Author's Note: A big thank you as always to my beta InsanityisReality! :)

Also, I would like to announce that there is a TV-Tropes page for "The Ultimate Evil"! :D User Olmo has been very kind and set up the page and adds to it whenever possible. There is a link to it on my profile, so please go and check it out - it's awesome! A huge thank you to Olmo for setting that up!

Also, there is some Valerie art coming very soon! Mew Mew 124 has given us her talent and brilliance in order to draw some fantastic art of Valerie, so go to my profile where there is a link to the first page!

The Hunter

"Join us sister dearest!" Shendu exclaimed with barely held back excitement as he watched his twin begin to merge and form as a tidal wave of water erupted from the demon-portal and spread across the floor of the roman colosseum.

The water formed into arms with three webbed claws on each hand, a feminine torso, with a long and strong fish-like tail. Her head held a fish's mouth and red eyes, and from her head sprouted tentacles that whipped about in jubilation as the demoness screeched in victory. It was easy to see how a creature like Bai Tza could influence the mortal legends of mermaids and sirens, and she had more than lived up to the myths when she had ruled the oceans over a thousand years ago.

"Whoa… fish outta water…" Ratso murmured as he stared up at the towering mermaid before them.

"At last liberation!" Bai Tza cried in triumph as she spread open her arms, before she turned to look around her with a grin. "And now for some livation…" But then she hissed as a sneer of disgust twisted her features. "Which will require moister climes then this!"

"Ah, ah, ah…" Shendu purred out, grinning as he walked to his sister, who turned to curl her lip down at him. It really made Shendu struggle to keep his manners, for he and his twin sister had always been the closest rivals, for they were fire and water: two conflicting forces that never got along even if they were always considered in equal measure. It made his blood boil to have himself be of lower standing then her in his human form, but that would all change soon enough. "Now that I have opened the last portal, sister Bai Tza, it is time to liberate me from my prison of flesh!"

He grunted in pain when one of Bai Tza's tentacles whipped out and wrapped around his chest, squeezing him painfully as she lifted him into the air until they were nose to nose.

"You dare request your freedom?!" She demanded.

"Have I not earned it?" He argued. "As promised, I have released all our brothers and sisters!"

"How curious then…" Bai Tza sneered at him. "That SIX demon sorcerers still remain trapped in the void! I should obliterate you on their behalf… Especially since you dishonour us so with your recent activities." She growled as she squeezed her tentacle around him all the tighter. He attempted to foolishly fight her, trying to ignore the last part of her sentence that made his blood boil as he heard the loathing in her voice, but it was of no use.

"I held my part of the bargain!" He snarled. "You cannot blame me for the meddlings of Jackie Chan!"

It was then that he heard an engine's roar, blinking in surprise as he looked over to see a motorcycle and attachment seat holding none other than the archaeologist and his chi-wizard uncle. Shendu could have rolled his red eyes at such timing.

"Speaking of whom…" He grumbled.

"Quick, Uncle! The Chi spell!" Jackie said as he pointed with wide eyes at Bai Tza, but the old man was unresponsive as he was struggling to get out of the car.

"Jackie! I am stuck." The old man grunted as he tried to get himself out.

"I will not repeat the mistakes of the others!" Bai Tza snarled, dropping Shendu as she pulled her arm back, a ball of water forming in her hand –

Suddenly, from out of the shadows, a figure dropped straight into the middle of the battleground, right between Bai Tza and her target. Everyone blinked in surprise as the figure slowly stood.

A woman dressed all in black with her leather jacket open, leather pants loose and flexible, and combat boots. Weapons of different sizes and designs were strapped to the mysterious figure in various places, including a sword strapped to her back. As the woman stood, she had flowing deep red hair and clear green eyes, her face a mask of cold professionalism as she calmly stared down the water demon before her.

"And who would this be?" Bai Tza asked in a scornful tone. But the woman in black didn't answer, but withdrew from her pocket a chain with several symbols dangling from it so that it clanked and jingled as she moved it. Shendu thought the stranger utterly idiotic as she held up the chain to Bai Tza and began to shake it so that it rattled noisily.

"Back, demon!" The woman spoke in a harsh yet determined voice. "You will not harm any this day!"

Bai Tza looked at the rattling chain, as if wondering why she was supposed to be impressed by such a thing, and Shendu shared such an opinion. The water demon then shrugged, before she hurled her water-bomb at the woman. The woman in black's eyes widened in surprise, as if she hadn't expected this outcome, but quickly rolled aside to avoid the crashing water. In the same moment as she rolled across the ground, she withdrew a dagger from her belt and flung it at Bai Tza. The mermaid-formed demoness caught the blade in her hand, but then hissed before quickly dropping the knife onto the floor. Spinning, Bai Tza smashed her finned tail into the woman, knocking her back before the demon quickly turned and slithered away as she fled the coliseum.

