Hi everyone, thanks again for waiting. So, here we are actually dealing with the first JCA episode featuring the WITCH characters in this story; something a bit light-hearted to take a break from the main conflict against Phobos at the moment. So, without further delay, let us begin.
Pleasure Cruise
Jackie and Jade were at the docks as the archeologist was overseeing a transfer of a large and valuable artifact towards a cargo ship.
"Slowly, slowly." Jackie told the forklift driver as he was carrying a box with a large golden dragon statue towards the ship. "The museum will be very pleased to hear the Golden Dragon will return to Hong Kong."
"Uh Earth to Jackie, it's going to London!" Jade stated. "This is the Atlantic Ocean, not the Pacific."
"Those in Hong Kong felt it best for the statue to take a detour." Jackie explained. "First, it was transferred all the way here from San Francisco, then it'll be shipped to London via boat, before taking a flight to Hong Kong and finally arriving at its destination."
"Yesh, overkill much?" Jade question. "I know it's a large dragon made out of solid gold and all but… seriously?"
"Maintaining security has been incredibly difficult." Jackie continued to explain. "There were at least three attempts to steal it, even on route here to Heatherfield."
"Uh… make that four!" Jade pointed toward an incoming helicopter, causing Jackie to gasp as he saw the helicopter had a hook via a cable that extend downward from its bottom. The hook was just about to latch onto the box containing the Golden Dragon, but Jackie suddenly leapt onto the box to kick the hook back.
"Quickly! Quickly!" He told the forklift driver who drove away as fast as he could with the precious cargo, as well as Jackie still on top.
"Jackie!" Jade called out in alarm as the helicopter flew back in for another attempt, but instead of the artifact, it snagged Jackie by the back of his belt and began to pull him away.
However, completely unbeknownst to Jackie and Jade, the pilot of the helicopter was none other than the deadly martial artist known as Hak Foo. He saw on the screen of the helicopter that Jackie was hooked, much to his surprise.
"Chan?!" Hak Foo exclaimed before he growled. However, Hak Foo noticed the tall buildings in the city before an idea came to mind. "Black Tiger Scrapes Gum Off Shoe!" Hak Foo exclaimed as he flew the helicopter higher towards a tall building, attempting to smash and/or scrape Jackie off the helicopter.
Jackie saw the building he was heading toward and realized what the helicopter's pilot was attempting to do. "Bad day! Bad day!" He quickly unbuckled his belt and began to fall. "BAD DAAAAAY!" Fortunately, he fell close toward the building and was able to grab onto a flagpole to avoid an otherwise fatal fall. Jackie gave a sigh as he saw the helicopter fly away, but his relief turned into fear as the flagpole couldn't support his weight and fell off the side of the building.
It would have been a very hard landing, but Jackie was able to grab one end of the flag and hold onto it and the pole as the flag itself acted similar to a parachute and slowed Jackie's descent where he was able to land safely on the ground, much to the confusion of the citizens around him.
"Uh… the elevator is too slow…" Jackie laughed nervously.
Uncle's Rare Finds.
While Jackie would see to a change in plans in regard to the Golden Dragon; Jade returned to her Uncle's shop where she told all her friends, even Yan Lin, what had happened while Tohru and a reluctant Caleb were helping Uncle with inventory.
"Cantone vases?" Uncle asked as he held an abacus.
"Eight, sensei." Tohru responded while Caleb counted chopsticks on a mat on the floor.
"You guys should have seen me!" Jade said to the other girls. "Rescuing the Dragon! Chasing off the bad guys!"
"Really? You chased them off? By yourself?" Will questioned almost skeptically with a playful tone in her voice.
"Er, well I mean Uncle Jackie helped to." Jade responded.
"And by that, I think you mean he did all the work, right?" Irma joked.
"Wish we could have been there." Hay Lin said. "It would have been fun to see."
"Eh, it be more fun to beat them up ourselves." Cornelia stated.
"Now, now, girls." Yan Lin said. "I know how much fun it seems being a Guardian, but we should leave normal villains to people like the police."
"Well, I mean we did fight the Dark Hand…and they're pretty normal." Taranee pointed out.
"The Dark Hand had magic talismans, so I wouldn't count them as normal." Will replied.
"Less talk! Uncle busy counting!" Uncle told the girls as he turned to Caleb. "How many chopsticks?"
"Looks like fifteen… OW!" Caleb felt his forehead where Uncle delivered his titular dope-slap.
"Fifteen?! Chopsticks always come in pairs! Count again!"
Caleb groaned. "I don't see why I have to do inventory in some old shop."
"Uncle has zero-free-loader policy!" Uncle stated. "You want to stay in Uncle's shop, then Rebel boy must work!"
"It's either here, or at Grandma's restaurant. You're pick." Hay Lin teased playfully as Caleb sighed in exhaustion.
"So, what happened to that dragon-thing anyway?" Will asked Jade.
"Thanks to Uncle Jackie and I, it's loaded up and heading for…"
"No, it's not Jade." Jackie interrupted as he had just entered the shop. "The cargo ship was not a secure enough transport. The museum decided that with the thieves still at large, the Golden Dragon will instead travel to London on the last place anyone would think to look: a cruise ship. I will accompany it"
"You're going on a cruise while we're stuck here?!" Cornelia questioned. "Lucky."
"Yeah, that's a real eleven on the suck-o-meter." Irma grunted as well.
"Yes, the only problem is, Section 13 pulled some strings to help give me ten tickets." Jackie said in a playful manner. "What am I going to do with the extra nine?"
That seemed to get the attention of all six girls. "Wait… Uncle Jackie are you saying…?" Jade asked with a smile, to which Jackie only responded with a smile and a nod, which was all the confirmation the girls needed.
"We're going on a cruise?!" Will exclaimed with a wide grin.
"Seriously?!" Irma also exclaimed excitedly.
"First you volunteer to chaperonage for our school's ski-trip, now this?!" Taranee was about as excited as everyone else.
"Premium spa-treatment, here I come!" Cornelia was just as excited as well.
"Thank you so much Uncle Jackie!" Hay Lin exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around him in the form of a hug.
Jackie laughed. "I figured that with all the stress you've been dealing with recently, you could use a break. I already called each of your parents, and they agreed on the condition that I bring more than a few chaperones than just myself: Miss Lin will be joining us as well."
"Aw, well aren't you a sweet boy." Yan Lin teased as she playfully pinched Jackie's cheek. "I can't wait to stretch out these old bones with some shuffle boarding."
"Caleb, Uncle, and Tohru will be joining us as well." Jackie revealed.
"Bah. Uncle does not cruise! Uncle does inventory!" Uncle protested.
"What exactly is a cruise, anyway?" Caleb asked.
"It's basically a party-boat where you relax and take a vacation." Irma explained. "Oh wait, you probably don't have vacations in Meridian, do you?" She joked.
"I know what a vacation is!" Caleb protested. "I just don't feel like I should take one, considering Phobos is still ruling over Meridian, and his right-hand-snake is here still looking for the heir."
Jade gave a slight scoff. "Just tell your pals to hide out in the Infinite City. I mean that place is literally endless and Phobos has no idea where it is."
"And while we are away, Captain Black will keep an eye on things here." Jackie assured Caleb. "We already have a few locations narrowed down to where we believe Cedric may be hiding."
"See Caleb, they got this covered." Cornelia told him. "Come on, you've been fighting for your life for years! I think you deserve at least one weekend to relax and not worry about fighting!"
Caleb sighed as they had reasonable points, he even saw a look in Cornelia's eyes that was slightly pleading that he should join them, and that seemed enough to convince him. "Alright, I suppose I could use some time off."
This caused Cornelia to smile, while the other girls had knowing smirks on their faces.
"Ten bucks says she's gonna go all Titanic with him." Will whispered to Taranee.
"Oh definitely." Taranee whispered back as the both snickered.
"Rebel boy can go, but Uncle will stay." The old Chi-Wizard insisted.
"Jin, when was the last time you took the time to relax on a real vacation?" Yan Lin asked him.
Uncle went to his abacas. "Let me see… three, four, carry the one… never. So why start now?"
"I'm fine with him staying." Cornelia said, only to get elbowed slightly by Will.
"Oh, come on Uncle, it's gonna be wicked fun!" Jade said to the old man.
