Hi everyone. Thanks again for waiting. So, things are looking pretty bad for the heroes; not only has Cedric infiltrated Earth, but Phobos now has the Shadowkhan at his command. How will Jackie and the young Guardians prevail? Let's find out as we enter the next stage of this story. Thanks for your patience and support.
The Labyrinth
The bookstore that served as the outpost for the disguised Cedric was currently closed, allowing the humanoid shapeshifter to enter the backroom and speak with his master in private. He approached a crystal ball and took a handful of magic sand from a chest to sprinkle it over the artifact; he backed away as an eerie green smoke filled the crystal ball and began to glow. Cedric kneeled as a bright light shinned out of the crystal ball to reveal a magical projection of the dark prince he served.
"Lord Cedric, I am becoming impatient for good news." Phobos told him.
"I have found an inversion point between Meridian and this Earth bookstore." Cedric informed. "So far, it doesn't appear that the Earth-forces are aware of my presence here, so this store will provide the perfect cover for searching for the girl."
"Once my sister is identified, we must slowly and carefully bring her into our confidence and then right into our trap." Phobos stated as he clenched his fist.
Sheffield Institute
"I think you'll find that you appreciate the time that you spent this term studying um… eh…" The teacher stuttered as he wiped the chalkboard with his tie; not noticing Irma making a cartoonish drawing about the teacher and discreetly showing it to Hay Lin who giggled slightly.
"The origins of myth?" Taranee finished for the teacher.
"Yes! Thank you." The teacher wiped his hands to get the chalk-dust off before reaching into his bag to pull out the graded essays. "Now, your midterm essays…" The wind from the open window blew some of the papers out of his hands. "For goodness sake." He muttered as most of the kids laughed at his expense. He was quick to pick up the papers and begin handing them out. "Some of you performed better than I'd expected, while others failed to perform at all."
Irma and Hay Lin both looked nervously at each other, thinking they didn't do so well. "I lost consciousness somewhere around Zeus' third wife." She whispered to her friend. However, when she got her graded essay back, she could only look in surprise. "Are you sure this is mine?" She asked her teacher. "It's my terrible handwriting…" The teacher nodded. "I got a B!?" She exclaimed with a wide grin as the teacher moved on. "That means I can get a D on the next one and still pass! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Hay Lin got her essay back and also received a B, much to her excitement. "No way! Me to!" She and Irma exchanged a high-five.
"Taranee…" The teacher looked to her with a disappointed expression. "See me after class." The bespectacled girl could only look in confusion.
The Silver Dragon
"Uh… I don't know." One customer wasn't sure what to pick for lunch. "What do you recommend?" He asked the waiter.
"Personally, I'd recommend the lamian. We have a special this week for it." Tohru offered.
"Oh, then I'll take that please, thank you."
Tohru wrote the order down before moving to the next table where a couple appears to have finished with their meal. "May I take that off your hands?" He asked politely.
"Yes please, it was delicious thank you." The woman said with a smile.
"Here's a tip." The man gave Tohru some cash.
"Thank you very much." Tohru accepted the tip as he carried the plates away.
"I must say Tohru, you may be the best slave we've had at the Silver Dragon." Yan Lin teased. "You're such a sweet boy."
"Thank you. My mother always taught me to mind my manners." Tohru smiled. "I just feel a bit bad for Caleb who has to deal with Sensei…"
Yan Lin winched a bit. "Yes but, I feel that those two will get along just fine."
Uncle's Rare Finds
"Aiya! What is Rebel Boy thinking?!" Uncle exclaimed as he threw some powder over his cauldron to stop the fire from brewing out of it.
"I was thinking about finding a way to make some magic-light-weapon to fight those Shadowkhan-creatures." Caleb stated.
"Shadowkhan not vulnerable to light!" Uncle exclaimed. "We are not fighting vampires!"
"Well, excuse me for not being an expert on Earth-magic." Caleb voiced sarcastically. "In fact, I'd like to see you spend most of your life, working yourself to the bone, fighting a tyrant and his army of soldiers!" The young rebel leader pressed his head against Uncle.
"And Uncle like to see you battling demon sorcerers with world-destroying powers!" Uncle pressed his head back against Caleb. "Does Rebel Boy wish to see home realm free from Forces of Darkness? Yes? Then do what Uncle tells you!"
Sheffield Institute
Taranee met with her teacher once class was over, and it seemed the teacher wasn't pleased with her for some odd reason.
"I'm very disappointed that you failed to turn in an essay."
"That I… what?!" Taranee questioned.
"Well if you couldn't finish in time, you should have asked for… eh… you know… one of those things… You ask for when you can't finish" He stuttered.
"But I turned it in a day early!" Taranee stated. "It was on Theseus and the Minotaur…!"
The teacher snapped his finger, remembering the previous word he was looking for. "An extension!"
"It's on my computer!" Taranee told him. "I can email it to you the second I get home!"
"A deadline is a deadline, miss." The teacher told her. "I'm afraid you get an F, on this paper." He said as he left the classroom, with Taranee looking more shocked than ever. She never got an F before, and she knew she turned in the paper.
Section 13
After school ended; all six girls met up with Jackie at Section 13 and went to the dojo built into the base for some martial arts training. Jackie wore a dark blue kung-fu suit while each of the girls wore something similar. Will had a white karate suit with a red-belt; Jade had a black karate robe with an orange belt; Irma had a green sleeveless shirt with blue sweatpants; Cornelia had a white karate shirt with black pants and a green belt; Hay Lin and a light blue tai-chi outfit that her grandmother used to wear; and Taranee had a green karate outfit with an orange belt.
Will, Irma, Jade, Cornelia, and Hay Lin each had a martial arts stance as they surrounded Jackie who took a stance of his own. He motioned with his hand for them to bring it on.
Jade was the first to attack with a flying kick, which Jackie ducked under to avoid. Irma tried to come in with a punch, but Jackie caught her fist and used her own momentum to flip Irma over toward Jade and knock them both down. Cornelia tried to kick him but Jackie blocked it with his arm to throw the kick back, causing Cornelia to lose her balance and leave her open for Jackie to sweep his feet and knock her down. Hay Lin threw a few punches from behind Jackie, he was able to dodge the first before ducking under the second and grabbing Hay Lin by her arm and flipping her over his shoulder.
Will was next as she tried to punch Jackie as well, which he was able to catch, but when he tried to sweep his legs, she stuck out her left leg to intercept his, something that caught Jackie by surprise and appeared to leave him open for Will to deliver a chop to his side, but Jackie blocked it with his other hand and twirled his whole body to break free of Will's close grip and knock her off-balance.
