Hi everyone, thanks once again for waiting. With this chapter, we are entering the battle for the eighth Oni mask. Things are going to get interesting here, something will happen in this episode that will change everything throughout the rest of this story. As for what this something is… you'll have to see (evil laugh).
So, without further delay, let's get started.
The Shadow Eaters
The group consisting of Jackie, Will, Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, Taranee, Cornelia, Uncle, and Caleb rode on a motorboat that Jackie was steering through the bayou of the southern region of the United States toward their destination.
"Out of all the places on Earth we get to go to in this whole 'world tour' thing, we just had to end up in a swamp." Cornelia complained as she swatted away several bugs that flew around her.
"It's not a swamp, Cornelia. It's a bayou." Taranee explained. "A swamp is a piece of wet ground, while a bayou is basically a still or slow-moving river."
"Potato-potato." The blonde dismissed. "They both have way too many bugs." She tried to swat away several more insects that swarmed around her, with the others having a similar predicament.
"Girls, please focus." Jackie told them. "If the Hanafuda Cards are correct, then the next Oni mask…"
"Has gotta be there!" Jade pointed to a shack that was built on the water.
"I don't see any sign of the enemy." Caleb said as he looked in all directions with his binoculars. "But that doesn't mean they won't show up."
"Oh, this is totally the worst place for the bad guys to show up." Irma said. "We're in a swamp, and I'm the water Guardian. Total homefield advantage."
"Don't get cocky. This is the eighth mask out of nine." Will said. "We've already captured seven. They're going to get desperate to try and get these last two, so let's be on guard."
"Yeah, I'll feel a lot more comfortable when we actually get the mask and lock it up in Section 13." Taranee agreed.
"Where is card indicating mask removal ingredient?" Uncle asked.
"I got it." Hay Lin held the card up in her hand, only for a gust of wind to blow it out of her hand, much to everyone's shock as Jackie stopped the boat.
"Aiya!" Uncle exclaimed.
"Grab it! Quick somebody grab it!" Cornelia shouted as everyone stood up to try and grab the card as it began to fly away, but Hay Lin used her control over air to pull the card back toward them, only for another gust of wind to blow it over them and land on the water on the port side of their boat, much to their relief.
"Oh man… that was way too close." Hay Lin said as she tried to reach for the card, only for an alligator to suddenly shoot itself out with an open mouth, swallowing the card whole before sinking back into the river.
Everyone had the same wide-eyed and jaw-dropped expression over what had just happened.
"Uh… Hay Lin." Jade began. "You… saw what the ingredient on the card was… right?"
The only response Hay Lin gave was a slight nervous laugh with a guilty shrug. "That would be… no." Cornelia sulked, causing everyone to look either annoyed or disappointed.
Jackie sighed. "There is nothing we can do about it now. Let us just get the mask and leave immediately." He started the boat back up and drove it toward the dock on the shack before shutting off the engine to park it at the dock.
"I'm really, really, really, really, sorry guys." Hay Lin winced as they all got off.
"Forget it, crap happens." Will said. "We'll just have to make sure nobody wears the mask this time."
"Oh right, because that's worked out so well the past seven times." Irma said sarcastically as they made their way toward the shack and stepped inside.
The interior of the hut caused Uncle and even Caleb to gasp as it looked like the inside of a voodoo doctor's office. It had odd looking candles, even one that appeared to be attached to a skull, voodoo dolls with pins already in them, lizard pelts, carpets, and drapes with stars on them, and symbols with illuminati eyes.
"Wha… what is this place?!" Caleb exclaimed, already grabbing the hilt of his katana.
"Dark magic resides here…" Uncle had a similar feeling.
"Calm down guys, they're just props." Taranee told them. "None of this stuff is real."
"But… I think I might have seen it before." Hay Lin looked around. Before she and Jade both gasped as they came to the same realization.
"We're in Miss Kimber's psychic shack!" Hay Lin and Jade both exclaimed as they looked toward each other excitingly.
"Whoa! No way! Seriously?!" Will exclaimed as the other girls looked more than a little excited too.
"Miss Who, psychic what?" Jackie asked.
"Ugh, how do you not know her?" Cornelia questioned as she pointed toward a self-portrait of the aforementioned woman. "Miss Kimber? From the psychic hotline?"
"She's like totally the most popular psychic on TV, duh." Irma pointed out.
"Think she might let us get an autograph?" Jade asked.
"What is a psychic?" Caleb asked. "We don't have any of that in Meridian."
"A psychic is usually someone who has the ability to read the minds of others, or even their souls." Taranee explained. "Sometimes they can even see the future."
Uncle however gave a skeptic scoff. "No one can see future. All psychics are…"
"Phonies?" A new voice finished as a dark-skinned woman with a purple robe stepped out from a separate room, which had a television camera and other similar pieces of equipment inside. "I knew you were going to say that."
"Oh Miss Kimber! It is so cool to meet you!" Hay Lin shook her hand enthusiastically. "I am…"
"My biggest fan? I knew you were going to say that little Hay Lin." She finished, causing Hay Lin to gasp with an awe-struck expression.
"You know may name!"
"Oh, I know much more than that." She reached into her robe to pull out a total of nine dolls that represented the whole group. What stuck out even more were the dolls of Jade, Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin, appeared to be of the six girls in their respective Guardian forms.
"Whoa… she's good." Jade pointed out.
"She knew we were coming?" Caleb looked in surprise.
"A cheap trick." Uncle dismissed as he remained skeptical. "Fortune teller saw us approach." He got a good look at the dolls. "But she is very skilled doll maker."
"You've gone up against dragons, demons, evil wizards, shapeshifters, and all sorts of monsters, but you're skeptical when it comes to psychics? How does that make sense?" Cornelia questioned the old man.
"Wait a second…" Taranee got a good look at the dolls. "Aren't those…?"
"Oh, you don't have to play coy with me." Miss Kimber said. "You six young ladies are magic Guardians, armed with elemental powers and sworn to fight the Forces of Darkness. And said Forces of Darkness are racing you to claim one of these…" She walked over to a shelf and showed the Oni mask she had in her possession. This mask was a light and faded yellow color with orange eyebrows and a single horn on its forehead.
"You… You really know about us?" Will asked in awe.
"How… How could you have known this?" Jackie asked, more than a little surprised.
"Boy's not too quick on the update, huh?" Miss Kimber asked the girls briefly. "I'm psychic, hon."
"Man it must be true if you know we got kick ass magic powers." Irma said. "Oh I have got so many questions I want to ask you right now. What are the answers for my next math test? How do I get Martin to stop bugging me? What's the answer to the universe? And don't say it's 42!"
"Um… bigger things to worry about right now!" Caleb pointed out. "If you can really see the future and you know about our mission, then you know why we have to take this mask." He spoke.
"Oh, I know why you have to take it, sugar." Miss Kimber confirmed. "But the stars do not say you take it, he does." She pulled out another doll, this one of a certain buff man, still bearing the appearance of his Dark Chi Warrior form.
"Hak Foo?!" All except Uncle exclaimed.
"God… I hope not." Will gulped.
"Heh, stars do not talk." Uncle reaffirmed.
"So, that is the mask…" Everyone turned toward the door to see the Dark Chi Warrior, Hak Foo, enter the shack, much to everyone's shock. "…Destined for my face!"
"Will, time to Shazam up!" Jade exclaimed.
Not needing to be told twice, the redhead pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar and said the magic words. "Guardians Unite!" With one flash transformation, the six girls of the group had transformed into J-WITCH once more.
Miss Kimber looked with a smirk and crossed arms. "Every bit as flashy as I expected."
Immediately; Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, and Taranee combined their powers into a powerful surge of shadow, water, air, and fire that blasted Hak Foo out of the shack and sent him flying through the air. Though he did flip while airborne to land on his feet in the water.
"Sorry, we will fix the damage later, thank you!" Jackie told Miss Kimber as he took the Oni mask and fled with Caleb, Uncle, and the girls.
"I knew he was going to say that, too." Miss Kimber said aloud.
However, they didn't make it very far outside as they found their path blocked by Cedric, in his human form, and Daolon Wong.
"Thank you for retrieving the mask for us, Guardians." Cedric smirked.
"We'll be taking it now." Wong added.
"How about you take this instead!" Cornelia channeled her earth power into the wood on the dock to shake it before exploding the planks the villainous duo were under to send them both flying.
"Jackie, Caleb, you guys take the mask and go! We'll hold them off!" Will stated.
"What?! We can't just leave…!" Caleb tried to protest.
"Will's right, we don't have the removal ingredient!" Taranee agreed. "We gotta keep that mask off anyone's face no matter what!"
"They're right Caleb, we have to go." Even Jackie agreed.
