting in front of each other, the two of them in small room decorated in black and white tiles in floor, walls, and ceiling.
"What do you want?" Jackie said. "And how am I here again?"
"You have fallen unconscious, it seems;" Shendu said. Jackie wasn't sure if to believe that last part, though. Had Shendu been spying on him? How? "As for the first question, I was wondering if you have reconsidered my offer of… mutual assistance."
"What could I possibly want with you?" Jackie asked.
"Don't play me for a fool, Chan. You just made a deal with my sister Po in the waking world." The draconic demon accused. Yes, definitely spying on him. "And besides, you aren't as arrogant as to not admit when you are outclassed. And I know what you were facing in the waking world, while you don't. I know what kind of beings it serves, while you don't. And…" Shendu raised one of his claws, materializing twelve spheres circling around it then. "I still hold the powers of the Twelve Noble Animals, and I can infuse you with the one of your choice as a sign of our accord and alliance." Shendu's eyes narrowed. "There are bigger, unbelievably bigger beings than the one you were facing in that station, Chan. So, you either accept my offer, or we both are doomed."
Jackie contemplated the offer, and then pointed to one of the twelve spheres. "That one."
"Ah, always usefulness over simple raw power." Shendu said. "Why couldn't you be as corruptible as Valmont was?"
"Don't play your luck, Shendu." Jackie said as the eleven spheres that weren't the one he had chosen disappeared. "I'm not comfortable with this."
"I know." Shendu said as he took the remaining sphere of white light and then inserted it in Jackie's chest. "That's what makes this entire situation all the more thrilling, wouldn't you agree? It's done." Shendu stated as he retired his claw from Jackie. "Don't let the Shoggoth to eat you; it could assimilate the power I have given you by doing so."
"Sho… what?" Jackie asked.
The Fire Demon eyed the human. "The creature you were facing. A slave in the search of freedom, or maybe pursuing an errand for its masters. There is a whole race like it, according to the information I have gathered. Repeat with me Chan," Shendu said as his eyes flared and a red flash imbued the whole room. "Shoggoth."
And the dream ended.
San Francisco. Waking world
"Ugh…" Jackie awoke with a slight headache. He was starting to feel a little annoyed about his latest habit of waking in a collapsed, underground place. He remembered that this was a very risky situation, and searched for the… how was it? The Shoggoth; that was it, with his eyes. But the creature wasn't there, which only could mean…
"Jackie…?" a weak voice asked. "I don't wanna go to school; I want to stay in bed with Ultra Moose and eat popcorn…"
"Jade!" Jackie shouted as he approached his almost unconscious niece. The explosion must have let her only confused. "Jade, come on, it's me!" Jackie said, shaking her by the shoulders. Almost in instinct, he hit her in the side of her head.
"OW!" she complained. She shook her head a few times before looking at Jackie. "Did… did you just pull an Uncle on me?"
"Sorry, have to get you back." Jackie answered. He looked around and saw how Uncle and Tohru were also coming to their feet, the sumo having shielded the old man with his body. Captain Black and the rest of the agents haven't been so lucky, the captain having his left arm trapped under a huge piece of rock. "Captain Black!" Jackie said as he rushed to his friend.
"Don't worry Jackie; I have been through worse…" Black said, but pain was clear in his voice. "The monster, where…?" Black asked, just to see the exit from the station to the stairs. "Oh no."
"Don't worry, I'll get this from you, and…"
"Chan," a voice interrupted him. Turning around he saw Finn, accompanied by the woman from before. They had a few minimal burns and bruises in their bodies. "Vanessa's a nurse, we'll get the Cap in good form; you get whatever that thing was."
"Thank you," Jackie said. "Uncle, what can we do?"
"Keep hitting creature until it can't regenerate." Uncle explained. "It's our only hope."
"Jade and I will try to slow it down and damage it until you two prepare something." Jackie explained. He then grabbed Jade and held her tight to him. "Close the mouth."
"Wait, what- WHOA!" Jade exclaimed as Jackie and her became nothing but a blur and disappeared in the stairs direction at something that could only be described as super-speed.
"Sensei, wasn't that... ow." Tohru said as Uncle dope slapped him.
"Questions for laaaaaater!" Uncle explained. "Quick Tohru, we must make a spell in order to harm creature as much as possible. I know you memorized the one Po Kong made."
"I did, sensei; but that's still Dark Magic, even if we adapt to our own." the mountain of a man stated. "So I insist into being the one casting the spell this time."
Uncle knew what Tohru was talking about. Dark chi was the tool of demons, not humans, the twisted form in which Daolong Wong's body was left after years of giving use to that power was proof enough of what a human body could become after the use of those energies. If not for Wong's chi-suckering mouths, Uncle supposed that the dark powers would have killed him long ago.
"Fine, but only because former apprentice will withstand it better." Uncle said. That part was true; Tohru had much more resilience than the elder; that was clear.
Tohru smiled and the two of them started to strategize as they headed into Jackie and Jade's direction. As they did so, Finn and a trio of agents were preparing to lift the rock that was trapping Captain Black's arm, Vanessa ready to do as much as she could.
"Okay pals, when you're ready, at the count of three." Finn said. "One... two... three!" The four of them pulled and lifted the rock. Vanessa looked at the estate Black's arm was and resisted the urge to grimace. Finn and the agents didn't.
"So... how's it?" Black asked, refraining from looking directly to the wound. He knew exactly what it looked like, he could feel it.
"I'm not gonna lie, Mr. Captain;" Vanessa answered, putting in her best smile. "It doesn't look very well..."
"Yeah..." Black answered. "I suppose..."
Meanwhile in the streets, the blur that Jackie and Jade were stopped in the middle of one of the nearest streets of the subway station. The teen tumbled a little afterwards, looking suspiciously at her uncle, specially the brilliant glow in his eyes.