"It wouldn't be a real vacation without the whole family. Please Uncle." Hay Lin put on a pair of puppy dog eyes along with Jade.
"Aw Jin, how can you resist these faces?" Yan Lin teased as Jade and Hay Lin continued with their puppy-dog eyes.
"Aiya… puppy-dog-pout gets Uncle every time." He sighed in reluctance. "Fine. I'll go."
"Yes!" Jade pumped her fist.
"God help us all." Cornelia grumbled.
"I will stay here." Tohru said as he began to pick up a box and walk away.
"Okay, I get the old guy doesn't wanna go, but why you?" Irma asked as she and the other girls walked in front of him.
"I mean swimming pools, whale watching, all the shrimp you can eat…" Hay Lin began to list.
"I don't like sea food." Tohru pointed out.
"Well, there's also pizza, burgers, hot dogs, and ice cream." Will added.
"I… cannot travel on a ship. I get… seasick." Tohru admitted, much to the girls' surprise.
"Oh… well, that sucks." Irma said in sympathy.
"You don't strike me as the type to get seasick." Cornelia told Tohru.
"You know there is medicine you can take for that." Taranee said.
"I have tried. Nothing helps." Tohru replied.
Jade began to think before an idea popped into her head and she snapped her fingers. "Maybe not traditional medicine. Uncle Jackie, could we pop over the Section 13 and borrow the Horse Talisman?"
"What?" Jackie did not expect that sort of request.
"Hey yeah… that'd be perfect!" Hay Lin exclaimed. "We could cure his seasickness!"
"I mean if the Talisman can heal broken bones and even cure diseases, it could definitely work with something like that." Taranee seemed to agree.
"Girls, the Talismans are too dangerous…" Jackie tried to protest.
"Yeah; maybe the Dragon, Pig, or Ox ones." Irma responded. "But how is the Horse dangerous? You literally can't hurt anyone with that one."
"In fact, it does the opposite of hurting." Cornelia pointed out.
"Jackie, I know you're always saying we have to take this whole magic-thing responsibly." Will began. "But this to help a friend enjoy some time off. And like they said, the Horse Talisman heals, it can't do anything dangerous. I promise it's the only one were gonna need, we won't take any of the others."
"Please Uncle Jackie." Jade pleaded.
Jackie saw the fair points each of them made and acknowledged that in the short time each of them have been Guardians, they were already starting to act very responsible; even Jade was beginning to mature quite a bit. So, he decided to agree.
"Alright." He said, resulting in smiles from all the girls.
"Yes!" Jade and Hay Lin both exclaimed at the same time.
"But only the Horse Talisman." Jackie insisted.
"We promise." Will smiled.
"Looks like you're going with us after all big guy." Irma playfully nudged Tohru who could only smile, actually being excited to go on a cruise and not puke his guts out for once.
Meanwhile; at a junkyard in Heatherfield, Valmont sat at a desk as he was currently holding auditions for new henchmen to join him in rebuilding the Dark Hand. But so far, all the applicants he met have been less-than-promising, to put it mildly.
A pair of female gymnasts flipped in the air, jumping from junkpile-to-junkpile, so far, they seemed pretty talented. That is until they cartwheeled into each other and landed on the ground in failure.
"Next." Valmont brushed off.
Up next was a man dressed in rodeo-type gear, with a whip, surrounded by multiple lit-candles. He attempted to snap all the flames out with his whip, but only got himself tangled in his own whip before failing over.
"Next." Valmont ordered.
The last one appeared to be a large heavy-weight boxer. Using his fists alone, he punched a broken-down-fridge and crushed it with only a few punches. Valmont seemed impressed at first, that is until the freezer door fell off and a bee flew around the boxer.
"Get away! Get away!" He seemed quite terrified of the tiny insect, much to Valmont's frustration as he simply slid his hand down his face.
"Master." Hak Foo ran onto the scene.
"Ah, the Black Tiger returns." Valmont acknowledged. "But where is the Golden Dragon?"
"There was a… complication. Chan was there…" Hak Foo revealed, and that alone was more than enough to get Valmont angry as simply threw the table he was at to the side in rage.
"Unbelievable! How is that I, Valmont, mastermind of the Dark Hand, one of the most influential criminal syndicates in history has been reduced to this!?" He exclaimed, gesturing at the junkyard they were hiding out in. "Scavenging for scraps like some pick-pocket, and the only hired help I can possible acquire is nothing short of pathetic!" He continued to yell as he pointed to the four henchmen applicants, who only hung their heads down in shame. "I cannot believe that I'm about to say this but… I miss Finn, Ratso, and Chow."
"Yo dude!"
Valmont and Hak Foo looked up toward a junk-pile to see a trio of teenagers wearing black with skateboards. The one in the middle was blonde with a few zits on his face, the one on the right was slightly taller with purple-dyed hair and a nose ring, with the one on the left was the largest present with spiky black hair.
"You seen the rest, now eyeball the best!" The one in the middle stated as the three rolled down on their skateboards and were able to easily deal with each of the four applicants with only a select few punches and kicks before standing tall over the pile of the defeated applicants. The blonde even swapped the bee away with a snap of his fingers. "So, we got the gig or what?"
Now it would seem Valmont and Hak Foo were interested. "And just what might your name be, young man?" The crime lord asked.
"They call me StrikeMaster Ice!" The blonde in the middle, apparently the leader introduced himself. "This here's my crew: DJ Fist and MC Cobra." He introduced the large one and purple-haired one respectively.
"That technique…" Hak Foo noticed their marital art skills even with just a few moves. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"I was just a pizza delivery guy…" StrikeMaster Ice began to explain. "And it all went done one night. I delivered a medium-ham-and-pineapple to this weird old man, and the fool stiffed me on the tip. But he told me this wild legend about the Zu Monastery floating above the clouds in the Far East. The monks started teaching me their extreme top-secret style of martial arts: it was off the hook! But then I got hipped to what the monks really wanted with me. They wanted to teach me the ways of peace! Well, I needed that bunk like a pizza needs a soggy crust, yo! They expelled me and DJ Fist and MC Cobra for bad behavior, now we would have kicked their ba-buddies! But… we just weren't good enough to beat em yet."
"The Zu Monastery… I've heard of that place." Hak Foo revealed. "Their martial art techniques are among the strongest in the world. And they would have become the most lethal of assassins, if it weren't for their meaningless talk of peace!"
"Ah see, this fool here gets it!" MC Cobra stated with a grin.
"So, we got the gig, boss man?" StrikeMaster Ice asked Valmont once more.
Valmont was none-the-less intrigued as he had an impressed smirk. If Hak Foo believed their martial arts prowess was something to beware, then perhaps these three had even more potential than his previous Enforcers.
"Let us put your skills to the test first." Valmont said. "I have a job for the three of you, if you pull it off, then you're hired."
"So, what's the job, yo?" StrikeMaster Ice asked with an eager grin.
It was Friday afternoon, and all the heroes were getting ready to board the cruise-ship for their vacation. While Will and the others were saying goodbye to their parents, Jackie was in the cargo-hold near the bottom of the ship as he and the Captain placed the Golden Dragon in a secure vault, which the Captain closed by pressing the correct buttons for the passcode, and gave a secondary lock with a swipe of a keycard.
"Twelve inches thick and absolutely state-of-the-art. Most banks don't have a vault this secure." The Captain said as he handed Jackie his own personal keycard.
"I am sure that it is more security than what is necessary." Jackie said with an assuring smile.
However, Jackie apparently didn't notice a small airduct opening from the ceiling as a certain green Passling climbed out just as Jackie and the Captain left before falling on the floor.
Blunk rubbed his sore bottom as he looked at the vault. "Big vault… means big stuff!" He tried to pry it open, only for the vault door not to budge an inch. He pulled harder, and harder, until finally he accidentally launched himself backwards on the floor. Blunk could only groan in annoyance.
The cruise ship was then on its way as it made its way from Heatherfield and into the open Atlantic Ocean. Already, the most of guests were relaxing on the upper deck, either lying on lawn-chairs or swimming in the pool.
Caleb leaned back against the railing, glancing over his shoulder to the ocean as Cornelia walked up to him.
"So, what do you think, Rebel boy? Vacation enough for ya?" She asked him playfully.
"Well… the ocean's bigger than any other body of water I'd seen in Meridian." Caleb pointed out. "But it's really too soon for me to say anything right now."
