Hi everyone, thank you for your patience. Well, here we are. We officially start the three-parter for the finale of J-WITCH season 1. It's been one hell of a ride and I'm grateful for all your support, praise, and even constructive criticism. Things are going to get crazy as this chapter sets up a conflict where all forces of good and evil collide in an epic showdown that will determine the fate of not only Meridian, but even Earth and other realms as well.
One last thing before we begin. I've recently been promoted to a full-time position at my job. The reason why my updates came so quickly was because I had more time to work on them due to being part-time. But now I'm getting more hours, I won't be able to work on my stuff as frequently. Don't worry though, I still plan to meet my own set requirement of one update a week for my stories. I ask that you all please be patient (especially my guest reviewers.)
With that being said, let's get started.
Stolen Heart and Mask
A submarine soared over the ocean floor beneath the Atlantic. The one piloting the submarine was none other than Jackie Chan, with Will on the passenger seat next to him. Jade, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Taranee, Irma, and Caleb standing behind them.
"Okay, we should be close." Will said, looking at the Hanafuda cards in front of her, one showing the location of the mask they sought, which appeared to be the ruins of a sunken ship beneath the waves. Taking one look at the card, she looked out in front to see the actual sunken ship.
"Whoa, is that a pirate ship?" Hay Lin asked.
"Looks more like a ship from the sixteenth or seventeenth century." Taranee corrected. "So it could be a pirate ship, or something from Great Britannian or Spain around that time."
"Why would a British or Spanish ship have a Japanese Oni mask onboard?" Cornelia questioned as the submarine made its way closer and shined its lights over the wreckage.
"Maybe they were trading." Jade guessed. "Like in Pirates of Caribbean. The East India Trading Company?"
"That's from a movie, Jade." Cornelia told her.
"Actually, the East India Trading Company was a real organization." Jackie pointed out. "But it was abolished in 1858 following the Indian Rebellion."
"I don't care how it ended up here, let's just find the mask and get out of here." Caleb stated.
The headlights continued to scan the ship's wreckage, until it shined up the mast to find none other than the ninth and final Oni mask attached near the top. This mask was a vibrant red with yellow eyes, red pupils, and dark brown eyebrows with white serrated teeth.
"Found it." Irma said as she began to channel her own water powers into the ocean itself, creating a current around the mask that pried it loose from the mast, where she began to pull it closer to the submarine. "Hmm, this seems a little too easy."
"Easy?! We are at the bottom of the ocean!" Jackie pointed out as Irma brought the mask toward the storage area of the submarine.
"No… I think Irma's right." Will agreed. "This is the last Oni mask, and Elyon's coronation is in two days. With everything that's been happening, you'd think the bad guys would get pretty desperate to snatch the last mask."
"Eh, with our luck, we'll get the ultimate 'good vs. evil battle royale' soon enough." Jade commented with a shrug.
"I'm not complaining. I've had enough Shadowkhan to last a few hundred lifetimes." Cornelia said as the submarine made its way from the wreckage and back to home base, with the heroes unaware that a certain Oni King was watching them with an evil smirk on his face.
Meridian – Infinite City
It had taken a great deal of time, but Daolon Wong had managed to lift the spell that kept him and his forces from entering the ancient underground city. Once that was done, and the passageway cleared of debris, Wong and Cedric led a small army of soldiers into the Infinite City, though all the rebels had long since cleared out, they still had to search the place for anything they may have left behind.
"Find anything the Rebels may have left behind!" The commander, Lothar, ordered all the soldiers. "Food, weapons, plans, strip this city bare!"
However, as orders were given, several soldiers spoke and whispered to each other in a tone that none of their commanding officers could hear.
"Tynar crossed the Veil to Earth and returned. He was treated by the Guardians and their allies. He says everything Phobos and the others have told us about Earth is a lie."
Daolon Wong soon approached an opening in the floor that led to a chamber deeper underground. "I sense powerful magic down there."
Cedric slithered toward his wizarding companion. "It must be the one called 'the Mage'. She is the last vestige of Queen Weira's reign before Phobos came to power." He turned toward Lothar. "Tell me Captain, why is it she has not yet been subdued and brought out to us?!"
"Even the Rebels fear her power." Lothar replied. "I sent five men in, none of them returned."
"Then go yourself!" Wong ordered, pointing toward the entrance.
Though hesitant at first, Lothar did as he was ordered and proceeded into the chamber with a lamp in one hand, and a sword in the other.
It was almost pitch dark in the chamber, the only source of illumination being the lamp he held. The deeper he went underground, the more he heard the sound of running water. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed a waterfall across from him. Perhaps the Mage was hiding behind there? As he took a step forward however, his foot hit something.
Lothar looked down to see five broken lamps on the floor, clearly left behind by the soldiers he sent in. Before he could wonder what exactly happened, a powerful wind blew out the flame in Lothar's lamp. He didn't even have time to gasp as he was engulfed by total darkness.
His deathly screams could be heard from above, causing all the guards to look in fright while Wong and Cedric shared concerning glances.
"It would appear this Mage is stronger than we thought." Cedric said. "Perhaps Tarakudo could overpower her."
"No, I believe it may be best to leave it alone for now." Wong replied. "Elyon's coronation is only two days away, and we do not need to deal with any other foes at the moment. But once her power is ours, and our enemies vanquished, then we can deal with the mage."
Daolon Wong sneered to himself. 'No matter how powerful this Mage may be. Not even she can stand against me when I wield the power of the Oni King… as well as that of the Ultimate Evil.'
Phobos Castle – Wong's Chambers
Finn, Ratso, and Chow entered the private quarters of their would-be-master and began to search for whatever it was they were hoping to find. But at the moment, all the could find was stuff that would make someone throw up, such as the case of Chow when he picked up a skinned corpse of a Passling.
"Ugh…. Gross!" Chow did his best to keep his lunch down. "Why the heck are we even here?!"
"Cause now's the best time to see if Wong's got anything that can hurt little E." Finn told him as he skimmed through a spell book.
"Yeah. Wong is out with Cedric right now, and Elyon's asleep. Seems like a good time to go snooping around." Ratso added as he looked underneath a table.
"Alright, I get it. But it's not like any of us know how this freaky dark magic stuff works." Chow said as he walked over toward a smoking cauldron. "Well? You got any answers for us?" He spoke to the cauldron, looking at his own reflection in the dark liquid, which he lightly slapped out of boredom.
However, it would seem physical contact was enough for the dark liquid inside to boil rapidly, much to Chow's surprise, which drew Ratso and Finn's attention as well. All three of them looked in shock as out of the boiling liquid, dark smoke emerged outward and formed a large sphere. The smoke began to clear at the center and expand, revealing a magical transparent window into the Netherworld. And at the very center of the window, as the ghost-like face of the dreaded demon the Enforcers knew all too well.
"Well now. This is an unexpected surprise." The Fire Demon commented, recognizing the Enforcers despite their physical appearances as Dark Chi warriors.
Needless to say, all three of them looked in almost horror as their orange faces went pale.
"Uh oh…" Chow gulped.
"Shendu…?" Finn felt his own blood freeze.
"He's back…!" Ratso sang, not even bothering to hide his fear.
"To think I would still be settled with you fools even after all this time. Fate must have an ironic sense of humor." Shendu commented. "Based on your appearances, it's safe to assume you are in the service of Daolon Wong, correct?"
"Eh… yeah Shendude." Finn chuckled nervously with his friends. "Total Dark Chi warriors over here."
"Tell me, has there been any change in the plan?" Shendu asked.
"Uh… what plan?" Chow asked.
Shendu's red eyes narrowed slightly, yet at the same time, he looked intrigued "The plan to use the child Elyon's power to resurrect me, of course."
That took all three by surprise. "Wait… Elyon?!" Ratso exclaimed. "You're gonna use the kid…" Before he could finish, Chow and Finn quickly covered his mouth with forced grins.
"Uh no. No changes in the plan at all!" Chow quickly said.
"Yep! The whole thing is gonna go down in two days!" Finn added. "We just wanted to remind you, that's all!"
"Excellent. I look forward to seeing you all again." Shendu sneered before the projection vanished, leaving the Enforcers alone once more.
