Chapter 13~ VampireNaomi Gets Her Wish
Jackie could see the swirling light of the demon realm clearly. Before he had just seen it as that space behind portals; now he saw another world. One that he was certain he would be seeing a lot of very soon.
It was the perfect punishment, he thought wryly. The demons had been cooped up in there for centuries, now the J-Team would get their turn. The worst part was that he didn't know if anyone would save his world now. He would never know; he might die without knowing.
At least Jade might manage to survive, Jackie thought desperately as he and the others were flung into the swirling redness.
The blue sky of his world became a tiny slit in the fiery sky. Behind the opening, he heard the low hiss of words in some strange language he didn't recognize, spoken in Tso Lan's voice. "Alse het alrtpo thwi lstaorm erevorf."
And then, Jade's voice "No! Jackie!" Jackie, floating adrift in the atmosphere, started and began swimming frantically towards the portal. He wasn't about to see his niece get devoured by demons! But a bright green light formed around the portal, sealing it shut like a needle sewing thread. His last glimpse was of Jade surrounded by demons, being pulled back into the bushes by an unseen force. And then the human world vanished from his sight.
"No!" Jackie shouted, clawing at the space the portal had been. Once these portals were closed. . .but there must be another way to leave the demon realm. Jackie knew he had to get back. He couldn't leave the world at the mercy of those monsters! But this wasn't going to help. Dejected, Jackie gave up.
The atmosphere of the demon world was very different than of earth- it felt more like water. It was actually possible to sort of swim through it, but it wasn't quite dense enough- Jackie realized he was sinking. He flailed around in the air for awhile, before grasping on the nearest thing. This thing was fleshy, and it hit him over the head with two fingers. Jackie let go of Uncle's hand and scrambled onto one of the world's convenient floating rocks. Jackie glanced up at his Uncle.
"Jackie, you cannot open portal. No sense fighting," said Uncle sagely, his tiny spectacles glinting. The others all crowded around Uncle at this statement, looking shocked.
"We can't get back?" asked Paco in a tiny voice. "Not ever?"
"Sensei, are you sure there's no other way?" asked Tohru in an ever respectful but pleading voice.
Viper put a hand on her hip and frowned. "No. I am not spending the rest of my life in some crazy swirling red hell. You do realize this is your fault, Jackie?" she said, turning an accusing look to him. El Torro also grimaced in Jackie's direction. Jackie glanced up at all of them sadly, his arms folded in front of him.
"I'm sorry I got all of you into this," he said shortly, obviously not concentrating on the issue here, but thinking on the world on the other side. Viper glared as she and El Torro opened their mouths to speak. Paco looked on the verge of tears, and Tohru kept muttering something about needing to say goodbye to his mommy.
"Listen to Uncle!" Uncle shouted angrily. Everyone instantly shut up and looked at him. Uncle cleared his throat. "Uncle did not say we could never go back! We cannot get back through the portal; that is all."
"But, sensei," Tohru muttered, "what way is there, other than the portal? The chi spells we placed on the doors are permanent. as was the Htigl Spell placed upon the portal by the demons."
"Uncle does not know," said Uncle slowly. He reached for his spectacles, and the glinted in the fell light. "We must do research."
Jackie had been standing, staring down into the red depths. Suddenly, he exploded in disbelief, "That is ridiculous! How can you possibly do research when there are no books?"
Uncle hit Jackie over the head again. "How do you know there are no books? We are in the Realm of Onacdr, the origin of magic! How can there be no books? There are many books here!"
"Funny, demons don't seem like the bookworm type to me," muttered Viper under her breath. Then, she flinched as Uncle hit her, as well.
"Of course demons are not bookworms! Books are not here for demons! They cannot touch Onacdrian Books, for they are forged of good magic!" Uncle frowned at her display of ignorance and folded his arms. Tohru decided that it was time for some explanation.
"The Realm of Onacdr is the universe that the demon realm is part of. Onacdr is believed by Chi Wizards to be the origin of the first chi magic. The great master Gesa's works were written to instruct those who want to become chi wizards, and it contains references to great power learned from the Onacdrians. However, no other chi wizard has ever made recorded contact with an Onacdrian wizard. There are books of magic written in Onacdrian- the spell Jade read from earlier was one of them. The demons have always resided here- these are the dungeons of Onacdr and evil magic can't pass through its gates. But supposedly there is a great civilization on the other side."
Uncle nodded, verifying that Tohru was correct. "Every young chi wizard learns of Onacdr," the elderly man said. "Uncle should like to meet a chi wizard of this dimension, and they could help us home. But even an Onacdr spell book would help Uncle."
