Shadow Moon
By ChibiDragon7
Prologue
Rising Darkness
"You are just a pawn, remember that, Hsi-Wu, remember that." - Xio Sui Xhoung
The night sky was thick and lazy, hanging over San Francisco like a thick black cloud, ready to devour the sleeping city even the Golden Gate Bridge lay obscured beneath the sluggish fog. The air was heavy with charged magical energy, and anyone in the city with so much as a spoonful of magic power could feel dark power gathering.
Demons where afoot tonight.
High upon the landmark bridge, where even the speeding and swerving cars below couldn't see them, two men could be dimly observed. One was a tall man in pitch-black armor that shined like obsidian, and the other a shorter, nervous man in baggy street clothes and spiky blue-black hair. The shorter one anxiously flattened his hair as the sea wind picked it up, flopping the dark strands against his cheek. His face was much younger than his companions, and he was walking back and forth across a girder, his step springing with a swagger that did not reach his eyes.
The Two had been atop the bridge in silence for some time now, and if either had bothered with the mortal concern of a wristwatch, they would have known that exactly two hours had past since they had arrived there. The younger of the two had become increasingly agitated, on the brink of panic, and had just started to pace.
"Well?" The armored soldier asked in a deep, soft, earth-shaking voice as cold as comet's tail. "Are they coming, or is this just a charade for you, Hsi-Wu?"
"W-Wait! They'll come, I promise!" Hsi-Wu jumped in panic, his voice almost cracking.
The dark figure raised an eyebrow, his metallic purple eyes, like quicksilver, filled with disdain for the younger demon.
Five silent, wrapped ninjas dropped seemingly from the sky beside the pacing Hsi-Wu. The demon looked at them on either side, and gave a small sigh of relief. The Shadowkhan stepped closer to the armored soldier, and each opened their palms out to reveal a shining stone talisman.
"These where all they could retrieve from museums in the area. The rest of them are in Section 13." The Shadowkhan dropped the five talismans into a black bag, which Hsi-Wu reverently handed to the armored man.
"The Dragon, The Horse, The Tiger, The Pig, and The Rat." The younger demon gave his companion an empty smile.
The giant soldier accepted the bag, which look tiny in his large hand. He inspected its contents, his eyes glittering cold from underneath his helmet's brim, and nodded his approval, his lips almost playing at the edges of a smile.
"You have proven very useful." The older demon said. "But I have one more job for you before I complete my half of our transaction."
Hsi-Wu's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded in approval.
"And, if you complete this job, my friend, you need not to return to that limbo, nor stay on this silly mortal planet."
The younger demon blinked at him, gulped and growled at the same time. He may have feared the soldier's power, but no one double-crossed Hsi-Wu. No one.
The older demon was playing with the bag that held the Talismans. Such a power in such insignificant stone, The Zodiac had to have been very warped to store such awesome might in something so simple.
"To complete my… rite… I will require a being with much Chi magic." The black bag dangled by its drawstrings from the armored soldier's fingers. A half smile, almost as cold as his eyes, danced on his face, shadowed by his helmet. "Of course, I can not attain this person by myself. I fear my form at present would be much too conspicuous in the mortal world. You, on the other hand, Hsi-Wu, are familiar with Earth and it's people, and even of magic-wielders nearby."
The younger demon nodded, understanding what his companion was getting at. A little of the fear that had once more began to collect within him drained away.
"This being must have a large source of magic to draw upon. Preferably someone young, and, unavoidably cliché, female."
Hsi-Wu froze, and his face went completely blank for a moment. All emotion seemed to drain from it. A long, heavy silence filled the air. The soldier's purple-black cape rose around him, and the shadows and light danced over his face, framing his smile in darkness and orange city glow.
"NO!" Hsi-Wu screamed, his voice hoarse and loud in the silent salty sea air. In his explosion, all fear of his companion's limitless power seemed to slip from his mind. He stood taller, his eyes became sharper, and a demonic red aura curled around his body.
The older demon didn't so much as look up at Hsi-Wu's outburst, his hands where still playing with the talisman bag, but an amused expression had grown over his face.
"Tch. Tch. Such a display of feelings from Demon Sorcerer, what a thing I'd never thought I'd live to see, so riled up over a human Hsi-Wu? I thought you specifically told me you felt nothing for that scrap of a girl. That she 'wouldn't get in the way'."
"I don't know what I feel! But I never thought she would be part of this!"
"Can you suggest an alternative?"
Hsi-Wu became a silent, simmering, demon. Anger boiled just beneath his skin, and a snarl had molded itself onto his face. There was no one. No one on Earth besides her that he knew.
"If you do not wish to complete our transaction, Hsi-Wu, I have… other contacts."
The younger demon's mortal guise turned white.
"You…" He paused, the demonic aura slowly curling itself around him a second time. "You… Bastard!"
Hsi-Wu lunged for the older man's throat.
The older demon casually raised a black-clad hand, wrapped in a dull purple aura.
Hsi-Wu's body stopped in mid leap, went limp, and started to float upwards. His face strained as he tried to regain physical control f himself, but to no avail. Suddenly, his throat constricted, and his human hands shot up to try to pull of whatever mental force was choking him. The same dull purple aura formed around his body, and he made a retching sound, trying to draw in air. His body was alit by the violet glow, framing his tortured form against the yellow metal and the black of night.
"You are just a pawn, remember that, Hsi-Wu, remember that."
Dark shadows played at the edges of the choking demon's vision, and his lungs felt like they were being slow broiled over a 360° oven. His face began to take on a shallow blue tint as his lungs completely ran out of air. He lasted half-a-minute longer, and his world finally plunged in blissful darkness.
As the demon lost his grip on consciousness, he lost control of his guise as well. His human form reverted to his horrific natural demonic state, leathery wings hanging limp from his gray-blue back.
Xio Sui Xhoung, Ancient Demon Sorcerer, closed his upraised hand, and a blue light appeared, floating inches from the Sky Demon's chest. Without warning, it lanced through him, and a seizure overtook his body.
Bright red blood spattered on the yellow metal and, thirty seconds later, a body hit the bay far below.
"Remember That."
Author's Rambling: HIIII! ^^ So, whaddya think? Please review! I'd love to hear what you think! Kinda violent, methinks….
Next Time: Seven years have passed since the end of J.C. Adventures, and in the seclusion of Uncle's Antiques, Jade Chan will encounter an old enemy, While, on the other side of the world, seemingly unconnected kidnappings draw Section 13 to a new enemy, and a new adventure! (God, that sounded so corny, sorry for the lame preview - -;)