Hi everyone, thanks again for waiting. There's not much that needs to be said really about this particular chapter, but it is one that I've been looking forward to writing, nonetheless. And with that being said, let's get started.
The Underwater Mines
The Book of Secrets was placed on a vertical pad with locks that kept in place as Section 13's top engineer worked on a device that was pointed at the golden book. "Particle Beam test number 15, ready to commence." The engineer named Kepler spoke into a tape-recorder as Jade, Caleb, and Blunk walked in to spot the red targeting beam that was aiming from the device toward the book.
"Oooh, pretty light." Blunk was about to touch the device, until Kepler lightly smacked his hand with a pen. "Ow!"
"Careful. Positronic shockwave will atomize your brain."
"Hey Kepler." Jade greeted. "What are you working on?"
"Is that the Book of Secrets?" Caleb looked to the Book in surprise.
"Yep. About to try and crack it open with a modified particle beam driven with high density phase-shifter, three speed." Kepler replied.
"Uh…" Neither Caleb nor Blunk had any idea what he was saying.
"It's basically a non-magical beam of light that can cut through almost anything." Jade translated. She hung enough around Kepler to get a basic gist of the scientific stuff he'd normally be working on. She was no scientist, but she understood the basics.
"A beam of light can cut through anything?" Caleb asked in surprise. "And it's not magic?" An impressed smile formed on his face. "Earth is something else entirely."
"Commencing test number 15, now." Kepler said as he activated the machine, shooting a red laser directly at the Book of Secrets. Kepler, Jade, Caleb, and even Blunk, who was currently wearing a pair of googles for curiosity sake, watched with anticipation. However, once the beam stopped, Kepler got a look at the book to see it wasn't even scratched, much to his annoyance. "I hate magic."
Captain Black's office
"That was the fifteenth time Kepler tried to crack it open, nothing." Jade said to the group consisting of the Chan Clan, her fellow Guardians, along with Captain Black, Caleb, Alchemy, and even Blunk.
"Hmm, perhaps we'll need finer tunned equipment for…" Captain Black began to think only to get dope-slapped on the forehead by Uncle. "Ow!"
"How many times must Uncle explain it?!" The Chi-Wizard exclaimed. "Book is sealed with magic! Magic must open magic!"
"Then let's grab the Talismans from the vault and try to pry it open ourselves!" Cornelia stated.
"We could use the Ox Talisman for strength, or the Dragon and Pig Talismans for extra fire-power." Taranee offered.
"How about we just go Guardian and use our own powers?" Will asked as she held out the Heart of Kandrakar.
"I would advise against that." Tohru offered. "If we're not careful, we could destroy the book."
"Book too pretty to be destroyed!" Blunk exclaimed.
"Right, cause that's what we're concerned about right now." Irma muttered in sarcasm.
"Is this book really that important?" Jackie asked as he tried to get a good look at it himself.
"The Book of Secrets knows everything about its owner." Caleb explained. "And if it was in Phobos' library, every one of his plans is inside this thing."
"He's so smart and determined." Cornelia commented.
"If he's so smart, why hasn't he found a way to crack it open yet?" Jade cracked, causing Caleb and Cornelia to grumble in annoyance.
"Uncle, could one of your spells open this book?" Jackie asked his uncle.
"Magic surrounding Book of Secrets is too strong for normal Chi-Spells." Uncle explained. "We need more powerful spells or magic artifacts that have the ability to dispel the magic."
"Isn't there some kind of online version we can hack into?" Hay Lin asked.
"What, like Phobos has got a Facebook profile or something?" Alchemy replied.
"I'm pretty sure they don't have Social Media in Meridian, Hay Lin." Tohru told the girl.
"Just a thought." Hay Lin replied.
Meridian – Phobos' Throne Room
Elyon was brought into her brother's throne room as a craftsman had finished constructing a special crown, which Elyon placed on her head. The jewel inside glowed briefly before it subsided. The princess smiled as she seemed to enjoy her gift.
"I can't believe something made of metal could be this comfortable." Elyon said as she took it off. "How'd you adjust it to my head, like that?" She asked the craftsman.
"Trade secret, my lady." The craftsman replied as he remained on his knees.
"What is your name?" Phobos questioned.
"Aketon, my prince."
"Aketon, you have honored me and your future queen with your craftsmanship." Phobos said with a smile as he looked upon the jeweled crown with a mysterious glint in his eyes.
"It's really beautiful. Thank you again." Elyon smiled to Aketon before turning to her brother. "I'll be in my room. I have to put this in my diary."
Once she left, Phobos got to business as he spoke to the craftsman. "I agreed to return you to your shop after you constructed the crown. While I am a man of my word, and will see to it you will return home, it will have to wait until after you've repaired all the tools in the underwater mines."
"What?! But… My prince…?!" Aketon tried to protest.
"Don't act so surprised." Phobos replied. "I know you've been constructing weapons for the Rebellion. But since you've done no more than that, you shall receive only a lenient punishment. Once your task is complete, you will be free to go, until then you will work in the mines. Guards!"
A pair of guards approached as they dragged Aketon away. "No! Not the mines! Anything but the mines!"
The underwater mines, as it name suggests, was located under the bed of a massive lake in Meridian. The people forced to work in said mines worked gruelingly to extract the rare minerals that one could not find on land. To say it was a depressing place would be an understatement as people were worked to the bone.
The newest addition to the mining crew was Aketon, who was currently working on repairing the tools. Though he was grateful it was only a temporary sentence, he felt truly bad for everyone else that had likely been stuck here for years with no possible end in sight. Aketon had finished sharpening a pickaxe to wipe the sweat from his brow, but his break didn't last as the warden with a whip approached him.
"You! Back to work!" He snapped his whip, causing Aketon to back up nervously. However, he failed to notice how close he already was to the rotating gears behind him. The back of his apron got caught in it, much to his horror as he was almost pulled in for what would have been a gruesome death.