Meanwhile; Taranee didn't appeared to be focused as she was muttering to herself. "Maybe he left in his own desk… maybe at home…" Taranee was taken out of her thoughts as Will was sent flying toward her and they both hit the ground.
"Way to back me up Taranee…" Will muttered sarcastically as she tried to pull herself up.
"Sorry." Taranee winced, but was offered a hand up by Jackie, which she took.
"Is something on your mind, Taranee?" Jackie asked.
She sighed. "Yeah… my teacher lost my essay. I put a lot of hard work into that thing and he failed me because he lost it."
"Taranee… we all grieve for your loss…" Cornelia said in a fake sincere tone as the other girls picked themselves up. "But the world's been invaded by monsters! Focus!"
"I agree." Jackie told her. "I'm sorry for what happened to your essay, Taranee. But there is a time and place for that; and now is not the time."
The girl rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah… sorry."
"Cedric is hiding somewhere in Heatherfield." Will said. "But without knowing what he looks like, we have no idea where to find him."
"Yeah if that Mage-lady Caleb told us about is so all-knowing, you would have thought she'd at least told us what Snake-Boy looks like in human-form." Jade agreed.
"Didn't she say though to reveal a beast in human form is touch it with the Heart of Kandrakar?" Hay Lin asked.
"Well I can't go around touching every single person in the city with a crystal." Will pointed out.
"How come Captain Black hadn't picked him up on satellite surveillance or something?" Irma asked.
"Because I don't know what he looks like." Captain Black said as he entered the room. "Shouldn't your rebel-friend from Meridian have an idea?"
Cornelia sighed. "I wish, but Caleb said he only ever saw Cedric as a snake."
"Wow Cornelia, your boyfriend is really useless." Jade jabbed with a smirk.
"Hey, he's not my boyfriend! And he's not useless!" Cornelia shot at Jade.
"Well, anything on Phobos' sister, Captain Black?" Will asked him.
"No, nothing on that front either." The leader of Section 13 shook his head.
"Well what about one of those locator-spells your Uncle used before, Jackie?" Taranee asked him. "It helped us locate Blunk."
"Uncle's not sure if that would work." Jackie said. "Phobos has his own chi-wizard, and if Daolon Wong could have used the same method to track the heir, they would have already had her by now."
"Well not just for the heir, for Cedric." Taranee said.
"Wouldn't we need a piece of him though?" Hay Lin asked.
"Well the next time we see snake-boy in snake-form, we just take a chip off the old block." Jade said.
"That's if we see him again." Irma countered. "What are the odds we're gonna run into snake-boy in broad day light?"
"Irma has a point." Jackie agreed. "If Cedric wants to maintain his cover, he can't risk attacking us."
"So basically, we're stuck on all fronts." Cornelia sighed as the group present simply had no idea how to proceed.
Will heard her cell-phone ring from her backpack on the far side of the dojo. "Excuse me guys." She ran over to her backpack and answered her phone with her mother on the other side.
"Hey Will, I need you to come home. You've got extra math homework."
"Mom, Mrs. Rudolph didn't give me any extra homework." Will replied.
"No, I did, after reading your mid-term report."
Will sighed. "Alright, I'm on my way home." Will hung up. "Sorry guys, I gotta go." She picked up her backpack and left the dojo.
"You know what? I think that's enough for today." Jackie said to the other girls. "Get cleaned up and go home. I'll stay with Captain Black and see how I can help with the search."
"Yeah, okay. Come on guys." Jade led Cornelia, Irma, Hay Lin, and Taranee out of the dojo as well.
After getting cleaned up and changed into their casual clothes; Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, Taranee, and Cornelia met up with Elyon and Alchemy and walked down the street towards a newly opened bookstore.
"Why this bookstore?" Hay Lin asked as they all stood across from the store. "Why can't we get our study guides from the mall or school library?"
"I just get all my study guides from online." Jade said.
"Isn't that cheating?" Alchemy asked.
"It's only cheating if I copy and paste the stuff in my work." Jade replied. "I may not like school, but I'm not a cheater."
"Well; the internet doesn't have a tall hunky manager." Elyon said to Jade.
"With jet-black eyes and a devilish smile." Cornelia added.
"The internet has guys like that… and other things… depending on the website." Irma said as the group walked to the bookstore with Taranee now back to worrying about her essay.
"Maybe if I retrace his steps… I'd find it in a bush or something." Taranee muttered to herself. "Or… on the curb… I thought I saw some papers over there…"
The group walked into the store, but they were mildly surprised to see it was actually pretty messy with stacks of books and boxes all over across the floor, desks, and tables.
"Man, not even my room is this messy." Jade commented.
"Hi!" Cornelia called out to the manager who was somewhere else in the store. "Um… where are the middle school textbooks?"
"All over, I'm afraid!" A voice answered. "There's more in the back."
The group began to walk all around and explore; with Jade, Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin walking in one direction, while Cornelia, Elyon, and Alchemy stayed closer to the front.
Cedric, in his human form, saw that some of his newer customers were the Guardians and put on a trustworthy face in order to fool them as he stepped out to greet the trio of girls close to him.
"Pardon the mess, I'm still getting organized."
"Oh, me to." Cornelia said quickly upon seeing the man and almost swooned. "I'm Cornelia."
"Elyon Brown."
"Alchemy."
"Rick Hoffman." Cedric introduced his alias with a seemingly friendly smile.
Meanwhile; the other girls were wondering the back area of the store and didn't appear to notice Blunk coming in from an air vent on the ceiling while climbing at the top of the tall bookshelves. The Passling noticed a tape-flytrap with several flies caught in it.
"Old store, new flies." Blunk crawled toward it and ate the trap like a spaghetti noodle before pulling out the clean tape, indicating he swallowed all the flies.
Jade found herself near the very back of the bookstore and found some books with odd, yet familiar writing on them. "Whoa… what's this…?" Her eyes narrowed at the text on the side of one book when her eyes suddenly widened. "Hey guys, over here!"
Taranee, Hay Lin, and Irma walked toward Jade was telling them. 'Hoffman' also happened to hear and discretely walked away from the area to continue unpacking his books from the boxes outside where Cornelia, Elyon, and Alchemy also were.
"Well, I'd better go look for my history book." Cornelia said. "Like that's gonna do me any good. The middle ages are so last week." She walked back inside, leaving the two girls. "His little ponytail is so cute."
The other girls were about as surprised as Jade and turned to Cornelia who was walking toward them. "Corny! Look at the lettering on this book!" Irma pointed to one of the books, not noticing Blunk helping himself to more flytraps along the ceiling just above them.
"I told you to stop calling me…" She saw the writing on the book and her eyes widened. "Oh my… god…"
"That's the same Meridian graffiti from that wall, back when Will and I were doing community service!" Jade pointed out.
