So I started this chapter last night and ended up finishing it today. Did not expect that! XD

Mala inhaled deeply as she focused in again on her crystal ball. She kept the blinds closed and the lights switched off so as to help her concentrate better. She couldn't afford a tiny distraction messing her up. With all the distractions courtesy of the Shadow Legion recently, Mala hadn't clocked in any time with practicing her crystallomancy. She knew the basics already, but was still having difficulty making accurate predictions of the future. For instance, last week she predicted it would be sunny all day, but instead it ended up pouring rain from sunrise to sunset. But tonight… tonight her practice took an unsuspecting turn.

"Ngh… no! Not again!" she shouted in frustration. The crystal ball dropped from its place hovering over her lap and rolling away. "This can't be…" she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears as she dug her fingers into her hair.

Was this what it felt like? Was this how Lang Yan felt when she saw the death of her own daughter? Seeing nothing but that and no matter what she tried, no matter how hard she tried to change the situation in her vision with the smallest detail, what she saw remained unchanged? Mala couldn't even begin to imagine the helplessness and gut-wrenching heartache her mother must have felt when this happened to her. She could feel her own heart breaking in two at having to watch this scene over and over again with none of the changes she tried implementing altering anything.

Was this what it was like to see someone you care about die?

"Maybe one more try," she said, reaching for the crystal ball once more and hovering it over her lap. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, trying to focus all of her concentration one what she desperately hoped would be the correct vision of the future.

It started out the same: the city she and her friends called home and protected covered in a blanket of darkness and shadows. The sky was covered in thick clouds, blocking out any sunlight as black and purple demons with bright red eyes raced through the streets. People ran, screaming in terror and fright, as the demons wreaked havoc on the city around them. She stood in the center of the chaos with her friends, battling the demons and trying to minimize the damage and casualties as best they could. But when they reached the center of the city, it was shrouded by a black dome. They couldn't see anything within it and none of them could enter. Well, none except for Linos. Somehow, he was able to pass through into this dome. Like in her previous visions, she and her friends tried to dissuade him from entering, listing all the dangers he could face if he did and that it would be foolish of him to go in alone. Getting him alone was what he wanted. But Linos didn't care. They tried to stop him by force, unwilling to let their friend face what was ahead alone, but Linos disappeared into the shadows as its magic prevented any of them from entering. The beat on the dome with their hands, trying to break through any way they could, but it was useless.

Mala tried focusing in on what was happening within the dome of shadows, but she couldn't get a clear imagine, even on this attempt! All she caught were two voices, shouting at each other, like they were arguing. Both male, one was Linos', and both very angry. She only caught bits and pieces, but some sentences she could make out.

"What have you done to her?" cried the first voice. That was Linos.

"I saved her! Freed her from your parasitic influence!" shouted the second. "She was my beautiful Demon Siren and then you changed her! But now, now she has never been more beautiful!" the voice added with a psychotic and maniacal laughter.

"You… you vile bastard... I'll kill you!" the first voice cried again, this time shouting angrily, almost roaring like an animal.

Figures were moving back and forth, most likely fighting, but the image was too dark and blurry for her to really see. But then, like every time this night, the image suddenly cleared up: A single arrow plunged right into Linos' chest. It was a direct hit on his heart and she could see the life drain from his eyes as the shadows enveloped him, leaving only darkness.

"No!" Mala cried again, the vision breaking and her crystal ball falling to the floor and rolling away. It was the same, once again. She buried her face into her hands as the tears came flooding out. "What do I do mom? How can I change this?" she tearfully whimpered as her arms muffled most of her words. She knew her mother's spirit was still around… somewhere. She hadn't seen it since the Arctic and maybe, just maybe if she called out to it, her mother's spirit would appear and give her some advice. But now spirit wolf appeared...

What did Lang Yan do to prevent Mala's death? Right… she substituted her own life in Mala's place. Lang Yan technically didn't change the events, at least not entirely. Someone still died. Sure, Lang Yan is technically still alive, but Linos was still considered young by demon standards. Could he manifest an astral form separate from his physical body? Or could he even maintain that form in the event of his physical body's death? And even if he could, it would take them a long time to prepare a resurrection spell. There was no telling how long Linos would be able to maintain his astral form with no physical anchor. If he couldn't hold on long enough, he'd fade away and then there would be no chance for resurrection. And that shadow dome would prove to be a problem too. Linos was the only one who could enter it, so there was no way to substitute someone else to die in his place.

