– CHAPTER 31 –
Blood, Sweat and Tears
It seemed the demons and Julia were fated to battle until the End of Time. While Julia was in possession of a potent jewel and the power of all the talismans, she was still only one human against three, much more experienced demon sorcerers. They had been fighting for what felt like hours – which might well be the case, and Jade would have been able to tell had she brought a working watch. Mei Liang quietly stood at a distance, just watching them attentively, a smug smirk on her face. Once in a while, her eyes would glow, and Julia's would do the same right away. Jade suspected that the reason why Mei Liang was focusing all her attention on the fight was because she was directly controlling Julia's actions.
She sighed heavily, looking down for a moment. She had never felt so helpless. It was so frustrating! She couldn't think of anything she could do to aid the demons – who, at least for now, were still her allies. Their plan was to prevent Mei Liang from releasing any more demons and to buy the Chan clan time until they came with a sacrifice. Jade didn't much appreciate that plan, for that would mean one of her friends would have to die. There just had to be another way out of this mess!
As she resumed watching the battle, she noticed that the demons were aiming most of their blows at Julia's chest and back, particularly the left side, where her heart was. She wondered why for a moment before remembering what the demons had decided in their last meeting. They'd said they had to kill Julia.
"Of course," she muttered to herself in realisation. "They're after the jewel. It's what makes her so powerful and dangerous." It had never occurred to her that the only way to remove the jewel from her body was physically. Possibly, they'd have to take her heart out. So that was what they had meant; they didn't just want to feel safe. Her death was inevitable if they were to get the jewel out of her.
Well, not if she could do anything about it. She recalled the time when she and her uncles had needed to remove the talismans from Shendu's body, years ago. Jackie had a spell cast on his hands so that they could go right through Shendu's skin and flesh and reach the talismans. She glanced at Tso Lan. He didn't seem to be carrying any ingredients for that specific potion, but maybe he could go and get them while the other two distracted the enemy.
The sound of an approaching plane got her attention and she looked up hopefully. Jackie and the others had finally come! Now she could ask Uncle to make that potion, instead. She ran to jet when it began to land on a spot at a respectable distance from the battle.
"Jackie! Uncle!" she shouted when she was close enough to be heard. Suddenly, the door literally burst open. Startled, Jade froze in place and stared wide-eyed as Tchang Zu stepped out of the jet, followed by Dai Gui, Shendu, Xiao Fung, and at last Po Kong. "Wha–?" She then took a better look at the jet and realised it wasn't from Section 13, but rather the one which belonged to Valmont.
Completely ignoring her presence, Tchang Zu pointed up where three of his siblings were engaged in battle with Julia. "There they are."
"Mei Liang is watching us," remarked Xiao Fung. Jade looked back to confirm that and was surprised that he could see her face from such a distance.
"Where are the Chans?" asked Shendu impatiently. "They were supposed to have come and sacrificed one of their own already!"
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, scaly belly, but I won't let any human die here today!" said Jade, raising her tone of voice so as to catch their attention.
"Except that human girl over there," said Po Kong, smirking as she pointed at Julia. "If you really want to save yourself and your human friends, there is no other way."
Jade smirked back, placing her hands on her hips. "Actually, I do know a way to save Julia too."
"Do you?" came an anxious voice. Jade looked at the man leaning on the doorway of the jet. "Can you really save her?"
"Guess so," she said, shrugging. "Not with these guys' help, though," she added, indicating the demons around her in contempt. "But we're gonna have to wait for Uncle."
Tchang Zu snorted. "Then you may as well bid the girl farewell now, for we have no intention of sitting back and waiting for the Chans' arrival. The danger of the Hun Yu jewel must be eliminated as soon as possible." With that, he beckoned at his siblings to follow him and they all headed to where the others were still fighting. Jade glared after them and approached the scene just enough to see what was going on.
"So you have finally decided to join us?" said Mei Liang, sounding and looking quite amused.
"Yes, finally," hissed Hsi Wu, annoyed with their delay.
Tchang Zu waved a hand dismissively. "We are not here to fight you, Mei Liang."
"Oh?"
"We are here for the human girl," said Dai Gui, pointing at Julia, who had come to land next to Mei Liang.
