Hi everyone, thanks again for waiting. This is one particular chapter, that I will honestly say I'm not one hundred percent excited for; I wouldn't say the episode from the WITCH show was bad, it just felt like something of a filler to introduce some elements later in the plot. But I plan to mix things up a little bit with certain JCA elements just to make things more interesting, particularly as we look at the origins of the Heart of Kandrakar. So, without further delay, let us begin.
A Dramatic Ambush
Within the forests of Meridian, a supply of food and supplies was being escorted toward the castle. However, what they didn't realize was that they were being watched.
"Now!" Caleb exclaimed as the Rebels' trap was sprung. They cut some ropes that held several logs suspended, letting them fall in front and behind the enemy party, effectively trapping them. They also cut several more, which swung multiple logs down to knock the guards off their steeds.
"Their down! Move!" One rebel shouted.
"Wait! Hold on!" Caleb stopped them from advancing, and that proved to be a wise decision as several shadows around the downed guards and their steeds moved and materialized to form a group of five Shadowkhan which quickly sent out multiple shuriken towards the hidden rebels who were forced to take cover.
"Archers! Go!" Caleb ordered as several archers in the trees shot multiple arrows at the Shadowkhan, two were hit and disappeared on contact, but the remaining three simply dodged and evaded the arrows. However, as they were distracted, Caleb and the other rebels ran in to cut down the Shadowkhan with their own weapons, defeating them quickly.
At the same time, in the Castletown, another supply was being escorted through the streets toward the castle. However, Aldarn quickly jumped in front of the escorting guards.
"Down with Phobos and with tyranny!" He exclaimed before running away.
"Hey!" Two guards gave pursuit on their rhino-like steeds. However, this cut the guards surrounding the supply in half as the remaining two were quickly and quietly knocked out by a couple of rebels that slipped out of the alleyway.
Aldarn ran with the guards right on his heels, he turned down one alleyway and continued to run, however before the enemy guards could catch up to him, a pair of rebels dropped a large net over them to trap them and their steeds. While they were caught off guard, the two rebels jumped down to knock them out with blunt weapons to the heads.
"Yeah! We got em!" One rebel cheered.
"Wait!" Aldarn quickly drew his sword as two shadows materialized behind him and were about to form a pair of Shadowkhan, but he was quick to cut them down right before they fully formed. The two rebels looked in surprise. "Shadowkhan, always watch out for dark alleys." He explained to them.
The supplies were all brought to the Infinite City by Caleb and Aldarn's teams and were presented to all the rebel troops as well as their families that were hiding there.
"Food for everyone!" Caleb exclaimed as all the rebels helped themselves to the food they caught, even Blunk didn't hesitate to grab an apple. "This was one victory; we need many more if we're going to turn the tide to our oppressors! Eat well tonight!"
As Caleb got down, his friend approached him. "Hey Caleb, do you have any more of that chocolate from Earth? You know, for the little ones?" Aldarn asked.
"I'll return tomorrow."
Phobos Throne Room
"What went wrong?" Phobos growled as Daolon Wong and Cedric reported to him of the ambushes.
"They knew our routes." Cedric informed. "They were even aware of the Shadowkhan escorts."
"And here I thought those 'minions of darkness' were stronger." Phobos narrowed his eyes towards Wong.
"The Shadowkhan are indeed skilled fighters. They possess no will of their own, making them easy to control." Wong explained. "However, this also serves as a weakness as they are unable to think on their own and can be defeated if caught off guard. In addition, they as well as our own forces are spread too thin between the Rebellion in Meridian, as well as Chan and the Guardians on Earth."
Phobos stood up from his throne and walked down as he gazed out the window. "Our movements are anticipated, our supply routes intercepted, there is a spy in my castle!" His angered look faded slightly. "Which would mean… Raythor was innocent…"
"Or more likely wasn't working alone." Wong assumed.
"Tell me then how I may find the spy, or I will cast both of you into the Abyss of Shadows as well!" Phobos exclaimed impatiently.
"Spread a rumor." Cedric proposed. "Pretend that something extraordinary has been found by one who doesn't know its value. If a rebel comes looking, not only do we trap him, your suspicions are confirmed."
Phobos saw that this was a rather brilliant idea and decided to use it. "Good. And I know just the object to lure their leader into the open."
Earth - Heatherfield
It was rather early as Jackie climbed a fire escape up to a roof's building with Will and Jade right behind him. Irma, and Hay Lin weren't that far behind, though Cornelia and Taranee appeared to be struggling.
"Ugh, can't we just transform and fly up?" Cornelia groaned.
"We can't risk being seen just because you decided to wear heels today." Will told the blonde.
"Come on guys, look at the bright side. This is a good workout." Jade said. "I'm barley even breaking a sweat."
"That's because you're more used to fighting the Forces of Darkness." Irma deadpanned.
Taranee yawned as she tried to catch up. "It's way too early for this."
"I know and I'm sorry." Jackie said sincerely. "But once were done here, I will treat you all to a pancake breakfast, on me."
That seemed to lift all their spirits. "Pancakes?! Awesome!" Hay Lin cheered.
"And hey, we'll even swing for a box of doughnuts while we're at it!" Jade said with a grin.
"Pancakes and doughnuts?! Now you're talking!" Irma grinned as well.
"Oh, now you guys are just trying to make me fat, aren't you?" Cornelia grumbled.
"Yeah, well considering were fighting monsters on a periodic basis, I say we can afford the calories." Will pointed out as they were almost at the rooftop.
However, just before they made it to the roof, the portal surged as Caleb and Blunk passed through from Meridian into Earth.
"Captain Blunk report!" The Passling saluted like a soldier.
"Don't pretend you have an allegiance to a higher goal." Caleb told Blunk. "You find me portals, I pay you." Blunk however looked in shock past Caleb, causing the young rebel to look in the same direction who also looked in shock to see Jackie, Jade, Will, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, and Irma looking at him with disappointed looks and crossed arms.
"Oh um… hey girls… and Jackie." Caleb waved nervously.
"Caleb, if you find an open portal you are supposed to tell us." Jackie said disappointingly.
"And normally that'd be what I'd do, but I just need this one open for a little while longer." Caleb said. "Just like five minutes, I'm taking chocolate back to little children."
