Hello one and all! Welcome back! I do appreciate you waiting, never once did I imagine this story would gain so much support. You have my upmost gratitude. I had so much fun writing the first story and I hope to have just as much fun with this one as well. I have been looking forward to writing this for so long and now we are finally here! Things will be different in this story with the presence of certain characters and elements changing up the storyline for both shows in the hopes of creating a storyline that is similar and yet still unique.
Disclaimer: I own neither Jackie Chan Adventures nor W.I.T.C.H. All characters belong to their respective franchise and creators.
And now, without further delay, let us finally begin J-W.I.T.C.H. Season 2!
An Anonymous New Evil
Meridian. For over a decade, this realm had been one of darkness and despair, its citizens having lost all but a small fraction of hope as they were under the thrall of the tyrant known as Prince Phobos and his inner circle of dark forces. But, with the intervention of heroes from Earth, such as the new Guardians of the Veil, and Jackie Chan, Meridian had been freed not just from Phobos, but even the terrible demonic forces of Tarakudo, King of the Shadowkhan, and the Ultimate Evil himself, Shendu.
Now, the true heir, Elyon Brown, had been returned to the throne. The war for Meridian's freedom now won, and all was in celebration at the castle as civilians, rebels, and heroes gathered at the castle to celebrate.
But not all were celebrating. For within the underground Infinite City, deep within the lair of the wise yet mysterious being known as the Mage, a prison had been constructed for the now de-throned and de-powered Phobos, the powerless dark wizard Daolon Wong, and many of their followers. There were hundreds of cells along all the walls with 'bars' of magical energy that separated the prisoners from the outside. A waterfall served as only the entrance and exit out of the facility with a bridge leading to a central platform to observe all the cells as the Mage and a handful of guards kept watch over the prisoners.
Four individuals, consisting of Aldarn, Vathek, Drake, and Tynar soon entered the prison.
"You are relieved of duty." Drake told the group of guards as his group would take the next shift. "Now go enjoy the party."
The guards soon left as the Mage addressed the new shift. "Do not take this assignment lightly. The evil imprisoned here must never be allowed to escape. Prince Phobos and Shendu must never escape."
"Where is that demon anyway?" Aldarn asked looking around the prison. "I don't see him."
"Shendu is imprisoned within stone and is sealed in the deepest and darkest levels of this prison." The Mage answered. "Out of everyone here, the Fire Demon is the one you should fear the most."
"Do not worry, Great Mage." Vathek assured. "Your power helped bring down these tyrants. Our strength will help you keep them down."
The Mage then proceeded to leave, vanishing within the waterfall that covered the only entrance and exit.
The group heard a yell as they glanced to one of the cells above to see the man known as Hak Foo try to break free from his imprisonment. "Bear Brakes Iron Bars!" Hak Foo tried to slam his shoulder against the energy bars, but it had no effect. "Gorilla Escapes Cage!" He pounded his fists against the bars next, still no effect. "Bull Shatters Gate!" He even tried to charge with a headbutt, but he still was unable to escape.
"Do not waste your time, my former warrior." The powerless Daolon Wong said from his cell on the side. "These bars are made from pure magic. No physical attack can break through them."
"You certainly are unable to in your current state, Wong." Phobos told him from within his own cell just below Hak Foo's. "With a body as frail and decrepit as that."
"Am I to take advice from an impudent man-child?" Wong shot back to the former Prince. "Even with power, you were far too weak to do what needed to be done."
As they continued to argue, Drake couldn't help but chuckle. "You know, I'm not all that upset we're missing the party." He told his fellow rebels. "This is pretty entertaining enough… UGH!"
Drake screamed in pain as he was suddenly struck in the back by bolts of blue electricity, surprising not only his friends, but also the imprisoned villains. All eyes turned back towards the entrance as somebody new entered the prison.
It appeared to be an elderly woman with pale and wrinkly skin to rival that of Wong's. She had long gray hair that stretched down to her feet and wore a gray robe. She had bright yellow eyes with a small scar over her right eye. She wielded an oddly shaped staff with a dark purple gemstone at the tip of it in her right hand, which also appeared to be a metal prosthetic.
The old woman gave a sinister chuckle as she approached the other three guards, who quickly drew their weapons and went on the attack.
"Quintessence…" The sorceress muttered, extending her left, and only natural, hand forward, channeling more bolts of lightning that seemed drawn to the weapons of the guards.
Somehow, Vathek's mace acted of its own accord, ensnaring itself around Vathek like a snake and binding him to force him to the ground. The arrows left Aldarn's quiver and flew around him before flying down to pierce the sides of his clothing and pin him to the ground as well. Tynar's sword tried to slice itself at its owner, who struggled with all his strength to keep it at bay.
Daolon Wong could only look in surprise as he saw all that had transpired. "Quintessence? One of the rarest and most difficult elements to master… how can she wield that…?" He muttered to himself.
"Don't know… who you are… sorceress…! But you will never… free Phobos…!" Vathek growled, trying to escape his bindings.
The former Prince smiled smugly. "You seem to be in no position to give orders, Vathek."
"Oh, don't you worry." The sorceress said to the trapped guard. "For I have no intention of freeing Phobos."
"What?!" Phobos himself exclaimed as the trapped guards were also surprised.
"What would I need from a powerless prince? I came here for something else." She extended her hand forward and shot more magical bolts at the cell above Phobos, the one containing Hak Foo, who leapt down from his cage and landed dramatically in front of the sorceress. "Hak Foo, also known as the Black Tiger. Even without magic, you are one of the deadliest warriors from Earth… your strength and power rivaled by only a few. You yourself once had great magical power, but that power was stripped from you by not only your greatest rival, but six meddlesome children."
"What do you want from me?" Hak Foo got right to the point.
"To aid you in a quest of… retribution. A quest of vengeance." The sorceress sneered. "And I have the means to get it for you, as well as more power that one can only dream of."
Though that did sound enticing to Hak Foo, he was quick to grab the sorceress by the shoulder and pull her in close. "Many have sought my aid with the promise of power, only to fall short. If you prove to be just as much a failure as those imprisoned here… I will snap your neck like a twig!"
Rather than feel threatened or enraged, the sorceress' grin only grew. "Then I have nothing to worry about."
Hak Foo released her and began to follow the sorceress out of the prison, but Vathek wouldn't have it.
"No! Not on my watch!" Using his own physical strength, Vathek was able to free himself from his own binding weapon and tried to charge forward to stop them.
Only for Hak Foo to quickly deliver a roundhouse kick to Vathek's face, sending him tumbling into Tynar and knocking them both unconscious.
"You wield the power of quintessence." Daolon Wong spoke to the sorceress from his cell, causing her to stop. "Said to be the element of life itself. It is a rare and powerful form of magic, one even I, the most malevolent of dark chi masters, was unable to utilize. Tell me, sorceress… who are you?"
She turned to the powerless dark chi wizard with a sinister smile. "Someone who is about to deliver a long overdue reckoning." She said before leaving with Hak Foo.
Meanwhile, nearly every citizen and rebel, along with assisting Section 13 agent, had come to the castle to celebrate their victory, oblivious of what was happening in the Infinite City below. Fireworks shined all throughout the sky and people cheered.
A small stage was erected as the newly christened Queen Elyon began to address her subjects. Behind her were the new Guardians of the Veil, also known as J-WITCH, still in their respective Guardian Forms consisting of Will Vandom, Jade Chan, Irma Lair, Taranee Cook, Cornelia Hale, and Hay Lin. Standing with them were the J-Team led by Jackie Chan and consisting of Tohru, Jin 'Uncle' Chan, El Toro Fuerte, his protégé Paco, Viper, Captain Augustus Black, and other allies including the Passling named Blunk, the dog named Scruffy, Alchemy, Matt Olsen, Yan Lin, Mama Tohru, the Enforcers now turned heroes named Finn, Ratso, and Chow, as well as Elyon's adoptive parents Alborn and Miriadel.
"Thank you! Thank you everyone!" Elyon addressed the crowd before her. "I know I haven't been your queen for very long, and I know how much you've suffered under my brother… and under me for my ignorance. But Phobos, Tarakudo, Shendu, and all their allies are gone; and I promise to be a queen worthy of this kingdom's wonderful people. We have all been fried by the Guardians, the J-Team, the brave soldiers of Section 13 from Earth, the Rebellion and every honest soul of this land! We have won this day together!"