"That felt a lot like the Rabbit Talisman, Jackie." Jade said.
"It was." the archeologist answered.
"Shendu?"
"Shendu."
"Tch." Jade protested, looking sideways. Why does everyone have power-ups except me? It's so unfair; she thought. And people always scolded her for taking them as a child, well look who was making a deal with a demon for them now. She looked at the trail of property damage that the creature had left after its pass. Powers or not, priorities were priorities. "Let's kick this thing's butt, if it has one."
Instead of following his niece to battle, Jackie stopped her by grabbing her shoulder and pointed to the people that were assembling in the streets. "Jade, make sure that no one gets harmed!" Jackie shouted.
"But, Jackie!" she protested. "With super-speed or not, that thing is…"
"Jade, the people…" Jackie started to say, but the teen was able to finish the sentence for him.
"Are the priority, I know." she sighed and patted him in the shoulder. "Just… don't get hurt, okay?"
Jackie smiled at that. "Okay." And afterwards he rushed as a blur towards the Shoggoth.
The creature meanwhile was patrolling the streets, searching for humans to consume. Fortunately, night was starting to fall, which meant very few civilians. Still, it had found plenty once the policemen and firefighters had arrived, alerted by what had happened in the station. They either ran away or tried to fight back miserably, becoming nothing but food. That's it, until the blur of speed that Jackie was appeared and took them out of the way, putting them in safety alongside Jade. He could hear the teenager giving orders to the policemen to cover the escape of the civilians as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He supposed that, once seen the badge that credited her as a government agent they would just give her permission to do anything.
The Shoggoth eyed him and halted for a moment, and Jackie could have sworn that its multiple eyes narrowed at his sight, as if the monster was recognizing and regarding him as the thing that was meddling with its feasting. Great, even a monster with no apparent ability to talk was now holding a personal grudge against him… because the demons and international criminals weren't clearly enough.
The monster shrieked and tried to strike Jackie once and for all with one of its tentacles, but the archeologist evaded it at astonishing speed. Circling the creature as fast as his new power permitted, Jackie created a tornado that started to elevate the Shoggoth in the air until Jackie stopped and the beast fell, splattering against the concrete of the street as if it was a gum in summer, losing anything resembling a form; reduced to a amber-purple puddle of slime that smelled to a combination rotten camellias and hot flesh. What was left at sight was not pleasant, as many organs of different sizes, colors and forms were now scattered over the puddle that the creature was, its eyes were rolling in different directions due to the energy of the impact, and some parts of the slime (albeit Jackie was starting to doubt that it was slime) were boiling.
Please, stay down, stay down…; Jackie pleaded in his mind. But then even more tentacles than before raised from the puddle and instead of going after Jackie, they grabbed the nearest cars in the street; just to threw them in the air.
Bad day, very, very bad day!; Jackie thought as he used his super-speed to dodge the incoming falling cars, thinking that the creature must have received several damage from the fall and that now was going just for the quickest way of harming him… except that when Jackie got distracted the creature grabbed another car and launched it towards Jade and the others.
"Jade, look out!" Jackie shouted, as Jade and the policemen that had remained in the scene dodged the incoming car as fast as they could, making one of the police cars the only regrettable lost. Of course, Jackie was so fixated in warning them that he didn't notice one of the tentacles until it hit him, sending him flying and rolling to the ground. The first thing he wondered was if he had broken something important, but it didn't seem like it… a couple of ribs, perhaps? Yes, his side hurt when he incorporated. Damn, why didn't he take the power of the Horse Talisman? Another tentacle grabbed him by his waist and then enveloped his whole body, raising him in the air. The Shoggoth started to raise once again, the puddle converging and condensing in the form of the creature once again. It looked smaller, or at least so thought the archeologist. In its eyes, Jackie couldn't appreciate any other emotion that wasn't pure hatred.
The Shoggoth had received too much damage. All the work! Of the last weeks! Trying to keep a low profile in order to hide from the Mi-Go! For nothing! To lose all biomass, just at the hands of humans! The creature roared in Jackie's face, which the man took as sign of the being's anger. Jackie was presented with the sight of the creature's maw and numerous lines of teeth. Jackie felt fear again at such sight… was this his end? After all the monsters and adventures, was he going to end in the stomach of a monstrosity? The thought wasn't very surprising though, he had been expecting for his end to be like this or at least something very similar since he had laid eyes upon Shendu's real form years ago.
However, something struck the creature's tentacle from afar. At first Jackie thought that it had been one of Uncle and Tohru's chi beams, but as he fell and landed in the ground, the tentacle dissolving around him, and he rushed with the use of the Rabbit Talisman to Jade's side, he found the teen looking in almost awe at the spot the bullet that had freed him had come from. Even if he had tried not to… his heart skipped a beat.
There, standing in the middle of the street, a riffle in hands and now having gained the attention of the Shoggoth… with the same black, long hair; the same tanned skin, and clad in the same dark spy-suit… was no other than Viper.
The former thief raised one hand in the distance, and without knowing of something better to say, he sprouted a sonorous yet timid "Hello."
Mexico
Padre Ramirez, a priest in his middle thirties, was a man of Christ progress and mercy; or so everyone in the little town where he presided over a church said. However, behind the holy words and the good deeds, and literally under his church, you could see the evil that populates the hearts of the holiest of men. Children were kept there, mostly working, but also as merchandise, workers for other slavers, soldiers for the criminal emperors. And there were the unlucky ones that the good priest kept to himself. While the drug cartel held control of the majority of the big businesses, it were men like this priest, men of crime that directed small organizations and that operated in small towns.