Some of their expressions softened a bit once they heard that. "Well I mean, they kinda are suffering under a royal nutjob…" Jade pointed out.
Jackie sighed. "Caleb, I can understand what you are saying. But we can't run the risk of Phobos' forces entering Earth. If this were a life-or-death situation, we would make an exception. Otherwise, I'm sorry. Will?"
"I'm on it." Will held out the Heart of Kandrakar and used its magic to close the portal, causing Caleb to sigh in disappointment.
"Hey rebel boy, next time we're in Meridian, we'll be sure to bring some candy for those kids, sound good?" Cornelia proposed with a smile, causing Caleb to look up slightly.
"Yeah, sounds good."
Later that day - Sheffield Institute
Jade, Will, Irma, Cornelia, and Taranee were having lunch in the cafeteria when Will noticed a poster on the wall.
"Hey, what's that poster over there?" The red head asked.
Irma, Cornelia, and Taranee groaned. "Whoa, what crawled up your skin and died?" Jade asked upon seeing their annoyed expressions.
"Drama night." Irma groaned in annoyance.
"Every year, four groups of kids… Oh I'm sorry, losers put on these mini-plays on a theme." Cornelia explained.
"All the parents and grandparents come." Taranee added. "It's a whole big looser-thing."
"More like a lame-fest." Cornelia said.
"Well, then I guess it's good we didn't sign up for it." Jade said.
Hay Lin suddenly ran up to the table. "Great news!" She exclaimed excitedly. "I signed us up to do a play for drama-night!"
Section 13
Jackie sat in Captain Black's office as they went over all the data Section 13 collected, specifically over teenage girls living in Heatherfield.
"I'm sorry Jackie; but we searched through all the birth records." Captain Black explained. "Anyone who wasn't born in this city, either moved here or was adopted, don't match any physical descriptions that could bear a resemblance to this Phobos-guy. Whoever brought this princess to Heatherfield, did an excellent job covering their tracks"
Jackie sighed. "Then we'll just have to find the spy Phobos has sent to Earth first, before he finds the heir."
"Perhaps I can help."
Jackie looked in surprise to see a certain reformed thief enter the office. "Viper? What are you doing here?"
"I work here, part-time." Viper explained.
"She works as a freelance security consultant, but whenever I need assistance regarding her former territory with master thieves, she helps to provide intel." Captain Black explained as well.
"So, how's the babysitting coming along with Jade and those other girls?" Viper teased.
"Oh, it's not babysitting, but they're all doing very well." Jackie acknowledged. "I'm sure they'd be happy to see you again."
"So, what do you need help with?" Viper asked.
"A magic shapeshifter from Meridian is somewhere in Heatherfield." Jackie explained. "Lord Cedric."
"Aw, that giant snake guy. Yeah I remember him." Viper recalled.
"We have yet to find any leads without his physical description." Captain Black said. "Apparently, he can only take on the form of a human with a specific face; hair and eye color remain the same."
"But… I think I have an idea where to look." Jackie began. "A new bookstore opened up recently and… it was built over an inversion point. According to Uncle and Miss Lin, it is an area where the border between our world and Meridian is at its weakest. The girls and I were accidentally pulled into Meridian from that store, but not just in Meridian, we were in Phobos' personal library."
"Alright, either the store was built there incidentally, or it's really where our little shapeshifter is hiding." Viper deduced. "It would be the perfect place for him to cross over without making any noise."
"But without any evidence we can't just barge in." Captain Black said. "But I can have it placed under surveillance and see what we can find."
"Well, we at least have a lead now." Jackie deduced as they really had no idea just how close they were to the jackpot.
Meridian – Phobos Castle
"Gan! Ren! Chui!"
Wong had summoned the Dark Hand trio as they materialized near the new Captain of the Guard, Lothar and a few other guards.
"Yo, what's going on?" Finn asked as they looked up to see Daolon Wong and Cedric.
"Dark Chi Warriors, Captain Lothar, I have remarkable news." Cedric said to the group. "The Seal of Phobos has been found."
That earned a gasp from Lothar and the guards. "The Seal? After all these years…"
"Uh, someone wanna clue us in here?" Chow asked.
"Seal of… does Phobos wanna lock something up or something?" Ratso wondered.
"The Seal of Phobos…" Daolon Wong began to explain. "Is a sacred artifact that can open any and all things; be they locked physically or magically. It can even open portals in the Veil."
"Whoa." Ratso awed as he, Finn, and Chow were quite surprised.
"Yeah… I can see why Princey would want to get his hands on that." Finn said.
"It was near the outpost at Torus Filney, I want one hundred riders in three days' time to bring it back safely to the Castle." Cedric ordered.
"What we have just told you now, must be kept secret." Wong told them with a sneer on his face.
However, just as the two had planned, word quickly spread amongst the other guards and soldiers. Finn, Ratso, and Chow were given some free reign, with Wong telling them they could use a 'break', however this was all part of the plan as Wong and Cedric anticipated they would help spread the rumor, which worked. It spread to the kitchen workers and other servants as well, until finally it made it to Vathek, who did his best to try and sneak out discreetly and find a way to inform the Rebels, without drawing attention of the Shadowkhan Caleb told him would be lurking in the shadows of the castle.
Earth – Uncle's Rare Finds
"Viper!" Jade exclaimed as she ran to give the older woman a hug, who was happy to return it.
"Good to see you to Jade." Viper smiled. "And you kids too."
"Hi Viper!" Hay Lin waved with a smile while Will, Cornelia, Irma, and Taranee just waved. Though they were happy to see her, they were still a bit upset about Hay Lin signing them up for Drama Night.
"Okay, what's gotten into them?" Viper asked Jade.
Jade sighed. "Little miss spunky over there signed us up for a school drama night."
"Oh, you're in a play? I had no idea." Jackie said in surprise at first before it turned into a smile.
"Yeah, neither did we." Irma groaned.
"She signed us up without even asking us first." Taranee cast a slight glare at Hay Lin.
The energetic girl winced apologetically. "Sorry, I just got so excited I wrote our names down without even thinking."
"Why'd you even sign us up for Drama Night anyway?" Cornelia questioned.
"So, I can design the cool costumes! And also, because I need somebody to be in them." Hay Lin answered
"Well this could be a good experience for all of you." Jackie said. "I performed in plays during my time at school, and I enjoyed it. Even Uncle was part of an opera troupe in his youth."
