Hey everyone, well here we are. The final battle and final chapter of J-WITCH Season 1. Everything has led up to this. I've been waiting to write this confrontation since the start of the story! The Chan Clan has faced off against WITCH's enemy of Phobos, and both came together to battle Tarakudo, now the time has come for WITCH to face the Chan Clan's nemesis: the Ultimate Evil, Shendu. I have had so much fun with this story and I am so grateful for all the support you've given me, even some of the criticism. So let me, once more, than you all from the bottom of my heart.

And now, let the final battle begin.

A New Dawn

Shendu took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill his newly restored lungs as he felt life flow through his demonic body once more. No longer was he a spirit, nor bound to someone else's body. He was now in his own flesh and blood, and not only that, he had the full power of the Talismans flowing through him. He was free from the void of his imprisonment, and ready to claim what was his.

"It is great to be back." Shendu said with a sneer as Will, Jackie, Jade, Uncle, Alchemy, Blunk, Matt, and the Enforcers looked in clear terror while Wong was more than a little elated. Phobos, Cedric, and Miranda looked in mixtures of confusion and outrage, while Elyon was rendered unconscious, still bound in her chair as all the magic that she wielded had been forcibly extracted from her to make this possible.

"T-That's Shendu?" Will muttered to Jackie and Jade.

"Yes." Jackie confirmed gravely while Jade gave a silent nod.

"He's a whole lot bigger than I thought he'd be." Will gulped as Blunk hid behind her.

"Y-yo, Shendude!" Finn greeted as he, Ratso, and Chow quickly ran to cover Alchemy as she tried to use this momentary distraction to free the unconscious Elyon of her restraints.

"Uh… Long time no… breathe." Chow also greeted.

"Yeah… happy… re-birthday, he, he." Ratso added as Finn quickly and subtly handed Alchemy his bladed weapon to cut Elyon free.

"Wong! What is the meaning of this?!" Phobos demanded.

"Oh? Well, suffice to say, 'my prince', this is my resignation from your services." Daolon Wong sneered. "As the most malevolent of dark chi masters, I have higher ambitions than being the babysitter of a spiteful child."

"We had a bargain, wizard!" Cedric exclaimed with Miranda close behind him, the massive snake-like shapeshifter looming over the dark wizard. "That power was supposed to belong to me! We agreed…!"

"I lied." Wong replied. "Just as you would have betrayed me, I betray you first."

Cedric hissed angrily before turning towards Shendu. "Whatever you are… You have no idea the power you possess, and it shall be mine!" He roared as he tried to lash out with a punch.

Only for his fist to be caught by Shendu with little effort. Cedric was more than a little surprised, but quickly threw out his other fist, only for Shendu to catch that fist as well. Cedric tried to wrench them free, as his anger turned to shock, and only just now realized he was staring at something that was almost twice his own size, if not more so. But Shendu kept his grip firm, not letting the shapeshifter escape his grasp.

"Clearly, you don't know what I am." Shendu said. "I am many things, but among them, I am the Keeper of the Talismans. All their powers are mine, once again. Which include, super strength…" Shendu only needed to flex his own wrists, which ended up breaking every bone in both Cedric's hands, causing him to holler in pain before Shendu pulled down only slightly to dislocate both Cedric's arms and kick him toward the wall, crashing through a few pillars as the Demon Sorcerer loomed over the crippled shapeshifter.

"And of course, my personal favorite… combustion!" Shendu let loose a blazing inferno from his mouth, the flames fell upon and completely engulfed Cedric, much to everyone's shock. Cedric's screams of agony filled the throne room for some brief seconds before it went silent. Shendu ceased his attack, the flames vanished… revealing only a charred skeleton of the humanoid snake.

Jackie, Jade, and Uncle gasped in shock along with the Enforcers, Alchemy screamed while Will covered her mouth in horror as Blunk further cowered behind her. Phobos was more than a little shocked himself, while Wong had a satisfied smirk on his face, pleased to see his rival was no more. Even Shendu couldn't help but smirk at his handiwork.

Miranda, still in her spider-form, looked towards the skeletal remains of her lover… her hand slowly reaching out as a somber and horrified look filled her eyes. "Lord… Cedric…?" But she would never get a response. They were supposed to rule together, but now that was no longer an option. Cedric was dead. She then gazed up at his murderer as a boiling rage filled her being.

"YOU'RE DEAD!" She leapt toward Shendu with a vengeance, only for a telekinetic force to grab her and hoist her closer toward him, courtesy of the powers of levitation as Shendu looked more annoyed than anything else.

"Insect." The Fire Demon merely flicked his fingers to send Miranda flying through the stained glass window, and far away from the castle.

While Daolon Wong took preserve pleasure in seeing his rival and the annoying insect get what they deserved, he also took the moment of his enemies' shock to seize his prize. Wong aimed his scepter toward the Mask of Tarakudo that laid on the floor, before using his magic to pull it to his hands.

"At last… my prize! The Mask of Tarakudo! The power of ten Oni… the nine tribes of the Shadowkhan…..!" Suddenly, the Mask was wrenched from Wong's hands and telekinetically pulled into the larger ones of Shendu.