However, a slave had quickly come to his aid as he used his shovel to slice off the apron, saving Aketon. The slave, who appeared to be a middle-aged man with long brown hair, as well as a long beard, offered Aketon a hand up, which he was grateful to accept.
"Thank you, my friend." However, once Aketon got a good look at his face, his eyes widened in surprise as he recognized this man. "Julian?!"
"Back to work!" The warden told the pair, causing them to split apart and get back to their individual tasks. However, when it appeared nobody was looking, Aketon quickly picked up a tool and purposely threw it into the gears to damage it even further than it already was.
"Warden!" Aketon got his attention. "This gratheon prong's broken! I'll need the vice from my shop! Without it, you can't regulate the gears! Production will come to a standstill!"
This seemed enough to convince the warden to escort Aketon to his shop, if only temporarily. However, someone did notice what Aketon did. A certain ambitious Passling by the name of Jeek.
Aketon was escorted back to his shop in the Castletown, where his son had been waiting. "Aldarn!" The pair quickly made their way to each other for a loving embrace.
"Where have you been? You look awful!" Aldarn said.
"Phobos ordered me taken to the underwater mines to repair tools." Aketon answered his son. "I have to go straight back!" He gestured to the guard escorting him, who looked rather impatient at the moment.
Aldarn and Aketon quickly got to work repairing the broken tool that he had brought with him. But as he did, they spoke in a hushed whisper that the guard was unable to hear. "You must find your friend, Caleb, and pass on some important news!"
"Caleb's on Earth." Aldarn told his father. "It's not safe for him here. If we're identified with the Rebellion, it won't be safe for us either."
"Phobos already knows I've made weapons for them." Aketon said, catching Aldarn off guard. "It's why he sent me to the mines as a form of punishment, but that's not important right now. Tell Caleb that his father, Julian, didn't die in the Battle of Greywoods. He's alive!"
To say Aldarn was surprised was an understatement. Caleb was his childhood friend, so he knew his father Julian quite well too. Not only was Julian Caleb's father, but he was one of the founders of the Rebellion after Queen Weira and King-Consort Zayden died. Aldarn was distraught when he heard the news of Julian's supposed death in the Battle of Greywoods, but that was nothing compared to what Caleb endured. This was something that Caleb had to know!
After his father was escorted back to mines, Aldarn quickly and discreetly began to search the town for the only other individual he knew could crossover to Earth and get to Caleb. But so far, he found no sign of him.
"Excuse me." Aldarn approached a group of people. "Have any of you seen a really rude and annoying Passling?" The group then pointed toward a crowd of people that surrounded the Passling in question as he showed off some of the scrap machines, he 'borrowed' from Section 13.
"Pretty machine makes pretty lasers." Blunk tried to show a crowd of spectators, but since the machine was broken, it didn't do anything, which caused the people to lose interest as they began to walk away. "Machine makes cool sounds!" Blunk tried to shake the machine, trying to get his potential customers back.
"Blunk." Aldarn got his attention. "You have to find Caleb and tell him something important. His father is alive, he's a prisoner of the underwater mines, along with my father."
"Count on Blunk. Father in underwear mines." The Passling saluted.
"No! No! Underwater!" Aldarn corrected.
"Water. Good." Blunk nodded before leaving to sniff out the nearest portal.
Phobos' Castle – Throne Room
Tarakudo emerged from the stained-glass window in his usual style as he saw the Passling named Jeek approach Phobos, Wong, and Cedric.
"What's all the commotion about?" Tarakudo asked as he hovered closer to the dark prince.
"This Passling spy claims to have valuable information." Phobos replied to the Oni King.
"Yes! Information good! Thought Jeek should tell great Prince Phobos right away!" The evil Passling said as he remained in a bowing position.
"Just remember, Passling, if this information is not valuable to us, you may serve more value to me as one of my experiments." Wong warned, causing Jeek to shudder.
"So Passling, you don't know the name of the prisoner the metalsmith recognized?" Phobos questioned.
"All names lost in mines." Jeek replied. "Prisoner broke tool on purpose!"
"He made such a gamble so that he could leave for a short time. He's warning somebody." Tarakudo deduced. "Most likely somebody within this world's rebellion."
Daolon Wong waved his scepter to create a sphere of Dark-Chi magic which began to show the faces of the many slaves within the mines. "Tell us the face of the prisoner in question."
The magical image shifted between at least ten more slaves before it shifted to reveal the face of Julian. "There! There!" Jeek pointed.
"The rebel leader's father!" Cedric recognized him. "They told me he died a year ago in the Battle of Greywoods!"
"A little respect Cedric." Phobos said in a feigning sincere tone. "This man is about to be very useful to us."
Tarakudo seemed to already catch on. "Ah, you intend to use his as bait. Not just for that young rebel, but even those young ladies in the Guardians and Mr. Chan, seeing as how they work so closely together, great and evil minds think alike." He chuckled. "Perhaps if you were to open a portal close to the mines to further tempt him…."
"Unfortunately, Tarakudo, I do not possess that ability." Phobos replied, but his evil smile had not left his face. "But my sister does."
"Phobos, you wanted to talk to me?" Elyon asked as she approached her brother, who stood in front of the map that surveyed the entirety of Meridian.
"Yes, I have seen that your mastery over your powers has grown quite a bit, and I'd like to put them to the test." Phobos told his sister. "Touch the map, right here at this lake." He pointed to the lake where the underwater mines were located. She did as her brother had told her, causing the entire map to pulsate, much to Elyon's surprise.
"What just happened? What did I just do?"
"A powerful storm was gathering on the lake." Phobos lied as he knew that Elyon had really opened a portal under the lake, very close to the mines. "It would have caused a great deal of damage to a nearby fishing village, but you stopped it from forming."
"I have the power to do that?" Elyon questioned in awe.
"And so much more." Phobos replied.