"Miss!" Chan said worriedly as he came over to the woman on the ground and attempted to help her up. "Are you okay –"

"Stay back civilian!" The hunter said as she pushed Jackie off of her before glaring at where Bai Tza had gone. "This is between me and the hell-spawn."

And just like that, she took off sprinting after Bai Tza. Shendu watched her leave, feeling in no inclination to help his twin. Bai Tza was clearly not in the mood to help him, and until she was, he would not help her. It was a game they had played since they were children, and the rules still applied even today. He then watched as Chan quickly hopped back onto his bike, his old-man still having not freed himself from the side-seat as they raced off after the huntress and Bai Tza.

Shendu watched them leave, a growl of frustration making him grind his teeth. He winced when Valmont's consciousness overtook the body they shared and the human blinked as he looked at his hands hopefully.

"Is it over?" He asked. "Am I free of Shendu?"

"Err…" Fin murmured as he looked at his boss a little apologetically. "The mermaid said no deal, Big V…"

Valmont growled in anger, and for once Shendu was inclined to agree with him.

Jackie and Uncle raced after Bai Tza, the motor-cycle's engine whining loudly as it was forced to go to speeds that it usually wasn't accustomed to. Fortunately the streets of Rome were virtually empty, allowing the two men to quickly gain on the fleeing demoness as she slithered as fast as she could.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao…" Uncle chanted as he held up the gorge needed to banish Bai Tza, as well as swinging his magic blow-fish.

"Your spells may have quelled my siblings… but I am the slippery one!" Bai Tza grinned as she formed two balls of water into her clawed hands and burst them onto the road. Hitting the huge puddle, the bike began to aquaplane and suddenly spun out of control, the two screaming men with it.

Bai Tza laughed, but didn't get much else out when something slammed into her side and propelled her off of the road and into a building. The glass of the windows shattered upon impact and Bai Tza shrieked in pain as something straddled her. The demoness blinked open her eyes to see the red-haired woman atop her with a long Katana blade held in her hands as she brought it down towards her chest.

Gasping, Bai Tza quickly de-materialised into liquid, causing the woman to cry out as she was suddenly sent to the ground with nothing holding her up. Bai Tza reformed from the puddle right behind the human woman and slashed at her with her claws. The woman's eyes widened, and she managed to twist herself enough in time so that it could be a glancing blow, but it still sent her flying.

The red-head grunted in pain, but hastily got back up as she reached into a pocket and blew dust at the water-demon. Bai Tza screeched at the touch of good magic, and the huntress took this moment to stand as she held up her Katana, letting it's metal shine in the lamp-light of the street as she pointed it at Bai Tza.

"I order thee, demon." The woman said in her harsh yet determined voice once more. "Back to hell with you or die!"

"I shall never go back to the pit I escaped, foolish human!" Bai Tza snarled in outrage.

"Fine by me." The huntress smirked.

The woman then launched herself at the demon, swinging her blade and flipping through the air as she tried to land a hit. Bai Tza was as slippery as an eel as she avoided every strike easily and often tried to strike back with either her tail or claws. The demoness even used her tentacle-like hair to try and snatch up the human and crush her, but the woman just managed to avoid that attack. Though as the struggle between them waged on, it seemed that the hunter was taking more hits, and so she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a crucifix. The woman held it up and even had it touch the demoness at one point, though Bai Tza did little more than flick the relic aside.

The huntress's eyes widened, her face growing pale as she stared at the discarded item, a look of worry crossing her features –

Bai Tza couldn't relish the moment, when she was suddenly kicked in the side as Jackie Chan literally flew into the battle. Bai Tza cried out in pain, hissing as she writhed to loom over the puny humans. Jackie and the woman in black looked at each other begrudgingly, before they both settled into a battle stance. The demoness narrowed her eyes, ready to launch another water attack –

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao… Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao…" Bai hissed in surprise when she saw that the old man was standing beside the forgotten motor-cycle, holding up the magical items that began to glow green. She instantly redirected her water so that it struck at Uncle's hands and flung the magical objects ten feet away.

Jackie and the strange woman both launched themselves at Bai Tza, but the water-demon quickly spotted her escape, and so melted into a puddle of water… before trickling away into a drain.

"Gone." Jackie sighed in disappointment.

"At least the hell-spawn's off the streets." The woman in black leather grumbled as she sheather her blade and tucked a red strand of hair behind her ear.