As people cheered, the young leader of the Rebellion, Caleb, made his way to the stage, bringing a certain someone with him.
"Your majesty, there's someone here I'd like you to meet. This is Trill, she worked in the castle's kitchen." Caleb introduced as Trill kneeled before the newfound queen. "Under Phobos, she risked her life almost every day, bringing valuable intelligence, and the occasional hot meal, to the rebellion."
"Yeah, I remember her." Jade recognized her. "She saved our lives once."
"At least twice." Will added.
"Then she must be rewarded." Elyon said.
"No, your highness. Your coronation was reward enough." Trill replied humbly.
"Please Trill, let me give you something." Elyon insisted, encouraging her to stand.
"I… I do have one boon." Trill said as she pulled out a small light-blue colored jewel tied around a string like a necklace. "It would give me great pleasure if you would wear this. This belonged to your mother, Queen Weira." She placed it around Elyon's neck. "When she died, I hid it from Phobos… hoping that one day…"
The thought of that made Elyon's eyes misty. "Oh Trill… Thank you! I'll never take it off!" She hugged the maid, who returned the embrace herself. She then turned to address her subjects once again. "My people, the work of rebuilding Meridian will begin tomorrow! But tonight, we party!"
Celebrations began in earnest as everyone ate, drank, and danced to their heart's content. A local band played music on the stage to all those dancing; including Will who danced with Matt, Cornelia with Caleb, and even Jackie danced with Viper while Blunk hopped up and down in excitement as Hay Lin danced on her own as well.
"Aiya!" Uncle exclaimed as Yan Lin pulled him onto the dance floor with everyone else. "Uncle does not dance!"
"Too bad Jin, cause I'm smoking tonight!" Yan Lin grinned as she continued to dance with him against his will, causing Jackie and the others nearby to laugh in amusement.
"The time has come to settle this, once and for all El Toro." Tohru said as he sat across from the luchador at a table.
"I couldn't agree more." El Toro agreed as they locked hands with each other.
Irma pressed their hands together with her own. "Ready… Set… GO!"
With that, both the sumo and luchador began their arm-wrestling match. "Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen!" Irma announced with Paco right next to her. "Tohru or El Toro! Who's the strongest arm-wrestler!"
"It is clear that El Toro will win the day!" Paco said as an audience gathered around.
Meanwhile, Jade sat around an audience of her own as she used her own shadow-magic to create literal shadow puppets to detail the events of her and her friends' battle against the Ultimate Evil.
"But Shendu was all 'grr! I am the Ultimate Evil! I cannot be killed!'" She made a shadow-construct of Shendu while also creating several smaller ones to show herself, her team, and uncle fighting back against the Fire Demon. "But that wasn't gonna stop us! Jackie came in with a punch to knock his teeth out while the rest of us blasted him with everything we got! Not even the Ultimate Evil could stop J-WITCH!"
The audience continued to watch in awe as Jade recounted the story with Scruffy barking and hoping excitedly.
Finn, Ratso, and Chow sat at a table as the largest of the group finished chugging down a mug of ale. "Oh man, this stuff is good." Ratso said.
"Yeah, way better than anything Valmont ever gave us." Chow added.
"Phobos didn't even give us stuff this nice, and the dude was freaking royalty." Finn commented.
"Well, we were technically enslaved by dark magic, so there's that." Ratso pointed out.
"Not anymore!" Chow grinned. "We're free men now."
"And we're good guys now too!" Ratso added.
"Yeah… good guys." Finn glanced towards Elyon, who appeared to be sharing a friendly dance with Alchemy. Ratso and Chow both followed his gaze and had the same thoughts as him. "I think I could get used to being the good guy for once."
"That makes two of us." Chow agreed.
"Three." Ratso nodded as well.
"Well then, to our new future as good guys!" Finn raised his mug in the form of a toast, with Ratso and Chow doing the same as they clung them together.
Meanwhile, Taranee appeared to be by herself for some reason, until she felt a tug on her tights. "Excuse me." She looked down to see a little girl looking up to her with a smile. "You're one of the Guardians. You helped free us from Phobos and all those scary monsters, right?"
"Uh yeah… I guess I did." Taranee confirmed.
"Could you tell us the story?" The girl asked excitedly.
"Us?" Taranee looked behind the little girl to see there were several other children looking at her with expectant and excited looks on their faces. "Sure." She said, causing all the kids to excitedly. "Heh… Wow."
The way all those little kids looked up to her, like she was a big hero, gave her all sorts of warm feelings inside. Yes, she was technically a hero ever since she became a Guardian. But receiving all the admiration from these kids that she helped to save and free… it made her feel good. It made her feel… special.
Meanwhile, as the party continued, the sorceress and her newfound ally entered the once impenetrable and now deserted prison of Cavigor. As they traversed through a larger tunnel, Hak Foo had questions to ask.
"Why are we here?"
"Because if we are to gain our retribution, we need more power than we currently have." The sorceress answered.
"You wield magic power, do you not?" Hak Foo questioned.
"Yes, but if I were to engage the Guardians and their allies in an open battle, it is likely I will lose." The sorceress confessed. "More power will come to us, but until then, we need allies of our own."
"So you seek to build an army." Hak Foo assumed.
"No, an army is too big to manage. A team would suffice…" They came to a stop before a large torn open cage. "And it would seem we have found our newest recruit."
The pair looked inside to see a large creature that had been taking shelter in the prison ever since Phobos' defeat in order to stay safe from the new ruling power. This creature was the very same Gargoyle monster that had lost its hand to a giant Jade some time ago. It held it's arm just below missing appendage. When it glanced down at Hak Foo and the leading sorceress, it gave a defensive growl.
"There is no need for hostility, Gargoyle. I have no intent of betraying you to the new queen's wrath." The sorceress said to it in a consoling tone. "This sight saddens me more than I can say. I remember a fierce and mighty warrior who drove terror into the hearts of the rebel soldiers. You would cross the Veil into new worlds without hesitation, and had even done so in pursuit of those vile Guardians and their accursed friends, but you suffered at their hands as no creature should ever suffer." The large stone-like monster slowly walked out into the open. "It was the Guardians and their friends who did this to you." The sorceress said as she caressed the broken arm of the Gargoyle. "Should they not suffer for that crime? And should you not crave revenge? I can give that to you, if you would allow me."
The Gargoyle remembered indeed what had happened to it, how that giant girl battled her and even shattered its own hand. That girl and the Guardians, and all others who help them, should indeed suffer its vengeance. The Gargoyle gave a roar and a nod, which was all the confirmation the sorceress needed.
"Quintessence." She channeled her mysterious power once more, directly on the metallic bars of a large cage, causing the metal to quickly melt and fall to the floor. Hak Foo backed away slightly to avoid touching the molten metal. The Gargoyle gazed down at the molten metal curiously and cautiously, before dipping its exposed joint into it. The liquid metal quickly reshaped and cooled itself to take the form of a giant club-like weapon that now attached itself to the Gargoyle.
The creature gave a loud roar that would echo throughout the entire abandoned prison. Vengeance would soon be within its grasp.
Back at the castle, pretty much all celebrations had come to an end as everyone from Meridian had left to return home while those from Earth prepared to go back to their world as well. Caleb had used this moment to say something that he needed to tell Cornelia. She did not take it very well.
"What do you mean you're not coming back to Earth?!" She exclaimed. "Wake up rebel leader, the good guys won! Phobos, Tarakudo, even freaking Shendu… their all done! The war's over!"
"That may be, but several of their most dangerous minions are still on the loose." Caleb explained. "They may not be as coordinated with Phobos and Wong locked up and Cedric dead, but that doesn't mean they're not dangerous. I have a duty to help Queen Elyon to find and capture them before more innocent people get hurt."
"Y-You're… you're choosing Meridian… over me…?" Cornelia made no effort to hide the hurt in her voice, her eyes already watering as she looked away.
"Look, it's not that I don't want to be with you… just please try and understand…" Caleb tried to reason with her.