However, rather than look excited, the young girl looked to her hands with nervousness. "Phobos, you say I have great power… and I believe you it's just… me stopping whole storms by touching a map? Please tell me I'm not some kind of goddess or anything!"
"Oh, no, nothing like that." Phobos quickly assured. "You have great power, yes, so great that many seek to covet it for themselves, but nothing one could consider godlike. Rest assure, you're still a young girl."
"A young girl with crazy powers." Elyon said in a low mutter. "Sorry, it's just… kinda makes me nervous, you know?"
"I do, and I understand." Phobos kneeled down as he gently put his hands on his younger sister's shoulders. "Elyon, you have great power, but it's a part of you, just as much as your hands are. And like any part of your body, you will be able to control it. Once you've learned how, I promise you'll be a great queen, and I'll help you every step of the way."
This was enough for Elyon to smile as she wrapped her arms around her brother in the form of a hug. "Thank you, Phobos."
Heatherfield – Uncle's Rare Finds – Nighttime
Blunk had made it to the Chan's family shop where the Chan Clan, Guardians, Alchemy, and Caleb were all gathered. He told Caleb what Aldarn had told him, and to say Caleb was shocked would have been an understatement.
"My father's alive…? I can't believe it…!" Caleb couldn't believe it as he had thought his father was dead for a whole year. All his friends around him looked toward the young rebel in sympathy, but also caution as they had a good idea how Caleb would react to this. "We have to go to the underwater mines!"
"Caleb, I understand how you feel." Jackie told him. "But we can't afford to charge in recklessly."
"But this is my father!" Caleb exclaimed. "I thought he was dead! If there's even the slightest chance of saving him?! Isn't it worth it!?"
Cornelia was about to speak to him, but Jade beat her to it. "Of course, it is, it's your dad! And we are going to help you, but we need a plan! We're talking about mines, and if movies are any indication, almost every single one of them collapses during the climax, and the fact that this one is underwater doesn't help much either! It's a recipe for disaster in case things go wrong!"
"Jade's right, Caleb." Will also added. "There's no guarantee we can free him. But if we want the best chance of doing it, we need to be calm and rational about it. Right?" She looked toward Jackie, who nodded in confirmation.
"Right." Jackie said, while also silently proud of Jade and Will on how they wanted to approach the situation.
As much as he wanted to charge in swords-blazing, Caleb knew they were right. He knew how reckless he could be, but it wasn't worth his father's life to rush in without a plan. "Alright."
"We'll get your dad back, I promise." Cornelia said as she put a hand on his shoulder.
"First, we need to know more about the mines themselves." Tohru said. "Where are they? And why is it underwater in the first place?"
"It's underneath a lake that has rare minerals in the lakebed that one can't normally find on land." Caleb explained. "I've never been into the mines, but we've scouted it to get a general idea of what it's like on the surface."
"What did you find?" Jackie asked.
"Based on what limited intel we could get, there are only two possible entrances." Caleb began. "There's the main entrance where prisoners enter, and there's the tube-mouth that supplies air for everyone to breath. Other than that, nobody knows what it's like inside."
"Sounds like the tube-mouth might be our only way in then. The main entrance is probably heavily guarded." Taranee assumed.
"We must find portal first before entering mines." Uncle said. No needing to be told twice, Will took out the magical map and shined the Heart of Kandrakar over it to locate a portal, which they were able to find.
"There is a new portal." Hay Lin said before glancing toward Cornelia. "But…. Uh, you're not going to like this."
The group was led to a large lake, where the portal currently waited at the bottom of said lake. "It's about a hundred yards out, and about fifty feet down." Hay Lin said.
"No problem." Jade dismissed. "We'll just swim it…. OW!" She felt her forehead where Uncle slapped her.
"Do I look like Aquaman?! I am too old to swim!" Uncle exclaimed.
Cornelia ended up breathing a sigh of relief. "Well, we could just borrow a sub from Section 13, right?"
"Or I could use my powers to make something." Irma put in. "Ya know, Water Guardian and all?"
"Right… right! How can I forget." Cornelia chuckled nervously.
"Cornelia, are you alright?" Jackie asked. "You seem rather tense."
"Tense?" She tried to laugh. "Oh, you're funny Jackie. I'm not tense. Why would I be tense?"
"She's tense cause she can't swim." Alchemy said as a matter-of-factly.
"Alchemy!" Cornelia exclaimed as most of the group looked in surprise.
"Seriously?" Jade looked in surprise. "I always pegged you as the swimsuit model type. But then again, it's not like those girls know how to swim either."
"Gee, thanks Jade." Cornelia muttered sarcastically.
"Cornelia, it's nothing to be ashamed of." Jackie said as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Once this mission is complete, we can help you."
"Yeah, I love to swim. I can teach you." Will offered.
"But for now, I'm certain Irma can provide for us. Correct?" Jackie asked the girl in question.
"Yeah, no problem." Irma nodded. "Will, if you would do the honors?"
The redhead took out the Heart of Kandrakar and said the magic words. "Guardians Unite!" In another flashy display, Jade, Will, Irma, Hay Lin, Taranee, and Cornelia had transformed into their respective guardian forms as J-WITCH. Once the transformation was complete, Irma began to use her powers on the lake's water to pull out a large sphere of the substance, almost like a large bubble as she pulled it toward the docks. Hay Lin then added to it by breathing in a stream of air with her own powers to hollow it out like an actual bubble.
"Everybody in." Irma said as one-by-one, the group entered the bubble, with a nervous Cornelia being among the last, but Caleb held her hand in silent assurance that everything was going to be alright. Alchemy did the same with Cornelia's other hand, which she greatly appreciated before stepping in. Tohru would be the last to step in, which caused the bubble to shake slightly due to his weight, but it was still able to sustain the whole group.
"Let's go." Jackie stated as Irma controlled the bubble to direct it underwater and into the portal.
Meridian
The bubble containing the heroes emerged from the other side of the portal and were now underwater in the massive lake near the underwater mines. The group looked around at their new environment as they saw so many different kinds of fish that they'd never see on Earth.