"And now she could be anywhere thanks to you!" Uncle yelled as he suddenly turned on the stranger angrily.

"Me? What did I do?" The woman blinked before narrowed her eyes at the old man.

"You let the demon escape!" Uncle shouted.

"Excuse me old-timer, but I was handling myself just fine before you two came in and mucked up my job." She spat, seemingly unflinching from Uncle's wrath.

"You mucked it up to begin with!" The old man snapped.

"Uncle…" Jackie murmured in a scolding manner as he gave his elder a stern look to remember his manners. He then turned to the stranger. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Nataline Homato." The woman replied evenly. "But most people call me Nat."

"What are you doing here… Nat?" Jackie asked a little awkwardly.

"If it wasn't obvious already, I'm here to kill that thing." She muttered with a roll of her eyes as she gestured to down the drain where Bai Tza had gone.

"Demons should not be destroyed! They must be banished! We must keep balance!" Uncle interjected hotly.

"Either one, I don't care, so long as it's not hurting people. That's what I do." The woman tilted her head upwards as she crossed her arms.

"What you do? Job? What are you?" Jackie asked in confusion as he scratched his head.

"Flesh and blood human." Nat deadpanned as she sunk into a hip. "But I am a demon hunter. Which was why you should have let me handle this."

"Despite what you may think, Nat," Jackie said softly. "But we actually would have been fine if you had not come along."

"Really?" The woman quirked an eyebrow. "Have you ever faced down a succubus? Or expelled a Beelzebub? Or vanquished a ghoul?"

"Has smarty-mouthed woman ever banished a demon-sorcerer? Noooooooo? THEN LEAVE JOB TO UNCLE!" Uncle shouted so loudly it was enough to make the ears of the other two adults ring.

"Uncle's right," Jackie murmured once his ears had recovered. "We are not dealing with just any ordinary demons, these demons are powerful, and much more then you're prepared for."

"I doubt that." Nat muttered.

"None of your… uh, equipment worked, did it?" Jackie asked with a pointed look, and saw the hunter's eyes flicker for a moment in shame. "No. You should go home. We will banish this demon, but this is outside of your jurisdiction."

"No." Nat said somewhat defiantly. When Jackie and Uncle gave her a look, she sighed as she suddenly looked at Jackie with a rather soft and sincere expression – appearing rather odd on her usually stern-looking face. "Look Mr…"

"Jackie Chan."

"Chan…" She tested the word before continuing ahead. "This is what I do. I hunt down demons, I kill them, and I make people safe. I'm not gonna stop that now. I may have been a little… overwhelmed tonight, but I she won't get the drop on me again. I can still help."

"No." Uncle immediately snapped.

"Uncle!" Jackie said sternly as he turned to look at his elder with a pleading expression. "We'll need all the help we can get…"

Uncle glared at the red haired woman, who only smiled.

Valerie couldn't quite keep the bounce out of her step throughout that day. For she'd finally done her last paper for this year at the university, and she felt as if she'd done well. She wouldn't get the results for a few weeks, but as of now, she had broken up for the summer and that was more than enough reason to celebrate. Also, she chalked up a personal victory because of the fact that she managed to keep Jade at home in the shop rather than sneak out to Rome.

And she was slightly nervous because of the fact that, as promised, she was now going to go on a date with David. Valerie was not completely ignorant of the world of men. Despite the fact that she had always been socially awkward and more of a stay-at-home bookworm, she had been on dates and even had boyfriends in the past. None of them lasted long enough to be called a 'long-term' relationship, but it was enough to let her live a little and have an idea of what to expect.

It was late afternoon, and Valerie had made dinner for Jade and Tohru early so that all they had to do was microwave it whilst she was out. She expected that Jackie and Uncle would return from their last trip whilst she was on her date, so she didn't worry about them so much. But she'd spent most of the afternoon picking out what she would wear.

Valerie could have sworn that her mother once tried to educate her on how to look presentable when going on a date – this being one of the rare times in recent memory that Valerie could remember her and her mother doing something together. But the bookworm still felt doubt as she looked over every item of clothing she wore. That one was too slutty, or that one too boring. That one was old, and that one was too flashy for this kind of event. That one was just too much, and this one was seemed like she wasn't putting in any effort at all. At one point she thought that she would need to go out and buy a whole outfit, when something caught her eye.

It was a black dress, one of the only two that she owned, the other being white. The black dress was simple, without sequins or sparkles, yet it had its own elegance as it hugged her waist. It covered her shoulders yet was short sleeved and came down to just past her knees. It was comfortable, it was nice and it actually did an amazing job of taking Valerie's pole-like frame and actually giving her the curves and rounded edges that nature hadn't. The woman decided to compliment the outfit by wearing black pumps and brushing out her scraggily mane and going through the long process of straightening it so that it looked somewhat presentable.