"Oh, I understand." She said as she angrily rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Go ahead and do your job since it's so important. I don't really care." She turned around to the approaching Blunk and ended up hugging him in an attempt to make Caleb jealous. "It's Blunk, I'm really gonna miss."
Though surprised at first, and oblivious to her true intent, Blunk hugged Cornelia back. "Blondie no worry, Blunk visit Earth soon."
"Great…" Cornelia muttered, remembering Blunk's awful smell up close. She let go and stoop up to walk away, leaving Caleb behind, who looked down with remorseful acceptance.
Cornelia met up with the rest of her fellow Guardians, along with Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, Alchemy, Captain Black, and Yan Lin as they said their goodbyes to Elyon as well as the Enforcers.
"Guys, thanks again for all you've done…" Elyon told her friends. "And… I am so sorry for all I've done. I thought you were brainwashed… I tried to hurt you… I just…"
"Hey, don't worry about it." Alchemy assured. "It wasn't your fault. That jerk of a brother of yours was the one who lied to you."
"Yeah, all water under the bridge." Jade brushed off with the rest of her friends in agreement.
Elyon couldn't help but smile emotionally. Despite everything that happened, all her friends had forgiven her. "Thanks guys."
"So, what are all of you going to do?" Jackie asked the Enforcers specifically with curiosity and even caution. The three looked somewhat nervous and for obvious reasons as they happened to glance at Captain Black who had kept a neutral expression on them, but Elyon came to their defense.
"Look, I know Finn, Ratso, and Chow aren't exactly perfect." Elyon began. "But they've saved my life, and even when Phobos and the others were deceiving me, I know these guys were really being honest about being my friends. So… if it's alright with all of you, I'd like for them to stay with me, where they could do some good."
Captain Black said nothing at first, which made them a bit nervous. "I'm an agent and law enforcement of the United States government." He began before he smiled. "But I think Meridian's a little outside my jurisdiction, so I can't legally make any arrests here unless you give me permission, your majesty."
"This coming from the guy who led a small army to help overthrow Meridian's previous leadership." Irma joked.
"Well last time I checked, the Guardians of the Veil don't really answer to any authority, either." Captain Black joked back.
"We're vigilantes, baby." Jade grinned.
Despite that, Elyon and the Enforcers both understood the hidden meaning behind Black's message and exchanged smiles and nods.
"We promise to be on our best behavior." Ratso said.
"You'd better, or we'll be kicking your butts all over again." Will joked.
"But seriously, we've all seen people who may have started out on the wrong side change themselves for the better." Jackie said, turning toward Tohru who nodded toward him. "So if you are truly serious about being good, then I wish the best of luck to all of you."
Jackie smiled as he offered his hand to shake, which Finn accepted. "Thank you, Chan. We won't blow this chance you gave us."
"Looks like we're on the same side again, huh big guy?" Chow nudged Tohru with a grin with his elbow.
"Seems that way. I look forward to starting over with all of you." Tohru replied with a smile of his own.
"You guys better come back and visit." Elyon told her friends. "This world is going to be pretty lonely without you here."
"We promise." Cornelia told her childhood friend as she and Alchemy hugged Elyon one last time.
The Guardians and Chan Clan, along with Captain Black met up with Matt, Mama Tohru, Viper, El Toro, Paco, and the rest of Section 13 some distance away from the castle. "Okay, this should be far enough away." Will said before she used the Heart of Kandrakar to turn herself and the rest of her team back to normal.
"Time to send everyone home." Will then began to open four portals. "We got one portal to Mexico for El Toro and Paco, one to Paris for Viper, one to Tokyo to Mrs. Tohru, and one to Section 13 for Captain Black and everyone else."
"Well that certainly saves on travel expenses." Viper commented.
"Thank you all for your help." Jackie gave a humble bow to his friends.
"It is no problem, my friend." El Toro assured.
"We are always eager to help." Paco grinned.
"And if you ever need any more help in the future, Jade knows who to call, right?" Viper gave the girl a wink, who returned it with a wink of her own as she picked up her dog, Scruffy.
"Thank you as well for your help, mother." Tohru thanked his mother.
"Anything for my baby." She hugged her large son, which he was quick to return.
"You have everything, right Captain?" Yan Lin asked Captain Black.
"Yes ma'am." He took out a metallic case and opened it up to reveal the twelve Talismans of the Chinese Zodiac as well as the Mask of Tarakudo. A couple of his agents even carried a larger container that held the Armor of the Eight Immortals. "We'll make sure they're all locked back inside the vault."
"See you guys next time! Hopefully when the world isn't in crisis!" Hay Lin waved as all their friends went into their respective portals, which Will promptly closed.
"Now, time for us to go home too." The redhead said as she opened a portal that would lead them all back to Heatherfield.
As the group prepared to leave, Taranee happened to glance behind her at the sound of foliage ruffling and saw some of the kids she had met and told stories to at the party. They gave her a smile and a wave, which she returned before being the last to step through the portal and leave Meridian.
Back on Earth, the portal had opened up inside a cave that led to the snowy Shell Beach just outside the city they all called home. The girls, Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, and Yan Lin all stepped out with no problem, but Matt was still not quite used to it all.
"Will… where are we?" Matt asked, looking around and quickly recognized the spot. "Oh… Shell Beach. You got us back to Heatherfield. Cool."
"Takes some getting used to… huh?" She asked.
"Heh, no kidding." Matt replied before smiling sincerely. "But I want to, Will. I wanna know everything, about both your lives."
Will looked away with a smile and a blush, which let Jade come in and playfully nudge her best friend with a teasing grin, who nudged her back.
"Guess we got a new member of the team." Jade said. "Welcome to J-WITCH, Matt."
"So how about we go to Uncle's shop and fill Matt in on everything?" Taranee offered.
"Aiya! Uncle's shop is not a place for children to mingle!" Uncle protested.
"Yeah… how about we take a rain check." Will said in response to Taranee. "Truth is, I am really tired." She leaned a bit on Matt in exhaustion.
"Exhausted." Cornelia sighed in agreement.
"You've all done incredible work these past few hours." Jackie told the group. "Perhaps a good night's rest is in order."
"Sounds like a plan." Tohru agreed.
Hay Lin also gave a tired sigh. "At least it's all over."
"Yeah, we can finally get back to our normal lives, right?" Irma asked, only to receive a dope slap on her forehead from Uncle. "Ow!"
"Guardian duty not over!" The old wizard explained. "Phobos, Tarakudo, and Shendu have all been defeated, yes. But now there is a void. Yin and Yang, balance. A newer evil will rise."
"You're joking, right?" Irma questioned.
"I am afraid Jin is correct." Yan Lin replied. "Yes, we have won a great victory today. But now there is an opportunity for another to threat to one day rise. That is simply how it works."
Cornelia, Irma, and Hay Lin looked even more exhausted at that while Will just looked towards Jackie, who gave a nod in silent confirmation. Taranee, contrary to everyone else, looked somewhat hopeful at that.
Jade gave her titular scoff. "Let the next bad guy rear their ugly head. We'll take em down like always. Cause J-WITCH is unstoppable." She grinned.
"Is she always like this?" Matt asked his girlfriend.
"You have no idea." Will said, shaking her head. But that was why she loved her as her best friend.
"Well, whatever new evil awaits, I'm sure it can wait until after we all get some sleep." Jackie said. "Let's all go home."
"Yeah… recover a little… anonymity." Taranee said as the group prepared to walk away, but she was quick to notice the portal in the cave behind them was still open. "Uh Will… the portal?"
"Oops." Will winced before using the Heart to close the portal even from that distance. "Wouldn't want anyone from Heatherfield accidentally stumbling into Meridian."
"Or vice versa." Taranee said as they walked away.
However, none of them noticed that a certain someone had indeed followed all of them from Meridian and to Earth. From the shadows of the cave, the giant spider-like shapeshifter known as Miranda had been spying on them ever since they began their celebration after Phobos' defeat. She dared not make a move then because she would surely be captured, her enemies surrounded by all their allies. But here, on Earth, with them going home to get some sleep. Now would be the perfect time to slip into their rooms and start slitting some throats.
"Well, look what came crawling out of the drain."