"Alright." Caleb said with reluctance as he and Jackie boarded the motorboat. Jackie was quick to start it up as they drove away.
Suddenly, the water in the bayou exploded as Cedric emerged in his massive humanoid serpent form, with Daolon Wong standing on his shoulder to face the six Guardians hovering over them.
"We do not have time for this." Cedric hissed. "Warrior, with me!" He called to Hak Foo as Daolon Wong aimed his staff at the water to freeze a solid patch of it and allow him to stand up. Hak Foo had also appeared as he leapt from his previous spot to cling to Cedric's back and swim after the motorboat.
"Jade, Irma, Hay Lin; you guys and I will help Jackie and Caleb!" Will instructed. "Cornelia, Taranee, you take Wong!"
Everyone nodded as the shadow, water, and air Guardians joined their leader, leaving those of earth and fire to face Daolon Wong. Taranee attacked first with a stream of fire, which Wong met with a stream of his own dark magic; both attacks colliding and pressed against each other. Cornelia then directed the ground underneath the water, and the ice-patch Wong was standing on, to shoot up in the form of a large mound. However, as Wong flew, he waved his scepter to create a large demonic looking dragonfly to ride on as he shot it downward to face the two Guardians.
Meanwhile, as Jackie continued to steer the motorboat, Caleb glanced behind them to see the pursuing Cedric with Hak Foo riding on top. "Faster Jackie, they're gaining on us!"
"I am going as fast as I can!" Jackie stated.
However, neither Cedric nor Hak Foo appeared to notice the four Guardians flying over them. Hay Lin and Irma nodded to each other as the later aimed her control over water directly in front of Cedric to block his path with a large wall of water; while Hay Lin spun her arms around to create a tornado around him in an attempt to trap him.
Cedric roared in fury. "Get the mask!" He commanded Hak Foo, who leapt from his back and up above the tornado straight toward the motorboat, having landed right on it. Caleb quickly drew his katana to face Hak Foo and was later joined by Will and Jade, both taking their respective combat stances as Hak Foo attacked.
At the same time, Uncle remained in Miss Kimber's shack, crouching over a small cauldron on the floor as he attempted to prepare a mask removal spell.
"And what do you think you're whipping up, sugar?" Miss Kimber asked.
"If you can truly see future, you would know Uncle is devising removal spell in case mask is worn." Uncle said before sighing. "Only… Uncle must learn of missing key ingredient."
Miss Kimber gave something of a dramatic gasp. "You hear that? The stars are talking. And they say you can have the answer you seek revealed by yours truly, for only $9.95 a minute."
Uncle gave a gasp of his own before pointing accusingly toward her. "You are fraud and money grubber!"
Back outside, Wong and his demonic dragonfly flew over the canopy as Taranee and Cornelia gave pursuit, the former throwing a multitude of fireballs at the enemy, while Wong raised a dark magic shield over himself and his insectoid steed for protection before the dragonfly itself spat some kind of substance towards the girls, who flew away to avoid it as it hit a tree, which quickly began to melt away.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Taranee exclaimed. "Dragonflies don't have any acidic spit!"
"Ugh, I really, really hate bugs!" Cornelia appeared to have enough of as she directed her control of the earth over the trees directly under Wong's dragonfly before they shot a series of branches up like spikes to impale and skewer the massive insect in all places, the force of the impact sending Wong flying off his steed.
At the same time; Cedric continued to roar furiously as he ripped a tree from its base and threw it at the two Guardians he was facing; Hay Lin quickly compressed a large air-disk, using it as a makeshift defense to slice the tree in half as both halves flew past her and Irma. But this appeared to leave them open for Cedric to smack his tail at both of them to send them crashing towards the water.
Irma skidded for a bit before coming to a stop. She didn't have time to rest hover as she spotted several alligators coming directly at her. Acting on instinct, Irma shot herself into the air to avoid the deadly jaws of the aquatic predators.
"Wheh… sorry boys, but I'm not on the menu." Irma said to the alligators that actually growled at her in response. However, an idea soon came to her. "But I know someone who is."
Hay Lin gave a yelp as Cedric grabbed her by the throat with his tail and slammed her into a tree. He sneered directly to her face before he heard a whistle.
"Hey, Cedric!" He turned around at the sound of Irma's voice calling him as she flew toward him, directing a massive wave of water below her, which just so happen to carry over a dozen alligators inside. "You got some long distant cousins who wanna see you! Bon appetite, boys!" She shot the wave at Cedric, the force of the impact sending him skidding and crashing through the water of the bayou.
Cedric shot himself out of the water but was quickly swarmed by multiple alligators as they bit at him from all directions and all over his body. "Get off of me!" He tried to swat and throw the alligators away. "Get your fitly claws off me!" This only resulted in Cedric getting his arms bitten as the alligators appeared to overwhelm him and pull him underwater, where he continued to try and fight them off.
Hay Lin couldn't help but wince. "Ouch… that's kinda brutal."
Irma didn't appear to feel as guilty, however. "Hey, Jackie said to use the environment to our advantage."
Meanwhile, Will threw out a punch, Caleb sliced his katana, and even Jade slashed with her shadow claws. All three tried to attack Hak Foo at once, but he braced his arms to take the attack before throwing them out to send all three of them flying off the motorboat before reaching toward Jackie, who was forced to stop steering the boat, while it continued to run as he tried to keep the mask away from Hak Foo, moving as quick and agile as humanely possible to keep his Dark Chi enhanced enemy from so much as touching him.
Fortunately, Will and Jade stabilized themselves in the air as the former caught Caleb before they flew back down to catch the out-of-control motorboat, causing it to turn around and go back the way it came. Jade generated a long shadow whip before throwing it out to ensnare Hak Foo around the throat as he grabbed Jackie by his shirt. This forced Hak Foo to let Jackie go briefly as he tried to regain control of the boat, but Hak Foo escaped the binding to grab Jackie again and try to take the mask, accidentally causing him to drop the mask; but Will and Caleb slammed into Hak Foo before Jade joined as all three tried to pin him down.
"Don't let him get the mask!" Will exclaimed.
"Wait… who is steering?" Jackie asked nervously, causing all four of them to stop fighting as they not only saw that nobody was steering the boat, but they also saw what they were about to crash into.
"Uh oh…" Will, Jade, Caleb, and Hak Foo all gulped at the same time.
"And here is prediction for you… I see piece of Uncle in your future!" Uncle pointed toward Miss Kimber.
"Whenever you're done hon, you're gonna wanna scooch a tad to the left." She advised.
Uncle crossed his arms stubbornly at first, but when he heard the sound of an approaching motorboat, he quickly stood up and moved toward the left, just as the out-of-control motorboat Jackie, Will, Jade, Caleb, and Hak Foo all rode on crashed straight through the shack and even further across the water before reaching land, where it skidded for a bit before crashing onto a tree trunk, finally stopping it and sending everyone flying in multiple directions; landing roughly on the mud.
"Heh, talk about a mudslide." Jade tried to joke as she, Caleb, Jackie, and Will pulled themselves up, all of them covered in mud. Hak Foo was likewise also covered in mud as he tried to shake off the dizziness.
A familiar old man's screams echoed through the sky as Daolon Wong finally fell down and crashed into the mud as well, close to Hak Foo, and he wasn't the only one. Cedric even emerged from the bayou's bank, shaking off as many alligators as he could before pulling himself up onto land, weakly crawling across the mud, his whole body was covered in bleeding bite marks as he appeared well out of breath.
The other four Guardians soon joined their friends. "Hey, we saw the boat crash! Is everyone alright?!" Taranee asked urgently.
"A little dirty and dizzy, but we'll survive." Caleb assured as he wiped some mud from his face.
"Why is Cedric covered in bite marks and blood?" Jackie asked, seeing the state the large shapeshifter was in.
"Oh, I sicked a bunch of alligators on him." Irma said proudly.
"Nice." Jade pointed a finger of approval toward her friend.
"Yeah, that's great and all, but where's the mask?" Cornelia questioned.
Hak Foo stood up straight, wiping the mud off his entire body to reveal that said Oni mask was already fused to his face. His own blue Dark Chi markings turned pitch black, just like when Ratso wore the second mask, and his voice sounded deeper and far more demonic.
"At last!" Hak Foo sneered, much to the horror of the heroes.
"Aw crap." Will muttered.
"Guy's already like Superman charged as a Dark Chi warrior, now he's got Oni strength on top of that!?" Irma questioned.
"Why do I have a feeling it's gonna be way worse than when Ratso had his mask…" Hay Lin winced, not even bothering to conceal the terror in her voice.
Wong and Cedric both saw this as well as they chuckled evilly. "To think, the mask would now fall onto my strongest warrior." Wong smiled with malevolence as he and Cedric both turned toward the heroes.