Pleased with herself, she actually smiled as she thought she might just pass for pretty. She was in the middle of applying her makeup, when she suddenly heard the door to the store sound, and quickly came onto the landing in confusion to see Uncle and Jackie and a stranger walk through the door. Blinking, Valerie checked her watch. She wasn't meant to be meeting David for another hour, and Jackie had said when he left that he wouldn't be back until late, if not tomorrow morning. Why were they early?

"Jackie!" Jade exclaimed as the girl ran out of the kitchen and all but tackled her uncle in a bear hug. "Did you open a can of butt-whop on the demon?"

"No…" Jackie murmured tiredly. "She got away…"

That would explain it.

"Where is Valerie?" Uncle asked as he looked about.

"I'm here," Valerie called as she came down the spiral stairs. No one even blinked at her attire, as Uncle just gestured to her and Tohru before going towards the backroom.

"Good. Now, Valerie, Tohru, we must do research!" He ordered.

"On what?" Valerie tried to keep her temper in check. She had plans for the evening and she didn't want them ruined unless for a strict emergency.

"The water demon will return to her undersea empire," Uncle told them all as he held a finger in the air as if he were an oracle who knew all. "Then, not even my most powerful chi-spell will stop her."

"For the man who claimed non-stop that his spells were the answer, he now admits to being useless?" Came a clipped answer and Valerie turned in surprise to see a strange woman in the shop.

She must have been around the same age as Valerie, perhaps a year or two younger, but the woman was built strongly, with her shoulders and arms holding prominent muscle and her stomach holding not an ounce of fat that made Valerie somewhat envious. The woman was dressed in mostly black leather, with combat boots and a white tank top peeking out beneath her jacket. The stranger had deep red hair pulled back into a ponytail, and light green eyes. She had only a duffle-bag slung over one shoulder and what Valerie was astonished to see was a Katana blade in her other hand. How on earth she managed to get that through customs Valerie would never know!

"Smarty mouth girl better keep her trap shut!" Uncle yelled at the woman over his shoulder, and Jackie offered a silent apologetic look.

"And who are you?" Valerie asked, not meaning for the words to sound as suspicious as they did.

"Nataline Homato. Though people call me Nat." She said with a slight nod in Valerie's direction. "And you?"

"Valerie Payne, shop assistant. What are you doing here?" She asked quickly.

"Nat has come to help us catch Bai Tza. She is apparently very good at this." Jackie offered.

"When you do nothing but hunt demons for the past few years, you tend to get good at it." Nat gave a wry smile.

Valerie raised an eyebrow. A demon hunter? She wasn't aware that she had suddenly transferred into the realm of science fiction and encountered Buffy the Vampire Slayer's long lost cousin. But Val didn't say anything, because considering everything she'd been through so far, it shouldn't really have surprised her.

"So you know how to catch the water-demon?" Valerie asked instead.

"The old man said he did." Nat sighed as she crossed her arms and sank into a hip. "But apparently not…"

"So forget the books!" Jade piped up cheerily. "Let's grab out flippers and –" She was cut off when Uncle suddenly dumped a pile of books in her arms, and then offering the same to Valerie and Nat. Whilst Valerie carefully handled the books until she held them securely, Nat quickly dumped hers on the nearest counter.

"Research!" Uncle stressed the word. "Bai Tza's empire is also known as the lost continent of Atlantis…"

Everyone in the room looked over at Uncle with wide eyes. Valerie felt her breath catch in her throat. Atlantis? The Atlantis?! Well, if that was an emergency excuse to cancel something, she didn't know what was…

"Atlantis?" Jackie echoed.

"I thought it was merely a myth…" Tohru murmured.

"No one has ever been able to find it." Uncle told them.

"Huh, hence the lost part," Jade winked at Valerie, before tipping under the weight of her books and falling. Valerie jerked and made sure to save at least one precious book, before setting them all down neatly and excusing herself from the room.

Once in the hallway, she quickly grabbed her cell-phone before dialling David's number. It rung three times before he finally picked up.

"Hey David," Valerie said quickly before he could even say 'hello'. "It's me, Val…"

"Hey Valerie!" David said cheerily. "How're you doing?"

"I'm all good…" Even she could hear how fake her tone sounded. "Listen, David… I'm so sorry, but something's come up at work, it's kind of an emergency…"

"Oh…" The disappointment in his voice as he knew straight away what she was doing made Valerie's gut twist. She hated making other people feel hurt, her mother said she was too empathetic for her own good, her father always said she just had a big heart…

"Why don't we reschedule, say…. Saturday?" She offered.

