I don't own Jackie Chan Adventures.
NI TANG
Chapter 11
Ni Tang was left alone in the darkness when Hsi Wu and Jade left. It was fine with him, he wanted to be alone for a while and the shady nature of his big brother wasn't what he wanted to deal with. He looked around him in the warehouse and frowned.
Something was bothering him.
The polar demon couldn't say what it was. Nothing special had actually happened. Yet he felt like he should have remembered something really important. Something he had known for years and then forgot.
It had to be something he had remembered before his imprisonment. He felt anger and bitterness rise inside himself, everything had been taken from him and now he had nothing. He didn't remember a thing about himself or his powers, he couldn't say anything about his past or anyone he had once known. All he had was what his siblings had told him.
But shouldn't that be enough? The past didn't matter, future and freeing the family was more important. They had to build a new demon empire.
He should trick the chi wizard while Hsi Wu and the girl freed Bai Tsa. It couldn't be too difficult, he just had to make sure he would not get caught. It was a demon versus an old man, he would make it even without his powers.
When the night came... Then he had time to visit the old man. Ni Tang didn't actually know what he would do, just appearing would be enough, but he could make them more confused if he said something to them. Well, that would just have to be seen.
It was already an afternoon and he wouldn't have to wait very long. He liked the night, it was the only time when he could leave the warehouse safely and enjoy the city of San Francisco. Hsi Wu had promised to teach him how to transform into a human and he looked forward to it. Then he could see the city when it was bright too.
After a while the darkness and silence started to make him nervous and he stood up. He couldn't go out yet, that would attract way too much attention. Ni Tang leaped nimbly to sit on a packing case and leaned on the wall. All he could do was think.
Not even noticing he raised his hand on his face and flinched when he felt the cold porcelain mask. He still didn't feel comfortable with it, but Hsi Wu had told him to wear it. He had no right to rebel, but the sky demon wasn't here now. He could take it away for a while, right?
The mask was surprisingly easy to remove, he just lifted it and it let go of his skin. Ni Tang put it down next to him and touched his face. He was so different from the others demons, he looked like a human and was nothing like Shendu or Tchang Zu. Why?
It felt refreshing to be without the mask, even though he never actually felt it. The mask seemed like it wanted to choke and kill something important in him and he didn't like it. Ni Tang pressed his hand on his cheek and brushed the mask with his other hand. He had to find a mirror somewhere.
But he didn't have any time now, he had work to do. Reluctantly Ni Tang put the mask back and waited the while it took to take the right form. Then he jumped down and went to peer out.
It wasn't dark yet, but dim enough anyway. He climbed out and looked around. Hardly anyone would notice him if he avoided crowds. He leaped on the roof of the warehouse and after a quick glance around he continued his way.
He remembered the way to the small shop but decided to use another way this time. Then he would learn to know this city better and who knew, it might be useful some day. He stopped here and there to learn more abouthis surroundings, but it seemed thatno one had seen him yet.
It was a bit colder than the previous night when they had freed Hsi Wu, but it didn't bother him. He was a polar demon anyway, this shouldn't be anything to him.
The wind whistled in his ears and he stopped for a while on a high roof. He could see humans, cars and lights down on the street and he tilted his head when looking at it all. It felt so strangely familiar... Ni Tang shook his head, he was starting to get careless if he let his thoughts to wander.
He continued and it didn't take long to arrive on the same street where the shop was located. There was light in the windows and Ni Tang leaped on the roof to think. He had to catch the attention of the chi-wizard, but he could not go in. There he would be the underdog, the place was full of spell ingredients and there he could not jump around as he liked.
So he had to get the old man out. Ni Tang jumped on the street landing softly and frowned. At least he was not noticed yet.
"Found out anything yet?" Jackie asked from Uncle who sat reading his book. The old man turned to look at him sharply.
"How can we find out anything when you interrupt all the time?" he asked and Jackie backed away few steps.
The whole day had been difficult for them. They had not heard anything from Jade or this new demon and Uncle had found out nothing about the creature they were facing. Tohru had at least managed to find a spell which would banish Hsi Wu back, but it was no use if they didn't find the demon first. If he was even freed yet.
The archaeologist was very worried and just lazing around there really goton his nerves. He had often said he was not a man of action and didn't want to fight, but now he had to admit he had been wrong. It would have been so much easier if he had a clear enemy to kick and punch in his frustration.
Suddenly the door flew in and all three men stood up and ran to the hall.
"My shop!" Uncle moaned when he saw how many valuable vases were broken by the door, but Jackie and Tohru were more interested in what had made the door do this.
It was already dark outside when they ran out and at first all they could see were two glowing red eyes. Then the figure stepped closer and the light glimmering from the shop showed them who he was.