"Oh, don't worry, before day's end, I'm gonna show you a whole new meaning of fun." Cornelia assured.
"One thing I don't understand is why there's a pool here when you can just swim in the ocean." Caleb stated.
"Because the pool doesn't have sharks in it." Irma said to him as she herself swam in the pool.
Meanwhile; Yan Lin leaned back on one lawn-chair, soaking in the sun with a pair of sunglasses, while Uncle just sat with crossed arms under an umbrella.
"Hey, did you guys get a look at what's on the brochure?" Hay Lin asked as she, Will, Taranee, and Jade walked up. "Midnight roller blading, video arcade…"
"All you can eat breakfast, dessert twenty-four-seven…" Jade listed excitedly as well.
"They even have a spa and massage table!" Will pointed out. "I'm telling ya, this cruise is gonna be the best!"
However, Uncle wasn't impressed. "Waste of time. Will not even be able to get a good cup of tea."
"He drinks tea?" A new voice spoke up. One that was unfamiliar to Caleb and the WITCH-girls, but one very familiar to Uncle and Jade, the former gasped in horror as he and everyone else turned to see a short and elderly Japanese woman in red walking onto the scene alongside Tohru. "Thought Bily-goats only eat tin cans."
"Aiya!" Uncle stood up in alarm. "Thought dragon locked in vault!"
"Who's that?" Taranee asked.
"That's Tohru's mom." Jade answered, though she was also surprised as well.
"His mom?!" Will, Hay Lin, and Taranee exclaimed at the same time, even Caleb and Cornelia looked in surprise, as did Irma as she climbed out of the pool.
"That's Tohru's mother?" Caleb questioned.
"Apparently." Cornelia said.
"You know, I always thought Tohru's mom would be… you know… big." Irma whispered to Will.
"Tohru, why is your mom…?" Jade asked the large sumo.
"Um… Jackie said it would be alright to have her join us." Tohru answered.
Will tried to be polite, considering this woman was the mother of a friend of hers as she introduced herself. "Hello Mrs. Tohru. My name is Will, and these are my friends; we're all friends with Tohru."
Mrs. Tohru smiled slightly. "Well, a pleasure to meet you. Nice to know my baby has a friend with good manners."
"By the way, you've raised an awesome son!" Hay Lin pointed out.
"Seriously, he's one of the coolest guys we've ever met." Irma agreed.
Mrs. Tohru tried to act humble. "Oh, you girls are going to make this old lady blush. My baby is such a lucky boy to make friends with such polite young ladies."
Cornelia snickered. "Here that, baby Tohru?" She joked to the large sumo who only blushed in embarrassment.
As Jackie walked up onto the deck, he noticed Uncle walking past him. "Where are you going Uncle?"
"To life-boat! Row back to shore!" Uncle responded, not wanting to spend any amount of time with Tohru's mother. She was probably the only person he couldn't stand, aside from Daolon Wong.
"Good!" Mrs. Tohru honestly felt the same way towards Uncle herself. "I have better things to do than hang around with junk-seller."
"Excuse me, Mrs. Tohru, but the artifacts Uncle sells aren't junk." Taranee pointed out, trying to sound as respectful while also defending the integrity of Uncle's shop. "Many of his artifacts are genuine from even the Han Dynasty."
Mrs. Tohru seemed quite impressed by the bespectacled girl. "Hmm, girl knows her history. I could get along with this one, perhaps you'd like to play a little mahjong?"
That caught Uncle's attention. "You play mahjong?"
"No, I win at mahjong." She approached Uncle almost challengingly. "Five-time All-Kyoto finalist!"
"Hong Kong Community Center Champion, 1955!" Uncle challenged back. "Beat you with hand tied behind back!"
"Ha! Big talker! How about you put your tiles where your mouth is!" Mrs. Tohru shot back.
Cornelia and Irma couldn't help but snicker. "Looks like someone's been 'out-Uncled'." Irma joked.
"Now, now you two." Yan Lin approached the bickering old duo. "This is a vacation, a time to relax and have fun. Oh, and by the way, I happen to be the Heatherfield Community Center of mahjong champion, six years in a row." She challenged with a playful smirk of her own.
Mrs. Tohru didn't seem angry, but rather intrigued. "Oooh, than let's see what you got."
"Okay, now this I gotta see!" Cornelia stated.
"I might not know what this mahjong is, but I'm sure this will be entertaining." Caleb seemed eager to see someone knock Uncle down to size himself.
"Are those two always like this?" Will asked Jackie.
"Yes, but I feel those two might actually get along if given the chance." Jackie responded.
Jade scoffed slightly. "Yeah, the day that happens is the day Shendu gives out free candy to children." She noticed Tohru's face however looking rather green. "Hey, you okay Big T?"
"Um… you still haven't given me the Talisman…" Tohru held his stomach.
"Oh, right." Jade reached into her pocket and pulled out the Horse Talisman, which she handed to Tohru. The minute it entered his palm, he was briefly enveloped in a white glow as the Talisman's magic took effect. Tohru could no longer feel the motion sickness.
"Ah, that's much better." Tohru smiled.
"Well then, let the fun begin." Will said with a smile.
From then on, the day went on almost perfectly for our group of young heroes. Whenever they weren't eating or playing games, they were relaxing either by a pool chair or at the ship's own spa, where Cornelia spent most of her time. Nighttime rolled around and everyone else still seemed to be having a good time as they all had dinner in the ballroom.
"Okay, I have to admit, this is pretty nice." Caleb admitted as he helped himself to a shrimp from the bowl at the table that he Cornelia, Irma, Hay Lin, and Taranee were at.
"Told ya you'd have a good time." Cornelia smirked. "The spa was nothing short of perfection, my face is absolutely flawless, and I don't think my hair has ever felt so smooth."
"Better be careful I don't drip pizza sauce on your 'perfect' hair." Irma teased as she ate a slice of pizza.
"Come near me with that, and I'll personally toss you overboard!" Cornelia warned.
"And we haven't even been through half the stuff on this ship." Hay Lin stated. "There's just so much, I don't know if we'll be able to do it all!"
"Either way, I'm just glad that we have a whole weekend all to ourselves." Taranee said. "Nice break from fighting the Forces of Darkness."
"You know what else I love about this? That." Cornelia pointed to a nearby table where Uncle, Mrs. Tohru, and Yan Lin were at another game of mahjong.
"Ha! I win again!" Mrs. Tohru won the game.
"Teh, you cheat again!" Uncle accused.
"Now, no need to be a sore looser Jin." Yan Lin teased. "You never accused me of cheating."
"That is because Yan Lin plays fair." Uncle stated. "Spider-woman moves a tile every time Uncle sneezes!"
"You sneeze, all the tiles move." Mrs. Tohru shot back. "Bird-beak nose should have it's own zip-code!"
"Ooooh! Burn!" Irma and everyone else at her table laughed.
"Dang, Tohru, your mom is a total savage!" Will commented, almost laughing herself, as she sat at a separate table with Jackie, Jade, and Tohru.
"Tell me about it." Jade agreed. "Nothing's more entertaining than seeing Uncle and Mrs. T duke it out. She'd probably roast Phobos into submission."
"Now that I'd like to see." Will laughed.
Tohru smiled. "My mother is a good person, even if she can be a bit… pushy."
"Well I think it's a good kind of pushy." Will commented. "Oh and Jackie, thanks again for bringing us here, this is really great."
"You and the others deserve it, Will." Jackie replied. "You've all been working hard and are facing the sort of decisions I would never place on people your age, but every now and, you need to let kids just be kids."
"Well, I'm actually a teenager, but thanks." Will smiled.
"Yep, one cruise and no bad guys or magical stuff to ruin it." Jade commented as she reached for a shrimp on her plate, when a green hand from under the table reached to try and grab it instead and pull it under.
Jade, Will, Jackie, and Tohru were taken by surprise at first but it turned into annoyance as they looked under the tablecloth to see Blunk with the shrimp in his mouth. The minute he saw them, he gulped as he pulled the half-eaten shrimp out of his mouth.
"Eh…half-eaten shrimp for trade?" Blunk laughed nervously.
Meanwhile; outside the ship, a single motorboat made its way toward the ship. Once it was close enough, five grappling hooks were thrown up toward the railing. Valmont, Hak Foo, as well as their new recruits, the Ice Crew, climbed up onto the ship. Fortunately for them, nobody was outside, so nobody would notice the criminals as they quickly and quietly made their way to the lower levels.