"What?" David said dumbly as if he didn't understand what she said, before his tone suddenly brightened tremendously. "Oh! Sure! Yeah, that works fine for me!"

"Okay. I really am sorry about this David, but I'll see you then." She said.

"No problem – see you then!" He called enthusiastically before she hung up. Valerie went back into the back room, to find everyone grabbing a book and Nat frowning at Uncle.

"So what, we find it and then go diving? That's the big plan?" The demon-hunter asked with a clearly unimpressed tone.

"We'll draw out the demon, and then Uncle can deal with her with his chi-spell." Jackie offered.

"I got a lot of cursed daggers and magic-flu." Nat offered. "Those seemed to be the only things that had any real effect on her."

"Bad magic cannot touch good magic." Uncle stated, not even turning away from his book.

"Makes sense." Nat shrugged.

"How do we plan to draw her out?" Valerie asked as she brought herself further into the room and looked through a stack of books for one in particular she knew might be a good lead…

"I'll lead the distraction."

"Me too –" Jade said cheerly.

"No." Both Jackie and Valerie said at the same time.

"Ooooh…" The girl whined.

"Do we know for a fact that Bai Tza will be at Atlantis?" Valerie asked as she turned back to Uncle's direction. "She's been gone for roughly a thousand years, her empire wouldn't be in the best of shape after that long."

"It is our only lead," Tohru shrugged.

"Yeah, I suppose," Valerie sighed. "But considering that the demon-sorcerers are really ambitious, she may be looking for a new source of power to make her mark on the world."

"But how?"

"I don't know…" Valerie murmured as she tapped a finger against her chin in thought. "If she's a water demon, I would think that she would want something to channel that power. If she's anything like her siblings, then she'll want to re-enter the world with a bang. Perhaps we should also look at the main currents of the oceans – perhaps even the north and south poles – just to see where can do the most damage."

"You seem to know a lot about these demons, for a shop assistant." Nat said as she watched Valerie with an unreadable expression. Before Valerie could give her careful reply, Jade jumped in and blew any subtlety right out of the water.

"Tch, she should, considering Val is practically the 'Other' of Shendu." Jade smirked.

There was an awefully heavy silence as Nat narrowed her eyes on the child, before looking up at Valerie. And in the moment, Val knew that Nat understood what an Other was… and Valerie felt her face grow pale.

Nat sprang so fast that Valerie only had time to scream before the air was knocked out of her lungs. Nat tackled her to the floor, and Valerie felt pain erupt in her back she made impact with the unforgiving wooden floor. She lay there helplessly as she tried to regain her breathing, but tried to struggled out from underneath the demon hunter who was already reaching for a dagger –

"Stop it!" Jackie shouted as he suddenly appeared behind Nat and grabbed her by her shoulders and wrestled her off of Valerie. Nat looked shocked at Jackie's actions as she spun to face him, even if Valerie was praising every god from every religion she could remember as she stiffly climbed to her feet.

"Do you have any idea what she is?!" Nat demanded. "That's a viper waiting to strike!"

"Oh how charming," Valerie muttered sarcastically.

"If she's an Other to a demon, that means she's a way for the demon to become beyond control! If he gets ahold of her then none of us –"

"We know." Jackie interrupted sternly. "But you can't kill her!"

"If it means keeping other people safe, we need to -"

"Valerie is family here." Valerie was surprised by how warm and touched she felt at hearing Jackie say those words as she looked up at him. "We keep her safe. And if this is something you can't handle, then go."

Nat looked as if she was seriously thinking about it. She glared over at Valerie, who matched her stare evenly, before sighing as she took a step back.

"Fine, we do it your way." She murmured in submission. Jackie nodded and left them too it as he went back to his books.

"And just when I thought we had enough crazy here…" Valerie muttered tersely with a glare as she rubbed her sore back.

"I'm not crazy for wanting to keep the world safe." Nat shot back.

"Then let me rephrase: for attacking someone you don't know… you're insane!" Valerie snarled.

"Just get back to work and do something useful – assuming that a blonde can even read." Nat rolled her eyes as she sat back down into her chair.

"Ouch, I think my grandmother first heard that one." Valerie muttered nonchalantly as she walked away, not even dignifying Nat with eye contact as she spoke. "Do try to keep up with the times dear, and we'll try to let you catch up on all the things you've missed."

"Game on." She heard Nat murmur.