"Well, you see, I cannot let you have her. She is my puppet, and a very useful one at that."
"Not for too long," said Tchang Zu threateningly while flexing his clawed fingers.
"Don't you dare kill her!" shouted Valmont from beside Jade.
"Stay out of this, human!" the Thunder Demon shouted back angrily before returning his attention to Mei Liang. "You, too, stay out of our way while we take care of the girl and the jewel, if you know what is good for you."
Mei raised her hands innocently. "Of course, whatever you say. There is no reason for me to interfere, in any case. She alone can handle all of you together."
"You are bluffing," said Bai Tsa lazily. "She could barely match three of us. She has absolutely no chance against all eight demon sorcerers."
"Oh, I don't know, maybe she was just holding back when she fought you three?" said Mei Liang sarcastically. Bai Tsa merely narrowed her eyes. "I assure you, she is quite capable of handling all of you effortlessly."
"I am sure she is," said Tchang Zu solemnly, and Jade couldn't really tell if he was being sarcastic. "That said, you do not have to trouble yourself with us. Just stand back and watch."
She smirked.
oOo
Jackie looked at his own reflection of the window of the plane, wriggling his hands nervously. After a while, everyone, even Uncle, had stopped talking, settled down, and fallen into a pensive silence. It was a little unnerving. Of course, they were all worried about Jade, the very fate of the world possibly lay in their hands, and they were going to risk their lives to save those, but then again, what else was new? However, he could feel something different in the atmosphere, something dark, like an ill omen.
He glanced at Uncle. Somehow, Jackie thought he looked the broodiest of them all. Over an hour earlier, he had been acting like his usual, cranky self as he leafed through one of his old magic books. He must have found what he had been looking for, seeing as he suddenly stopped and began to read one specific page relatively quietly. Jackie had idly noted his uncle's expression getting grimmer and grimmer as he read. He supposed whatever spell Uncle had been reading was very complicated. Tohru must have noticed it as well, for he at some point asked if his master had already found the right spell and if he could be of any help. Uncle had grumpily shoved the book into Tohru's hands and merely told him to read it. Tohru was confused, but obeyed him. After a few minutes of reading, he frowned at the book and glanced at Uncle, but seeing the old man's severe expression, refrained from speaking and went back to reading.
That had been an hour ago, and Tohru was still reading the spell, so far three pages long. He looked nervous, and a maybe a little pale.
"Sensei..."
"Just keep reading, Tohru."
Those were the only words uttered in the last hour, this brief dialogue repeating itself at intervals of about fifteen minutes. They spoke in whispers, but Jackie could hear them in the ominous silence that had descended upon them. At first, Jackie had shrugged the exchange off; Tohru had asked, so Uncle had let him read the spell they were going to perform, and by the looks of it, it was an extremely complex spell. When Tohru began to look ill, however, Jackie started to wonder what was really going on.
At last, Tohru shut the book closed and took a slightly shuddering breath.
"Sensei, did you know about that?" she whispered.
"Had an idea," muttered Uncle, more to himself than to Tohru.
"But... there must be another way!"
Jackie was about to voice the questions that had been nagging at him for the past hour, but Viper beat him to it, "What do you mean? What is this all about?" She eyed them suspiciously. Observant spy that she was, she had obviously realised that something was amiss, as well.
"The spell to banish the demon Mei Liang," said Tohru, looking at her and then at everyone else, with a troubled expression. "It is the same spell Shendu used, and the one we tried to do earlier."
"So what?" asked Jack in confusion. Almost immediately, he said, "Oh, I get it! You think it won't keep her imprisoned forever like it's supposed to do! She did come back despite Shendu's spell, after all."
Uncle snorted. "Unless there happens to be another huge explosion of dark chi while a spell similar to the one required to cast this spell is performed, we should not have to worry about her coming back."
"Sensei is right," said Tohru, skimming over one of the pages of the spell. "This chi spell is very effective and virtually irreversible."
"But that must mean it's very complicated, right?" said Jackie.
"Complicated, yes, but not impossible."
"Then what's the matter?" asked Paco, earning himself a two-finger whack in the head from Uncle.