Today, however, the good priest had a lone visitor in the church; one of those lost souls that had fallen in the hands of Satan and had distanced themselves from the path of God. The priest sat in his confessionary, the only thing separating him from the sinner a thin wall full of tiny holes, ready for the priest and the sinner to talk, be heard and hear back; but not to see.
"Ave Maria Purísima." the sinner said.
"Sin pecado concevida." the priest answered.
"Forgive me father, because I've sinned." the voice didn't seem full matured yet, or at least that's how Padre Ramirez perceived it. A young man? Well, youngsters were well received in his church, but he had to admit that they weren't a frequent visitors for his faith.
"What is it, son?" the priest asked. He could dispatch this one fast and return underground, he had another set of little fruits to attend to. He resisted the urge of licking his lips. After all, what could this youngster have done? Maybe impregnate a girl as they slept for the first time? Maybe a pair of prayers, and…
"I've killed, father."
Silence reigned over the confessionary for several minutes. Then the priest tried to talk, just to gasp absurdly, and then be able to make a word leave his mouth. "That's… that's a really grave sin, son. The worst of them all, for you have taken God's blessing of life from a man against his will. What led you to do that?" Damn it all, why were all crazy bastards so adept to going to the church for pity after committing a killing? If they felt so guilty, then turn to the police, not him!
"Oh, many things, many things; Padre." the young man said. "But it wasn't just one, they were so many… very bad men, all of them."
"Did you hate them, son? Did they harm you?" Ramirez asked. He didn't like where this was going.
He could have sworn that something shifted and moved in the other side of the thin wall, and then the voice of the young man sounded different, calmer, deeper, colder, and more matured. "Hate them? No, hardly even. I didn't know of their existence until days ago. But the children know them, and the children know me. And you know something, Padre Ramirez? The children also know you."
Now Ramirez felt scared. "W-who are you?"
"Isn't it obvious?" the young man said, as a black, claw-like hand pierced through the thin wall and grabbed the priest by the neck. As if being a ragdoll, the priest was thrown out of the confessionary, shattering its wooded doors as it did so. He landed in the great hall of the church, the moon of the night making the depictions of the idols and saints in colored crystals to shine in a rather disturbing glory. From the remains of the confessionary rose the form of the hybrid that had resulted from the union of Paco and Hsi Wu, it's black, terrible, leathery yet elegant form walking slowly towards the quivering man. "I'm the Devil, and I have come for you."
"Get… Get away from me!" the fallen priest yelled cowardly. "Out of this house! Out of this house! The House of Christ! You have no place here… AGH!" the priest protested as one of the hybrid's talons stomped in his stomach and nailed its claws in it, making him growl in pain, blood starting to pour from the new, deep wounds.
"And yet, here I stand." the leathery form with bird-like features said, as he looked down and his purple painted lips curved in a cruel smile. "Do you understand what that means, Ramirez?" he raised one of his claw-like hands and pointed towards the image of Christ, hanging in the crucifix as he nailed even deeper his talon in the man's stomach. "You have lost His favor!" he exclaimed as he nailed the talon entirely and ripped away the man's intestines.
Padre Ramirez crawled away as soon as the talon was taken from him, his blood and entrails dirtying the floor as he tried to approach the great crucifix that was in presidency of the hall, fro were the image of Christ looked at all who crossed gazes with him with a saddened expression full of pity. He raised one hand in the idol's direction, as if begin for help, but no answer came. The hand fell, and the man's whole body followed. The puddle of blood under him grew, and then he gave his last breath as the Sky Devil looked satisfied from afar.
"Haha! Right out of the mind of Frank Miller! And quite an impressive display, if I must add."
Turning around calmly, the Sky Devil looked at the doors of the church, where a fat man stood still, leaning on a cane, and wearing a formal suit and a hat to accompany it. His skin was dark grey, and he lacked the right arm. "Seriously, if I had both hands you would be hearing clapping now." Joseph White commented nonchalantly as he walked towards the now dead priest, hitting his head a couple of times with the end of his cane as he reached him. "A lot of clapping"
"Who're you?" The Sky Devil asked, as he closed his arms over his chest and looked into White's direction. "Because if you are looking for a place to pray to God, I think that I just put this church out of commission."
"There is not just one God." his interlocutor remarked in an angry tone, as if the leathery aviary man had said something totally unforgivable. "And they don't look in the slightest as pathetic as that." He said again as he pointed to the crucifix.
"Who are you?" the hybrid asked once again, and this time he too used a dangerous tone, his talons scratching the floor of the church as he approached the stranger. The one-handed man regained his composure, yet the Sky Devil couldn't feel any trace of real fear from him. Interesting, he thought.
"Ah, where are my manners?" the man nailed his cane in the dead priest's body, and then extended his only arm towards the devil. "Joseph White, Director of Section 13."
Reluctantly, the Sky Devil shook the man's hand. The contact was weird even for his armored skin, as he was touching something that was both dry and soft at the same time. Such a weird feeling… the hybrid looked for any trace of chi inside the man, to find no one. Interesting had just become problematic.
Sensing his interlocutor's unease, White took back his hand. "Sorry if my presence here shocks you, but I really needed to meet with you since I learned of your... let's say peculiar way of coming into existence." White took off his hat and put it in his cane's top. "By the way, how do I exactly call you? Paco, Hsi Wu? Pasi Wuco?"
"I've yet to decide a name. Since I am both Paco and Hsi Wu at the same time it isn't very easy." The devil answered. "Why are you here? And how do you know about my existence?"
"Direct to the point, I must admit I found that pleasant." White adjusted his glasses and laughed a bit nervously. "Don't worry; I'm not here to detain you or something like that! But you see, I have been preparing a 'family reunion' for one of your siblings and... well, here are you. Since it seems I can't hope to have Hsi Wu's spirit without buying the full," he gestured towards the whole being's form, "package; I was hoping for you to hear a little proposal." White took his hat again and picked his cane from the corpse, swinging it in order to make the blood in it to drop. "And if we could do so in a…" he pointed to the corpse with the tip of his cane. "More hygienic place, it would be marvelous."