"Oooh, look at all these alien fishies!" Hay Lin beamed.
Tohru however groaned in minor disgust. "Ugh, I hate fish."
Alchemy glanced behind them to see something that made her face go pale. "Um, what about giant squid-crab-things?" The group turned around with a startle to see a giant creature that resembled something of a squid and a crab swim past them. However, that was nothing compared to the massive sea-monster that swam past them, which startled Cornelia enough to bury her face into Caleb's chest, but the creature past them without appearing to notice them.
"To quote Qui-Gon Jinn, there's always a bigger fish." Jade commented.
Caleb gave a joking scoff. "When my dad and I fished in this lake, we threw back things bigger than that." He said that more so to Cornelia in an attempt to comfort her, which seemed to work as the bubble moved closer toward the mine
"Slowly." Will told Irma. "Come up on the far side of the mineshaft." Irma nodded as she followed Will's instructions, directing the bubble around the mineshaft, on the side that was furthest away from the shore.
Meanwhile, on the surface, a small army of soldiers, all led by Cedric, Daolon Wong, and even Hak Foo in his Dark Chi Warrior form, were ready to spring the ambush.
"They're coming. Be ready." Wong told everyone.
However, none of them seemed to notice the bubble coming up on the other side of the tube-mouth, which the villains were unable to see, but one guard did hear the water ripple.
"I heard something over there."
Another guard looked through his telescope but found nothing. He then smacked the first guard on his helmet, thinking it was a false alarm.
"So, we're going in through the tube-mouth." Caleb said. "Let's…"
"Wait." Hay Lin stopped him, and everyone else, from doing anything as she began to listen through the wind. "I hear lots of men talking, and I think I heard Wong too."
"It is an ambush." Uncle deduced.
"How did they know we'd be here?" Caleb questioned. "The tear in the Veil is underwater! Phobos can't create portals!"
"What about Tarakudo?" Alchemy asked.
"He can only pass through to Earth from Meridian or vice-versa through the Shadow Realm." Tohru replied. "I don't think he has the ability to make portals either."
Cornelia gave a gasp of realization. "I bet Elyon can."
"Of course." Jackie deduced. "Miss Lin did tell us that as the true heir to Meridian, she has more power than her brother. And with her currently under Phobos' guidance, it made it all the easier for them to lay a trap."
"So, what do we do? Call the mission off?" Taranee asked.
"No! My father is in there! I'm not leaving him!" Caleb stated.
"No, we're not." Jade agreed before an idea came to mind. "But, maybe we can pull a fast one on the bad guys. You got the Talismans, Alchemy?"
"Right here." She pulled out her backpack to reveal not only several of the Talismans, but even some walkie-talkies. "I even brought along some walkie-talkies, just in case we got separated." Most of her friends looked to her in surprise. "What? I don't have magic powers, gotta fight somehow."
"Okay, here's the plan." Jade began. "Tohru, Uncle, and Alchemy, use the Talismans to sneak over to the bad guys and ambush them before they hit us. And while they're distracted, the rest of us sneak into the mines, free Caleb's dad and the rest of the slaves and get out. What do you think?"
"That's…. actually, a good idea." Will said in minor surprise with a nod with everyone else seeming to agree.
"Hey what can I say? I'm only dangerous when I'm cornered." Jade said with a hint of pride in her voice.
"Very well." Jackie agreed. "Uncle, Tohru, Alchemy, you will deal with the enemy out here. The rest of us will free the slaves."
"Understood." Tohru nodded as Alchemy handed them the Talismans with Tohru holding onto the Snake and Rooster Talismans, while also joining hands with Uncle and Alchemy. He then used the Snake Talisman to turn himself invisible as well as his two companions before using the Rooster Talisman to levitate all three and toward the ambush.
Once they left, the six Guardians hovered up quietly toward the tube-mouth, with Jackie and Caleb holding on. Once they reached a certain point, Taranee fired a condensed beam of fire from her fingers to begin cutting a hole in the metal, one big enough for them to all fly into. However, as they flew in, Hay Lin used her air magic to grab and hold onto the metal that was cut off before flying inside with the rest of her friends just as Taranee used the same tactic to weld it shut and make it look like they were never there.
Meanwhile, the guards waited anxiously to spring the attack alongside the massive humanoid snake and dark wizard. But Hak Foo seemed the most eager of all of them.
"Ugh, where are they?! I am ready to pluck their wings like the lowly insects they are!" The transformed Black Tiger stated in anticipation.
"Patience warrior. They will be here soon." Cedric hissed.
"Sooner than you think!" Alchemy's voice echoed from out of nowhere as an invisible force ran through most of the small army of guards with such speed and power, that most of them were sent flying as they were struck by the unseen force. Said force ran up to the top of a small rock before turning visible to reveal Alchemy as she held the Snake, Rabbit, and Ox Talismans in hand. "Hiya!" She waved mockingly toward Cedric, Wong, and Hak Foo.
However, they were caught further by surprise as they heard screams from the remainder of the guards, causing them to turn around as they saw Tohru using his own natural strength to slap and throw away all the guars around him, while Uncle kept his back with dual-wielding blowfish, blasting Chi-Magic stun spells to knock out each guard on contact.
"Looks like your ambushed just got ambushed!" Alchemy blew raspberries at the villainous trio before using the Rabbit Talisman to run away at super speeds.
"After her!" Wong ordered Hak Foo, who seemed more than eager to obey.
"Black Dragon Chases Roadrunner!" The enhanced Dark Chi Warrior gave chase as Wong and Cedric engaged Tohru and Uncle. The two wizards engaged in a typical magic duel with Uncle blasting green bolts of good Chi-Magic, which Wong blocked with a wave of his scepter before blasting a surge of Dark Chi-Magic, forcing Uncle to roll and avoid the attack before returning fire. All the while, Tohru and Cedric ran towards each other to lock hands and press their strength against one another.