"Don't you ever listen to Uncle?" he snapped. "Do you not remember what we had to do to cast that spell?"
Everyone was silent, most looking clueless. Jackie, however, thought he knew what Uncle was talking about.
"A... sacrifice," he murmured. Uncle nodded. Jackie sighed; he was beginning to understand why Tohru had seemed so uneasy.
"The victim of the sacrifice must be willing and somehow related to the spell caster. A friend, a relative, or a lover..." explained Tohru.
For a moment, they all stared at one another, all asking wondering the same thing; which one of them would be willing to sacrifice his or her life to banish a demon?
Jackie let out another, heavier sigh and sank down on his seat. Next to him, Viper did likewise.
"Maybe we should just leave the demons to do it," she said.
"No!" shouted Jack, startling everyone. They all turned to stare at him questioningly. He cleared his throat and looked down. "I – I mean, demons have no feelings. There just isn't anyone they'd like enough to be sacrificed."
"But didn't Shendu do it?" asked Paco.
Jack shrugged. "Didn't seem to have worked that well, now did it? Besides, that was his son. But his brothers and sisters... he hates them! I know; I've seen 'em."
"You have a point," said Jackie pensively.
"They probably expect us to do this spell," said El Toro. Viper nodded in agreement.
"So, who's gonna do it?" she asked.
"I should do it," said Jackie after a moment of tense silence.
"Dad, no!" protested Jack.
"If – if it's to save Yade, maybe I should –"
El Toro cut his protégé off, "Don't even think about that, Paquito!"
"Do not bother arguing about that," said Uncle, with a dismissive gesture. "Uncle has already decided who will be the sacrifice."
Jackie and Viper glanced at each other apprehensively. "Um, don't you think we should discuss it first, Uncle?" he asked.
"No."
"But –"
"Uncle will do it. Will be the sacrifice."
Jack gasped. Jackie and Tohru looked horrified at the old man.
"Uncle, you shouldn't..."
"And who would cast the spell, Sensei? Only you could –"
"You would, Tohru," said Uncle. He turned to look at the others. "You all are still young, have a long life ahead."
"Yeah, well, you didn't seem so eager to take Jackie's place last time, did you?" said Viper bitterly, her eyes accusing.
"For your information, I was glad that it did not work back then," he whispered, his gaze piercing. "Perhaps you couldn't have guessed, but I often questioned myself, wondered if I would be really able to let my nephew die and send his soul to a realm of darkness... Maybe I would have, after all, but then, I would not have been able to live with myself. I would never forgive myself if I sent you to your death now."
"It was my choice, Uncle," said Jackie solemnly. He was actually touched by his relative's words, but seeing Uncle so wretched and remorseful over him was surreal and more than a little disturbing. "You never forced me or even talked me into it. I chose to do it on my own free will – and I would have done much worse for the ones I love, if it were the only way."
"So would I, Jackie," said Uncle quietly, a sad smile on his lips. "So would I."
oOo
Jade grinned at the sound of yet another plane. She was sure that it was Jackie and the others this time. They had certainly brought the talismans, which would make this fight a little fairer. Plus, she could ask Uncle to make that potion that would allow them to remove the Hun Yu jewel from Julia's body without causing her any harm.
Fortunately for them, none of the demons seemed to mind the humans' arrival; Mei Liang was just too self-confident and probably thought they weren't worth her attention, and the eight demon sorcerers could now let the Chans do all the dirty work – and maybe even attack them in the end, when they would supposedly be tired from the fight and grieving for the sacrificed one. Jade would have to tell them about it and keep an eye on the eight demons as well. There was no way she would let the demons use her friends like that.
When the jet landed, Jade was about to make a run to it when she suddenly felt something heavy weighting on her right shoulder. It was a clawed, scaly, pinkish dragon hand. She looked back over her shoulder to see Mei Liang behind her, an unreadable expression on her face.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked, struggling to shrug the monstrous hand off. "Let me go!"
Instead, Mei Liang only tightened her grip on the girl's shoulder, the pointy claws coming awfully close to perforating her skin. Jade bit back a gasp and winced at the pressure.
"Your human friends wouldn't have come if they weren't prepared. And whatever spell they plan to cast on me, they won't do anything while you're in the way, I'm sure."