"And according to Tarakudo, this particular mask can summon arguably the most dangerous and powerful tribe of Shadowkhan yet, even more terrifying than those controlled by Ikazuki." Cedric said to them as his sneer only grew.
"And now Chan and Guardians, prepare to face true horror." Oni-Hak Foo needed no help to call upon the darkness within. "Demon summons ninja army!"
Everyone braced themselves as the Shadowkhan emerged from the mud, like zombies rising from the grave. They didn't appear to have any limbs whatsoever and appeared to have gray V-shaped visors for eyes… and were each only an inch tall.
"Um… what?" Caleb looked in surprise, while the girls and Jackie each had their own wide-eyed expressions over the tiny Shadowkhan; but none appeared more shocked, or mortified, than the villainous trio.
"What…?!" Cedric stuttered. "How… they… they..."
"Why… why are….?" Wong also stuttered.
"Why are they… so… so…" Even Oni-Hak Foo was stuttering.
"…So cute!" Hay Lin gushed before Jade, Irma, and Cornelia busted out laughing.
"Oh, that is just priceless!" Cornelia laughed. "Most feared tribe of Shadowkhan, my butt!"
"This is funnier than when Uriah got a mask stuck to his ass!" Irma also laughed.
"You guys got a dud! Lucky us!" Jade laughed the hardest.
Cedric and Wong both growled in frustration, but none appeared more frustrated than Hak Foo himself as he gave a demonic and bone-chilling roar that silenced all forms of laughter.
"DEMON COMPENSATES FOR INFERIOR NINJA ARMY!" He shouted as he leapt into the air and raised both his fists to slam them into the ground in front of the heroes, creating a powerful shockwave that was almost equivalent to an earthquake. The shockwave was so powerful, it created a crater upon impact, leveled most of the trees in a five-meter radius, and sent the heroes flying back in all directions.
"UGH!" Cedric roared in rage. "What an absolute waste of time! We've finally retrieved an Oni mask, only to get… this!" He gestured to the tiny Shadowkhan gathered around them.
"How do you think I feel?!" Oni-Hak Foo questioned. "They're supposed to be my ninjas!"
Wong appeared equally frustrated but seemed capable of restraining himself. "Well, at the very least, our warrior is far stronger now than he was before. So, I would say this is still something of a victory."
"Let us hope Prince Phobos feels the same way." Cedric hissed as Wong waved his scepter, causing all three of them to vanish along with most of the tiny Shadowkhan.
The Guardians, minus Cornelia, flew from their respective crash sites towards what was left of Miss Kimber's shack, Irma carried Jackie while Jade carried Caleb as they set down on the docks just as Uncle and Miss Kimber both walked outside.
"Miss Kimber… we're really… really sorry about your place." Will apologized.
"We can make some calls and have some friends help to repair." Jackie offered, hopping Section 13 could get this taken care of.
"Eh, don't worry about it, hon." Miss Kimber waved off. "I have enough money and insurance to cover this, as well as a back-up shack just in case."
"You really thought that far ahead?" Caleb asked. "What, did you know this was going to happen?" Miss Kimber looked at him with a partially annoyed expression.
"Psychic, remember?" Taranee reminded the young rebel.
"Oh… right."
"Where is mask?" The elderly Chi-wizard questioned.
"Hak Foo has it, Uncle." Jackie replied.
"On the plus side, his Shadowkhan are total duds. They're like microscopic." Irma said.
"But on the downside, he's like way stronger than he was before." Jade added.
"He was like Superman before as a Dark Chi warrior, but with an Oni mask he's like gamma-charged up! Like if Superman were to become the Hulk!" Hay Lin tried to describe it as best she could.
"Where is Cornelia?" Uncle asked upon seeing they were one Guardian short.
"Right here." The blonde flew down with a mudball in her hand. "I went back to that mudhole… and look what I got." She showed them the mudball, which she controlled with her Earth magic, to keep a tiny Shadowkhan that was left behind trapped.
Uncle gave a slight gasp. "Tinny… Tiny… Shadowkhan."
"Must have got left behind." Taranee assumed.
"And you captured it?" Hay Lin asked.
"Well, if we don't have the card with the removal ingredient, maybe we could find something from this little guy." Cornelia said.
Jackie looked with an impressed smile. "That is a good idea, well done Cornelia."
"Yeah, nice work." Caleb complemented, causing Cornelia to blush from both their praise as the other Guardians seemed to nod and smile with approval and congratulations as well.
"Way to use your brain for once." Jade cracked.
"Thanks guys, I…" Cornelia then turned to Jade with a glare. "Hey! What do you mean, 'for once'?!"
Heatherfield – Uncle's Rare Finds
It was rather late at night as Alchemy finished reading the chapter of a spell book. The girl gave a yawn as she rubbed her eyes. "So… this turns you into frogs…?" She asked tiredly as Tohru sat across from her.
"Yes. But I believe that is enough for tonight." Tohru told her.
"Really?" Alchemy gave another yawn before looking at the clock to see how late it really was. "Wow… no idea."
"But I am glad to know you're so interested in studying chi-magic." Tohru told her. "Still, you got to learn to pace yourself."
"I just… wanna help as much as I can…" Alchemy said, her eyelids already feeling rather heavy.
"And that's sweet of you." Yan Lin also walked in with a tray that had two glasses of milk and a bowl of chocolate chip cookies. "But if you push yourself too hard, you risk burning yourself out. Trust me, I've seen it before. So, do yourself a favor and get some sleep after you have a sweet little snack."
"Thanks Miss Lin." Alchemy smiled as she reached for a cookie and dipped it in her glass, with Tohru doing the same.
"Hmm, milk and…"
"Tohru! Research!" Uncle's loud voice called out as he walked into the shop, suddenly waking up Alchemy while Tohru accidentally crushed the cookie in his hand.
"…Crumbs." Tohru sulked.
"Wow… you guys got back late." Alchemy noted as Jackie, Caleb, and the girls all walked inside, all of them looking ready to fall asleep where they stood.
"It was a long flight… and we're all tired." Will grumbled.
"I already called all your parents and told them you would be spending the night here, and I would help supervise." Yan Lin told the girls. "Which isn't technically a lie this time."
"Thanks Grandma…" Hay Lin yawned.
"I'll roll out the extra futons, but some of you girls may have to share." Jackie said.
"That's fine with me." Irma didn't seem to care at this point, they were all so tired.
"What about you, Caleb?" Cornelia asked as the young rebel already sat down on a rocking chair.
"I can manage here for the night." Caleb said as he already had his eyes closed.
"Whatever… good night everyone." Jade yawned as the girls followed Jackie upstairs.
"Be careful with the Mini-Khan in there… we don't know what it does…" Taranee tiredly said as she was the last one to leave.
"Mini-Khan?" Tohru and Alchemy asked simultaneously.
"Jin, what happened out there?" Yan Lin asked him, who put down a covered jar on the counter.
"Hak Foo has Oni mask." Uncle explained. "We lost card containing key ingredient, but we have done something rather monumental! Never before have we captured a Shadowkhan!" He removed the cloth to reveal the Mini-Khan they captured earlier.
"That's a Shadowkhan?" Alchemy looked in surprise.
"It is… so cute!" Even Tohru gushed at it, with Alchemy following along.
"Awe! Who's a cute widdle minion of darkness? You are! Yes, you are!" Alchemy gushed.
"Do not let your guard down, you two." Yan Lin warned. "We can't underestimate a Shadowkhan."
"Agreed. Uncle will bring Japanese reference book so you can get busy." Uncle told Tohru as he walked into the back room. "Who knows what close-study of our captive may uncover."
Tohru let out a defeated and exhausted sigh. "Yes, sensei."
Yan Lin gave the large man a sympathetic pat on the back. "I'll prep some coffee." She said as she left to the kitchen.
Tohru smiled in the elderly woman's direction before turning to Alchemy, who had already fallen back to sleep, sitting on the chair, and resting on the table she was previously studying on. Tohru stood up with a slight smile as he put a small blanket over her. He was about to help himself to another cookie when he heard the jar rattle a bit.
The sumo/chi-wizard in-training turned around to see the Mini-Khan looking at him, bouncing up and down like a puppy begging for a treat. Tohru briefly looked at the tiny cookie in his hand as the Mini-Khan continued to bounce. He then walked over to the desk, his large shadow falling over the jar as Tohru slipped the tiny cookie in the jar, the Mini-Khan bending over and appeared to be eating.
"Cookie eating Shadowkhan." Tohru smiled humorously. However, he began to feel rather weak, causing him to stand up. As he looked at the palm of his hand, he noticed the shadow of his hand behind it had several holes in it, much to his shock. "My shadow!"