Once inside the mines, Jackie, Caleb, and the Guardians, had found a closest where they donned some robes and mining helmets in the form of disguises. The group of eight hid around the corner to get a good look at most of the mine.
"Let's split up and see if we can cover more ground." Will offered.
"Good idea." Jackie agreed. "Caleb, what does your father look like?"
"He's got brown hair, with a beard and green eyes like mine." Caleb replied.
"Alright, we'll split into groups of two." Jackie began. "Jade and I, Irma and Hay Lin, Will and Taranee, Cornelia and Caleb."
"Um actually Uncle Jackie, how about I go with Caleb, and you take Cornelia?" Jade offered.
"Excuse me?" Cornelia questioned with minor irritation as everyone else looked confused.
"Relax, I'm not gonna make any moves on your boyfriend." Jade told the blonde. "But, no offense Cornelia, you're as subtle as a flying rock. If Caleb gets into trouble, he might need something a bit stealthier to bail him out."
"Really? You're stealthy?" Cornelia questioned.
"You have any idea how many missions I've snuck onto with even Jackie noticing?" Jade reminded. "And that was long before I got my Guardian powers."
"She has a point." Hay Lin put in.
Even Jackie had to admit that Jade was right. He honestly lost count how many times his niece appeared out of nowhere when he told her to stay home. "Alright. You go with Caleb then, Cornelia with me."
"Fine." Cornelia seemed to accept.
"Let's go." Will said as they split off into their respective groups to try and blend in and find Julian.
Each of the groups tried to work as quickly and efficiently as they could, blending in and pretending to work whenever a patrol of guards came by, and doing what they can to find not only Caleb's father, but a possible escape should things get dicey.
The disguised Jade and Caleb both walked down one hall as they tried to search as well. "Geeze, how big is this place? Feel like they should have a directory or something." Jade stated in annoyance.
"The guards probably have the map." Caleb replied before giving a small sigh. "Hey Jade, listen. I… I just wanted to say thanks."
"For what?" Jade asked.
"For… you know, helping me." Caleb began. "But also, for agreeing to go along with this whole mission. I know I can be reckless and… you know that too, but you still agreed to help, you and everyone else so… thanks."
"Dude, every one of us would try to help you, it's your dad." Jade replied. "But, I get it, probably more than anyone else. You remember when we told you about Shendu?"
"That demon sorcerer guy you and Jackie fought before?" Caleb recalled. "Yeah, I remember overhearing that."
"Well, the first time we fought him, Shendu was planning to destroy all of Asia as revenge against the descendants of the people who rebelled and turned him into stone." Jade explained. "Which was probably around four billion people."
"What?!" Caleb exclaimed in shock, while doing his best not to shout so loud and alert any nearby guards. "He was going to kill four billion people?!"
"And probably more once he would try to take over the rest of the world." Jade added.
To say Caleb was shocked wouldn't come close to describe how he felt. "Phobos has done awful things since rising to power… but I doubt even he would contemplate genocide."
"There's a reason Shendu's called the Ultimate Evil." Jade continued. "Anyway, it wasn't just that. Shendu's little 'revenge game' was also gonna get my parents killed." That got Caleb's attention. "Yeah, he would have killed my mom and dad. Jackie went with Uncle and Section 13 to try and stop them, and I knew they could do it, I had faith in them, but I went along anyway even though they told me to stay back. But unlike all the other times I snuck off on their missions, it wasn't for the thrill or the joyride or anything like that. Back then, I only thought about saving my parents, that was the only thing I could think of."
"And you were able to stop him, right?" Caleb asked.
"Yeah." Jade confirmed. "Jackie and I beat Shendu and sent his ghost hurtling into the Netherworld. Look, the point is, I get it. You wanna save your dad like I wanted to save my folks, and I'm gonna help you." A smile formed on her face. "You know, now that I think about it, you and I are actually a lot more alike than I first thought. We're both reckless, we make stupid choices, but we just wanna do what we can to help the people we care about."
A smile formed on Caleb's face as well. "Yeah, guess we are. Thanks again, Jade."
"No problem." Jade smirked before they got back to the mission and looked around the corner to see a single slave working, along with two guards watching around them. Even from this angle, Caleb recognized the slave almost instantly.
"That's my father!"
"Are you sure?" Jade asked.
"Absolutely." Caleb was already reaching for his hidden katana, but Jade put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"Hold on, let me try something." Jade then began to channel her powers into the shadows of the two guards that were cast upon the nearest wall before she had the shadows outstretch to cover the guards' faces and keep them from yelling before pulling them back to slam the back of their heads on the wall and knock them unconscious. "And that's how we do it, Shadow-Guardian style." She finished with a smirk as she and Caleb made their way to Julian.
Julian turned in surprised, his pupils shrinking at the sight of his disguised son. "Caleb?!"
"Hey Dad, I'm here to save you." Caleb had already drawn his katana to cut the chains at Julian's feet.
"Caleb… how… you… how did you…?" Julian questioned as Caleb wrapped both his arms around his father.
"It's a long story Dad, but we can talk after we get you and everyone else out of this pit." Caleb told him. However, Jade felt a chill down her spine, which got Caleb's attention. "Jade?"
"I've got the willies… and that can only mean one thing…" Jade said with a gulp.
"The King of the Shadowkhan has arrived!" Tarakudo announced as he emerged from a pile of rubble to hover over the surprised trio.
"Tarakudo!" Jade and Caleb both exclaimed as Julian looked more than a little frightened of the floating demonic head. The Oni King unleashed a powerful shockwave which began to rock the entire tunnel, but Jade, who had thrown off her disguise, was quick to put up a barrier of shadow-magic to block the waves from reaching them.
"Time to bail!" Jade exclaimed as she expanded the shadow-wall to create a surge of shadow flames to block Tarakudo's path as she and Caleb took Julian and ran for their lives down the tunnel.