Miranda turned around in surprise to see a figure in the shadows. She tried to blast some of her webbing at it, but the figure moved faster than she could react and quickly pinned her to the cavern wall with strength that surpassed hers.
"That's quite a greeting. What happened to 'hello'?"
"Who are you?" Miranda's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
"I'm somebody who can help you. You want revenge on those Guardians and their friends, right? Revenge for the lost of your precious snake boyfriend?" The reminder of her lost Cedric caused Miranda to hiss defiantly at the figure that kept her pinned to the wall. "Don't you worry, I'm more than willing to help you. I've got something to settle with those guys too, so maybe we can help each other. Two heads are better than one, right?"
From the tone of his voice, it sounded like this individual wasn't giving her that much of a choice. But if it means getting closer to exacting her revenge on the brats who pushed Wong into making a deal with the same demon that killed her beloved Cedric, then she'll take anything she could to see it done.
"I'm listening."
The Next Day
After getting a much needed good night sleep, Taranee had begun her walk to school for the morning. She currently waited at a crosswalk along with other people, waiting for the light to turn green so she could cross. But somebody came up rather close to her. This person wore all black from the snow jacket to pants and boots, even wearing a black snow hat and a scarf to cover his most of his face. Taranee was slightly put off by how close this person appeared to be but chose to ignore it. Crossings were always pretty crowded.
The people crossed the street as soon as the sign lit up. However, even reaching the other side as most of the other people began split off and head in separate directions, Taranee glanced back to see the same person clad completely in black was behind her. Was he following her?
Feeling a little nervous, she picked up her pace and began fast-walking. But her stalker simply picked up his own pace as well to keep up and maintain a distance where she was still in eyesight.
Getting really scared, Taranee broke out into a run once she saw the grounds of Sheffield Institute, even then the man in black kept following her.
It was only until she entered the grounds of her school that he seemed to stop. She looked in his direction and he looked in hers before walking away, causing her to breathe a sigh in relief.
"Hi Taranee." Jade greeted her from behind, causing her to scream and fall on her behind in a startle. "Whoa, didn't mean to freak you out."
"Then maybe you should try not sneaking up on people." Irma told her, standing with Hay Lin.
"That's why I always say 'hi'." Jade replied.
"Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, thank goodness!" Taranee stood up and addressed them. "I think someone was following me to school."
"Did it have those bony-horn things?" Hay Lin asked with worry.
"Two legs or a tail?" Irma also asked in the same tone.
"I… I don't think so. I didn't see his face." Taranee answered. "He had a scarf covering it."
"Think it might be Valmont following us again?" Jade asked.
"No, I don't think it was Valmont." Taranee shook her head.
"Well, where is he now?" Hay Lin asked, looking outside the school gates, but she couldn't find anyone matching that description.
"He kept walking." Taranee answered.
"Alright, so let me get this straight…" Irma began somewhat sarcastically. "A guy was walking behind you, and then he kept walking."
"Uh… yeah." Taranee answered with a wincing smile.
"Scary." Irma and Hay Lin snarked, right before a snowball hit Taranee in the side, the culprit being none other than Jade.
"We've been fighting shadow-ninjas, monster guards, tyrants, shapeshifters, and literal demons, but a regular guy scares you? Why don't I show you something really scary?" Jade grinned, holding a snowball in her hand.
A grin fell on Taranee's face as well as she picked up a snowball herself. "Bring it on." She threw it at Jade, resulting in a snowball fight, which Hay Lin and Irma promptly joined. The four girls having such fun that Taranee's little 'stalker' was all but forgotten.
The bell however quickly rang.
"Oh, you are so saved by the bell." Irma said to Jade.
"Yeah right. I was gonna…" Jade however looked behind her to see her bespectacled friend wasn't heading inside. "Uh… Taranee? The bell just rang. Time to get to class."
"Yeah, I head it." Taranee replied with a defiant smirk. "But it's such a beautiful morning, I think I'm going to build a snowman."
"Taranee Cook. Late for class?" Hay Lin looked to Jade and Irma with surprise.
"Miss Uber Student? Nah, don't think so." Irma shook her head.
"We did fight Shendu only yesterday. Pretty sure he didn't fry her brain with his fire-breath or anything?" Jade joked, looking to Taranee and making sure she heard it.
"Ain't that ironic. She's supposed to be the Fire Guardian." Irma snarked.
"Just go ahead!" Taranee told them, her eyes narrowing, the other three girls turning around and walking to the school.
"She won't last five minutes." Hay Lin joked.
"Three, tops." Jade joked back as they laughed.
Two minutes had already passed and Taranee was in the midst of making her snowman, rolling up a large snowball that would serve as the base. However, unbeknownst to her, that same individual clad in black that had been following her, had been keeping a close eye on her as he was perched onto the rooftop of a neighboring building.
Miranda, still in her spider-form, came up next to him. "She's all alone. Let's take her now."
"We won't have enough time to grab her."
"What do you mean?" Miranda asked as the black-clad figure raised his gloved hand to show three fingers.
"Three… two… one."
Right on cue, Taranee had glanced at the clock to see she was three minutes late for class and gave a scream before running into the school as fast as she could.
Miranda couldn't help but be surprised. "How did you know?"
"To beat your enemy, you have to know your enemy. And that one tends to be pretty punctual."
Taranee suddenly burst through the doors of Mrs. Rudolph's math class, which Jade, Irma, and Hay Lin also attended. "I'm here!" She exclaimed before tripping and falling flat on the floor. But she quickly pulled herself up as the other students looked in surprise.
"Yes, Taranee. You're here, you're late, and you've disrupted my class." Mrs. Rudolph told her.
She walked forward and stood up straight. "I am ready to face the consequences of my actions, Mrs. Rudolph."
"Consequences? Taranee, you're a good student." The teacher said. "I think I can let you slide this once with a simple 'don't let it happen again'."
Surprisingly, this caused Taranee to look down in disappointment. "Yes, ma'am." She walked toward her desk and sat down, just as Jade leaned in next to her with a teasing smirk.
"Three minutes. On the dot." She snickered along with Hay Lin and Irma, causing Taranee to grumble.
Meridian
The Tracker and his hound, Sniffer, ran through the forest as fast as they could. Both were presently being hunted by the soldiers of the new queen. There were too many for him to fight, so his only option was to run. However, he and his pet came to a stop in a small clearing where someone that he didn't recognize had been waiting for him.
"Ah Tracker, how the mighty have fallen." The sorceress that had previously recruited Hak Foo and Gargoyle began. "You were brought to life through dark magic to be the greatest huntsmen in all of Meridian, feared by those lowly rebels. Now look at you. How can you now tolerate being hunted by the very rebels you once tracked?" She offered her hand to him. "Wouldn't you prefer to turn the clock back? Wouldn't you prefer… vengeance?"
Though the Tracker was unable to speak, he understood every word the sorceress was telling him. Vengeance did indeed sound enticing. Without a second thought, he grabbed her hand.
By the time Caleb, Finn, Ratso, Chow, and their group of guards had reached the clearing, their target had vanished without a trace.
Earth – Uncle's Rare Finds
Tohru was in the back of a shop, presenting studying a spell book and even taking notes as he read along. Jackie came into the room with some supplies of his own. "Busy, Tohru?"
"Studying more advanced chi-spells." Tohru answered. "Sensei believes a new evil to be on the horizon, so I'm trying to be prepared."
"While it is good to think about the future, it's also good to know when to take a rest." Jackie said, only to get a dope slap from Uncle. "OW!"
"Good must not rest because evil never sleeps!" Uncle told his nephew. "The old storm may have passed but a new one will form soon. One must be prepared."
"I understand that Uncle, believe me we've experienced that with Shendu prior." Jackie recalled. "After his defeat, the other Demon Sorcerers attempted to free themselves. And once they were defeated, Phobos came into the picture with Tarakudo soon after."
"Uncle has more experience fighting evil then nephew." The chi-wizard said. "Defeat one evil and a new one will arise."
"Are you talking about your time spent with the old guardians?" Tohru asked. "The predecessors to Will and the other girls?"
"Yan Lin's team." Jackie remembered that as well.
A far-off look fell on Uncle's face at the mention of the team of young women he fought side-by-side with for many battles. "Indeed… such a long time ago that was."
