A.N.: And I'm BAAACK, BABY! Apologies for taking almost a year to update. I can't just blame writer's block (even if I did have some that detracted me from writing) but I also had some real life affairs to settle and admit that I have been seeing to other works of fiction. Hopefully, I feel that I can now pick up this story and continue it.
By the way, I did a small mistake that was repeated in several chapters on Weira's name, which I spelled Wiera. Sorry for that. From now on I will use the proper name of Elyon and Phobos' mother.
By the way, a thank you to CMR Rosa, a reader of this story that commissioned a picture for Kur, made by Inspector97. Try to see it in his deviantart account, it looks really great, really pictures the harsh and ruthless character I'm making him to be.
And a small clarification on the list of Japanese words that are actually phonemes. "Kumo", for example, means spider and/or cloud, but how you write spider, or more precisely its kanji, is different from how you write cloud (in other words, they have different kanji).
Again, very sorry for the looooong wait that you readers probably had to endure for this chapter. It still doesn't advance to the point I originally envisioned, but perhaps one or two chapters more to the episode won't hurt it.
Betaed by: ZimsMostLoyalServant.
C is for Changes that Corrupt
Part 2
As Nerissa teleported away to who knows where, the rest of the Knights looked at each other, except Sandpit, as he lay on the cave's floor, lifeless.
"Is he really that disappointed? He truly has become something more than what he used to be," Raythor thought to himself. Before, Sandpit was nothing more than living sand with the desire to swallow whoever put its foot on the pit that the creature inhabited at Torus Filney. An experiment of Phobos' to create the perfect monster, an unstoppable warrior made of living sand, but ultimately he was a failure since he couldn't leave the pit on his own (technically speaking he was the pit) and while created by the Prince he clearly followed no orders, just wanting to drown whoever had the misfortune of stepping in its sand. Whatever Nerissa did to him had clearly succeeded where the Prince failed. Not only was Sandpit mobile and more versatile than before, he had also become far more intelligent than his previous self. Raythor had his doubts when Nerissa showed what she did to him, remembering the failed attempts on the Prince's part in controlling the sand creature, but now he could say that Sandpit truly listened and obeyed orders of his own accord. And it was not just intelligence – his previous impulses seemed to be either nonexistent, or greatly diminished, and he also seemed to have developed a true personality of his own. Still, he could hold grudges now, against the Guardians mostly for what they did to him. Then again, even a beast could hold resentments against anyone that attacked it. Or had frozen it in glass.
"Pick yourself up, Sandpit. Your chance for revenge against the Guardians may come in case Miranda and Kage fail," Raythor said as he looked at Sandpit.
The sand creature reformed his normal humanoid form, even if slowly and somewhat reluctantly.
"My, my, and here I was thinking that I was the only one that had doubts on the capability of those two to carry out their mission," Frost said as he smirked a provocative smile.
"It's not their skill that worries me, but their teamwork, or lack of it to be more precise," Raythor remarked as he glared at the brute.
Frost merely shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as he moved toward Crimson, probably to feed his mount. The other Knights dispersed around the cave, as each decided to mind their own businesses.
Raythor sat and unsheathed his sword. His other hand picked up a small rock, and then he used it to sharpen the blade, with careful and precise movements. Years of fighting outdoors, away from villages or other such establishments, taught him how to take care of his weapons with what he had at hand.
"It may be wishful thinking, but I truly hope that those two find some common ground, otherwise their mission won't end well."
FLASH!
A blue fold opened on a suburban area of Heatherfield. And from it two bodies emerged…
"AHHHHH!"
"UGH!"
…Or, more precisely, crashed on several canisters, knocking the contents of them all over their persons.
"Hey, get your foot off my head!" yelled an annoyed Jade.
"After you lift yourself and let me walk away from you!" yelled an equally annoyed Miranda from beneath the blue girl.
Jade grumbled but did just that, rising to her feet. This was the last time that she used those folds. Had Nerissa never heard of gentle landings?
"If I return to Meridian, then the old coot is going to have a piece of my mind," Jade thought with a grumble. However, that same thought stopped Jade in her tracks. That's right, she nearly forgot where she was now.
Looking at her surroundings, Jade took great joy in finally seeing some familiar sights. In other circumstances she wouldn't even notice the bland suburbs of a city, pretty much the same anywhere in America, give or take a few details, but these ones were special this time since they signaled that she was on Earth again. Finally, she was close to home, so very close.
"Where are we?" Miranda asked, after surveying the unfamiliar surroundings.
Miranda's question made Jade turn to her. She then turned to the city center, the buildings covered with lights, reminding her a little of San Francisco at night despite the cold weather.
"Heatherfield, or whatever this city is called," Jade replied.
"That I already know. What I meant is, where in the city have we landed? I hope not close to one of the Guardians' homes," Miranda grumbled as she looked at the surrounding area.
"That would be a stupid move on Nerissa's part. Besides, a spider monster and a blue ninja girl really stand out in a crowd. My guess is that we're at one of the less crowded parts of this city. And since it's nighttime…"
"…Then the chances of us being spotted are diminished at the moment. Good, at least we can have the element of surprise in our favor when we start our mission," Miranda said, completing Kage's sentence.
"May I suggest that we find someplace to lay low? I don't think that we can start our mission at this hour," Jade asked.
A foul smell caught Jade's attention. When she sniffed the air, she started to realize that it was coming from her. And Miranda too.
"And we can't face those Guardians smelling like this," Jade said as she smelled her clothes and immediately retched, her nose wrinkled in disgust. Talk about nasty.
Miranda didn't respond at first, and simply smelled her own clothes, but then quickly pulled her face away, just like Kage.
"Ugh, by Escanor, I smell as bad as a Passling," Miranda said in a disgusted tone.
"Well, maybe that is not a problem when we face them, after all. I mean, they seem to be used to that green dwarf, and I don't think that we smell as bad as him," Jade joked as she smirked.
Miranda couldn't stop a small chuckle escaping her throat.
Jade looked surprised at hearing the shapeshifter laugh, even if slightly, and Miranda was equally surprised. But she quickly recovered her posture.
"Anyway, let's find a place to sleep, and hopefully to bathe ourselves," Miranda said in a calm tone.
As the shapeshifter started to look at several houses, Jade smirked once again, her smile wider than before.
"Well, at least someone seems to have a sense of humor."
Yua opened her eyes, as she lay on the water of her pond in Ari's Scarlet Citadel.
"So, you are on Earth now? Interesting," mumbled the banshee. While she was sincere in not interfering with the girl at this point, she still thought prudent to extend her senses and keep watch over her, just to be on the safe side.
"I know that you aren't from this universe, so I can guess that you came from someplace similar to our own universe with its own version of sorts of Earth?" Yua asked herself as she looked at the ceiling in reflection.
"I wonder if in your universe there is also a Kandrakar that tries to contain other worlds in their sphere of influence, like wardens of an inter-dimensional prison. Maybe you are an escapee from your own home because of them? Or maybe you landed here merely by accident? Or someone banished you to our universe somehow?" Yua mused as she sighed.
"I guess that's the problem with Infinity; we can't keep up with the number of possibilities or what ifs. Still, whatever the case, it doesn't matter in the end. You are here, and to stay. Nothing can change that," Yua said as she submerged into the water, relaxing for the moment. As long as the Guardians or Kandrakar didn't realize the new Kage's true importance, she would let the girl do whatever she wants in the meantime.
And if the Guardians or Kandrakar did become a threat to Kage… well, it had been a long time since Yua faced any Guardians, but she supposed she could stretch her muscles, just for a little bit.
After walking for half an hour, the two girls eventually found a house that seemed abandoned. A nice small villa with a swimming pool in the backyard, now empty of course.
"This place looks deserted enough," said Miranda.
"Yeah, the planks at the windows and doors are kinda a huge giveaway," Jade responded in a mocking tone.
Miranda merely ignored the blue girl and looked at a strange metal box, one that depicted the name of the owners of this house, she assumed.
Brown.
Miranda's eyes widened in surprise. This was her house on Earth.
"So whose house is this?" Jade asked as she looked at the place.
"Elyon. This was where she lived," Miranda grumbled as her eyes narrowed in anger at the twisted irony that she had to take refuge in Elyon's home on Earth.
"Yoohoohoo, time out. Isn't she supposed to be, I don't know, the Queen of Meridian? How can someone from Earth be the ruler of your world, or dimension, or whatever," Jade asked as she and Miranda walked around the house toward the backyard.
"She may have been born on Meridian, but she was raised on Earth. For thirteen years, no less," Miranda replied in a sour tone, reflecting on that last part. How for thirteen years the Light of Meridian was deaf to Meridian's plight, living a comfortable life with her fake parents while the rest of them had to survive during her brother's reign, loyalists to him or not. That little brat didn't know how lucky she was, how unfair this was to all the Meridianites that had to endure her brother. It was for this "Queen" that so many were sacrificed? Rubbish.
"Really? That's practically her entire life, right?" Jade asked, wondering about this new piece of information. How could someone as powerful as the blonde chick have been kept off of Section 13's radar for thirteen years? Then again, Section 13 had only become associated with magical affairs fairly recently. She was wondering now if Uncle knew anything about that Queen Elyon, of Meridian and its inhabitants, or about those fairies called Guardians. Maybe some books at the store could shed some light on that regard.
"Still, it doesn't really matter in the end. After I tell Jackie what those girls did to me, then Section 13 will deal with them. Or perhaps Uncle can take away their powers like he did with Daolon Wong? And do the same to Nerissa in case she does come after…"
Jade was so focused on her thoughts that she failed to notice that she was walking straight towards the empty pool. As her foot found nothing but empty air, Jade was now hanging on the border of the pool, desperately trying to recover her balance.