Within a few minutes, Valmont and his four henchmen were in the cargo hold, right in front of the vault that contained their objective inside.
StrikeMaster Ice gave an impressed whistle. "Now that's a vault, yo."
"And within this high security barrier, lies an artifact of such value, we can not only rebuild the Dark Hand, but have enough to retire to a luxury mansion in the Caribbean." Valmont mused evilly.
"Vacation retirement, here we come baby! Let's crack this sucker open!" MC Cobra exclaimed excitedly.
"Vicious Ape Crushes Walnut!" Hak Foo yelled as he and DJ Fist both threw their fists at the vault door, only for their knuckles to crack as they both yelled in pain and held their sore fists. Valmont then tapped his own fist along the vault.
"Reinforced Titanium. So, it would seem the blunt approach is out of the question."
"No worries V-Man, me and the crew are experts and building and breaking things." StrikeMaster Ice said as he and MC Cobra took out a series of blow torches.
The Next Morning
Will had just woken up with a yawn, but was minorly surprised to see Tohru outside, hunched over the railing. She got up and outside to check up on him.
"You okay Tohru?" Will asked as she patted his back.
"Had a hard time… sleeping last night." Tohru muttered. "I… Tossed my crackers."
"Got sick? What about the Talisman?" Will asked in confusion.
"I must have lost it… I cannot find it." Tohru said.
"Lost it? But how? The rooms aren't that big and…" Will's eyes widened slightly before her eyelids lowered in annoyance. "Blunk."
The Passling known as Blunk held the Horse Talisman in his hand as he crawled through the air ducts. "Talismans make stuff go boom. Make safe go boom. Valuable stuff inside." Blunk said as he clearly mistook the Horse Talisman for likely the Dragon or even Pig Talisman. He crawled down through the vents before coming toward the exit, just above the safe down in the cargo hold, but Blunk gave a slight squeal in surprise upon seeing Valmont, Hak Foo, and the Ice Crew down below.
Hak Foo and DJ Fist were engaged in light-sparring while StrikeMaster Ice and MC Cobra continued to use their blow torches to try and break through the vault. Valmont however was starting to grow impatient.
"What is the hold up?" The crime lord questioned.
Ice and Cobra stopped when they realized they weren't getting anywhere. "This safe is harder than a frozen pizza, and those things are rock solid yo." Ice stated.
Valmont scowled slightly but noticed MC Cobra taking out a laptop. "And what are you doing?"
Cobra plugged the laptop into the electronic components with the vault. "Gonna hack into the vault yo."
"Hmm, didn't realize you were such an expert with technology." Valmont mused.
"I used to work in a computer store. Picked up a few tricks." MC Cobra replied. "But they'll know we're in the system, dog."
"Then I suppose we'll need to implement our back-up plan, then." Valmont said. "Cobra, continue to work. Hak Foo, Ice, Fist, we're taking over the ship."
Blunk gave an audible gasp. "Uh oh." He quickly climbed back the way he came through the air vents.
Will and Jade walked through the halls as they attempted to search for the thieving Passling. "I'm beginning to see why Caleb doesn't like him so much." Will commented. "First, he sneaks onto the cruise; then after all of us scold him, he goes ahead and steals the Talisman? What does he plan to do with it anyway?"
"I know I like the little guy, but he's kinda being a bit of a pest right now." Jade commented. "Which actually says a lot, coming from me."
Before the two could continue further down the hall, they heard some rattling sounds from the air vent on the ceiling above. They both gave surprised yelps as Blunk fell out of the airduct and on top of the two girls, knocking them down.
"Blunk!?" Will and Jade both exclaimed out of shock.
"Big trouble!" Blunk shouted. "Dark Hand man in green at vault! Trying to steal stuff inside!"
"Dark Hand man in green…?" Jade's eyes widened in surprise as she and Will exchanged looks of shock.
"Valmont?!"
Meanwhile, on the upper deck of the ship, Yan Lin walked alongside Uncle and Mrs. Tohru, the latter seemed to be in a good mood, considering Uncle lost virtually all the games they've played.
"Billy goat lose at mahjong, Chinese checkers…" Mrs. Tohru gloated toward Uncle, before turning to Yan Lin. "But I have to admit, you're not half-bad when it comes to gin rummy."
"No sucha can hope to beat this old broad at any card game." Mrs. Lin said confidently. "Anyone care for some blackjack?"
"Uncle prefer game of skill: shuffleboard!" Uncle stated.
The exchanged was being watched by Jackie, Caleb, and the other girls; most of which appeared confused.
"I can't tell whether they're getting along, or not." Irma commented.
"Tohru's mom is getting along with Grandma pretty well." Hay Lin observed.
"But she doesn't seem to like Uncle very much." Taranee pointed out as well.
"Well I like her." Cornelia said. "Nice to see the old timer get a taste of his own medicine." She smirked.
"I know I'm supposed to respect my elders and all, but I actually agree." Caleb said as he and Cornelia exchanged a fist-bump.
"Oh, I'm quite sure that deep down, they get along quite well." Jackie said.
"Yeah, whatever you say Jackie." Irma didn't seem so convinced.
They heard a groan as the group turned to see Tohru, still a bit seasick, lying on a pool-chair. "Hey Tohru, you okay big guy?" Hay Lin asked as she, Irma, and Taranee went over to help him.
"A little better…" Tohru said modestly.
"Sorry about the Talisman." Taranee apologized.
"Well it's not our fault that little slime ball snuck onto the ship." Cornelia said, referring to Blunk. "What's he even doing here anyway?"
"He's a Passling, they steal stuff." Caleb pointed out. "My money is on that dragon statue thing."
"I don't think we have cause for alarm." Jackie stated. "The vault is reinforced steel; I sincerely doubt a tiny thing like Blunk can break through."
"Come on, let' shit the buffet while breakfast is still up." Taranee suggested.
"Yes, ocean air always gives me a big appetite." Jackie agreed. "Eggs, bacon, biscuits…"
Suddenly, the group saw Tohru running toward the railing where he upchucked over the edge, much to the sympathy and/or disgust of his friends.
"Well… I think he's made room." Irma tried to put in a little bit of humor.
However, before they could continue, an announcement came over the intercom to the entire cruise. "Attention all passengers, this is your captain. Please assemble in the ballroom for a mandatory safety presentation."
Uncle gave a scoff. "Not yet had morning tea!"
Ballroom
By the time Jackie, Irma, Caleb, Uncle, Hay Lin, Taranee, Cornelia, Tohru, Yan Lin, and Mrs. Tohru all arrived in the ballroom, nearly all the passengers, with the exceptions of Jade, Will, and Blunk, had arrived.
"What kind of ship are they running?" Uncle questioned. "Captain calls meeting, no captain here!"
Everyone else looked around curiously and saw that neither the captain, nor any of his crew, were present in the ballroom.
"Doesn't seem like the captain very good at his job." Caleb pointed out.
"Maybe he's running late?" Hay Lin wondered.
"Doubt it, people like this are usually very punctual." Taranee shook her head.
Jackie had a bad feeling about this. "Something is wrong."
Suddenly Irma's cellphone vibrated in her pocket. When she answered it, she was surprised on who was the other line. "Will? Where are you? We're supposed to… wait what?! Did you just say Valmont?!"
That caught the attention of everyone else in the group, as did Valmont's voice playing through the intercom speakers.
"I apologizes, ladies and gentlemen, but I am afraid that the captain is indisposed at the moment. But do not worry, the ship is very well under control. My control."
This caused all the passengers to look in worry as all the heroes were especially surprised, so much so they only just noticed Hak Foo, StrikeMaster Ice, and DJ Fist enter the ballroom, close the door behind them, where Fist pressed a button on a small remote, and suddenly all the guests were trapped in a large laser-grid cage.
"That's right fools! The Dark Hand is in the hizzouse!" StrikeMaster Ice flashed a pair of rock-on devil horns with both his hands to gloat.
Caleb tried to kick the cage down, only to get shocked and blasted back into a table, where Cornelia and Yan Lin immediately ran to help him up. "What… what kind of cage is this!?" The young rebel questioned.
"A laser cage." Jackie answered. "Can't break it."