"It's him! He took Jade!" Uncle exclaimed and pointed at Ni Tang. Jackie slit his eyes angrily and took his fighting pose. Maybe there was a chance for him to have the enemy he wanted.
"Where is Jade? Let her go!" he snapped sharply.
Uncle frowned and eyed their enemy deep in thought. He would have been mistaken with a human, if his skin wasn't grey and his eyes red you could have easily thought it was a human face under the grinning mask. But the old man didn't let this mislead him, he knew they were dealing with someone evil.
But what kind of demon was he? He looked like a human, yes, and he reminded him of a shadowkhan too. This could work for their advantage, he knew a spell which had worked for Shendu's servants and it might be helpful now too.
Then again, he didn't want to drive the demon away now when he didn't even know his name. And what was more important was to find out where he was keeping Jade. Or how he had got here, what did he even want from them?
"What do you want, demon?" the old man asked and Ni Tang tilted his head. He had been thinking this for a while, the best opinion was of course to give them wrong information so they would never find out what was really going on.
"Tell me how the Pan Ku box works, wizard," he ordered softly and Uncle flinched in surprise. So the demon didn't know? Good, it meant he could not have freed any of the other demons yet. He crossed his arms in front of himself.
"Why should I tell you?"
"Your niece will suffer if you don't do exactly as I tell," Ni Tang answered and everyone had enough imagination to know what he meant. This demon didn't have huge teeth, cruel claws and he didn't even look very strong, but usually physically weak demons had something else in their sleeve.
Uncle frowned and thought a bit.
"No," he answered.
Jackie glanced at Uncle in surprise and shock.
"What do you mean 'no'? The demon threatened to hurt Jade!" he exclaimed and Uncle shook his head.
"He won't, he needs her healthy to carry the box," the old man answered and turned to face NiTang again.
"Who are you and where do you come from?" he asked but Ni Tang was not going to answer this question. If the old man found out his name it would be easy for him to find a spell to banish him and that was something the polar demon sure didn't want.
"None of your business, chi-wizard, I just want to know how the box works. I recommend you to tell it, I have many ways to make the girl suffer," he hissed trying to sound dangerous.
"Maybe, but you won't use them," Uncle answered self-confidently. Ni Tang crossed his arms.
"So it seems we are in a stalemate," he announced but Jackie just frowned.
"Not for long," he muttered and charged at the demon before Uncle managed to stop him.
It was nothing like Jackie to start a fight, he was usually the one who had to defend himself, but this was a different situation. It was about Jade and he was not going to let her suffer in the hands of that demon any longer.
The polar demon dodged nimbly and leaped away from the man. Jackie looked at him in surprise, he had not expected the demon to be able to jump that high, but didn't let it bother himself for a long.
"Let Jade go!" the archaeologist demanded trying to kick Ni Tang, but the demon managed to jump away again. He had not thought the mortal would do something as stupid as attacking him and he was surprised because of his decision.
The man had to be Jackie, who Shendu had talked about andhe slit his eyes. The reason why his brothers and sisters weren't free yet.
"Nice to meet you, Jackie Chan," he hissed poisonously and was surprised with how much he seemed to hate the man. Of course he didn't like him because of the harm he had caused, but it seemed he had a personal reason to detest him too. Like he had known him once...
And now when he looked at the man's face more closely he noticed how strangely familiar he looked like. Like a dream he couldn't remember in the morning or a forgotten childhood memory.
"You know me?" Jackie asked in surprise and stopped the useless fight for a moment. Ni Tang nodded.
"Shendu has told about you," he answered and immediately after that Jackie's expression turned even darker.
"Shendu, I should have known. Everything is always his fault," he growled and dived for another attack.
"I wouldn't talk like that about him, he's very intelligent and strong," Ni Tang remarked and noticed how much he enjoyed annoying this man.
"Quiet! You can have no idea what that cursed dragon has done!" Jackie shouted angrily.
"Jackie! We don't have time for that!" Uncle tried to calm him but Jackie paid him no attention. It seemed like he had completely lost his reasonable and gentle side now when this demon was in his reach.
Suddenly he felt how someone lifted him from the ground and when turning his head he saw he was caught in Tohru's strong grip. Jackie tried to kick himself free, but the Japanese man was many times stronger and it was no use.
"Let go!" he demanded but Tohru just shook his head sadly.
"This is for your own good Jackie, you don't know what you are doing," he said.
Jackie shook his head but didn't say anything, even he himself couldn't say what had happened. He had never lost his self-control like this since Valmont had delivered Black to a hospital,and it scared him. Of course he understood he was worried about Jade, but...
But now he was familiar with how cruel the demons could be. They had taken Valmont, and even though Jackie had never felt any warm feelings towards the man he couldn't help but feel deep hatred towards the demons. And just thinking what they could do to Jade was driving him mad.