"The children are still in the workplace," the hybrid remarked.
"Do you really care?" White asked, clear that he was more intrigued by the morality and feelings of the individual in front of him than by the wellbeing of the captives.
"I'm not very sure myself," the Sky Devil remarked, taking a pair of fingers to his chin. "But the part of Paco in me cares about children and hates men like this priest, and the Hsi Wu part enjoys terrorizing and murdering people. This way of procedure seems to be the form into which satisfying them both."
"I will make sure that the children are free and in good hands by tomorrow. And what do you think about my offer of a friendly chat?" White asked again.
"You've said that you are the Director of Section 13," the hybrid said. "Which means that you are making a deal with a demon, when you clearly shouldn't. This raises a couple of questions, while the feeling I can sense from you... just to be sure."
"Just to be sure, what?" White asked, just for the hybrid to launch one of his claws at him, grabbing the Director by the neck and holding him up. White raised his cane towards the Sky Devil in response, the stick lighting up in bluish and strange runes. From the end of the cane shot then something akin to a blue lightning, hitting the hybrid in his chest and sending him across the church's hall. He rose to his talons and blasted a beam of dark chi towards the director, who raised his cane and cut through the blast with it using a descending blow, blue energy sparkling from the runes as the dark blast was reduced to nothing.
"That didn't look like chi magic," the Sky Devil remarked. In fact, it hadn't look as anything he had seen in the millennia of existence that Hsi Wu had.
"Of course not," White answered, a bit enraged. "And if you think of that potion boiling discipline as the only form of sorcery in this planet, then you have still a lot to learn."
"Well, in the Netherworld they always said I was a bit reckless and childlike," the hybrid answered. "And my human part is still a teen. So please, enlighten me!" He yelled as he took flight and charging against White, who this time pointed his cane to the ground and made it fall solemnly. The runes of the cane moved from it to the ground and formed a circle around White, creating a bluish barrier that shielded the man as the Sky Devil reached him, making the shield get the attack that otherwise would have butchered him.
White stood at the other side while the hybrid patted the energy wall and inspected the runes. "Eastern, western or both... these are not runes in any human language, neither is this magic that comes from Earth. So tell me, Mr. Director; who are you?"
White cracked his neck, the eyes looking full of inhuman fury. "The Organizer."
"Organizer of what?"
White took something out of his pocket and threw it at him. Apparently, the barrier only worked into one direction. The Sky Devil caught it into one of his claw-like hands, looking at it curiously. It looked like a cube, if the cube had other one inside and the two of them were rotating over themselves continuously.
"That; is a Tesseract. It may provide an answer to you." White said, while the cubical tool started to project a hologram in which various images started to appear. As minutes passed and the images changed, the expression of the hybrid did too, from one of confidence to one of concern, and then interest. "I have to understand that none of my brethren know about this, right?" the Sky Devil asked.
Meanwhile, White's face had become adorned with a happy yet disturbing grin, clearly giving him an affirmative answer to his question. "So, do we have a deal?"
"Deal," the Sky Devil answered. Or at least until I found a more suitable option, you manipulator; the hybrid thought to himself. "You can tell my siblings that they can count on me and my presence, and I will play along with your game, but if this goes wrong…"
"It won't. It can't." White remarked.
"And if Jackie and the others interfere?" the hybrid asked.
"When they interfere," White corrected, knowing perfectly how that family and the architect individually had such an aptitude to get in the center of all the big things. "It will be too late. In fact, they are going to be of great help, they already have." White hit the circle of runes with his cane and the energy shield disappeared, the runes returning to the cane. "And if they want to do something against my little plan, don't worry."
"I already have someone inside their little troupe…"
San Francisco
The sun was gone now from the skies of San Francisco. The Shoggoth's body, however, was enough to illuminate the street, as if the creature's flesh possessed light of its own. The mix of amber and purple that the monster produced casted an eerie pale light over all the presents, an effect that was mostly
Viper recharged her riffle as fast as she could; shooting another bullet towards the Shoggoth, this one impacting in one of its eyes and making it explode. The creature was quick to launch a tentacle towards the former thief, while Viper discarded her weapon as she saw that it was going to do little than slow her now. The tentacle smashed the ground as the former spy dodged, only for a blur to grab her and take her to the same spot where Jade was. There, a little dizzy, Viper trembled a little before controlling herself. The blur became Jackie just at her side, but before the archeologist could say something, Jade threw herself in the other woman's arms.
"Viper!" Jade shouted in joy. "What're you doing here?! When did you come to town?! Oh my God, you saving Jackie was so awesome!"
"Jade, I'm glad to see you, but..." Viper struggled a little between the teens arms. "I need to breathe..."
"Oh, yeah, sure! Sorry, hehe..." Jade remarked as she broke the hug. Viper, meanwhile, looked at Jade from head to toe taking in full the teenager that was in front of her.
"You're almost as big as me." Viper remarked in a warming voice, which made Jade smile. However, the mood of the situation was more or less ruined when the woman focused in Jackie instead of Jade.
"Hey," Viper greeted in a cold and awkward manner, taking her gaze from Jackie as soon as she could.
"What are you doing here?" was Jackie's retort. Of course he would answer like that...
"Saving your life." the former thief replied harshly.
"By appearing out of nowhere with a gun?" Jackie replied. "Quite convenient..."
"Well, if you want to play the food part of the 'free buffet' with whatever that is again...!" Viper replied pointing to the still unformed creature, but before she could continue Jade put both arms between the adults, separating them and putting a halt to the conversation.