Jackie was very alert now. They had finally found a way to get home. "Which way are the gates?" he asked tensely. He was responded with a slap on his temple.
"How should Uncle know?" the old man complained. "We will each explore in a different direction. The dungeons are not large, should not be long. When we reach the boundary, we will follow until someone finds gate! Come, Tohru," Uncle instructed his apprentice. The two began walking off into the red clouds.
"I suppose we will split up, then, amigos," El Torro said to the remainder of them. He nodded in the opposite direction than the one Uncle took. "Adios."
"I will come with you, El Torro!" shouted Paco, hurrying after. They, too, disappeared into the ever changing light.
"Guess it's you and me, then, babyface," commented Viper. She no longer seemed angry with him, not now that there was hope. Jackie realized she must've been as afraid as he had been to remain here forever. Strange, since he didn't generally think of her as being afraid of anything.
"Let's hurry," he said, but smiled this time. "I want to get back home."
***
"You idiot!" snapped Jade. She was currently invisible, but her other half was not. The girl was very much in the sight of seven staring demons. So much for their element of surprise. So much for preparation. Jade had wanted time to know the battle ground before she fought demons, but her stupid sister had ruined it all.
"No!" the other girl screamed. "Jackie!" She watched in horror as the last of the portal vanished from her eyes. She could just make out Jackie in the tiny bit that was left, and then he was gone. "Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, Viper, Paco, El Torro. . .everyone!" Jade wailed. She turned toward Tso Lan, her bottom lip quivering in righteous anger. "Bring them back! Please! They're my family! Except Tohru, but he's my best friend, and Viper's practically my aunt, and we've been through so much with El Torro and Paco!"
Finally, Tchang Zu spoke. "Is that not Chan's offspring? Why was she not sealed with the rest?"
Bai Tsa hissed angrily, creating a tidal wave out in the bay. "Chan told me she had been sent to live with her parents!"
"And you believed him?" smirked Hsi Wu with a screeching chuckle. "Why would you believe Chan? And you're supposed to be the intelligent one."
"Do not be so insolent to your betters!" hissed Bai Tsa at the smaller demon, seething with rage. Hsi Wu's smirk lost its arrogant quality, but Tso Lan intervened before Hsi Wu was harmed.
"It is of little consequence," he said calmly. "The child shall be easily disposed of. It is merely a matter of which of us shall taste the first human blood."
Suddenly, another girl materialized before the first one, a look of cool determination on her young face. "Oh," she said casually, "it's gonna be a much greater matter then that."
The demons looked at each other. "I didn't know there were two girls," said Xiao Fung lazily. He didn't contribute much to demon arguments, as it didn't seem worth the effort, but he hoped that this scenario might result in an early dinner.
"I do not remember two girls myself," frowned Bai Tsa with a suspicious hiss in the direction of the Jades.
Po Kong glanced at the others, surprised. "Oh, there were far more than two. There were several hundred."
"There was only one," muttered Hsi Wu in annoyance. Tchang Zu glanced at him scathingly, but Hsi Wu didn't stop. "Don't give me a lecture about correcting my betters. None of you made it into Chan's house. I did. You probably don't even know the girl's name, let alone how many there were."
Yang-Jade grimaced. She had not forgotten about that, and made a decision to kill Hsi Wu very painfully. No one used Jade Chan, especially not when she was currently lacking a conscience.
"Knowing mortals' names is not something to brag about," said Tchang Zu, annoyed at his brother for interrupting him. Dai Gui was still focusing on the Jades from his place, half submerged.
"Dai Gui wants to eat," complained the earth demon. "Dai Gui is hungry now."
Tso Lan glanced at his brother Dai Gui. He, too, was thirsting for blood, but he was able to go for far longer without food than the others. There weren't humans on the moon for his convenience, after all. And he had much more self-restraint than the others. He drew back, watching the slaughter to take place with mild interest.
"You may have one, Dai Gui," said Tchang Zu. "I will taste the blood of the other." Po Kong frowned, but did not comment. The child wouldn't satiate her appetite, anyways. Xiao Fung was disappointed, as well, but he knew that the less he said, the fewer problems he had to deal with. Hsi Wu decided not to argue, as he was in trouble enough as it was. Bai Tsa had eaten a large lunch at sea. And so, Dai Gui and Tchang Zu menacingly turned to the Jades. Yang-Jade pushed her sister behind her, and reached for her belt of talismans.