Once he was gone, all three of them breathed huge sighs of relief; yet at the same time, a new feeling of dread filled their beings.
"This is bad…" Chow gulped.
"Ya think?" Finn questioned. "Phobos, Tarakudo, and Wong together are one thing! But freaking Shendu thrown into the mix?! That's like apocalypse level!"
"And he's gonna use poor little Elyon to come back!" Ratso said with worry. "So, let's grab the kid and leave! We all know how bad Shendu is!"
"Dude, there's no way Phobos and his pals are gonna let us do that." Finn reminded him. "Her coronation is only two days in row. He's not gonna let her out of his sight till then."
"So, what do we do?!" Ratso questioned.
Chow was the first to calm down and give an answer to his friends. "We tell Chan about this."
Netherworld
Shendu's spirit continued to float in the void as he pondered over what had just happened. He was no fool, and he understood the Enforcers very well. Not only did they have no idea about his deal with Daolon Wong, but they were also clearly attached to the girl whose power was about to be used to bring him back. That was exactly why he let slip the basic gist of the plan; between those three fools, there is no way word won't reach Jackie Chan.
"No matter, let Chan come." Shendu spoke to himself. "The plan is already in motion. Daolon Wong has already devised the spell, and now we simply wait for the ceremony to begin just two days from now. Jackie Chan will undoubtedly come to rescue her, but even if he is aware of my impending return, he won't stop me. I welcome it even, as the very first thing I'll do once I breathe again… is to tear my nemesis limb from limb! And any other fool who dares to stand in my way!"
Earth - Heatherfield
After returning to the city, Jackie, Caleb, and the girls met up with Yan Lin, Uncle, Tohru, and Alchemy at the Silver Dragon to get some dinner. Once they finished, the group got up to leave the restaurant as more snow continued to fall over the city.
"Thanks Mrs. Lin!" Taranee thanked as the group walked outside, with Yan Lin staying inside the restaurant to clean up.
"Now that was a good meal. I'm stuffed." Jade smiled contently as she rubbed her belly.
"Nothing like completing a quest to an end to build up your appetite." Irma said.
"Yep. Nine Oni masks down, none to go." Hay Lin added. "And the best part, it didn't end up on anybody's face this time! So, no more Shadowkhan!"
"Do not celebrate yet!" Uncle chastised as the group walked down the sidewalk. "Until final Oni mask is secure in vault, quest is not complete!"
"Which is why I still have the mask removal spell on hand, just in case." Tohru said as he briefly picked up the vial of the removal potion from his pocket before putting it away.
"What was the spell ingredient for this one?" Cornelia asked.
"Japanese leaves." Alchemy answered. "A much more common ingredient than some of the other stuff we've used before."
"Yeah, well I gotta agree with Uncle on this one." Will said. "Until we get this mask locked up in Section 13, I'm not letting it out of my sight." The redhead continued to carry the final Oni mask in her jacket.
"That is a good idea, Will." Jackie said. "We will accompany you until we get to the vault."
"Even though we've secured all the Oni masks; Tarakudo is still a clear threat." Caleb stated. "And the war isn't over yet. Elyon's coronation is in two days, and we know Daolon Wong is planning on stealing Elyon's power for himself. But we don't know how."
"Nothing in the Book of Secrets explains how Wong plans to steal Elyon's powers?" Jackie asked.
"Very important rule of magic. Never write all spells in one place." Uncle said.
"But if we stop the ceremony before Wong even has a chance to cast the spell, then we should be able to rescue Elyon without a hitch." Tohru said.
"There's no way we're gonna sneak in to do that though." Taranee said. "Phobos is going to pull out all the stops to keep us from getting to the castle."
"So, we go in guns blazing." Jade pointed out. "We call in the J-Team again, along with Section 13 and the rebels and storm the castle, final battle style!"
"They'll see an army that big coming a mile away, especially with the Infinite City being discovered." Caleb said. "How are we going to get everyone to pass the castle's outer defenses?"
"Maybe we disguise everyone as girl scouts?" Irma suggested in a joking fashion. "Everyone opens the door for girl scouts."
Cornelia looked toward Irma with a scowl. "Oh that's real sensitive! Elyon's life is in danger in case you've forgotten! Plus, you know what?! I'm sick of all your dumb, useless jokes! Why don't you try helping for a change!?"
"Cornelia!" Alchemy scolded. "We get it, we're all worried about Elyon! But you don't have to lash out like that!"
"She's right." Jackie stood in-between Cornelia and Irma as they glared at each other. "We can't afford to fight amongst ourselves, not now."
Despite Jackie's words though, there was still a great amount of tension forming between the two Guardians, fortunately it came to an end as someone else walked forward.
"Hey Will." Matt approached the group. "Oh, and everyone else."
"Hi Matt…" Will smiled almost dream-like toward him.
Jade had a knowing smirk on her face. "Hey, we'll go on ahead. You can catch up with us later, Will." She gestured for everyone else to walk away, which they did with the exception for Uncle.
"Flirt with boy later, Mask must be secured now!" Uncle stated, only for Jade to pull on his ear and pull him away.
"Please ignore the crabby old man and enjoy your time together, you two." She told them as she continued to pull Uncle away by his ear.
While Will looked a little embarrassed, Matt chuckled slightly. "You got some pretty interesting friends."
"You have no idea." Will laughed a bit.
Matt's smile faded as he looked toward Will with concern. "You know, you've missed a lot of classes. Is there something wrong?"
"It's… it's uh… I've had… other things on plate and…" She shuffled slightly with nervousness, this however caused her to accidentally drop the Oni mask from her jacket as it landed in between them. "Oh…!" She winced nervously.
"I got it." Matt moved to pick it up, but once he got a good look at the mask, his eyes widened slightly. "Whoa. Now that's a scary face."
"Eh… Yeah." Will quickly took the mask back and put it in her jacket again. "It's a personal project I've been working on. Don't worry about it. Believe it or not, I've got bigger things to worry about than school."
"This might sound kinda stupid but… is this about what happened before Christmas?" Matt asked nervously. "You know… when you… kissed me?"
"No!" Will quickly said, not wanting Matt to get the wrong idea while her cheeks turned red. The blush quickly faded as she gave a sigh before answering. "That was a… thing, alright? This… is a totally different thing. Understand?"
Matt only looked more confused at that.
"Look, I'm sorry, I really gotta get going right now." She told him. "But I'll talk to you later, okay?" Without waiting for him to respond, Will quickly ran down the sidewalk and turned the corner. Once she was out of sight, she slid back against the wall and pulled her hat down in embarrassment.
"Oh… I'm so stupid…" She scolded herself.
"Yeah, probably could have handled that better." Jade commented, standing next to her.
"No kidding Jade…" Will's eyes quickly widened, realizing who was standing next to her. "Jade?!"
"Yeah, should you really be surprised at this point?" She questioned rhetorically.
Will sighed. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Enough." Jackie and Caleb walked forward.
"Sorry to eavesdrop, but we gotta make sure that mask gets locked up." Caleb pointed to the Oni mask in Will's jacket.
"Yeah, I get it. Fate of the world and all that." Will replied.
Jackie looked toward her with a sympathetic smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tell you what, Will? How about once this whole thing with Phobos is over, and we've rescued Elyon, you take some time to spend with Matt and not worry about saving the world from evil? I'm sure the world can survive without the Guardians for a few days."
Will looked toward her mentor and friend with a smile. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Thanks Jackie."
With that, the quartet walked down the sidewalk, unaware that they were being watched by an outside party from the rooftop. The Passling named Jeek had spent a few weeks on Earth since the rescue of the Rebels from Phobos' dungeon and had been waiting for the right moment to strike. Right now, the girl who possessed the Heart of Kandrakar also possessed one of the masks Phobos had been seeking.
"Phobos pay lots and lots." Jeek snickered evilly. "Must find magic stone and mask for Phobos!"
Meridian – Phobos' Castle
Even though it was late at night, Elyon couldn't sleep. Her coronation was only a few days away, and she was quite excited. At the same time though, she was also a bit nervous. Her friends were still under the control of the Heart of Kandrakar, not to mention the rebels escaped the dungeons. She had little doubt they would try to disrupt the ceremony. Naturally, there was a lot on her mind, and it made it hard to get some sleep.