"Whoa, seriously?" Will looked in honest surprise.
"I cannot picture that. OW!" Cornelia felt her forehead as Uncle suddenly appeared to deliver a dope-slap.
"Do not disrespect Uncle's youth!" The old chi-wizard scolded.
"So, what play are you doing?" Viper asked curiously.
"Oh, we get to make up our own around a theme." Hay Lin explained. "Our theme is mythology."
Jackie smiled slightly. "Well, seeing that I'm an archeologist, I know more than my fair share of myths that could you could use."
"You got any cool ones?" Jade questioned. "Cause, I don't wanna do any lame princess thing." Jackie sighed slightly in response.
Tohru walked into the main shop from the back along with Yan Lin. "Oh Tohru, Grandma, do you guys know any cool myths we can use?" Hay Lin asked.
"Um… I don't know about myths, but I know a few stories centered around…" Tohru then shivered as he remembered the stories of the Oni his mother used to tell him as a child, causing him to gulp. "On second thought, no I don't."
The group looked a bit curiously at Tohru for a moment before Yan Lin spoke. "I know of a myth that I'm sure you would all be interested in hearing, even you Jackie as it includes a certain dragon you and Jade are all too familiar with."
That got Jackie's attention as he had a surprised yet serious expression on his face. "Shendu."
Now everyone was listening; Uncle, Viper, Jade, and Tohru especially. While Will, Irma, Hay Lin, Cornelia, and Taranee only heard the stories of what Jade has told them, they were still interested in hearing a story from Yan Lin as well.
"Over nine hundred years ago, the Fire Demon known as Shendu ruled over the land of what would later be called China."
The dreaded demon Shendu stood at the top of a mountain overlooking the fast landscape. He was massive to say the least; a giant humanoid dragon with dark goldish-green skin and piercing red eyes. He gave a roar as he pointed to the landscape and an army of dragons flew out from behind him.
"Shendu had at his command an army of dragons that served his every whim." The dragons attacked the land, burning everything in their path from forests, to wildlife, even homes owned by people who ran for their lives at the sight of the massive dragon army. "However, while most of these dragons served Shendu faithfully, there were four among them who grew weary of the oppressive ways of their so-called master. And these dragons were among the strongest of his army, yet ironically, the gentlest."
Four larger dragons; one red, one yellow, one white, and one black, only hovered in the air as they did not take part in the destruction yet made no effort to stop it either.
"Though they did not approve of Shendu's violence, they knew they could not oppose him as in addition to the demon's own dark powers, he also wielded the combined magics of the Chinese Zodiac. It seemed Shendu's reign of darkness was all but cemented."
However, it wasn't just the four noble dragons who watched with reluctance as Shendu's palace was built by the human slaves and he sat with an evil sneer on his throne. From the distance, a beautiful woman with fair skin, black hair, and pointy ears looked towards the land with great sympathy and worry.
"And it was not just the noble dragons that disapproved of Shendu's reign. A Nymph by the name of Xin Jing grew worried for the people as the Fire Demon had used his magics to cast a cursed famine upon the land to keep the people under his thumb. The people could grow only what they needed to survive, nothing more."
As Xin Jing watched the people barley scrape by, she soon approached the four noble dragons and pleaded with them.
"Xin Jing pleaded with the noble dragons and begged them to help her in assisting these poor people. They agreed to assist her, as they too felt pity for the people." The red and yellow dragons used their fire breath to boil the water from the ocean, while the black and white ones flapped their wings to help the water vapor lift to the skies. "As the dragons brought the rain, Xin Jing herself used her own magics to put an end to the curse placed on the valley." Xin Jing shot a wave of pink energy from her hands that spread over the valley and blew away all the dark magic that was sewn into the earth just as the rain clouds formed. Rain fell over the valley and the people celebrated as the drought had ended.
However, as the four noble dragons and Xin Jing watched with smiles as the people could finally grow food, the Nymph was caught off guard as four large fireballs blasted each of the noble dragons out of the air and crashing into the ground. They lifted their heads to see an angered Shendu land on the ground in front of them.
"But Shendu was enraged. How dare the Dragons defy him!? How dare they assist humans, creatures he deemed inferior?!" Shendu lunged his hands forward as each of the noble dragons were telekinetically lifted into the air. "Deeming them as traitors, Shendu sealed them into four mountains." Shendu literally threw each dragon into one mountain, where he used his own dark magics to seal each one inside each mountain. "There they can only watch as Shendu destroyed the valley, leaving no survivors."
The people all ran in terror as Shendu unleashed waves of fire and heat-beams from his eyes all over the valley. Xin Jing watched from a distance in absolute terror as she covered her mouth with both her hands and fell to her knees, tears flowing down from her eyes. By the time the carnage was over; the valley was nothing more than a barren wasteland, with only skeletons lined across the ground. Xin Jing wouldn't have time to morn as Shendu suddenly landed behind her.
"Though Shendu was enraged by the Nymph's defiance, he recognized her incredible magic powers and demanded that she submit to him. But she refused."
"Your cruelty is equal only to your arrogance!" Xin Jing exclaimed in defiance. Even in the presence of such a terrifying evil, she would not bow to him.
"In an act of noble defiance, Xin Jing cast a powerful spell that would cost her and the dragons' their mortal forms." Xin Jing's body glowed a bright pink as her body was enveloped in the glow, as each of the dragons sealed away glowed red, blue, green, and white respectively. All their bodies had transformed into elemental energy as they flew into the sky and combined in a bright pink flash of light. Shendu covered his eyes, but when he opened them, he saw nothing. He gave a frustrated roar before flying away, not noticing there was a glowing violet jewel on the ground.
"Xin Jing had merged her spirit with that of the four dragons, creating a small yet powerful crystal amulet from their very life force."
Though Shendu didn't notice the jewel, there was a man who did. An elderly Chinese man with a long black beard and mustache wearing a green robe. He picked up the glowing jewel and ran away with it.
"The jewel would later be recovered by a wizard who had befriended Xin Jing before, a wizard by the name of Lo Pei. He knew of Xin Jing's powers and how powerful she was, and after years of studying the crystal's power, Lo Pei would lead a rebellion against the Ultimate Evil to free the land from his oppressive rule."