"I wonder if the writing's the same inside." Hay Lin picked up the book, but once her finger touched it, she and all the rest of the girls all vanished completely from the store, much to Blunk's shock.
"Girls! Then no girls!" He looked around but couldn't find them. He then quickly crawled out the air vent to try and get help.
"Guys!" Elyon walked throughout the bookstore, along with Alchemy. "Cornelia?"
"Where'd they go?" Alchemy also asked, not noticing that their friends probably just vanished from this dimension entirely.
Will sat alone at her desk, trying to get her extra work her mom gave her. "Hmm, X equals… oh twelve! So, the correct answer is… X equals Y squared? That's not math, that's spelling." She sighed. "How come it's easier to fight the Forces of Darkness than it is to do math?" She looked to her stuffed frog. "The only math I need to know is how many magic ninjas I need to beat up."
Hay Lin put the book back on its shelf. "Did you guys just feel something?"
"You mean bored?" Cornelia asked.
"I felt it." Irma said in a somewhat frightened tone.
"So did I." Taranee also said.
"So, wait did we… all just get… the willies?" Jade asked as they all looked around and noticed the hallway, they were in was much bigger. "Uh, wasn't the bookstore smaller than this?"
"Uh on, I think I broke the store." Hay Lin gulped. "All I did was touch this." She looked at the book again, but she and everyone else gasped as the book and all the other books on the shelf began to glow.
"I know this is a lousy cliché but let's get out of here!" Irma exclaimed as the group ran from the area. Once they got to the end of the hallway however, they stopped and saw their path went in two separate directions, which each split off and turned in separate directions of their own. It didn't take long for them to realize they were now in the center of an enormous maze.
"Wow, he renovated fast." Irma commented.
"Uh guys, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Jade gulped.
Taranee gasped. "Oh no! Everybody back up! Take two right turns!"
"Why?" Cornelia asked.
"Because we just made two left turns." Taranee answered as they went back the way they came.
"Oh, I get it! We're in a magic maze." Jade realized once they were back at the spot that they first found themselves at.
"A labyrinth, like Theseus and the Minotaur." Taranee explained.
"I got a B on that!" Hay Lin pointed out.
"Sshh! She's being smart!" Irma shushed Hay Lin.
"We can't just stand here!" Taranee said. "But we're gonna get lost unless we have something to lead us back!"
"Well, anyone got a bottomless bag of breadcrumbs?" Jade asked; when nobody came up with any options, Jade happened to glance at what a certain blonde was wearing. "Hey Cornelia, let me see your sweater real quick."
"Why do you wanna see my sweater?" Cornelia questioned, but her eyes widened in borderline horror once she saw where Jade was going. "Oh no! Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! We can't! Not my sweater!"
"You wanna spend the rest of your natural life stuck in a magic maze that probably has deadly booby traps and monsters in it?" Jade questioned; causing Cornelia to grumble as she took it off and handed it to Jade.
Uncle's Rare Finds
"And you have never seen Cedric before in human form?" Jackie asked Caleb.
"If I did, I would have told you." The young rebel responded. "But why hasn't your Section 13 located the heir yet?"
"Caleb, there are thousands of people living in this city." Jackie answered. "Trying to find one girl out so many is nearly impossible without knowing anything about her."
"Aiya." Uncle sighed. "What was once the girl's protection is now our greatest hindrance."
Suddenly, the air vent on the ceiling opened and Blunk fell out to land on the desk of the shop. "Big trouble!" He exclaimed to the group.
Will's Residence
"And the square root of the boring part is equal to the sum of the boring tedious…" Will muttered to herself in a bored tone of voice, when her phone rang. She picked it up and answered it almost immediately. Anything to get her mind of math.
"Hello? Jackie? What's going… What?!" She stood up in alarm. "Okay, I'm on my way." She hung up her phone and proceeded to leave as quickly as possible.
Will, along with Tohru, and Yan Lin met with Jackie, Caleb, Uncle, and Blunk at the antique shop owned by the Chi-Wizard. Blunk told everyone what had transpired at the bookstore. Will held the Heart of Kandrakar over the magic map but found now open portals.
"I'm not seeing any portals." Will said. "How can they just vanish like that?"
"It must be an inversion point." Uncle adjusted his glasses. "An area where the veil between realms is at its weakest."
"Sensei, are you suggesting that Jade and the other girls are in Meridian?" Tohru asked.
"I'm afraid so." Uncle confirmed. "And without the Heart of Kandrakar, they have no access to their full Guardian powers."
"Can it work both ways? Will they be able to get back?" Jackie asked.
"It depends on what's on the other side." Yan Lin said.
"Blunk take us to where you last saw Jade and the others, right now." Jackie said. "Will, Tohru, Uncle, Caleb, you will all come with me."
"Yes. Follow Blunk." The Passling nodded.
The Labyrinth
Taranee, Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, and Cornelia continued to walk through the maze, all the while, leaving a thread behind from Cornelia's sweater so they might find their way back and avoid getting lost. But this didn't make Cornelia any less frustrated.
"All those nights… on a hand-carved, seater-sweater-hanger for nothing!" The blonde grumbled.
"Hey, you wanna get lost in this lousy place, go right ahead." Jade told her, causing Cornelia to glare at the black-haired girl.
"Hey Jade, can't you use the Rabbit Talisman to speed your way till you find the end?" Irma asked. "Or the Rooster to fly up and see if you can spot the exit?"
"I don't have any Talismans." Jade said in disappointment. "After that whole mess with Collins, I got the 'The Talismans are not to leave the vault' lecture from Jackie."
"What did that Theseus guy find at the end of his maze, anyway?" Cornelia questioned for the sake of conversation.
"A murderous monster with the head of a bull." Hay Lin said bluntly.
Cornelia shivered and ran closer to the other girls, simply to avoid said encounter. Jade merely scoffed. "Could be worse. Could be a giant demon-dragon, or a demon that can move the moon."
"Have you and Jackie ever thought anything that's not a demon before?" Taranee asked.
"Phobos isn't a demon, and I don't think the Shadowkhan are. So, I'd say this whole thing with Meridian is actually a nice change of pace." Jade replied as they continued to walk down the maze. "Although there was this one time, we fought an evil monkey-puppet."
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Blunk had led the group consisting of Jackie, Will, Caleb, Uncle, and Tohru towards the bookstore where the girls disappeared. "Okay, where did they vanish?" Caleb asked.
"Blunk said in the back." Will answered as they went to the back of the store. She spotted Blunk at the top of the shelf. "Where?"
"Nowhere! That's problem!" Blunk responded.
"Where did they disappear?" Jackie clarified.