He turned around, grasping his hand in shock, and taking his eyes off the Mini-Khan as it's visor actually opened up to reveal a set of serrated teeth, which it used to bite down on Tohru's shadow before gulping the whole thing and growing in size. Before Tohru even knew what was happening, he fell over on the ground, causing a loud crash that awoke both Alchemy and Caleb.
"What… what was that?!" Caleb asked in a startle.
"Tohru!" Alchemy quickly ran over to him, followed by Caleb. However, their attention turned toward the jar, which had the growing Mini-Khan inside, before the jar itself shattered to reveal that the Mini-Khan had grown at least ten times its own size, now the size of a human head as it snarled at them.
"What in the heck?!" Caleb exclaimed as Alchemy screamed. The Mini-Khan leapt toward the pair, but Caleb quickly grabbed a random spell book and used it as a make-shift weapon to smack and knock it back.
The scream was enough to wake up everyone in the shop as Uncle and Yan Lin were the first to arrive. "Alchemy, what's wrong!?" Yan Lin questioned.
"That! That's what's wrong!" She pointed toward the Mini-Khan, causing both the elders to look in shock at the transformed creature.
"AIYA!" Uncle exclaimed.
"Uncle!" Jackie's voice called out as he and the girls quickly ran down the stairs.
"What?! What's going on down here!?" Taranee questioned as they all gasped upon seeing the larger Mini-Khan that turned to them with its serrated teeth.
"What the heck?!" Cornelia exclaimed upon seeing it. The creature turned toward the large group, spotting the massive shadow they were casting before leaping toward them, but Will quickly brandished the Heart of Kandrakar on instinct, it's bright light shining out to blast the Mini-Khan back. It growled at Will in particular as Uncle tried to shoot at it with his blowfish, but the Mini-Khan leapt toward the shadow in the corner to melt into it and vanish.
"Is it gone?" Will asked.
"Looks like it." Taranee confirmed.
"Okay, somebody wanna explain what the hell that thing was?!" Irma practically screamed.
"Guys, that was the Shadowkhan we brought in!" Caleb revealed, much to the group's shock.
"That little Mini-Khan we grabbed?" Jade questioned.
"How is that possible?" Jackie questioned.
"But… but it was so tiny and cute!" Hay Lin stated. "And that thing was… bigger and not as cute…! I mean, did that thing seriously have teeth?!"
"Forget the Shadowkhan, we got a man down!" Alchemy exclaimed, alerting everyone else to Tohru's condition.
"Tohru!" They all exclaimed as they surrounded him and looked more than a little worried.
"Oh man… please don't tell me he's dead!" Cornelia dreaded, only to receive a dope-slap on the forehead from Uncle. "OW!"
"Not dead! Can you not hear snore?!" Uncle gestured to his unresponsive apprentice, who appeared to be snoring, as if he were asleep.
"Everyone help lift him into the back room." Jackie told the group. The entire group gathered around Tohru's unconscious form as they struggled to help lift him off the ground and began to carry him toward the back room.
"Ugh… I love the big guy and all… but he really needs to lose a few hundred pounds…" Irma winced as they put him down on a matt that Uncle laid out for them, setting Tohru down as most of the group straightened out their backs.
"Okay, so he's still alive, that's good." Jade said with partial relief but was still more than a little worried.
"If he's in some kind of coma, shouldn't we call the hospital?" Taranee asked.
"No doctor on Earth that can help Tohru, now." Yan Lin shook her head. "This is not a disease he has been afflicted with."
"Then what happened to him?" Will asked.
"Tohru is in very deep sleep." Uncle explained as he turned on a nearby table-lamp. "Shadows contain our Yin, one half of our chi." He put his own hand in front of the lamp to show his own shadow for emphasis. "Clearly, this Shadowkhan tribe grows stronger by feeding upon human shadow." He pulled up Tohru's hand in front of the lamp, only to reveal there was no longer a shadow to be cast, much to the group's horror.
"Holy crap…!" Cornelia's face paled.
"That… actually is kinda terrifying." Irma said.
"It's kinda like when we had to deal with all those Elyon duplicates." Alchemy remembered. "Jade, you were able to tell them apart because they didn't have any shadows."
"Yeah… that was kinda creepy." Jade remembered that event quite well.
"Those duplicates were mere projections." Caleb also recalled. "They weren't alive, so they didn't have any of this Chi-stuff, so they couldn't cast any real shadows. Isn't that right?" He asked Yan Lin.
"That is correct, Caleb." Yan Lin confirmed. "And without our shadows, we are doomed to a state of limbo indefinitely."
"And without being able to eat, it won't be long before we starve to death." Taranee added as a new weight of terror set in on the group.
"Yeah… that mask was definitely not a dud." Will pointed out.
"This situation has become far graver than we could have hopped." Jackie said. "How can we stop this, and get Tohru's shadow back?"
"By ending Hak Foo's control over his Shadowkhan." Uncle replied. "But, we cannot remove mask from him without spell ingredient." This caused Hay Lin to wince, feeling really guilty over that whole incident. Will immediately put a hand on her shoulder, silently trying to tell her that it wasn't her fault.
"But, that thing is still a Shadowkhan, right?" The redhead began. "Every single type of Shadowkhan we've faced before can be destroyed. So, if we destroy this… Shadow Eater… wouldn't that send Tohru's shadow back or something?"
"Theoretically, yes." Yan Lin confirmed. "But if we want a permanent solution to this problem, the mask has to be removed. Otherwise, Hak Foo can summon as many as he wants, and the more shadows these Shadow Eaters consume, the stronger they'll get."
"Alright." Jackie began. "Alchemy, you stay here and help Uncle and Miss Lin to find out what the spell ingredient is. The rest of us will locate the Shadow Eater and destroy it."
"And it may not be the only one out there." Caleb also said. "If we've discovered what this tribe is capable of by accident, it won't long before Phobos figures it out too and uses them against us."
"Or Tarakudo could just tell him. Ya know, King of Shadowkhan and all that?" Cornelia reminded.
"Do not be careless!" Uncle told the group. "Your own shadows are at risk!"
"But this thing can't eat the shadows of non-living things, right?" Jade asked. "And my powers let me manipulate shadows…"
"So, you can help keep us from casting shadows, and the Shadow Eaters won't be able to eat them!" Taranee stated. "Jade, you're a genius!"
"I try." Jade smirked.
Meridian – Phobos Castle
"There are nine Oni masks in total…" Phobos began as he sat on his throne. "Eight have been discovered. All of the previous seven attempts to acquire a mask, have all ended in in failure, despite that in most cases, those very same masks have ended up on the face on ally, or someone close to our enemies that have almost been completely corrupted. But now, after seven failures, we finally succeed in not only retrieving an Oni mask, but it is even worn by arguably the strongest warrior in our ranks. Only to find that this mask… seems to control… arguably the absolute Weakest Out OF ALL THE SHADOWKHAN TRIBES!"
The enraged prince stood up from his throne to face Wong, Cedric, and Oni-Hak Foo, who had summoned a small group of Mini-Khan to show the dark prince. As expected, he was not happy with the results. Though a few guards around them couldn't help but snicker as the trio hung their heads in frustration and failure.
"Humblest apologies, my lord." Cedric muttered.
"But surely, this Shadowkhan tribe can serve us…" Wong tried.
"Oh? Please tell me how." Phobos began. "Please tell me how these…. These… insects… these pitiful excuses for Shadowkhan can possibly serve us!" He exclaimed.
Oni-Hak Foo growled as he looked down to his tiny minions. "Show master Phobos your war-faces!" He told them. The Mini-Khan around him tried to look as menacing as possible, but it honestly looked even cuter than before, causing several more guards to chuckle, some struggling to hold back their laughs.
Phobos was more than ready to unleash his fury upon his failed allies, but Tarakudo emerged from behind the throne to quell the situation.
"You really should learn to control that temper of yours." Tarakudo advised the dark prince. "Anger can be a useful tool, so long as you don't allow it to consume you."
"Tarakudo, I have been more than patient since this mission to retrieve the Oni masks began." Phobos told him. "But every person's patience has its limits and I feel I've reached mine with… this." He gestured to the tiny Shadowkhan again, a frustration that was shared by Wong, Cedric, and especially Oni-Hak Foo.
"Phobos, all Shadowkhan are deadly." Tarakudo told him. "You just need to be aware of their strengths."
"You call these strong?" Oni-Hak Foo questioned.
"I see a demonstration is in order." Tarakudo said before he turned toward the guards. "You." He looked to one guard in particular, causing the others around him to step to the side and away from their comrade that the Oni King singled out.
"Um… me?" He pointed toward himself.