The sounds of rocking tunnels echoed throughout the entire mines, drawing the attention of every slave, guard, and even the disguised heroes.
"What was that?" Jackie asked as he and Cornelia pretended to work before he felt his walkie-talkie buzz.
"Guys!" They heard Jade's voice speak. "We found Caleb's dad, but Tarakudo's here! I think it's time to ditch the stealth!"
That also drew the attention of the nearby guards. "Hey! You!" They walked toward the pair as Jackie and Cornelia exchanged glances with the former giving a nod to go on the attack.
"Alright, time to ditch the stealth!" Cornelia said eagerly as she threw away her disguise and channeled her powers into the ground to shake up the earth before shooting a pair of pillars up and send a pair of guards flying across the chamber. This got the attention of every guard in the facility as they rang the bells to sound the alarm, but Jackie was also on the attack.
The martial artist had ran towards the nearest guard and delivered a flying kick to send him rolling across the ground. Jackie quickly picked up the guard's downed whip as he found himself surrounded on all ends by five guards. Jackie snapped the whip and threw it out to ensnare one guard's ankle to trip him up before jumping over a guard that tried to attack from behind. As he landed behind said guard, Jackie tugged on the whip to pull the first guard into the second, causing them both to roll over him as Jackie ducked before he rolled himself directly into the path of the third before kicking both his feet out to knock him down. The remaining two charged at him with their axes, but Jackie ran to a nearby wall and ran up the wall to flip and laned behind the guards where he quickly grabbed them by their heads and slammed them together.
However, despite both their efforts, Cornelia and Jackie would find themselves facing several more guards as at least two dozen more poured in. Fortunately for them, salvation came in the form of the remaining Guardians; Will, Taranee, Hay Lin, and Irma as they engaged the soldiers to even the odds.
Hay Lin hovered in the air before creating a pair of razor-thin air-disks with her hands right as she threw them out toward the guards. Using precision, Hay Lin directed each air-disk to slice and cut through each of the guards' weapons such as axes or spears, disarming most of them in an instant. Irma then brought her hands together to unleash a small flash flood that engulfed at least seven of the total soldiers and send them rolling down the assembly line like a makeshift water slide.
Taranee threw out multiple fireballs to blast several guards that charged her, while Will engaged six disarmed guards at once that tried to grab or attack with their bare hand, but Will proved too nimble and quick for them as she lashed out a series of chops, punches, and roundhouse kicks to knock down each and every one of them. Thanks to the combined efforts of all six of them, most of the guards in the mines were taken down in near record time.
"Is that all of them?" Will asked.
"Looks like it." Taranee confirmed.
"That's gotta be a new record." Hay Lin commented.
"Where's Caleb?" Cornelia questioned
"And Jade?" Jackie also questioned.
"GAINWAY!" That was the answer the group needed as Jade, Caleb, and Julian ran out from one tunnel, with Jade turning back to throw a series of shadow-fireballs at their pursuer, only for a telekinetic wave to blast her back into Caleb and Julian and send all three skidding across the ground.
Their friends quickly ran to try and help them up, but their attention was caught by a certain floating head that emerged from the tunnel.
"Tarakudo!" Jackie exclaimed as the Guardians looked more than a little frightened.
"Ah the whole J-WITCH gang is here." Tarakudo greeted. "Just in time for the funeral." He then began to unleash an incredibly strong psychic wave, which began to shake up the entire mines, already causing much of the stabilization to collapse.
"What is he doing?! Is he trying to bring down this entire mine?!" Cornelia exclaimed.
"Uh… yeah. I think that's his plan." Will said with a gulp.
Meanwhile, back on the surface, Alchemy continued to run at super speed thanks to the Rabbit Talisman as Hak Foo attempted to give chase. Though he couldn't keep up with her even with his own enhanced speed as a Dark Chi Warrior, he attempted to leap ahead and cut her off.
"Black Demon Intercepts Roadrunner!" Hak Foo landed, making a small crater in the process, in front of the speedy Alchemy to try and cut her off. However, Alchemy veered around him as she aimed the Dragon Talisman directly at him.
"Eat dragon heat!" She fired a blast of fire at him, but Hak Foo crossed his arms to brace himself as the blast sent him skidding on his feet back a small distance, but he wasn't done as he glared at her, while Alchemy used the Rabbit Talisman to make a run for it again.
Hak Foo then began to pick up a series of large rocks. "Flying Meteorite Crushes Speedy Rabbit!" He then threw all the rocks he could get his hands on toward the speedy Alchemy, even if she managed to get good distance from him.
"Ooh boy…" She gulped before picking up the pace and running desperately to avoid getting crushed.
At the same time, Uncle continued to duel Daolon Wong as he rolled across the ground to avoid the blasts of dark magic before drawing his blowfish to shoot a series of stun spells at Wong, who erected another barrier to shield himself before summoning a series of large dark-scaled snakes that hissed at Uncle before thrusting themselves at him, fangs first. However, Uncle was nimble enough to dodge the first snake's thrust and quickly blast it with a stun spell to destroy it. He then rolled underneath the second one before it lunged at him to blast its underbelly, leaving the third and final one to lunge at him, but Uncle jumped into the air just before the snake could bite him, and while mid-air, Uncle blasted it with another spell to destroy it, right as Uncle landed dramatically.
"Your spells may be crude, good wizard. But your own martial arts combined with your knowledge of magic makes you a formidable foe indeed." Wong commented.
"Never underestimate the power of a student of Chi Master Fong." Uncle told him. "Especially when said student has other tricks up his sleeve." He flashed the Snake Talisman and used it to turn himself invisible, much to Wong's surprise.
"The power of invisibility?!" He exclaimed, only for the invisible Uncle to punch him in the gut, deliver a chop across the face and a kick toward the jaw to knock Wong down to the ground. He glanced up with a glare as Uncle took a Kung Fu stance.
"Daolon Wong may have more knowledge of ancient spells, but I can still give you a piece of Uncle!"