With Finn, Ratso, and Chow gone for some unknown reason, she decided to explore the castle hallways by herself, thinking she could probably tire herself out. Even though she had grown quite comfortable in the castle she shared with her older brother, it was somewhat nerve racking being alone at night in the dark, her only source of light being a lamp in her hand.
She had been wandering for some time, she wasn't quite sure where she was going. Before she knew it, Elyon found herself by the granary. On the other side however, she heard the sounds of machinery and work on the other side? Who could be working this late at night? However, she also heard the sounds of animalistic and non-human noises as well, which made her more than a little nervous.
Elyon slowly reached for the door handle and opened the door but gave a startled scream at what she saw. They were Lurdens, creatures that she had never seen in the castle before, or in all of Meridian. The Lurdens worked at the granary before they noticed the princess' presence. They looked toward her with snarls and roars, resulting in Elyon screaming and running away.
The Dark Chi Enforcers had left Wong's chambers just before the dark wizard and his shapeshifting partner returned from their mission. Fortunately, they didn't seem to notice the Dark Chi Enforcers, which gave them the chance to get back to their post… only to find Elyon's door was open, and the girl was not inside.
"Uh… where's Elyon?" Chow asked.
Almost in direct response, they heard her screams echo through the halls and ran as fast as they could to the source of the screams.
Phobos and Tarakudo heard Elyon's screams as well, the dark prince quickly erecting the illusion around his throne room while Tarakudo vanished into the walls just before the princess ran inside.
"Phobos!" Elyon ran to her brother in distress.
"Elyon, what's the matter?" He quickly asked.
"Little E!" Finn, Chow, and Ratso had just entered the throne room. "Kid, what is it!?"
"A room upstairs… I went in…" She explained in a panic. "Horrible things with huge teeth… there were dozens of them!"
"Hey, hey, it's okay kiddo." Ratso was the first to console her, kneeling to her level and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We won't let the monsters get you." Even though Ratso spoke sincerely, Finn and Chow shared concerning glances as they knew what Elyon was talking about, as did Phobos.
"Guards!" The prince called a pair of guards into the throne room. "Go to the granary! I think the rebels are using Lurdens to steal our granary!" The guards looked to each other in mild confusion. "Go!" With that order, the guards left.
"Lurdens?" Elyon asked.
"Evil creatures… I'm sorry you had to see that, Elyon." Phobos apologized.
The princess was walked back to her chambers, escorted by her brother and the Enforcers. Before she walked inside, she turned back to them with a concerned expression.
"How come I've never heard of these… Lurden things until now?" Elyon asked.
"Because I had thought they were extinct." Phobos lied. "Or at the very least, endangered. But it seems I was mistaken. With your coronation ever closer, our enemies grow more and more desperate."
"Can… Can I do anything to help?" Elyon asked.
"No, I can handle this sister, don't you worry." Phobos assured. "You just get some sleep. I promise, everything will be alright in the morning."
She took a deep breath, trusting in her brother before smiling. "Okay, I trust you." She closed the door and went back to her room.
As the door was closed, the Enforcers tried to tip-toe away quietly, only for Phobos to ensnare them with his magic and fling them to the wall on the other side of the hallway.
"You were supposed to be watching her!" He exclaimed to them, speaking a distance away from Elyon's room so she wouldn't hear.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Chow quickly said. "We were… uh…"
"Just looking around at the windows!" Finn quickly lied. "Making sure nobody could sneak in!"
"Really? Cause I thought…" Ratso was quickly elbowed by his friends on both sides before correcting himself. "I thought I checked them already. That's why I was in the can. Heh, heh."
Phobos narrowed his eyes, not quite convinced, but given how stupid he knew they were; he was confident they couldn't do any intentional damage and let them go from his magical grip.
"If Elyon's coronation weren't just around the corner, I would personally cast you three into the Abyss of Shadows for your constant stupidity!" Phobos scolded. "From this point forward, you do not Elyon out of your sight for even a second! Am I clear?!"
"Yes sir!" Finn stood up straight with his friends.
"Crystal clear!" Chow added with a nod.
"Super shiny crystal clear!" Ratso also said, saluting.
Earth – Heatherfield
The quartet consisting of Jackie, Will, Jade, and Caleb continued to walk through the snowy streets into a suburban area, coming closer towards their destination, all the while talking about their next move.
"If I could only get the army directly inside the castle, we can have a fighting chance." Caleb stated.
"Why don't we use the Seal of Phobos?" Jade suggested. "I mean, we used it to bust everyone out of Phobos dungeon, we can do the opposite, right?"
"That's…. actually, a great idea, Jade." Jackie smiled toward his niece. "But we'll still need to be careful. Phobos and Tarakudo are going to do everything in their power to stop us, even if we get everyone inside."
Will gave a slight sigh. "Maybe we can work the details out tomorrow. I'm tired and I can't think."
"Yes, by tomorrow, once we're fully rested, we'll have our plan set." Jackie agreed.
"So Will, do you like this Matt guy?" Caleb asked teasingly.
"Oh, they are so totally in love." Jade responded.
"Jade, come on! Knock it off!" Will said in embarrassment, her cheeks red as usual, resulting in Caleb and Jade smirking toward her.
"That's quite enough you two." Jackie admonished his niece and friend. "Will's relationships are her own business."
"Thank you, Jackie." Will smiled in appreciation at him.
"Well I just had a feeling…." Caleb began.
"That he likes me?!" Will asked in excitement.
"Subtle." Jade maintained her smirk.
"That he's following us." Caleb said with a serious tone of voice.
This caused the other three to turn around in surprise, but they didn't appear to see anybody. However, the more they focused on the general area, the more they got the feeling that there was indeed somebody following them.
"Matt is not the stalker type." Will said before her eyes widened slightly. "What if it's someone who's after… you-know-what?" She asked in a subtle whisper, slightly opening her jacket to reveal the Oni mask in an angle that only they could see it.
Jackie gave a serious expression. "That could explain why we didn't see anybody when we first found it."
"Think they're planning an ambush?" Jade asked.
"I don't know, but let's not take a chance. Here's what we'll do." Jackie began to instruct. "Caleb, you and I will take the direct route to Section 13, see if we can get whoever's behind to follow us. Jade, Will, you go the long route. If you are attacked, do what you have to do, and we'll be there as soon as possible."
All three of them nodded before splitting off in their respective pairs. Jackie and Caleb continued along the street, while Will and Jade turned to walk down a separate path. Both groups were seemingly unaware of the prying eyes of Jeek from behind a nearby car, before leaping toward the closest tree to follow after the girls.
Matt sat alone on a bench inside the mall, appearing to be deep in thought. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a fellow student who recognized and walked up to him.
"Hey Matt!" Martin waved. "Oh, I'm glad I ran into ya. Hey, I need some womanly advice, ya know for me and Irma?"
"Wrong guy, Martin." Matt said as Martin sat down next to him. "I'm still trying to figure Will out. Before Christmas, she grabs me and kisses me, and things seem pretty good after that. But today, she's all 'get off my sidewalk'."
"Whoa, she actually kissed you?! Lucky!" Martin said. "Wait, hold on, was this at Christmas?"
"About a week before, yeah." Matt confirmed.
"Was it under a mistletoe?" Martin asked.
"Yeah? What's your point?" Matt questioned.
"First off, major props for you, dude." Martin said, pointing a congratulatory finger his way. "Second, isn't it a rule that you gotta kiss someone under a mistletoe? Maybe it was just a… ya know one of those things?"
"I don't know…" Matt ran his hand down his face. "I mean, she seemed really happy about it. But she said she had something personal going on, and I don't want to get into somebody's business if they don't want me to."
"Well, why don't you just ask her?" Martin asked. "Maybe you helping her could help you with your dating status?"
Matt actually thought about it for a minute. "Well, I don't know if I'd put it like that… but maybe I shouldn't have given up so easily." He stood up from his spot. "I'll try to talking to her, maybe I can catch up. Thanks man."
"Anytime dude." Martin nodded. "Oh, and ask her about Irma when you get the chance!"