"Disappear around here." Blunk pointed to the general area.
Tohru happened to look at the books on the shelf. "These texts, they contain the same sort of writing from the message we found a few days ago."
They all looked to where Tohru was pointing. "Tohru is correct. This is the Writing of the Beasts." Uncle said.
"Why would an Earth-bookstore have texts from Meridian?" Caleb asked.
Will looked at the writing, once she did, her vision became somewhat blurry and almost fell back had Jackie not caught her.
"Will?" Jackie asked in concern.
"I just felt… a shiver down my spine."
Uncle's eyes widened slightly. "You… have the willies?"
Everyone looked a bit surprised, as Will reached to grab the book she previously looked at. The second she did, she and everyone else around her vanished except for Blunk.
"Blunk look this way, then that way…" He didn't notice his friends were gone till it was too late. "AH! No Chan Clan!"
Labyrinth
The girls continued to walk and have been walking for who-knows-how-long and have been trying to find the next direction to go in.
"I say that way." Cornelia pointed down one direction.
Taranee pulled on their tether from the what remained of Cornelia's sweater. "Nuh uh, we already went that way."
"And this way." Irma looked back down one area to see their tether-line.
Jade looked towards a corner on the right and saw there wasn't any thread along that path, but she also saw an eerie green light at the end of the path. "We didn't go this way, come on." She led the girls down the path as Taranee continued to leave a line behind.
However, their line soon came to an end. "Guys, we just ran out of thread."
"I don't think we'll need anymore, because I think we just found the exit." Jade said as they came towards an open doorway.
"Finally." Cornelia breathed, hoping they found a way out.
Once they left the maze, they found themselves once again, in a library, but a very different library that they were previously in back on Earth. There were many, many books with a large fireplace at the end of the room; but what gave it an eerie and gothic feeling were the statues of gargoyles and griffins all around the chamber; like something from a gothic cathedral.
"Whoa." Jade breathed. "Evil libraries anyone?"
"Yeah, you think a guy who read all these books would be teaching evil by now." Irma muttered, trying to find some levity in the situation they were currently in the middle of.
Cornelia found a door along the side in-between two large bookshelves. "Hey guys, over here." She led them to the wooden door, which led out of the library and into what appeared to be a large medieval kitchen.
Chefs, cooks, and bakers all over bulled bread in and out of large fire-ovens and even turned meat over flames on a stick. Nobody seemed to notice the five girls as they descended along the large stairs along the side. All except for a single kitchen-maid who gasped as she saw them.
"You can't be here!" She looked around to make sure there were no guards or spies. "Follow me!"
Caleb picked up a piece of thread as he, Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, and Will had found themselves transported into the magical labyrinth, at the exact same spot where all the girls had ended up when they were transported there.
"What do you, think is on the other end of this?" Caleb asked.
"Best guess, Jade probably laughing her butt off at a very pissed offCornelia." Will assumed.
"They left us a trail, very clever." Jackie said with a proud grin.
"No time to just stand here!" Uncle stated. "We must find them before they are captured by the Forces of Darkness!"
No need to be told twice, Will took out the Heart of Kandrakar. "Guardians, wherever you are, let me find you safe." She accessed its power and quickly transformed into her Guardian form.
The group ran as fast as they could; well technically speaking, Jackie, Caleb, and Tohru ran while Will flew and carried Uncle so he could keep up. They followed the path of threat their friends left behind. After turning all the necessary turns and following the right hallway, they came to the exit of the labyrinth and quickly ran into the library inside, only to be greeted by the dark prince who looked surprised to see them.
"You!" Phobos exclaimed.
"Phobos!" Jackie shouted as they split off to avoid the blast of magic power Phobos shot their way.
Caleb jumped onto a rolling-library-ladder and rode it closer to Phobos, but before he could attack, Phobos grabbed him in his magic and threw him to the side. However, this left Phobos vulnerable for Jackie to fly in with a kick and land it in his abs, sending Phobos smacking into the wall. However, Phobos was quick to recover as he shot another blast at Jackie, who back flipped out of the way.
Will flew down with a kick, but Phobos backed way to avoid the impact, but Will tried to deliver a chop to Phobos' face, Will missed as he vanished with his magic, though she managed to slice some of his hair off before he reappeared behind Will, telekinetically grabbing her with his magic and throwing her at Jackie, forcing him to catch her, but the force of the impact sent them to the ground. Before Phobos could press the attack however, he was grabbed by Tohru from behind in the form of a crushing bear-hug.
This only lasted a few seconds however as Phobos exploded magic from his body to send Tohru flying into the charging Caleb. Jackie and Will had already recovered, but before they could attack, Phobos had ensnared them with his magic again and telekinetically pinned them to the wall with one hand while materializing a sword in his other one. Before he could strike however… he felt a burning sensation hit his back. Phobos turned with a glare to see Uncle pointing his blowfish at him.
"You. Evil Prince. Remove your magic from Jackie and Will."
"An old wizard thinks he can best me?" Phobos questioned as he faced Uncle directly. "Leave now or face the consequences."
"You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" Uncle challenged.
Phobos glared as he released his grip from Jackie and Will to focus his attention on Uncle, whom he shot at with his sword.
"Come on! We have to help!" Will was ready to fly in, but Jackie put a hand on her shoulder.
"Will, wait." He told her, having a good feeling Uncle could handle himself.
This proved to be true as Phobos was directly above the unphased Uncle, he raised his sword high and attempted to bring it down on him, only for Uncle to catch it with a clap of his hands, much to the surprise of both Phobos and Will.
"Whoa." Will's eyes widened.
Uncle then swept his feet to knock Phobos down as Uncle jumped over him and landed behind to take a marital art stance as Phobos pulled himself back up.
"So, the Prince of Darkness wants a piece of Uncle?"
Tohru picked himself up off Caleb as the young rebel groaned. He saw Phobos facing off against Uncle and was about to help, when Tohru stopped him.
"Wait, I believe Sensei can handle this just fine." Tohru had a knowing grin.
Phobos generated a second sword in his hand as he flew at Uncle and swiped both of them at the elderly man with ferocity, but Uncle avoided all the blade strikes with minimal effort. Phobos gave a vertical swing, but Uncle swerved behind Phobos to deliver a slap to the back of his head. Phobos then hovered in the air to try and blast Uncle with magic, but Uncle had leapt into the air and delivered a flying kick to Phobos to knock him on the ground, close to a large bookshelf, while Uncle landed on his feet.
"Evil prince may be powerful but lacks experience." Uncle commented as Phobos picked himself up. "One more thing."
"What?" Phobos practically snarled.
