Cielo walked through the halls of Section 13, tugging at his fake beard. "Jade!" he called out. "Where are you? We were going to go Trick or Treat together." It was Cielo's first Halloween, and he was looking forward to Trick or Treating. He was dressed as Merlin from Disney's "The Sword in the Stone." "Jade?" He couldn't seem to find her anywhere.
He took a quick glance in the vault, thinking she might be going for a talisman to make Halloween more fun. "Jade?" He ran a quick inventory of the vault. One Demon Sorcerer in stone: check. 12 magic Talismans: check. Six Oni masks: che...
There were only five. Where was the one they had brought in today?
Suddenly, Cielo clutched at his chest, feeling like something had punched him in the gut. Jade's voice screamed in his mind. *CI!*
He grabbed his Yin charm. *Jade! What's wrong?*
*Paco put on the latest Oni mask to be scary for Halloween, and he just beat El Toro to a pulp. El Toro looked like he was going to manage to talk him down...but suddenly he went berserk again, and the way he's looking at me is scaring me!*
*I'm coming Jade!* Cielo turned to run, but glanced back at the vault. If Paco had gone as far around the bend as it sounded...Cielo might need some magical help...
"Paco...what are you doing?" Jade didn't have to feign the fear in her voice. She was terrified. This was worse than when, just a while ago, the Shadow Kahn had pulled her through shadows. While that had been sickening, the look in Paco's eyes just now filled her with fear the likes of which she hadn't known since her first day in the Demon World tower with Hsi Wu.
Paco grinned. "I had almost forgotten...the darkness that made me wield this mask, the dark that called forth my minions. There were two things I sought to face this Halloween, two things that will be dealt with once and for all." The Shadow Kahn lowered Jade to Paco's level, and he reached out and stroked her cheek. "My greatest treasure," he whispered, in a tone that sent shivers down her spine. Then he seized her ear, startling a cry of pain as demon sharp claws briefly dug into flesh. "And my greatest foe. Soon, your precious Cielo will be here. Soon I will destroy him...and then you will belong to me!"
Jade flinched back. "Paco, what are you saying? What are you talking about?"
Paco chuckled evilly. "You were always too blind to see...the feelings I held for you. You only had eyes for Cielo! The demon boy! Well...after tonight, I will be the only demon left for you to see!" A beam of light suddenly struck Paco's hand, causing him to pull back, wincing.
"Is that how it is now, Paco?" Cielo asked, stroking his beard. For the night, he had affixed his wishbone to the top of his staff, part of the costume. "Will you turn your back on friends, your mentor, and for what? For demon power and dark fulfillment? Take it from me, you will regret it one day, if there is anything left once the demon consumes you."
Paco laughed. "Your warnings hold no meaning for El Paco Diablo! Come! Enter the ring, so I may destroy you! Or will you cower behind your magic?"
Cielo stepped into the ring, and cast his staff aside. It landed in the puddle of removal potion, the wishbone absorbing the spell. "I will not cower," Cielo proclaimed. "If this is the battle you desire, then I shall defeat you in your style." Cielo seized his robes, and with a single yank tossed them aside.
As the robes fell, Cielo stood in a wrestling outfit not unlike Paco's...holding the yellow Oni mask. "This shall be a battle of demons, and only the strongest demon will remain." He put the mask to his face.
"Cielo, no!" Uncle called out. "Uncle does not have that removal potion prepared!"
"Cielo! Don't be reckless!" Jackie called out.
"Ci!" Jade called, afraid for what would happen.
Cielo put the mask to his face, and it bonded. Dark clouds gathered as the transformation occured. Yellow spread across his entire body, as claws extended from hands and feet. The demon face of the mask became flesh, and red shone from his eyes. Demon now faced down Demon.
"You don't know what you've just gotten yourself into," Cielo told Paco. Tilting back his head, he roared.
From the clouds, seemingly endless shadows descended, as the entire tribe of winged shadow kahn arose from darkness at their master's call.
Uncle gasped. "The number of Shadow Kahn the mask can summon is dependant on the darkness of the wearer's soul. I had no idea the level of darkness Cielo kept locked away. How will we ever remove the mask?"
The winged Shadow Kahn came, striking down the Shadow Kahn holding Jade and the others prisoner. They caught them as they fell, setting them down gently. Cielo faced Paco. "You see, little boy? You and I are in different leauges, as humans OR demons. Surrender, while you still can."
Although afraid from Cielo's casual display of control of his own darkness, Paco would not back down. "You may have power...but you are no fighter!" Paco lunged in, seeking to do fierce battle.
Cielo moved rapidly, easily countering every move Paco threw his way, but as yet throwing no blows of his own. After nearly half an hour of this, Paco leaped back, panting and grinning. "You may have blocked all my strikes, but it is taking all you have to defend! I will wear you down eventually!"
Cielo grinned a demon grin. "That might be true...if this were all I had!" Cielo blurred forward, catching Paco off guard as he delivered a strong right cross to the chin. "I may not have all your fancy tricks and wrestling moves...but you have become a slave to the darkness, while I am its master!" Seizing Paco under his arms, he flipped him over, slamming him headfirst into the mat, dazing him. "While you revel in the power of the mask, I am strong in the knowledge of my own power." He walked over to his staff and seized the wishbone. His hands glowed with the removal spell. "While you hide from your own heart, I embrace the truth. Once I lived alone, a prisoner of darkness. To that life I will never return...nor will I allow it to claim you!" Cielo seized Paco's mask. "This fight is over!" With a single powerful jerk, the mask tore free.
The elastic-like, tentacled Shadow Kahn vanished. Cielo smiled. "The time for demons this night has ended. It is time for man to rule the darkness once more." Reaching up, he took hold of the Oni mask...and removed it.
The winged Shadow Kahn gently vanished, returning to shadows. Uncle gaped. "Cielo...how did you remove Oni mask without removal potion?"
"I have lived with my demon power all my life. This new power was easy to master. It is as you told me: stay true to my convictions, and I need have no fear of the darkness." Cielo paused as Jade ran up to him, clinging to him in a fierce embrace.
"Ci! You have no idea how terrified I was!"
"It's alright Jade. It's over. The mask is off Paco, and-"
"Not of Paco! Of what you did! Don't ever pull something that reckless again, you hear me?" She looked up at him, fear still fresh in her eyes.
Gazing into her eyes, he nodded, then held her close. "Alright, Jade."
"Promise!" she demanded.
Holding her gently, he smiled. He knew she needed to hear it, but he knew this was a promise he would break in a heartbeat if it meant keeping her safe. So he said the only thing he could. "Scouts honor."