"Okay! Can we please put the drama aside until we've dealt with the big bad monster that it's trying to eat us?!" Jade yelled, making the pair to end their rant.
"I think I can take care of that issue."
Jackie, Jade and Viper watched just to see a redhead woman approaching the creature.
"Who's that?" asked one of the policemen. "I thought we evacuated all the civilians."
"Isn't that..." Jackie started
"Po Kong!" Jade ended for him.
"There, there; you sniveling being; you voracious and mighty monster!" the mountain demon spoke trying to gain the monster's attention. The Shoggoth, looking at Po Kong and seeing nothing more than another body from which feed, started to approach her, gripping her borrowed body with a tentacle. The creature raised the Mountain Demon in the air and opened its mouth to consume her.
"There! Consume, eat, digest!" Po Kong yelled as she was already inside the monster's mouth and she was being reduced to pieces. It's all I need to take control of you.
Inside the Shoggoth's mind
What is that? A sound? A voice? A visitor? New prey, new food, new memories… No, wait. It's different this time…
Po Kong flew in her spirit form in the vast collection of chaotic memories that the mind of the Shoggoth was. The colors twirled and danced without any logical order or any sense of up and down, right or left; near or far. Po Kong found herself trying to cope with the incoming and apparently endless stream of images and memories, her spiritual form struggled, fighting back the most troublesome memories and psyches, and destroying or eating the weakest ones, Po Kong wanted for the main course to arrive.
The psyche, the mind itself of the Shoggoth raised then in front of the astral Mountain Demon; alarmed by the fact that it had added biomass to its being; but the mind that had come with the consumption of another body. In front of the Mountain Demon was a unformed mass of purple energy, a quartet of eyed looking at the spiritual form of the demon
Uhm! Po Kong grunted in confidence. You aren't as impressive in mind as you are in body, creature! And I'm an expert into controlling and possessing minds; it won't be long before your body is mine!
And as the two beings' minds collided and struggled to gain or maintain control of the body, the one corresponding to Niles Valmont looked from afar, safe. And for the first time in years, he felt a familiar thought coming onto him. The thought of getting the best of a situation with two other parts involved…
San Francisco
"What just happened?!"
Jade's question was shared by the majority of the presents. After Po Kong's human host had been eaten by the creature, everyone had thought that it would then change its attention to them, but then the creature just screamed in pain. Not in anger, not in order to instigate terror, but out of pain. The Shoggoth crumbled again to a puddle of slime, nothing there except for the floating eyes and organs.
Jackie and the others remained where they were, expecting for the monster to rise once again, but after waiting for more than ten minutes, nothing happened. Jackie, Jade and Viper approached the puddle of amber-purple tone.
"Do you think that Po Kong killed it with indigestion?" Jade asked; to which neither Jackie nor Viper were able to answer.
Tohru and Uncle arrived shortly afterwards, the big sumo carrying the old man over his shoulders. "Jackieee!" the elder shrieked. "Where's creature? Did you defeat it?! One more thing! Why is thief here?!"
Viper closed her arms and looked at Uncle, albeit unable to hide a little smirk. "After all these years, you know I'm not a thief anymore, and that I have a name, old man."
"Viper, it's nice to see you again." Tohru greeted politely. "When did you get in San Francisco?"
"Days ago, I had to… done something in the city. I heard commotion in the streets from my hotel, and came to see what was going on." Viper explained. "Saving some ungrateful life in the process."
Jackie mumbled something between his teeth. "The creature ate Po Kong and then crumbled into … this." he said pointing to the amount of no-slime. "I don't know what exactly… Ow!"
Uncle had dope slapped him again. After all those years, Jackie had thought that he would have grown accustomed to it, but he couldn't. "Nephew let creature to consume Mountain Demon?! Foolish!" Uncle inspected the not-slime, and just in case, he took a bit of it and put it in a little jar. "Creature seems energetic enough to keep fighting… the only explanation is that Po Kong has spiritually invaded the mind of the creature in order to seize control over it." Uncle pointed to Tohru. "Quick! We must exorcise Mountain Demon before she gains control over creature! Who knows what kind of monster could result of that union…" Uncle looked at the trio and the policemen around. "What are you looking at?! Give Uncle and Tohru space in order to work chi spell!"
The policemen started to move around the place, some of them going in the stations direction in order to help with the evacuations of the zone. Viper, Jackie and Jade maintained themselves apart from the two working wizards; the two adults leaning against a wall and the teen sat in the ground, legs crossed.
"What kind of 'something' did you have to do in the city?" Jackie asked.
"None of your business." Viper answered.
For God's sake, you two had a thing, it didn't work, get over it; Jade thought, but she opted to not open her mouth.
The Shoggoth's mind
Why aren't you dying?!
Shoggoth serve no one!
I heard that the other seventeen times you said it!
In no other moment of his life had Niles Valmont wished more for a bowl full of popcorn in order to get something to the mouth meanwhile he enjoyed a good show. Did he still have a mouth? He doubted it. Po Kong and the Shoggoth had got tangled in a battle of wills, and each time it looked like one was going to win, the other counterattacked. The Shoggoth didn't seem familiar with the tricks of the Demon Sorceress, and the Mountain Demon didn't seem familiar with how the monster's mind worked exactly, so taking control immediately wasn't an option. The two forces were fighting what seemed to evolve into an endless battle, tiring each other to no avail. That played well with Valmont's wishes. So he waited, patient, as the two forces fought and decreased in both power and resilience; until chains of green energy appeared after, enveloping Po Kong and pulling her out of the battlefield. Valmont tried to smile with his non-existent lips. Right in schedule, Chan.
What?! No! Po Kong said as she was dragged from the Shoggoth's mindscape. No! I don't want to go back! There is still so much to eaaaaat!