Uncle pulled out his blowfish to shoot the bookshelf behind Phobos, causing the whole thing to fall on top of him. "Find new reading material."
Caleb's eyes widened in shock, at how Uncle just defeated Phobos so quickly, while Tohru had a proud smile. Jackie smiled as he gave a nod and even Will had an excited look on her face.
"Go Uncle." The red-haired girl commented.
"Do not just stand there! Get cracking!" Uncle told the rest of the group. "We must find Jade and the other Guardians! Hurry!" Everyone got back up and followed Uncle out of the library.
After they all left; the pile of books, along with the fallen shelf, exploded as Phobos used his magic to free himself. He glared in the direction his enemies fled. "Wong!"
A plum of dark blue smoke appeared in front of him as Daolon Wong appeared. "You summoned me, my prince?"
"The Guardian leader, Chan, and their allies are here!" Phobos stated. "Find them! Send out the Tracker! Use your Dark Chi minions and even the Shadowkhan if you must! Find them and bring me the Heart of Kandrakar!"
"As you command." Daolon Wong bowed.
Meanwhile, the kitchen maid from before, revealed to be named Trill, had led Jade, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, and Irma out of the castle and to the outskirts of the castle town where several peasants played instruments and danced around a large bonfire as the five girls had sat down and been given blankets and food.
"Wow, it's like camping." Jade said.
"This is wonderful food." Taranee told Trill as she approached the group. "But I don't think we can eat it all."
"Once you told us were the Guardians, everyone brought something." Trill said.
"Well, technically they're the Guardians. I'm not." Jade said.
"She does help though." Hay Lin pointed out.
"Yeah, she and her Uncle both kick serious butt!" Irma said excitedly.
"Aw shucks guys." Jade said in a feign humble tone.
"I have to ask though; why did you come here to Meridian in human form?" Trill asked.
"Well believe it or not, we were looking for a history book." Hay Lin answered. "It was a complete accident."
Trill nodded. "Let me refill your drinks." She took their cups.
"Why isn't anyone else eating?" Hay Lin asked.
"Uh… Hay Lin… I think this may be all the food they have." Cornelia pointed out.
"Oh…" Jade looked in honest surprise as she suddenly felt guilty eating what little food these people had so generously given her and her friends.
"Kinda puts a lost essay into perspective." Taranee commented as what she was making such a fuss over felt insignificant compared to what these people probably have to deal with on a daily basis.
Trill returned with a jug of water. "When Phobos took the throne, a light went out over this land. Our men are jailed, our crops are stolen, we have no security, nothing for ourselves, but our dreams."
Jade's eyes narrowed at the mention of Phobos' name. "The heck is that guy's problem anyway?"
"Nobody knows why he does this." Trill began. "But many believe that he fell into darkness after his parents, the previous rulers of Meridian, were killed. Some say that it was Phobos who did the dead himself."
That erected a gasp from all five of the girls. "He killed his own parents?!" Hay Lin almost screamed out of pure horror.
"What kind of monster does something like that?!" Irma said in equally mortified tone.
"I don't know for certain if he did or didn't." Trill began. "But once those rumors spread, nobody in Meridian would bow to him. So, he forced them to. Some believe he killed his parents out of jealousy, for his younger sister would become the next queen while he would not ascend."
"Hold on, I'm confused." Cornelia said. "If Phobos is the older sibling, why would his younger sister be first in line for the throne?"
"Meridian is a kingdom based on matrilineal succession." Trill answered. "It is ruled by queens, so only a woman can ascend to the throne."
"Well, I guess that makes sense as to why Phobos would be angry." Cornelia said. "Not that I agree with that scumbag! But if I were in that situation, I'd be pretty upset to."
Trill looked around before she spoke in a whisper. "I have heard rumors in the castle that Phobos' sister lives in Earth on the other side of the Veil? Could this true?"
"Probably, considering the freak always sends his lackies to try and find her." Jade pointed out.
"I only pray that you can find her first." Trill told them. "For years, we have suffered under Phobos; forced to work for pittance in his castle, his stables, his mines, we always have hope… but sometimes, I fear we hope in vein."
"We'll find the true heir and bring her back here. I promise." Irma told Trill.
"Yeah, and we'll beat the ever-loving crap out of Phobos along the way to." Jade stated.
"I thank you." Trill said as she left the girls with their food.
"Oh man… I knew Phobos was a bad guy but… I didn't expect him to be so cruel." Hay Lin looked down, feeling a great deal of pity for what these people had to endure.
"Yeah… feels familiar." Jade muttered.
"Jade?" Taranee asked as the other girls looked toward her.
"Remember how I told you guys about Shendu?" Jade began. "Well, this one time, he wrote in this thing called the Book of Ages; basically, a magic book that records history. He rewrote a certain part of it and created an alternate timeline where he and the rest of his demon family ruled over the entire Earth just like how Phobos rules over Meridian. People had to bow their heads whenever a demon walked down the street, and they didn't even walk, they had slaves pulling them on carriages! They had gladiator fights, court jesters, and all that stuff. And, when I tried to get Jackie and the rest of the J-Team to help… I didn't really think much about how these people lived, because I thought if we could fix what Shendu wrote in the Book of Ages, everything would go back to normal, and they did. But… seeing all these people, and hearing what they have to live through… knowing we can't just fix it by writing in a magic book or something… it… it's kinda heartbreaking." Jade was almost tempted to shed tears for these people.
Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin each thought the same thing, but Hay Lin was the first to put a hand on Jade's shoulder. "Hey cheer up Jade, there might not be an easy way to fix this, but we can still make it right."
"Yeah; I mean between us, and your Uncle Jackie, not to mention the Rebellion here and Section 13, and even the J-Team, we'll have Meridian free in no time." Taranee said.
"And like you said, we'll beat the crap out of Phobos and his buddies along the way." Cornelia smirked.
"So, cheer up you feisty little fighter, you got it?" Irma playfully punched Jade's arm, causing her to laugh and raise her spirits again.
"Yeah, I got it. Thanks guys." Jade said.
Celebrations were soon brought to a screeching halt as an inhumane roar pierced through the air, getting the attention of not just the girls, but the horrified expressions of all the people gathered at the sight.
A red-eyed creature that looked almost like a zombie, dressed in a tethered robe with a witch's hat had walked onto the scene with a dog-like creature at his side, only this 'dog' had the nose of a pig with razor-sharp fangs. And it wasn't just him; Finn, Ratso, and Chow, in their Dark Chi Warrior forms, were also with him.
"Looks you guys are having a party." Finn observed.
"Hope you don't mind if we crash it." Chow said with a smirk as he and his buddies brandished their respective Dark Chi weapons and the zombie-like creature gave another roar.