She failed.
"AHHHH!"
But before she fell to the floor of the pool, and probably get a concussion, Shadowkhan or not, a hand grabbed her shirt from behind. As the grip held her in midair, Jade looked back in surprise to watch Miranda in her spider form, who had grabbed her and prevented her fall. Then the shapeshifter pulled Jade back.
"Oh, um, thanks," Jade said.
"Try to pay more attention next time. I really can't fathom how you fell for such an obvious trap," Miranda said.
"Trap? What trap?" Jade asked, confused.
"This hole. It's not even covered," Miranda replied.
"It's not a hole… well, technically it is, but not to lay a trap. It's a swimming pool, you know, to swim," Jade said as she waved her arms in a swimming motion.
"Really? But, where is the water?" Miranda asked, confused.
"Probably evaporated by now. It seems like this place has not been used for months, at least," Jade said.
"I see," Miranda mumbled as she looked back at the hole. Now that she took notice, it had a faint smell of water, mixed with something else, something irritating to her eyes. It was quite different from the pool that Phobos used to bathe himself at the palace. Then again, its purpose was not recreational, not in the least.
"Regardless, let's get in. Fortunately no one will bother us, since Elyon and her fake parents have been gone for months," Miranda said as she started to tear some planks from the door.
"Yeah, yeah," Jade said in a dismissive tone as she used her newfound strength to also tear apart the planks.
Eventually both girls cleared the door, and soon they entered the house. It was pitch black inside, but as Jade discovered some time ago, her new form seemed to have enhanced her eyesight, particularly to see at night or in dark places. So as dark as the house was, she could still see reasonably well.
"Like a cat as it enters a house in the dark. I wonder if the other Oni could also see well in the dark. It would make sense, considering their shadowy powers," Jade thought to herself as she moved down the corridor, with Miranda behind her. Eventually she found the light switch.
"I found the switch," Jade announced as she put her finger on it.
"Leave it alone. I don't want you to light those glass candles and attract unwanted attention. Supposedly no one lives here anymore. Besides, I can see well in the dark, and so can you it seems," Miranda said in an authoritative tone.
"Glass candles? Oh right, she means the light bulbs. Yeah, I can see the medieval analogy," Jade thought.
As Miranda passed her and headed to the kitchen, Jade flipped the switch. And as the light didn't come on, she flipped it again. And again. Still no lights. Which meant no electricity, which also meant that she couldn't use the phones.
"Figures. The first house I find on Earth and I can't use the phone to call Jackie," Jade mumbled in an annoyed tone. Still, she could simply leave this house and find another with light and a working phone, but there were three problems with that. First, if she could even leave this house without Miranda knowing. The past few days that passed, she had found that the shapeshifter had very sharp senses and was always vigilant when around others. Even asleep, the shapeshifter would be awake the minute someone moved or stirred in their sleep. There was one time when Jade pretended to be asleep and noticed that on her part. So, escaping such a paranoid spider with a keen sense of smell seemed to be a bad idea.
The second problem was the city itself. Jade didn't know it well, and she feared that Miranda knew it more than her, at least some parts of it. But the true problem was those Guardian girls. She doubted that they could sense her or Miranda, otherwise their mission would be next to impossible, but still those girls more than obviously knew their city, more than Jade and Miranda at least. If they found Jade by accident, they would have the home field advantage. The chances of capture and ending up in those dungeons on Meridian were pretty high if she wandered aimless in their town.
The third problem was if someone else spotted her. As much as she hated to admit it, she was no longer human looking. Most people would probably freak out at seeing her, especially if her canines and nails grow again, not to mention her pupil-less eyes when that happened. The bright side of that happening was that Section 13 would know about her, but it would take a while for them to arrive, since whatever state this was, it was too cold to be California. And the bigger odds were of that alerting the Guardians to her presence in their city, and she would end up captured by them before Jackie arrived anyway.
FLUSH!
The sound of water interrupted her thoughts.
"It seems that their magical pipes are working. I will go clean myself first in the bathroom. And don't touch anything, I will know if you do," Miranda said from the kitchen, the last part almost sounding like a threat.
"Not like I have much to do in here," Jade grumbled softly to herself.
Jade looked at the city through the front window. She was very tempted to try her luck, but the remembrance of the previous reasons halted that desire. Besides, she was tired and filthy, so maybe taking the night to rest might be the best course of action for the moment. Yes, tomorrow they would start their mission, and the minute she split from Miranda she would try to find a phone. Or a computer to send an email. Opportunities would present themselves, so no biggy. It was like in Demon World, she would lay low until her chance to call for rescue came to her. And after that, it wouldn't take that long for her and Jackie and the others to be reunited; perhaps tomorrow at this very hour she would be home, at least.
"Just this one night. A good bath and a good night's sleep and then play my part on this mission until my chance comes. And it will come."
The door opened as Will entered her room, with a towel around her body and another enrolling her hair.
"Now that was a relaxing bath. I can't remember the last time I had one since this Guardians business started," Will said to herself in a blissful tone as she jumped and crashed in her bed. This was the life. No Knights, no hostages, no Meridian in grave danger. A day off for them, or the closest they could get at least.
"This really feels nice, but something tells me that our break will end soon. Fortunately we don't need to worry about the Knights attacking us here. There are no portals anymore. Besides, Frost tried that with no results," Will said to herself. It was a good thing that without portals the Knights couldn't travel to Heatherfield and try to take advantage of their vulnerability here. She sometimes wondered why Cedric never did try to disrupt their daily lives, or worse force them to reveal their powers, in the months that he was here, contrary to the Mage's warning. Maybe finding Elyon was the priority and messing with the Guardians could blow his cover? Possibly.
"Oh well, no need to worry about that now. As long as our secret remains safe, that is what really matters," Will said as she lay in her bed, looking at the ceiling of her bedroom.
A stray thought came to Will as she took hold of the Heart, always around her neck. She frowned to herself, remembering the fight yesterday with Kage. There was one thing that she didn't say to the others because she wasn't sure what exactly happened herself. When Kage was about to take hold of the Heart, for a few seconds she felt her body grow cold, a chilling sensation running through her flesh and blood, but she wasn't sure if it was her mind or something else. She could swear that it was the Heart that transmitted such a frigid sensation, or more precisely, something within, that was trying to freeze the Heart and her by extension.
"Was it really you? Or was it a trick from Kage?" Will asked as she faced her pink reflection in the Heart's crystal. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe it was simply a way her mind used to express the fear of losing the Heart. A reminder of when that Passling stole it a few weeks ago, that Pecks, or Jacks, or…
"You shouldn't space out like that, Will."
Will stopped her musing and lifted herself from her bed in an instant, looking frantically around her room.
"Who's there? Show yourself," Will said in a nervous tone. Considering her current "wardrobe",she had every reason to be.
"Over here," said the same male voice, with an almost electronic edge to it.
Will looked at her desk, with only her backpack and her calculator on it.
"Where?" Will asked uncertainly as she got near the table.
"Right in front of you," said the voice.
"All I see are my backpack and my calc…"
Will stopped in midsentence as she noticed that her calculator screen was flashing, and not in a normal way.
"Hello Will, I'm Sammy. While I have been in your possession for the previous two years, I believe that this is the first time we have actually…"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"What was that?" Jade asked as she closed the bathroom door. Strange, for a minute she could swear that she had heard someone screaming. A girly scream, no less.
"Must have been my imagination," Jade said as she shrugged and left the bathroom now that she had taken her bath and was properly cleaned. Even her shinobi uniform was spotless. It was amazing how, the minute she undressed, the clothes had dissolved – or rather, melted – in the shadows, or perhaps had become actual shadows. Jade believed it to be the latter, since when she was finished and thought of dressing, those shadows enveloped her body and morphed into the uniform again, now completely clean.
"I could save Jackie a few bucks in clothes if I keep this outfit somehow. Every time, it reveals a new surprise. Maybe…"
A wild thought came to Jade's mind. If it was really shadows that were covering her, then maybe she could morph them into other types of clothes?
"Well, only one way to find out. Turn into my orange hoodie. And my blue jeans too," Jade said in an authoritative tone as she glanced at her clothes.
Nothing. The clothes remained the same.
"So, stuck in this default form, huh? Oh well, not that the Oni had a great variety of magical wardrobes anyway," Jade said, slightly disappointed, even if she wasn't really expecting anything. The Shadowkhan dressed very similarly, after all, dark and broody themes that actually complemented their blue skin color.
Ignoring that, Jade walked along the hallway, heading towards where the bedrooms were located. Miranda was probably in one of them.
"Man, that bath felt really good. A pity that the water was cold, but I can adjust. Uncle was not a big fan of hot water, after all, for some reason. Except for his jasmine tea," Jade said while stretching her back, as she remembered how Uncle would preach that natural water invigorated the body, not to mention saving some money on the electrical bill. Fortunately, San Francisco was not known for cold weather, so hot water was a luxury one way or another, and Uncle hated superfluous things in his store.
"But since I'm not in California, I wonder how I'm not cold. I mean, I feel that the house is cold, but I'm not affected," Jade wondered aloud. Her teeth should be chattering, considering the room temperature and after a cold bath. And yet she felt… normal, as if it was not cold, despite her knowing that the room was cold.
"Perhaps it is because I'm part Shadowkhan? Or Oni, or whatever," Jade said as she looked at her blue right hand, wondering if that was another effect of her transformation. The Oni and the Demon Sorcerers were extremely resilient, that much her and her family's adventures proved (even without the Talismans, Shendu was nearly unstoppable, on human terms at least). Perhaps she was becoming as resilient as they were? And as strong as well? Perhaps she was no longer…
"…Human," Jade mumbled with a soft tone of voice.