"Let her go and take me instead," he asked Ni Tang, but the demon just shook his head.
"The girl will stay with me as long as I need her," he answered and leaped on the roof of the shop.
"Wait!" Jackie shouted but the demon didn't listen to him, with afew good leaps he was gone.
Uncle frowned.
"I've never seen a picture or heard about a demon like that," he muttered deep in thought. "He is not mentioned in any of my books, we have to get some older inscriptions to research," he continued. Jackie turned to look when Tohru had let him go.
"What if he still hurts Jade?" he asked in worry but Uncle shook his head.
"Jade is safe, Uncle sure about that," he said quickly and all Jackie could do was to be happy with that.
Ni Tang wasn't actually happy with what he had done. Sure, he had tricked the chi wizard into believing he couldn't use the box and none of the demons were freed, but he had had the chance to lie them some more. And on top of that he was now more confused than ever.
That mortal, Jackie Chan, had made him feel somehow weird. It seemed this city had something which effected him and he couldn't guess what it was. It was stupid, he had never visited this city or these humans, had not even heard about them. And still they could do this to him.
He had no one to turn to and he couldn't solve this by himself. Had the chi wizard cursed him somehow without him noticing it? Had someone else done it? This couldn't be normal, there had to me some magic involved. Ni Tang hoped he could have talked to Tso Lan, the moon demon seemed to be the only who could give him some advice.
When thinking about this he had not paid attention to where he was going and he was quite surprised when he stopped and noticed he had arrived to the harbour. He stood on the roof of some kind of a warehouse and the cool wind brought the smell of the sea in his nose.
Ni Tang tilted his head, why had he come here? He remembered clearly he had been on the way back to his hide-out, but at some point he must have turned around. He sat on the roof and pressed his palms on it. It felt calm and cool and he decided to stay there for a moment.
He didn't know what placeit was but it too made him feel the strange desire, like it was something important he had forgotten. He frowned in worry, it had to have something to do with his past. Hsi Wu couldn't tell him anything, but when he returned with sister Bai Tsa he would get his answers.
There was a skylight few meters away. Ni Tang noticed it just now and glanced at it in interest, what was inside of the building? He stood up and walked to it and tried to peer down, but the glass was too dim for him to do that. It was better to just leave, he could not leave any traces behind.
But something inside fascinated him and he didn't want to miss this opportunity. Sharpening himself for the pain Ni Tang kicked the window inside with his bare foot and listened how the splinters fell in. He was quiet for a moment listening if someone had heard him, but nothing had changed. After making sure there was no more glass to hurt him he climbed down in the dark building.
Ni Tang looked around him. Here and there were some boxes and other junk and it seemed someone had seriously gone through this place. It had not been used for a while and no one had probably visited it ever since.
And yet he felt like he was not alone in the warehouse.He glanced around, but saw no one and that made him feel more nervous. Like someone was here with him... Now the feeling was stronger than ever and he shook his head trying to clear his thoughts.
A dragon.
Ni Tang flinched when the word entered his mind and drew a deep breath. Shendu! This place reminded him of Shendu. His brother had been here. The warehouse had to be connected to the fire demon and his attempt of opening the portals and his presence could still be sensed here.
He knew he shouldn't feel nervous anymore. Shendu wasn't his enemy, but still he felt like the place was full of horror and fear. Maybe Shendu had done something really horrible here? Deciding it was better to leave Ni Tang climbed back up and returned to his hide-out.
But unlike the polar demon thought, his visit had not gone unnoticed. A man dressed in rags and holding a bottle of booze sat on the peer trying to look like he had been drinking way too much and fallen asleep in his own misery.
In truth the man was far from being drunk and he had kept an eye on the polar demon since he saw him. The man had been sitting there for many nights now and before this one he had not actually believed anything would happen in the Dark Hand's old hide-out.
He had even said it aloud, but Captain Black had still asked him to keep an eye on what was going on at least until they got some clue of where Valmont's men were. Agent Tag didn't understand why to waste time with something like this. The men could not be stupid enough to return now when everything was lost.
Despite the fact he sure had better things to do than run after shadows he had agreed with his friend. Black had been happy, the old crook had obviously known Tag would not say 'no' to him.
Tag slit his eyes, it seemed Black had been right after all. He had caught a sight of something much better than one of Valmont's pathetic men, it was a demon. It seemed the Dark Hand had not been able to keep their hands away from paranormal things.
At first he had not believed what his friend had told about demons, talismans and chi magic, but then when he had been showed how the talismans worked he had been forced to believe. He had heard the whole story of the demons and he had to admit it was something much better than hunting a Colombian crime league, for an example.
And now he had something really big for Black, the Dark Hand seemed to be back in business with a new paranormal creature with them.
Tag smiled to himself and stood up throwing the bottle away. It was no use to stay there for anymore.
To be continued...