"So you're using me as a shield? Now that's lame. So much for powerful demons..."
"Whatever works for me. I am not stupid, child. I shall do whatever it takes to win."
"Who're you calling a child?"
"Silence!" Mei Liang then glanced back at Julia, making her move closer to them and farther away from the other demons.
By now, Uncle and the rest of the J-Team were already approaching the scene. Jade noted their gloomy expressions and that Tohru stood back, the magical lizard and one of Uncle's old books in his hands. Jade frowned in confusion; Tohru was going to cast the spell? She looked at Uncle and gasped when she saw a familiar character painted on his forehead.
"Uncle!" She tried to run to him, but Mei Liang still held her firmly in place.
"I knew it. That same old spell," The demon smirked. "In a way, I am flattered that you think you must go through so much trouble just to defeat me. Honestly, though, I have no words to convey the sheer stupidity of that little plan of yours. I merely have to refrain from giving you a fatal blow and nothing will happen to me."
"If you refuse to kill Uncle, we can just banish you the regular way, into some other realm," said Uncle, smirking at her. He had that glint in his eye, Jade noticed. She could tell he was up to something.
Mei Liang growled and they both had a stare down contest. Behind Uncle, the J-Team just watched them warily. Jade couldn't help but be reminded of old west movies, such was the absolute silence around them when even the wind stopped, the piercing glares that were exchanged between the two opponents, the tension of the bystanders...
The moment was broken by an urgent cry, "Julia!" followed by a choked yelp behind them. Everyone turned to look at where it had come from, and Jade paled when she saw Julia slightly bent forwards, her eyes wide and unfocused, and a rivulet of blood streaming from her mouth. She made another choked noise before falling to the ground. Her back and some of her hair were covered in blood, and her shirt was torn around a ghastly, hand-sized wound. Next to her stood Tchang Zu, smirking triumphantly as he raised a small, bloodied object between his fingers, above his head.
"The Hun Yu jewel is mine!"
For a moment, no one said or did anything; they could just stare, dumbfounded, at the Thunder Demon as he smirked evilly at every one of them, including his own siblings. Then, Xiao Fung blurted out, "How come he can touch the jewel? I thought only the pure of heart could!"
In response, Tchang Zu merely showed them the object he held in his other hand; the tiger talisman. Mei Liang's jaw dropped. Jade, who recovered faster than most, took this chance to get away from her. She knew exactly what she needed and where to find it.
Slowly, inconspicuously, Jade approached Jackie and brought him out of his shocked stupor by whispering in his ear, "Jackie, I need the talismans."
"Now the power is all mine!" gloated Tchang Zu. "I don't need a lowly human to use it for me! With this talisman, I can absorb it myself and take control!"
"Are you out of your mind?" shouted Bai Tsa, her eyes glowing dangerously.
"You fool!" hissed Shendu. "You cannot do that!"
"Do not tell me what I can or cannot do, Shendu!" He looked around at his siblings. "I am tired of always having to listen to you, to follow your plans, to subject myself to the humiliation and disgrace of this family! From now on, I decide my own fate, and you weaklings shall do as I say!" He clenched the jewel in a fist angrily.
The horse talisman in hand, Jade sneaked her way behind Tchang Zu and knelt down next to Julia, who by now had gone back to her actual age. Jade grimaced at the wound and the blood that had already formed a pool around the girl. Hoping against hope it wasn't too late, she held Julia's hand with her own, then held the dog talisman with the other hand and pressed it against the little girl's palm.
Tso Lan frowned at Tchang Zu and raised his hands. "So that is how you feel, Brother? Very well. If you no longer wish to be part of this family, you may go on your own way and never see us again... but not before you are punished accordingly for your betrayal." Lowering his deep voice, he commanded, "Hand over that jewel and the talisman, Tchang Zu."
Before the Thunder Demon could react, he was lifted in the air by an invisible force and shortly afterwards thrown violently into the ground, making it shake all around. Lying flat on his back, he grunted and screamed in rage, his entire body shuddering as he struggled against the force that was pressing him downwards. Tso Lan floated next to him and used his powers to make Tchang Zu unclench his fists. Tchang Zu couldn't resist for too long, and as soon as Tso Lan succeeded and levitated the two items to him, he released the pressure on Tchang Zu. The Thunder Demon lay there, panting.