For the next hour there was nothing but tense silence in the shop. Jade, Jackie and Tohru were mainly still because they were looking nervously at Valerie and Nat. The two women seemed to be silently waging war, as the presence of anger held over them like a thunder cloud waiting to strike someone with lightning. They would take turns to glare at each other when the other was not looking, or try and flip a page of the book the most furiously. Valerie knew that she should just ignore the other woman, but something about her made Valerie want to get under her skin, like a form of payback or just to put the hunter in her place.

"'A detailed geography of the pacific ocean'?" Valerie asked aloud, broken from her thoughts when she came across the title in her hands with a frown. "Uncle, you do realise we're looking in the wrong books?"

"What?" Jackie asked, more surprised by the fact that the tense silence had finally been broken.

"Think about it: Atlantis. My bet is that if it's anywhere, it'll be in the Atlantic Ocean." She said, and she saw the eyes of the others widen, as if they hadn't thought of that. "And look in the legends and mythology books, not the factual ones."

"Why?" Jade whined, dreading to think that she had already read this much for nothing!

"We're most likely to find clues from people who actually believe that Atlantis exists. And what better way than from the legends of people who lived hundreds of years ago?" Valerie explained as she plucked up a handful of books she wanted and handed them to the others.

"Look at that: a blonde who has a brain cell, that's an oxymoron in itself." Nat muttered without looking up from her own book.

"You sure you can use big words like that, Nat? I think it's a little outside your safe-zone from the usual 'ug-ug, me Tarzan, you Jane'." Valerie couldn't hold in her smirk when she heard Nat stop turning pages to glare at her back.

"Hey Val, why do blondes wear their hair up? To catch everything that goes over their heads." Nat said with a grin, and Valerie did feel her irritation spike a little. If it was one thing that got on her nerves, it was stereotyping. And nothing was worse to her then dumb-blonde jokes.

"Nat, I think you better send out a search warrant, someone just ran off with your imagination." She replied crisply as she attempted to hide her reaction.

"How do you drown a blonde? Stick a mirror to the bottom of a pool." Nat fired back, and Valerie cursed her luck as it seemed that the hunter managed to catch on and played on her pet-hate.

"And the whole Vampire-Slayer thing is sooooo working out for you." Valerie murmured, adding in a look as she eyed Nat up and down. She saw a flicker in Nat's eyes and counted a victory.

"Why do blondes have TGIF written on their shoes? Toes Go In First." Nat smirked. Jade snorted, but Valerie sent the child a withering glare to shut up.

"Did someone also write instructions on how to kill demons? I think you missed that page." Valerie said back to Nat. She gave herself double points when she saw Nat's face distort with anger before she quickly and angrily replied:

"How do you get a blonde off her knees? Cu–"

"Ahem!" Valerie quickly coughed the word as she glared at Nat so icily it made the hunter pause a moment. "I think that type of joke is a little off limits due to our current company! Don't you think?!" She spat coldly with a jerk of her head in Jade's direction. Nat frowned, before looking at the child, her eyes widening as realisation dawned on her.

"Oh… Right. Sorry." She mumbled, and Valerie was surprised at how it sounded like she actually meant it.

"What was the joke?" Jade asked with innocent large honey-brown eyes.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Valerie lied.

Another while passed in silence, but this one wasn't as tense as before. Valerie kept sneaking glances over to Nataline, assessing her. Nat's body was hard and always seemed to be ready to spring at the slightest noise. It seemed like she lived and breathed this life of fighting, and Valerie wondered how she could have ever started such a choice of life-style. Whilst Valerie still wanted to poke and prod Nat just to see how she squirmed, she couldn't help but be curious.

"So what is it like? Being a demon hunter, I mean," She asked, her tone suggesting she was frustrated and hiding her curiosity. But Nat still looked at her suspiciously for a long time, before rolling her eyes and turning back to her page of her book before answering.

"Always been a family business, really." The demon hunter murmured nonchalantly. "My grandfather learned from his grandfather, right back to the ancient days of Medieval Japan."

"You're Japanese…?" Valerie asked as she looked at Nat in confusion. Nat looked completely… non-Asian, so how…

"Dad was adopted." Nat filled in the blank for her with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh." Valerie nodded quickly. Ashamed of how she had made assumptions, she quickly decided to change the subject. "Your grandfather and father still in the business?"

"Try telling them to ever retire. Hell has a better chance of freezing over." Nat couldn't seem to help her lips from twitching into a slightly fond smile.

"Then why aren't they with you?" Val aksed.

"Both in Japan. Thought I'd go solo for a little while." Nataline shrugged.

"You didn't think of doing anything else? It was either demon-slaying-way or the highway?" Valerie asked, genuinely curious as to the answer for the crux of her questioning.