"The Tracker! And the Dark Wizard's minions! Run!" Trill exclaimed to all the people as they all made a break for it; even Jade, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin ran into the woods as well.
The creature known as the Tracker brandished a glowing flail which he used to destroy the bonfire as he and the Dark Chi Warriors saw the girls run into the woods.
"Hey, aren't those the fairy-girls we keep seeing?" Ratso asked. "They sure don't look like fairies."
"Probably haven't transformed yet." Chow guessed.
The Tracker roared as he and his hound proceeded after them. "Right behind you, Zombie-boy." Finn said as they followed him into the woods.
The girls ran as fast as they could with the Forces of Darkness literally right at their heels. They slid down a hill with the enemy right behind them and ran into an area with more trees hopping to lose them as they ran, slid, and squeezed between the narrow gaps. However, this did little to deter the enemy as the Tracker used his flail to knock down several of the trees with the Dark Chi Trio using their weapons to slice and bash down the trees themselves. Fortunately, it would take them some time to completely clear the way, allowing the girls to get plenty of distance as they hid underneath a large log.
"That is one ugly mother…" Jade muttered.
"Jade!" Taranee said in a harsh whisper.
"I was gonna say a face only a mother could love!" Jade quickly retorted.
"Sssh! Quiet, or they'll hear us." Cornelia whispered.
"Do you think it can find us in here?" Hay Lin muttered.
"With that nose. It looked like it could find us in China!" Taranee stated.
The group remained quiet and it didn't appear that either the Tracker, his hound, or the Dark Chi warriors had found them. "I'll go check outside." Irma whispered as she crawled toward the opening in a log.
The moment she peeked her head out, a pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her out with a scream.
"Irma!" Cornelia exclaimed as they all crawled out of the log to try and help her, only to look in shock as two Shadowkhan had already had good grip on her, with one covering her mouth with his hand to prevent her from screaming.
"Shadowkhan!" Jade exclaimed as several more Shadowkhan appeared behind each of them to grab them from behind and cover their mouths with their hands in the same fashion. They all struggled as they couldn't even voice a scream as the Shadowkhan pulled them into the shadows of the forest and vanished.
All five of the girls were pulled into a clearing as they were surrounded by at least twenty Shadowkhan, five of them were each holding one of the girls and keeping their hands pinned behind their backs.
"Let us go!" Hay Lin screamed.
"Hey, watch where you're grabbing!" Cornelia glared.
"Back off before I kick you guys in the…" Jade's warning was cut off as they were brought before the Tracker, his hound, and the Dark Chi Warrior trio.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here." Ratso practically sang.
"Gotta love these ninja-guys." Finn smirked, referring to the Shadowkhan.
"Whoa, wait, hold on are you guys seriously okay with this?!" Irma exclaimed. "I mean, I know you were part of a crime syndicate and even worked for a demon and all, but guys! Come on! Phobos is a total psychopath!"
"Seriously, the nutjob killed his own parents for crying out loud!" Jade exclaimed.
That took the Dark Hand trio by surprise. "Whoa, are you serious?!" Chow almost shouted.
"He killed his own mom and dad?" Ratso voiced in a shaky tone.
"That is just messed up." Finn shook his head in disgust.
"Well technically, nobody has any proof he killed his parents... so…" Taranee was cut off as Cornelia kicked her leg. "Ow!"
"But look, you guys have seen what Meridian is like, Phobos is a full-blown tyrant!" Cornelia tried to reason.
"Seriously, do you guys really wanna work for someone like that?" Hay Lin questioned.
"Look we don't have a choice, okay?" Finn stated. "It's kinda hard to so 'no' to someone who can blast you with magic."
"And the fact that were also bound to a dark wizard's magic and enslaved to do his bidding doesn't really help either." Ratso added.
"Um… you guys aren't gonna kill us… are you?" Jade hopped as she and the other girls looked in fear as the Tracker brandished his flail with deadly intent.
"Whoa, whoa, take it easy zombie-boy." Chow stopped the Tracker from doing anything ugly. "They're just kids."
"And Phobos didn't specifically say to kill them." Ratso pointed out.
"Maybe we could just… I don't know, tie em up or throw em in a dungeon or something?" Finn questioned.
"Yeah, it's not like they can do anything without their magic powers." Chow added.
"Oh I got magic powers for you guys!"
Will suddenly flew over the group as she brandished the Heart of Kandrakar. "Guardians Untie!" Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin were engulfed in bright flashes of magic as they were pulled out of the Shadowkhan's grip and into the air. Jade even used this opportunity to stomp onto the foot of the Shadowkhan that held her, forcing him to let go as Jade ran underneath the Guardians once they finished their transformation.
"Will, how did you find us?" Hay Lin asked as they all hovered in the air.
"Are you kidding? There's a trail of mutant dog slobber all the way from the castle." Will said with a smile, glad she made it in time.
The enemy didn't have time to attack as a few Shadowkhan were obliterated by blasts of Chi-Magic from Uncle, who wielded a blowfish in one hand and a dried-lizard in another. He ran down along with Jackie, Tohru, and Caleb. Jackie performed a leaping kick to knock the Tracker back as Caleb ran to tackle Ratso and Tohru knocked back Finn and Chow with swipes from his hand. Jade then ran to the Shadowkhan as the Guardians flew in as well, beginning the fight.
Will flew in with a powerful kick to a Shadowkhan, obliterating it in a puff of smoke with her increased strength. She was quickly surrounded by five more Shadowkhan, but Will took a combat stance similar to what she saw Jackie did in training earlier and even made the same hand-gesture to bring it on. She blocked and parried each punch and kick the Shadowkhan lashed at her before she flew into the air above them.
"You guys aren't technically alive, so there really is no reason for me to hold back." Will smirked as she flew down and punched with all the enhanced strength that she had to obliterate one Shadowkhan. She blocked a punch from the second Shadowkhan and destroyed him with a powerful kick to the head before flipping and delivering a kick to a third Shadowkhan's jaw to send it flying before sweeping her feet to knock the fourth and fifth Shadowkhan onto the ground just as the third one landed hard on them, causing all five of them to disappear.
Jackie found himself face-to-face with the Tracker as he made a combat stance. The Tracker threw his glowing flail at Jackie, forcing him to run and swerve to the side. Jackie quickly ran up a tree just as the Tracker threw his flail out to obliterate the trunk of the tree and send it crashing down, but Jackie had already made it to the top and jumped over it to land behind the Tracker, where he grabbed him by the shoulders and heaved him over his head to send him rolling across the ground.
However, Jackie didn't get the time to celebrate as the Tracker's hound had leapt onto Jackie, pinning him to the ground. Fortunately, Jackie was able to grab a stick off the ground and prop it under the hound's chin to keep it from biting down onto his throat.
