Chapter 14~ Clash
"Wah!" shouted Jackie, springing up with a start. He looked around wildly, eyes taking in the swirling red atmosphere. He was lying on a rock. Viper was sitting next to him, brushing her hair. Jackie wondered briefly where she found a brush. It looked like the kind of brush Viper would have- it was silver with small diamonds around the edges. Viper was obsessed with precious stones.
The ex-thief glanced over her shoulder at Jackie, frowning with slight amusement, slight concern. "What's wrong?"
Jackie pulled himself to his feet, running his hands over his tired face. He felt as though he could really use a cold shower at the moment, or at least a cup of coffee. "Oh, nothing. Just a very. . .strange dream. How long have you been awake?"
Viper yawned and stretched her arms. "It's hard to tell time here," she said slowly, "but a couple of hours. I usually wake up at about five back home."
"Why?" asked Jackie, incredulously. He'd thought his daily routine of waking up at 6:30 was early.
Viper shrugged with a grin. "Habit. Early to bed, early to rise, you know? But I did some exploring while you were asleep. Hungry?" To Jackie's great surprise, she tossed him a very shiny red apple.
He took a bite. It was the sweetest, juiciest apple that he had ever tasted. Jackie swallowed and glanced up at her. "Where'd you find this?"
Viper shrugged again. "I don't know, hard to find your way around. It wasn't too far away from here. It was in a silk bag, with some other fruit. Pretty weird, huh?" She raised her eyebrows.
Jackie gave the apple a critical look. "It tastes okay. . .I didn't think demons would eat apples." He took several more bites of the apple, and then placed it inside his sweater for later. "We should resume the search."
The pair of them gazed across the red space. There seemed to be a strange flicker in the distance, and that was where they had been heading when they became tired. With a leap, both Jackie and Viper reached the next rock, continuing slowly along.
***
There was a rumble, as Dai Gui pulled himself out from the ground. He leered hungrily at the two girls, not sure which one to take. If there had been a bigger or very appetizing one, Tchang Zu would have taken her for himself, but it didn't appear that way. Dai Gui looked at the two. One was sitting on the ground, in tears. The other was staring at him, glaring. Dai Gui decided to take the nearer one, since the other one might taste soggy. His massive claws reached for the girl.
Suddenly, she was no longer standing there. Dai Gui looked around in confusion. Where did his meal go? He was vaguely aware of a dark blur speeding towards his, and then the outline of a sneaker very close to his face before he was thrown.
Jade flipped in the air, and landed in a rather overly dramatic martial arts pose. Dai Gui lay on the ground several hundred feet away, groaning. The demons stared at their brother in shock, except for Hsi Wu, who was perched on the ground and did not look surprised. The sky demon's shoulders shook, almost as though he were laughing.
Jade arched an eyebrow and glanced at the remaining demons. She smirked, and said dramatically, "Who's next?"
Tchang Zu roared, and dark thunderclouds began to cover the sky. The enormous demon was shaking with anger as he looked at the girl, but to his frustration she didn't cower but smirked and met his eyes.
"How dare you insult my brother, foolish human! To be devoured is too kind a fate for you!" Tchang Zu's massive fist smashed into the ground where Jade stood, or, more accurately, had been standing a moment before. Now, she was floating calmly in the air. Tchang Zu started to stand to his feet, when something strange happened to the girl. Her whole body glowed with golden light. She put one hand forward, and a beam that looked as bright as the sun hit Tchang Zu, knocking him to the ground. As the massive demon lost conciousness, the storm clouds disintegrated.
Tso Lan floated silently down next to the girl, who was now laughing. She noticed the demon, and spun around in midair. "You want some of this, demon? As long as I can fly, gravity can't affect me!"
Tso Lan's permanently calm demenour did not change. He looked at Jade with a curious expression. "How interesting," said his cool, deep voice. "Now, how is it, my dear child, that you have come by these powers? I do remember your talent for speed, but that beam of light greatly resembles a power possessed by my young brother."
Jade crossed her arms, and gave Tso Lan a look much like the one she reserved for Jackie when he told her to go with Uncle. "Like I'd tell you," she pouted.
Tso Lan turned away, glancing at his youngest brother. Hsi Wu was currently flapping over Tchang Zu, snickering. Suddenly, he noticed Tso Lan, and forced his face to remain straight. "Hsi Wu," said Tso Lan thoughtfully, with the hint of a reprimand in his voice, "perhaps you can tell us why the child's antics amuse you so? Do you know anything of her powers?"