"Yes, please take four steps forward." Tarakudo requested. The guard gulped nervously before doing as he was told. Once he took his fourth step, his right side faced a window as the moon light that shined from the outside also shined over him, revealing his own shadow. "So… now what?"
Tarakudo only smirked before he whistled. This caused three of the tiny Shadow Eaters to walk toward the guard's shadow before they bit down on the shadow and began to inhale it, much to the guard's shock.
"What?! What… what are you…?" His shadow as quickly consumed, causing him to fall unconscious on the ground; much to the shock of his fellow guards; even Phobos, Cedric, Wong, and Oni-Hak Foo looked in surprise.
"How in… what happened?!" Cedric questioned as they saw the three tiny Shadow Eaters become much larger, their serrated teeth now clearly visible.
Daolon Wong quickly inspected the down guard. "He is alive… shadows contain half the life force of all living beings, without it, we are rendered to this state of limbo."
"Growing boys need their nutrients after all." Tarakudo said.
Phobos' expression became one that appeared to be intrigued. "Is there a limit to the number of shadows they can consume?"
"Not that I'm aware of." Tarakudo replied. "And during my reign of terror, I've seen these little guys grow to be the size of mountains."
That got Phobos attention. "And they can consume the shadows of all living beings? Even the Guardians?"
"Even the Guardians." Tarakudo confirmed with an evil smirk, which soon mirrored Phobos' own.
"Then it seems I was mistaken earlier." Phobos said as he coolly sat back down in his throne. "Warrior."
"Yes, master?" Oni-Hak Foo bowed, now feeling quite confident in his demonic army.
"Take your Shadowkhan and return to Earth." Phobos instructed. "Go to the home city of Chan and the Guardians and have them consume the shadows of all living creatures there! Once your army has literally grown, return to Meridian and we will use them to crush the Rebellion once and for all! Again, quite literally."
"With pleasure, Lord Phobos." Oni-Hak Foo smiled malevolently. Phobos and Tarakudo exchanged knowing glances, knowing that the Oni spirit inside will corrupt Hak Foo even further. Even Daolon Wong would lose control, despite Hak Foo being a Dark Chi warrior initially.
"We will return to the human realm at once…" Daolon Wong and Cedric both bowed as well.
"I gave no such command." Phobos said, much to their confusion.
"But… Prince Phobos… you just said…" Cedric began.
"I told Hak Foo to return to Earth, but I did not order either of you to do so." The prince explained.
"But… he is my warrior." Wong tried to explain, doing his best to hide his irritation.
"And you, serve me." Phobos told him. "Or have you forgotten?"
"My Prince… I do not understand." Wong said.
"Then allow me to explain it to you, both of you." Phobos began as he spoke to Wong and Cedric. "Nearly every battle you've waged against Chan and the Guardians has ended in failure, and do you know why? It is because the two of you seem to put your needs ahead of the mission. So let me make this as clear as I possibly can. This. Is. Not. About. You."
"Prince Phobos…" Cedric tried, suppressing his growl.
"Do you know why I am so invested in the Shadowkhan?" Phobos continued. "It is because they serve their masters, unequivocally! They do not talk back, they do not alter or change plans because it conflicts with their own agendas, they do not even have agendas of their own! So why would I risk another failure by sending the two of you into a battle, when I stand an even greater chance of succeeding of just using Hak Foo who can control the Shadowkhan without either of you?!"
"Prince Phobos…!" Wong attempted to protest.
"Kneel." He told them.
"What?" Cedric questioned.
"Both of you. On your knees. Now." Phobos' eyes narrowed.
They glared at the prince at first, who raised his hand toward them, readying his own magic. Even Tarakudo hovered by his side, raising an eyebrow at them, indicating he was on Phobos' side with the matter. Realizing they had no choice; both the Dark Chi wizard and the humanoid shapeshifter, kneeled.
"You are my servants. I am your master. You serve me. Nothing me." Phobos told them. "Do you understand?"
"Yes." Cedric said in a low hiss.
"Say it." Phobos demanded.
"We are your servants." Wong practically spat out, feeling nothing short of humiliated in this situation. "You are our master. We… we serve you. N… nothing more."
"Yes, you do." Phobos said. "And do not ever forget it."
Heatherfield – Uncle's Rare Finds
"Ninja suction unit?" Uncle began.
"Check." Jackie confirmed as he, along with Caleb, were completely clad in black. Both they, as well as Will, wore special-designed shop vacuums on their backs like backpacks with hoses and nozzles attached to the end.
"Chi-powered night vision goggles?" Yan Lin continued.
"Check." Will said as she and the other girls were clad in their respective Guardian forms, each of them wearing the aforementioned night vision goggles.
"Hand-held Dark Chi detector?" Uncle went on.
"Check." Jade confirmed as everyone in the group each held their own device, which was a dried lizard taped to a compass.
"Coffee to keep us all awake and not fall asleep? Check." Irma said as she drank a can of coffee before cringing in disgust. "How do people drink this stuff?"
"Good thing tomorrow's Sunday." Cornelia said. "We're probably gonna be up all night with this."
"Actually, it's one in the morning right now, so it's already Sunday." Taranee pointed out.
"Not important right now, Taranee." Will lightly chastised.
"So, we all know the plan." Jackie began. "We'll split into four groups of two to cover more ground throughout the city. Will and myself, Jade and Hay Lin, Cornelia and Caleb, Irma and Taranee."
Uncle handed Jackie a small vile of a green liquid. "This is the potion, if in the event Uncle discovers missing ingredient for removal spell."
"We will work as quickly as we can." Yan Lin said as she and Alchemy stood up. "But you must find and destroy any and all Shadow Eaters before they consume too many shadows and become too strong."
"I've got the Chinese-to-Japanese dictionary right here, as well as Chinese-to-English, and English-to-Japanese." Alchemy held up three books.
"Try saying that five times fast." Jade snickered.
"Come on, we got Shadowkhan to hunt." Hay Lin said in a serious expression.
Will and Jackie searched a dark alleyway as they each had a vacuum and Dark-Chi detector on hand, looking in all directions for the Shadow Eaters. So far, they didn't seem to find anything as they got close to a dumpster, which suddenly rattled.
Jackie held his Dark-Chi detector toward the moving dumpster, and it didn't glow. "No Shadow Eaters here."
"Three guesses what's in there, then." Will said with lowered eyelids as she lifted the lid of the dumpster to reveal none other than Blunk rummaging through the garbage, who gave a wave to the two.
"Hello. Friends of Blunk out late. Not usually out so late." Blunk commented.
"It's been a long day/night." Will said.
"Blunk, you wouldn't happen to have seen anything strange, have you?" Jackie asked.
"Be more specific. Blunk see all kinds of strange things." The Passling said before he looked behind them and gave a gasp. Before they could ask what he meant, both Will and Jackie's Dark Chi detectors began to glow green as they pointed in the direction Blunk was looking.
The duo turned around to see multiple Shadow Eaters enter the alleyway and gun straight towards them, their shadows clearly visible. Will acted quick as she slammed her vacuum against the light over them, causing their shadows to vanish and halting the Shadow Eaters in their tracks, prompting Will and Jackie to vacuum them up as quickly as possible.
"Well at least we know these things work." Will said as they sucked up the last of the Shadow Eaters.
"Yes, but the fact that there are more Shadow Eaters…" Jackie said to her, hopping she would catch the hint.
"Means that Hak Foo figured out how this tribe works." Will commented with a groan. "Blunk, you're gonna want to stick with us. Keep a look out for any more of those things."
"Yes. Blunk hate shadow monsters." Blunk said as he hopped onto Jackie's backpack and looked in all directions. "Blunk keep look out."
"Let's go." Jackie said as they continued their search.
Meanwhile, Jade and Hay Lin flew over one street to find any Shadow Eaters over their area of the city. "So far, so good. No Shadow Eater in sight."
"No, that's not good." Hay Lin stated. "It means Tohru's Shadow Eater is still out there. We have to find it as soon as possible. Then we'll find Hak Foo and take him down."
"Whoa, hold your horses, girl." Jade told her. "We don't know the spell ingredient yet. And you saw how buffed up he is now! There's no way the two of us stand a chance against him."
"I know, but I have to do this! I have to…" Hay Lin stopped when Jade grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her, so she looked into her eye.
"What do you mean 'you have to'? We're a team, remember?" She reminded. "We gotta solve this together."
"Because… because it's my fault." Hay Lin's solid expression fell as she made her guilt known. "I lost the card that had the ingredient. If we still had it, even if Hak Foo did get the mask, we could have already whipped up the potion. And there wouldn't have been a reason to bring that Shadow Eater back with us. What happened to Tohru… it's my fault."