Author's Note~ Yet another lovely place to leave off! *grin* Well, I learned my lesson withdrawing betas- I realized that last chapter I kept spelling demon names wrong. Gah. But, I shall now stealthily go back and fix it, so you will not know!
As you can see by my title, I am running out of ideas for titles. But you can also see that yes, VampireNaomi, Jackie & Co. will be spending quite some time on the flip side. Arg, that sentence is structured wrong. It sounds like VampireNaomi is in the demon realm. *shrug* maybe she is! Hahahahahahahahaha *cough* sorry.
As for the Destroyah, glad to hear I'm not on your hurt list. I don't know bout a Hsi Wu/Jade romance, although popular demand is putting the pressure on! I said a while back that if I got a suggestion on my 75th review, maybe I'd do it. . .keep holding out for HW/J and maybe I'll succumb. *grin* Oh. . .any funny you should mention dragons. . .*eyes dart about in a suspicious way*
Awwww, thank you, Dacki!!
I'm sorry for the cliffhangers, you guys, but I feel almost. . .irresponsible not to end a chapter with one. Plus, it keeps all of you on your toes.
X-Mas vacation is coming up, and I won't get much done during it. I'm going to my grandparents house, and then to Mexico. So I'll be very busy. So if I'm late, don't fret. I seriously need some R&R (rest and relaxation, not read and review, although the latter's nice, too.)
Actually, since I'm leaving for my Grandma's today and for Mexico next week, don't be surprised if the next chapter is not just one, but two weeks late. One week late is probably a definite. Two weeks late a grim possibility. Sorry. *small smile*
Thanks for reading! And I apologize for anything wrong about the Demon Realm. It's been a long time since I've watched those eps; I'm mostly going on pictures.
Oh, one last thing. . .*_* Anyone else seen Return of the King? *swoon* It is the best movie ever! It is 100% worth the 3.5 hours spent in the theatre. The whole time is one action packed adventure after dramatic moment after inspiring battle after GORGY LEGOLAS!!!!! I feel like I'm on some sort of drug, because I've just been so crazy since seeing it. It's not like normal movies, where you hear the battle speech and think "That was pretty. *yawn*" It's like. . .you want to be there, you feel just like the army. You know you're going to certain death, but you'll still follow Aragorn anywhere. *grin* If you haven't seen it, SEE IT!
Jackie could see the swirling light of the demon realm clearly. Before he had just seen it as that space behind portals; now he saw another world. One that he was certain he would be seeing a lot of very soon.
It was the perfect punishment, he thought wryly. The demons had been cooped up in there for centuries, now the J-Team would get their turn. The worst part was that he didn't know if anyone would save his world now. He would never know; he might die without knowing.
At least Jade might manage to survive, Jackie thought desperately as he and the others were flung into the swirling redness.
The blue sky of his world became a tiny slit in the fiery sky. Behind the opening, he heard the low hiss of words in some strange language he didn't recognize, spoken in Tso Lan's voice. "Alse het alrtpo thwi lstaorm erevorf."
And then, Jade's voice "No! Jackie!" Jackie, floating adrift in the atmosphere, started and began swimming frantically towards the portal. He wasn't about to see his niece get devoured by demons! But a bright green light formed around the portal, sealing it shut like a needle sewing thread. His last glimpse was of Jade surrounded by demons, being pulled back into the bushes by an unseen force. And then the human world vanished from his sight.
"No!" Jackie shouted, clawing at the space the portal had been. Once these portals were closed. . .but there must be another way to leave the demon realm. Jackie knew he had to get back. He couldn't leave the world at the mercy of those monsters! But this wasn't going to help. Dejected, Jackie gave up.
The atmosphere of the demon world was very different than of earth- it felt more like water. It was actually possible to sort of swim through it, but it wasn't quite dense enough- Jackie realized he was sinking. He flailed around in the air for awhile, before grasping on the nearest thing. This thing was fleshy, and it hit him over the head with two fingers. Jackie let go of Uncle's hand and scrambled onto one of the world's convenient floating rocks. Jackie glanced up at his Uncle.
"Jackie, you cannot open portal. No sense fighting," said Uncle sagely, his tiny spectacles glinting. The others all crowded around Uncle at this statement, looking shocked.
"We can't get back?" asked Paco in a tiny voice. "Not ever?"
"Sensei, are you sure there's no other way?" asked Tohru in an ever respectful but pleading voice.
Viper put a hand on her hip and frowned. "No. I am not spending the rest of my life in some crazy swirling red hell. You do realize this is your fault, Jackie?" she said, turning an accusing look to him. El Torro also grimaced in Jackie's direction. Jackie glanced up at all of them sadly, his arms folded in front of him.