Po Kong was successfully exorcised from the insides of the Shoggoth. After the battle had ended by disqualification, Valmont approached the mind that belonged to the beast. It had ended in a terrible estate, and even if the monster was holding its own against Po Kong, now it was clear to Valmont that if a new battle had to begin, the Shoggoth would be the one to lose.
She really did a number on you. Valmont remarked friendly. The Shoggoth didn't answer, just eyeing Valmont's spiritual form as if it was nothing but an inconvenience. Yet the beast knew that it wasn't, it knew what was coming.
Can you understand me? Did any of your kind ever consider the possibility of having to understand us? I just want to thank you, really; even if you can't get anything I say. You reminded me for what I started fighting, for what I started to struggle. And I must thank you. You know, I think of it as kind of funny, the only being that I truly thank in all my life and it's a monstrosity like you. But you reminded me of something with your words, with your memories… Niles Valmont serves no one either.
At those words, Valmont's mental form attacked the one of the Shoggoth, ripping it and destroying it forever. The mighty creature in search for its freedom met them its end, at the hands of a fellow slave. Valmont then made the memories around him to stop circling and dancing, making them to follow a pattern this time. Taking control little by little, Valmont regained a confidence he had thought long gone.
Attention everyone! Under new management!
San Francisco
Tohru held a fuming box, now containing the spirit of Po Kong. Uncle was looking at the puddle of slime with suspicious eyes, even after getting the Mountain Demon out of it. Exorcising the demon only meant that half of the problem was solved, and he was worried that at any second, the creature was going to reform itself and resume its attack over his family. But that situation didn't come, the puddle remaining where it was, as nothing but a puddle.
"Did we win?" Jade asked as she got near the puddle, pocking at it with a stick.
"I don't know." Uncle answered. "I haven't seen nothing akin to this creature in all my years of study. Tohru, does Japanese folklore have something like this?"
"There is no Yōkai that look like this, sensei." Tohru replied.
"Shendu called it Shoggoth." Jackie said, and the other men fell silent. "Apparently there is more than just one."
"Dos nephew believe into words of fire Demon?" Uncle asked slowly. "Shendu would say anything in order to gain anything in his favor… yet if there was no love lost between him and his own family, how could it be between him and a being like this?" Uncle took a finger to his chin. "This 'Shoggoth' could be an enemy of Shendu and his kind, a competitor for domination over Earth."
"Mr. Swallow seemed more interested into eating us all than to control us." Jade complained over the elder's explanation.
"Mr. Swallow?" Viper asked with a grin.
"Hey, I need to get tension out of this situation." Jade explained.
"Shendu talked about masters that this one apparently serves." Jackie explained.
Uncle sighed and rubbed his temples. "Ah… we may need to… to…" Uncle made a great effort to say what he was thinking, "accept Shendu's offer of collaboration. Even if he will try to betray us."
"Well, I think I already did that." Jackie admitted, earning himself another dope slap.
"And nephew was foolish for doing so!" Uncle explained. "Demon Sorcerers bad and deceptive even for demonic standards!"
Jackie was going to point out the fact that Uncle had admitted that making a deal with Shendu was necessary just now, when suddenly the puddle trembled and started to reform. Every present fell in a combat position, Jackie ready to use his super speed once again in order to lift the creature from the ground and make it fall again, but instead of attacking or taking into its former form, the puddle started to concentrate and compress itself in one point, taking into a smaller, yet more understandable form.
Guards and blowfishes were held down as soon as the being in front of them took a humanoid shape, albeit still of amber-purplish slime. The being looked at his now humanoid hands and the organs and extra-eyes that it had now, and clenching his fist, the humanoid figure made the excess of stomachs, hearts, lungs, and eyes to dissolve, letting only the number of organs necessary for a human being. The excess of biomass was then derivated to the production of skin and the muscles, giving the newcomer a human appearance. And now the shape in front of them was recognizable, understandable, familiar.
"Valmont?!" Jackie asked in puzzled unbelief.
"Hello, Chan." The newly born Valmont said as he stretched his limbs, adjusting to the feeling of having a body again. Then he looked down and seeing that he was naked, he smiled awkwardly. "I suppose asking for clothes would be a bit too much, right?"
"How did you do that?!" Jackie asked as he readied his guard.
"Should I answer?" the former crime lord asked, tickling an eyebrow. "It has been a really… confusing experience, you know? Losing my body, then almost losing myself…"
"Be ready, creature could be trying to fool us!" Uncle exclaimed, paying no attention to Valmont's words.
"The Shoggoth is gone, I assure you." Valmont raised one hand and quickly transformed it into one of the monster's slimy and purple tentacles. "Its strength is mine to do as I please now." he proclaimed as his hand shaped itself back to normal. "Now, if you aren't going to really give me new clothing…"
"Here is your clothing!" Jade said as he tossed a pair of pants she had apparently gotten from some policemen as the others talked. "Now please, cover that!"
"Thank you," Valmont said as he covered his modesty. "Now, I will take my leave, and…" Valmont started to say as he walked towards the station, just for Jackie to appear in front of him thanks to the power inherited from the Rabbit Talisman.
"If you think I'm going to let you of all people leave this place as if nothing had happened…" Jackie started to say, but then Valmont raised a finger in front of the archeologist's face, silencing him.
"But, my old friend Chan; I think you will." Valmont remarked smugly. "Look around you; wouldn't you be better if you helped the people that the Shoggoth harmed instead of fighting me and risking more lives? Even if I like my former human form, I still posses all the strengths and abilities of my former consumer. And we both know that the only way you could defeat me would be by harming me enough times so my regeneration couldn't save my life anymore." Valmont's smile widened. "So, let's make a deal here. If you let me go now, I'll never molest you or any of your relatives again, and I will limit me to eat only rats and other small animals of the tunnels and sewers. But if you insist in confronting me, I will fight to my last breath, although I doubt I need to breathe anymore. I haven't escaped the mind of that monstrosity just to spend the rest of my life, which I doubt of being able of naturally ending now, in a cell. So, what are you going to do, hero?"