"Belongs to me!" Shendu claimed as he took the Mask of Tarakudo and let it melt into his palm. Everyone, even Wong, looked in clear shock as a black aura encircled around Shendu and the mark of Tarakudo appeared in his glowing red eyes. Using the same type of magic he used on the first mask, Shendu was able to harness complete control of all the nine Shadowkhan tribes contained within the mask, without letting the Oni influence his actions. He gave a roar of joy as he felt he power add to his own.

"Mega bad day…!" Jade gulped as Alchemy and the Enforcers had already freed the still unconscious Elyon and regrouped with the rest of the shocked heroes, with Ratso carrying her on his back.

"I am in a particularly good mood, Chan." Shendu told his nemesis, keeping his back faced to him for dramatic purposes. "So, I'll graciously allow you and your allies a head start…" He turned around slightly to allow one glowing red eye to gaze down upon him. "I suggest you take it."

Though Jackie hated the idea of accepting any kind of help from Shendu of all demons, he knew they had to regroup with the rest of their friends and find a way to counter-attack. Shendu's arrogance was once again getting the better of him, better to go before he wises up.

"Let's go! Now!" Jackie waved his hand toward the door.

"Yes! Running good!" Blunk said without any arguments.

"Don't have to tell me, twice!" Matt exclaimed as they all ran out of the throne room.

"B-But brother of darkness, we had an arrangement!" Daolon Wong protested as Shendu turned to face him.

"Indeed, we did." The Fire Demon confirmed. "An arrangement between a wizard and a Demon Sorcerer, who's not particularly known for keeping promises." He finished with a smirk.

Daolon Wong snarled. "I brought life back to you, I can take it away…!" He was about to cast a powerful offensive spell but was quickly forced to bring up a shield and block an inferno that was blasted at him from Shendu's mouth. Once the flames died down, Daolon Wong was picked up by the Demon Sorcerer's levitation powers.

"Thank you for my resurrection, Daolon Wong; as well as the means to control not one, but nine tribes of Shadowkhan. It was a most thoughtful birthday present." Shendu gloated. "Hopefully you'll survive the landing." He telekinetically sent Wong flying through another window, where he screamed as he flew away from the castle much like Miranda.

"You…!" Shendu turned to face the hovering Phobos, raw magic surging from his hands as he glared hatefully at the demon. "You… took everything from me! You wretched creature! This is my kingdom! And I will not let you take it from me!" He blasted as much of his own magic as he could muster straight at Shendu, who simply took the blast without so much as flinching.

However, once the dust all cleared, Shendu was completely unharmed. Before the enraged Phobos could unleash another attack, Shendu quickly reached out to grab him in his large claw and brought him close to his face.

"So… you are the feared Prince Phobos." The Demon Sorcerer gazed down on him, unimpressively. "What a jest. You fancy yourself a tyrant, yet you've allowed your rebellion to fester well beyond your control, all because of a sense of longing for your deceased parents and your younger sister. The truth is, you are but a man-child, clinging to power that was denied to you upon birth. I was born with power. I have ruled and terrorized the ancient Earth long before your ancestral line existed! You… are… nothing!"

Phobos had felt fear before, only at the rarest of times. But here, as he gazed into the blood red and soulless eyes of the demon before him, his blood practically froze. He wasn't afraid… he was terrified.

"Now begone, you speck of dust." Shendu released his grip of Phobos, only to blast a pair of heat-beams from his eyes. Phobos quickly raised a magic shield, only for the force of the heat-beams to send him flying and crashing through his throne, the wall behind it, and far away from the castle.

Shendu glanced back toward the door that led out of the throne room, the very same way his enemies had gone. "I did say I would give them a head start… But I also said I'm not known for keeping promises."

The entirety of the allied force consisting of the Rebels and Section 13 were all gathered in the great hall and seemed to be in particularly good moods as they had managed to capture the castle enemy castle. However, the mood was not shared by Yan Lin, who held Scruffy in her arms, and Captain Black as they stood on an upper balcony with Mrs. Tohru and Paco, who carried the now motionless Super Moose doll. The former two shared concerning looks with each other as they had saw the Talismans fly from themselves and their comrades, which could only mean one thing.

"Aldarn!" One of the rebel commanders, who stood with Julian and Vathek looked towards a broken window as Caleb had called to him, being flown in by Cornelia. They were soon followed by Irma carrying Viper, Hay Lin and El Toro, and finally Taranee and Tohru.

"Caleb, we've captured the castle! And from the sound of things, it sounds like Chan and the others have defeated Phobos and Tarakudo! We've won!" Aldarn said with an excited smile as he placed his hands on Caleb's shoulder celebratory style.

"Don't celebrate yet." Caleb told him. "We might have a new problem. We've lost the Talismans."

"What?" Vathek questioned. "But how…?"

"We… saw all the Talismans we had fly away from here, heading toward the throne room." Julian said, causing the four Guardians and members of the J-Team to look in shock, even fear.

"HEY! EVERYONE!" They all heard Jade's call as she and Will flew in quickly with Jackie, Uncle, Alchemy, Matt, and the Enforcers running behind them, the Dark Chi trio still carrying the unconscious Elyon while Blunk clung to Will. "FULL RETREAT! WE NEED TO LEAVE THE CASTLE! NOW!" She practically screamed.