Lo Pei wore the glowing amulet around his neck like a necklace as he led an army of people; most had brought weapons and flags, while the ones up front wore white robes and pounded on large drums as they confronted Shendu who landed in front of them and gave them a challenging roar.
"Using the power of the crystal to amplify his own Chi-Magic, Lo Pei cast a powerful spell on Shendu." Lo Pei quickly brought out two sutras and cast a powerful spell, one that briefly turned the amulet's color from violet to green as Lo Pei shot out a blast of Chi-Magic which hit Shendu dead on. His body had turned into stone and the Twelve Talismans were separated from his body. "His physical form was encased in stone, and the powers of the Zodiac were stripped from him in the form of Twelve Talismans."
As everyone in the rebellion cheered for their victory, Lo Pei looked at the glowing amulet in his hands, the amulet that would later be known as the Heart of Kandrakar.
Will held the Heart of Kandrakar in her hands as she, Jade, Jackie, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Tohru, and even Viper looked in awe at the crystal.
"The origin of our powers…" Will gave a gasp of awe and amazement.
"That thing is what took down Shendu nine hundred years ago!? Awesome!" Jade exclaimed.
"Incredible…" Jackie was in equal awe as well.
"That is so our play!" Hay Lin exclaimed excitedly.
"So, I'm obviously the Nymph, right?" Cornelia said with a grin.
"Nah, you'd actually make a pretty good demon instead." Irma cracked, causing most of the group to laugh, while Cornelia just sulked with crossed arms.
"I'm not sure the school will let us do a play that centers around a monster committing genocide though." Taranee pointed out.
"Just censor it." Viper said.
"You could simply say that Shendu merely 'destroyed' the valley. You don't have to go into details." Tohru proposed.
"That should work." Will said.
"Alright, now I'm actually getting excited!" Jade grinned.
The Next Day
After classes ended; the six girls helped to build up the props and set for their chosen play in the school's auditorium. Will, Taranee, and Irma painted and built the props as Hay Lin made the costumes, with Cornelia and Jade testing out the costumes she already finished. Cornelia was dressed as the Nymph with a pink dress that looked like something a princess would war, while Jade wore a suit that looked pretty close to Shendu's appearance, seeing that Jade had seen him up close and personal, it was pretty easy to remember what he looked like.
"Hey check me out!" Jade stood on a box as she put on an impression of the Fire Demon. "I am Shendu, the Ultimate Evil! Bow to me or perish! Muh ha ha ha ha ha!"
"I feel like you're enjoying this way too much, Jade." Taranee pointed out nervously.
"Seriously, didn't he try to kill you and Jackie like, multiple times?" Will asked.
"Well yeah, he's evil, but the dude had some serious edge." Jade said.
"Well, the villain role is covered, but we only have three dragons, I need one more." Hay Lin said as she brought in the dragon-masks she just finished. "Taranee?"
"Nuh uh! I get stage fright." Taranee said.
"Stage fright, height fright, imported cheese fright." Irma teased.
"Cornelia?" Hay Lin asked.
"You cannot put this face under a dragon mask!" Cornelia said arrogantly, only to give a scream as Jade in her Shendu-costume spooked her from behind.
"Bow to me you shallow little fairy princess or I shall burn you alive!" Jade put on her Shendu impression as everyone else laughed at Cornelia's dismay.
"Hey, here's the crystal. What do you think?" Taranee made her own prop of the Heart of Kandrakar, which was basically a decorated lightbulb with a switch at the bottom.
"So, wait, who's gonna be Lo Pei then?" Jade asked.
"I'll do it." Will said. "I mean, the dragon I'm playing is gonna end up sealed in a mountain, and later turned into a crystal, and they're never seen together, I can play two roles."
"Alright but be sure you do him right." Jade told her friend. "I was pals with him and he was all kinds of cool."
"How can you be friends with him if he lived nine hundred years ago?" Cornelia asked.
"I used the Rat Talisman on a statue of him to bring him to life. Long story." Jade summed up.
Suddenly, Blunk nearly fell down from the ceiling but held onto a rope to prevent himself from hitting the ground. Though they were somewhat surprised to see him, they were even more surprised to see him dressed up like an angel with a white rob, blonde wig, and wings.
"Blunk?!" Will questioned.
"Flap! Flap! Blunk cute birdy!" The Passling pretended to be a bird.
"Get that off him." Will said in an exhausted tone as Hay Lin and Jade got the wings and wig off him.
Blunk looked around at the auditorium and realized that the girls were setting up for a play. "A play? Love plays! Blunk be prince!" He put on a cloth to act as a cape as he put on a prince-impression. "People, worship Blunk!"
"There's no prince in the play." Irma told him.
"But we do need another dragon, right? It doesn't have to be a tall dragon." Taranee pointed out. "And he's in a costume and mask anyway."
"Works for me." Hay Lin shrugged.
"Knew real dragon once." Blunk said. "Wanted egg back, bit uncle's butt off, never the same."
"Okay, too much information!" Cornelia gagged as the other girls, including Jade, just looked wierded out.
Later that Evening
Caleb walked down an alley as he kicked a can out of frustration. Though he was grateful for the girls' and Jackie's assistance, it was annoying that he still felt like he had to ask permission. "I'm a rebel leader, I don't have time to ask a bunch of girls or old men for permission." He grumbled.
"Caleb!"
The young rebel gave a startled gasp as he saw Blunk in his dragon costume for the upcoming play, sitting on a dumpster with a bag of literal trash in his hands.
"What? Only Blunk."
"What are you wearing?" Caleb questioned.
"Blunk rehearse while collecting treasure. Blunk star. Blunk have message." The Passling relayed.
"From who?" Caleb lowered himself, as Blunk got his attention.
"Big blue thing tell Blunk cousin, Blunk tell you." The Passling informed.
"Big blue…" Caleb's eyes widened. "Vathek?!"
"Seal of Phobos found, at Torus Filney. What blue thing said." Blunk told him.
"The Seal of Phobos?!" The young rebel exclaimed in shock. Never once did he think he'd hear news like this. "This could be the news that turns the whole war around!"
"What is Seal anyway?" Blunk asked as he honestly never heard of it before.
"It's a small metal talisman with a royal crest." Caleb explained. "It has the power to open anything that's closed, to reveal anything that's hidden, it can even split holes in the Vale."