She can't alter the future; she can't save him. She tried to think of every way around it, but nothing came to mind.

"Linos is going to die," she tearfully whispered.

With her reinstatement as a Commander, Hou Yi felt like she was on top of the world, especially with that meddlesome Jun Bing out of the way. Those troublesome children must have dealt with him by now! It was easy to leave that annoyance behind in the human world. She didn't hesitate for a second!

But there was one thought still prevalent on her mind. Linos had been in the human world for several years now and he had clearly developed a close… fondness with his human companions. In particular, that human girl with the red hair and spots on her face. Hou Yi had caught the swift glances the two exchanged, usually when one of them wasn't looking at the other. She recognized the look in their eyes: longingness. She would never admit this to any of the others, but that was the way she would look at Tso Lan before he even knew she existed.

Their eyes were filled with longing and desire, like there was an unspoken attraction between the two that was… unspoken. So, both had feelings for the other but neither had the courage to admit anything. Hou Yi grinned maliciously as she realized what it meant. Linos had an attraction for that human girl! This couldn't have been more perfect than Hou Yi planned! She could exploit this weakness! She approached Tzan Ren with some lie about scoping out the city and spying on his son. It was convincing enough to get him to open a shadow portal to the human world. She only brought An Gou with her; she needed stealth and speed, not power, which Tzan Ren seemed to agree with.

"You remember her scent? The human girl, not the half-breed?" she asked An, who nodded. "Good, find her for me." She followed An as the demon hound tracked Mavis' scent through the city. It was difficult at first since the city was filled with so many different scents overpowering each other, but An was eventually able to single out Mavis' and track her to her home. "So, the others are not here. Perfect," she grinned. She didn't need any more complications in the form of Linos and his other friends. She wanted the human girl all to herself. Hurting her would be the most effective way to hurt Linos and she joyfully imagined the look on his face when he'd find her after Hou Yi was finished.

Inside, Mavis made her way into the kitchen where her two brothers, Finn and Sean, were sitting at the table eating breakfast. "What are you doing up to early?" Finn asked.

"Oh, Liam, Damon and Remy are finally getting those motorcycles they've been saving up for so they're gonna give us a test drive. Relax, I'm just going to be riding on the back and I will be wearing a helmet," she quickly added when she noticed her older brother preparing to interrupt her.

"Good," he said. "How'd they manage to afford them so soon?"

"Well they've been helping Arran set up his store nearly every day. Plus he gave them a little bonus as a bit of a thank you," she explained, pouring cereal into her bowl. A few pieces didn't land in the bowl and bounced off the counter onto the floor. "Opps." Mavis bent down to pick up the stray pieces and throw them out when all of a sudden, the glass of the window in front of her smashed as an arrow flew in and struck the cabinets right behind Mavis. All three Callahans froze staring at the arrow and then the broken window wide-eyed as Mavis slowly rose from the ground. "Shit shit shit! Run!" Mavis shouted, abandoning her cereal and running over to her brothers. She grabbed them each by their wrists and pulled them away from the table just as Hou Yi burst through the window, destroying the rest of the glass and the frame as well.

"You won't get away!" Hou Yi shouted.

"Mavis! What's going on?" Finn shouted, frantically looking behind them as the demonic hooded archer chased after them.

"Run now, explain later!" Mavis shouted back, pulling her brothers out the door to the driveway. "Car, now!" Mavis had to practically shove a shock stricken Finn into the driver's seat while she jumped into the passenger side with Sean in her lap. She quickly looked behind them to see Hou Yi coming out the front door after them, only to step on the leftover skateboard on the front deck and trip. "DRIVE!"

Finn didn't argue or protest this time as he started the engine and drove out into the street. "Mavis! What is going on? Who is that woman and why is she attacking us? And why does she have purple skin and red eyes?" Finn shouted.

"Uh, ok, cards on the table! I haven't exactly been honest with you and mom and dad about my… 'extracurricular activities'," she laughed nervously. They heard the glass of the back window shattering as Hou Yi tried firing at them again, taking out Finn's driver side mirror in the process.

"Who is this freak and why is she trying to kill us?" Finn shouted again.

"Her name is Hou Yi and she's one of the Commanders of the Shadow Legion!" Mavis answered.