"Bad dog! Bad dog! Bad dog! Bad dog! Bad dog!"
Tohru was now facing both Finn and Chow in their Dark Chi Warrior forms as the large man grabbed a nearby log and used it as a weapon to block Chow as he came in with his staff, but Finn threw out his bladed-weapon, which cut the log into several pieces and render it useless. Finn and Chow proceeded to run at Tohru, who seemed more than ready to face them with just his fists, but that proved unnecessary.
"Heads up Tohru!" Taranee flew in from above him and threw a large fireball at the ground below the Dark Chi warrior pair. It exploded and sent Finn flying backwards and Chow to land directly at Tohru's feet. Chow gave a nervous laugh as he saw Tohru glaring down before he picked up Chow and threw him into the air.
While airborne, Taranee produced another fireball in her hand and flew right at Chow while he was in the air and actually 'punched' the fireball into Chow's gut, causing him to explode in flame and vanish in a flaming puff of blue smoke right after.
"Thank you Taranee." Tohru gave her a thumbs up.
"No problem big guy." She smiled at him.
Finn however survived as he pulled himself up and was ready to charge in for some payback. "I'll teach you to mess with Finn 2.0" However, Uncle had landed right in front of Finn and obliterated him with a blast of chi-magic from his blowfish.
"And I'll teach you to mess with Uncle original recipe."
Caleb was on the defensive from Ratso's devastating strikes with his large hammer. He jumped and ran to avoid all the powerful blows, even jumping up onto a tree from a tree branch, only for the tree to be blown away from a strike at the trunk with Ratso's hammer. The entire tree began to fall, but Caleb had already landed on his feet, but Ratso threw his hammer out which exploded at Caleb's feet to send him flying and skidding across the ground. He looked up to see Ratso standing above him with his hammer.
"Sorry kid, nothing personal." Ratso was ready to smash him when he was suddenly shot straight up by a tree that grew out of the ground. Ratso was caught by the back of his clothes by a tree branch as the tree ascended up high; up to where it was more sixty feet off the ground. He came to a halt in front of Cornelia who hovered in the air with crossed arms.
"Uh… nice tree." Ratso complemented. "You know, you'd make a pretty good florist." He said honestly.
"Thanks." Cornelia said before punching him right in the face.
Caleb got up as he heard Ratso's scream as the Dark Chi warrior fell and vanished in a puff of blue smoke as he hit the ground.
"Need a hand, rebel boy?" Cornelia smirked as she descended down to Caleb's level, the young rebel said nothing as he only smiled and rubbed the back of his sore neck.
Hay Lin and Irma hovered in the air as they faced what looked like fifteen or so Shadowkhan; but the pair knew better than to face them in hand-to-hand combat. So instead; Irma brought her hands together and sent out a large blast of water in the form of raindrops that shot out almost like a gatling gun. It was far too fast for even the Shadowkhan to dodge, but not strong enough to destroy them, only get them soaking wet, which was what Hay Lin needed as she inhaled and blew out a large gust of cold wind. Within seconds all the Shadowkhan down below were frozen solid before Hay Lin threw out two compressed air disks which she manipulated to slice and shatter each frozen Shadowkhan before the two girls high-fived.
"Ninjasickles anyone?" Irma cracked.
Jackie meanwhile continued to hold the hound at back as best as he could as the Tracker approached him, twirling his flail to appear more menacing, however…
"Hey ugly!"
The Tracker turned around only to see Jade's incoming foot right before it made contact with his face, knocking him down. Will flew in to knock the hound off Jackie with a shoulder-strike, sending it skidding across the ground.
"Thank you Will." Jackie said as he stood back up and stood alongside Will and Jade.
"Normally I love dogs, but that thing is really ugly." Will commented.
"You think he's ugly, look at his master. I mean seriously, is that thing a zombie or what?!" Jade commented.
The Tracker growled as it stood back up and threw its flail out again. Though Will and Jade flew or ran to the side, Jackie stood his ground and kicked the flail with his foot before catching the chain with his both his hands. He then began to pull on the chain, which the Tracker tried to pull back, pitting his own strength against Jackie's. For a moment, it seemed as though the Tracker was slightly stronger as Jackie felt himself being pulled a bit closer to him.
However, this left the Tracker open for Will to fly in with a punch to the face, knocking him off balance and letting Jade come in to grab his feet in-between her legs, where she twisted her hips to bring the Tracker down on the ground face-first.
Before he could recover, Will picked up the Tracker by his shirt and flew up twenty feet in the air with him. "Thank you for choosing J-WITCH Air Lines. Enjoy your flight!" She cracked as she used her strength to throw the Tracker far into the woods, where the ugly beast roared and howled in pain as it slammed and skidded across the trees before coming to a painful halt deep in the woods and far away from the heroes. The hound ran into the woods after its master as Will flew down to meet Jade, Jackie, as well as Cornelia, Hay Lin, Uncle, Caleb, Irma, Taranee, and Tohru.
"Nice throw." Jade smirked as she and Will exchanged a fist-bump.
With the enemy dealt with and everyone back together again, they began to walk out of the forest.
"I'm so glad you guys came." Hay Lin said as she leaped to hug Tohru who only smiled.
"And we're glad you're all okay." Tohru replied as he gently patted the energetic girl's back.
"Yeah, we're all happy to be back together and all, but how the heck are we gonna get home?" Irma questioned.
"Use Heart of Kandrakar to find portal, which we close immediately upon exiting." Uncle stated.
"Hey, we also met a bunch of villagers." Cornelia revealed. "They helped us get out of the castle."
"I can't stop thinking about how horrible their lives are under Phobos." Hay Lin said with sympathy evident in her voice.
"They gave us their own food." Taranee said in the same tone of voice.
"They're good people." Caleb said. "Don't worry, in the days ahead, you'll have plenty of chances to repay them."
"Hey uh Caleb, did Phobos really kill his own parents?" Jade asked the young rebel as Will, Jackie, Tohru, and even Uncle were surprised by that revelation.
"What?!" Jackie exclaimed.
"I mean… yeah the guy's pretty evil but… kill your own parents… I can't imagine that." Jade voiced.
"I don't have any proof that he did do it, but I wouldn't put it past him." Caleb said with a vindictive tone in his voice.
"Well, whether it's true or not, the next time I see him…" Tohru cracked his own knuckles. "I'll personally turn him inside out."
Will chuckled slightly. "Or we can just sick Uncle on him again. I mean, seriously, when we got here, Uncle practically wiped the floor with that jerk!"
"Say what?!" Cornelia voiced in shock.
"Wow, really?!" Irma exclaimed with a wide grin.