"Miss Lin told me about what happened to some of the others." Jackie recalled his conversation with Hay Lin's grandmother in the early days of J-WITCH. "Two have retired and are no longer on Earth… correct?"
"Yes. Kadma became queen of Zambala and Halinor joined Council of Kandrakar." Uncle confirmed.
"What of the other two?" Tohru asked.
"Miss Lin also told me that they… are no longer with us." Jackie responded with a somber look. He noticed a similar expression on his uncle as well. "Oh Uncle… I am sorry, I didn't."
"It is alright." A sad smile formed on the old wizard's face. "Many good memories with my old friends."
"Well… I'm certainly happy that Jade has that now." Jackie smiled. "Will and the other girls have had quite the positive impact on her."
"They've had an impact on us too." Tohru added. "I'm glad we came to Heatherfield and got to know them."
"As am I." Jackie agreed.
Uncle was indeed happy for this as well. Though he won't admit it, he had grown very fond of all the girls, and was happy that Jade had the same kind of bond she had with the girls that he once had with their predecessors. That is until… Nerissa.
Sheffield Institute – Cafeteria
"Then, she explodes into class like a fiery comet!" Hay Lin recounted the story to Will, Cornelia, and Alchemy as all seven girls sat together for lunch.
"And she's all 'I'm here!', tripping and falling before getting right up!" Jade added.
"Taranee? I don't believe it." Cornelia didn't know whether to be surprised or impressed.
"It wasn't that bad." Taranee herself smiled, taking pride in that incident for some reason.
"Of course if it was me, detention of three weeks." Irma said.
Jade scoffed. "If it we're me, detention and a lecture from Jackie and Uncle. One more thing, young lady!" She put on her best Uncle impression.
"Yeah, a lecture and a literal slap on the head." Will added.
"Absolutely." Alchemy said.
"No doubt." Cornelia put in.
"Cue the ow." Hay Lin added.
"But not Taranee, she's off scott-free." Irma said with a teasing grin toward the bespectacled girl.
"She's a good girl." Will teased.
"Picture perfect student." Alchemy said.
"Everyone's allowed one mistake." Cornelia added.
"Not like she'll ever do it again." Hay Lin put in.
"She's probably the one Uncle smacked the least. Probably his favorite too." Jade also teased.
Taranee couldn't help but scowl under their tease. She knew they were probably just having fun, but she clearly wasn't.
"Good afternoon, girls." Principal Knickerbocker walked up to the table. Surprisingly, Taranee stood up straight, much to everyone's surprise. "Yes, Ms. Cook?"
She said nothing as she held up a bowl of food, much to the concern of her friends.
"Eh, Taranee… Are you okay?" Will asked.
"FOOD FIGHT!" She exclaimed as she threw her bowl up in the air, which landed smack on Knickerbocker's head.
In that one instant, the entire cafeteria was in an uproar as all the students began throwing their food at each other, all the while Jade and the other girls had blank and wide-eyed expressions, silently baffling over what the hell just happened.
Taranee was immediately brought to the principal's office. "I am disappointed in you." Knickerbocker lectured her as she wiped the food from her face. "You have always been such a well-mannered, conscientious, student. As far as I can recall, this is the first time I've seen you inside this office."
"I'm sorry, ma'am. And I'm ready to face my punishment." Taranee told her.
Knickerbocker sighed. "Well, in light of previous good behavior, I think we can forgo…"
"No! No forgoing!" Taranee was, for some reason, dead set against getting off scott-free. "At least one day's detention! Please!"
Meridian
Just outside Torus Finley, the mysterious sorceress came to a stop just outside a glassed pit that shined admits the sunlight reflecting off it.
"Ah such a shame to see such a powerful creature reduced to such a pathetic state." She began. "You were a thing of absolute power, a whispering lake of sand that would swallow up any and all who dared to cross you. That is until the one known as Jackie Chan and his friends came in and turned you into this frozen… dish. Well, revenge is a dish best served cold."
Once more, she extended her hand towards the glassed pit. "Quintessence." Channeling her own mysterious power, bolts of blue lightning shot into the glass, causing it to break apart and shatter. The glass fragments broke apart even further to the point where it was all microscopic powder as the glass powder was magically converted back into sand. The sand shot upward and took a more solidified form resembling a large humanoid entity.
"Would you like a taste of that dish, my walking Sandpit?" She asked, the creature giving a moaning hiss in a response of confirmation.
Earth – Heatherfield
Classes came to an end as most of the students had left Sheffield Institute, though the titular group of girls were currently missing one of their members, and the reason for it was a surprise to them.
"Taranee has detention!?" Jade exclaimed.
"Yep, that's what she said." Cornelia confirmed, finding it hard to believe herself.
"'Taranee' and 'detention' in the same sentence… I didn't even think that was possible." Irma commented.
"We've fought creatures and monsters from another world, evil wizards and tyrants, and actual demons… and yet stuff like this still catches us off guard?" Alchemy questioned.
"Well, nothing we can do about it." Will said. "Let's just go."
"Yeah, see you guys." Hay Lin waved as she, Cornelia, and Irma went off in one direction down the street while Jade, Will, and Alchemy went in the other.
"I still can't believe it…" Cornelia said. "First Taranee's purposely late for class, then she starts a food fight, now this? What's going on with her?"
"She's been acting weird ever since we came back." Hay Lin added before gasping. "Did she somehow get swapped with a parallel version of herself? Or did we end up in a parallel Heatherfield when crossing the Veil?"
"Pretty sure this isn't Star Trek." Irma said as they came close to a darkened alleyway. "But yeah, something is definitely going on with Taranee. Maybe we should…"
Irma was suddenly interrupted by a stand of webbing that shot out from the alleyway and ensnared her ankles, causing her to trip up, much to her friends' surprise. Before either could react, Irma was pulled into the alleyway and vanished in the shadows.
"Irma!" Hay Lin exclaimed as she and Cornelia ran after her to try and find her.
"Where is she?" Cornelia looked around as she and Hay Lin were surrounded by shadows and couldn't find a trace of their friend. "Irma!" She tried to call out for her, but got no response. Suddenly, Hay Lin gave a scream as something pulled her into the darkness as well.
"Hay Lin!" Cornelia looked around frantically. "Guys!" Deciding calling for help would be best, she reached into her pocket to pull out her cell phone, only for several strands of webbing to shoot out in front of her and quickly ensnare her.
Before she even had a chance to scream, Cornelia's entire body from the neck down was encased in a cocoon, with some of it even covering her mouth to keep herself from screaming. She was pulled deeper and deeper into the alleyway and away from the street. Cornelia then felt herself thrown against a brick wall and slumping over Irma and Hay Lin, both cocooned and gagged in the same way as her.
"Hello girls." They glanced up in surprise and even fear to see Miranda in her spider-form scaling the wall above them. "Did you miss me?"
"Nice catch." The mysterious figure clad in black, the same one that had followed Taranee earlier this morning, said as he had gathered the backpacks of the three girls. "Get them to the cave on the beach, I'll make sure the other three get there later tonight."
"Why don't we just get rid of these three right now and pick the others off one-by-one?" Miranda questioned.
"Too much of a commotion in the city. We'll lure all six Guardians to a secluded area away from the public where we won't have any witnesses. Once they're out of the way, we'll move on to Chan and the rest of his family. Best to take him on by himself without any magical back up."
"And what's to stop Chan from following those other brats to the cave? Especially since one of them is his niece?" Miranda asked.
"Trust me… I'll make sure they'll come alone."
As the duo planned their next move, the three captured Guardians could only look to each other with worry and concern for their friends.
Meridian
Frost the Hunter grunted as he pried off the leg of a small animal that he had recently hunted and had been now cooked over a fire. He ate the meat from the leg as he sat alone in the cave with only his steed, Crimson, serving as company. The rhino-like creature looked toward his master with a growl.
"Yeah, I know, you're hungry. I'm hungry too." Frost told his pet. "But this is the most we can get now."
"And that is truly a shame."
Getting up quickly, Frost took a defensive position as he drew his whip with Crimson growling at the intruder who entered the cave.
"No need to be so hostile, Frost." The sorceress said in a gentle tone. "I am no ally to the new queen."