"And who are they?" Finn shouted.

"Heads up!" Sean cried, pointing to the large, red-eyed, six-legged brown beast leapt onto the hood of the car. Mavis instantly recognized it as An from her smaller frame and red markings.

"What the hell is that thing?" Finn cried, instinctively stomping on the breaks. An nearly slid off the hood of the car, but dug her nails into the metal to keep herself in place.

"Don't stop! Why are you stopping? Drive!"

"Ah!" Finn honestly didn't know what he was doing or what he should do so he just followed Mavis' order and pressed down on the gas. The streets were fairly empty - thank god - with only a few cars present that Finn easily cut around, earning several honks and angry yells along the way. "Uh, what about this thing and the creepy arrow lady!"

"Leave that to me," Mavis said. She scooched over so that Sean could sit down and pushed open the sunroof of the car.

"What are you doing?" Finn cried with wide eyes.

"Hey, you drive!" she said, shooting her brother a serious glare before standing up through the sunroof. She took the Wolf Coin in hand and fired a blast of ice just as An opened her mouth, freezing her jaw and neck as well as knocking her off the hood. Mavis quickly turned around and used the Tortoise Coin to bring up a shield just as Hou Yi, who was coming up behind them in a swirl of black wind, fired another trio of arrows at the car. "Ok, where was I?" she asked, sitting back down next to Sean in the single seat. "Right, uh Shadow Legion. Well, simply put, they are an army of demons from the Demon Netherworld and they're run by Liam's dad."

"Liam?"

"Oh, right and his name is actually Linos!"

"Linos?"

"Yeah, Damon and Mala are half-demons, Remy's a demon slayer and all of us - including Tim - have been fighting demons for nearly the past year!"

"WHAT?"

"Hey, hey, focus on the road! Take the highway!" Finn did as she suggested, or rather ordered, while Mavis pulled out her phone. "Yeah hi, so funny story, me and my brothers are kinda being attacked by Hou Yi right now. Good question, what do I mean when I say kinda? Well, to clarify, she is firing arrows at me and my brothers while we're in a car chase! Yeah, some assistance would be nice, post haste!" she put her phone down and turned back to her brother who was still in the process of freaking out. "Don't worry, they're on their way. We've done this kind of thing before."

"You've been in a car chase while on the run from a murderous psychopath?" Finn shouted.

"Well not this exact scenario, but stuff similar to it!"

Suddenly, Hou Yi dashed ahead with her wind powers and landed on the back of the car. "You won't get away from me this time!" she shouted, drawing back her bow. High in the sky, a large winged shadow hovered over the light of the sun. The shadow descended and landed roughly on Hou Yi, pinning her to the car, which nearly swerved out of control from the impact.

"Linos!" Mavis cried happily.

"That's Liam?" Finn shouted with wide eyes and his jaw dropped.

"You guys ok?" Linos shouted.

"We're fine!" Mavis answered.

"Fine? Fine? We're being chased by a crazy demon on a highway and you think we're fine?" Finn shouted.

"Hey! We do not have time for you to freak out right now! Get your shit together!" Mavis shouted, grabbing Finn's collar and shaking him roughly.

"Good! I'll deal with you," Linos whispered maliciously. He wrapped his arms around Hou Yi and spread his wings wide, allowing the wind to fill them up and lift him off the car. Hou Yi struggled against his grip and the pair landed on top of a large semi. With his back facing the wind, Linos folded in his wings so he wouldn't get blown away. "Attack my friend and her family? I'll make you sorry you ever stepped foot into this world!" Linos shouted.

"I'm not afraid of you, little boy! Your mother isn't here to threaten me with her death song anymore! And if there's one thing I've learned in my life, the best way to hurt your enemy is to destroy the one thing he cares for most. I've seen the way you look at her. It's pathetic really; you're like a sad little puppy begging for something he can never have!"

Linos growled at her and let out a loud sonic shriek, but Hou Yi rolled off the back of the truck and clung to the door. She easily flipped herself back up and fired two arrows at Linos, who deflected them with his shadow tendrils. Mala flew up behind them and shot crystal shards at Hou Yi, who easily dodged them. The shards struck the metal of the truck as Hou Yi retaliated by firing arrows at Mala as well, but she easily moved out of their path.