"Leave?!" Tynar questioned from the main floor. "But… but why?! What happened?! Did you defeat Phobos and Tarakudo?!"

"We have." Jackie confirmed with a grim expression. "But someone far worse has taken their place."

"Elyon!" Cornelia noticed her unconscious friend and quickly flew toward her as Ratso still carried her piggy-back style. "Is she okay?!"

"Sleeping like a baby." Ratso said.

"But her magic was drained." Alchemy added. "All to resurrect you-know-who."

That was all the confirmation needed for the J-Team and other Guardians as their faces almost became pale. "Shendu." Tohru said gravely.

No sooner than when he said that, all the shadows in the throne room began to move and shift before hundreds of Shadowkhan appeared from the ground, on various levels of the great hall, as well as on the walls and several even dropped from the ceiling. It wasn't just the classic Ninja Khan, but a full variety of Razor Khan, Squid Khan, Sumo Khan, Bat Khan, Mantis Khan, Crab Khan, and even the Samurai Khan. This left every rebel and Section 13 agent more than a little shocked as they quickly drew their weapons.

"Yeah… good news, we trapped Tarakudo in his mask." Will said with a wince. "Bad news, Shendu has it."

"Aiya! Shendu has used dark magic to take control of all nine Shadowkhan tribes!" Uncle exclaimed in fear as the Shadowkhan went on the attack.

Immediately, the great hall became a warzone as the Rebels and Section 13 agents, along with the Guardians, J-Team, and other allies were forced to defend themselves against the hundreds of shadow monsters that attacked them. The Ninja Khan were far too fast and nimble to be easily caught, though the Section 13 agents were quick to gun them down, and the Rebels' weapons were able to destroy them; but the other types of Shadowkhan were a different story. The Bat Khan had air superiority and were too fast, the Sumo Khan were too strong and too durable, same with the Crab Khan as swords, axes, and staff barley did any damage; though guns did mow down the Crab Khan, the Sumo Khan were able to take it more and bash their way through the infantry forces. The Razor Khan were also quick as they were able to scale the walls alongside the Squid Khan and Mantis Khan, easily allowing them to flank the Rebels and get at their blindside. The Samurai Khan appeared the trickiest of all as their shadow swords easily cut through the Rebels weapons, and even several guns from the Section 13 agents.

Jackie's Armor of the Eight Immortals however proved capable of blocking the shadow swords of two Samurai Khan before he swiped his feet to knock them down and chopped at their heads to destroy them. Will threw out a kick to destroy one Ninja Khan but was pulled into a bear-hug by a Sumo Khan, only for Matt to try and climb up on its back and cover its eyes, forcing it to let go of Will and try to wrestle him off. But this allowed Will to deliver a roundhouse to knock the Sumo Khan off its feet, where she caught Matt before it tumbled off the edge of a balcony and fell. Jade and Caleb came back-to-back wielding a shadow-katana and regular one respectively, slicing and parrying the strikes of several Mantis and Razor Khan that surrounded them, but they would be overwhelmed soon.

Aldarn used his staff to wrestle against a Squid Khan before pulling on his staff to pull the Squid Khan forward and smack at its face with his staff, destroying it. But he would soon be picked up into the air by a Bat-Khan, where he screamed as he tried to free himself, but Hay Lin quickly came to his aid as she threw a razor-air-disk to destroy the Bat-Khan and flew in to catch Aldarn before he could fall and set him down beside Viper who ducked and dodged the strikes of two Crab Khan before performing a hand-stand and a split-kick to knock them back, but the three were surrounded by many more various Shadowkhan.

Tynar and a group of defecting guards found themselves encircled by several Crab Khan, a few Sumo Khan, and one Samurai Khan. However, Taranee quickly came to their aid as she created a ring of fire around them and expanded it to destroy all the Shadowkhan. But she was quickly overwhelmed by a flock of Bat-Khan, which she tried to fight off. However, she would soon get aid from Uncle and Yan Lin, both blasting stun-spells from their respective blowfish.

Ratso handed the still-unconscious Elyon to Alchemy, Blunk, and Paco, along with the barking Scruffy, as he, Finn, and Chow drew their weapons to defend them from the various Shadowkhan that appeared before them. Ratso brought his hammer down on a Sumo Khan to destroy it, Finn threw out his bladed weapon to cut down several incoming Bat-Khan, while Chow used his staff to fight off a few Ninja Khan and Crab Khan. But a small pack of Shadow Eaters appeared before all of them and threatened to devour their shadows, but the ground beneath the tiny Shadowkhan shook as Cornelia channeled her powers to create a trail of earth-spikes to obliterate all the Shadow Eaters in one strike.

El Toro swerved under the slice from one Razor Khan before grabbing it from behind and pulling it down backwards to crush it. He was soon entangled however by the tentacles of three Squid Khan that attempted to immobilize him, but Irma flew to assist as she directed a stream of water to flow outward around El Toro and wash away the three Squid Khan as Tohru ran forward to bash his way through a group of Samurai Khan that appeared behind them, smacking them away with his raw strength and large arms. One Mantis Khan was about to slice at him from behind, but Mama Tohru leapt above her son to land in front of it and deal a punch to its gut and an uppercut to its jaw to destroy it.