That realization led to a weird mix of conflicting feelings. On the one hand, she didn't want to lose her humanity, especially if it meant becoming the Queen once more. Of all previous magical transformations that she had suffered, the one with the tattoo ranked the worse of them all. Which meant that the sooner she returned to Jackie, the sooner she could put the Queen behind her once more.
On the other hand, she had super powers now. It felt like having the Ox, the Dog, and the Horse Talismans all at the same time, even if watered down versions of them. And then the shadow powers with no ninja appearances up until now (thankfully), and her ninja uniform full of tricks and weapons. It was so cool. That was the better part of her predicament.
"When I return to normal, I'm going to miss you, ninja clothes. As much as I miss the Talismans. Oh well, at least the memory of you and this adventure will stay with me. And it will be a cool story to tell at school. Too bad that no one will believe me, anyway," Jade said, looking at her clothes and giving a small smile at them. Considering everything that happened after her banishment, she had to admit that this was easily one of the best adventures that she had ever had. And all on her own this time, with no Jackie or Uncle and Tohru to back her up. Not to mention Section 13 and the J-Team. From escaping the Shadow Realm and arriving in Meridian, to her clash against the fairies as their bad guy. It was a strange, but not so bad, experience overall. And she would miss the Knights, especially Raythor. The same could not be said about the "good guys", though.
"Bah, I'm being nostalgic for no reason. I'm not done with the K…"
"Not done with who?" asked a familiar voice.
Jade tensed and turned around, spotting Miranda, now in a different outfit, more Earth-like, staring at her. She was not angry, despite her intense stare, but Jade felt her suspicions toward her, and almost ready to make the shapeshifer act against her.
"Hum… not done with the Guardians. I was thinking of… of… of ways to put them out of business. Yes, that's it. And of course in the longest and most painful way possible. I mean, it would be pity if our vengeance ended too soon, right?" Jade asked as she smiled innocently, her forehead slightly sweated.
Miranda narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she surveyed Kage's fake and nervous smile. Then she chuckled in a dry tone.
"You are a bad liar. I know for a fact that revenge is the farthest thing from your mind," Miranda said as she smiled while watching Kage's smile crumble into a frown.
"Is that so?" Jade asked in a slow and deliberative tone, with a slight edge to it.
"Indeed. It's more than obvious that you haven't any grudges against them, not like us at least," Miranda said as her face adopted a more neutral expression.
"So what, you think that I am in league with them after everything that's happened?" Jade asked in an annoyed tone.
Miranda started to walk around Kage, like a predator circling her prey.
"Maybe at first, considering your speech patterns and the way you act reminds me too much of the Guardians or Elyon, but on the other hand you aren't human, and Cedric taught me that the humans on Earth are a very xenophobic species that is not that keen on acceptingothers that are different than them. Besides, Earth doesn't have much magic or beings directly connected to it aside from some humans like the Guardians," Miranda said.
"What? What does she mean by no beings with magic aside from humans? Doesn't she know that we have demons and other magical beings?" Jade thought in confusion. While it was true that magic and other stuff like it was believed to be fictional by the vast majority of humanity nowadays, she knew that many legends were true, or had at least some truth to them.
"Maybe they only contacted Earth very recently. Admittedly, even I thought that magic wasn't real not that long ago," Jade thought. Still, she needed the confirmation.
"And you know what I am?" Jade asked, trying to see if Miranda really knew anything about the Shadowkhan or the Oni.
"I've never encountered anything like you," Miranda answered truthfully.
Jade could tell that she was being honest; her emotions were plain for her to feel, unlike Nerissa, from whom Jade so far couldn't feel anything aside from ambition and desire, and even that she felt the old sorceress was suppressing, quite forcefully for some reason.
"So she really doesn't know anything about the Oni and the Shadowkhan, and probably nothing about Shendu and his siblings either," Jade thought. It still felt strange that a magical place like Meridian had never heard of Shendu or the Oni, but she supposed she had seen weirder things before.
"Regardless of me wanting to know who or what you are or where you came from, for the moment that doesn't really matter. We have our mission, to neutralize the Guardians, and we will do that. After that, well… we will see," Miranda said as she stopped circling Kage and turned towards one of the bedrooms.
"So I guess this means good night?" Jade asked as she prepared to go in the opposite direction.
"We will share the same quarters tonight. And there is no arguing about that," Miranda said as she turned to look at Kage, her face stern and demanding.
"Paranoid saiko kumo," Jade thought in anger. Miranda and her untrusting nature was another thing that she was not going to miss. Most definitely sure of that.
Next day
The sun rose, and one of its beams entered the bedroom and touched the face of a slumbering Will Vandom, which stirred her from her deep and troubled sleep.
"Five more minutes Mom," Will mumbled as she tried to cover her face.
RIIIIIIIIIIING!
That actually made Will jump from her bed in a single leap. She looked at her alarm clock shaped like a frog, giving it an intense glare.
"Stupid clock, must be defective. What happened to the gentle croak that I set it to?" Will asked in annoyance.
"I changed to the default set since the croak never works. Can you blame a guy to try and awake his owner so that she can be at school on time?" asked a gruffy electronic voice coming from the alarm clock.
"Well, I didn't ask that you…"
Will stopped in midsentence. Did she just hear her alarm clock talk to her? And weirder she was actually talking back at it?
"I must still be sleeping. Calculators and clocks don't talk. I'm dreaming," Will said as she closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, her room was silent and no one was talking back. Especially not her objects.
"Guardian stuff must be tiring me more than I thought. Oh well. Since I'm awake now, let me grab all the things I'm going to need for school today," Will said as she moved to her desk.
Will noticed her calculator and picked it up, at first a little wary of it, but eventually her fears dispelled as her confidence came back.
"Silly me, calculators can talk, can they Sammy?" Will asked as she moved the calculator close to her.
"Actually, I can Will, and can you please me put me in the backpack so we can get to school? You have a…"
"Sammy" was shut up as Will put him in her backpack in a very frantic manner. Her eyes were completely wide in shock and disbelief.
"This is just a dream, it's all in my head. Sammy is just a figment of my imagination, just like the Heart's cold feeling. Yeah, all in my head, he he he he!"
It was early morning at Meridian too, and quite busy at the palace. In the throne room, several maids were hanging new curtains around the throne while one was cleaning it and others were sweeping the floor. Everything needed to be ready for the first court held in thirteen years. And supervising it was Caleb, with Blunk at his side.
"A little more polishing now, would you? It must glean as befits the Light of Meridian," Caleb said to the maid that was polishing the throne, who nodded in response.
"That way gleamy chair will look like a jewel," Blunk added.
"Precisely the point, Blunk. The Queen's court must be the opposite of the dark travesty that Phobos held on Meridian for far too long," Caleb said.
"Not gonna miss that, throne too dark and scary for any Passling." Blunk commented as he shivered.
Caleb merely nodded in agreement. A few minutes later, they both heard the sound of approaching footsteps. They turned and spotted Aldarn approaching them.
"I take it that some petitioners have already arrived?" Caleb.
"Some is putting it mildly. We have people from all parts of Meridian wanting to see and speak with the Queen. Look out the window and see it for yourself, my friend," Aldarn replied.
"I will do just that. As for you, Blunk, I trust you to supervise in my stead. Do you think you can do that?" Caleb asked as he looked at Blunk.
"But of course. Blunk will lead cleaning girls as he led the boyfriend of the red-haired one when they saved the girls from mean, old, nasty Cedric," Blunk said as he adopted a silly heroic pose.
"Then they will be in good hands," Caleb said, smiling as he looked at the Passling.
Caleb and Aldarn walked to a nearby window while hearing Blunk shout orders. As they reached it, Caleb could see that Aldarn was not exaggerating. An enormous mass of people was near the gate, of mostly humans and Drakes, or more accurately their actual name of Galhot, which meant "scaled people" in the ancient language of Meridian, also known as the language of the beasts. Sometimes he forgot that many Galhots didn't like being called Drakes (one time Vathek almost broke a guy in two that called him a scaly Drake).
"I really was not expecting this many people," Caleb admitted, visibly surprised.
"It will take all day just to hear half of them, at most," Aldarn said.
"Then we will repeat it some other time. Maybe the Queen will trust the new council with some of her duties in case it is too much for her, which will allow us to deal with petitions and other affairs," Caleb suggested.
"Do you think that will happen in the close future?" Aldarn asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Honestly, it depends on how Her Majesty performs today. Admittedly, we are a little in the dark about how prepared Queen Elyon is to rule," Caleb said politely.
Aldarn understood what his friend meant. Elyon's unique upbringing could bring doubts of her capacity to rule Meridian. Even among the Rebellion, there were some that had their reservations, considering that their new Queen lived on another world for thirteen years with little to no knowledge of her own kingdom. Then again, they could get a surprise and Elyon would reveal herself a better ruler than her brother. Not that it would be that difficult to upstage Phobos' tyranny.
"Regardless, I did as you instructed. I placed some guards that will be on the lookout for the individuals that you told me about," Aldarn said, trying to think about other things.
"Good work, Aldarn. I sincerely doubt that any of Phobos' supporters will appear today to attack Her Majesty, but we can never be too careful. As powerful as the Queen is, she is still a mortal like the rest of us," Caleb said.
"What if it's an elder of one of the villages that backed Phobos, pleading mercy to Her Majesty?" Aldarn asked.
"They will never reach the throne's steps if I have a say about it. Justice will come to those traitors, not mercy, Aldarn," Caleb said with a harsh tone.