"I'm sorry I got all of you into this," he said shortly, obviously not concentrating on the issue here, but thinking on the world on the other side. Viper glared as she and El Torro opened their mouths to speak. Paco looked on the verge of tears, and Tohru kept muttering something about needing to say goodbye to his mommy.
"Listen to Uncle!" Uncle shouted angrily. Everyone instantly shut up and looked at him. Uncle cleared his throat. "Uncle did not say we could never go back! We cannot get back through the portal; that is all."
"But, sensei," Tohru muttered, "what way is there, other than the portal? The chi spells we placed on the doors are permanent. as was the Htigl Spell placed upon the portal by the demons."
"Uncle does not know," said Uncle slowly. He reached for his spectacles, and the glinted in the fell light. "We must do research."
Jackie had been standing, staring down into the red depths. Suddenly, he exploded in disbelief, "That is ridiculous! How can you possibly do research when there are no books?"
Uncle hit Jackie over the head again. "How do you know there are no books? We are in the Realm of Onacdr, the origin of magic! How can there be no books? There are many books here!"
"Funny, demons don't seem like the bookworm type to me," muttered Viper under her breath. Then, she flinched as Uncle hit her, as well.
"Of course demons are not bookworms! Books are not here for demons! They cannot touch Onacdrian Books, for they are forged of good magic!" Uncle frowned at her display of ignorance and folded his arms. Tohru decided that it was time for some explanation.
"The Realm of Onacdr is the universe that the demon realm is part of. Onacdr is believed by Chi Wizards to be the origin of the first chi magic. The great master Gesa's works were written to instruct those who want to become chi wizards, and it contains references to great power learned from the Onacdrians. However, no other chi wizard has ever made recorded contact with an Onacdrian wizard. There are books of magic written in Onacdrian- the spell Jade read from earlier was one of them. The demons have always resided here- these are the dungeons of Onacdr and evil magic can't pass through its gates. But supposedly there is a great civilization on the other side."
Uncle nodded, verifying that Tohru was correct. "Every young chi wizard learns of Onacdr," the elderly man said. "Uncle should like to meet a chi wizard of this dimension, and they could help us home. But even an Onacdr spell book would help Uncle."
Jackie was very alert now. They had finally found a way to get home. "Which way are the gates?" he asked tensely. He was responded with a slap on his temple.
"How should Uncle know?" the old man complained. "We will each explore in a different direction. The dungeons are not large, should not be long. When we reach the boundary, we will follow until someone finds gate! Come, Tohru," Uncle instructed his apprentice. The two began walking off into the red clouds.
"I suppose we will split up, then, amigos," El Torro said to the remainder of them. He nodded in the opposite direction than the one Uncle took. "Adios."
"I will come with you, El Torro!" shouted Paco, hurrying after. They, too, disappeared into the ever changing light.
"Guess it's you and me, then, babyface," commented Viper. She no longer seemed angry with him, not now that there was hope. Jackie realized she must've been as afraid as he had been to remain here forever. Strange, since he didn't generally think of her as being afraid of anything.
"Let's hurry," he said, but smiled this time. "I want to get back home."
***
"You idiot!" snapped Jade. She was currently invisible, but her other half was not. The girl was very much in the sight of seven staring demons. So much for their element of surprise. So much for preparation. Jade had wanted time to know the battle ground before she fought demons, but her stupid sister had ruined it all.
"No!" the other girl screamed. "Jackie!" She watched in horror as the last of the portal vanished from her eyes. She could just make out Jackie in the tiny bit that was left, and then he was gone. "Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, Viper, Paco, El Torro. . .everyone!" Jade wailed. She turned toward Tso Lan, her bottom lip quivering in righteous anger. "Bring them back! Please! They're my family! Except Tohru, but he's my best friend, and Viper's practically my aunt, and we've been through so much with El Torro and Paco!"
Finally, Tchang Zu spoke. "Is that not Chan's offspring? Why was she not sealed with the rest?"
Bai Tsa hissed angrily, creating a tidal wave out in the bay. "Chan told me she had been sent to live with her parents!"
"And you believed him?" smirked Hsi Wu with a screeching chuckle. "Why would you believe Chan? And you're supposed to be the intelligent one."
"Do not be so insolent to your betters!" hissed Bai Tsa at the smaller demon, seething with rage. Hsi Wu's smirk lost its arrogant quality, but Tso Lan intervened before Hsi Wu was harmed.