"Uh oh. Blunk out of business."
"Trust you to see the big picture." Caleb muttered sarcastically before continuing. "It was stolen from Phobos twelve years ago, by a mysterious woman who captured the true heir to the throne, in order to protect the infant and used the Seal to cross over to Earth. Phobos has been searching for the Seal ever since. With it, his powers would be fearsome. But if I had it, I can cross the veil anytime I wanted." Caleb turned to Blunk. "The next portal that opens, tell me before you tell Chan and the Guardians, I can't afford to ask for permission with this."
Blunk gave a thumps up, a fly soon landed on his thump, which the Passling promptly ate.
The Next Night
It was Drama Night, and the auditorium was already beginning to fill with the girls' families as Jade, Will, Cornelia, Irma, Hay Lin, and Taranee were backstage as they all had their respective costumes on, save for Taranee who would be acting as the narrator for the play. The bespectacled girl looked out past the curtain as the others were getting ready.
"Then I saw 'you four are traitors! Be imprisoned forever!'" Jade rehearsed one last time as she had her Shendu-costume on.
"Wait there's only three, where's you-know-what?" Cornelia groaned as Blunk was missing. But he quickly arrived in his dragon-suit in the nick of time.
"Sorry late! Had to show Caleb… something." Blunk said.
Meridian – Torus Filney
A man in a robe with a wooden cane led Caleb up a hill, but the young rebel was starting to become impatient.
"How far until we get there?"
"Not far." The man answered. "You are the second to express interest in this metal talisman. Six years ago, I found it. Is it valuable?"
"You'll be well-rewarded." Caleb told him.
A sinister smile echoed from the man, much to Caleb's confusion and later shock as he was surrounded by a puff of blue smoke before he shed his disguise and revealed his true form as the Dark Chi Wizard.
"I already am, young rebel."
"Daolon Wong!" Caleb exclaimed when suddenly his feet were entangled by streams of sand and he felt himself being pulled into the ground. Already, his lower half was completely sunk.
"So young and so head-strong." Wong began to monologue. "The first sign of a possible advantage over your enemy, you don't hesitate to jump regardless of the risks. Children these days are so reckless." Caleb was almost completely sunk. "You cannot escape, these sands were enchanted by my own magics and will consume any and all that treed their path. And while you suffer an agonizing death for years to come… I will find the traitor in our ranks that have passed this news onto you." Wong laughed as he enveloped himself in dark blue smoke and vanished just before Caleb sunk completely into the magic quicksand.
Earth – Sheffield Institute
The audience waited for the play to begin, but it seemed as though it was on hold for the moment, something that made Jackie, Tohru, Uncle, and Viper concerned as they sat in the audience as well.
"Shouldn't they be starting by now?" Viper wondered.
"Maybe their having trouble getting ready?" Tohru suggested.
Jackie's eyes narrowed slightly. "Something is wrong."
"Jackie, Jin, all of you."
They all turned to see Yan Lin looking towards them with a concerned expression. "Yan Lin?" Uncle asked.
"Come backstage, now." The elderly former Guardian said in an urgent tone. Hearing that tone, they knew something was wrong as they got up from their seats and followed Yan Lin backstage where the girls and Blunk were getting ready.
"Girls! Girls! Caleb is in danger!" Yan Lin got their attention. "He went to Meridian and left me this note!" Will took the note immediately and read it along with Jackie.
"The Seal of Phobos?" Will questioned, never hearing that before.
"What the evil prince lost a key or something?" Jade questioned as well.
"The Seal is a magical talisman that can open anything, including portals in the Veil." Yan Lin told them.
"Seriously?!" Irma, Jade, and Taranee questioned at the same time.
"And Phobos has found it?" Jackie questioned urgently.
"No, he hasn't." Uncle was able to put the pieces together very quickly. "If Phobos had found seal, he would not have waited to acquire it."
"Yeah, this has 'trap' written all over it." Viper, being a former super thief, could recognize a set-up a mile away.
"How could Caleb have gone to Meridian though?" Tohru asked. "He would have had to use a portal and…"
All eyes set upon Blunk as he tried to walk away while giving an innocent whistle, only for Jackie to grab him by his costume and look at him with a disappointed expression.
"Blunk." All the girls practically growled.
"Oops… Ow!" The Passling felt a smack on his forehead where Uncle delivered a dope-slap.
"We have to go!" Will stated.
"We can't walk out on our own play! We'll get expelled!" Hay Lin quickly told them.
"No, you won't." Jackie told the girls. "Because I'm going to Meridian."
"Wha… by yourself!?" Cornelia exclaimed as she and the other girls, aside from Jade, looked in surprise.
"Of course not, I'm going with him to." Viper said immediately.
"As am I." Tohru added.
"Uncle will go as well. Magic must defeat magic."
"But… you guys aren't Guardians…" Taranee said.
"I don't know if you noticed kid; but between a super-ex-thief, a massive sumo, a martial artist whose skills probably rival even Bruce Lee, and an old wizard… I think we can handle ourselves." Viper said with a confident grin.
"We've all dealt with this sort of thing before, we should be fine." Tohru added.
"I'll go to, just in case." Yan Lin added.
"Grandma?!" Hay Lin did not expect to hear that. "But…"
"I may not be a Guardian anymore, but this old broad still has a few tricks up her sleeve." Yan Lin grinned.
"Agreed, and we'll stop by Section 13 and grab the Talismans." Jackie said. "You just say focused on your play, leave Caleb to us. Will, where did you find the portal?" Jackie asked as he took out the map.
Will took out the Heart of Kandrakar and held it over the map where it showed the portal, it wasn't too far from their location. "Doesn't look too far from here. In fact, it's not that far from Section 13 either."
"Good." Jackie nodded. "Let's go." With that; he, Viper, Uncle, Tohru, and Yan Lin ran out the exit door in the back of the room, while most of the girls looked in concern.
"You really think they're gonna be okay?" Irma wondered.
"Guys, he's Jackie-flipping-Chan!" Jade stated. "He's taken on demons with his bare hands! Plus, he's got Viper, Tohru, and Uncle! And even Hay Lin's grandma! Combine the almost complete J-Team with the Talismans, pretty sure they can take whatever Phobos throws at them!"