Jackie looked at Valmont, his eyes narrowed in anger and frustration. This reminded him of the situation that had transpired the first time they had me, when Valmont had poisoned him with something that somehow, had rendered him a statue. This was a situation that only favored the pale blond man, with no other option available. Reluctantly, and clearly against his will, Jackie stepped aside and let Valmont walk.
"Thank you." the former crime lord said.
"Aiyah! What is nephew thinking?!" Jackie heard the voice of Uncle shrieking with disapproval. "We must not let evil British to escape with powers of mighty creature!"
"Uncle," Jackie addressed as he contained the incoming old man, stopping him from pursuing Valmont. "Uncle, he is right, we should focus in helping the people that had survived and that are wounded. Look, even Tohru, who despises Valmont, is containing himself. This battle ends in a draw."
Little by little, Uncle calmed down and stopped struggling to get at Valmont with his blowfish in hand. "Uncle doesn't like this. Valmont could be now heading to creature's masters in order to make a deal with them."
"Shoggoths serve no one, and neither do I," came Valmont's voice, who had turned to face the Chans once again. "I had spent too much time in the service of others, when I swore decades ago that I would only serve myself. But, if you need something more… Do you know with what have you been fighting? What almost destroyed you all? A dog, old man; nothing but a dog. Now, think for a moment, what kind of owners a dog like that has? And what kind of bosses those owners serve?" Valmont's gaze brightened in purple for a second. "Tell me Chan, what kind of Gods do you think they have? Focus in the war that it's coming, and leave me alone."
"Wait, what does that mean?" Jackie asked, but he found no answer, as Valmont had started to walk away again. "Valmont! What does that mean?!" and yet, no answer came as the former leader of the disbanded Dark Hand faded away, in the shadows of the night.
Two days passed with nothing remarkable to say except for the time the Chan family spent in the hospital. Not for any of them, of course, as the only wounds they had suffered had been minimal, with only Jackie needing to be bandaged in the ribs needed to be treated. The Chan Clan had, once again, survived a battle against a monster out of the cruelest of nightmares with no casualties.
The same couldn't be said about the people and the agents that had perished in the fight against the Shoggoth, or Captain Black's arm. After Valmont had disappeared, Finn had appeared moments later, running down the street and asking for medical help and an ambulance, and also quite confused about the 'half-naked Big V' he had just crossed. Vanessa had done everything in hand, but apparently the wound had been too grave, and the dirt of the station hadn't really helped that. At least she had stopped the bleeding from extending much, and Jackie was glad for that.
And yet, Captain Black had lost his left arm.
For entire hours Jackie had remained in his seat at the side of the bald man's bed; his eyes unable to leave the stump that had been left in exchange of the missing arm. People entered and left the room from time to time, from nurses, to doctors, and also various members of Section 13's staff, including Jade, who went in and out more so she could check in Jackie than in Black. The majority of them thanked the archeologist for being there, for having saved his and so many other lives.
And yet, Captain Black had lost his left arm.
After the first day after the operation, the sedatives and the fatigue wore off enough so Black could speak and at least drink and eat for himself. Jackie was there when the bald man woke up, even after how much Uncle and Tohru had insisted that the archeologist needed to rest too. The only one that had remained at his side without complaining or pleading for him to leave had been Jade.
"Uhm… Hello Jackie; hello Jade" Black greeted as he woke up from his slumber. He incorporated slowly and looked at his left side. "Ah… yes, I remember."
"Don't worry," Jade spoke. "I talked with Kepler, and he'll give you the most awesome and full of hidden weapons robotic arm he can make."
The two of them kept talking like that for hours until Black was forced by the nurses to sleep again; while Jackie just stared at how incredibly calmed Black was about what had happened to him. Jackie sighed and decided it was time to go home, in order to sleep. He wondered for a moment if Shendu would assault his dreams yet again, but he didn't paid mind to it. They had won, albeit by the split of a nail but they had won.
And yet, Captain Black had lost his left arm.
"Well, look at the bright side; now I can give you the number of pretty reasonable tailors!" Director White exclaimed as he visited Black in his room almost an entire day after Jackie had left. "Albeit mine are specialists in creating left-handed clothing, while yours should be right-handed. Maybe we could wear a giant jacket between the two!"
"Haha, very funny Joseph," Black deadpanned. "How are things going? Did the Chans get rid of the demon?"
"Po Kong is sealed with her siblings, yes." White answered. "And Mr. Fisher has been also successfully exorcised and send back home with a little compensation and a letter explaining a believable excuse for his absence from his job. I don't know exactly how we will handle the issue of Valmont being on the loose once again, or how our peers of the Compound are going to react, but we will think of something once you are out of here. Seriously Augustus, you know I can handle the fort, relax a little. I talk from my own experience, losing an arm can be pretty shocking." White looked at his sides and pulled something out of his jacket. "Here, I sneaked a chocolate bar inside this little Stalinist fortress." he said giving Black the sweet.
"Good grief, Joseph." Black said, albeit he took the chocolate. "Thank you…" he whispered as he put it under his pillow.
White laughed. "Well, if that's all you need, I will take my leave now."
"Wait, Joseph, I need to ask you a favor." Black stated, stopping the Director in his tracks.
"Oh? I'm not going to bring you cake or something, this has a limit." White cracked a joke as he moved his only index finger in front of Black's face as if he was an overprotective grandmother.
"No, no," Black said as he chuckled, but then he regained a more serious expression. "I need you to hold one of your sessions with Jackie."