"I agree, my friend. They and their villagers made their choice and now they must pay for it, like the Knights of Vengeance will," Aldarn responded in an equally harsh and angry tone, coming from his resentment against Phobos and all those years of suffering under his heel.
"Indeed. But if you have to detain someone, do it quietly and as unnoticeably as possible. This is supposed to be a joyful day, after all," Caleb added.
"Of course, Caleb, we don't want people being caught off guard by…"
The sound of metal falling on the ground interrupted Aldarn, as both he and Caleb looked in the direction of the sound, finding all the curtains on the floor, as a sheepish Blunk tried to look away as innocently as possible.
"Oops. Blunk made a booboo, perhaps should have said right instead of left. Or was it down instead of up? Or maybe…"
"I really hope this is the only nasty surprise today," Caleb mumbled in exasperation.
"Do you think that the Queen will listen to you, Elder Kur?" asked the man at Kur's right side as they and another at Kur's left side watched the massive crowd of petitioners in front of them.
"She has to, just like with any other petitioner. Not to mention that I am in the quality of the Elder of our now recovering village. No one can stop us without making a scene," Kur said in an assured tone.
"With all due respect, Elder Kur, just because Her Majesty listens to your… warning about the abominations, it doesn't mean that she will take it to heart. She grew on the same world as the Guardians, in which our type of views don't seem to be easily accepted, at least according to Caleb," said the man on the left.
"You are forgetting Cedric and Miranda's part in Phobos' plan, which seems to have left quite the impression on our Queen. The maids whisper that she doesn't like to hear their names, for one," Kur said, almost gleefully.
"It may not be enough to make Queen Elyon see all shapeshifters in the same light as she sees those two. Please forgive my rudeness, Elder Kur, but we may be rushing things. Maybe it is preferably to wait a few months, a year or two at most?" asked the man at the left.
Kur gave a hard stare at the man, making him almost want to cower beneath Kur's intense gaze.
"You think that I haven't thought about that? I admit that originally my intention was to do as you've suggested, but that blue shapeshifter changed my mind," Kur said angrily.
"You mean the girl that can shapeshift into a shadow? But it's just one more of them, nothing to worry about," said the man on the right, trying to appease Kur.
But Kur responded by pulling the man close to him by his collar, now glaring at him.
"A type of shapeshifter that according to the Mage shouldn't even exist anymore, and if her true form isn't already dangerous enough, her power to transform into shadows – a consequence of the tyrant's experimentation no doubt – means that our enemy was on the verge of creating new types of shapeshifters," Kur snarled.
"You think so, Elder Kur?" Asked the man at the left, now sounding scared.
"Indeed. A shapeshifter that can pass as a shadow is virtually undetectable to even our methods to unmask the abominations. And imagine if Phobos or someone else can create more types, like one that can turn into objects or weapons, or perhaps a shapeshifter that can mimic the abilities and powers of someone else? What do you think that we could do in those cases?" Kur asked.
"We would be helpless to stop them," answered the man that Kur was still holding.
Kur let the man go and said, "That shapeshifter opened my eyes, at how permissive we have become in the last year. And it is high time that we rectify that. For the sake of Meridian and the preservation of the Escanor lineage, Phobos and the shapeshifters have to perish. Only then will Meridian be the perfect kingdom that it is destined to become. And I believe that Queen Elyon will be the key to achieving that. Just wait and see."
RIIIIIIIIIIING!
The sound of a bell echoed around Sheffield Institute, signaling the beginning of classes for everyone. Teenage kids of several ages walked or run towards the building, some in groups, others alone.
Miranda was apparently walking alone, but in reality Jade was residing inside her shadow, moving along with the shadow's owner.
"It's almost like taking a lift," Jade thought to herself.
"I really don't like knowing that you are inside my shadow somehow. It's uncomfortable," Miranda whispered, so that only Kage could hear her.
"Well, it's the best way that I have to tag along. What, you wanted me to move from shadow to shadow in daylight? Might as well walk alongside you," Jade whispered in return.
Miranda frowned a little, but had to agree with Kage's reasoning. For now, they needed to be inconspicuous so that they could mingle in the Guardians' learning facility.
"Fine, but don't you dare to do anything to it or else."
"Must everything involve threats with you?" Jade asked.
"It's how things work, Kage. Fear, threats, deceit and manipulation; it's the way of the universe," Miranda replied.
"What about trust?" Jade asked.
That almost made the shapeshifter laugh out loud.
"The most stupid thing that someone can relay on. Trust is for fools, Kage, believe me in that," Miranda said.
Jade frowned at first, then a sly smirk appeared on her lips.
"So that means I can't trust you or a single word that leaves your mouth," Jade stated.
"You took that long to figure it out?" Miranda asked sarcastically.
"Which means that I can't trust what you said about trust, which means that I have to trust you in the end," Jade concluded.
"Yes… wait, what?" Miranda asked in confusion, and this time in her normal tone of voice, which caught the attention of some of the surrounding students.
"So should I trust what you said about not trusting you, or not trust that, which means that I have to trust you? Quite the dilemma," Jade said mockingly.
"Stop that. You mixed up everything I said," Miranda yelled, catching the attention of more people. Then again, who could ignore seeing a teenage girl yelling at her own shadow?
"Me? You're the one that brought up this paradox," Jade retorted in fake indignation.
Miranda growled this time, not really caring if anyone listened. It was actually enough to make other people leave her be and others to avoid her.
"Enough with the jokes. I'm not amused," Miranda argued as she glared at Kage… or at least she imagined that she was glaring at her, considering that she couldn't see her face in her own shadow.
"With a face and personality like that, no wonder. And could you please stop making a scene? Remember, we're here incognito," Jade said.
Miranda clenched her teeth at first, and then turned from her shadow, still visibly pissed. She walked around the building until both she and Kage were alone in the backyard. Sensing that Kage had decided to emerge from her shadow, the shapeshifter immediately entered in a contest of angry stares with the blue girl. And she responded in kind.
"I really don't like you. Somehow you manage to confuse me and annoy me at every turn, and I hate that," Miranda grumbled.
"Well, the feeling is mutual. And if it is not the constant death threats, then maybe it's the bossy attitude that you have. Or both," Jade complained.
Miranda didn't respond to that and simply leaned on a wall, breathing heavily as she tried to calm down.
"Is this still about the night after our fight with the Guardians?" Miranda asked calmly, sounding tired, almost defeated.
"No, no, it hasn't anything to do with the fact that I volunteered to watch you while you recovered, which means that I missed my own sleep… well, a vast majority of it at least, and instead of a simple 'thank you'or another gesture of gratitude, all I got is an even grumpier Miranda that would make the Grinch look like a nice guy. No, nothing to do with it, no sir-e," Jade said in an annoyed tone.
Miranda didn't speak at first, but then she started to mumble something.
"Sorry, what was that?" Jade asked grumpily.
"I had a bad dream that night," Miranda said softly.
"Sheesh, I couldn't tell," Jade said, still intent on mocking the shapeshifter.
"Honestly, it wasn't exactly a nightmare, more like… something that I don't like to recall," Miranda said, her tone becoming softer and, to Jade's surprise, sounding… vulnerable.
"Wow, what is this to be really messing with her?" Jade wondered to herself.
"You would be surprised, Jade," the voice of the Queen echoed in Jade's mind.
"Great, she's back," Jade mumbled in a sour tone.
"What?" Miranda asked, looking at Kage.
"Nothing," Jade said as she shook her head as if trying to get rid of the Queen's voice. A pity that it didn't actually work.
"So your recent sour mood comes from whatever you dreamt. Maybe sharing it would help…"
"I don't think that I have to share my memories with anyone," Miranda said in an almost growl, sounding very defensive.
"Okay, okay, no sharing. I'm no psychologist anyway," Jade said as she tried to appease the shapeshifter.
Miranda still frowned at Jade, but then diverted her eyes from her.
"You really should stop talking like that. You really remind me of…"
"…Elyon. Yeah, yeah, I know that. But that's the thing, you can't compare her to me. Besides, it is insulting – I mean, me being like her? Hell no," Jade said, as disgust covered her face on that last part.
Miranda closed her eyes and sighed.
"You're right. I can't believe that I have to agree with you, but you're correct. This isn't how I usually deal with this. Besides, our mission is far more important than personal feelings," said Miranda.
"Then let's call it a truce. As long as we're civil around each other, I believe that we can work together. Otherwise… no vengeance fulfilled," Jade said as she raised her right hand in a shaking gesture.
At first, Miranda eyed Kage's hand suspiciously, but eventually sighed.
"Very well, truce. But I am still in charge," Miranda said as she shook hands with Kage.
"No problem with that, as long as you don't snap at anything I do." Jade said, now letting a small smile form on her lips.
"I hope that I will not regret this. I'm giving you too much leeway," Miranda grumbled.
"And I'm actually grateful for it, trust me on that," Jade said.
Miranda frowned at Jade.
"Oh right, wrong word," Jade said, sheepishly.
A red car arrived at the entrance to Sheffield Institute, from which exited Will Vandom, in apparent hurry. And looking tired.
"Are you sure you're okay, Will?" Susan Vandom, Will's mother, asked in concern.
"Yeah, sure. I'm okay, honest," Will answered in a quick and evasive way.
"Really? But you barely ate your breakfast. If you're not feeling well, I can call in that you're sick and…"
"No, no. *Sigh* Look mom, I'm not sick, really, it's just that I'm not hungry, that's all," Will said, interrupting her mother.
"Are you sure?" Susan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course I'm sure. There is nothing wrong with me," Will restated, the beginnings of annoyance starting to show in her voice.