"Jade's right, we've seen them all in action before. They can handle it." Will put her faith in them; and with Will and Jade's words, the other girls decided they put their faith in them as well. "Now, let's get this play over with."
The curtains opened up as the show was about to begin.
Meridian
After making a quick stop at Section 13, Jackie's group had gathered all thirteen of the Talismans as they passed through the portal and into Meridian.
"So, this is Meridian? Yeah, not exactly a tropical paradise." Viper observed as she had donned her titular cat-suit.
"Captain Black has a team of agents outside this portal to make sure no monsters pass through, but we should still move quickly." Jackie told the group.
"Torus Filney shouldn't be far from here. Just up past that hill." Yan Lin pointed them in the direction they needed to go. With that, they quickly made their way up the hill towards their destination.
The group had ran to the top of the hill and spotted so many ruined houses and fences, where they could barely make out people hiding in the houses. As they continued to walk, Uncle suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he got a case of the willies. Right when that happened however, a tentacle of sand wrapped around his ankle and began to pull him into the ground.
"Aiya!" He shouted, getting everyone's attention.
"Sensei!
"Uncle!" Jackie and Tohru were the first to run and help pull him out of the sand just as Viper used the Pig Talisman to blast heat-beams from her eyes at the moving sand and blast it back.
"The hell was that?" Viper questioned as Jackie and Tohru helped Uncle.
"Dark magic resides here." Uncle observed. "This is not a normal occurrence."
"A boy fell in the sands."
The group turned around to see two children, one boy and one girl, having frightened and despaired looks on their faces.
"This boy, did he have brown hair and green eyes?" Jackie asked, as the boy nodded.
"If there's quicksand here why don't you just move away?" Viper asked as well.
"It moves…" The girl said. "It has been moving since that bad wizard used his magic on it."
Uncle gave a gasp. "Daolon Wong."
"Our brother Michael fell in too. That was a long time ago." The girl said as her younger brother clung to her even more, no doubt missing his brother.
All of them had concerned expressions as Yan Lin was the first to kneel to their level. "Do not worry. These people will do everything in their power to stop this sand-creature."
Earth - Sheffield Institute
"Nine hundred years ago, the demon lord Shendu ruled over the land with an iron fist… or well, claw." Taranee narrated as Jade dressed in her Shendu-costume sat on her throne.
"This land is mine! All hail my grand and glorious power!" Jade gave an evil laugh to add onto her performance.
"However, there were four dragons that stood against this oppressive tyrant." Taranee continued to narrate as the four 'dragons', Will, Irma, Hay Lin, and Blunk walked onto the scene. As the play continued however, Will looked towards the audience and saw that Jackie's spot was still empty; though she put her faith in him, it didn't mean that she wouldn't be worried about him.
Meridian – Torus Filney
The two children had provided Uncle with a bowl as he took out a bag filled with spell ingredients and got to work.
"Sensei, if Daolon Wong used his own magic to bring the sands of this village to life, perhaps you could use your own magic to find a counter-spell." Tohru suggested.
"Perhaps, but Uncle will need time to prepare spell." Uncle said.
"Not to mention we have no idea what's down there, or if Caleb's even alive." Viper said.
"I'll see what I can find." Jackie said as he took out the Sheep Talisman. The group knew what he was planning as Jackie activated the Talisman's power of astral projection. His physical body fell as Viper caught it and gently laid it down while Jackie's invisible astral form hovered in the sky. He then dove into the sandpit to see what he could find.
In his astral form, Jackie was the equivalent of a ghost; he could pass through anything and was unseen by any and all eyes, with the exception of other spirits or astral forms. Jackie's astral form had passed through the sand with no issue as he found himself in what appeared to be an underground cavern that stretched out in all directions with multiple stone pillars stretching from the top to the bottom of a sandy floor. Jackie looked around and gasped once he saw a skeleton embedded in one pillar.
Jackie gave a mournful sigh, realizing that people had indeed died here before he flew even further and spotted several other people; men, women, children even, many were on the verge of starving to death but still very much alive. He even found the one he was looking for.
"Caleb!" Jackie exclaimed, but due to being in his astral form, the young rebel couldn't see or hear him. Confirming that he was alive, he flew back up to the surface and allowed his astral form to return to his physical body, enabling him to wake up.
"Jackie, what did you find?" Viper asked.
"Caleb is alive, as are many people down there." Jackie said. "We have to save them."
"Then go, I'll stay with Jin and help him finish the spell." Yan Lin said.
"Agreed." Jackie nodded.
"Everyone stand back." Tohru took out the Monkey Talisman and used its power to transform into a massive hawk with an enormous wingspan as he appeared big enough to carry at least two dozen people. The children were briefly startled, but Jackie and Viper didn't hesitate to climb on as the giant Hawk-Tohru flew straight up and then straight down into the living sandpit.
Hawk-Tohru continued to fly through the cavern, where he and his friends quickly found the young rebel. "Caleb!" Jackie got his attention.
"Be careful! Don't touch the ground or the walls!" Caleb warned them.
"Yeah, we figured." Viper pointed out.
Caleb saw the disappointed look on Jackie's face. "I know, I was tricked. I'm sorry, just get me out of here."
"Don't move." Jackie said as he used the Dragon Talisman to shoot a condensed beam of fire to cut out Caleb from the pillar. He and Viper grabbed him and put him on the back of Hawk-Tohru.
"There are other people in here, we have to get them all out of here!" Caleb stated.
"Heads up!" Viper warned as Hawk-Tohru could barely dodge multiple sand tentacles lashing out at them.
"We're too big a target" Jackie stated. "Get all the people out, I will run interference!"
"Alright, just be careful Jackie." Viper said to him as he held the Dragon, Rooster, and Rabbit Talismans.
"I will be." Jackie assured as he jumped off and used the combined Rooster and Rabbit talismans to fly before he shot multiple blasts of fire from the Dragon Talisman at the ground to shake up the entire cavern. Jackie could have sworn that he heard an angered and painful roar as he looked down in surprise to see the sand take shape to reveal a large and angry face. In addition, multiple sand tentacles shot out of the ground, ceiling, and walls as they loomed over Jackie with deadly intent.
"Bad day."