"Looks like our mystery thieves are really the Dark Hand." Taranee guessed.
"Valmont must be getting desperate if he hired a pizza-guy as his new Enforcer." Irma pointed to StrikeMaster Ice.
"What makes you think he's a pizza guy?" Hay Lin asked.
"Well look at him. He looks like a pizza delivery guy." Irma replied.
"Whoever he is, he and Valmont are going to wish they never came here." Caleb stated.
"And just how do you plan to do that when we're stuck here?" Cornelia questioned.
"Maybe with a little… boost?" Yan Lin suggested as she pointed to Tohru who offered his hands to heave them out of the laser-cage as it didn't connect all the way to the ceiling.
Jackie and Caleb both exchanged nods as they ran to Tohru, each of them placed their foot in each of his hands before he leapt them over the laser-cage and toward the stage where all the instruments were, getting the attention of Hak Foo, Ice, and Fist.
"Chan!" Hak Foo stated.
"Looks like the bunnies escaped their cage, dog." StrikeMaster Ice said. "Well time to make rabbit-stew!" He and DJ Fist made combat stances as Hak Foo immediately leapt to Jackie.
"Angry Crow Takes Flight!" Hak Foo exclaimed as he leapt and kicked Jackie back into the instruments while Caleb was stuck dealing with Ice and Fist.
Caleb dodged and swerved to avoid the punches from DJ Fist before ducking under another punch and grabbing Fist by his wrist and hauling him over his shoulder, but he didn't get a chance to recover as StrikeMaster Ice delivered a flying kick to his back to knock him down.
"So pretty boy's got some moves." Ice observed. "But so does the Ice-Master, homie!" StrikeMaster Ice made his own combat stance, as Caleb got up and raised his fists.
Meanwhile, Jackie pulled himself out of the pile of downed instruments to face Hak Foo, only to find several stuck to his body via tangled straps; a drum on his back, a symbol in each hand, and a guitar on his chest, while also stuck to the symbol on his right hand. Jackie just barley dodged the next attack from Hak Foo.
"Rabid Crowd Mauls Rock Band!" Hak Foo shouted as he delivered multiple rapid punches to Jackie, but he was able to use the symbols as makeshift shields to block the punches before ducking to sweep his feet and knock Hak Foo down. But this left him vulnerable for DJ Fist to come in from behind, lift Jackie up by the drum attached to his back, which he slipped out of, before DJ Fist stuck it over Jackie, trapping him inside.
Meanwhile, Caleb found himself on the defensive end from StrikeMaster Ice's relentless assault. StrikeMaster Ice threw all sorts of punches and kicks out, which Caleb could barley block or avoid. One kick was enough to knock Caleb down, where the young rebel tried to roll and sweep his feet, but StrikeMaster Ice already leapt to avoid it just as Caleb got up, but while Ice was airborne, he delivered a kick to Caleb's chest, knocking him on to the outside of the laser-cage, shocking him before he fell to the ground in defeat.
Caleb and Jackie were both thrown back into the cage, where Tohru caught them and the others helped them back to their feet, while also looking in surprise at how quickly and easily Jackie and Caleb were defeated. They knew Hak Foo was more than skilled, but these new guys seemed almost as skilled as Jackie himself.
"Okay… so pizza guy's got some moves." Irma observed with a wide-eyed expression.
"I am going to be… very sick…" Tohru looked as though he was about to puke, but Hay Lin handed him a bag.
Meanwhile, back at the vault, Valmont returned to see MC Cobra still working with trying to hack into the vault.
"Progress?" Valmont asked.
"Yo, this high-tech security is straight-up state-of-the art boss-man." Cobra responded.
"In English, please?" Valmont insisted.
"I'm working on it." Cobra translated.
Meanwhile, back in the ballroom; while everyone else was still stuck in the laser-cage, Uncle and Mrs. Tohru were playing a game of tick-tack-toe.
"I win." Mrs. Tohru said as she got three X's in a row. "Again."
"That's because you have X's. X's always win!" Uncle pointed out.
"Bah. I don't understand why Mr. Valmont is here, or why he's even doing something so apprehensible. He's such a nice man." Mrs. Tohru said.
"Nice?!" Irma, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Taranee, and even Caleb exclaimed at the same time.
"She's joking… right…?" Irma wasn't sure what to make of this.
"The guy's a freaking crime lord and a stalker on top of that!" Cornelia stated.
"That would be my fault…" Tohru confessed nervously. "I haven't told her… about Valmont's… less-than-pleasant business dealings."
"Now's about a good as time as any." Caleb pointed out with crossed arms and an irritated expression on his face.
"Yes… but she won't be happy to hear it." Tohru proceeded to walk to her mother and tell her the whole truth.
"Hey, Jackie, Grandma…" Hay Lin got both their attention. "I'm really worried about Will and Jade. I haven't seen them here."
"I'm sure they're fine, Hay Lin." Yan Lin assured her granddaughter. "Those two can handle themselves."
"Yes, but Valmont is incredibly dangerous, and his new recruits seem much stronger than the Finn and the others." Jackie acknowledged. However, he felt his own phone vibrate and looked to see Jade's number on the caller ID. He quickly answered it but spoke in a whisper. "Jade, where are you?"
"We're right outside." Jade whispered into the phone as she, Will, and even Blunk hid behind the door from the hallway that led into the ballroom. "We can see you. Don't worry, once Will and the others go all WITCH, we'll total these losers."
"No Jade." Jackie responded back as all three listened. "There are too many people here, the girls cannot transform now."
"He has a point. Secret identity, remember?" Will told Jade.
"Right." Jade winced slightly. "But we can still take em…"
"No, I have a better plan." Jackie said. "You and Will find the communication's room and signal an SOS. Please hurry." They heard Jackie hang up, probably to avoid looking suspicious to the guards outside.
"I think that's probably the best idea Jade." Will told the black-haired girl who was about to protest. "You see that cage?" They both looked past the doors. "It doesn't go to the ceiling. Jackie must have already tried that, but they beat him back. And if these guys can beat Jackie, maybe calling for help is a better option."
"Yes. Call for help. Good idea." Even Blunk agreed.
Despite wanting to actually fight, Jade knew they had a point, so she reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, that's always my favorite part of the movie, when the hero makes a phone call."
Will looked questionably at her friend. "What do you think this is? Die Hard?"
Blunk peaked past the door into the communication room and saw it was empty. "Coast clear." He said as the two girls quickly ran inside.
Jade found the communications and spoke into the phone. "Uh, hello? Mayday! Mayday! Can someone connect me to Section 13? It's a top-secret organization, probably not listed."
"Really?" Will looked at Jade questionably once more, causing Jade to wince.
"On second thought, just get me the Coast Guard."
Cargo Hold
As MC Cobra continued to work at the laptop, he was able to see an alarm on the screen as they were still connected into the system.
"Yo boss man, someone's trying to put out an SOS." Cobra told Valmont, who plugged in his own communications' device to hack into the communications line.
"The ship's been taken over by some crazy thieving pirates!"
"My dear Jade, I would thank you not to compare me to such uncivilized ruffians." Valmont responded with a smirk.
"Uh oh…" Jade just realized she was busted before quickly hanging up.
"Where did that call come from?" Valmont asked Cobra.
"Ship's radio room." MC Cobra answered.
Valmont accessed his own walkie-talkie. "Hak Foo…"
Ballroom.
"Yes master." Hak Foo received the instructions needed. "Ice, we have a pest to squash."
"True dat, homie." StrikeMaster Ice acknowledged. "Yo Fist, you watch the rabbits. Me and Tiger Boy gotta hunt for a wild one."
DJ Fist nodded as Ice handed him the remote to the laser cage before he and Hak Foo left the ballroom; while Jackie, Caleb, and the other girls could only look with worry and concern for their friends.
Will, Jade, and Blunk ran down the hall back towards where their friends and everyone else were trapped. "Okay, new plan. We beat em up the old-fashioned way!" Jade stated.
"Or, we can just find another way to…" Suddenly they found their pathway blocked by Hak Foo and StrikeMaster Ice. Blunk gave another yelp as he took cover behind the girls.
"Yo, that is one seriously ugly frog, homie." StrikeMaster Ice noticed Blunk.
"I am afraid, that your path ends here." Hak Foo stated menacingly as he made a martial arts stance.