"The other one's back!" Sean shouted. Mavis looked to the side of the highway where An Gou swiftly wan alongside their speeding car. Before An could move up to their car, a motorcycle rushed up and cut off the demon dog. Mavis recognized the green skin and long reptilian tail as the rider blasted the dog with a fireball.

"Uh, please tell me these ones are nice!" Finn whimpered.

"You guys ok?" cried a second rider coming up on Finn's side. He lifted up his visor, revealing Remy's bright green eyes. And if Mavis had to guess, Tim was the passenger sitting behind him.

"What about the others?" Mavis asked.

"Linos and Mala are taking care of Hou Yi. We've gotta get you guys out of here first! Come on!" Remy answered.

Remy, Tim and Drago led Mavis and her brothers to safety and somewhere quiet to avoid the inevitable arrival of authorities while Linos still fought with Hou Yi on top of the semi truck and Mala supported him from above. "I'm gonna make you regret this, Hou Yi!" Linos shouted. He lunged for her, throwing punches while Hou Yi dodged and did the same. Mala flew around them, trying to find an angle where she could attack, but Linos was too close to Hou Yi and she didn't want to risk the hit, especially after what she had seen last night in her visions. The two pushed away from each other as Hou Yi prepared to fire on Linos again. But before she could release her bowstring, two light blue energy waves struck her from behind. From the bridge just passing over them stood Jun Bing, who jumped down onto the semi-truck with his sword drawn. Linos prepared to battle both of them, but Jun moved over to Hou Yi and roughly seized her by the collar of her cloak.

"We need to talk," Jun whispered at her harshly. The truck entered a tunnel and as they passed by the dim lights, which briefly lit and darkened the area as they passed, Jun and Hou Yi disappeared. Once outside, Linos took to the skies and rejoined with Mala.

"Where'd they go?" she asked.

"I don't know. I lost sight of them in the tunnel," he answered.

"No sense in wasting time trying to find them. Let's meet back up with the others and make sure Mavis and her brothers are all right," Mala said, placing a hand on Linos' shoulder.

In truth, Linos didn't want to let Hou Yi get away so easily, not without at least making her pay. He knew what this was: she singled out Mavis to kill her as a means to hurt him. How could he have been so careless? He should have paid more attention, he should have-

"Linos, come on!" Mala urged.

"Right, I'm coming," he said, following after her. The pair flew back into the city and regrouped with everyone back at Mavis' house. Everyone was outside in the backyard where Mavis was repairing the damage Hou Yi had caused to the house with the Jellyfish Coin. Finn was sitting on the bench shakily holding a cup of tea while just staring at the ground with wide eyes.

"We shouldn't be hearing from them soon, but I don't think this place will be safe anymore," Linos said as he and Mala landed.

"What do you mean it's not safe here? My family can't just pack up and leave and do you honestly expect me to blow the whistle to the old people too?" Mavis asked, referring to her parents.

"We won't have to," Tim answered. "I've put up protective spells around the perimeter of the house. From now on, the only demons that can enter are the three of you and Arran."

"None of this makes sense," Finn whimpered. "You're all…"

"Well, actually I'm the only full demon," Linos explained, shifting back into human form as Mala did the same. "Mala and Drago are half. I know this is a lot to take in Finn, but we're not monsters."

"Yeah, the only reason this whole city hasn't been overrun by monsters is because of us," Drago boasted.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Well, Tim knew from the start that Liam was a demon, but I didn't find out until a while later. Mala came in just last year and then Drago and Remy came in around the same time after that. So at the very least, a year."

"This… this is a lot to take in," he sighed. "I mean, what am I supposed to tell mom and dad?"

"Nothing. They can't know about any of this," Mavis said.

"So you were planning on keeping me in the dark this whole time? How could you not tell your own family about any of this?"

"I knew." Everyone turned their heads to Sean, who finally spoke up.

"You knew?" they all cried.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out. Mavis was always out whenever these strange occurrences were happening. I thought it was just a coincidence at first, but I figured something was up after the third time. Plus I saw you guys fighting that ghost lady in Ireland."

"You saw that?" Mavis cried. "And you didn't say anything?"

"Well I was going to wait until you said something, but the demon with the bow and arrow kinda beat me to the punch! Besides, I may be a kid, but I'm not stupid. And no, I haven't told anyone! I'm not a motormouth like you, Mavis," Sean said with a smirk, crossing his arms.