Vathek used his club to bash away three Nina Khan and two Crab Khan, but as he threw his weapon out to a Sumo Khan, it caught his weapon and crushed it in its grip before trying to grab and crush Vathek himself, but its head was blown off from behind by Captain Black with a shotgun, who quickly turned to pump his shotgun and take obliterate all the Shadowkhan that tried to get close.

"There's too many of them!" Vathek exclaimed as they saw more and more Shadowkhan appear to fight and wear them all down. "We destroy one, two more rise in its place!"

"Yeah! Time to leave!" Captain Black exclaimed as he called out to his old friend. "Jackie!"

The armored Jackie destroyed another Samurai Khan with a punch as he seemed to agree. "Will, we need a portal back to Earth!"

"I'm on it!" Will flew down to the main floor and pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar, channeling her powers to open a portal and give them an exit. "Come on! Everyone into the portal!"

"Girls, Uncle, Miss Lin, cover everyone while they escape!" Jackie ordered as he leapt down to join Will in defending the portal alongside Viper and El Toro.

Cornelia immediately grew a large cluster of vines and stretched them down from the floor the her friends and all the Rebels and agents were on toward the main floor where the portal was. "Go! Now!" She ordered, prompting Enforcers and Alchemy to carry Elyon and slide down the vines like a make-shift ramp as Blunk, Paco, Scruffy, and the Rebels and agents followed to enter the portal.

"Marines! We are leaving!" Jade exclaimed, quoting directly from a certain movie as she launched a stream of shadow-fire to cover Matt, Vathek, Captain Black, and everyone else as they made a break for the portal. Though Captain Black remained outside as he joined the Will and the J-Team in covering everyone else's escape with his shotgun and was joined by Uncle and Yan Lin with their stun spells.

Taranee raised a wall of fire on end of the great hall while Irma washed more Shadowkhan away with a large tidal wave on the other end, allowing Caleb, Aldarn, Tynar, and Julian to help escort all the remaining rebels and Section 13 agents, and even defecting guards, straight to the portal. Tohru helped his mother to the portal as well.

Unfortunately, all the Shadowkhan in the area noticed their targets attempting to escape and tried to leap in to stop them; but Hay Lin quickly created a large tornado around her escaping allies and expanded it so the rapid winds would slice and destroy the pouncing Shadowkhan and keep any others at a distance. It may have only been a minute, but it honestly felt like forever as the Guardians and J-Team stood together, making sure the last of their allies made it through the portal. Hay Lin dissolved her tornado before they all entered the portal themselves, which promptly closed behind them before the last of the Shadowkhan could get to them.

An explosion from the castle's tallest tower erupted as Shendu hovered from out of the throne room and into the skies of Meridian, having seen all that transpired with the Shadowkhan via his own magics.

"So, they escaped. No matter, Chan will return eventually. In the meantime,…" Shendu raised one of his hands, and all of a sudden, thousands of various Shadowkhan appeared around the castle, arising from the dark waters of the moat. They all gazed up towards their new master before kneeling toward him.

"Go forth, my Shadowkhan! Spread your darkness over this realm as you had done for your old masters!" Shendu ordered. All the Shadowkhan melted back into the water before a large shroud of darkness formed over the castle and up into the air and began to spread in all directions. Just like before when they had the Oni Generals to guide them, only this time, Shendu had complete total control, and because of that, once the shroud had engulfed all of Meridian, his own magic would remain untouched while all others would fade away to nothing.

"Soon, this realm of Meridian will be mine." Shendu said with malevolent glee. "And once Chan returns to this realm to try and stop me, I shall take his means of creating portals and spread my evil to Earth, and every other realm in the cosmos! Not even Kandrakar itself will be able to stop me!"

Earth – Section 13

With the Guardians and J-Team having made it back to Earth, Will quickly used the Heart of Kandrakar to close not only that portal, but all the other portals they previously made to Meridian to prevent any Shadowkhan from entering.

"Is everyone alright?" Taranee asked. "Did everyone make it through?"

Tynar, Vathek, Aldarn, and Captain Black made a quick headcount with all their respective forces before turning toward the girls. "It appears to be everyone." Captain Black told them. "No one was captured, and no casualties. We were lucky."

"That's a relief." Hay Lin sighed in relief, along with everyone else.

"Now, can any of you explain to us what in the world happened back there?!" Aldarn questioned. "I thought the Shadowkhan were defeated!"

"Okay, here's the basic gist." Jade began before taking a deep breath and gave a quick explanation. "Turns out Daolon Wong was planning to backstab Phobos, so he made a deal with a Demon Sorcerer named Shendu, who's more evil than Phobos and Tarakudo combined, and stole all of Elyon's powers to not only resurrect him, but even give him the powers of all the Talismans. We managed to trap Tarakudo and all the Oni and Shadowkhan in the mask we found in the Shadow Realm, but Shendu took the mask for himself, betrayed Daolon Wong, killed Cedric, and tossed Phobos around like a rag doll. Now Shendu has total control over all nine Shadowkhan tribes and is probably gonna use them to conquer all of Meridian." She let out a breath upon finishing her explanation. "Any questions?"

To say the Rebellion and defected guards were surprised was an understatement. "Cedric is dead….?" Tynar asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Will nodded, still shuddering at seeing his charred skeleton.