"Hey, look at me. Hay Lin, look at me." Jade stated firmly as they made eye-contact and Jade spoke in a serious voice. "This isn't your fault. What happened with the card was an accident, they happen. Feeling guilty isn't going to change what happened. What's important right now is doing what we can to stop all this." Hay Lin looked to Jade in surprise, listening to every word as her own expression softened a bit before continuing. "Look, let me tell you as someone who's made more than her fair share of mistakes, all you can do is stand up and do everything you can to make things right. Learn from your mistake, but don't get so hung up over it in that it's all you're thinking about. So, let's solve this problem the same way we always do, together. You with me?"
Hay Lin smiled before she pulled Jade into a hug. "Yeah, I'm with you. Thanks Jade, that really helped."
Jade returned the embrace. "Hey, what are friends for, right?"
Suddenly, the tender moment was ended as both their dark chi detectors began to glow as they pointed down toward the street. Both Guardians got serious as they flew to a shaded part of the alleyway to see a cluster of Mini-Khan approaching an unsuspecting man standing over a lamp post. The Shadow Eaters practically drooling at the sight of his shadow.
"Hey! Look out!" Hay Lin called to the pedestrian, who looked to see the approaching Shadow Eaters. He screamed as he ran away. They tried to give pursuit and bite down on his shadow and almost would have, had Jade not used her powers to extend the shadow of the lamppost itself around the Shadow Eaters and cover the fleeing man's shadow, who already ran away into the nearest alleyway.
"Sorry boys, not today." Jade smirked as Hay Lin used her own powers to create a tornado to engulf all the Mini-Khan, before condensing the tornado into a sphere of air, sharpening the blades of wind to shred and slice all the Mini-Khan inside.
Jade couldn't help but whistle at her friend's handywork. "Dang girl, remind me not to get on your bad side."
"Awe, but we're besties. You could never be on my bad side." Hay Lin smiled as she wrapped her arm around Jade's shoulder.
"There's the smiley Hay Lin we all know." Jade pointed with approval.
Uncle's Rare Finds
As Tohru continued to remain in his limboed-sleep; Uncle, Yan Lin, and Alchemy worked as hard as they could to try and find the proper translation for the missing spell ingredient.
"Hey… I think I found it!" Alchemy said, getting the attention of the elders as she read from the Japanese-to-English dictionary. "The ingredient is the shoelace of a giraffe… wait… what?! Giraffes don't wear shoes!"
"Probably mixed-up characters, it happens." Yan Lin told her.
Alchemy groaned as she slammed her head on the dictionary in front of her. "I would never last in a foreign language class!"
"Less talk, more translate!" Uncle stated.
Back in the city, several Shadow Eaters ran away from Caleb as he attempted to suck up several into his vacuum. He was able to get a good portion, but several escaped and turned the corner.
"Oh no, you don't!" Caleb chased them around the corner, only to come to a sudden stop as he saw what appeared to be at least a hundred Shadow Eaters all clustered together. Caleb then glanced upward and saw he was standing under a lamp, casting his own shadow. All the Shadow Eaters sneered as they leapt down for their meal.
Fortuantley, the ground itself opened up, causing all the Shadow Eaters to fall in before it closed up and crushed them all instantly. Cornelia brushed her hands with a smirk as she hovered down.
"What would you do without me?" She teased Caleb, who chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Thanks."
"Aw, young love." They both glanced up in surprise to see Oni-Hak Foo, looming over them from a rooftop before he jumped down to meet them in the alleyway. "It's so nauseating."
"Hak Foo!" Caleb exclaimed.
"You know what else is nauseating? This!" Cornelia shot her hands forward to fling a multitude of bricks from all over the alleyway straight at Hak Foo. However, the Dark-Chi/Oni warrior merely crossed his arms as he allowed the bricks to impact his body, and be smashed to dust upon impact, leaving not so much as a scratch on him.
"Oh… Onified Dark Chi warrior mega super strength… Forgot." Cornelia winced before Hak Foo grabber her and Caleb by their throats.
"You are not the only one who can fly." Oni-Hak Foo told her before leaping high into the air with both of them. Once he was high enough, he threw them back down toward the street. Caleb quickly held onto Cornelia to cushion her from the impact as they fell, but she also acted in a similar manner; using her powers to turn a portion of the street into concrete powder, not to dissimilar to sand, to soften their landing; but it was a rough landing all the same.
"Ow…" Caleb groaned as he helped Cornelia up as well. "That's two I owe you…"
"Uh… Caleb…?" Cornelia pointed upward to reveal they were standing directly under a lit lamppost, both their shadows clearly visible, with a pack of Shadow Eaters standing on the lamppost above them, and even a ring of several more Shadow Eaters emerging from the ground, having been summoned by Oni-Hak Foo.
"Bon appetite." He sneered evilly as the Shadow Eaters leapt at them with open teeth and snarls.
Meanwhile, Taranee stood in the park, right in front of a pond, holding a flame over her to cast a shadow and draw in several Shadow Eaters around her.
"Come on, who's hungry? Huh? Fresh shadow meet for everyone! Come and get it!" Taranee tempted as all the Shadow Eaters around her brandished their teeth and attempted to feast on her shadow.
However, the pond shot out a large steam of water that bent around Taranee and caught all the approaching Shadow Eaters before taking the form of a large bubble that kept them all trapped inside. Irma descended from the tree she was hiding in to land near her friend as she controlled the floating bubble.
"Ah, the old bait and trap, works every time." Irma smirked before Taranee created a fireball within the sphere of water, one so hot that it caused the water to boil before it exploded, destroying all the trapped Shadow Eaters inside.
"And who said fire and water don't mix well together?" Taranee said as she and Irma shared a high-five.
"Your efforts are futile." Oni-Hak Foo appeared before them, walking out from the shadows. "Your power is insignificant compared to what I have become."
"Don't give him a chance to attack! Hit him with everything you got!" Taranee blasted the largest inferno she could muster at him; with Irma mimicking her actions by blasting a powerful stream of water with such high pressure, it could even cut through concrete. But Oni-Hak Foo crossed his arms to take it, even though it was pushing him back slightly, he smiled evilly as he noticed the flames Taranee was using created a large shadow behind her.
Irma glanced to her left as she saw three Shadow Eaters emerge from the darkness and gun straight for her friend's shadow. "Taranee! Look out!"
But her warning came too late, as Taranee only just noticed the Shadow Eaters already feasting on her shadow. "No! Don't…" In less than a second, her shadow was consumed and Taranee fell into her state of limbo, while the three Shadow Eaters around her had already grown quite large.
Irma was ready to blast the Shadow Eaters away with a stream of water, believing destroying them would rescue Taranee's shadow. But this left her open for Oni-Hak Foo to seize her by the throat, lifting her up with one hand, while holding a patch of dirt in the other, which had some left-over fire from Taranee's attack, and casted a shadow around Irma. Oni-Hak Foo snickered evilly as the struggling Irma looked in horror to see the Shadow Eaters around her begin to consume her own shadow as well.
Will and Jackie had sucked up more than a couple dozen Shadow Eaters into their respective vacuums, with Blunk continuing to hang onto the latter's shoulder and keep the lookout for any others. The Passling noticed a single Shadow Eater hiding between some boxes.
"Little shadow man! There!" Blunk pointed, prompting Jackie to quickly corner it and attempt to suck it up, but when he pulled the trigger, all he got was a beeping noise from the vacuum.
"My bag is full." Jackie told Will as they saw the Shadow Eater attempt to retreat.
"Little shadow man get away!" Blunk stated.
"Wait, let's follow him." Will suggested as he ran after it, with Jackie and Blunk close behind. "Maybe he could lead us to one that ate Tohru's shadow." When she followed the Shadow Eater around the corner, she ended up bumping into the Shadow Eater in question, only to find that it was much larger now than before, almost a full twelve feet tall.
"Uh… heh, heh, found him." The redhead giggled nervously as Jackie and Blunk rounded the corner to see it. The Passling screamed as he hid behind Jackie.
"Giant shadow monster! Giant shadow monster!"
"And he has been snacking between meals." Oni-Hak Foo revealed himself, standing on the rooftop parallel to them.
The large Shadow Eater roared as it lunged at them, attempting to bite down on their shadow; only for all the shadows in the entire alleyway to envelop the entire area; hiding the shadows of Jackie, Will, and Blunk; much to the shock of the large Shadow Eater.
"Sorry, no midnight snacking for you, young man." Jade snarked as she revealed herself in the air; with Hay Lin flying in at high speeds past her, holding her hands back as she prepped a surging air-sphere in her hands before blasting it point-blank at the large Shadow Eater.
"Kame-Rasengan!" She exclaimed as the attack blasted the Shadow Eater all the way out into the streets, crashing into a mailbox. Though it did not poof, the attack did appear to hurt it.