"That's amazing!" Taranee said with a large smile of her own.
"Oh man, I would have loved to see that!" Irma smirked.
"I believe that." Jade said with a knowing smirk herself, having seen Uncle in action before. "Don't mess with the Uncster."
"Do not underestimate Phobos." Uncle stated. "Uncle may have bested him one, but he is smart enough not to underestimate his enemies again. That and his knowledge of dark magic and resources in Meridian make him a dangerous foe."
"A foe that we will defeat." Jackie said with a determined look in his eyes; one that everyone around him matched as they all silently agree and vowed. They will defeat Phobos and free Meridian from his iron-grip.
Sheffield Institute – The Next Day
Cornelia was about to enter the school when she heard one of her friends call to her. "Hey, Hey Cornelia!" She turned around to see Elyon and Alchemy running toward her. "Where'd you go yesterday? You just left us in that store!"
"Seriously, you didn't even say anything. You just vanished!"
Cornelia's eyes widened, having forgotten about all that. "Oh no! Elyon, Alchemy, I am so sorry! Something urgent came up and my mind was in another world."
"You've been doing this a lot lately." Elyon pointed out. "Are we best friends or what?"
"Of course, we are!" Cornelia stated. "Come on, let me make it up to you guys and buy you some doughnuts."
Alchemy's eyes lit up. "Oooh, apology accepted."
Elyon however sighed. "Cornelia, you know I don't like doughnuts."
"Yeah, but there's a really cute guy serving." Cornelia teased.
"Okay, now you got my attention." Elyon smiled.
Meanwhile; Taranee met up with her teacher, the same one who believed she didn't turn her essay in time.
"I apologize." She said to him out of the blue.
"For… for what…?" He asked, surprised.
"Making such a big deal out of a silly essay… and asking a principle to suspend you without pay."
The teacher smiled, having accepted her apology, but had one of his own to give. "Well, I apologize for putting your essay in my fridge and bringing a pound of ham to school." He reached into his bag to pull out the essay she, did in fact, turn in early. "A perfect paper. Your description of the labyrinth, it's almost as if you were there."
Taranee smiled innocently and nervously. Even though she turned in the essay before that whole mess, her teacher had no idea just how right he was. "Yeah… almost."
Uncle's Rare Finds
After school had ended; Will and Jade met with Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, and Caleb at the antique shop as they discussed their next step.
"So, our mission to find the heir really hasn't changed a bit." Will commented.
"I'm still concerned of what an inversion point would be doing at a bookstore." Jackie pointed out.
"Did you guys notice there were books with Meridian writing in the back? In an Earth bookstore?" Jade reminded.
"Perhaps they were there by accident, because of the inversion point." Tohru voiced.
"Bookstore owner is very foolish to place property in very dangerous area." Uncle said.
Jackie put a finger to his chin. Foolish… or something else? He narrowed his eyes, making a silent note to check out the store for himself and talking with Captain Black about it.
"Still, we know the heir is somewhere here in this city but no idea where." Caleb said.
"Maybe this could help…" Will pulled out some strands of hair from her pocket.
"Will… is that…?" Jackie voiced in surprise.
"Some of Phobos' hair." Will revealed. "I managed to pull some off during the fight. Maybe we could use one of those locator spells…"
"Aiya! Uncle been over this already!" The elderly chi-wizard pointed out. "Heir must be protected by magic! We cannot locate her with evil-prince-hair!"
"Do you know this for a fact, though?" Caleb questioned.
"Sensei, we don't know for certain if the heir is truly protected. And maybe Phobos doesn't either." Tohru pointed out.
"It's a long shot, but it's the only shot we got." Jade added.
"Uncle, I realize that it may be unlikely, but we have to know for certain." Jackie told him. "Until we know who the heir is, we are still blind. Phobos and his forces may be blind as well, but with Cedric hiding in Heatherfield, that may not be the case for long."
"Hmmm." Uncle placed his fingers to his chin. They all made valid points, and maybe it wouldn't hurt just to know for sure. "Do not stand there! Get cracking!"
Five minutes later; the group had gathered in the back of Uncle's shop as the elderly chi-wizard placed the strands of Phobos' hair into a caldron filled with water as he took out a dried lizard; while Will, Jackie, Jade, Caleb, and Tohru stood in a circle around Uncle as he took a meditative stance in front of the cauldron, each of them holding an incense ern as Uncle recited a familiar chant.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao"
The second Uncle began to make his chant, his dried lizard began to glow green with Chi-magic, which he pointed to the cauldron, causing the water inside to glow green and boil as well. Will, Caleb, Jackie, Jade, and Tohru also joined Uncle in chanting his incantation.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao."
As the five of them chanted, each of their incest urns they held began to glow with the same green energy as chi-magic attached each urn's power to the other, forming a perfect circle as all six of them chanted. The hair inside the bubbling cauldron began to lift as the green energy began to surge immensely threw it and a powerful whirlwind began to blow around the area. As they continued to chant, nobody, not even Will noticed the Heart of Kandrakar she wore beginning to glow green as opposed to its usual pink glow.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao!"
The hair flashed a bright green light before the magic vanished entirely and the hair fell back into the water. Everyone looked in surprise as they saw the hair was unresponsive.
"So… what's supposed to happen now?" Will asked.
"The locator spell couldn't work." Uncle stated. "Powerful magics indeed surrounds the missing heir to prevent outside forces from locating her."
Caleb couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. "So, it is true. We can't find her with magic. Not this type anyway."
"We still had to make sure, Caleb." Jackie said.
"Look at the bright side; if we can't use chi-magic to locate the heir, that means Wong or Phobos can't either." Jade pointed out.
"Which means that, for the moment, the heir is safe from the Forces of Darkness." Tohru said.
"So long as Phobos and his forces remain free, nothing is truly safe." Uncle said in a grim expression as their job had only become that much harder.
Done.
So that was a fun chapter. The Guardians and Chan-Clan now have a better understanding just how crucial it is they defeat Phobos, given how much the people of Meridian are suffering under Phobos. And they are more than determined to put a stop to him.
We even had Uncle go one-on-one with Phobos, and of course, Uncle won. Go Uncle :)
Note: Even though everyone is saying that Phobos killed his parents, I am once again confirming that he did NOT. But I am NOT going to say who IS responsible. You won't find out for a very long while.
And also, the heroes have confirmed that they cannot locate the missing heir to the throne with a locator spell as she is protected by powerful magics; so, neither J-WITCH nor the Forces of Darkness can find her, yet, but they still each have their ways. It's a race against time as the quest to find and locate the missing heir continues. Who will prevail int his war of good or evil? Find out as J-WITCH continues.