"Yes, Brother," said Hsi Wu, in an obviously fake submissive tone. "The child possesses the talismans of Shendu. Apparently, they are magic stones that were created by the enemy to hold his powers."
"Ah," whispered Tso Lan. "Yes, I know of the talismans, but I was not aware they held magic for those apart from our brother." He turned back to Jade, who was still glaring, wanting the demons to stop talking and fight her already.
Bai Tsa slithered up, an almost gentle smile on her face. Her brothers and sister knew that this was her deadliest expression. "Well, small Chan," she said sweetly, "you may have been able to surprise my brothers, but Shendu is, unfortunately, not the strongest of the family. All of us shall easily be able to defeat you."
Jade's response to this was to turn golden again. Putting out her hand, she blasted Bai Tsa with a powerful dragon beam. When the attack ended, steam sizzled from where Bai Tsa had been. Jade smirked, but then notice that the steam was condensing into a pool of water, which reformed itself into Bai Tsa. The water demoness cackled. "You think to defeat me, a water demon, with a heat beam? You are even more foolish than Brother Shendu."
Bai Tsa hit Jade with a burst of water. Combining speed and levitation, Jade zoomed out of the way. With a thump, she hit something big and grey. "Going somewhere?" hissed Hsi Wu. Jade punched him with a boost of strength, knocking the demon to the ground. From out of nowhere, a large rock crashed into Jade, and she, too, fell.
"Gravity can affect anyone, whether or not they themselves are subject to it," said Tso Lan, with something like pride in his voice. Jade lay on the ground, crushed under Tso Lan's rock. She hurt all over, but she could already feel her wounds growing numb. Her lungs had been crushed, and every breath was an agony. But she wasn't dying. It was only a matter of time before she was made whole again. As long as she had. . .
"The talismans," whispered Tso Lan, his hand outstretched. Jade saw it, but her insides felt as though she had just drunk a cup of sweet herbal tea. The talisman was doing its job, she would be okay in a matter of minutes.
"No," croaked Jade, glaring at the moon demon. Suddenly, she heard Po Kong's rumbling voice speak to her from nearby.
"Small Chan, give my brother the talismans. If you do not comply, you will be killed," said the mountain demon with a smile. With Tchang Zu and Dai Gui hurt, the little snacks would be hers.
Then, Po Kong looked down in surprise and annoyance, as though she had been bitten by a mosquito. A small girl was kicking her repeatedly from the ground. "No!" shouted yin-Jade. "You leave her alone!"
"Foolish girl," muttered Po Kong, flicking Jade aside. The girl landed in a heap, slightly dazed. Yang Jade smiled, her sister was acting as the perfect diversion. Feeling fully healed, Jade tossed the rock aside, and drew in a sweet breath of air.
"Now you demons are going d-" Jade was knocked off her feet by a powerful gust of wind. She activated the power of the rooster, but t did no good. She crashed against the bulk of Po Kong and fell to the ground. She watched groggily as the belt around her waist floated slowly into Tso Lan's hands.
"Thank you, Brother Xiao Fung," said Tso Lan softly. The wind demon gave a large, overly heroic smile and nodded.
A stream of water rolled towards Jade and materialized into Bai Tsa. She was smirking again. This time, the pain in Jade's head did not go numb. "That was a very fine battle, small Chan," said Bai Tsa softly. "Unfortunately, it is over now."
Hsi Wu looked slightly disappointed for a moment, but then realized that Jade's blood was now going to be spilled. He was starving, as he hadn't had a chance to eat since he had been banished to the demon realm thousands of years ago. His other siblings had eaten the few prisoners that had been sent during the years of their banishment. But despite his hunger and despite the fact that he was no longer going to have the satisfaction of watching his siblings bested, watching the slaughter of a human was always enjoyable to a demon.
Po Kong lifted the two girls into her palm. "Hello, my delicious little morsels." Pinching the girls between her claws, she brought the hand to her gaping mouth.
***
"Wow," said Viper softly, her eyes wide. Jackie nodded in agreement. There wasn't much else to say. One minute, they had been surrounded by thick, red soup. Then, another yard, and suddenly. . .this.