Susan could tell that there was something else happening with Will, but she also knew that if she insisted, they would end up arguing again. It was starting to worry her; Will may have not been the most extroverted girl in Fadden Hills, but at least she confided with her, but now… their most frequent interactions seem to be arguments and discussions lately. She was starting to think that maybe going to Heatherfield was not…
Susan shook her head slightly. No, she might be jumping to conclusions. Maybe Will was simply going through a bad phase, that's all. Well, when Will's grades from this term arrived in a few days, then she could think on this some more.
"Alright Will, if you say so. But if you start to not feel well, just call me, okay?" Susan asked.
"Without my cell phone, it will not be that easy," Will thought to herself.
"Sure, no problem," Will said as she closed the door.
The car left and Will sighed. That was close. She really had to disguise her freakouts better, otherwise her mother would get suspicious. Then again, who could be prepared to hear the toaster complaining about the quality of the bread, or the fridge addressing her as if he was the butler of a rich madam? Who wouldn't let the plate shatter on the ground and look like he or she saw a ghost after experiencing what she had experienced?
"This has been one crazy morning so far," Will mumbled to herself as she walked towards the entrance of Sheffield Institute.
Almost immediately after Miranda began walking back to the entrance, she spotted the Heart's Keeper entering the building.
"Finally," Miranda mumbled as she smiled in a creepy way.
As for Jade, she was once again in Miranda's shadow, and she felt the shapeshifter's emotions setting into hard, predatory focus. Curious, she peaked out, and to her surprise they were now inside the building and following a red-haired girl that looked like the fairy that Jade faced two days ago. But it couldn't be her, she was too young, fourteen at most, while that fairy was at least sixteen if not older. Or could it?
"Maybe it's some form of magical transformation? Either they can disguise themselves in human forms or they really are humans that somehow got mixed up with magic?" Jade thought to herself. Considering her vast experience with magic, it could be either option. And her gut was telling her it was the latter case.
The red-haired girl turned a corner, and for a minute Jade could see the glint of the pink pendant on her neck, the same one that she tried to snatch from that fairy. Or a very good imitation.
"No, it's the same pendant. I can feel it again, the same call from back there. So inviting," the Queen purred in Jade's mind, with a strange lustful tone in her voice.
Jade shook her head and went back to watching the red-haired girl.
"It's her, right? The fairy that I fought the other day," Jade whispered to Miranda.
"Of course. Who else did you expect?" Miranda asked as she raised an eyebrow.
"Well, she looks young now. Not that much different, admittedly, but still noticeable enough. I just wasn't expecting that she could transform like that," Jade admitted.
"All Guardians look like that age, along with the clothes and the wings when they transform. And it doesn't matter if their actual age is below or if they are even older," Miranda said, remembering some of the things that Cedric shared with her about the Guardians and the Heart of Kandrakar.
"Really? So an old woman can suddenly become young if she is a Guardian?" Jade asked, intrigued.
"Rarely do Guardians reach old age, one way or another, but yes, it is possible," Miranda answered.
"Wow! Uncle would love to know the secret. Then again, if the price is having wings and those ridiculous clothes, then he wouldn't take it. Nor would I," Jade thought.
A sudden thought occurred to her.
"Is this normal on Meridian? I mean, your age not reflecting your appearance," Jade whispered.
Miranda was surprised by that question. She wondered if Kage was gathering information of their world and for what purpose she wanted to use it. Still the question itself seemed harmless, so she couldn't see in what way she could use it against her.
Perhaps taking a leap of faith was the best course of action this time around?
"It depends on the race. Humans, for example, are pretty much like the ones of Earth and live as long as them, under normal circumstances. Of course, those that can manifest magic can prolong their life span. Either they have vast reserves of magic to do that, or they obtain them through other means. Supposedly they can live forever as long as they have magic to sustain them," Miranda said, remembering in particular the Escanor lineage.
As for Jade, she considered this. It reminded her of Daolon Wong, somewhat. Uncle admitted one time that the dark chi wizard was perhaps older than him, even older than Chi Master Fong. Possibly centuries old. To Uncle, it was not that surprising, as many dark sorcerers fell in the quest for immortality. And the means to obtain it were not pleasant in the least, at least according to Uncle.
"As for Galhots, or Drakes as some call them, their life span is twice that of a human. Raythor, for example, is near his hundredth year, and that's middle age to his kind," Miranda continued.
"Really? Raythor is that old?" Jade asked, surprised.
"Yes, and Frost is around seventy, I think. Rarely do Galhot reach beyond two hundred years, but there are some cases of that happening. The Lurden are pretty similar to the Galhot in that regard, as well," Miranda said.
"Lurden? You mean the ugly beasts at that dungeon?" Jade asked.
"Yes. As for other species, it would take too much time to tell about all of them. All that I can tell you is that Gargoyle's kind can live beyond a thousand years, if I am not mistaken, even if I don't know his actual age. Both Sandpit and Tracker are unique beings, so I don't really know how long they can live, possibly forever if they aren't killed. Phobos created Sandpit only a few years back, so there is too much that we don't know about him. As for Tracker, there are rumors about him centuries old, or of someone very similar to him at least. Regardless I can tell you that most beasts or species on Meridian live far longer than humans can," Miranda said.
Jade considered this too. It was actually interesting. It reminded her of the Demon Sorcerers and the Oni, even if in their case they were more than long lived. The Demon Sorcerers were pretty much immortal, as she could attest by Shendu's example, but the Oni seemed to be a slightly different case. While it was more than obvious that Tarakudo and his Generals were several centuries old like the demons, she remembered that Tohru stated that they were not as immortal as the former, as they could be killed. As a matter of fact, some of the books about Oni and the Yōkai revealed that they were all mortal, no matter how long lived they could be. Some books said that some Yōkai simply had longer life spans, along with being more resilient, but even they grew old and died. Others stated that some Yōkai could live on and on without aging or falling to sickness or disease, but still they could be mortally wounded or killed in battle. She remembered that Tohru suspected the Oni being the latter case. It could explain why they were sealed in masks or in the Shadow Realm and not killed by the Japanese chi sorcerers. Maybe they even didn't have the means to kill Tarakudo and his Generals, like the Immortals couldn't with Shendu and his siblings.
"Am I immortal too, or like Tarakudo was, at least?" Jade wondered. For better or worse, she was an Oni, or becoming one at least, and the package seemed to come with a long, if not nearly immortal, life.
"That blonde psycho nearly fried me, and yet I came out unscathed. And that blue brute's mace should have shattered my skull, considering how strong he seems to be. Yet all I got was a nasty headache," Jade considered, as she thought of the possibilities. Well, at least Jackie would back off in his worries for her safety now that she was nearly invulnerable when in the next adventure.
"See how many positive things being an Oni entails? And those are just the default. Imagine what we can do given time, as we hone and expand our new powers," the voice of the Queen said in Jade's mind, much to her annoyance. But she didn't know if it was the Queen's suggestions that angered her, or the fact that she was actually considering them.
"No, no. I'm human, in mind at least. And soon in body, too. Who cares for immortality, or super strength and awesome tough…"
"As for my kind, shapeshifters can live up to four or five hundred years," Miranda said, interrupting Jade's thoughts.
"So that means that you're actually an old hag in a teen's face?" Jade asked jokingly, as she tried to forget what she had been thinking previously.
Miranda did smile at that, but there was a not so amused glint in her eyes.
"This is my actual age. As a matter of fact, shapeshifters age normally until they reach eighteen or twenty. After that, we keep our youthful appearance for the rest of our lives," Miranda responded.
"Really? So that means that you will never get old?" Jade asked in curiosity.
"After my twentieth birthday I won't. And since I satisfied your curiosity, could you please tell me your age? Perhaps you are the hag in question," Miranda said in a slightly mocking tone.
"Me, an old lady? As if. I'm twelve, if you really want to know," Jade said bashfully.
"Really?" Miranda asked. So she was only two years younger than her? Curious. Maybe Raythor was actually right and she wound up on Meridian by accident?
Miranda stopped her thoughts as she noticed the Keeper entering inside at one of those "classrooms" that Cedric told her about a few months ago. To think, that if Elyon's search had taken too long, she would have gone to Earth and enrolled in this Sheffield Institute and possibly share classes with the Guardians or Elyon herself. Cedric was preparing her when the search for the heir started to drag, since her age allowed her to search in the only school that the Light of Meridian could possibly be in, not to mention spy on the Guardians. But then the Star of Threbe was discovered, which meant a sure way to discover the heir, which indeed happened, and her utility changed to being a distraction for Elyon until the time to take her powers came.
Shrugging those thoughts aside, Miranda realized that she couldn't enter the room since she wasn't actually enrolled in this school. And she wanted a way to keep watch on the Keeper, and with luck the other Guardians, assuming they were already there.
Which meant that she had to rely on Kage.
"Listen up Kage, I want you to…"
"…To basically spy on the redhead failing a history test. As if my own classes weren't boring enough," Jade mumbled to herself in a bored tone.
Fortunately, her powers allowed her to be relatively comfortable while she was latched to the shadow of one of the room's lamps, and from there she could survey the whole classroom.
Almost an hour ago, she put herself in position as the red-haired fairy went to her seat. Already in a seat close by was the blonde fairy that talked about the test they were now taking. It seemed that the redhead had forgottento study and was frantically studying at the last minute until their teacher came and put an end to it. It was quite funny that part, especially since Jade was not in that position this time around.
After that was an hour of silence, aside the sound of scribing as the students took their tests. The amusement that she got from watching the redhead's weird faces as she tried to come up with answers had faded half an hour ago.
"This is so boooooooring. Maybe I should leave her for the moment and do something more productive, like finding a damned phone. I swear, another ten minutes like this and I…"
"Huh? Ugh, not again."