"Perhaps I should keep it with me for now," he said softly as he reached out to grab the two items. Before he could touch them, however, Hsi Wu flew past him and grabbed them.
"Or not. We wouldn't want you having any ideas, like Brother Tchang Zu here," he hissed.
"And why do you think we should trust you with it, Hsi Wu?" said Bai Tsa crossly.
"That is right, let me have it!" said Po Kong, kicking her little brother and the magical items in the process. Jade winced, briefly wondering how many of his bones were left unbroken after that, then accompanied with everyone's stunned gazes at the trajectory of the jewel in the air, moving as though in slow motion. Activating the power of the snake talisman, Jade rushed after it and, in two seconds, was picking it up from the ground. A few metres away, she found the tiger talisman.
Smirking, she turned back to the demons. "Hah! Take that! I, a 'puny human mortal', have the Hun Yu jewel, the ultimate source of power, and you don't! What are the big bad demons going to do now?"
As one, they charged at her.
"Oops," she said as she watched nine demons come ferociously towards her, much like a football team. Quickly, she considered her options. She could fly out of their reach – but Hsi Wu could fly, and she didn't know if she could really trust him at the moment. She could try to beat them up – but Tso Lan could easily hold her in place with his gravity powers. She could run. Yes, she could outrun them all.
She used the rabbit talisman and ran out of their reach towards her friends. Before she knew it, however, she had been sent flying over a few metres before painfully falling flat on the ground, with a bonus of having the air knocked out of her. All the talismans scattered around, and only the jewel remained safely in her fist.
"Quickly, get the talismans!" shouted Uncle.
"Give me that jewel, you vermin!" growled Mei Liang. Jade cursed under her breath; she had forgotten that Mei Liang still held the powers of all the talismans, courtesy of dear ol' Shendu.
She was helpless and cornered, so she did the only thing she could think of in such short notice; she threw the jewel away.
Either she didn't recognise her own strength, or the jewel had something to do with it, but it flew way over the J-Team and farther, falling right before a very traumatised-looking Valmont, who was on his knees. He looked down at it vacantly for a few seconds, then slowly picked it up. Unknowingly, he made himself the new target of the demonic football team.
"Valmont! Look out!" shouted Jade.
"What...?" he dazedly looked up and his eyes widened considerably at the sight of nine demons advancing at him. He screamed.
She stood in a clear spot and waved her hands. "Valmont! Throw it!"
He did so; he turned on his heels and flung it as far away from himself as he could.
"No!" shouted Jade. "You were supposed to throw it to me, you idiot!"
Now the demons as well as the J-Team were all after the jewel. Jack, who had got the rabbit talisman, used it to run past them and get to the jewel first. When Mei Liang was almost catching him up, he tried to run away, but tripped and fell over. She laughed and picked it up, but El Toro used the pig talisman to hit her hands with the heat-beam eyes. The dragon yelped and let go. After that, absolute chaos took over. Nine demons and seven humans were all trying to get the jewel at the same time. Observing from afar, it was almost comical; Uncle used the rooster talisman to levitate the demons away from the jewel, while Tso Lan did the same with the humans by using his own powers – eventually, only the both of them were left, so now they were using their powers on each other. Jackie (with the ox talisman), Viper (with the dragon talisman), and El Toro just kept hitting all the demons that they happened to lay their sights on. Tohru had the rat talisman, which was pretty useless in this fight, but he could still use the magical lizard to shoot chi beams at the enemies. Paco was nowhere to be seen, probably because he had the snake talisman. As for Jade, she had no talisman and couldn't really fight, so she concentrated on finding the jewel, which had got lost in the middle of the commotion.
It was Jack, however, who found the jewel. He had two talismans; the rabbit and the monkey. He turned into a bird and acquired super speed to fly like a bullet to the jewel and then away from the others, to safety. Hsi Wu noticed this and went after the little bird.