Meanwhile, Will and Jade proceeded along the sidewalks of the suburbs, seemingly unaware of their apparent Passling stalker that continued to hop from tree-to-tree behind them. However, while they weren't aware who or what exactly was following them, the two Guardians knew they were being followed, nonetheless. They looked toward each other with serious expressions and silently nodded to each other before coming to a stop underneath a tree.
Jeek leapt toward the tree they were over and hid himself as scarcely as he could behind the bare branches. Will kneeled down, giving the appearance she was tying her shoe, while Jade kept her back toward her friend and took out her phone, making it seem like she was tuning out for a minute. However, Jade looked at the screen of her phone and saw in its reflection, the silhouette of the hidden Passling, confirming its location.
Seeing this as his chance, Jeek leapt down toward Will, but Jade was quicker to act as she leapt and spun a kick over Will as she ducked, allowing the foot to impact Jeek and send him stumbling into the snow. Before Jeek had a chance to get up, Jade was already on top of him, her hands pinning his arms to the ground.
"Gotcha!" Jade exclaimed.
Will saw the Passling's face and mistook him for another. "Blunk?!"
However, Jade got a real good look at his face and saw this was not the Passling they knew. "No, this guy is not Blunk."
Jeek snarled at Jade before he pulled both his feet back and kicked her in the face to knock her off him. "Ugh! Definitely not Blunk!" Jade held her nose as some blood came from it.
The greedy Passling leapt toward Jade, and grabbed her shoulders before using her like a springboard to not only knock her down but leap toward Will's face just as she pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar. Jeek wrapped one arm around her face while using his free hand to clamp her mouth shut and keep her from saying the magic words and transforming. However, Will threw her back toward the tree to try and knock Jeek off, which he avoided by leaping from her and allowing Will's back to take the full impact, causing her to slide down in pain.
"Will, you okay?" Jade ran to her friend.
"Yeah… but we…" However, Will quickly noticed the pendant around her neck was missing. "The Heart!" She also noticed her inner jacket pocket was empty as well. "The mask!"
The girls heard Jeek's laugh and looked toward the tree to see that he had both the Heart of Kandrakar and the Oni mask in his possession. Jeek sneered at them before leaping toward a wooden fence and running along the fence line with Jade and Will in pursuit. He soon came to a stop just outside an old and abandoned house before leaping to the other side of the fence.
"Give me a boost!" Jade quickly said as Will helped her friend stand on her shoulders, allowing her to climb to the other side of the fence where she saw a faint blue light from around the house's corner, along with a flash indicating that Jeek had just passed through to the other side of the Veil. "Aw nuts."
After getting an emergency text from Will; not only did Jackie and Caleb meet back up with them, but they were joined by Hay Lin, Cornelia, Taranee, Irma, Uncle, Tohru, and Alchemy as quickly as they came.
"He popped out of nowhere, grabbed the Heart and the mask and leapt to the portal on the other side of the fence!" Will gestured to the fence behind her.
"That greedy little fuzzball…" Cornelia scowled. "When I see Blunk…"
"Weren't you listening?!" Jade told Cornelia. "It wasn't Blunk! I got a good look at the guy, plus he kicked me in the face! When does Blunk actually get into a fight?!"
"She's right." Taranee seemed to agree. "Besides, why would Blunk steal an Oni mask, especially after that whole mess where he had one on his face."
"Exactly!" Jade pointed out. "Blunk's slimy, but he's not stupid. He knows how dangerous the masks are."
"And after everything we've been through…" Alchemy added. "No way Blunk would turn on us like that."
"So, it was likely another Passling." Jackie assumed as he glanced toward Caleb. "Perhaps one stumbled onto this portal and crossed over."
"Maybe, Passlings are a slippery bunch." Caleb confirmed.
"What? No slime or stolen crystal/stolen mask jokes, Irma?" Cornelia gave a glare towards Irma, who looked away with a scowl, not wanting to get dragged down to the blonde's level. "Ow!" Cornelia rubbed her forehead where Uncle delivered dope-slap.
"Jokes not important! Final Oni mask and Heart of Kandrakar, are!" Uncle told the blonde. "Do you want source of your power and army of Shadowkhan to fall to the Forces of Darkness? No? Then we chase Passling and do not get distracted!"
Cornelia recoiled under Uncle's strict outburst, while Irma smirked. She was tempted to deliver a joke herself, but rather than avoid getting scolded by Uncle herself, she just decided to savor the moment.
"Uncle's right, this is no time to be arguing amongst ourselves." Jackie said. "Tohru, do you still have the mask removal potion?"
"Right here." Tohru pated the pocket where he kept the vial of the potion.
"I also sent a text to Grandma." Hay Lin pointed out. "If she finds Blunk, we'll know for sure if it was him or not."
"Then let's get going." Will said as Jackie helped each of the girls hop over the fence before leaping over himself with Caleb, while Tohru helped Uncle over. He tried to climb over himself, only to find that he was too large to do so. Several planks were quickly pulled apart by everyone on the other side, creating a big enough opening for Tohru to enter.
"We'll fix it later." Irma told him as they walked to the other side of the old house.
However, the group was completely unaware that they had somebody following them. Matt had managed to catch up to Will a few minutes ago but stopped himself from getting her attention once he saw everyone else with her and happened to hear their discussion. Though he didn't make out anything from their conversation, he knew they were up to something and decided to follow.
As he saw everyone round the corner of the house, Matt walked closer to the building where he saw the faint blue light and heard the sound of energy humming. Once he peeked over the corner, he looked in shock at not only the portal, but at the sight of everyone leaping into it and vanishing before his eyes.
Meridian
The group of heroes exited through the portal in what looked like an icy mountain region of Meridian, one that appeared even colder than how it was on Earth just a moment ago.
"Where the heck are we?" Jade questioned as she and everyone else instantly felt the intense cold.
"Feels like Phobos' freezer." Irma snarked before glancing at Cornelia. "Oh, I'm sorry. I mean, on look it is really cold and super serious." Cornelia glared before they joined up with the rest of the group.
"This is the Torus Khylm Ice Plain." Caleb explained to everyone. "The castle is on the other side of that ridge." He pointed to what appeared to be a large mountain nearby.
"Still can't believe I lost the Heart again." Will muttered to herself in frustration. "And to a Passling!"
"Will, don't beat yourself up." Jackie told her. "These things happen."
"Did somebody pack the Talismans?" Jade asked. "Ya know, just in case we run into the bad guys, which we probably will knowing our luck."
"No time to take Talismans." Uncle said. "We must rely on wit and skill here till Heart is retrieved."
"Well, how are we supposed to find this Passling if we can't fly?" Taranee asked.
"He'll head for the lowest crossing point at the third pass." Caleb explained. "Passlings might not be as fast as us, but they're lighter."
"How is being lighter an advantage?" Hay Lin asked. Rather than give a direct answer, Caleb picked up a random rock and threw it forward, causing it to sink beneath the snow, revealing the snow was a lot deeper than it looks. "Okay, got it."
"We must step very carefully." Uncle said.
"You gonna be okay, Tohru?" Alchemy asked the biggest of the group. "No offense, but you're not exactly light on your feet."
"No offense taken." The sumo responded. "But don't worry about me, I've handled worse than snow." He began to walk ahead of the group, easily trekking through the deep snow with little-to-no issue. He may not have been light enough to walk on top of the snow, but he was big enough to avoid being completely covered, and strong enough to push forward.
Needless to say, everyone looked impressed. "Go Big T." Irma said with a smile.
"Let's keep moving. We need to hurry if we're to catch up with our thief and take the Heart and mask back." Jackie led the group forward as they tried to pick up the pace as quickly as they could.
Meanwhile, Jeek ran across the snow as fast as he could, going in the direction of the castle as he carried the bag over his back that contained the Heart of Kandrakar and red Oni mask inside. He glanced upward to see a familiar type of bird flying ahead.
"Captoryx." Jeek whistled through his fingers to call the bird to him. The bird responded and flew down to land on Jeek's hand. "Tell Prince Phobos, Jeek have Heart of Kandrakar and scary mask. Meet Jeek on Khylm Icefall. Go."