The redhead's voice interrupted Jade's thoughts. She looked again at her target, and got one of the most bizarre scenes of her life.
"Shut up. You're a calculator and this is a history test," the redhead said, addressing her calculator, of all things.
"What in the world? Is she really talking to the…" Jade thought, completely stupefied.
"When I need help, I'll ask…"
The redhead's sentence was cut short as Jade watched her teacher's shadow looming over her, as impending doom seemed to fall on her.
And the redhead took notice of it, as she looked frantically at the teacher.
"*Sigh* Principal's office," the teacher said the same line that Jade had heard herself so many times that she had lost count.
"Ouch, that has got to hurt. Still, what in the world possessed her to start taking to objects? Unless it's a power that allows her to talk to them? Nah, that would be stupid. She's crazy, that's all there is to it," Jade thought.
Jade stopped her musings as she noticed the redhead starting to head towards the door.
"I suppose I should tell Miranda about this."
Will sat dejectedly for several minutes as she waited for Principal Knickerbocker to receive her. Something that she wasn't so keen to do. Not to mention that her mother would freak out at her later, as usual…
"No loitering in the hallways."
That voice awakened Will. A burly electronic voice that, after looking around herself, Will quickly realized was coming from the clock stuck in the wall. Annoyed at all of the electronical interferences that she had experienced today, she moved the chair near the clock and climbed it, now facing the offending clock.
"Why are you talking to me? How are you talking to me?" Will asked in an annoyed and demanding tone.
"Ahem, excuse me?"
The new voice stopped Will, and she quickly turned to notice a raven-haired girl with an Asian complexion, as her blue eyes watched Will in a weird way.
"Uhhhh, hi. Being here long?" Will asked in an embarrassed and amicable tone. The last thing she wanted was to look like a complete fruitcake in front of a complete stranger. Even if those blue eyes were somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place where or when she saw them.
"No, I'm new. My name is Mi… Melinda," said "Melinda" as she crossed her hands behind her backs, looking as innocent as she could.
As Will descended from the chair, the door opened, and from it emerged Alchemy, one of Elyon and Cornelia's closest friends. And that same door blocked "Melinda"from her target, much to her annoyance.
"See, what I did I tell you? What a wacko," Kage whispered.
Miranda was about to comment on the weirdness of Earthlings when that short blond-haired girl said something that made her pause.
"Will, I'm so relieved. They're finally doing something about Elyon and her parents," Alchemy said as she noticed Will.
"What do you mean?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion and worry.
"They have been gone forever and no one seems worried, so I convinced Principal Knickerbocker to call the police," Alchemy replied.
Before she could continue, a white-haired, imposing older woman with a ridiculous hairstyle came to the door, with a not so friendly look on her face.
"Uh, well… I better get to class, they are letting me make up the history test," Alchemy said, as she took the hint and started heading towards the classroom.
"Wonderful," Will said as she passed Alchemy and entered the Principal's office.
As the door closed, Miranda was smiling in malevolent glee, the beginnings of a plan already in her mind.
"Wonderful," the shapeshifter said in complete satisfaction.
"What's wonderful?" Jade asked as she emerged now that the cost was clear.
But Miranda didn't respond, as she kept watching the retreating Alchemy in the distance.
"Kage, you will stay here and keep watch on the Keeper while I will go to have a chat with that girl," Miranda ordered.
"Wait, what are you…"
But Jade couldn't finish, as Miranda ran in the short blonde girl's direction.
"Figures that I get the lousy job. And here I thought that only Jackie wanted to put me on boring duties," Jade said in annoyance.
Jade looked at the door and considered her next course of action. She could stay outside or sneak into the office, and either way have a similar experience as before when she was watching over the one called Will in the classroom. Besides, the abhorring experience of being lectured by the Principal was something that she could sympathize with, considering the recurring visits that she used to make in her school in San Francisco.
"Or I could take my chance and use this time to do something for my rescue. As for you… well, good luck fairy, you'll need it," Jade said, as she smirked at the closed door.
"Hey, wait up."
The new voice stopped Alchemy as she turned, and to her surprise noticed a girl that she had never seen before running towards her.
"How may I help you?" Alchemy asked in some urgency, considering the test that she still had to take.
"Sorry for bothering you, but I'm Melinda and I'm new here. I was going to talk to the headmas… I mean, the Principal, to sort out my application when I accidently caught your talk with that other girl and I couldn't help but hear you talk about a disappearance, and the police coming, so I got curious about it," Miranda said, with the most innocent smile on her face.
"Why do you want to know?" Alchemy asked with a raised eyebrow, slightly suspicious of the new girl.
"Well, you see, I'm not just new to this school, but me and my parents have just moved to Heatherfield a couple of weeks ago," Miranda said.
"Oh, like Will last year. The redhead girl that entered after me," Alchemy said, as her eyes relaxed and her small suspicions left her mind.
"I see. Anyway, my parents are… how can I say this, total control freaks, you know, always worried about my safety and wellbeing. Do you know that they even don't let me go on dates?" Miranda said, as she pretended to look embarrassed. Cedric taught her that Earth girls talked about things like that and her "friendship"with Elyon clearly confirmed that. Fortunately, it served to help her blend in better here.
"Oh, you poor girl. Elyon had a similar problem with her parents, you know. For some reason, they would always get tense when she said she met a guy on a date or something," Alchemy said, remembering how Elyon often complained about her parents always watching her and the boys she invited to their home.
Miranda almost let her smile crumble into a frown when the stupid Earthling compared her to that wretched Light of Meridian. It took some considerable self-control to not yell at her, but the reminder of her mission and the possible results of her developing plan was all the motivation she needed to not blow her cover.
"Elyon… that was the name you said back there. Your friend?" Miranda asked, as her smile widened even more.
"Yes, my BFF," Alchemy confirmed with a nod.
"Well, I can see now why you seem so concerned. It must be a sensitive subject for you, so maybe I should ask someone else about it. Sorry if I bothered you about it," Miranda said, as she pretended to start leaving.
"Oh no, it's no problem. Yes, I am concerned, but maybe I'm just overreacting. I'm not even sure if Elyon and her parents are really missing," Alchemy said in a placating tone.
"Really? But you asked the Principal to call the police," Miranda pointed out.
"Well, that is because they have been missing for months, and the only news I had was from some of our friends that said they were on vacation somewhere. You know what, maybe I should tell you the whole truth before you start to hear some weird rumors about Elyon being kidnapped by a giant snake or lizard," Alchemy said.
"If you don't mind, that is. It's just that I prefer that my folks hear about this from me than from someone else. I fear that they might overreact and send me to some boarding school," Miranda said as she allowed a smirk to form on her lips.
"And we can't let that happen can we? Well, it goes like this, Cornelia…"
A door opened, and what looked like a female teacher left her office. Jade took her chance, and in her shadow form slipped between her legs, and entered before the door closed. Not that she needed it to be open. All she needed was for the office to be empty.
As the door closed, Jade waited a few minutes until she couldn't hear any more footsteps. Satisfied, she emerged from her shadow and moved to the desk, smiling in expectation, looking at the object she so desperately sought. A phone. Well, an old model, but all she cared about was that if it worked.
"I would even settle for a carrier pigeon if I had no choice. Or even smoke signals," Jade muttered, as she picked up the handle, and much to her pleasure she heard the indistinct sound that it was working.
"Sweet," Jade said as she dialed Jackie's cell phone number. And after a few seconds…
CLICK!
"Jackie, it's me, listen, I…" Jade started, frantically.
"This phone number is unallocated," responded an electronic voice.
Jade blinked in surprise. Unallocated? What the heck?
"Must have put the wrong number by accident," Jade mumbled, as she dialed again, making sure that this time she put in the correct numbers.
It clicked again, but as she was about to talk…
"This phone number is unallocated," responded the same electronic voice.
"What?! But it's Jackie's number, I'm sure of it," Jade protested.
In an angry snarl, Jade decided to dial the number for Uncle's antique store. Of all the times that Jackie decided to change his number, it had to be now.
"No worries. Just a small setback. Uncle will respond, even if I have to be very careful when I talk to…"
"This phone number is unallocated."
Jade let the handle fall to the ground, her mouth falling open as her eyes bulged almost out of their sockets. In panic, she started to dial all the numbers she knew, from Jackie's office at the San Francisco museum, to Black's private cell phone (Jackie had reprimanded her once for using Black's secure line to order pizza), to Tohru's cell phone. She even called Drew's home, something she never thought she would ever do.
And all she got was…
"This phone number is unallocated."
"This phone number is unallocated."
"This phone number is unallocated."
"This phone number is unallocated."
Her desperation grew to a point that she was considering the number of her parents' apartment in Hong Kong. Under normal circumstances, she would at least hesitate in calling them, since she feared that they still didn't know that she was missing from Jackie, and if they found out they would want to make her return to Hong Kong. But right now, she threw all caution to the wind as she dialed the number.
CLICK!
"Nín hǎo?"
The male voice made Jade's heart skip a beat. Finally, a response.
"Dad, it's me," Jade said in a frantic tone.
"Who is this? I can't understand you," said a man with a gruff voice in Chinese.
If Jade wasn't so eager to get a response from someone familiar she would immediately realize that it couldn't be her father, since he spoke English fluently, but right now her emotions took over, and she replied in Chinese, "It's me Dad, Jade."
"Jade? Who is Jade? Hello? Hello?" asked the voice in confusion.
Jade stopped as she finally realized that the man answering her was not her father. It was not even the same voice. She stood stunned for a minute while the Chinese man on the phone kept calling her a few times until he gave up and hung up. For another minute, Jade stayed silent and immobilized, until she ended the call and robotically dialed Jackie's number again.