White raised one of his eyebrows. "PTSD?"
"No, if that was the case Jackie could have never been apt for this job." Black stated. "I think he's just blaming himself, for this." the Captain explained as he pointed to his missing arm.
White nodded understandably. "I will see to it. Be sure to rest until you come back to the fort, Captain."
"Thank you for your efforts, Director." Black thanked as White exited the room and closed the door behind him.
There, in the hospital's hall, White made a sign to one lonely figure in order to follow him. The two of them entered an elevator and headed upwards.
"How's he doing?" Viper, now clad into a long pinkish dress asked of the Director.
"As tough as ever." White answered. "Do the Chans know of your reasons for appearing?"
"Jackie is suspicious." Viper answered. "But he can't put the pieces together, not yet. He will just let it pass with my explanation; I doubt that he really wants to speak with me in deep. Was that really necessary for me to follow them like that?"
"Miss Viper," the Director said. "That family has been a great asset against the 'Forces of Darkness' during these years; but no one is infallible, and that means there will come a time in which they won't be able to be at the right place in the right time, cope with what they are facing, that they will fail or, let's not want it, turn to the wrong side." White explained as the elevator stopped at the hospital's last floor, the door opened and held like that by the fat man's only arm as Viper exited it. "That's the reason I have you in my contact list, even if you refuse a fully operational position in the organization I direct. It's necessary to compartmentalize in order to attain the best results. That's the reason a secret 'Ace in the sleeve' is needed in these situations. And you are Section 13's, as long as I pay you, it seems." White pointed to the left part of the hall. "The fourth door on that side, as I promised the best I could find and the money could provide."
The door of the elevator closed and Viper headed towards the door White had pointed to. Entering it slowly and making as less noise she could, Viper closed the door. She was in a dark room now, windows closed so not much light could peer in. In the center of the room, was a lonely bed, and over it, connected to too much tubes and machines to be numbered, a mask that provided breathing; was a woman in his mid seventies, no hair in her head, and wrinkles adorning her face. She was sleeping, or more precisely, in a coma.
Viper took a seat at the bed's side and, careful to not meddle with the tubes connected to her, she took her hand. "Hey mom," Viper addressed the woman. "I hope your little trip from home to here was comfortable." Viper looked at the machines around her, beeping and giving data about how the woman's vitals were doing. "This place looks better to attend to you until I can find someone that can make a cure." Viper stood up and, carefully, planted a kiss over the sleeping woman forehead. "I know we had our differences, a lot of them in fact; and I know I really shouldn't have disappeared in thin air that day, but… I will compensate you, I will, I promise. I know you wouldn't be okay with me returning to steal things, and frankly I promised a girl I care a lot about not to do that anymore. You will like her, she's incredibly energetic, reminds me of dad sometimes. Just… just don't walk to any lights at the end of any tunnel until you woke up again. I will be back tomorrow; I have things to do at work now, mom. Good bye."
Viper exited the room as quietly as she had entered; leaving her mother with only the beeping of the machines to kept her in company. Instead of taking the elevator the former burglar took the stairs and headed down, walking slowly as she thought about her current situation. When White had appeared with the offering of a job in exchange of payment and treatment to her mother, Viper had been suspicious of the guy, mainly because he looked anything but normal. He had agreed to not put her in his list of operatives, but kept her in touch and doing things under the radar just in case. There was something she didn't like about that man, but Viper played along, even when he told her not to interfere even if Po Kong harmed innocents. And now she was going to keep spying on Jackie, of all people.
She supposed she was being a bit egoistic there, but she didn't repent for it, not until her mother was walking and breathing in her own again. In that moment, the relation with Section 13 would break, and she would just grab her money and retire into some place in Italy. No, not Italy, you hate Italy, remember? That's where he broke up with you; she reminded herself. Viper sighed as she reached the principal floor and exited to the streets of San Francisco. So what if she was fighting for her own gain, what if she was hiding information from Jade, what if she was being egoistic? His father used to have a saying for this kind of situations.
"Listen now mockingbird, in this life you only have two things that really mater, and those are you and your code. Don't break the later, and fight for the wellbeing of the former. Don't trust more people than the ones you can count with the fingers of your hands. Because in this world we live in, in the end nobody serves no one but himself."
Author Notes: Whoah! That was a really complicated chapter to write, if I must be sincere. Mainly action for all you, but also some answers, and new questions (what a surprise!). Now to answer a couple of issues:
To my usual Guest Reviewer Matt, thank you for your words at last chapter, and note that I actually made a shout out to the name you provided for the fusion between Paco and Hsi Wu, albeit that's not going to be the name he's going to have (I have yet to decide it). As for Viper's location, well, here she is; and the other characters you mentioned will end up showing as the story progresses, don't worry.
Now, about the crossover with WITCH, there is where I wish you have an account in Fanfiction so we could PM. I was actually planning a crossover between the two series once, as I also like them both and for some reason they actually could work pretty well with each other. But for diverse reasons, I was unable to really put it together in a satisfactory manner, or create a plot that I liked or found consistent, and in the end I found myself writing this story instead, not that I won't get back to it in another moment, though. Some of the ideas I worked there can be found here, for example, the character of Joseph White was designed for and was going to be a villain also in that story, albeit he was going to be completely human there, which in here, he's clearly not. Also, what happens in this story's first chapter with the Demon Sorcerers and Hastur in the Netherworld is very similar to a scene I devised to kick-start the plot in the script for the other one. I hope these answers are satisfactory.
Back to this story, this chapter more or less concludes the opening arc for this fic, as next chapter will be the aftermath of this one and the opening of the next, and then we will head onto the Massachusetts Arc. Thank you all for reading, and leave a review in order to give me your impressions in this chapter.
Bye, bye!