"Give me the jewel!" he demanded, using his strong paw to hit Jack, who couldn't evade it in time and dropped the jewel from his beak as the impact shook his entire, thin frame.
oOo
"Hey, I don't hear anything. I think we're safe now," whispered Ratso to his companions. The three enforcers had been hiding in the woods, trying to be as silent as possible as they made their way away from the fight between the Chans and the demons.
"That's it, guys! Let's make a run out of here and get to civilisation faster!" urged Chow, who out of the trio had been the most eager to escape.
"Dude, we're lost in the middle of nowhere!" whispered Finn harshly, gesturing around himself exasperatedly. "We could me miles away from any human being that is not one of the Chans! The demons are out there, they could even be in these woods, surrounding us, for all we know! We can't just run like madmen and risk being seen!"
"The Chans must be keeping the demons busy! Let's go before they – ow!"
"What?" asked Finn.
"Something hit me in the back," groaned Chow, trying to reach behind himself. "Damn, it hurt."
"Look! A marble! I used to play these when I was a boy," said Ratso, picking up a small, shiny orb.
Finn frowned at the little ball. It looked strangely familiar. "Dude, isn't that –" He was interrupted by an angry, hissy shriek coming from directly above their heads. They barely had time to look upwards and see a red-eyed bat-like demon zooming towards them before they stumbled out of its way. "Each man for himself!" shouted Finn, and they went each to a different direction. The flying demon completely ignored Finn and Chow and began to chase Ratso.
"The jewel!" he demanded.
"I think he's after this marble!" Finn heard Ratso shout.
"Thanks for the insightful newsflash, Ratso! We'd never have guessed it by ourselves!" retorted Finn sarcastically as he and Chow ran after them. They found him crouched protectively around the marble – jewel, more likely – while the demon he now recognised as Hsi Wu was on his back.
"Help!"
"Leave Ratso alone, you – you overgrown bat!" yelled Finn, lifting the biggest rock he found nearby and, with some difficulty, throwing it at the demon. Hsi Wu yelped when it hit him in the head and he turned to look angrily at his assailant.
"You will pay for that, mortal," he hissed, seemingly about to let Ratso go and attack Finn instead when there was a rumble and the ground began to shake. Then, there were sounds of explosions, snaps, and thuds. Something was approaching. They turned to the direction it was likely to come from.
"Oh, look, a little bird! Nice birdy," said Ratso pleasantly. No one paid him any attention, for almost immediately the others saw a confusing, furious mass of demons and super-powered humans about to run over them.
"Uh-oh," whispered Chow.
"Run, Ratso! Run!" shouted Finn at the top of his lungs as he turned around and ran.
"What?" asked Ratso in puzzlement. He then saw what was ahead and followed Finn's example.
oOo
Jack inwardly grinned while he flew as fast as he could – with a little help from the rabbit talisman – way above the woods. This time, with all the mayhem that ensued, no one had noticed the innocent little bird taking the jewel away after that weird-looking man had willingly given it to him.
Now what? he wondered. Getting rid of the jewel seemed the safest course of action, but how could he do it. At first, he thought of dropping it in an active volcano, but he had no idea where he could find one – he didn't even know if there were active volcanoes nearby. He didn't have the strength to crush it into pieces, either, if physical force could even be enough to destroy it in the first place. So, he figured that if he couldn't destroy it, he should at least hide it in a safe place for the mean time. Maybe Uncle could think of a way to destroy it later, when things were calmer. That was, if Uncle didn't get himself killed to banish that demon...
Where could he hide it? In truth, he didn't know if the demons could sense its presence. Well, he was in Hong Kong – or somewhere near it. Jade and the others had mentioned that Hong Kong was where Shendu's portal was located, and it also used to be part of his territory. If the demons did get to survive the fight and escape being imprisoned again, Shendu might want to stay around his old home. Now, what else did Jack know about Shendu?
He looked down at the sea he was flying over now. Of course, he thought. He was the fire demon; he probably hated water. Even if he did find out the location of the jewel, he would never dive in the water to go after it, nor would he ever ask anyone to go get it for him – not only he had his pride, but he certainly wouldn't want the others to have it when he wanted it for himself so badly.
Bai Tsa might find it on her own, he mused. Then, he shook his head. She would never take a stroll in her most hated brother's territory.