"Most kids grow up wanting to be a superhero. I was the lucky one who got that chance. By the time I was old enough to think of things other than this… By then I knew the stakes if I quit." Nat murmured, and something in her voice seemed a little distant. But then it was gone as a genuine tone entered her voice. "Knowing that you're keeping people safe is a good motivator."

"I can understand that…" Valerie murmured. For indeed she could, it was everything her father had stood up for. And whilst she was loath to admit it, the fact that Nat had that in common with her father made her seem a little more… admirable. Nat however caught Valerie's softer tone and looked up at her.

"You ain't getting all mushy on me, are you bookworm?" She asked with a wry smirk.

"Not a chance. Have to keep an eye on lunatics like you." Valerie rolled her eyes with her nonchalant reply.

Nat hid her grin. Valerie hid her smirk.

"Wearing the skirt is demeaning enough Shendu!" Valmont raged at the mirror. "But THIS is over the line!"

He indicated to the white horn that curved out of the middle of his forehead… along with the green scales sprouting out of his skin, and the reptilian ridges adorning his jaw, and the more pointed ears, and the slit pupil eyes… All in all, it wasn't exactly what Valmont wanted to look at in the mirror even on a good day. But Shendu was less then sympathetic as he glared back at Valmont through the reflection in the mirror.

"Do you think I am pleased with our union Valmont?" Shendu demanded, for in truth he wasn't. He really wasn't. He was so angry with the situation that he wanted to destroy San Francisco as much as possible before some lucky shot killed this body so that he might be free of it. But for now, and to keep himself relatively in control of himself, he kept himself busy with magic and tinkering with his appearance until it was at least acceptable. He wanted to be able to not be reminded of his awful situation every single time he passed a reflective surface. "If I am to remain in your pathetic body, I must at least make a few cosmetic improvements! Now hold still whilst I sprout our tail."

Before he could take even a drop of the potion in his hands, Valmont managed to seize partial control and used the free hand to snatch at his wrist in an attempt to wrestle the vile potion away from his lips.

"You'll do nothing of the–" Valmont snarled.

"Do not try to–" Shendu growled.

"I'll fight you with every last–"

"–And you will lose!"

"Shendu!"

The sudden bark of a voice was enough to make everyone in the cannery jump. The Enforcers all scattered in fright, for the voice had appeared directly behind them. Shendu turned and was surprised to see his sister rearing high above them with her customary sneer on her face. He was so shocked by her sudden appearance that it was enough for Valmont to take control as he walked towards the water-demon, hands clasped together.

"Good madam," Valmont pleaded pathetically. "Free me of Shendu, I beg you… Look what he did to my head!" He shouted, mortified as he pointed to his newly acquired horn.

Bai Tza plucked up the human in her claws, dangling him by his robes as she brought him up to her face.

"My answer to you and my snivelling brother remains…" She said as she poked a claw into his chest. "No." And she dropped him.

"Ooh, nasty piranha." Fin smirked to his cohorts from where they were watching at the side. But at the sound of his voice, Bai Tza turned her attention onto the other three humans.

"You!"

"Who, him?" Fin asked as he pointed at Chow who ducked behind Ratso. Bai Tza snatched him up in her tentacle, bringing him up to her face. Despite the fact that he was in some pain due to the pressure she constricted around his chest, he still tried to give her a charming smile as he tried to save his own skin. "Hey, you're a fish, I'm Fin. We're simpatico,"

"Direct me to a suitable new Empire!" She ordered.

"Uh…" Fin thought quickly as his mind went blank, before he reverted to his charm once more. "Mi casa es su casa you're amphibiousness…" He trailed off as he struggled to breathe when she tightened her hold on him.

"A FISH cannery?!" She snarled.

"Uh, see your point," Fin smiled sheepishly as he realised his mistake. "Well, there's lots of nice places here in San Fran, and it's all by the water."

"Yeah, great town." Chow offered.

"Oh, except for the quakes…" Ratso mumbled.

"Earthquakes?" Bai Tza asked, her red eyes suddenly shifting with interest.

"Uh, that's right," Fin mumbled, wondering if he had messed up again. "The San Andreas Fault runs right through downtown. Better idea: you should move to the east coast – oh!" He yelped when Bai Tza suddenly dropped him, and turned away with a triumphant grin.

"So be it," She said brazenly. "Your San Fran shall be the cradle of my new Undersea Empire!"

"Err," Ratso murmured in confusion. "But isn't your undersea empire supposed to be… you know…"

"Undersea?" Chow finished.

"And so it shall be," Bai Tza proclaimed with a grin as she pointed a claw at them. "Once I sink this city…"

And with that, she transformed into water and melted through the floorboards and was gone.