"And this… Shendu was able to overthrow Phobos and Daolon Wong at the same time?!" Vathek questioned.

"Yes." Jackie confirmed with a nod as well.

"And he now has all twelve Talismans at his disposal again, right?" Captain Black asked.

"If you mean those magic rock things, yeah." Matt confirmed with a nod. "Along with that mask that other demon-guy was locked up in."

"Elyon…" Cornelia was already over by the Enforcers as Ratso still carried her with Alchemy joining them. "Please tell me she's going to be okay."

Yan Lin quickly walked up and put a hand on the unconscious girl's forehead to see for herself. "She'll be alright. But all her magic was taken, she'll need time to recover."

"Get her to the infirmary to get some rest." Captain Black told the Enforcers. "The rest of us will think of a plan."

"Sure thing." Finn nodded as he, Chow, and Ratso followed a few Section 13 agents to the infirmary.

"So… we heard all the horror stories about dragon-breath from Jade, but how bad are things looking for us, Jackie?" Irma asked.

"Shendu currently wields the powers of all twelve Talismans; which means he has control over fire, super strength, super speed, the ability to fly, turn invisible, shapeshift, not to mention immortality and healing." Jackie said.

"And if Shendu has the mask of Tarakudo, he'll likely use the combined power of the nine Shadowkhan tribes to engulf Meridian in eternal darkness." Tohru added. "But unlike before with Tarakudo and his generals, there are no masks to seal Shendu in, or enemies to fight to stop the shroud from spreading across that entire world."

"So, basically, he's like a dragon version of Superman with an army of unlimited evil magic ninjas." Matt summed up.

"Pretty much." Will confirmed.

Everyone heard Caleb's yell of frustration and despair as he pounded on the wall with both of his fists. "After so long… so many years of suffering under Phobos… so many innocent people losing their freedom… so many friends lost in battle…. After all that… after more than a decade of battle, pain, and loss… we finally defeat Phobos, but so what?! All we've done is just pave the way for an even worse tyrant!"

"Whoa, Caleb calm down!" Cornelia quickly placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him forward so he could get a good look at her face. "Yeah, things might seem bad, but it's not the end of the world! Not yet! We can still win this! Jackie and the others took down Shendu before, right?!"

"That's right, we did." Jade stated. "So, what if he has the Talismans? We'll just pull them out like last time. Get Uncle to whip up a spell and… Ow!" She felt her forehead where Uncle delivered his titular dope slap.

"Did you not see the Talismans destroyed with your very eyes?!" Uncle reminded. "The same spell which was used to extract the Talismans from before will no longer work, because the Talismans themselves no longer exist. Their power now flows through Shendu as one whole. A different spell must be used."

"What about that mask he stole?" Viper asked. "Can't we just swipe it?"

"Nope." Will shook her head. "That was absorbed into him too."

"But there still must be a way." El Toro said. "Shendu has been defeated before, we know the demon is not invincible."

"But it is not just about defeating Shendu." Yan Lin said. "It's about stopping him and his Shadowkhan army. Like before, if the shroud of darkness engulfs all of Meridian, all good magic in that realm will fade to nothing."

"Like before…" Blunk began to think before an idea came to mind. "Ah ha! Blunk have idea! Blunk know how to stop giant shadow!"

"Blunk, we don't have time for…." Caleb wasn't all that convinced, but Blunk held his hand out to silence Caleb as he began to explain.

"Giant shadow spread over Meridian because of demons. Girls and friends fight demons, shadow doesn't spread. But now, there is one demon. Fight one demon, shadow won't spread!"

"Um… what is the magic frog talking about?" Paco asked.

"I think I get it." Taranee said. "When we fought the Oni Generals, the shroud of darkness stopped spreading because they were focused on us. If Shendu's now controlling the Shadowkhan, wouldn't the same rule apply to him?"

"So, if the big guy was distracted…" Irma followed along.

"The Shadowkhan would be stopped in their tracks!" Will finished, putting her fist into her palm with a smile of epiphany.

"Blunk, you're a genius!" Hay Lin pulled the Passling into a hug.

"So, basically someone has to go back to Meridian and keep Shendu distracted, while the wizards and everyone else work on a spell to put him down for good?" Cornelia asked.

"Yes." Uncle said with a nod as he, Tohru, his mother, and El Toro walked onto the scene, carrying several dozen spell books and scrolls. "Someone must by Uncle all the time he requires."

"I will go." Jackie stepped forward. "This armor was made to battle Shendu and the other Demon Sorcerers." He gestured to the Armor of the Eight Immortals he still wore. "I can keep him busy long enough for Uncle to prepare the necessary spell."

"Not by yourself you're not, Uncle Jackie." Jade stepped forward with Will, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Irma, and Taranee right behind her. "Where you go, J-WITCH goes."

"Girls…" Jackie tried to speak but was swiftly interrupted.

"Don't try and stop us, Uncle Jackie. This is what we do. We're Guardians of the Veil, aren't we?" Hay Lin reminded.

"We've spent months fighting Phobos, Tarakudo, and all their pals." Irma added. "We can handle one giant dragon."

"After everything we've been through together, there is no way we're sitting this out." Cornelia said.