Earth – Sheffield Institute
The play continued pretty smoothly as all the actors were in-character with their respective roles, even Blunk who was urged to remain silent, after a brief bribe from Jade saying she'd give him some doughnuts if he didn't speak, which he accepted.
"I urge you, all mighty Dragons, help me end this cursed famine upon the land of which Shendu has soiled with his evil." Cornelia in her role as Xing Jin pleaded with the four dragons.
"Moved by the gentle nature of the nymph, as well as the suffering of the people, the dragons agreed to help her." Taranee narrated. "Two dragons used their fire-breath to boil the ocean, as the others used their wings to help lift it to the skies."
Jade, who was off-stage as Shendu didn't have a role this scene, moved some sticks back-stage to motion some fire-props as Will and Blunk pretended to breath fire; as Hay Lin and Irma lifted their arms to act as wings as Jade pulled on some string to move the fake carboard clouds.
"Rain fell onto the valley and the drought had ended." Taranee narrated as she moved a bit back-stage to drop a painted backdrop of a rainy day with green grass and colorful flowers.
Meridian – Torus Filney
Uncle continued to try and prepare the spell as he and Yan Lin both felt the ground shake. "Ooh, someone's having a party down there." Yan Lin injected some humor into the situation.
"Aiya!" Uncle exclaimed. "I cannot prepare counter-spell! Without knowing how Daolon Wong brought sand to life, Uncle cannot prepare a proper defense!"
"Then perhaps we should try a different approach." Yan Lin suggested. "I know how you always say, 'magic must defeat magic', but that doesn't mean magic is the only way to defeat magic."
"What do you mean?" Uncle asked.
"Our enemy is living sand, and there are typically two different ways to defeat an enemy like that." Yan Lin explained. "The first is usually with water to solidify it and turn it into mud, or with intense heat in which the sand will become glass, which is much more fragile and easier to break. And seeing how we have two Talismans that have heat-based powers, perhaps the later method would work best for us."
"A good idea Yan Lin, but the sand is alive and moving." Uncle countered. "It will not stay still long enough for us to glass it."
Yan Lin saw Uncle had a point, but an idea soon came to her. "I can hold it still." That caught Uncle's attention as Yan Lin continued. "With my air powers, I can create a twister than can keep the sand together long enough for Jackie and the others to use the Dragon and Pig Talismans to stop it."
"But you are no longer connected to an Auremere." Uncle protested with worry in his voice. "Using your own abilities as a former Guardian will drain your chi… your very life-force."
"An occupational hazard." Yan Lin brushed off with her usual grin before getting serious. "But I'm certain your Chi-Magic will provide me with enough of a boost, so it doesn't become fatal. I may be spunky, but I'm not that daring." Uncle still looked with worry, as Yan Lin continued. "Jin, I know you are worried and that's sweet, but I know we can do this." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Just like old times."
Uncle sighed as a small reminiscent smile appeared on his face. "Just like old times. I will do it, but I need a strand of your hair."
Yan Lin chuckled. "Asking a fair maiden for her hair? You've become quite the gentleman in your old age Jin."
"Just give Uncle hair." Uncle's eyelids lowered as Yan Lin plucked a strand of her old hair, which Uncle dropped in his bowl of magic potion which began to glow as Uncle began to prepare the proper spell.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao…."
Jackie flew at high speeds to avoid the sand tentacles lashing out at him. As he flew, he also shot blasts of fire from the Dragon Talismans to blast the sand tentacles back, as well as actively try to destroy the pillars in the area in order to keep the attention of this living sandpit focused squarely on him.
"That is right… keep following me…" Jackie muttered as he continued to fly with more sand-tentacles emerging from every corner to lash out at him.
Meanwhile; Viper and Caleb continued to ride on Hawk-Tohru as they pulled a woman from a pillar, with Caleb using the Ox Talisman for added strength to do it as quickly as possible without disturbing the living sandpit. So far, they already had ten people in total.
"I think that's all of them." Caleb said. "We've searched every corner of this pit."
"Good, because I think Sandboy's noticed us." Viper said as she saw a giant angry sand-face form on the wall closest to them. It moaned as more sand tentacles shot from the wall, which Viper was quick to shoot down with heat-beam eyes from the Pig Talisman and Caleb used the Ox Talisman's strength to punch any that got too close. "Tohru! Get us out of here!"
Hawk-Tohru gave an affirmative caw as it flew away from the tentacles. However, as it flew, the entire cavern appeared to collapse as sand began to shake and tear apart everything, causing more sand to form as more tentacles formed to try and lash out and catch up to its escaping prey.
Jackie had heard the commotion going on and quickly flew back the way he came with the Rabbit and Rooster Talismans as his side of the cavern collapsed itself to produce more sand and pursue after him with more sand tendrils as well. It wasn't long before Jackie met up with his friends and the people they rescued.
"Jackie, we got everyone! Let's get out of here!" Viper told him.
"Right!" Jackie agreed as he and Hawk-Tohru flew straight upward as he and Viper both shot blasts of fire and heat-beam eyes respectively at the ceiling to blast a hole straight to the surface, which they quickly flew out with a maelstrom of sand right behind them.
By the time they made it outside, a geyser of sand had blasted them out as they all fell to the hard ground, Tohru turned back to normal as he, Jackie, Viper, and all the people they rescued looked to see the massive cluster of living sand take shape to form a massive humanoid monster which gave an inhuman moan and was ready to destroy those that had invaded its space and stole away its meals.
All the people screamed and panicked as Jackie, Viper, and Tohru picked themselves up and were more than ready to fight back. But that proved unnecessary as they saw a bright green glow coming from Uncle and Yan Lin right underneath the giant sand-monster.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." Uncle continued to chant as he held onto Yan Lin's shoulders, channeling a great deal of Chi-Magic into her body. Her own body began to glow with a green aura as the Chi-Magic enhanced her life-force and her own natural elemental control over air. Yan Lin raised her hands and created a large tornado, one that was powerful enough to suck in the sand-monster and keep it trapped within the vortex.
"Jackie! Use Dragon and Pig Talismans! Now!" Uncle exclaimed.
No time to argue or protest, Jackie shot a continuous blast of fire from the Dragon Talisman as Viper mirrored his action with heat-beam eyes from the Pig Talisman. Both attacks hit the twister as the fire and heat-energy mixed in and superheated the sand and wind to proportional levels. Suddenly, the over-heated twister exploded in a bright flash of light; causing everyone in the area to shield their eyes.