There were huge walls spreading as far as the eye could see, and climbing from the bottom of infinity to the highest heights. They looked almost like a waterfall, except that they glowed golden at times, sunset colors at other times, and occasionally a deep blue. But it was impossible to say where one color ended and the other began. The sparkled like diamonds, or sea foam, or liquid light.
The walls were several hundred yards away, but there was nothing between them and the walls. Not blackness or empty whiteness or swirling red, just nothing. But crossing the nothing was a path made of white stones. The path lead to enormous doors of solid white marble. Embossed on the gates, in diamonds and sapphires in such a size that Viper's eyes nearly popped out of her head, was a giant horse.
"Ah," said a voice. Jackie turned around and saw Uncle, being carried on Tohru's shoulders. "The horse. Symbol of Onacdr."
Author's Note~ Well, Finally! Thanks for bearing with me, you guys. I really appreciate your patience.
Exams suck, but at least they're over, and tomorrow I leave to go skiing! ^_^ I am now officially happy.
Broli the Destroyah- Lol, it's not being finished quite yet, but is another chapter okay? ^_^
Scottishwolf- Hah, someone who *doesn't* mind the cliffhangers! What was your favorite RotK scene?
Miyo86- Why the evil cliffhangers? Because it's fun! And because they're good places to end. It just makes sense to end there, keeps you guessing. :p
Souma Kagura- I love fics with demons too! ^_^ Who's your favorite?
ShadowElfBard- Aww, you know I couldn't just leave Jackie & Co. stranded all alone! That'd be just too cruel.
VampireNaomi- Ahahaha, you think you've outsmarted me, but in reality I anticipated your move well in advance. You are simply a pawn in my master plan. *evil laughter*
Oh, one more thing (hehe). . . Does anyone else think that Déjà vu episode was just a cheap excuse not to write new material? And what's up with Jackie???? I thought he liked Jade! He was going to send her back to Hong Kong? I was going to write a bit the day I watched it, but it made me feel seriously anti JCA for a minute there. However, I've come to terms with the fact that it was a seriously OOC episode. C'mon, even Jackie admitted after the end of the first season that he'd miss Jade if she went back! I could understand if he was doing it for her safety, but just because she gets in the way! Argh! *thwaks Déjà vu Jackie* Jerk.
"Wah!" shouted Jackie, springing up with a start. He looked around wildly, eyes taking in the swirling red atmosphere. He was lying on a rock. Viper was sitting next to him, brushing her hair. Jackie wondered briefly where she found a brush. It looked like the kind of brush Viper would have- it was silver with small diamonds around the edges. Viper was obsessed with precious stones.
The ex-thief glanced over her shoulder at Jackie, frowning with slight amusement, slight concern. "What's wrong?"
Jackie pulled himself to his feet, running his hands over his tired face. He felt as though he could really use a cold shower at the moment, or at least a cup of coffee. "Oh, nothing. Just a very. . .strange dream. How long have you been awake?"
Viper yawned and stretched her arms. "It's hard to tell time here," she said slowly, "but a couple of hours. I usually wake up at about five back home."
"Why?" asked Jackie, incredulously. He'd thought his daily routine of waking up at 6:30 was early.
Viper shrugged with a grin. "Habit. Early to bed, early to rise, you know? But I did some exploring while you were asleep. Hungry?" To Jackie's great surprise, she tossed him a very shiny red apple.
He took a bite. It was the sweetest, juiciest apple that he had ever tasted. Jackie swallowed and glanced up at her. "Where'd you find this?"
Viper shrugged again. "I don't know, hard to find your way around. It wasn't too far away from here. It was in a silk bag, with some other fruit. Pretty weird, huh?" She raised her eyebrows.
Jackie gave the apple a critical look. "It tastes okay. . .I didn't think demons would eat apples." He took several more bites of the apple, and then placed it inside his sweater for later. "We should resume the search."
The pair of them gazed across the red space. There seemed to be a strange flicker in the distance, and that was where they had been heading when they became tired. With a leap, both Jackie and Viper reached the next rock, continuing slowly along.
***
There was a rumble, as Dai Gui pulled himself out from the ground. He leered hungrily at the two girls, not sure which one to take. If there had been a bigger or very appetizing one, Tchang Zu would have taken her for himself, but it didn't appear that way. Dai Gui looked at the two. One was sitting on the ground, in tears. The other was staring at him, glaring. Dai Gui decided to take the nearer one, since the other one might taste soggy. His massive claws reached for the girl.