Meanwhile, Tohru threw a punch at Cedric's face to send him reeling back slightly, before Tohru thrusted another punch into Cedric's gut, but this wasn't enough to stop Cedric from raising his fists and bringing them down onto Tohru's back to knock him onto the ground before picking him up by the shoulders and throwing him toward the water. Though Tohru landed in a semi-shallow end, Cedric wasn't about to give him a chance to recover.
"You are about to enter my element now, mortal!" Cedric lunged himself to tackle Tohru and send them both spiraling into the lake. While underwater, Cedric coiled his lower body around Tohru to try and suffocate him while also draining him at the same time. Cedric grinned maliciously at Tohru, thinking he had him.
However, Tohru had also reached into his pocket to grab a hold of the Pig Talisman, causing his eyes to light up, much to Cedric's shock before he was blasted in the chest by a pair of heat-beam eyes to send Cedric spiraling backwards, and allowing Tohru to push himself back to shore to try and regain his breath. But he didn't have too long to recover as Cedric emerged from the water with a roar to lunge himself at Tohru again, but the sumo was quick to turn around and blast him again with his heat-beam eyes.
Back in the mines, most of the mines were already beginning to collapse as the outer seals were among the first to go, already beginning to cause a flood. Irma and Cornelia tried to reach out with their respective elements to hold back the water and keep the mine from collapsing completely. At the same time, both Taranee and Jade combined their own elements to send a spiraling attack of flame and shadow directly at Tarakudo, but he had already sent a condensed psychic blast in the middle of their attack to not only disperse it, but also send both Guardians tumbling back toward the ground.
Jackie, Caleb, Will, and even Julian ran to their defenses, taking either martial art stance or wielded some kind of weapon, a katana for Caleb and a random pickaxe for Julian.
"Nuh, nuh, uh." Tarakudo sang. "You can try to fight me if you want, or you could spend this time saving all the pour little souls still trapped in this make-shift tomb. But let's be honest here, we all know what choice you're going to make."
Most of the heroes looked toward Tarakudo with disgust. "You coward!" Caleb exclaimed.
"It's called strategy, rebel-boy. You could stand to learn a thing or two from it." Tarakudo mocked before vanishing.
"Guys…. I don't know…. How long we can hold this back….!" Cornelia strained.
"So…. Yeah…. Might wanna pick up the pace…!" Irma urged.
"We need to get everyone out of here! Now!" Will exclaimed.
"The slaves are scattered all around the tunnels, but they should be making their way back soon!" Julian informed. "But there might also be some chained to the rock-base nearby!"
"Everyone spread out! Gather as many of the prisoners as you can and bring them here!" Jackie ordered. With that, everyone split off into separate directions. Just as Julian had stated, most of the slaves were already running as water began to overflow several of the collapsing tunnels, but most of the Guardians had already intercepted them and began to lead them back toward the main shaft. Also, as Julian had predicted, Jade found a group of slaves chained to a large rock. She generated a set of shadow-claws in her hands to cut the chains and set them free.
"Is this everyone?" Taranee questioned as all the slaves regrouped around the Guardians.
"Yes, that's everyone." Julian confirmed.
"Water's already flooding in through the main entrance!" Caleb informed. "Tarakudo must have hit that place first!"
"I can make a hole straight through the rocks…" Cornelia said, still trying her best to keep the mine from collapsing. "But… the lake water would just come in faster…"
"Don't think I can… hold that much…" Irma was already starting to lose her grip.
"Is there a place that's air-tight that we can seal ourselves inside?" Jackie asked the slaves.
"There's a guard's room, up there!"
They all looked in surprise to see this came from one of the guards as they all began to recover from their fight with the heroes.
"Please take us with you!"
"You can't leave us here! We won't survive!"
"They're people, too!" Hay Lin told her friends. "Or weird-creature-people anyway."
"Alright but leave your weapons behind!" Caleb told the enemy guards, which they all dropped without any hesitation.
"Everyone to the guard's room! Now!" Will ordered.
All of the slaves and guards were the first to enter the guard's room as Irma and Cornelia continued to hold back as much as the collapsing mine and flooding waters. Taranee and Hay Lin helped them inside as Jade, Will, Jackie, Caleb, and Julian were the last to enter before the door was closed shut, which Taranee sealed by welding it with her fire-powers.
The second it was sealed, Irma and Cornelia let their powers go, causing all the floodwater to rush into the main chamber of the mine, as well as the outer structure to begin collapsing. Everyone could already feel the rumbling from inside the room.
"Even if this room is air-tight, it won't stand up to all the rubble! We'll be crushed!" Taranee stated.
"Let me handle that." Jade rubbed her hands together as she channeled all the shadows of every living person in the room and began to direct them through the cracks and outside the room, before they all stretched and merged together, creating a massive sphere of shadow that completely encompassed the entire guard's room.
"Cornelia, make a hole!" Jackie told the blonde who nodded in response, despite being tired, she was still able to stand back up and channel her powers through the stone in the mines, creating a large hole in the ceiling, causing the water to flood in faster, but Jade's shadow-sphere kept all the rushing floodwater and crushing debris from destroying the guard's room as the disabled room left the collapsed mine and floated up through the lake.
"Jade's power will keep us protected, while the buoyancy of this air-tight room will cause the entire structure to rise straight toward the surface." Jackie stated.
"Guess physics can defeat magic, too." Taranee commented.
Back on the surface, Alchemy continued to run at super speed thanks to the Rabbit Talisman, only to find herself literally cornered between two massive boulders as the Dark Chi Warrior Hak Foo landed behind her, trapping her completely.
"Demon Corners Helpless Child." Hak Foo approached her menacingly.
Suffice to say, Alchemy was quite frightened. "Back off!" She brandished the Dragon Talisman. "Unless you wanna taste dragon…!" Hak Foo however slapped the Talisman out of her hands, causing her to gulp as Hak Foo pulled back a fist and lunged it at her, causing her to scream.