"Jade! Hay Lin!" Jackie called as the two joined him, Will, and Blunk.
"We just happened to be in the neighborhood." Jade said.
Will snickered toward Hay Lin. "Did you just combine a Kamehameha with a Rasengan?" She asked her fellow Guardian.
"Turns out anime can be applicable in real life, too." Hay Lin replied.
"Don't get too confident." Oni-Hak Foo said as he landed on the ground next to the recovering Shadow Eater. "All your other friends have fallen." He gestured further down the street, where everyone gasped at what they saw.
Cornelia, Irma, Taranee, and Caleb, all in a state of slumbering limbo, were held up by their wrists, tied from a lamppost, which were being guarded by the dozen Shadow Eaters that had already consumed their shadows. The Shadow Eaters all snickered, along with the massive one that stood by the chuckling Oni-Hak Foo.
"Wake our friends up, right now Hak Foo!" Hay Lin demanded.
"Better idea, how about you join them?" Oni-Hak Foo pointed eastward, where the sun was slowly starting to rise, already causing the group of heroes to cast their own shadows, much to their horror. "Good morning." Oni-Hak Foo told them. "Now, good night. Bear Feeds on Honey!" He commanded all the Shadow Eaters to attack the group; but Jade quickly expanded the shadow from the building behind them to cover their own while Hay Lin expanded a large air sphere and blew it out to blast back the Shadow Eaters, but they quicky recovered and regrouped.
Will glanced to the side and noticed the tiny one she was previously chasing was making a break for it. "No! We can't let a single one get away!"
Blunk noticed a metal pole in a nearby trashcan and quickly pulled it out before leaping down. "Blunk will smash tiny shadow monster." He volunteered as he chased after the tiny Shadow Eater.
"Just stay out of the light, Blunk!" Jackie told him.
"Uh Jackie, maybe we should focus more on the guys in front of us." Jade suggested as the large Shadow Eater, and the ones that consumed the shadows of their allies, lunged at them once more.
"Yeah, we really need that removal spell right now." Hay Lin gulped.
Uncle's Rare Finds
"Bad news everyone." Alchemy walked back into the room where Yan Lin and Uncle continued to work, with Tohru still in limbo. "The sun is rising."
"We need that removal spell, now!" Yan Lin stated. "If Hak Foo's Shadow Eaters consume the shadows of everyone in Heatherfield…!"
"We'll have Shadow Kaiju on our hands!" Alchemy exclaimed in terror.
Uncle gave a near-defeated sigh. "Japanese translation is not going well. Unless ingredient we seek is lobster wearing corduroy pants. Aiya…" He slammed his head on the book, accidentally touching the TV remote and turning on the television to a specific channel.
"Hey, it's Miss Kimber's Psychic Shack." Alchemy recognized the channel instantly, as did Uncle.
"You!" He pointed to the television screen.
"Looks like you are in need of some good fortune, sugar. Phone me now, and we can fix whatever is ailing you together." The advertisement of Miss Kimber said.
"Call her, now." Yan Lin said immediately.
"What?" Uncle questioned.
"Miss Lin…?" Alchemy also looked confused.
"I've worked with Miss Kimber before, she really is a psychic, and most of her predictions are spot-on." Yan Lin revealed.
"Seriously?!" Alchemy questioned.
"Seriously." Yan Lin confirmed.
"Only I have the answers you seek." The advertisement continued.
Seeing how they had almost no options, and very little time left, Uncle decided what to do. "Fetch Uncle phone."
Jade extended a long line of shadows from the buildings that she and her friends clung to with Hay Lin blasting more gusts of wind to keep all the smaller Shadow Eaters at bay; both the ones that had consumed the shadows of their friends, as well as new ones that Oni-Hak Foo had summoned.
Though there were a few that emerged from the shadow that Jade was manipulating; Jackie and Will used their vacuum hoses and respective martial arts skills to beat them back. The largest Shadow Eater tried to lunge at them next, but Jade manipulated the shadows even further to shoot up a series of spikes, halting the Shadow Eater's advance.
"Just imagine it, an army of these creatures, obeying my every command." Oni-Hak Foo gloated.
"How about we don't imagine that?!" Will exclaimed as she beat back several Shadow Eaters.
Meanwhile, Blunk continued to run after the tiny Shadow Eater he had chasing, trying to smash it with his rod. Ordinarily, the Mini-Khan would have tried to consume Blunk's shadow, but the Passling was surprisingly quick, and one good hit from the rod could easily destroy the tiny shadow creature.
"Tiny Shadow Eater stop moving!" Blunk ordered. "Let Blunk smash you!" He tried to smash it again, but the Shadow Eater leapt out of the way just as the rod hit the sidewalk and continued to flee, with Blunk pursuing once more.
However, the tiny Shadow Eater had managed to give Blunk the slip and find sanctuary into a nearby subway tunnel. It appeared empty for the moment, but a train quickly arrived with hundreds of passengers on the morning rush. So many shadows to feast on, the Shadow Eater smiled and licked its teeth with excitement.
"For you, my apprentice." Uncle told the slumbering Tohru as he dialed the number while Yan Lin and Alchemy watched.
"I could have called her." Alchemy said. "He didn't have to swallow his pride."
"Eh, swallowing one's pride is actually good for you." Yan Lin said. "Besides, it's sweet how much he's willing to do for the people he's cared about."
"Sounds like he did quite a bit for you back in your glory days, right?" Alchemy teased with a slight nudge.
"Maybe a little." Yan Lin smiled reminiscently as Uncle made the call.
"Welcome to Miss Kimber's Psychic Hotline, where I reveal what the stars tell."
"Uncle needs help finding mask removal ingredient and for you to never speak of this to anyone!" He quickly demanded.
"We're so telling everyone about this, aren't we?" Alchemy asked Yan Lin with a smirk.
"Oh, most definitely." She confirmed as Uncle continued to talk with Miss Kimber over the phone.
"Yes… Yes… I see!" Uncle finally got what he needed and couldn't feel more relieved that he knew it.
"And it's high time you pursued your true passion." Miss Kimber told him.
Uncle gasped. "Oil painting?"
"That's right." Miss Kimber confirmed. "Cause the stars say, 'Uncle needs to take time out for Uncle.'"
His eyes shook as he gasped once again. "It is like you have window into Uncle's soul."
"Told you she was psychic." Yan Lin smirked.
"And… you like to paint? That's a surprise." Alchemy said.
Blunk whistled as he held his rod like a baseball bat. "Come out little Shadow Eater. Blunk only wants to smash you. Come to Blunk." He called out as he walked close to the subway entrance his quarry had recently jumped down into.
However, something began to emerge from the entrance to the subway. Something that casted a massive shadow over the tiny Passling, causing him to instinctively drop his rod as his jaw also dropped.
Jackie, Will, Jade, and Hay Lin found themselves back into a corner as they were completely surrounded by the large Shadow Eater, all the slightly smaller ones that had eaten the shadows of their friends, and the tiny ones that Oni-Hak Foo had summoned. The Dark Chi/Oni warrior laughing at the sight of the helpless heroes as they had nowhere left to go. Jade, doing everything she could to keep her friends safe, expanded the shadows in the area as before to protect their own.
Oni-Hak Foo was starting to become annoyed. "Enough of the damn shadow puppets!" He leapt toward the heroes with a powerful smash attack that destroyed the ground below them, sending all four of them skidding across the streets and exposing their shadows. "It's chow time!" He directed all his Shadow Eaters to surround them, the four heroes circling up as there didn't seem to be a way out of this one.
"I love you guys! I really do!" Jade exclaimed, seeing no hope for victory here.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake, catching everyone's attention, even the other Shadow Eaters. "Please tell me that's something good…" Will hopped.
Blunk's shrill scream could be heard as they saw the Passling running for his life straight toward them. "TINY SHADOW EATER NOT TINY ANYMORE!" Blunk continued to scream as he ran, which appeared to be from a Shadow Eater that was now the size of a building!
"Someone had a big breakfast…!" Hay Lin gulped as her pupils shrunk, with Will, Jackie, and Jade looking in clear horror.
"Now that's what I call a warrior!" Oni-Hak Foo exclaimed in ecstasy as the gigantic Shadow Eater roared.
Jackie's cell phone rang, and he was quick to answer, hopping it was Uncle who had the spell ingredient. "Uncle?"
"Jackie, if psychic speaks truth, there is good chance Uncle will be taking unexpected trip. Oh, and mask removal ingredient is fish."
"Uncle, we are about to be swallowed by a whale! Where are we supposed to find a fish in the middle of downtown!?" Jackie exclaimed.
"Jackie want fish?" Blunk asked as he reached into his shirt to pull out a half-rotten fish that was likely from the dumpster, he was previously in. "Blunk was saving for snack, but friends use it so we don't be snack!"