Suddenly, she was no longer standing there. Dai Gui looked around in confusion. Where did his meal go? He was vaguely aware of a dark blur speeding towards his, and then the outline of a sneaker very close to his face before he was thrown.
Jade flipped in the air, and landed in a rather overly dramatic martial arts pose. Dai Gui lay on the ground several hundred feet away, groaning. The demons stared at their brother in shock, except for Hsi Wu, who was perched on the ground and did not look surprised. The sky demon's shoulders shook, almost as though he were laughing.
Jade arched an eyebrow and glanced at the remaining demons. She smirked, and said dramatically, "Who's next?"
Tchang Zu roared, and dark thunderclouds began to cover the sky. The enormous demon was shaking with anger as he looked at the girl, but to his frustration she didn't cower but smirked and met his eyes.
"How dare you insult my brother, foolish human! To be devoured is too kind a fate for you!" Tchang Zu's massive fist smashed into the ground where Jade stood, or, more accurately, had been standing a moment before. Now, she was floating calmly in the air. Tchang Zu started to stand to his feet, when something strange happened to the girl. Her whole body glowed with golden light. She put one hand forward, and a beam that looked as bright as the sun hit Tchang Zu, knocking him to the ground. As the massive demon lost conciousness, the storm clouds disintegrated.
Tso Lan floated silently down next to the girl, who was now laughing. She noticed the demon, and spun around in midair. "You want some of this, demon? As long as I can fly, gravity can't affect me!"
Tso Lan's permanently calm demenour did not change. He looked at Jade with a curious expression. "How interesting," said his cool, deep voice. "Now, how is it, my dear child, that you have come by these powers? I do remember your talent for speed, but that beam of light greatly resembles a power possessed by my young brother."
Jade crossed her arms, and gave Tso Lan a look much like the one she reserved for Jackie when he told her to go with Uncle. "Like I'd tell you," she pouted.
Tso Lan turned away, glancing at his youngest brother. Hsi Wu was currently flapping over Tchang Zu, snickering. Suddenly, he noticed Tso Lan, and forced his face to remain straight. "Hsi Wu," said Tso Lan thoughtfully, with the hint of a reprimand in his voice, "perhaps you can tell us why the child's antics amuse you so? Do you know anything of her powers?"
"Yes, Brother," said Hsi Wu, in an obviously fake submissive tone. "The child possesses the talismans of Shendu. Apparently, they are magic stones that were created by the enemy to hold his powers."
"Ah," whispered Tso Lan. "Yes, I know of the talismans, but I was not aware they held magic for those apart from our brother." He turned back to Jade, who was still glaring, wanting the demons to stop talking and fight her already.
Bai Tsa slithered up, an almost gentle smile on her face. Her brothers and sister knew that this was her deadliest expression. "Well, small Chan," she said sweetly, "you may have been able to surprise my brothers, but Shendu is, unfortunately, not the strongest of the family. All of us shall easily be able to defeat you."
Jade's response to this was to turn golden again. Putting out her hand, she blasted Bai Tsa with a powerful dragon beam. When the attack ended, steam sizzled from where Bai Tsa had been. Jade smirked, but then notice that the steam was condensing into a pool of water, which reformed itself into Bai Tsa. The water demoness cackled. "You think to defeat me, a water demon, with a heat beam? You are even more foolish than Brother Shendu."
Bai Tsa hit Jade with a burst of water. Combining speed and levitation, Jade zoomed out of the way. With a thump, she hit something big and grey. "Going somewhere?" hissed Hsi Wu. Jade punched him with a boost of strength, knocking the demon to the ground. From out of nowhere, a large rock crashed into Jade, and she, too, fell.
"Gravity can affect anyone, whether or not they themselves are subject to it," said Tso Lan, with something like pride in his voice. Jade lay on the ground, crushed under Tso Lan's rock. She hurt all over, but she could already feel her wounds growing numb. Her lungs had been crushed, and every breath was an agony. But she wasn't dying. It was only a matter of time before she was made whole again. As long as she had. . .
"The talismans," whispered Tso Lan, his hand outstretched. Jade saw it, but her insides felt as though she had just drunk a cup of sweet herbal tea. The talisman was doing its job, she would be okay in a matter of minutes.
"No," croaked Jade, glaring at the moon demon. Suddenly, she heard Po Kong's rumbling voice speak to her from nearby.