"And if Shendu's got the power of all twelve Talismans, it would make sense to throw your strongest players at him too, right?" Taranee said.

"Jackie, you taught us that we were strongest when we were together, that applies to all of us, including you." Will said. "You've helped us since the very beginning, now it's our turn to help you. We'll stand by your side and stop Shendu, no matter what."

To say Jackie was surprised was obvious, but to say he was proud was an understatement. These six girls were willing to stand alongside him to fight the Ultimate Evil, despite knowing the dangers it presented. But unlike all the other times where his niece snuck off to get in on the fun, Jade was doing it to fight and protect countless innocent people, just like all the other girls she had come to consider her best friends. As their mentor and their friend, he couldn't help but be proud as he smiled.

Viper chuckled as she put an elbow on his shoulder. "You look like a proud papa."

"More like a teacher… but yes. I am quite proud." Jackie confirmed.

"We would certainly join you as well, old friend." El Toro told Jackie. "But, perhaps we would serve better helping your uncle. So, good luck." The luchador offered his hand to shake, which Jackie promptly did with a smile. As they did, the girls took a moment to say some goodbyes to those closest to them.

"Grandma… I just… wanted to say thanks." Hay Lin told her grandmother. "Like Jackie… you've really been there for me, and everyone else. So… thanks."

"My little Hay Lin…" Yan Lin reached out to caress her granddaughter's cheek. "You've grown so much in such a short time. Now, go kick some dragon ass."

"You got it." Hay Lin laughed before sharing a hug with her grandmother. "I love you, Grandma."

"I love you too." Yan Lin hugged her back.

Irma and Taranee went up to Tohru as he placed his large hands on both their shoulders. "Be careful. Shendu is not like anything you've faced before."

"We know." Taranee nodded. "But don't worry, we got this."

"You just make sure you pick up Uncle's slack, cause there's no way he's gonna get a good enough spell all on his own." Irma cracked, causing Tohru to laugh before they smiled with each other.

"You two." Mama Tohru walked up toward the pair before she smiled herself. "Thank you for being such good friends to my baby."

"No problem, Miss Tohru." Taranee nodded.

"Yeah, you raised one badass son." Irma added.

"I sure did." Mama Tohru said with pride, causing Tohru to blush.

Cornelia quickly approached Alchemy. "Look after Elyon till we get back, okay?"

"I will, just make sure you come back. We wouldn't be the Terrible Trio without you." Alchemy said, causing Cornelia to laugh herself before sharing a hug.

"I'm coming with you!" Caleb stepped forward.

"No Caleb, not this time." Cornelia said immediately.

"What?! No! Shendu's threatening my home! I've helped you fight off Phobos and Tarakudo before!" Caleb argued.

"Except that neither of them were leveled up to Superman status thanks to all twelve Talismans!" Cornelia argued back. "Caleb… I'm sorry… but you wouldn't last ten seconds and I… your friends… they need you. I need you… just…. Not on the battlefield this time."

Caleb's look softened as he saw the pleading expression in her eyes. Deep down, he knew she was right. He knew the power of the Talismans and if even one possessed all of them, he wouldn't stand a chance. But that didn't mean he liked it.

"Alright." He looked away with a scowl. But Cornelia put a hand on his cheek, turning his face toward her as she pressed her lips against his. Caleb was stunned at first before he returned the kiss. After a second, the two pulled apart.

"Consider that my promise to come back. You and I still are due for a date, remember?" Cornelia reminded.

"Yeah… I remember." Caleb nodded with a smile.

Jade kneeled to give Scruffy a scratch behind the ears as Paco approached the pair. "Hey, look after Scruffy for me, okay?"

"I will." Paco nodded. "But only if you return. I believe we have another match, right Jade?"

"Wouldn't miss it." Jade confirmed as she and Paco shared a high-five.

With that; Jade, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Irma, and Taranee approached Jackie and Will in the center of the base as Will opened a portal back to Meridian with the Heart of Kandrakar, but before any of them could enter…

"Will." Matt walked up to her. "I… uh… wow. This is… just… be careful, alright? I get its your job and all… but… I just…" He was interrupted when Will wrapped her arms around him in a hug and gave a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry, I'll be back. Cause I got a reliable team to back me up." Will assured, causing Matt nod with a smile of his own.

"Girls go!" Blunk cheered as he hopped on Captain Black's shoulder and waved them off. "Go kick evil dragon butt!"

"Good luck, all of you!" Captain Black saluted them along with the rest of Section 13 as Yan Lin, Tohru, Alchemy, Caleb, Matt, Viper, El Toro, Paco, Mama Tohru, Tynar, Vathek, Aldarn, Julian, and all the Rebels and defected guards wave them off. The seven brave heroes waved back before they entered the portal, which would be left open for them for when the spell was ready.

"AIYA!" Uncle's shout drew everyone's attention as he was at the massive pile of spell books and scrolls, already beginning his research. "Do not just stand there, get cracking! Help Uncle research!"

"Everyone, grab a book!" Captain Black ordered.

Meridian

Shendu stood at the very top of the castle as he could feel the shroud of darkness spreading further and further across Meridian by the moment. Within hours, the entire realm would be his. "Yes… spread my Shadowkhan armies. Soon, we shall show the people of this realm true despair and terror!" He exclaimed with a roar as he threw his arms out, basking in the ever-growing darkness.