With that, the Captoryx flew off to deliver the evil Passling's message to the dark prince and his allies.
Earth – Silver Dragon
The Passling named Blunk rummaged through the garbage in the restaurant's kitchen, looking for his next meal. His scavenging's came to an end as the lights turned on, revealing Yan Lin who looked more than a little upset.
"Blunk no mean to wake. Blunk hungry." He said as he swallowed a tea-bag whole.
"Blunk, I am only going to ask this once and I expect an honest answer." Yan Lin told him. "Did you steal the Heart of Kandrakar and the last Oni mask?"
"Steal? Blunk take nothing!" He quickly said. "Blunk no want scary mask! Blunk wore scary mask before and never will again!"
"Well, a different Passling just stole both the Heart and the mask from Will." Yan Lin revealed. "She and everyone else had gone to Meridian to retrieve it. Do you know of anyone who would do that?"
Only one answer came to mind as Blunk's eyes narrowed. "Jeek."
Meanwhile, Matt continued to stare at the glowing portal, absolutely no idea what to make of it. The only thing he knew for certain is that Will and her friends had gone inside it and had not returned. The way they walked toward it though suggested they knew it was here, they knew what it was and walked through it like it was a day at the park. Something crazy was definitely going on.
Maybe he could help them. Only one way to make sure. Matt walked toward the portal and stopped for a moment to steel himself, before giving a yell and ran directly into the portal.
Matt came out on the other side of the Veil and into Meridian, tripping and falling onto the snowy hill, causing him to tumble and slide down, like sledding without a snowboard.
The yells caught the attention of Hay Lin as the heroes continued to make their way through the tundra. She turned around to see the teenager sliding down the hill behind them.
"Uh Will… wasn't that your boyfriend?" She asked, catching her off guard.
"Matt?!"
Everyone else looked to see him slide further down the hill and crash into a large mound of snow, causing more to fall on top of him. Will wasted no time running to his location with the rest of the group behind her. She quickly tried to dig him out of the snow, while also hoping beyond hope that it really wasn't Matt. The last thing she wanted was him getting caught up in all of this. However, that proved to be truly the case as she saw it was indeed Matt after digging him out of the snow.
"Bad day…" Will groaned with worry.
Matt looked toward her with a dazed smile. "Hey Will…"
The redhead grimaced. "I'd… totally love to take you back to Earth and explain all this…"
"Back… to Earth…?" Matt questioned, wondering if he heard that right.
She giggled nervously. "But… unfortunately… we're chasing this guy… who stole something from us and is looking to sell it to the Force of Darkness… so we have to keep moving."
Back on Earth, Blunk ran as fast as he could to the portal that Yan Lin told him to find. While Yan Lin pointed him in the general direction, he was easily able to locate its exact location because of his unique sense of smell.
"Girls! Blunk not guilty!" He exclaimed as he found the portal on the other side of the old house and leapt straight into it.
Once on the other side of the veil, Blunk landed face-first in the snow and began to roll down the hill, gathering up snow around him as he found himself in the middle of a large snowball that rolled down the same path Matt slid down before colliding into the exact same wall he did.
The heroes, along with the recently added Matt to their group, trekked through the snow up the ridge, crossing through a trench-like area through it as Caleb guided them down the quickest path to intercept their enemy. The snow had built up so much at the point that Tohru could walk on top of it without falling through, but the group had to spread apart a bit to avoid the risk of the snow collapsing underneath them.
Hay Lin shuddered as she tried to push forward. "I can't feel… my toes…"
"I… I don't understand…!" Matt shivered.
"Don't talk. Walk." Cornelia told him. "You're not even supposed to be here."
"But… seriously?! Are we on like another planet or something?! What in the actual hell is going on… OW!" Matt felt his forehead where Uncle dope-slapped him.
"You were not asked to come here!" Uncle yelled. "This is none of your business! All things will be explained in time! Do you wish to leave icy place as soon as possible?! Yes?! Then stop talking and keep walking so we can retrieve Heart and mask quicker, and you do not protest!"
"Yes sir…" Matt muttered, feeling extremely frightened of the old man.
"Yeah… just do what he says Matt." Will said, walking next to him. "Trust me, you can never win an argument with him."
"Listen Matt." Jackie also added. "I understand this is overwhelming, but we need to keep moving. Once this is over, all will be explained. I promise."
With nothing else to do, Matt only nodded as he and everyone else continued to push forward through the snow and the cold with Caleb at the lead, though Jade was quick to catch up to him.
"How much further?" She asked.
"We just gotta get to the other side of this hill, then it's a straight shot." Matt replied.
However, a roar echoed through the trench, alerting the group. "What was that?" Alchemy asked with worry. They would soon get an answer as a large polar bear-like monster emerged from a nearby cave and roared at them. The creature was soon joined by several others in the area, almost like a pack that quickly began to surround the group.
"I'm not seeing this!" Matt exclaimed as the group came closer together.
The monster closest to them tried to rush the heroes, but Tohru quickly intercepted it and wrapped his arms around its body like a bear hug, pressing his own strength against the monster as it tried to wrestle out of its grip. Tohru pushed it back and delivered a fierce punch to its face to knock it down.
Likewise, Uncle drew his blowfish and fired chi-blasts at the other polar bear-like monsters to keep them at bay. Though the blasts did sting them, it only seemed to slow them down at best.
"Uncle, your spells are not working?" Jackie questioned.
"These are merely stun spells." Uncle replied. "Magic must defeat magic! Not polar bears!"
"Did he just say magic?!" Matt exclaimed toward Will.
"Yeah, he did! Again, we'll explain later!" She replied.
However, despite Uncle's chi-blasts as well as Tohru's strength, they were unable to stop the monsters' advance and were literally backed against the wall. Irma them remembered what Caleb said about the snow before looking towards the largest man in their group.
"Tohru, smash the ground!" She exclaimed.
"What!? What kind of joke is that?!" Cornelia questioned.
"It's not a darn joke, Cornelia!" Irma shouted at her.
"No, she's right!" Jackie realized what she was saying. "Tohru, do what Irma said!"
"Alright!" Tohru nodded as he gestured for Uncle to stand behind him as the polar bears continued to advance. Tohru then jumped into the air and landed on the ground; the sudden impact from his own landing, as well as the combined weight from everyone else, caused the snowy ground to collapse underneath and for all of them to fall into an ice cave below.
Meanwhile, Blunk continued to roll down the ground in his snowball, unable to stop himself or even slow down until he landed smack into a large stone wall. Fortunately, the snowball he was in cushioned his impact as he pulled himself out.
"Have to prove Jeek is thief! Must protect good name!" Blunk stated. "Well… must protect name." He then ran off in the direction he knew everyone else ran off into.
Blunk could easily pick up not only their scents, but that of Jeek's as well. He also knew the Torus Khylm Ice Plain like the back of his hand, so tracking down Jeek would not be hard for him.
Phobos' Castle
The dark prince stood alongside Daolon Wong in his castle's map room as Cedric walked in with a Captoryx on his arm. "My lord, the Passling named Jeek has sent us a message."
"I'm no interested in what he has to sell." Phobos dismissed, keeping his back turned to the shapeshifter.
"Repeat." Cedric ordered the Captoryx as it spoke the words Jeek spoke to it.
"Tell Prince Phobos, Jeek have Heart of Kandrakar and scary mask. Meet Jeek on Khylm Icefall. Go."
That got both their attention. "The Heart!" Phobos stated.
"And the final Oni mask!" Wong also stated.
"Cedric, Wong, lead a platoon to meet them! We may finally have a chance to capture not only the Heart but an Oni mask! Do not fail me again!" Phobos ordered.
"As you wish." Cedric said as he and Wong bowed before leaving the room. However, right as they left, Phobos spoke to someone else in the room.
"This is an unexpected change of events. Will it impede our plans?" Phobos asked.
Tarakudo emerged from the map and responded. "No, not really. Best case scenario, we actually manage to capture the Heart and the mask. We could easily storm Section 13 on Earth and retrieve the others if that is the case. However, given the luck our so-called allies have had in the past…"
"The more likely outcome is that Chan and the Guardians are somehow able to achieve victory and retrieve the Heart and mask at once." Phobos commented in a calm tone before a smirk formed on his face. "Which will still guarantee us victory."