"Then who are you?" The hunter demanded.
"Someone who wishes to help you. You were once the greatest huntsmen in all of Meridian, the greatest of monsters fell to you and your mighty steed. But now, thanks to the Guardians and Jackie Chan, you are now reduced to finding scraps just to survive. Doesn't seem fair, does it?"
"Get to the point. What do you want?" Frost stated.
"I want to not only give you what you lost, but something else that you crave just as badly. Revenge." The Sorceress revealed with a sinister grin.
Frost couldn't help but be intrigued. "You have my attention."
Earth – Heatherfield
It was mid-late afternoon by the time Taranee had left the school. "My first detention." She said with something of a proud grin before beginning her walk back home. "I think my permanent record is scarred for life." She said to herself with a wince.
As she happened to near the bus stop, she gave a small gasp as she saw the very same black-clad individual from this morning waiting there. Though she still couldn't see his face, she did recognize his clothing and knew it was the same person.
"Just a guy… waiting at the bus stop…" She tried to tell herself nervously. "Okay, so it's the same guy… but still…"
Taranee continued her walk, going pass the bus stop and the person who had been waiting there. However, the figure turned to follow her, carrying a bag over his shoulders. Taranee was quick to notice that he was behind her. That was twice today, no coincidence.
'Okay, calm down Taranee.' She tried to ease herself. 'You've dealt with worse. Don't know who or what he is… but let's find out.'
With a solidified look on her face, Taranee made a turn down one intersection, not her usual route, but the same person kept on following her. Though Taranee made sure to keep her distance from her stalker, she also made sure that he was still on her trail, glancing behind only slightly. She made several turns down her path before coming to her destination.
It was the same abandoned warehouse in the middle of the junkyard where she and her friends fought the Trance-Marchers under Cedric and Wong's control. She and her friends had a trap planned for them back down, maybe it was time for another.
She quickly made her way to the fence and hoped on over it. This prompted her stalker to do the same, quickly leaping over the wooden fence as Taranee finally turned to face him.
"Stay back! You don't know who you're dealing with!" She warned, taking a Kung Fu stance.
"Oh, I think I got an idea." The figure rushed her, faster than a normal person. Fortunately Taranee was able to roll out of the way and get back up, but the figure was already on her as he threw out a punch, but she dodged it, though it did barley graze her face. She acted quickly enough to grab him by the arm, extend her right leg, and pull him forward to trip him up, though he quickly recovered and landed on his feet.
"That did not sound human." Taranee noted from the sound of the individual's voice. She looked in her hand to see the scarf she had swiped from him when she tripped him up. The figure looked up to reveal his face. It was pure reptilian with green scales and spikes along his forehead, red eyes and yellow sclera. He discarded the rest of his clothing to reveal his true attire and full appearance.
He was a green-scaled humanoid with razor-sharp claws and a long tail. He wore a sleeveless, gray-with-crimson-trim shirt and the emblem of a flame in the center, underneath a black sleeveless trench coat. He wore charcoal-colored pants with a crimson medium-length obi. He also bore black armguards and similar feet guards that covered all but his talon-like feet.
"Definitely not human!" Taranee brought her hands together and shot a fireball at him, though it wasn't as powerful as when she was in her Guardian form, but she was confident it would do some damage.
However, the humanoid reptilian gave a chuckle as he simply took the blast with his shoulder, brushing off the small explosion like it was nothing, much to Taranee's surprise.
"Fire magic. I'm something of a pyro, too." He grinned before he unleashed an even stronger stream of flames from his mouth. Taranee barley had enough time to duck as the fire breath struck the wall of the building behind her, blowing a large hole clean through it.
"Whoa…!" Her eyes widened in shock at the display of power. This left her open for the humanoid reptile to grab her by her collar and pin her to the wall with his superior strength.
"You really are the smart one, aren't you Taranee? You lured me here away from people so they couldn't see our little gifts or get caught in the crossfire. Pretty clever."
"How do you know my name?" She gasped in shock.
"Oh, I know all about you and your little friends in J-WITCH." He sneered. "I also know that you're smart enough to know, that even if there aren't any civilians nearby, a large fire would still be enough to attract an audience, right?" He generated a flame in his hand.
Seeing how she was not only overpowered in her current state, but that there was still the risk of drawing in more people with such a flashy display of flames, Taranee relented.
"That's what I thought." He said as he set her down, allowing him to retrieve the bag he had been carrying. "Listen up four-eyes, I want you to bring your friends Will and Jade to that cave on Shell Beach, but in their human form and without the Heart of Kandrakar. And don't even think about bringing in Jackie Chan with you, just the girls will be fine."
"What makes you think I'm going to do anything you say?" Taranee demanded.
"You'd better, if you want to see Irma, Cornelia, and Hay Lin again." He emptied his bag, allowing the backpacks of the aforementioned girls to fall onto the ground in front of her, revealing that he did indeed capture them. "We meet at the cave at sunset, don't be late or I'll give your friends an end worthy of their namesake, the witch-part, anyway." He said, brandishing another fireball in his hand for emphasis before turning around to walk away.
Taranee picked up Hay Lin's bag and could only look in fear. She glanced at the figure as he climbed the fence and prepared to leave.
"Who are you?"
He turned around to face her one last time with a fang-filled grin. "Call me Drago." He introduced before leaping away.
Meridian – The Abyss of Shadows
How long had been climbing? Weeks? Months? Longer? It didn't matter. He was still nowhere near the top. His once mighty form now reduced to almost skin and bones, the only sustenance he could get was what was available on the rocky walls that he climbed such as plants and algae, which also provided him with water, and even the insects. He'd would also catch a few bats that were close enough for him to grab. Of course, he had to stop and rest at various points, finding ledges big enough for him to lie down and sleep on before he would resume his climb.
Spending months climbing a near inescapable pit with nothing but one's own company would drive lesser man mad, but not Raythor. No. He would make it to the top, it didn't matter if it took years for him to escape. Nothing would stop him.
He made it to one ledge that would be big enough for him to stop and rest for a bit, but he was surprised to see somebody else waiting for him. He had not seen another soul in so long, a part of him felt he may have finally started hallucinating… but his will was strong enough and he knew the elderly woman standing before him was all too real.
"You are to be praised for your determination, Raythor." The sorceress told him. "After the Guardians and their allies framed you for a crime you did not commit, you have climbed for months to escape this pit. What is it you seek in the world above?"
"Vengeance." Raythor answered, causing the sorceress to grin with a chuckle.
Earth – Heatherfield – Shell Beach
"Come on Taranee, what's the big surprise?" Will asked as she and Jade followed their friend toward the cave on the beach.
"I can't tell you, yet." She answered. "If I did, it wouldn't be a surprise."
"Well duh, everyone knows that." Jade commented.
They came just before the cavern entrance. "It's just inside the cave." The three girls entered the cave just as the sun began to set and the sky began to darken.
"I can't see a thing." Jade muttered as the cave was so pitch black, it was impossible to see anything. She reached into her pocket to pull out a flashlight and shine the way, revealing something that caused all three to gasp.
Cornelia, Irma, and Hay Lin were still cocooned in webbing from neck-to-toe, squirming and struggling in their bindings with patches of web to cover each of their mouths. They gave muffled screams and shouts as they tried to warn their friends.
"Guys!" Will exclaimed as she and the others rushed to their bound friends, with Will acting quick to remove the webbing from Irma's mouth.
"Get out! It's a trap!" She warned.
"We are not leaving you!" Will stated.
Suddenly, two streams of fire were lit on the sides of the cave, illuminating the whole cavern to reveal Drago as he leapt down from the ceiling with Miranda in her spider-form lowering herself behind him with her web.
"No, you're not." Drago grinned. "In fact, nobody's leaving period."
Jade and Will were immediately on guard as the later tried to reach into her jacket, but her eyes widened in surprise. "The Heart! It's gone!"
"What?!" Jade exclaimed.
"I'm so sorry!" Taranee apologized.
"You're sorry? For what?" Jade questioned.
"I… slipped it off its chain when you weren't looking." Taranee revealed.
With a chuckle, Miranda shot a stream of webbing that ensnared all three girls together and bound them into a single cocoon, causing them both to fall over.