"Fine with me!" Hay Lin grabbed the fish and took out the potion and poured them both over her own hands. "Hit it, Uncle!"
Jackie put the phone on speaker as Uncle recited the chant. "Nukeru He Men Ja'aku. Nukeru He Men Ja'aku. Nukeru He Men Ja'aku." As Uncle chanted, Hay Lin's hands began to glow green as the removal spell was now ready.
Wasting no time at all, Hay Lin quickly flew directly at the stunned Oni-Hak Foo, tackling him to the ground and grabbed his mask as she tried to yank it off. Oni-Hak Foo attempted to resist; but Jackie, Will, and Jade quickly appeared around him to grab and restrain him as best they could. Even Blunk tried to help as he wrapped his arms around Oni-Hak Foo's neck. Both sides struggled with all their might, but Hay Lin was successfully able to yank the Oni mask off Hak Foo's face and send him skidding across the ground.
The second the mask was yanked off; all the Shadow Eaters vanished, and the ones that had already consumed the shadows of others had exploded as all the stolen shadows shot in every direction to return to where they belonged.
Hak Foo, now a normal Dark Chi warrior attempted to pull himself up. "No… I will simply put the mask back on. You cannot…!"
*SLICE!*
Hak Foo was swiftly decapitated, before his body poofed away, revealing Jade had sliced at him from behind with a shadow-katana in her hand. "Oh shut up, will you?"
"Jade… that was… brutal. Even for you." Will pointed out.
"Eh, he's a Dark Chi warrior. He'll be fine." Jade shrugged.
The shadows of Taranee, Caleb, Irma, and Cornelia all returned as Jackie had already freed them from their bonds, and they regained consciousness.
"Ugh… man do I have a headache." Irma groaned.
"Oh good, you're all okay." Jackie breathed a sigh of relief.
"What happened?" Caleb asked.
"We won, that's what happened." Hay Lin smiled as she presented the Oni mask.
"Blunk fish save the day." Blunk added. "Blunk can get more fish if you want."
"Uh, no thanks Blunk." Will cringed.
"So, it's over? Everyone's stolen shadows are returning?" Cornelia asked.
"Looks that way." Jade confirmed.
"But what about Tohru?" Taranee asked.
The entire group, as well as Blunk, made their way back to Uncle's Rare Finds as quickly as they could, the girls still in their respective Guardian forms, as they entered the back room.
"Tohru!" Most of them all exclaimed.
"I'm fine, right here." Tohru waved to them as he continued to lay flat on his back on the mat he had been sleeping on, causing the group to look relieved.
"Thank goodness." Hay Lin smiled.
"Welcome back, big guy." Will also smiled.
"But… why do you have a bowl of fruit on your stomach?" Caleb asked, with the rest of the group only just noticing there was indeed a bowl of various fruits resting on his large belly.
"And… what is that?" Irma pointed toward what appeared to be a painted picture of Tohru with the fruit bowl on his belly that Uncle had been working on.
"Aiya! Do not disturb environment!" Uncle exclaimed.
"Uncle… what are you doing?" Jackie asked.
"Oil painting." He revealed with a smile. "Uncle must learn to take time out for Uncle."
"Huh… that actually looks really good." Taranee commented as everyone else looked toward Alchemy and Yan Lin, who hung at the side and merely shrugged with smiles.
Miss Kimber's Psychic Shack.
The phone rang, which the psychic woman answered promptly. "Hello, Miss Kimber's Psychic Hotline."
"Hey, it's Cornelia, but you probably already knew that." The Earth Guardian greeted over the phone.
"Of course, I knew." Miss Kimber replied. "I take it your mission was a success, hon?"
"Yeah, thanks so much for your help. It was kinda satisfying to see Uncle swallow his pride for once." Cornelia chuckled. "But there's another reason I called."
"You want me to see if your friend Elyon will be safe, right?" Miss Kimber assumed.
"She's my best friend, I need to know. Please." Cornelia pleaded.
"I can't say exactly what will happen, but I will say this." Miss Kimber began. "You will face many great obstacles and adversaries that will try to bar you. The road ahead will be a dangerous one. But, if you stand true, plant your feet, and trust your friends, you will succeed."
She heard Cornelia's sigh of relief on the other end of the line, no doubt a huge weight felt lifted from her chest. "Thanks again so much. That's all I needed to hear. Bye." She hung up.
Miss Kimber had a serious expression as she put the phone down and looked toward a board resembling a chess board that had a series of dolls around it. On one side, where the dolls of the heroes she had shown them earlier consisting of Will, Jackie, Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, Cornelia, Taranee, Uncle, Caleb, even those of Tohru and Alchemy. On the other side was a doll of Elyon that was surrounded by the dolls of Phobos, Cedric, Miranda, and Daolon Wong, even a painted potato that resembled the face of Tarakudo.
However, right behind the dolls of the villains, there was also a larger (at least by comparison) statue of a Chinese dragon.
"Great obstacles and adversaries indeed…" Miss Kimber looked to the dragon with worry.
Meridian
Daolon Wong had secured his personal chambers to see that he was not disturbed by anyone. He even wiped up his own Dark Chi onion spell to keep Tarakudo from slipping in. It was clear to see that Phobos was trying to gain favor with the Oni king, even though Tarakudo had provided aid for himself and Cedric in the past, he would be a fool to completely trust the King of the Shadowkhan. He was also certain Cedric was likely planning to betray him as well. The Guardians and Chan alone were a headache; but having to deal with potential backstabs from three very dangerous individuals, Daolon Wong would need some serious help. Fortunately, he knew exactly who to turn to.
"Your answer, most malevolent of fire-breathers?" He asked humbly through a spectral window, speaking to a certain ghost that dwelled in the Netherworld.
"It would seem you have summoned me merely to humor me, wizard." The Fire Demon Shendu stated. "This man-child, Phobos, and his pet shapeshifters are of no real concern to me. But, if you are to vanquish the likes of Tarakudo, the Lord of all Oni, you would require the power of a living Demon Sorcerer, which I am not."
"You underestimate my talents, Lord Shendu." Daolon Wong said. "Phobos hopes to steal the powers of his younger sister Elyon, the power of the Heart of Meridian itself. However, as the most malevolent of Dark Chi masters, I could use my own power to alter the ritual; so instead of feeding the powers of that fool, I would use it to completely restore you to life."
Though this would mean he would not be able to gain the power of the Heart of Meridian, he could gain something equally valuable, if not more so, if the Ultimate Evil agreed to this exchanged.
"Interesting." Shendu looked mildly intrigued, but not enough to completely agree with his plan. "But few things come without a price, so what is it you wish in return?"
"You were able to control a single tribe of Shadowkhan without having to wear the Oni mask." Daolon Wong began. "I would ask that you allow me to use the same method to control all nine tribes, even the power of the Oni generals and their king."
"That is a rather steep price." Shendu's eyes narrowed. "Why would I agree to this if it mostly serves for your benefit."
"Oh, this may benefit you as well, Lord Shendu. Jackie Chan will also seek to rescue the girl." Wong continued; the very mention of his nemesis' name got Shendu's attention. "He has also gained powerful allies. But if I were to command the power of the Oni and the Shadowkhan; our combined strength would be enough to crush them! And with our mutual enemies finally eliminated, nothing will stop you from taking the Earth as you've always desired. And, if they are so foolish enough to bring the Talismans, I can also use my power to return them to you. I would have the power of the ten Oni demons and legions of Shadowkhan and rule over Meridian; while you will not only regain all the powers of the Zodiac, and the satisfaction of eliminating Chan, the Earth will be yours to rule. I would say that is an enticing deal, wouldn't you agree?"
Shendu smiled malevolently as his eyes glowed a brighter red. "Then it would seem we have a bargain, Daolon Wong. If you find the spell that would allow me to live again!"
Done.
Good news, the heroes have secured the eight Oni mask, and only one remains. But I have three more chapters to write before we get there, two are from the cannon WITCH series, while one is a semi-original chapter of my own making (you'll see what it is when we get there).
Bad news, Shendu is coming back! Bet you didn't see that coming. But yeah, this is Shendu, Jackie Chan's demonic nemesis and the titular villain of the JCA series. He was bound to show up again sooner or later, and he's planning on making his big return near the climax of this story.
This story is only going to get more and more exciting from this point forward as we reach the end. Several surprises, both good and bad, await us as the final battle of Season 1 approaches and that battle is going to be a doozy. But I ask that you please be patient with me, I have other stories I need to work on, not to mention my own responsibilities with my life. I am glad however that this story has received so much praise and support, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. So until my next update, stay safe and stay healthy out there. Love you.