When the light subsided, everyone looked in shock to see a large tornado made entirely out of glass standing in place of the sand monster. It then tipped over and fell backwards away from everyone before it landed on the ground and shattered in the pit where the vile sand creature once stood. Once it was confirmed that everyone was safe, all the people present and those from the nearby village all cheered as they were reunited with lost loved ones. Even the two children from before had a heart-warming reunion with their brother Michael, something that made Jackie smile.
Jackie felt his own hand being held as Viper looked at him with a smile. "Nice job, we should team up more often."
Jackie had a small blush on his cheeks as he only nodded.
Yan Lin almost fell back in exhaustion, but Uncle was able to catch her and Tohru quickly ran up to them. "Miss Lin, are you alright?"
"I'll be fine." Yan Lin took a few deep breaths. "Not as young as I used to be."
"But still full of energy. Uncle approves." Uncle nodded, causing Yan Lin to chuckle and even Tohru to smile.
Earth – Sheffield Institute
"You have gone too far Shendu!" Will, in her character and outfit as Lo Pei declared as she held the prop crystal in her hands while facing Jade in her Shendu-costume. "I will not allow you to harm these lands anymore!"
"Then face me, Wizard! Your cheap tactics are no match for my own dark powers!" Jade challenged in her role.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." Will made the chant, and while it was intended for only acting, the Heart of Kandrakar itself, while being hidden in her own pocket underneath her costume, began to glow green as opposed to its usual pink. And as she chanted, Irma turned on a switch backstage to activate bright lights to shine a flash on the audience and made it look like a bright spell had been casted.
When Irma pulled the switch down, Jade had disappeared off-stage and, in her place, a backdrop of a picture of Shendu in his statue form had appeared in front of the audience.
"With the power of the crystal, Shendu was stripped of his dark powers and his body encased in stone. And there he would remain for all time." Taranee narrated. "And though Xing Jin and the noble Dragons are no longer among us, their sacrifice will forever be remembered by the descendants of this now-free-land."
The play had come to an end as Will, Jade, Irma, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Taranee, and Blunk (still in his costume with his face unseen by the audience) got on stage as everyone in the audience gave a standing ovation as they literally stood from their seats and clapped at the performance they put on. Will and Jade looked around and were slightly surprised to see Jackie had made it back, along with Viper, Yan Lin, Tohru, Uncle, and even Caleb, all of whom were clapping as well. So, with smiles, the group held hands and did a group bow.
Moments later; most of the audience had already left as Principle Knickerbocker gave her congratulations to the girls. "I must say girls, that was one of the best performances in any drama night we've seen in this school!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Knickerbocker." Will smiled.
"So, the costumes were good?" Hay Lin hopped.
"They were phenomenal, as well as each of your performances, especially yours Jade." Knickerbocker told her. "With such emotion in your performance, it was almost as if you knew the character you were playing."
"Yeah… almost…" Jade chuckled nervously as Knickerbocker had no idea just how true that was.
"Excellent job to all of you. I look forward to your next performance." The principle said as she left the stage.
"Don't hold your breath." Irma muttered as they probably weren't going to do another play after this.
"Well, I actually had fun." Cornelia said. "So, I wouldn't mind doing another play."
"As long as I get to play the bad guy, I'm good." Jade added.
"You're enjoying that way too much, Jade." Taranee pointed out.
"Ahem." Blunk got all their attention. "Blunk love play, but Jade-girl promise Blunk dougnuts."
All the girls rolled their eyes in response. Five minutes later, they all went outside to the parking lot where they saw Caleb getting quite the scolding from the adults in their group, particularly Uncle.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Caleb rubbed his forehead as Uncle had dope-slapped him there three times.
"What was Rebel-boy thinking?!" Uncle exclaimed. "If Seal of Phobos had been found, Dark Prince would have taken it immediately! He would not have waited!"
"Yeah, if you told me what was going, I would have seen it for the set-up that it was." Viper added.
"Okay… I get and… I'm sorry." Caleb said as his forehead was still sore.
"You better be! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you!?" Cornelia scolded as she and the others joined them. Her eyes widened realizing what she just said. "Well, we were all worried but… I wasn't especially… I just…"
"Someone's got it bad." Irma whispered to Jade with a knowing grin.
"Oh definitely." Jade mirrored Irma's grin with her own.
"I'm glad you guys made it back in one piece." Will told Jackie and the others.
"So are we, but it wasn't just Caleb we rescued." Jackie responded.
"As it turned out, Daolon Wong had enchanted the sands around Torus Filney, and many of its villagers had been trapped there and would have remained trapped if we hadn't been there to rescue them." Tohru said.
"Which would mean that Caleb's lack in judgment actually brought some good." Yan Lin found the silver lining.
"Yeah…" Though Caleb was still ashamed he let himself be tricked like this, it still felt good to help all those people. "And on the bright side, Phobos still doesn't have the Seal."
Meridian
"The traitor will be unmasked." Cedric hissed in his humanoid serpent form as he spoke to Lothar in the castle-town. "I want a list of all who left the castle yesterday."
Lothar saluted before walking away, all the while neither of them noticed that in the sewers just underneath their very feat, the Seal of Phobos continued to lain where it had been lost more than a decade ago, just waiting for someone to pick it up and put its incredible and dangerous powers to use.
Done.
I know this chapter doesn't seem like much, but we have now confirmed the existence of the Seal of Phobos, but don't expect it to make another appearance till much later in the story. We also got a pretty cool fight with Jackie, Tohru, Viper, and Uncle, and even Yan Lin against the monstrous Sandpit and it looks like he's been destroyed (for now, but we all know who comes back to bring the monster back to life).
We also got a little bit of foreshadowing in regards to the Oni, which are gonna show up in this story, but not till around the half-way point of Season 1.
But I believe the most important thing to take from this chapter is the origins of the Heart of Kandrakar. It was created by a Nymph and four Noble Dragons and was originally used by Lo Pei to defeat Shendu nine centuries ago and imprison him to stone. Bet you guys didn't see that coming, did ya? Anyway, I hope you like this story and I will have the next chapter up soon as it is actually based off a JCA episode as opposed to another WITCH one. See you soon. :)