However, this appeared to leave him distracted as Will and Jade both flew at him from behind, both carrying the armored Jackie by his arms and threw him out with their enhanced strength as Guardians. Shendu turned around just in time to see the flying Jackie land a solid kick on his chest, knocking the Fire Demon off the ledge and sent falling off the top of the castle. Before he could recover, Jackie quickly made his way to Shendu's face and laid a series of punches to keep him from focusing on his ability to fly. However, Shendu was quick to swipe him off, but as he did, Hay Lin and Taranee flew in and combined their powers to form a tornado of fire and sent it blasting down into Shendu to further send him plummeting toward the moat below, where Cornelia and Irma awaited. Irma was first to act by using her control over water to clear away much of the moat, revealing the moist ground, which Cornelia opened with her own powers to create a large hole just as Shendu impacted the newly formed crater with explosive results. Acting quickly, Cornelia used her powers to refill the crater with dirt and rock, making sure to meld it all together as Irma brought the waters of the moat back together.

Jackie had been caught by Will and Jade and set down on a small island on the moat as the other four Guardians grouped around them. The seven of them waited for the slightest movement from the spot they buried their enemy under. Suddenly…

*BOOM!*

A massive explosion of fire blasted away most of the moat, forcing Jade to raise a wall of shadow-magic to cover her uncle and her friends from the blast. When Jade lowered the wall, they all looked to see pretty much the entire moat had been blown away, most of the water evaporated from the intense heat as the Fire Demon stepped forward with a slight growl.

"I knew you would come, my nemesis." Shendu loomed over all of them, speaking to Jackie specifically. "You even bear the Armor of the Eight Immortals." He then took notice of the six girls around him. "Ah, these must the Guardians of the Veil I've heard about. So young and yet…" However, once Shendu's eyes set upon the Heart of Kandrakar, he gave a slight gasp. "That jewel…" He glared. "The same wretched pendant used to imprison me, created by those four traitors and that vile defiant nymph! I suppose it must be fate that my greatest thorns have come together!"

"Yeah, we came together to stop you!" Will declared.

"And that is exactly what we are going to do!" Jackie also stated.

"Well then, young Guardians… try and stop me, and sign your own death warrants!" Shendu unleashed a blazing inferno from his mouth; forcing Jackie to leap away while the six Guardians flew to avoid the blast. "Finally exterminating Chan alone is more than satisfying." Shendu stated as he began to throw multiple blasts of flames from his hands, accompanied by heat-beams from his eyes, across the area, keeping Jackie and the girls on their toes as they leapt and flew away to avoid all the blasts hot at them. "But to bring the last piece of that nymph and the deserters?" He chuckled slightly. "Well since they no longer have physical forms, I guess you young ladies will have to suffer my vengeance in their stead!"

Jackie and the girls did their best to avoid all the ranged attacks of flames and heat-beams Shendu shot their way. However, Taranee was able to reach out and halt the inferno that was blasted in her direction, using her own control over fire, she condensed all the flames she gathered into a large sphere.

"You're not the only one who plays with fire!" Taranee flew over Shendu, carrying the large fireball before dropping it on his head. The flames however quickly subsided, as did the smoke, to reveal that Shendu wasn't even scratched, much to her surprise.

"Foolish child. I was born aflame!" He delivered a fierce backhand that sent her crashing and skidding along the ground.

"Yeah?! Well how about you cool off, instead?!" Irma flew up to him next, bringing her hands together to blast a stream of water at him, but Shendu opened his mouth to let loose another inferno and clash with Irma's water attack. Both attacks pressed against the other as a large steam cloud formed in-between them. However, this appeared to be part of the plan as Hay Lin came in from behind to encircle Shendu in a large tornado, which seemed to distract him and halt his attack, allowing Irma to splash him with her steam of water. Hay Lin super cooled the air, which caused the water around Shendu to turn to ice, freezing him solid.

The two stopped their attack to see Shendu completely trapped in ice. "Did that get him?" Hay Lin hopped.

"What do you think?" Irma asked with lowered eyelids.

The ice around Shendu quickly began to crack before it broke apart as the Demon Sorcerer gave a roar. He then flew after the two Guardians, who tried to fly away themselves, but he was too fast even for them. He reached out to grab them both in his massive claws before throwing them toward the ground with such force, they couldn't break their fall with their wings.

Fortunately, Jackie was able to run and catch them both, using his Armor of the Eight Immortals to take the brunt of the impact without getting hurt himself, or them suffering any whiplash.

"Go, go, go!" Jackie told the two as Shendu shot down toward them, landing where they once were with a crash. But before he could advance on them, Cornelia went on the attack next, pressing her hand on the ground and growing hundreds of thick, thorny, vines and roots from the ground to begin binding and ensnaring Shendu. The Fire Demon tried to use his enhanced strength to pull himself free, but Cornelia simply grew more tendrils to bind him further and restrain him.

"What's the matter? Not strong enough to break through?" Cornelia mocked.

However, Shendu stopped struggling and simply smirked, before he shapeshifted to take the form of a massive cobra his own size, which easily allowed him to slip through the vines and make its way to Cornelia.