Making up his mind, he opened his beak and dropped the jewel into the sea.
oOo
"Where is the Hun Yu jewel?" roared Tchang Zu as he squeezed and shook Ratso.
"Gee, these guys have gone nuts," muttered Jade to herself. They were so obsessed with the jewel that they had completely forgotten that they couldn't touch it unless they had the tiger talisman, which had been left behind long ago.
"The... bird... took... it..." gasped Ratso.
"Bird? What bird?" asked Dai Gui.
Hsi Wu hissed angrily. "He's talking about Chan's spawn. He must have used the monkey talisman to turn into a bird."
"Jack! Oh, no..." murmured Viper. She looked around frantically.
"Shendu and his cursed talismans," muttered the Earth Demon.
Tchang Zu growled and his eyes glowed red as he thundered, "Find that boy and retrieve the Hun Yu jewel!"
"No need for that, Tchang Zu," came a childish, yet solemn voice. Jack stood facing the Thunder Demon, his face void of expression.
"Where is it?"
"I destroyed it."
"You what?" Mei Liang's eyes glowed and she stepped towards him threateningly.
Sensing the imminent danger, the boy wisely backed away and began to turn around to escape.
"Oh, no, you don't!" she hissed, about to pursue him. However, Uncle came to stand before her, blocking her way.
"If you wish to harm him, you will have to kill me first."
"As you wish," she snarled and hit him with her strong hand and letting her claws pierce his flesh. The humans winced and flinched. It had all been so sudden that it took them a moment to really register what had just happened. Jade stared at the blood gushing from Uncle's fatal wound as he was thrown aside nonchalantly by Mei Liang. The dragoness smirked slightly, already eyeing the frozen boy who had dared to destroy her precious jewel. "Foolish mortal," she whispered, idly licking the blood in her claws.
"Uncle..." Jade heard Jackie whisper shakily. She herself was still shocked; the gory scene was highly disturbing and she urged herself to look away, but she just couldn't help but stare as her mind screamed in denial. She felt her eyes burn and water.
"Tohru! Cast the spell, now!" said El Toro.
Tohru started, forced himself to look away from his dead master, and hesitantly began to chant the spell. Mei Liang looked at the Japanese man, horrified. She had been so obsessed with getting the jewel and then killing the one who had destroyed it that she had completely forgotten she shouldn't have fatally injured the old chi wizard.
She could already feel the initial effects of the spell. She held her head and screamed, but still found enough energy to try and escape. In apparent agony, she blindly ran away from Tohru and after Jack.
"After her!" urged El Toro. When Tohru faltered, he said, "Go! Don't let the sacrifice of your master be in vain! You are our only hope now!" That was enough to motivate Tohru into motion. Then, El Toro looked at Jackie, who was slowly approaching his uncle. He urgently placed his hand on the archaeologist's shoulder. "Jackie, I know you're grieving and I'm sorry, but your son needs you now."
"That's right, Jackie. He's in grave danger," said Viper quietly, holding his arm and gently pulling him away from Uncle. "Please, Jackie... we have to protect our son."
He opened and closed his mouth, confused. "I..."
"Well, well, well..." sniggered a demonic voice behind them. The humans turned to look at eight demon sorcerers. "Poor Chan," said Bai Tsa mockingly. "Lost your dear old uncle, did you?"
"Why don't we just put him out of his misery?" suggested Shendu. Po Kong chuckled and licked her lips.
Jade sneered at them and glared at Hsi Wu, mentally demanding him to do something. He merely shrugged, as if saying, "What can I do?" She glared harder.
"If you want me," said Jackie, his voice unusually deep and grave; he glared at the demons, narrowing his eyes, "come get me." He held out his hands to Viper and El Toro in a silent request for the talismans they carried. They complied, although Viper looked scared for her husband.
"Jackie..."
"Go help Jack. I can handle them – at least for a while," he whispered.
"Jackie, are you sure –?" she was cut off when he kissed her, briefly but lovingly. She stared at him and her stance suddenly became determined. She nodded at him. "I understand. Good luck."
"Aww, what a touching scene," said Xiao Fung, a smirk in his large lips.