"Either way, we win." Tarakudo confirmed. "So, this really doesn't change anything."
"Still, we should at least give the illusion that this is our final chance." Phobos said. "Perhaps you should accompany them."
Tarakudo chuckled. "Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing." He then vanished from the map room, leaving the dark prince alone as his smirk only grew.
Back at the Ice Plain, the group of heroes recovered at the bottom of an ice cave, after barley managing to escape the polar bear monsters.
"Irma, that was quick thinking. Good work." Jackie told the girl as they all picked themselves up. "And you as well, Tohru."
"Well, it was Irma's idea." Tohru gave credit where it was due.
"Aw, thanks guys." Irma replied before turning to a certain blonde. "And I believe the words you're searching for are 'I'm sorry, useful Irma'!"
"Ouch." Jade winced with a smirk.
"Okay, okay, get off my case." Cornelia said.
"So, how do we get out of here?" Will asked as she helped Matt to his feet.
Caleb looked around before spotting something that could lead to their escape. "There's some kind of hole here."
"Uh Will… what exactly are these things you're looking for?" Matt asked, still having trouble processing everything.
"Don't have time to go into details." Will gave a brief explanation. "But one is a relic of pure evil, and the other could decide the fate of the entire universe."
"So yeah… pretty important." Jade added.
Blunk continued to run as quickly as he could, doing his best to try and catch up with Jeek. "Not blame Blunk, blame Jeek! Not blame Blunk, blame Jeek!" He repeated to himself like a mantra.
He leapt over a trench as he continued to run, unaware of the fact that the trench was the very location the Chan Clan and Guardians were, as well as the hole they fell down. The polar bear monsters briefly noticed the Passling before attempting to dig their way down into the hole to reach their prey.
However, while Blunk may have missed his friends, he did come to a small cliffside where he spotted Jeek making his way toward the meeting place that Phobos' forces would be waiting for him. No time to waste, Blunk picked up the pace to catch up to the evil Passling.
At the same time, Cedric, in his massive serpent-form, and Daolon Wong led a small army of soldiers, each one mounting a rhino-like steed as they tried to get to the Icefall on their end. They soon came to a small stop by a frozen lake.
"The ice is thick enough for the beasts, follow us." Cedric hissed as he and Wong proceeded forward, the later riding his own steed with the small army following behind.
However, in the far back of the army, Finn, Ratso, and Chow also rode their own beasts, each of them wearing a hooded jacket so their so-called masters would be unable to see them. Past experiences told them they would run into Chan and his friends in a situation like this, and with the Coronation just two days away, this may be their only chance to tell Jackie about Shendu.
Back in the ice cave, Jackie inspected the hole. "It's too small. The girls and Uncle may be able to fit, but the rest of us can't."
"Well, we better think of something, because I think we're on the menu right now!" Alchemy exclaimed as the group heard the growls of the monsters above.
"Everyone, step aside." Tohru instructed as he walked to the furthest end of the cave, directly across from the hole. The group did as Tohru suggested and split apart to clear the way. Tohru took a stance, crouching and bending his knees, placing one hand on the ground to ready himself.
Though they could all hear the growls of the bear-like monsters from above coming closer, Tohru remained calm as he focused on his own physical and inner strength. With a yell, Tohru charged from his position and ran at full speeds, using his strength to bash his elbow through the ice-wall and completely shatter it, giving everyone an open exit.
"Whoa!" Matt looked in utter surprise at the display of strength.
"Yeah! Go Tohru!" Hay Lin cheered along with the rest of the girls while Jackie and Caleb smiled.
"That is my apprentice." Uncle said with a proud nod and smile.
However, the momentum from Tohru's charge along with the ice that he just walked on, caused him to slip and roll down the hill below him. The sumo literally rolled down the hill, bouncing off the trees and ice-mounds in his way as he continued to comically roll down, causing everyone to cringe.
"Heh, just like old times." Jade commented.
"Come on, let's go!" Jackie led the group after Tohru, and hopefully after the Passling that stole the Heart of Kandrakar and Oni mask from them.
Jeek ran as fast as he could, spotting Cedric, Wong, and their army. However, before he could signal any of them, Blunk leapt at him from behind, tackling him to the snow, causing him to drop both the Heart of Kandrakar and Oni mask next to him.
"You!" Jeek snarled at his fellow Passling.
"Yes, Blunk!" Blunk said before turning around to see the Chan Clan and Guardians, along with Caleb, Alchemy, and Matt, in the distance. "But thief not Blunk! Thief Jeek! Thief Jeek!" He pointed to the evil Passling for the heroes to see.
"There are two of them!" Will exclaimed as they all saw the two Passlings, as well as the enemy forces.
"I knew it!" Jade stated.
The heroes came closer, as did the enemy army. Acting quickly, Blunk grabbed both the Heart of Kandrakar and the Oni mask and threw the former toward Will and her friends. Wong snarled as he tried to grab the Heart with magic from his scepter, only to get blasted down by a stun spell from Uncle. This gave Will an opening to run and slide on the snow, grabbing the Heart just as Cedric was upon her.
Fortunately, Jackie had leapt to deliver a flying kick to Cedric's face and knock him down as the rest of the enemy forces arrived. Not wasting any time, she spoke the magic words.
"Guardians Unite!'
"Don't take your eyes off this, Matt. Trust me." Alchemy smirked toward him as they all saw Will, Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, Cornelia, and Taranee engulfed in colorful flashes of light before assuming their respective Guardian forms as J-WITCH.
"Whoa…" Matt looked in utter surprise.
In that instance, the girls threw their respective elemental powers into the horde of soldiers, blasting them away and forcing any that had been avoided being hit to find cover. Uncle added to the assault with chi-blasts from his blowfish. Will hung back toward the still-shocked Matt and Alchemy, along with Jackie, Caleb, and Tohru to keep at bay any enemies that came too close.
"Blunk, where is the mask?!" Jackie called to their Passling ally as he ran from Jeek and toward them.
"Blunk have scary mask right here!" Blunk held up the Oni mask in his hands, that is until an invisible telekinetic force yanked it from his grasp, much to everyone's shock and horror.
"Let me take it off your hands for you." Tarakudo appeared in the sky, holding the mask with his own powers.
"Is that a floating head?!" Matt practically screamed.
"Yep." Will confirmed with a nod and pale look on her face, especially when Tarakudo dropped the mask into the palms of the recovering Cedric, who sneered evilly.
"Keep the Heart, I'll be taking this." Cedric said as he placed the mask on his face. His own face was larger than the mask, but it didn't matter as once the demonic relic made contact, it grew and stretched to completely encompass itself around Cedric's head. The powers of the Oni demon fused with his own as the transformed Cedric let loose a deeper and more demonic roar than his usual one.
"Oh crap…" Jade gulped.
"And here I thought he couldn't get any uglier." Cornelia commented.
"Ha! See!? You made a joke!" Irma pointed toward her accusingly. "You just made a joke right there, Cornelia!"
"Now is not the time, guys!" Taranee scolded.
Oni-Cedric gave a laugh. "I can feel the power flowing through me! Rise my Shadowkhan!"
With that command, all the shadows in the area began to move as they quickly surrounded the heroes, who grouped together, ready to face their new adversary. A group of twenty new Shadowkhan them arose from the shadows, revealing their forms as the ninth tribe.
They each had lower bodies that had four insect-like legs to them, their upper bodies stretched up as the tallest breed of Shadowkhan seen so far, with red V-shaped tops to them. Each of them had a set of mantis-like arms with spikes all over. Their heads were flat with a glowing red visor serving as eyes.
"Ninja number nine." Jackie commented.
"They look like praying mantises." Hay Lin observed. "So… Mantis Khan?"
"Sure. Why not?" Will said with an annoyed tone of voice.
"Attack!" Oni-Cedric ordered. The Mantis-Khan then did as commanded, swinging their claws toward them, forcing the heroes to scatter and avoid getting sliced.