"Small Chan, give my brother the talismans. If you do not comply, you will be killed," said the mountain demon with a smile. With Tchang Zu and Dai Gui hurt, the little snacks would be hers.
Then, Po Kong looked down in surprise and annoyance, as though she had been bitten by a mosquito. A small girl was kicking her repeatedly from the ground. "No!" shouted yin-Jade. "You leave her alone!"
"Foolish girl," muttered Po Kong, flicking Jade aside. The girl landed in a heap, slightly dazed. Yang Jade smiled, her sister was acting as the perfect diversion. Feeling fully healed, Jade tossed the rock aside, and drew in a sweet breath of air.
"Now you demons are going d-" Jade was knocked off her feet by a powerful gust of wind. She activated the power of the rooster, but t did no good. She crashed against the bulk of Po Kong and fell to the ground. She watched groggily as the belt around her waist floated slowly into Tso Lan's hands.
"Thank you, Brother Xiao Fung," said Tso Lan softly. The wind demon gave a large, overly heroic smile and nodded.
A stream of water rolled towards Jade and materialized into Bai Tsa. She was smirking again. This time, the pain in Jade's head did not go numb. "That was a very fine battle, small Chan," said Bai Tsa softly. "Unfortunately, it is over now."
Hsi Wu looked slightly disappointed for a moment, but then realized that Jade's blood was now going to be spilled. He was starving, as he hadn't had a chance to eat since he had been banished to the demon realm thousands of years ago. His other siblings had eaten the few prisoners that had been sent during the years of their banishment. But despite his hunger and despite the fact that he was no longer going to have the satisfaction of watching his siblings bested, watching the slaughter of a human was always enjoyable to a demon.
Po Kong lifted the two girls into her palm. "Hello, my delicious little morsels." Pinching the girls between her claws, she brought the hand to her gaping mouth.
***
"Wow," said Viper softly, her eyes wide. Jackie nodded in agreement. There wasn't much else to say. One minute, they had been surrounded by thick, red soup. Then, another yard, and suddenly. . .this.
There were huge walls spreading as far as the eye could see, and climbing from the bottom of infinity to the highest heights. They looked almost like a waterfall, except that they glowed golden at times, sunset colors at other times, and occasionally a deep blue. But it was impossible to say where one color ended and the other began. The sparkled like diamonds, or sea foam, or liquid light.
The walls were several hundred yards away, but there was nothing between them and the walls. Not blackness or empty whiteness or swirling red, just nothing. But crossing the nothing was a path made of white stones. The path lead to enormous doors of solid white marble. Embossed on the gates, in diamonds and sapphires in such a size that Viper's eyes nearly popped out of her head, was a giant horse.
"Ah," said a voice. Jackie turned around and saw Uncle, being carried on Tohru's shoulders. "The horse. Symbol of Onacdr."
Author's Note~ Well, Finally! Thanks for bearing with me, you guys. I really appreciate your patience.
Exams suck, but at least they're over, and tomorrow I leave to go skiing! ^_^ I am now officially happy.
Broli the Destroyah- Lol, it's not being finished quite yet, but is another chapter okay? ^_^
Scottishwolf- Hah, someone who *doesn't* mind the cliffhangers! What was your favorite RotK scene?
Miyo86- Why the evil cliffhangers? Because it's fun! And because they're good places to end. It just makes sense to end there, keeps you guessing. :p
Souma Kagura- I love fics with demons too! ^_^ Who's your favorite?
ShadowElfBard- Aww, you know I couldn't just leave Jackie & Co. stranded all alone! That'd be just too cruel.
VampireNaomi- Ahahaha, you think you've outsmarted me, but in reality I anticipated your move well in advance. You are simply a pawn in my master plan. *evil laughter*
Oh, one more thing (hehe). . . Does anyone else think that Déjà vu episode was just a cheap excuse not to write new material? And what's up with Jackie???? I thought he liked Jade! He was going to send her back to Hong Kong? I was going to write a bit the day I watched it, but it made me feel seriously anti JCA for a minute there. However, I've come to terms with the fact that it was a seriously OOC episode. C'mon, even Jackie admitted after the end of the first season that he'd miss Jade if she went back! I could understand if he was doing it for her safety, but just because she gets in the way! Argh! *thwaks Déjà vu Jackie* Jerk.