"This phone number is unallocated."
Something flared in Jade's body as her face crumpled into an angry snarl. In one movement, she sent the offending phone toward a wall, with such strength that the phone shattered to pieces.
"My, my, such a nasty expression. I love it."
Still snarling, Jade turned to the screen of a nearby computer, and there she saw the image of the Queen, her face showing her amusement.
"You see now, how it's so good to let some steam out? I assure you that you will feel wonderful after…"
Jade's next movement surprised the Queen, as she picked up the monitor with such speed that it shut her up, as her eyes widened in surprise. Jade closed the distance until she could face her dark reflection directly. To the Queen, Jade's angry expression had really caught her off guard, considering that she was directing all of her anger and hatred against the Queen herself. It felt strange being on the receiving end of such a gaze instead of being the one to express it, as she normally would (anger and hatred were two of her favorite parts of Jade).
"Undo it," Jade said, or more precisely snarled, with such contempt that the Queen was silent for a few seconds.
"What?" the Queen asked, in a slightly perplexed tone.
"I said undo the spell. I don't know how you did it, but shut down this spell or I swear I will find a way to…"
"I can't undo it," the Queen interrupted.
"And why not?!" Jade yelled in anger.
"Because I didn't cast any spell to begin with, you twit!" the Queen yelled back, as her eyes glowed red and her mouth showed her fangs, stretching their length a little more than before.
Jade's anger dimmed somewhat at that response, but she still glared at the Queen and said, "Yeah right. Only you have any interest in sabotaging my rescue. You hijacked my body and used it to cast some stupid spell that is messing with the phones or something. All so that Uncle can't cure me and get rid of you, right?"
"I can't hijack our body, not for long periods of time, I already told you that. And for that so called spell, all the magic I know is exactly the same as all you know, no more, no less. Or was it Tarakudo that entered our dreams and told me about this wonderful spell to break up phones?" the Queen asked sarcastically and mockingly.
"Don't play dumb, because I won't fall for that. I know it was you," Jade retorted.
The Queen narrowed her eyes into two slits, and to Jade it seemed that the reflection got closer to her, as if invading her personal space.
"Read my lips. I! Didn't! Do! It!" the Queen said, slowly and dangerously.
Jade could see it, in the eyes of her alter ego, that she was being truthful, or as much as she could be. Her anger finally dissipated as she put the monitor back onto the desk.
"But… if it wasn't you, then who? How?" Jade asked in confusion and bafflement.
"Beats me. I'm not even sure if this is the work of a spell," the Queen mumbled, with a thoughtful expression.
"What do you mean?" Jade asked, as she eyed her dark reflection.
"What I mean is, it seems that Jackie, Uncle, our parents, all those that we know, don't seem to exist at the moment," the Queen replied.
"That's ridiculous," Jade said.
"Is it? Then how you would explain what happened? Broken phone? It worked for Hong Kong, even if it didn't get who you wanted," the Queen asked.
"Maybe they were kidnapped, and their phones numbers were erased," Jade retorted.
"Even Black's?" the Queen asked, skeptically.
"And why not? Anything could have happened at this point," Jade said, in exasperation.
"Exactly, including Jackie and the others suddenly… vanishing from the face of the world," the Queen retorted.
Jade was about to respond when she heard the door's knob starting to turn.
"We will continue this conversation later," the Queen said, as her image morphed to Jade's normal reflection.
As for Jade, she didn't lose time in entering her shadow. She was done with this office anyway.
"Ah, nothing like a good cup of coffee to…"
The woman that entered stopped abruptly as she noticed her disorganized desk and the shattered phone on the floor.
"Who? What?" the woman mumbled as she moved to pick up the pieces of the broken phone, while behind her a shadow snaked to the door, leaving the office.
"Stupid Earthlings. I can't believe that the Guardians allowed such a huge chink in their defenses for so long. Well, it makes my work so much easier," Miranda thought in glee as she walked back to where she had left the Keeper and Kage. To think that it would be Elyon, of all people, who would give her the key to neutralize the Guardians. It was a strange irony that for once she could appreciate. Maybe later she could rub it in "Her Useless Majesty's" face when she got the chance.
However, as her excitement started to cool, she then realized that she pretty much left Kage to her own devices while she talked to that Earthling. It was possible that the blue girl could have left her, and it would take a considerable effort to track her down in a city of this size (it may be no Infinite City, but Heatherfield was several times bigger than the largest village of Meridian, which happened to be the one around the castle).
"I should have had her follow me, but I didn't want to lose sight of the Keeper. What if she's miles…"
Miranda suddenly stopped as, to her amazement, she saw Kage sitting on a chair right in front of the Principal's office. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and seemed in deep thought.
"Well, at least I don't have to worry about her leaving me," Miranda thought.
"I take it that the Keeper is still in there," Miranda said as she approached Kage.
No response. Curious, Miranda spied the thoughtful and concerned expression on Kage's face, as if she was trying to decipher the most elusive enigma.
"Kage, did you hear me?" Miranda asked.
Again, no response. For all purposes, it was as if Kage couldn't hear her.
"Kage?" Miranda asked, this time a little louder.
"What?" Jade asked in a stupor similar to someone being suddenly awoken.
"I asked if the Keeper is still in there," Miranda said, relieved that Kage was finally responding.
"Huh? Oh, right, the Keeper, yeah she's still inside," Jade said. It was the truth, since the first thing she did when she got back here was to listen through the door, and to her relief Will was still there.
Of course, that relief turned to concern and thoughtfulness as she tried to think about what happened back there. Why Jackie and everyone she knew either didn't have a working number or it was assigned to someone else. It was something that puzzled her to no end, even more than the Pan'ku Box or whatever old transcription that Uncle and Jackie unearthed from an artifact.
It couldn't be what the Queen said, could it?
"You seem to be having some deep thoughts," Miranda commented as she eyed Kage curiously.
"It's nothing to worry about," Jade said evasively.
Miranda could clearly see that it was more than nothing, but for once she decided to let it go.
"Have it your way. I am in such a good mood that I could care less about your problems, as long as they don't interfere with our mission," Miranda said, as she smiled happily and in satisfaction.
"Someone is really on Cloud 9," Jade thought, as she practically couldn't sense any negativity in Miranda. It was there like with everyone else, but it wasn't being expressed at the moment. Of course, she could only assume that she was content based on her face, since her empathic powers seemed to be only set for negative emotions (if she could feel the positive ones, she didn't have a clue of how to do it).
"So what now?" Jade asked as she looked at Miranda, trying to concentrate on her current task. As much as she hated to do it, she had to leave the problem with the phone numbers for later, when Miranda was not around her again. Maybe she would try to use the computer this time.
"Which I could have used if I hadn't snapped before. Ugh, stupid," Jade thought, as she chastised herself for that shortcoming.
"Now you will return to my shadow. It's a wonder that no one came while you were so visible," Miranda said as she eyed her surroundings, making sure that no one was indeed coming.
"Okay, okay," Jade said, as she melted into her shadow and moved it toward Miranda's own. A second later they were merged, making Miranda flinch as it happened.
The sound of a door opening caught the attention of both girls, as Will emerged, looking tired and exhausted.
"And I still have to listen to Mom," Will mumbled in exasperation as she walked off, not noticing Miranda behind her.
"Soon, Guardian, you and your fellows will understand what it feels like to not have a place in your own world. Like you did with us," Miranda said, as a malicious smirk played on her lips.
"Y-you see, Queen Elyon, if the West Nobearites keep their Hoogan herd on the east side of Nobear township, and the East Noberites keep their Hoogan on the east side of Nobear township, then it is all but inevitable that their Hoogan will mix with the West Hoogan. Pff, it's geographical chaos with feathers. This is and always has been bad for business…"
Elyon couldn't take more of his talking. The Elder of Nobear Town had such a way with words that by comparison Mr. Collins' classes were livelier. And he was boring as Hell. She sighed and leaned on her right hand as she kept hearing the Elder droned over and over about East Hoogans this and West Hoogans that. She didn't even know what a Hoogan looked like. Or ever heard of that Nobear town.
She was originally excited for this day. She remembered when Caleb suggested two days ago that she hold court as a first official act as the new Queen. Considering that Phobos never held court during his reign, Caleb's proposition seemed a reasonable one. It would separate her from the tyranny of her brother and at the same time she could effectively help her people as she projected before her coronation. According to Caleb and her parents, the news were well received, and to further prove that, the castle entrance had a true mob of courtiers, to the point that she may have to hold another one in the foreseeable future. At least, that was her plan.
But then came the courtiers. Some came simply to greet and recognize their new Queen, and Caleb appointed the ones that were members of the Rebellion, whom she thanked for their services to Meridian. Then came the Elders that directly opposed against her brother's rule and paid a heavy price, much to her dismay. Of course she assured that the Crown would help in the effort of rebuilding their ruined villages and homes, it was the least she could do. Those cases she could afford to bear and keep attention, but the last two dozen or so were either Elders of neutral villages (not that many of their villagers didn't lend their support to the Rebellion as Caleb said, but officially they had to keep appearances considering the reprisals that Phobos would unleash on them) or the common Meridianite that were asking for her input on a certain subject, mostly trivial things, others had their small problems and wished for a solution from her, some disputes that she had to resolve (only one so far), and so on. It was starting to get old, too fast too soon. And worse, she couldn't have a break until the court ended, and it was only noon (fortunately they let her take meals between courtiers, but that was it).
"To think that it's only morning, and I have to endure this for the rest of the day," Elyon thought tiredly.