"Will…" Jade looked toward the red head nervously, with an expression telling her there was only one option.
"Yeah, I get it." Will understood there was only one thing to do if they were going to get out of this. She took out the crystal known as the Heart of Kandrakar and said two words. "Guardians Unite."
However, as she was the only one within proximity of the Heart, Will was the only one undergoing the flashy transformation that forced Hak Foo, Ice, even Jade and Blunk to cover their eyes being so close. When the light subsided, Will was in her Guardian form, where she didn't even give Hak Foo or Ice a time to react as she flew right at them and delivered two quick punches to their faces and knock them back.
"Jade, you and Blunk help Jackie and the others. I got these guys!" Will stated.
"No problem, kick their butts!" Jade stated as she and Blunk ran past them just as the enemy martial artists got back up.
"Yo, am I seeing things? Did that redhead just turn into a fairy?" StrikeMaster Ice questioned upon seeing Will's transformed appearances.
"It does not matter." Hak Foo stated. "She is the enemy, and we must pluck her wings!"
"Then come and get me, boys." Will had a confident smirk as she made her own Kung Fu stance followed by a hand wave, silently telling them to bring it on.
Cargo hold
"If anyone intercepted that ship-to-shore, the Coast Guard will be here very soon." Valmont realized just how much of a time limit he was on. "How soon can you have that vault open?"
"Not soon enough." MC Cobra replied. "New plan boss-man. Blow it up!"
"You fool!" Valmont stated. "If the haul is breached…"
"Yo, you got any better ideas?" Cobra questioned.
Valmont scowled slightly but realized that they didn't have the luxury to wait around, especially with Jackie Chan on the ship, even if he was trapped at the moment, he knew that Chan never stays trapped for long. "Do it."
"Octopus Fists of Fury!" Hak Foo flashed multiple punches at Will, but she was able to block them all, albeit leaving her on the defensive. "Snake Cuts Grass!" Hak Foo tried to sweep his feet, but Will flew up to avoid the sweep before she delivered her own airborne roundhouse to Hak Foo's face and knock him back.
However, she was later put on the defensive from StrikeMaster Ice's own relentless attacks as he delivered multiple punches and kicks, but Will's own strength in her Guardian form was strong enough to block them all with minimal damage, but when she threw out her own punch, Ice, caught it before putting her in an arm-lock.
StrikeMaster Ice gave a whistle. "Dang, you are one fine girl, Red. I could use a lady in the kick-butt department."
Will cringed in disgust. "Ew! No thanks!" She drove her elbow into his abs, forcing him to let go before she turned around to throw a punch at his face and send StrikeMaster Ice skidding across the hall. Will didn't get a chance to celebrate however as Hak Foo was back in the fray.
"Flying Bison Kick!" The Black Tiger landed a flying kick to Will's back and sent her rolling across the ground. Will pulled herself back up as she once again faced Hak Foo and StrikeMaster Ice. However, before the fighting could continue, a large explosion rang throughout the ship, which knocked all three of them off balance and onto the ground.
Cargo Hold
Valmont and MC Cobra looked past the cleared dust to see the vault door had been blown open completely, to reveal the Golden Dragon inside.
MC Cobra whistled. "Now that is one fine dragon. See V-Man, told ya it would be alright."
"Really?" Valmont questioned. "You count blowing a piece of the haul and flooding waters, alright?" He gestured to a large hole in the haul, which already had a large amount of ocean water flooding into the cargo hold.
Meanwhile; back in a separate hallway, Jade already regained her bearings as the alarm sounded throughout the entire ship. Blunk covered his ears.
"What is sound!? Too loud!" Blunk exclaimed, not liking the sound of the alarm.
"Probably bad news…" Jade guessed. She and Blunk were about to continue, when she heard a banging noise coming from the control room, which she just so happened to pass by. "Stay here, Blunk." She told the Passling before entering the control room, where she continued to hear the same knocking sound coming from a locked door.
Jade opened the door, and saw the Captain and his crew, Valmont must have locked them inside. "What's with all the sirens?"
"The ship is sinking!" The Captain stated. "The passengers, in a ballroom!"
"I'm all over it!"
Meanwhile; Will, as well as Ice, and Hak Foo heard the sirens ringing as well. "That can't be good." Will commented.
Hak Foo was immediately contacted by his boss. "Hak Foo, you and the others meet Cobra and myself near the cargo hold immediately!"
"Yes master." Hak Foo turned to Ice. "Time to go."
"Got it. We'll have to finish our date later, Red." StrikeMaster Ice told Will before he and Hak Foo ran off in another direction.
"Don't wait up." Will shivered before using the Heart of Kandrakar to turn herself back to normal and running back in the direction Jackie and her friends were trapped.
Ballroom
All the passengers, including the group of heroes, had all been knocked down from the explosion as they too heard the sirens going off. DJ Fist had already left as well, as he likely got the same notice from Valmont to meet up with the others.
"What's that noise?!" Caleb questioned.
"An alarm!" Taranee answered. "I'm guessing the ship's haul has been breached!"
"Oooh, yeah that sounds bad." Irma commented.
"Ya think?" Cornelia questioned irritably.
Will was quick to re-enter the ballroom, where she spotted a button on a corner generator. The second she pressed it, the entire laser-cage shut down just as Jade, the Captain, and the crew all entered the ballroom.
"Everyone! Calmly, to the lifeboats!" The Captain told all the passengers, but as opposed to calmly proceeding to the lifeboats, they all panicked and ran out past the captain and his crew. However, as everyone else left; The Chan Clan, WITCH girls, along with Caleb and Mrs. Tohru remained behind.
"There may not be enough time to evacuate." Jackie stated. "Jade, Will, did either of you find the Horse Talisman? Perhaps we can use it to heal the ship."
"I got it right here." Will took out the Horse Talisman, after taking it away from Blunk.
"Wait, maybe we can use this." Jade suggested.
"What do you mean?" Taranee questioned.
"I mean, since everyone else is busy evacuating, they won't be able to see a good old fashion J-WITCH vs. Dark Hand smack down!" Jade stated. "And after we take down Valmont and his new cronies, we just use the Talisman to fix up the ship."
"Huh, that's actually a pretty good idea." Hay Lin seemed on-board with it.
"I'm in." Caleb was more than eager for a rematch himself.
"What? But this is…" Jackie tried to protest.
"If we're full Guardian mode, Valmont and pizza-boy won't stand a chance. Plus, we got you and Tohru." Irma was also on-board.
"We can stop the bad guys and save the people. Seems like a win-win to me." Cornelia was in as well.
"If we move quick enough, we should get it done with no trouble at all." Taranee was on-board to.
"I'm in as well." Tohru said, much to Jackie's surprise as Will handed him the Horse Talisman to nullify his seasickness. He cracked his enormous knuckles for emphasis.
Jackie looked as though he was about to protest, until Uncle slapped him on the forehead as usual. "Ow!"
"Why is nephew so hesitant!? The more we stand around, the more ship sinks, and the more time Valmont has to escape! We must move quickly!" Uncle stated.
"I'm in to." Yan Lin also said. "I may be old, but this old broad still has a few tricks up her sleeve."
"I am in as well." Mrs. Tohru was even on board. "I have a few things I'd like to say to Mr. Valmont myself." She also flexed her hands, indicating it was not going to be a pleasant encounter.
Jackie saw all the points everyone made and realized it was probably the best idea, not to mention that the longer they waited, the more time Valmont has to escape and the more the ship sinks. He looked towards Will with a nod.
The redhead smirked as she took out the Heart of Kandrakar once more. "It's Guardian time."
The ship continued to sink, but despite that it would appear Valmont and his associates would escape as they had all made it to the deck of the ship, which was already on a semi-diagonal angle with the boxed Golden Dragon being carried by Hak Foo and DJ Fist.
"Not as subtle as I would have liked, but still, a job well done." Valmont told the Ice Crew. "I can see your skills being most beneficial to me as I reconstruct the Dark Hand."
"True that boss-man!" Ice stated. "So long as the pay is green."
"Sorry boys, don't think so!"
Valmont turned around in surprise to see an oncoming kick from the flying Will, before he was knocked back and slid into the other four marital arts villains, who slid back against the wall and looked in surprise to see the fully transformed and fully assembled WITCH, who stood along with Tohru, Caleb, and even Jackie and Jade.