Will grabbed Matt and flew to the side, only for three Mantis Khan to emerge in front of het. Matt screamed before Will threw him behind her just as the Mantis Khan lashed out with their claws. Will quickly flew in-between as one sliced toward her, but she ducked and allowed the one behind her to get sliced and vanish. She then grabbed the one in front of her by its wrists and forced it to turn around before slicing it at the third Mantis Khan, destroying it. She then flew upward and delivered a kick to its face, knocking it down before finishing it off with a stomp on its head.
As the heroes continued to battle the Mantis Khan, Wong noticed the small army still not making any moves. "Do not just stand there, you fools! Attack!" Wong ordered, prompting all the guards to join the fray. Wong then directed his gaze toward Uncle, who destroyed two Mantis Khan with his stun spells before the two wizards locked eyes. Much like their previous encounters, they clashed their magics against one another in a wizard's duel.
"Eh, maybe we should sit this one out." Finn muttered quietly as he, Chow, and Ratso hid in a nearby cave, keeping a distance from the battle.
"Yeah, Chan's got this." Chow added. "We'll wait till the fighting's done."
"Then we tell them about Shendu, right?" Ratso asked.
"Yeah, just keep it down. We don't wanna tip anybody off." Finn said as they remained hidden and as quiet as possible.
Jackie ran from three pursuing Mantis Khan, their multiple legs allowing them fast mobility as they quickly caught up with him. Jackie leapt from rock-to-rock, avoiding the slices of the Mantis Khan's arms that tore through the rocks like butter. Jackie then landed on his hands on another rock before pulling his feet back for a double kick to knock down the closest Mantis Khan. He then leapt over and landed both his feet on that same Mantis Khan to destroy it, landing in-between the other two. Jackie quickly ducked and rolled underneath the one behind him as the one in front sliced downward. Jackie came up behind the second Mantis Khan before delivering a roundhouse kick to its back to knock it into the first, their claws accidentally slicing into each other and destroying them.
Alchemy found herself backed into a corner as two Mantis Khan approached her. Fortunately, Caleb came to her defense, drawing his katana to parry the slices of their bladed arms, but this didn't seem to slow them down as the two were backed into the rocky wall.
"Hey, nobody messes with those two but me!" Cornelia flew forward and used her powers to pull two large rocks from the wall above Caleb and Alchemy, throwing them at the two Mantis Khan to crush them.
"Another joke, right there!" Irma pointed out as she created a wave of water from the frozen lake behind her and directed it onto a group of soldiers in front of her, washing them away along with their steeds. However, four Mantis Khan appeared behind her and tried to slice at her. Acting on instinct, Irma quickly raised a wall of water to block it, but she was easily knocked back by the force of their slices.
Fortunately, salvation came in the form of her friends as Taranee threw two large fireballs at two Mantis Khan to obliterate them; while Hay Lin raised her arms to encompass the last two in a tornado, pulling them straight up before releasing, causing them to fall to their demise.
Tohru used his raw strength to intercept a steed from one of the charging guards and actually picked up the steed before throwing him into three of his fellow soldiers and their steeds; causing them all to tumble downhill. However, Tohru did not have time to rest as five Mantis Khan emerged to surround him.
"Don't touch him!" Two of the Mantis Khan parted ways as Oni-Cedric approached Tohru. "He's mine!"
Tohru gulped as he saw the Oni face of the transformed shapeshifter in front of him. But he tried to steel himself and throw a punch towards Oni-Cedric, only for the enemy to catch his fist with little issue. Oni-Cedric growled with anticipation as he smirked towards the shocked Tohru, before lifting him up with one hand and slamming him down onto the ground.
"Tohru!" Jade was about to fly in and help him, only for a telekinetic blast to knock her down into the snow.
"I don't think so. You still got business with me, my wayward queen." Tarakudo unleashed another psychic blast, only for Jade to raise a wall of shadow magic to shield herself.
"Some people don't take rejection well." Jade commented as she manifested a set of shadow-claws in her hands and flew towards Tarakudo to slice at him, only to fly backwards and avoid the slashes.
Will pulled Matt away from two more Mantis Khan and regrouped with Jackie as four more Mantis Khan chased after him. The trio soon found themselves surrounded.
"How many of these things are there?!" Matt exclaimed.
"As long as he has that mask on, he can summon as many as he wants!" Will replied.
"Can't you take it off him?!" Matt questioned.
"Not without the potion!" Jackie replied.
As Oni-Cedric continued to lay a one-sided beatdown on Tohru; a punch to the face to send him reeling before wrapping his tail around Tohru's ankle to haul him over his head and slam him onto the ground, where he then pulled him in to deliver another punch to the face and knock him back. This however accidentally caused the vial of the mask-removal potion Tohru stored in his pocket to fall out before Tohru was pulled back into his torment by his transformed enemy.
Blunk saw the potion on the ground. His eyes widened as he recognized the scent of that particular magic. He tried to scurry over to it, only for Jeek to grab him by his ankle and pull him back. Jeek then leapt to pin Blunk to the ground.
"Blunk weak Passling! Jeek older and stronger!" Jeek stated.
"Jeek evil Passling! Blunk good Passling!" Blunk argued.
"All Passlings bad." Jeek argued back. "Why Blunk help others? Others no care about Passlings. Passlings only care about Passlings!"
"No! Friends care about Blunk! Blunk care about friends!" Blunk shouted before he smirked. "Blunk friends know Kung Fu, and Blunk see Kung Fu all the time. So Blunk also knows Kung Fu!"
Blunk delivered a headbutt to Jeek's face, forcing him to let go and allowing Blunk to sweep his feet and knock Jeek down. Using this as his chance, Blunk quickly ran to swipe the vial from the snow, where he yanked the cork out with his mouth before pouring the potion onto his own hands, which quickly began to glow green with good magic.
Tohru was once again thrown down before Oni-Cedric delivered a punch to Tohru's gut, causing him to hack up some blood. Oni-Cedric then picked up the weakened Tohru by his throat and looked him in the eyes.
"I am going to enjoy feasting on your brains, human!" Oni-Cedric sneered, but he was caught off guard as Blunk leapt onto him from behind, grabbing onto his transformed face with his glowing hands and forcing him to drop Tohru.
"Blunk take mask back!" Blunk exclaimed as he tried to pry it off the struggling Cedric. "Mask not for sale!"
"Get off me, pest!" Oni-Cedric tried to reach for him, but Tohru saw this as his chance and tackled Oni-Cedric to the ground, pinning his arms down.
"Do it, Blunk! I'll hold him down!" Tohru told him as he tried to keep the struggling Cedric pinned while Blunk pulled harder and harder to yank the Oni mask off.
"No! Release me!" Oni-Cedric roared. This roar got the attention of all the Mantis Khan in the area. They quickly diverted from their respective battles with the heroes and made their way closer to try and help Oni-Cedric, which also drew the attention of everyone else. But it was too late, with one final yank, Blunk completely yanked the Oni mask off Cedric's face.
The Mantis Khan all vanished in that instant as Blunk was flown back by the force of his own pull and landed on the snow. But he quickly got up with a wide, toothy smile, and proudly held up the retrieved Oni mask in his hands.
"Yes!" Hay Lin cheered.
"Go Blunk." Jade said with an impressed look.
Wong growled with fury. "Retrieve the mask…!" However, he was suddenly engulfed in green energy and pulled up from the ground, courtesy of a levitation spell from Uncle.
"I do not think so." Uncle smirked as he flung Daolon Wong away. Likewise, Tohru was quick to grab the tail of the recovering Cedric and pull him back to throw him in the same direction.
Hay Lin followed their lead as she created a large tornado that began to pull in all the soldiers in the area, including Jeek, giving her friends a chance to clear the area as she directed the tornado toward Wong and Cedric, before dropping it, causing all the soldiers to fall on top of them. Irma then punched the ground, directing her control over water around the snow before it blew up and completely encompassed all the enemy forces, which Hay Lin finished off by spinning around to create a powerful and super cold breeze to freeze all the villains solid, trapping them in the ice.
"Cool off why don't ya." Irma joked. "And yes, I totally did that on purpose like you just did, Cornelia." She snarked to the blonde, who stuck her tongue out.