Elyon looked to her left and watched her father looking serious and properly dignified, as per his role as one of her advisors. If he was as bored as her, then he disguised it very well. Then again, her foster parents were once leaders of the Meridian Royal Guard before Phobos' ascension, and probably had extensive experience in dull duties and meetings during her birth mother's reign.
As for Caleb at her right, he put a good front for most of the time, but she did find him yawning on three… no, make that four occasions. Still, it was better than a certain Passling who was snoring right beside him. And considering how his body seemed to waver, he should fall…
BANG!
…Any minute now.
Elyon couldn't help but giggling a little at Blunk's figure. Funnier was how the Elder didn't seem to even notice this happening (or he was simply ignoring it) as he continued to drone about the Hoogan affair.
"Eh-he-hem!" her father coughed pointedly, as he leaned towards Elyon, catching her attention.
"Thank you, I will give your concerns much thought," Elyon said in the most diplomatic way she could muster. Something told her that she would have to use it many more times.
The old Galhot (not Drake, as her parents drilled that name in her, it seemed to be offensive to some of them) bowed in respect and turned to leave the throne room. One down, a hundred or so more to go.
"Ruling so does not rule!" Elyon said with a heavy sigh as she lowered her head in tiredness.
"You mean you don't find Hoogan land disputes fascinating?" Caleb asked.
Elyon wondered if he was joking or actually being serious.
"Give Blunk land. Dispute settled!" Blunk said as he picked himself up.
"If only things were so simple," Elyon thought.
Elyon rose from her throne as Trill walked toward a table and put down a tray full of fruit for everyone to eat until the next courtier came.
"I figured out the problem. Somewhere between east Nobear and west nowhere it came to me. I missed the princess part of being Queen!" Elyon complained, as she walked toward Trill. She then took Trill's hands and started to dance with her, much to Trill's surprise.
"What happened to my masked ball? Where's my Prince Charming? I wanted a castle on a cloud and instead I got…"
"The Royal Architect with his plans for sewage construction," announced Aldarn, interrupting Elyon's daydreaming. Not that he could censure her; he remembered that Queen Weira would do similar things in boredom, even if only in private and not during her royal duties.
Caleb watched in amusement as an embarrassed Elyon returned to her throne as the Architect and his assistant approached. He admitted that Elyon was rough around the edges, but he was confident that in time she could act as her position asked her to. At least she had the right heart, which alone made her far more desirable than Phobos.
However that was not sentiment shared by Trill, who scowled to herself when she was certain no one was looking her way.
"Naïve girl. Becoming the Queen is not a simple promotion from being a princess. With a twerp like you on the throne, something tells me that Meridian will be ruined in half the time of Phobos' rule. Fortunately, my plans will surely resolve whatever wreck you turn this world into," thought Trill as she smiled in satisfaction at the end.
In Heatherfield, a few hours had passed, and currently Miranda was busy keeping watch on the building where the Keeper lived; she had sent Kage to find something to eat almost an hour ago, more or less.
A few hours ago, the weirdness continued as both Miranda and Kage saw the Keeper and her friends talk to that strange gizmo as if it was alive and could talk back. Human technology was strange, but from what she learned from Cedric it was not magical in anyway. She had to agree with Kage's assumptions that the "fairies went off the deep end".
"Why couldn't they go mad before the battle at the castle?" Miranda thought with a grumble.
Anyhow, they entered the building that Miranda was currently surveying, and a few minutes later a red car parked, out of which an older woman with long black hair emerged, and a short time later the other four Guardians left. From the smell, she could tell that she was close to the Keeper, probably her progenitor. Cedric did tell her that the Keeper lived with her mother only. Maybe her father died? It was a common occurrence on Meridian where one parent died during Phobos' reign. Or both.
"Like with me," Miranda thought with a grimace.
Miranda quickly shook those thoughts from her mind. Now was not the time.
"Where is Kage? She should have been back by now," Miranda grumbled in annoyance as she looked back in the direction that Kage went. She turned back in the direction of the building…
…And a blue face with red glowing eyes greeted her.
"GAH!"
"AHHH!"
Both Kage and Miranda jumped in surprise, until they realized it was just the other. Both calmed down and Miranda said in annoyance, "Don't ever do that again. What if someone sees you?"
"As if I don't pay attention to my surroundings. Also, I didn't think that you would turn around so quickly," Jade said in her defense.
"Never mind. So, did you get something to eat?" Miranda asked.
"Yeah, got it right here," Jade said, as she showed two bags made of paper clutched in her right hand.
Curious, Miranda took one and opened it, finding a strange concoction of two bread slices that contained a chunk of roasted meat with vegetables and other things mixed in. And it smelled heavenly.
"What is this?" Miranda asked with some caution.
"A burger," Jade said nonchalantly, as she had already started biting into her own burger.
Miranda once again eyed her "burger", finding it the strangest food that she ever saw, at least in appearance. Yet the smell was really captivating. And considering her hunger, she had to at least taste it. It couldn't be worse than what she was used to.
She bit it… and there was an explosion of flavors in her mouth. It felt so good that she immediately bit it again. And again. It tasted wonderful each time.
"Why on Meridian would Cedric complain about their food? It's amazing," Miranda thought, as she savored it. Granted, not all shapeshifters were the same, as she was the human variety while Cedric was the beast one, but still, this burger would probably make any Meridianite salivate for more.
Jade looked on in amusement at the shapeshifter eating the burger in such a frantic way that it even made Jade look like she had better manners. It was especially gross (well to most, not to Jade Chan) seeing Miranda licking and sucking her fingers.
And the shapeshifter quickly realized that she had an audience, so she composed herself, trying to regain her collected image.
"It was edible," Miranda said coolly.
"Yeah right, you would hog more if I had stolen it," Jade thought, laughing internally.
Jade decided to look at the building, and at around the sixth floor, she could see Will with the calculator again, and again talking to it.
"Great, she's doing it again," Jade muttered.
Miranda looked in the same direction and watched the Keeper sighing in exasperation and leaving the construct on the window's ledge and leaving it there. An interesting idea occurred to her. That gizmo seemed to be identifiable to that Guardian. So if somehow it landed in a certain place it would link the Keeper to there.
She had to get that device.
"Fetch me that device, Kage," Miranda said, as she pointed at the window.
"Why?" Jade asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll explain later. For now, just bring it to me," Miranda said, now sounding more impatient.
Jade looked at the window again; it was pretty high, and she never climbed such a height while in her shadow form. Who knew if she could hold on for long enough? It was not the same as hanging from the ceiling.
"It would be so much easier if I could just stretch out my hand and pick it up…"
As soon as that thought echoed in her mind, suddenly something emerged from Jade's shadow. Something long and serpentine. For a minute she thought it was a snake, one of the ones from the Shadow Realm, but to her relief and confusion, it was a big shadowed tentacle connected to her shadow. It was wheezing and moving, as if it had a life of its own.
"What is that?" Miranda asked in surprise while she also looked at their surroundings, making sure that no one was around. Fortunately, the street was empty.
"I don't…" Jade started, but a familiar voice inside her mind interrupted her.
"Point your hand toward the window and imagine that you are grabbing the calculator," said the Queen.
"What?" Jade asked in confusion.
"Do as I say," the Queen ordered in annoyance.
Confused, Jade stretched her right arm in the window's direction, and to her amazement the tentacle stopped moving erratically and moved toward the window, stretching and stretching as it got closer to the window.
Miranda watched in amazement, as the tentacle seemed to obey Kage's arm motions. When the tip reached the device, Kage made a grabbing motion, and the tip grabbed it. As Kage pulled the arm back the tentacle receded, bringing with it the Keeper's device.
"I didn't know you could do that," Miranda said truthfully.
"You and me both," Jade thought to herself. She believed that only the Queen could manipulate shadows like that, as she had done when they faced the Guardians and those Guards.
"I already told you that we both do the same things. I simply do things better," the Queen gloated. Jade could even imagine the smirk of superiority on her face.
Shaking her head to get rid of such an unpleasant image, Jade directed the tentacle towards Miranda's open hand, and made it to put down the calculator. Its purpose fulfilled, the tentacle immediately receded back into the shadow.
"Weird," Miranda mumbled as she looked back at the calculator. A smirk came to her lips. A very malicious smirk.
"Anyway, thanks to you Kage, we now have found evidence of a crime. A very grave crime," Miranda said as she started to move away, going back to the Browns' residence.
Jade looked confused at the shapeshifter's reaction but shrugged and followed after her. As long as Miranda was around, she couldn't try to contact Jackie and the others, so all she could do now was to follow her.
"For now. Besides, I'm sure that what happened back there was just a huge misunderstanding. I mean, they couldn't just have vanished like that, right?" Jade thought to herself.
Thousands of miles away, at San Francisco International Airport, a Chinese man with short black hair and expensive clothes was walking toward the entrance, carrying his luggage.
"Come along, Stacie. We don't want to be late to your audition," the man said as he opened the windowed door.
Close behind him was a tall teenaged girl with long black hair, carrying her own luggage.
"Sure thing, Uncle Jackie," Stacie said as she smiled at her famous uncle Jackie Chan, the martial artist-turned-actor.
And soon she would follow in his footsteps.
Continues in part 3
Note: saiko – psycho, psychopath, madman, crazy.
This time, I also put a list of Chinese words or phrases. I actually considered putting sections of dialogue in Chinese or Japanese, but I decided against it to avoid confusion or mistakes on my part since I am not familiar with both languages. Words or small expressions is one thing, and a fluent conversation in another language is quite another. If I ever put magical chants like in the show, I will put it in either Chinese or most likely Japanese, but that's that.
Nín hǎo – Hello in Chinese.