"Hey, Valmont. Miss us?" Irma greeted tauntingly.
Valmont growled as he saw them. "Not as much as I will soon miss all of you. Destroy them!"
"Yo, we is about to fight a bunch of fairy girls?" MC Cobra questioned.
"Let's show these fairies that they is about to get iced!" StrikeMaster Ice said as he, MC Cobra, and DJ Fist made martial art stances along with Hak Foo.
"Angry Crow Takes Flight!" Hak Foo leapt straight for Tohru, while the Ice Crew engaged Caleb and the girls. Valmont was about to get up as well, only to come face-to-face with Jackie Chan himself.
"You just can't resist meddling in my affairs, can you Chan?" Valmont glared as he stood up.
"The Golden Dragon belongs in a museum." Jackie stated.
"Well then, perhaps I should finally put you where you belong, in the morgue." Valmont stated as he leapt at Jackie with a kick, which Jackie parried as they engaged in single combat.
DJ Fist swung multiple punches towards Caleb as he backed away towards a nearby pool-rod, which he picked up and used as a makeshift weapon to block and parry Fist's assault. "You don't talk much, do you?" Caleb questioned as DJ Fist grabbed the rod and lifted it, as well as Caleb over his head, before tossing him over his head, where he slid along the diagonal surface of the deck but regained his footing.
However, this appeared to leave him vulnerable for Cornelia to fly in with a kick of her own. Though she landed a solid kick in across his face, he recovered enough to grab her leg as she tried to fly away and tried to pull her into a punch, but she ducked under the punch and tried to grab his wrist with both her hands to try and haul him over her shoulder, but DJ Fist crossed his legs and tripped Cornelia over them where he gave a roundhouse to knock her back towards Caleb.
"Can't you just burry him or something?" Caleb questioned the blonde.
"Do you see any rocks or plants around?" Cornelia answered sarcastically. "We're on a ship in the middle of the ocean, genius! I can't manipulate what isn't around!"
DJ Fist stepped in front of them, where he cracked his neck and made a martial-arts stance, making the typical hand-gesture for them to bring it on.
"Well, guess we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way." Caleb observed.
"Time for those Kung Fu lessons to pay off." Cornelia attempted to make her own martial arts stance as well, which was pretty mediocre compared to Jackie's or even Will's.
Taranee flew as she threw down multiple fire-balls at MC Cobra, who back-flipped to avoid each one tossed in his direction. He backed-flipped towards the wall where he found a fire-extinguisher. He smirked as he took it and aimed it at Taranee.
"You need to cool of sweetheart." MC Cobra sprayed the substance at Taranee, just as she was about to throw another fire-ball, which not only extinguished her own attack but sent her crashing onto the ground. Before MC Cobra could even celebrate however, he was blasted by a stream of water by Irma.
"Take your own advice, pal. Oh, and by the way, nose-rings are for losers." Irma mocked as she pulled two large tentacles of water from the ocean on the other side of the railing, which she lashed out at MC Cobra, who flipped and dodge to avoid each lashing while he moved closer to Irma and threw out a kick, which Irma could barely avoid.
"Shark Devours Whale!" Hak Foo lashed out a pair of 'claws' at Tohru, which he tried to block by crossing his enormous arms but was still pushed back. Tohru tried to grab Hak Foo, only for him to leap over and behind Tohru. "Scorpion Stings From Backside!" Hak Foo delivered a punch to Tohru's back, enough to knock him back a bit. But Hak Foo was quickly blown away by a cyclone of air, courtesy of Hay Lin as she landed by Tohru's side.
"I got a question. Are those real martial arts moves? Or is he just making this stuff up?" Hay Lin asked Tohru who simply shrugged in response.
Hak Foo got back up after whipping his mouth, only to find something grab him from behind by the shoulder. He turned around just in time to see a foot incoming to his face, to knock him back.
"Black Tiger has no manners." Uncle scolded.
"Indeed." Yan Lin agreed as she appeared behind Hak Foo and swept him off his feet with a cue-stick from a shuffleboard game in her hands. She spun it around in her hands like an expert martial artist. "Perhaps we can teach him some."
Will once again face-to-face with StrikeMaster Ice, who couldn't help but smirk. "Aw, see Red couldn't get enough of the Ice-master. Not that I blame ya? I'm quite the catch, ain't I?" He was then punched in the face and sent hurtling into the railing.
"Yeah, a rotten catch. Think I'll toss you back." Will stated as she brushed her hands. StrikeMaster Ice however got back up.
"Okay, so Red wants to play rough eh? Well, I can play rough!" StrikeMaster Ice was on the attack with multiple punches and kicks, which Will continued to block and parry as she also attacked with her own strikes, which Ice was also able to block.
Jackie meanwhile found himself on the defensive from Valmont who threw every punch and kick at any possible opening, though Jackie was able to block most of the attacks. He intercepted one punch and crossed his leg over Valmont's to flip him over and onto the wall as the ship was starting to submerge even deeper. However, as Valmont picked himself up, he spotted an emergency axe underneath a glass container. He smirked evilly as he broke the glass and took out the axe, causing Jackie to chuckle nervously as he backed away, but found a life-preserver-rod attached to the same wall, which Jackie picked up and spun around like a staff before engaging Valmont once more as they clashed their respective tools.
DJ Fist threw leapt at Cornelia with multiple punches, but she flew in the air to avoid them, letting Caleb run in before he jumped and landed a flying kick to his chest to knock him back. But DJ Fist was able to get back up as he grabbed several boxes and threw them at the pair, which they were quick to avoid. Caleb saw a life-preserver sliding down to him on the diagonal angle they were on when he got an idea.
"Hey, catch!" He threw the life-preserver like a disk-weapon at DJ Fist; however he was fast enough to catch the make-shift weapon, much to Caleb's surprise. But this also left him open for Cornelia to quickly land in front of him and land a punch to his face, through the hole in the middle of the life-preserver, causing him to stagger before she delivered a roundhouse to his face, to defeat him and send him sliding back against the wall.
"Nice kick." Caleb told her.
"Nice throw." Cornelia responded as they both exchanged a fist-bump.
Meanwhile, Irma brought her hands together to generate a stream of water, which she shot at MC Cobra, but he was able to duck underneath it, while also grabbing the downed fire extinguisher he used to dispatch Taranee. Once he was close enough, he threw it out like a blunt weapon to Irma, knocking her down hard onto the floor.
"Yo, my momma always told me never to hit a girl, but I love it." MC Cobra raised the blunt weapon with the intent on finishing Irma off.
"Guess what? She was right!" Taranee suddenly flew in as she threw a fire-ball at the extinguisher, causing it to explode and completely cover him in the foam, and some even got into his eyes.
"Ah! I can't see! Can't see!"
"See this!" Irma blasted a point-blank stream of water right into MC Cobra and sent him crashing right into the downed DJ Fist.
"Gorilla Snaps Frail Twig!" Hak Foo raised his fists to crush Uncle, but he was able to catch him by the wrists before he quickly dealt a kick to Hak Foo's chest, sending him right into Hay Lin who already spun her body and generated a tornado around her body. Hak Foo was pulled into the vortex before Hay Lin stopped and sent Hak Foo flying right to Tohru where he responded with a punch, which also sent him rolling toward Yan Lin who finished it off with a strike of the cue-stick to his jaw, sending him crashing into the pile where Fist and Cobra were already at.
"Wow Grandma. You really got some moves." Hay Lin was very impressed with her grandmother.
"Shuffleboard. Who knew it was so invigorating?" Yan Lin commented with a smirk as she, Uncle, and Tohru all looked quite satisfied with the result.
Meanwhile, Will and StrikeMaster Ice both appeared locked in a duel of martial arts, and despite StrikeMaster Ice seeming to have more experience, Will's own superior strength seemed to more than even the playing field as they each punched, blocked, kicked, and parried every strike they dealt to one another.
"You know, it feels like we is having quite the dance, sweetheart." Ice flirted. "You move, and I move? See, we're meant for each other."
"Oh right, like you're such a romantic." Will was really starting to get annoyed as they continued to fight, however as they locked fists with each other, Will smirked. "Fortunately for me, I got a wild card up my sleeve." She twisted her arms to put StrikeMaster Ice in a strong grip. "And her name's Jade!"