As her words melted into the minds of all in the cannery, they stared at where she had gone, gasps and looks of horror on their faces. And from where he lay in the back of Valmont's mind, having heard every word that his sister had said, for the second time in 48 hours, Shendu was inclined to agree with his host.

But the enforcers were the ones to snap out of it first.

"She's gonna sink the city?" Chow asked in a frightened voice. Shendu didn't answer him, his mind already turning as he thought his way around this unforeseen problem. He then felt a tap on his shoulder and glared over at Fin.

"Err, can we be excused, Shendu?" He asked timidly, his feet practically shifting about with his anxiety.

"Yeah," Ratso joined in. "Seeing as how we opened all the portals for ya!"

"You don't need us to carry old Pan'ku anymore…" Chow offered.

"Never seeing any of you ever again would make me a very happy dragon." He told them icily.

The enforcers took this as their cue.

"Say bye-bye to Valmont!" Ratso called as he all but rushed for the door.

"I hear Utah's nice this time of year," Fin added as he quickly followed.

"Anywhere but here!" Chow said as he slammed the door behind them.

Back in the thankful silence, Shendu almost forgot that he wasn't alone as Valmont steered them towards the mirror so that they could glare at one another.

"Weren't you listening Shendu?!" The human demanded. "If we stay here we will drown!"

"Bah!" Shendu shrugged off dismissively, a plan finally forming in his mind as he went over to the table filled with his various potions and ointments. He began to mix several together, stiring and shaking them in order to bring out the desired effect as he watched them. "Not if we have gills."

"W-What?!" Valmont stuttered, before quickly moving on to his next point. "And what of your precious girl? Are you going to do the same to her?"

"Of course." Shendu replied nonchalantly. And he meant it. If he had to drag Valerie back here and force the potion down her throat so that she might live through the flood, then he would do it in a heartbeat.

"Kidnapping and forcing her to consume ungodly substances – a great way to spark the romance." Valmont muttered as if he could read Shendu's thoughts. But Shendu ignored him. He knew that Bai Tza was the most vindictive of his siblings, apart from Tchang Zu. He wouldn't put it past his twin to purposefully hunt down Valerie during the chaos of her oncoming flood so that she might slowly drown the human girl. Anything to get one over on Shendu.

"It is either that or death, Valmont. Which would you prefer?" Shendu asked sternly.

"If you change so much as another hair on my head, I'll…" Valmont growled out angrily.

"You will what?" Shendu demanded angrily.

Shendu felt the glimmer of cunning in his host come to life, but didn't realise the full implications until Valmont had turned and was already walking towards his goal. Shendu felt his metaphorical blood drain from his ghostly face as he stared slack jawed as Valmont headed towards the Pan'ku box. He quickly tried to seize control of his host's body, causing Valmont to wince in pain at his rough handling.

"Do not be a fool!" He snarled. "The Pan'ku box is forged of good magic. You know we cannot touch it!"

But still he felt Valmont fight him as he staggered ever closer.

"No. You cannot touch it…" He growled out, gritting his teeth as he tried to reach for the box.

Shendu fought with everything he had in desperate fear as he tried to keep Valmont from touching the box. The human must have something helping him seize control, because the demon didn't know why it was suddenly so difficult to regain full control of the body in order to stop this. Their hand inched ever closer, and closer, if Shendu had a working heart of his own it would have been racing as he was slowly edged towards the torture he knew awaited.

Finally, Valmont clamped his hand around the box and instantly it spat and hissed as its electric tongues forked its way up into his body and right into Shendu's core. The demon screamed as he felt all-consuming pain eclipse his entire being, the electricity firing against his soul in every conceivable painful way. He screamed all the louder, thrashing when the torture continued as Valmont kept a tight hold on the box, and Shendu was not in the right mind to fight for him to release it. In he wasn't in any state of mind. All he could comprehend was pain, fiery, flesh rendering pain.

Until they were knocked back away with a flash of light, and the feeling of a small explosion inside of them. And that was when Shendu knew no more.

Valmont however, looked up as he felt his skin crawl before his shoulders suddenly felt lighter than they had in months. As he came to his senses, he quickly reached up and touched his forehead. When all he felt was smooth skin, he could have wept for joy.

"My face…" He whispered, the realisation dawning on him. "He's gone!" He grinned as he stood and rushed over towards the mirror. "He's gone! He's –"

The words died in his throat when he beheld the mirror. For Shendu's head was still laid over his face like some horrid mask. But this time there was something different. For once, the dragon's face didn't have his usual curled lip to reveal his fangs or forked tongue just poking through. Instead, his expression almost looked… peaceful. His eyes were not red, in fact they were closed. And that was when it dawned on Valmont.

"He's out cold…"

A/N: Please review!