"It is of little consequence," he said calmly. "The child shall be easily disposed of. It is merely a matter of which of us shall taste the first human blood."
Suddenly, another girl materialized before the first one, a look of cool determination on her young face. "Oh," she said casually, "it's gonna be a much greater matter then that."
The demons looked at each other. "I didn't know there were two girls," said Xiao Fung lazily. He didn't contribute much to demon arguments, as it didn't seem worth the effort, but he hoped that this scenario might result in an early dinner.
"I do not remember two girls myself," frowned Bai Tsa with a suspicious hiss in the direction of the Jades.
Po Kong glanced at the others, surprised. "Oh, there were far more than two. There were several hundred."
"There was only one," muttered Hsi Wu in annoyance. Tchang Zu glanced at him scathingly, but Hsi Wu didn't stop. "Don't give me a lecture about correcting my betters. None of you made it into Chan's house. I did. You probably don't even know the girl's name, let alone how many there were."
Yang-Jade grimaced. She had not forgotten about that, and made a decision to kill Hsi Wu very painfully. No one used Jade Chan, especially not when she was currently lacking a conscience.
"Knowing mortals' names is not something to brag about," said Tchang Zu, annoyed at his brother for interrupting him. Dai Gui was still focusing on the Jades from his place, half submerged.
"Dai Gui wants to eat," complained the earth demon. "Dai Gui is hungry now."
Tso Lan glanced at his brother Dai Gui. He, too, was thirsting for blood, but he was able to go for far longer without food than the others. There weren't humans on the moon for his convenience, after all. And he had much more self-restraint than the others. He drew back, watching the slaughter to take place with mild interest.
"You may have one, Dai Gui," said Tchang Zu. "I will taste the blood of the other." Po Kong frowned, but did not comment. The child wouldn't satiate her appetite, anyways. Xiao Fung was disappointed, as well, but he knew that the less he said, the fewer problems he had to deal with. Hsi Wu decided not to argue, as he was in trouble enough as it was. Bai Tsa had eaten a large lunch at sea. And so, Dai Gui and Tchang Zu menacingly turned to the Jades. Yang-Jade pushed her sister behind her, and reached for her belt of talismans.
Author's Note~ Yet another lovely place to leave off! *grin* Well, I learned my lesson withdrawing betas- I realized that last chapter I kept spelling demon names wrong. Gah. But, I shall now stealthily go back and fix it, so you will not know!
As you can see by my title, I am running out of ideas for titles. But you can also see that yes, VampireNaomi, Jackie & Co. will be spending quite some time on the flip side. Arg, that sentence is structured wrong. It sounds like VampireNaomi is in the demon realm. *shrug* maybe she is! Hahahahahahahahaha *cough* sorry.
As for the Destroyah, glad to hear I'm not on your hurt list. I don't know bout a Hsi Wu/Jade romance, although popular demand is putting the pressure on! I said a while back that if I got a suggestion on my 75th review, maybe I'd do it. . .keep holding out for HW/J and maybe I'll succumb. *grin* Oh. . .any funny you should mention dragons. . .*eyes dart about in a suspicious way*
Awwww, thank you, Dacki!!
I'm sorry for the cliffhangers, you guys, but I feel almost. . .irresponsible not to end a chapter with one. Plus, it keeps all of you on your toes.
X-Mas vacation is coming up, and I won't get much done during it. I'm going to my grandparents house, and then to Mexico. So I'll be very busy. So if I'm late, don't fret. I seriously need some R&R (rest and relaxation, not read and review, although the latter's nice, too.)
Actually, since I'm leaving for my Grandma's today and for Mexico next week, don't be surprised if the next chapter is not just one, but two weeks late. One week late is probably a definite. Two weeks late a grim possibility. Sorry. *small smile*
Thanks for reading! And I apologize for anything wrong about the Demon Realm. It's been a long time since I've watched those eps; I'm mostly going on pictures.
Oh, one last thing. . .*_* Anyone else seen Return of the King? *swoon* It is the best movie ever! It is 100% worth the 3.5 hours spent in the theatre. The whole time is one action packed adventure after dramatic moment after inspiring battle after GORGY LEGOLAS!!!!! I feel like I'm on some sort of drug, because I've just been so crazy since seeing it. It's not like normal movies, where you hear the battle speech and think "That was pretty. *yawn*" It's like. . .you want to be there, you feel just like the army. You know you're going to certain death, but you'll still follow Aragorn anywhere. *grin* If you haven't seen it, SEE IT!