However, the fist never made contact as some invisible force seemed to block it. Said force turned visible to reveal himself to be Uncle with both the Snake and Ox Talismans in hand. "Hello." He then picked up the shocked Hak Foo with one hand before spinning him around. "And goodbye!" He then threw Hak Foo away all the way to the other side of the lake, causing him to poof once he hit the ground.
"Alchemy, are you alright?" Tohru asked as he quickly made his way toward her.
"Yeah… thanks guys." Alchemy said with relief. "So, what happened to the other two?"
"They had too much of a piece of Uncle and Tohru, and are indisposed." Uncle gestured further away from the shore, where the beaten forms of Daolon Wong and Cedric laid sprawled across the ground, both clearly unconscious.
Suddenly, a sphere of shadow emerged from the lake, much to their surprised, which was quickly dispersed to reveal the guard's room, with the roof exploding as the Guardians, primarily Jade, Cornelia, and Irma fell back in exhaustion with their friends helping them on their feet.
"That…. Was quite a workout…" Cornelia breathed.
"Yeah, let's hope we don't have to do that again anytime soon." Jade commented in exhaustion.
However, this reprieve did not last long as all six Guardians, along with Jackie and Caleb, were ensnared by a powerful telekinetic grip that pulled them straight up toward the hovering and smirking Oni King.
"Quite the performance there." Tarakudo commented. "But, now most if not all of you are quite exhausted, and unable to defend yourselves." He was about to deliver the finishing strike, however…
"Tarakudo!" He turned around to look in surprise to see a flying Tohru, courtesey of the Rooster Talisman, brandish a blowfish. "Let them go!" He blasted a spell at the Oni King. The second it made contact, Tarakudo was forced to drop all eight of his victims as he felt a stinging sensation in his eyes.
"Ugh! My eyes! My eyes!" He vanished in a puff of green smoke as the heroes recovered and looked toward Tohru in surprise.
"A special onion-Anti-Oni stun spell I devised, just in case." Tohru explained.
"You the man, T!" Irma smirked with a fist pump as everyone began to cheer at their victory or liberation in the case of the freed slaves.
"How long till he comes back?" Hay Lin asked.
"These people will be safe in the Infinite City long before that happens." Taranee replied.
Once their makeshift boat made it to shore, the heroes allowed the guards they saved to leave on their own while the freed slaves made their plans to get to the Infinite City where their friend and families were likely waiting for them.
Caleb approached the regrouped Chan Clan, specifically Jade. "How's that for a rescue?"
"From one loose cannon to another, not bad." Jade replied as the two exchanged a high-five.
"Okay, since when are those two getting along?" Cornelia questioned with some irritation.
"Oh Cornelia, is that jealousy I hear in your voice?" Will teased.
"What!? No!" Cornelia quickly said as her cheeks turned red. "I'm glad Jade and Caleb are friends! It's totally great!"
"Just as long as they stay friends, right?" Irma teased as well, causing Cornelia to grumble.
"Hey, you guys wanna come with us and help celebrate back in the Infinite City?" Caleb offered. "There might even be a dance there." He said to Cornelia specifically, causing her to blush as she played with her hair slightly.
"I'm sure that sounds great, Caleb." Jackie told him. "But I believe we've had our fair share of excitement for today. Go and celebrate with your father and friends, you've earned it."
"The rest of us got a delivery to make." Will added as she gestured toward the pile of beaten guards, along with the unconscious Wong and Cedric.
Caleb nodded in understanding as his father walked toward him. "Somehow Caleb, I knew you'd come for me."
"Welcome back to the Rebellion, Dad." Caleb smiled before he and his father wrapped their arms around each other in a loving embrace.
As Jeek helped himself to a bowl of fruit, Phobos sat on his throne with a chuckle thinking he had perhaps achieved the greatest victory he could imagine. "The Guardians, the rebel leader, his traitorous father, and even that irksome Jackie Chan, all in one glorious night!" However, his celebration was interrupted as a magical projection appeared in front of him, showing him something he did not expect to see. "WHAT?!"
The image was of his castle courtyard, while Cedric, Wong, and all the defeated guards laid in a large pile with Jackie, Will, Jade, Irma, Uncle, Hay Lin, Tohru, Cornelia, Alchemy, and Taranee either smirking or glaring through the projection directly at the dark prince.
"Here are your thugs, Phobos!" Will stated.
"Now, you may want to give them thirty minutes on the spin cycle." Cornelia mocked.
"We have freed the slaves from your mines." Tohru stated with a serious expression. "They are all safe and secure, and far from your grasp."
"And the mines themselves… let's just say we did a little remodeling, so you may wanna start up shop somewhere else." Jade put in with a smirk.
"Oh, and your little floating head BFF is getting some onion-magic gunk out of his eyes." Irma added. "But I gotta warn ya, when he gets back, he's not gonna have good news for ya."
"You can throw whatever tricks, deception, or minions you want at us." Jackie warned. "But it will not stop us, nothing will stop us from defeating you and ending your reign over this world. We are coming for you, Phobos!"
"One more thing." Uncle added as he drew a sutra from his person and threw it outward. The entire projection then flashed a bright green, causing Phobos and Jeek to shield their eyes briefly before looking to see a static image of Uncle's head.
"One more thing." He said before blowing raspberries again, right as the projection glitched and repeated "One more thing" again to blow raspberries. "One more thing." Another blowing of raspberries. "One more thing." Once again, more raspberries. Phobos' only response was a rage-filled yell that echoed throughout his entire throne room.
Done.
This chapter was quite fun, and I hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing. My personal favorite moment was that small scene between Caleb and Jade, the two really do have quite a bit in common, and I think this may be the start of a beautiful friendship.
Next up, we resume the hunt for the Oni-Masks with a very special chapter that I'm sure you'll all get a kick out off. Until then, please stay safe and stay healthy out there.