"What the hell are you doing?" shouted Jade, but no one paid her any attention; Viper and El Toro had already left after Jack, Tohru, and Mei Liang, and Jackie was already jumping towards Shendu, his eyes glowing yellow as he gathered the power of the pig talisman. To Jade's surprise, the attack was more powerful than usual and it seemed to actually hurt Shendu, even if just a little. Perhaps Jackie had combined it with the ox talisman? Either way, Jade didn't have the time to ponder about that. "Hsi Wu!" she called while Jackie aimed many explosions at the demons and hit the closer ones with his bare fists.
The Sky Demon glided next to her. "What is it?"
"Take me to where the others went as fast as you can!"
He glanced at Jackie and his siblings, as if considering if he should leave them, and nodded. "All right," he said warily. He picked Jade up and took flight. After a while, Jade noticed that Bai Tsa and Tso Lan were also leaving the battle and heading in different directions.
"Where are they going?"
"How should I know?" he replied snappily. Then, seemingly more to himself than to Jade, he muttered, "Who knows? You can never know what my siblings are thinking. Even I never did fully understand them."
oOo
She knew she was screaming, but the only sounds she could hear were those of her ragged breathing and the beat of her heart. Her thoughts were muddled and her head ached terribly; she couldn't think straight. She tried to focus on one thing, then; kill the human who destroyed her jewel; kill the son of Jackie Chan!
She opened her eyes slightly and saw him through her blurry vision. They were out of the woods now, and the boy was still running from her. Wretched vermin. Even when she was in this condition, she could still catch up with him. Some of the agony in her body suddenly lessened, leading her to believe that the younger chi wizard had either given up or been left behind – probably the latter; he was out of shape, after all. Or, she realised, because she was already far enough from the sacrificed victim and out of reach of the spell.
There, it was her perfect opportunity; the little Chan had tripped again. Humans seemed to get more and more pathetic each passing day. She smirked maniacally and raised her hand, flexing her fingers, her claws begging for more blood; she would kill this boy even if it was the last thing she did. The next would be that fat wizard.
"Jack! Noooooo!" she heard a human female shriek. It was too late for them, though.
"Die!" roared Mei Liang, thrusting her hand forwards.
"No! Jack!"
All was still for a moment. Mei Liang heard the boy panting; his breathing never weakened or stopped. She frowned and realised through her pain-induced daze that her hand hadn't hit the boy, but something else, something invisible before him. A talisman – the snake talisman – appeared out of thin air and fell to the ground at the exact moment a tanned young man appeared next to it. She could see now that her claws had gone through his chest and stomach. A trickle of blood came from his mouth and he wavered slightly, his eyes becoming unfocused.
"P-Paco?" stuttered Jade.
"C-cast... the sp-spell..." he managed to choke out.
It was at this moment that Mei Liang noted the characters painted on his forehead and on his wrist.
"No! Noooo! It can't be!" she screamed, shaking her head in denial. Unfortunately, she could already hear the chanting behind her and feel the agony creeping back into her body. "I won't go back to that wretched place! I won't!"
Focus, focus, focus, the conscious part of her mind urged her. She shut her eyes tightly and gasped, all coherent thoughts escaping her mind.
There was a blinding flash of light, and then all the pain was gone.
oOo
Jack shut his eyes tight as a very bright light seemed to take over the entire scenery, followed by a deafening rumble. Then, as quickly as it had started, it was over. All was silent again, and he tentatively opened his eyes to see not Paco or Mei Liang before him, but a teary-eyed Jade.
"Love me... he said... he said," she sobbed and fell to her knees, covering her face. "Paco... why...? Uncle... Jackie..."
His attention was caught by a few gasps. He looked up and couldn't help but gasp as well. Was it a ghost, or was he hallucinating? Or maybe...
A wrinkled, frail hand rested on Jade's shaking shoulder. She slowly looked up and back and her jaw dropped.
"Uncle...?"
To be continued...
Many thanks to Regrem Erutaerc, cookiekitten, VampireNaomi, Dragolover1, Lloyd Marshall, kke, Blackwargreymon X, and Shadow Priesstes. Wow, it's been a long time! I wonder how many of you are still reading this?