However, it was too early to celebrate as both young Guardians were blasted back by a psychic attack from Tarakudo. He repeated the action with Jackie, Will, Matt, Caleb, Taranee, Jade, Uncle, and Hay Lin to send them flying, and even picked up Tohru near Blunk to fling him away as well before giving a death-glare to the frightened Passling.
"GIVE ME MY MASK!" Tarakudo roared.
Despite his fear however, Blunk stood firm as he held the Oni mask close with one hand before reaching into his pocket with the other.
"Blunk have better deal! Blunk keep scary mask but give Floating Head free onion!" He threw a rotten onion that he picked up from the trash at the Silver Dragon right into Tarakudo's face. Just like before, once it made contact, a burning sensation filled Tarakudo's eyes as he 'cried' green energy.
"Ugh! My eyes! My eyes!" Tarakudo roared in pain before vanishing.
With that, the fighting had come to an end, resulting in all the heroes cheering and sharing high fives with each other. With all the excitement finally died down, Matt got a good look at Will, seeing her Guardian form made him look in amazement and awe, with a blush on his face.
"Hey Matt, are you okay?" Will asked as she went to check on him.
"I… think so…" He stuttered, still not fully wrapping his head around everything. "I guess you understand why I've missed a couple of classes lately…?"
Blunk then walked up to Jackie and handed him the Oni mask. "Thank you, Blunk." Jackie said with a nod and a smile.
"Blunk never steal from friends. Not ever." Blunk said to everyone present.
"Oooh. We feel so bad we suspected you of stealing." Taranee said in an apologetic tone.
"Not me. I totally knew you were legit from the start." Jade said, resulting in Blunk leaping toward Jade with a hug.
"Blunk love Jade-girl!" He praised as she returned the embrace herself.
"Yeah, you were freaking awesome back there!" Jade told him. "You yanked that mask right off Cedric's ugly face and even sent Tarakudo running!"
"Gotta admit, that was pretty badass." Irma commented.
"Yeah! That was super awesome!" Hay Lin also praised.
"Even I have to admit, that was pretty cool." Caleb nodded.
"Passling makes good ally." Even Uncle nodded with approval.
"You even saved my life, thank you Blunk." Tohru told him, with the Passling smiling brightly at all the complements.
"Yeah well, I'm missing two pens and a scrunchy." Cornelia pointed out.
"Look under bed?" Blunk suggested.
Jackie smiled at all of this. "Come on everyone. Let's go home."
"Wait! Chan! Hold on!"
The group turned around in surprise to see Finn calling him, along with Ratso and Chow.
"Heads up, we got stragglers!" Alchemy exclaimed as everyone readied themselves for another fight.
"Whoa, whoa, we're on your side! Remember?!" Ratso reminded as he and his friends help their hands.
"Oh… right." Jade winced, remembering the truce they had with the Enforcers. "Yeah… that's gonna take some getting used to." She commented, not quite used to not fighting the Enforcers.
"Listen, there's something you guys gotta know about the kid." Chow told them.
"Elyon? What about her?" Cornelia questioned, looking urgently.
"Wong is gonna steal her powers…" Ratso tried to explain.
"To make himself stronger. We already know that." Caleb interrupted.
"Not anymore he ain't." Finn shook his head. "It's worse than that now. He's gonna steal Elyon's power and use it to resurrect Shendu!"
That took everyone by surprise; especially the Chan Clan as they all gasped with horror.
"Aiya!" Uncle exclaimed.
"No…!" Tohru muttered.
"Are you certain of this?" Jackie asked the Enforcers.
"Believe us Chan, we really wish we weren't." Finn commented with dread.
"We saw the guy! Or… we saw his ghost anyway." Ratso added.
"Dragon-boy made a deal with Wong." Chow explained. "He's gonna take Elyon's powers and bring old Shendu back to life."
"Uh… Shen… what?" Matt asked Will, not quite understanding what was going on.
"Bad guy… like really bad." Will said. Even the other Guardians, Caleb and Alchemy knew just how bad this situation was. Though they've never seen Shendu before, they did know all the stories Jade told them about the Fire Demon and the sheer amount of destruction he was capable of. Honestly, he made Phobos look like a school bully by comparison.
"Yeah… we should get going." Jade said.
"Agreed." Jackie nodded. "First things first, we'll get the Oni mask to Section 13, then we'll formulate a plan to stop Shendu from resurrecting."
"Do you know of how Daolon Wong exactly plans to resurrect the Ultimate Evil?" Uncle asked the Enforcers.
"No clue." Ratso shrugged. "Just that it's all centered around Elyon."
"Alright. You three get back to the castle and look after her." Jackie told them. "If worse comes to worse, you grab Elyon and run as far as you can!"
"You got it." Finn nodded as the Enforcers quickly made their way back to the Castle; while the Guardians, Chan Clan, and their friends made their way back to the portal.
Earth - Heatherfield
Once they crossed over on the other side of the Veil and into their home dimension, Will used the Heart of Kandrakar to close up the portal. Before she joined the rest of her friends however, she walked toward Matt one last time.
"Hey Matt, listen." Will began to explain. "I know all this was pretty much dumped on you at once, and it's more than a little overwhelming… Trust me, it took a while to get used to it all to. The important thing is you can't tell anyone about this."
"I wouldn't even know what to tell." Matt replied. "But don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut."
"Thanks." Will smiled.
"And let me just say that you are ten times more awesome than I thought you were!" Matt stated.
"Only ten?" Will joked, resulting in the two laughing before sharing a hug. They then parted ways with Matt walking in a separate direction to head home while Will caught up with everyone else.
"He took that a lot better than I thought he would." Hay Lin commented.
"Yeah, the average person would probably have a heart-attack after seeing all that." Taranee added.
"Boyfriend not important!" Uncle stated. "Mission to protect world from Forces of Darkness, is."
"He's right. We have less than two days before the ceremony." Caleb said, getting serious. "Ready or not, my army is going to have to attack."
"We're with you, Caleb." Jackie told him. "We'll have Section 13 and the J-Team join us as well. Especially since our situation has just become far graver."
"Indeed. The Phobos and Tarakudo together, as well as Daolon Wong's own machinations, each of those is a crisis in its own right." Tohru said. "But all of that and Shendu? That's an apocalypse."
"So, we're the only thing between a crisis and an apocalypse?" Hay Lin asked, sounding more than a little nervous.
"I think I can get behind that." Jade said with a confident smirk. But even she couldn't stop her hands from shaking. Despite having her newfound powers as a Guardian, the thought of fighting Shendu again was something she'd rather avoid thinking about.
"But let's get the mask to Section 13 and hopefully be done with this Shadowkhan mess for real this time." Cornelia pointed out.
"And how about we all make sure it gets there, just in case." Alchemy suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement as they proceeded to walk down the streets. "So, Cornelia since she gave Tohru the idea that saved our lives from those bear-monsters… and how you made a couple jokes in the middle of a fight… are you gonna give Irma a break about not saying anything useful?" She teased to add some humor and lighten the mood.
Blunk looked at Cornelia's face before answering for her. "Cornelia's face say, 'don't push luck, girly'." This earned an actual laugh from everyone present, save for Uncle as usual. But even Cornelia couldn't help but giggle.
"Okay…" The blonde said with a sigh.
Done.
Well, that was intense. Bet you didn't expect the last Oni mask to be worn, did you? Well I wanted to give the Mantis Khan a chance to shine like the other Shadowkhan tribes, and this seemed the best way to do it. And the day was saved by none other than Blunk! Props for the Passling! Matt now knows everyone's secret, and he's going to get a major role in the next season when we get around there. But more importantly, the heroes know of the plot to resurrect Shendu, so they know just how grave their situation is.
Things are about to get really exciting as two more chapters remain. The heroes are on their way to deliver the final mask to the vault in Section 13… but we all know what happens next when they do, don't we? How will our heroes prevail as the ultimate good vs. evil battle royale rears its head in the epic two-part finale to come?
Before that can begin however, I have to update my other stories first. And as I said before, I am now working more hours so it will be some time before I can update each of my stories. But I plan to update one story per week unless something happens like writer's block. So please, please, please be patient.
Thank you, stay safe and stay healthy out there. I love you all.