Mavis practically growled at her brother and prepared to tackle him, but Mala stepped in her way and bent down to Sean's level. "We appreciate you keeping our secret, Sean."

"But now that we know, you can't just expect me to sit idly by while you kids put yourselves in danger!"

"Well, three of us have demonic powers, one of us is a skill warrior trained to slay demons and another one of us is trained in Chi Wizardry specifically designed to counter demon magic," Drago said confidently, "I think we're good."

"Listen big bro, I know this is gonna be hard for you to accept, but I can take care of myself. Just this last year, we defeated a Dark Chi Wizard AND defeated four Demon Sorcerers!"

"You may not like it Finn, but we're best suited to handle this," said Remy.

"Oh, what did I get myself into?" Finn whined.

Hou Yi and Jun arrived back in the Netherworld with An closely following behind. Jun roughly tossed Hou Yi onto the ground and drew his sword. "Y-you're alive!" she breathed.

"Were you expecting something else? Oh, that's right. You left me in the human world!" Jun shouted.

"Only because you were so stubborn! We had the Sign but you just had to fight that slayer, didn't you? I had my chance to take him down for good and you interrupted me!"

"Because the slayer is mine to deal with! I will not accept outside help or interference!"

"My, my, what an interesting development." The two bickering Commanders looked to see their shadowy master hovering over them.

"M-master! Look who I found! It appears Jun survived after all!" Hou Yi bowed, hoping Tzan Ren would believe her words so she could save her own skin.

"Is that true what I heard, Jun? She abandoned you in the human world and then lied about your fate?"

"Yes, master. I was engaged in battle and she returned here without me and left me with no other means to get back."

"Now, why would you lie to me about that, Hou Yi?" Tzan Ren asked, ominously hovering over her.

"I, uh, I didn't have a choice!" she quickly came up with a reasonable excuse. "Our enemies were closing in and I had what we wanted. We had to leave then, but Jun was insistent on staying to fight the Ryder slayer! He even prevented me from killing the slayer for him!"

"Is this true, Jun?" Tzan Ren asked, turning to Jun.

"It is," Jun admitted. Unlike his companion, Jun didn't hide behind twisted words and lies. "He was the opponent I chose to fight. I had confidence that Hou Yi and the hounds could handle themselves, so I had no problem leaving her to her own devices. But clearly, I overestimated her abilities."

"An error even I have made," Tzan Ren added, as Hou Yi grumbled lowly under her hood. "But that does not excuse your disregard for securing victory. Why save your enemy when you had the chance to be rid of him?"

"I am a warrior, master, and honor demands that I see the battle through fairly. Outside interference will not be tolerated. When you invited me into your Legion, we had an agreement. Do you remember?"

"Yes," Tzan Ren answered.

"I will be your sword; I will cut down those who stand in your way. But when I see an opponent with a true warrior's spirit, I will fight them honorably and I will fight them my way. That was my only term and you swore to honor it in blood." Jun held out his hand as a horizontal scar across his palm lit up.

Tzan Ren sighed knowing that if his physical body was intact, an identical scar on his hand would light up in response. "The binding of a blood oath cannot be broken unless both parties consent." That was the only way to get Jun to sign on and become part of his Legion. Tzan Ren had tried bribes and promises of riches and power, but Jun cared not for any of those things. Jun had only one request: that should he come across a worthy opponent, he is allowed to pursue that opponent over any and all of Tzan Ren's orders. For the most part it was never a problem. Each of the opponents had been underwhelming to say the least and Jun easily dealt with them quickly enough to return to his duties as Shadow Legion Commander. But now, this slayer was proving to be more resilient than the others. Two encounters and Jun still had not defeated him. But a blood oath is a blood oath. "Conclude your business with the slayer, Jun, then return your focus to the Legion's goals."

Jun bowed as Tzan Ren floated away to deal with other business. "Nice try, Hou Yi," Jun said, "But as always, I am one step ahead of you."

So Mavis' brothers know all about the Strikers and demons now, but I have a feeling everything will be juuuuuust fine. Oh right, uh Mala's vision... hm... Anyway, I realized I haven't brought up Mala's crystallomancy in a while and I guess I got so distracted by Shadow Legion stuff that I forgoot about it XD my bad.

Next chapter: To China! And an ancient warlord's palace!