"Taranee… how could you…?" Will said to her.
"I'm sorry… I didn't have a choice…" She replied.
Jade was the first to struggle in her bindings, noticing Irma was right in front of her. "You guys doing okay?"
"So far, so bad." Irma said with a wince.
"Who would have thought the mighty Guardians would be so easy to capture." Miranda said sadistically. "I was wrong to question you Drago, this worked so smoothly."
"What can I say? I'm just that good." Drago said smugly before turning to the trapped girls. "Now then, you girls call yourselves J-WITCH, right? You know what people used to do with witches in the seventeenth century? I'll tell ya, death by fire." He grinned maliciously as he produced a pair of flames with his claws, ready to burn them alive.
Despite the deathly situation they found themselves in; Jade, Will, and Taranee remained surprisingly calm.
"Looks like they bought it." Jade grinned.
"Yep." Taranee smiled back as, even while bound, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar and slipped it into the hands of her leader. "Will, if you would do the honors?"
With a confident grin of her own, Will said the magic words. "Guardians Unite!"
"What?!" Miranda exclaimed as a bright purple light began to shine from the fabled jewel and begin encompassing the six girls, freeing them from their bindings as they underwent their transformation.
"Out of the cave! Now!" Drago ordered as he and Miranda ran out as quickly as they could.
They were each engulfed in spheres of magical energy of various colors; pink for Will, purple for Jade, orange for Taranee, blue for Irma, green for Cornelia, and white for Hay Lin. The lights shined even brighter as they transformed from their normal human forms into that of the Guardians of the Veil, appearing in the forms of young women with fairy-like wings emerging from their backs.
Will had a pink long-sleeved shirt with loose sleeves, a green skirt, blue and green striped tights with dark purple boots. "Heart!"
Jade wore a dark purple, spiked, sleeveless top with a long, black, and spikey dress that stretched down to her knees. She wore black and dark blue striped tights with black boots. "Shadow!"
Irma was clad in a green long-sleeved shirt with an exposed midriff, a pink skirt, and blue and green tights with purple shoes. "Water!"
Taranee had donned a pink sleeveless tank top with pink wrist bands, along with green shorts and the same blue and green colored striped tights as everyone with purple shoes. "Fire!"
Cornelia was wearing a dark green, long-sleeved shirt with a long purple dress that stretched down to her ankles, green and blue tights, and purple boots. "Earth!"
Hay Lin now wore a green sleeveless shirt with an exposed midriff, a purple dress that stretched to her ankles and exposed her legs that were also clad in green and blue tights, wearing a pair of purple shoes. "Air!"
When Drago and Miranda made it out of the cave, they only scowled at the sight of the Guardians of J-WITCH that hovered above them.
"They tricked us!" Miranda scowled, and suddenly cried out in pain with Drago as they were both shot in the back by green magic bolts.
"And that wasn't our only trick." Jade said, pointing behind them to reveal Jackie, Tohru, and Uncle had also arrived, the elderly chi-wizard holding a pair of blowfishes that shined green with his chi-magic.
"Who wants a piece of Uncle?!"
"You two made a mistake in attacking these girls and thinking we would just sit idly by." Jackie told them as Tohru cracked his knuckles.
However, Drago turned toward the man with a seemingly polite smile. "Ah, Mr. Jackie Chan. My dad sends his best."
That caused Jackie to look in confusion. "Your father? Who is your father?" In response, Drago shot his fire breath directly at Jackie, forcing him, Uncle, and Tohru to scatter and avoid it. "Nevermind! I have a pretty good idea! Thank you!" Jackie said quickly as he ran along the snowy beach to avoid getting charbroiled.
Drago then turned his attack toward the Guardians, throwing several fireballs at them as well which Miranda added to with shots of webbing, prompting the six girls to fly away and avoid getting shot.
"Wait… his dad knows Jackie?" Will questioned as she and Jade flew close.
"His dad… and this Drago-guy breathes fire…" Jade's eyes suddenly widend with dread as she was struck with an epiphany, something Will was able to realize as well as they came to the same conclusion. "No freaking way…"
Having heard them, Drago chuckled as he leapt toward the cave, quickly climbing up the side before standing at the top for dramatic purposes.
"That's right…" He began to announce to everyone on the beach. "I am Drago, the Son of Shendu!" That earned gasps of shock and surprise from everyone present, even Miranda was caught off guard. "And starting right now… the Slayer of Guardians!" He unleashed another blast of fire from his mouth, trying to shoot down the Guardians as they flew to avoid his blasts.
"Shendu has a son?!" Tohru questioned in shock. "How is that possible?!"
"Demon parentage not important!" Uncle stated. "Defeating the demon, is." He drew his blowfish again and shot at Drago again with his stun spells, one blast grazing his side and causing Drago to growl in pain. He then leapt from his spot and landed in front of Uncle, moving quickly to punch and send him skidding through the snow. He heard a yell from behind and looked to see Jackie delivering a flying kick to knock Drago back a bit, but he remained upright as he faced Jackie and Tohru together.
"Let's go." Drago grinned before attacking the pair.
Miranda leapt to the top of a rock and began to shot webbing at the Guardians that flew around her. She then heard a whistle, getting her attention to the hovering Jade.
"Hey spider-girl, how's snake-boy these days?" Jade teased.
That earned an enraged hiss from Miranda, who responded by shooting more webbing at her. However, Jade was prepared as she coated shadows around her hands like a pair of gloves that allowed her to grab the strand and used her own strength to pull in Miranda before casting more shadows to completely encompass the large spider in a sphere of shadows, which she kicked up and down with her own feet.
"Hey guys, about a game of hacky-spider?" Jade called out to her fellow Guardians before kicking toward Cornelia first, who bounced the ball of her knees and then bounced it toward Hay Lin, who spun herself upside down to deliver a kick to send the ball careening towards Irma who gave it one final kick to send the shadow-sphere, still containing Miranda, into the ocean.
"You're not supposed to lose the sack in the actual game, but that's one sack of crap I'm happy to lose." Irma snarked.
Meanwhile, Drago engaged Jackie in hand-to-hand combat, the former's speed and strength far greater than any other person was enough to keep Jackie on the defensive as he parried all the punches and kicks Drago sent his way, until Drago turned to lash out his tail and knock Jackie back. Tohru tried to come in from behind and ram Drago with his enormous size, but Drago jumped over him and leapt again to deliver a strike with both his feet into Tohru's back to send him crashing into a nearby rock.
Will flew down to land a kick on Drago, knocking him back slightly but he was quick to move in with several punches, but Will was able to block them, her own strength as a Guardian appearing equal to his, but as she blocked his punches, she tried to deliver a kick, only for him to trap her leg with his tail before pulling her in to a kick and knock her down. He loomed over her, flames drooling from his mouth and ready to unleash an inferno upon her.
"Apologies for my… bad breath!" Drago shot his flames, but they didn't get far as Taranee suddenly flew in to block Drago's flames with her own before punching him in the face and followed through with a kick to the jaw to knock him into the air.
"Lesson one, Drago. Never mess with the Guardians or their friends." Taranee told him.
While airborne, Drago was caught in a tornado conjured by Hay Lin before she threw it to the ground to slam him hard on impact. Before he could react, Cornelia pressed her hand on the ground to create a tremor that shot through the ground and sent Drago flying toward the ocean, though he landed on his feet before even hitting the water.
"And lesson two, pay close attention to lesson one!" Cornelia added.
"I haven't lost yet!" Drago claimed. Suddenly, his arms were ensnared by shadow-ropes and were pulled apart to keep him pinned, courtesy of Jade that stood across from him, the shadow-ropes extending from her fingers as she held her arms apart to further restrain him.
"Ready for lesson three?" Jade began, glancing up and behind Drago to reveal Irma pulling up a large wave of water from the ocean behind him.
"The bad guys always loose!" Irma finished as she sent the wave crashing down onto the young demon. Jade released her restraints and flew up in the air to avoid getting swept up in the wave. She and the rest of the Guardians looked to see the wave flow back, revealing Drago and Miranda, both soaking wet with the former barley able to stand, though the later was faster to recover and was still ready to keep fighting.