Jade herself came flying in with a kick straight to Ice's crotch, causing him to squeal before he fell down to grab his lower-body-area before Will delivered an uppercut to Ice's jaw and send him flying and crashing into the growing pile of bad guys near the wall.
"Hope I didn't interrupt a lover's quarrel." Jade smirked to Will, who simply lowered her eyelids in annoyance.
"Not funny."
Meanwhile; the ship was almost completely vertical as it continued to sink; with Jackie and Valmont continuing their fight on top of the now-vertical wall as Jackie continued to use the rod he was holding to block Valmont's relentless axe strikes. As Valmont swung his axe down, Jackie blocked it with the rod caught underneath the blade as they continued to struggle against each other. However, Valmont proved to be strong enough as he spun the axe to pry the rod out of Jackie's hands, while simultaneously sweeping him off his feet.
Valmont approached the downed Jackie menacingly as he still held the axe. "I've waited a long time for this. For every defeat, for every humiliation!" Valmont raised the axe above and behind with the intent to strike "I will finally have my revenge!" He tried to swing down, only to find the axe had compeltley disappeared from his hands. "What?!"
"So, this is who you really are?" Valmont turned around in surprise to see Mrs. Tohru holding the axe with an angry and disappointed look on her face. "I had such a high opinion of you."
"Mrs… Mrs. Tohru! Wha… what a pleasure to see you again." Valmont laughed nervously as Jackie stood back up and crossed his arms.
"You can drop the act, Valmont." Mrs. Tohru told him. "I know who you really are. You forced my baby into a life of crime and lied about it! That is unforgivable!"
Valmont's expression became stone-cold. "I do apologize for that, but I would kindly ask you to step aside. I would rather not harm an elderly woman but if I must… UGH!" Valmont squealed in pain as Mrs. Tohru stomped hard onto his foot.
"That is for lying to me!" She then punched him in the gut to knock all the wind out of him. "That is treating my boy the way you did!" She punched him across the face with her left fist, followed by the same with her right fist before pulling him down by his tie. "And this is for making him fight a demon!" She delivered a final uppercut to his jaw, sending him flying and crashing into the defeated pile of Hak Foo and the Ice Crew, where they all groaned in pain.
Mrs. Tohru dusted her hands. "Words cannot express the disappointment I feel."
"Mrs. Tohru, I am sorry that I never told you about Valmont." Jackie apologized.
The elderly Japanese woman had an understanding look on her face. "I am disappointed in Valmont. But I can rest assured because I know my boy is with someone I can truly trust." She pinched Jackie's cheek, somewhat painfully, but he was nonetheless grateful.
"Hey guys." Irma called to them as she and the other Guardians hovered in the air while holding their friends. Will held Jade, Hay Lin and Taranee both carried Tohru, who also carried Uncle and Yan Lin in his arms, while Cornelia carried Caleb "I hate to interrupt your bonding moment but… the ship's still sinking!" She reminded.
"Right!" Jackie realized the predicament they were still in. "Tohru, the Talisman!"
Tohru searched his pockets but found that they were completely empty. "It's gone!"
Before anyone in the group could panic, they looked down by horizontal wall to see Blunk holding the Horse Talisman. "Blunk not have Talisman of blowing stuff up, Blunk have Talisman of fixing things. Blunk fix ship." The Passling placed the Horse Talisman on the wall of the ship. The second it made contact; the Talisman began to glow.
All the passengers on the lifeboat, including the Captain and his crew, looked in absolute awe as they saw the entire cruise ship straightened itself out and positioned itself correctly onto the water, as though it was never damaged or sinking in the first place.
"I don't believe it…" He looked in amazment and disbelief.
As all damage to the ship had been repaired, even the vault down in the cargo-hold looked as though it was brand new, the flying Guardians set down with their friends as they all celebrated and exchanged high-fives and fist-bumps with one another, and even a few cheers. Even Uncle and Mrs. Tohru were about to share a high-five but they looked in surprise, realizing what they were about to do, before they turned their backs to each other with crossed arms, causing Tohru to smile before he got nauseous once again and proceed to toss his cookies over the railing.
"Blunk save ship. Blunk save dragon!" The Passling sat on the head of the Golden Dragon, which he hugged and nuzzled his face against it.
"Ahem."
Blunk looked up to see Caleb, Cornelia, and even Jackie looking at him with crossed arms.
"No worry. Dragon too big to steal anyway." Blunk said as he handed Jackie the Horse Talisman, which he promptly handed back to Tohru.
Will looked to the spot where she expected the defeated Dark Hand to be but looked in surprise to find that they had vanished completely. "Guys, where's Valmont?"
"Over there!" Jade pointed over the railing where everyone ran to look as they saw Valmont, Hak Foo, and the Ice Crew in their own motorboat once more, zooming away at high speeds.
"Should we go after them?" Taranee asked.
"No, let them go." Jackie said. "We should probably explain to the captain how his ship miraculously repaired itself."
"Tohru." Mrs. Tohru got her son's attention.
"Mommy, I am sorry I lied to you about Valmont."
"I understand why you did. I don't blame you, and you'll always be my baby." She shared a hug with her son.
"Awe!" Hay Lin practically gushed, while everyone else smiled.
"Now, would you care to explain to me why some of your friends can transform and fly, and why there is a talking toad on the ship?" Mrs. Tohru still needed an explanation for that, causing the five aforementioned Guardians, including Jade and Jackie to chuckle nervously.
"Sorry big guy, but you're on your own for this one." Irma told him.
Tohru sighed with an expected smile. "It's a long story, Mother."
A few moments later; all the passengers were brought safely back onto the cruise ship. Jackie had told the Captain how Valmont tricked everyone into thinking the ship was sinking in order to get everyone off the ship so no one would get in his way to steal the Golden Dragon, fortunately the Captain was able to buy it. During this time, Tohru, Caleb, and even Yan Lin, explained to Mrs. Tohru the whole story about the Guardians, as well as Meridian, Phobos, and their mission to find the missing heir. Mrs. Tohru actually took it rather well and said how she'd be willing to help whenever they needed it, which everyone was grateful for.
Now the cruise continued on its journey as everyone on board could now finally relax; especially our heroes as Jackie, Will, Jade, and Cornelia were sunbathing on pool chairs, while Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin swam in the pool, Tohru helped himself to a whole thing of pizza as he sat separately at a table and even Caleb took a relaxing nap in the sun.
"Ah, finally we can relax and enjoy the cruise." Jackie laid back.
"I'm gonna soak up every bit of this nice sun." Cornelia said in a relaxing tone.
"Hey, where's Blunk?" Will questioned. "Hadn't seen him since the Dark Hand took off."
"He wanted to 'stand guard' at the Golden Dragon, so I let him." Jade smirked.
Blunk was helping himself to large plate of shrimp as he sat alone in the closed vault, resting his back against the Golden Dragon. At least this way, nobody else could see him until Jackie opened up the vault once they would make it to London later in the afternoon.
"Blunk could get used to cruise." He said as he ate yet another shrimp and gave a loud burp.
"Hey, looks like miracles can happen." Jade said as they saw Uncle, Mrs. Tohru, and Yan Lin all sitting at a table across from the pool together.
"Guess Mrs. Lin managed to get them to actually be nice to each other." Will assumed.
Jackie smiled "It's nice to see those two enjoying each other's company for once."
Yan Lin held her both hands around the locked hands of Uncle and Mrs. Tohru. "One… Two… Three… Go!" She let go as they both proceeded to arm-wrestle with each other.
"Junk-monger weak as scrawny chicken…!" Mrs. Tohru struggled against Uncle.
"Toothless old bat got nothing…!" Uncle shot back as he continued to press.
Yan Lin only shook her head with a smile. "It's a work in progress."
Done.
Thanks again for waiting, I hope you like this chapter.
So good news, the WITCH girls have met Tohru's mother and she has even proven to be a valuable ally to them. Don't worry, we'll see her again and she is definitely going to help quite a bit.
Bad news, Valmont has recruited the Ice Crew into his ranks, and they're bound to make the Dark Hand more of a threat than in the cannon series as they are skilled enough to even overpower Jackie and actually go on-par with the WITCH girls.
I hope you found this little chapter to be a nice little break from the WITCH plotline, which we'll get back to for the next chapter as a certain zombie-like villain returns with his personal bloodhound (hint, hint). See you then.