"I will have my revenge!" The giant spider prepared to leap at them, only to get blasted and shot down with a stun spell, courtesy of the recovered Uncle, who approached with Tohru and Jackie.
"Lesson four, magic must defeat magic!" Uncle stated.
As Drago and Miranda recovered, a portal suddenly appeared before them, much to the surprise of the heroes.
"Time to go." Drago told Miranda as he leapt into the portal with her right behind him. Acting quickly, the Guardians and Chan Clan followed them into the portal, hoping to catch them.
The nine heroes entered a forest in Meridian but looked around to find that both their enemies had vanished and there didn't appear to be even a trace of them to track.
"Gone." Tohru said with disappointment.
After venturing back to Earth, Will had used the Heart to turn herself and her friends back to normal before aiming at the portal. "This time, I'm making sure no one slips through." She said before closing the portal.
"Great rescue plan, by the way." Irma said to Will and Jade. "Dragon boy and spider girl never saw it coming."
"You wanna thank someone? Thank Taranee, the whole thing was her idea." Jade revealed.
"After her encounter with Drago, she came right to us and told us everything." Jackie explained.
"She would lead Jade and Will to the cave, all feigning ignorance while Jackie, Sensei, and myself would follow at a distance, all to catch them off guard." Tohru added.
"It was good plan. Taranee is smart girl." Uncle smiled as he patted Taranee's head, causing her to blush with an embarrassed smile.
"Wow, you are just full of surprises today." Cornelia said to her, also referring to the events at school that happened earlier.
"I know." Taranee admitted.
"Wanna talk about it?" Hay Lin asked in a sincere and understanding tone, gently grasping Taranee's hand.
"I-I guess I've been afraid…" Taranee began.
"Not of Drago or Miranda, obviously." Irma joked.
"Of fading into the background. Of becoming 'Anonymous Taranee' again." She revealed.
"You were never that to us." Will said.
"But I was to me." Taranee replied, turning around with an ashamed expression. "Being a Guardian meant I was special. But with Phobos, Shendu, and Tarakudo all gone… I thought it was all over. I'm kinda ashamed to admit… I was actually hoping for a new evil or whatever to show up… cause that way I'd be a Guardian again and… still be special. So I guess I started breaking rules because… if I got in trouble… at least I'd still be able to stand out."
"I know how that feels." Jade said walking up and taking Taranee's hand with a smile. "Wanting to be special or… to do something special, so you're not alone. Don't worry."
"And you are special, Taranee. Magical powers or not." Jackie assured her. "Special to everyone here."
"And you will be in trouble if you ever think you're not special again." Hay Lin said as she gave Taranee a surprise hug, earning a laugh from her and everyone else, even Uncle gave a smile and a nod.
"Besides, I don't think we're done with the whole Guardian-thing yet." Will said. "Guess that 'new evil' has reared its ugly head, huh?"
"Yeah… and apparently it's the son of Shendu." Jade said, causing everyone to look with serious expressions.
"That is… a very disturbing thought." Tohru commented.
"Yeah, any lady sharing a bed with that monster has gotta be pure evil or just plain crazy." Cornelia said.
"How can Shendu even have a son though?" Taranee questioned. "Wasn't he encased in stone for nine hundred years? And Drago seemed like he was around our age. The time doesn't quite add up."
"Maybe he was bluffing." Hay Lin hoped.
"Thousands of demons have existed throughout history." Uncle said. "Fire magic is quite common."
"So, he was just blowing smoke." Irma assumed. "Not surprised, I mean Shendu nearly killed all of us… gecko-boy back there seemed pretty underwhelming compared to his so-called pop."
"Shendu's son or not, Drago could still be dangerous." Jackie said seriously. "We caught him off guard this time, but he may not underestimate us again."
"He was crafty enough to capture three of us and lure the rest into a trap." Will added. "Plus he's got Miranda with him too, and we all know how dangerous she is."
Jade smiled confidentially. "Well, like I said before, whatever bad guy comes our way… J-WITCH and the Chan Clan will be ready."
Meridian
After escaping from the heroes, Drago walked through a cave with Miranda right behind him as she crawled on the ceiling. "That didn't go as planned." He commented. "But no matter, we'll get them next time."
Suddenly, Miranda leapt down to try and attack him, but Drago was prepared as he delivered a roundhouse kick to knock Miranda to the wall.
"Why the hostility?"
"Are you really the son of that wretched fire-breather?!" Miranda demanded.
"The one and only." Drago confirmed.
"Your father killed my Cedric!" She shot a strand of webbing at him, but he retaliated with a blast of fire to incinerate the web.
"Exactly, my old man was the one who killed your boyfriend. I didn't." Drago said. "I'm innocent."
"Then the son shall suffer the crimes of his father!" Miranda leapt at Drago again, but he moved under her to grab her and toss her into the cavern wall on the other side and finished it off with a kick to pound her further into the wall with his superior strength.
"If you think I'm trying to honor the legacy of that old lizard or whatever, your wrong. I've got my own plans." Drago revealed. "You wanna get a chance to break him open while he's a statue, I'll personally lead you to him. One problem with that though: little Elyon's in charge and she's got a whole kingdom backing her, not to mention Chan and those cute little Guardian girls would also get in the way. So how about this: you help me take them all down, and I help you get to my old man, and you can tear him apart as much as you want and avenge snake-boy. Sound like a deal?"
With great reluctance, and realizing she probably had no choice due to Drago outclassing her in terms of strength and power, Miranda transformed back into her form resembling a young human girl.
"Fine. I'll work with you… for now."
"Good." Drago resumed his walk with Miranda catching up with him.
"But your plan to pick them off backfired. How do you plan on getting rid of Chan and the Guardians if they'll see us coming the next time?" Miranda questioned.
"They got numbers on their side, so we're about to even the odds." Drago answered. "Good thing my partner's already got that covered."
"Partner?"
The pair came to the end of the tunnel and found a large cavern where Raythor, Hak Foo, Frost and Crimson, the Tacker and Sniffer, Sandpit, and even Gargoyle all stood. And standing in front of all of them was none other than the sorceress who assembled them.
"Welcome back Drago, and hello Miranda. I am Nerissa, and you have been brought here to take your rightful place among the Knights of Vengeance!"
Drago grinned as Nerissa approached them. "Quite the team you've got, I look forward to seeing them in action." He said before looking to Miranda. "Go ahead and get acquainted with them, Nerissa and I need to compare notes." The pair walked back down the tunnel she and Drago entered, leaving Miranda behind as she narrowed her eyes in their direction.
"How did it go?" Nerissa asked Drago as they walked down the tunnel.
"Without a hitch. I even told them about my dad, so they'll be setting their sights on me if only to confirm or deny it." Drago revealed. "Looks like you had a good day, too. The Knights of Vengeance certainly has a nice ring to it."
"Yes, they will serve as a proper distraction while we get everything ready." Nerissa said as they stopped by the entrance of the cave and stared up at the night sky. "This universe is about to undergo a drastic but necessary change. And nothing, not even the wretched Council of Kandrakar can stop us!"
Drago turned to the elderly sorceress with a smile. "You always did like to aim high… Mom."
Done.
What an episode, huh? We got the Knights of Vengeance assembled, with the addition of Hak Foo to join their ranks.
Not only that, but we also got the master manipulator of the WITCH series, and former Guardian leader, Will's predecessor, Nerissa in the fray, with Drago, the son of Shendu, alongside her.
And yes, you read right. Nerissa is Drago's mother!
Didn't see that coming, did ya?
It was never confirmed in the canon JCA series who Drago's mother was, though it was speculated that due to his humanoid-appearance, he had a human mother. So, I decided to make Nerissa Drago's mother here. And you'll see how their origins are tied together which led to the events of the series here.
Now, many of you are probably wondering 'but isn't Drago from the future?' given when and how he first appeared in the canon JCA series. I will neither confirm nor deny anything regarding Drago's origins till we get to a certain part of this fic. I'll let you come up with all the theories, but I cannot confirm nor deny any of them. You'll just have to wait and see.
Season 2 of J-WITCH has begun, and I can't wait to write the next chapters. I've got huge plans for this season and I'm sure you'll like what I've got going.
Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.