"Just like my burliest brother. There's more to battle than just brute strength." Shendu told her in his cobra form as he lunged at her with his fangs, which she barely avoided. But she couldn't avoid his quick tail-lashing that snapped at Cornelia and knocked her to the ground.

Suddenly, cobra-Shendu felt his throat being ensnared by a lasso of shadow magic, courtesy of Jade. However, Shendu transformed back into his normal form and reached out to grab the shadow-rope and pull Jade in close before grabbing her to glare down at her.

"You've learned some new tricks since we last met, child."

Jade smirked. "Got that right." Suddenly, multiple shadow-spikes shot form her body to pierce through Shendu's hand, every which way, forcing him to let her go as Will flew in to hit with a flying kick to his face and knock him down.

Shendu's hand quickly healed however as Will threw a punch to Shendu's jaw, which Jackie added as he ran to leap forward and deliver his own flying kick into the demon's right kneecap, causing him to buckle over and allow Jackie and Will to jump and fly respectively and strike with a double-upper cut that knocked Shendu into the air, where Taranee came in to throw a hail of fireballs at him. Though the flames himself wouldn't hurt him, the force was still enough to knock him down to the ground, where Cornelia used her powers to raise and mold the ground around his wrists and ankles, pinning him down and letting Irma create a sphere of water around his head while Hay Lin created a series of razor air-disks to throw all over Shendu's body, cutting him every which way.

For a brief moment, it seemed like they had Shendu pinned. That is until, he completely vanished, courtesy of his powers of invisibility, and all their attacks stopped as he was no longer bound in their restraints.

"What?! Where'd he go?!" Cornelia exclaimed.

"He has invisibility powers, remember?" Will reminded her.

"But not intangibility! He couldn't have escaped from that!" Taranee exclaimed.

"He must have used shapeshifting then." Jackie deduced, forcing all seven of them to circle up together and look in all directions. "He could be anywhere, or anything! Keep your eyes open for anything at all!"

Suddenly, the ground underneath them exploded outward, knocking them all away as a massive demonic-looking worm emerged from the ground. This was Shendu in the form of a giant worm, which then began to sprout several heads like a hydra, each baring Shendu's face as half of them had flames 'drooling' from their mouths, while the others had their eyes glowing, heat-beams at the ready.

Needless to say, all the heroes were more than a little horrified. "Well… gotta give him points for creativity." Hay Lin said with a wincing smile, before they all had to fly and run for their lives to avoid the bombardment of flames and heat-beams.

"Hurry Uncle…!" Will, Jade, and Jackie all said at the same time.

Earth – Section 13

Elyon's eyes fluttered open as she slowly pulled herself up from the bed she was resting in. "Wha… what happened…?"

"Elyon!" She was tackled by Alchemy, wrapping both her arms around her. "I was so worried about you!"

"Alchemy…?"

"Hey there, Little E." Finn walked by her bedside with Ratso and Chow right behind him.

"You doing okay, kiddo?" Chow asked.

"Where am I? What happened?" Elyon questioned as Alchemy pulled away slightly.

"You're back on Earth." Alchemy explained. "This is the infirmary in Section 13, a government agency that's been helping Cornelia and everyone else. As for what happened… well…"

"Daolon Wong backstabbed everyone and stole your magic to resurrect an evil dragon demon named Shendu and all your friends and Chan went to go fight him." Ratso summed up.

It all then came back to Elyon. She remembered everything. She was bound to her own throne as her own brother began to steal away her magic, being surrounded by monsters and demons, even Miranda and Cedric both were really monsters in disguise themselves. The words Phobos told her suddenly began to snap in place to what Cornelia and all the other girls have been trying to tell her these past months.

"Cornelia… and the other girls… they were never brainwashed… were they?"

"No." Alchemy shook her head. "No they weren't, none of us were."

"Which means… the Rebels… they were the real good guys…" Elyon's voice began to crack as guilt was beginning to set in.

"Yeah… they were." Chow confirmed.

"We wanted to tell ya kiddo." Finn said. "But… we were kinda enslaved by Wong and… sort of forbidden from telling you."

"Sorry." Ratso added.

She was already sobbing. Elyon placed her hands on her face as she cried up a storm. Alchemy wasted no time in hugging her, with even the Enforcers placing comforting hands on her back and shoulders. But despite their comfort, it did little to ease her guilt. All this time, her friends were just trying to help her, to save her! But did she listen to them? No. All she could do was blame herself for being so foolish.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, so, so sorry!"

"It's okay, it's okay." Alchemy comforted. "Don't worry… we'll get this figured out."

Meanwhile, in the main hall of Section 13, most of the agency, as well as the Rebels, J-Team, defected guards, and other allies were trying to scour through all of Uncle's books and scrolls on finding the right type of spell, but it seemed like they weren't having that much luck even understanding it. Anyone who wasn't studying was guarding over the still-open portal that would get them back into Meridian once they found what they were looking for, but until then, they had to make sure nothing evil slipped through.

"Book make no sense." Blunk look at a spell book. "Words are scribbles! Blunk can't read!"

"Uh Blunk… you're holding it upside down." Paco pointed out, revealing the Passling did indeed have the spell book upside down. "But I agree… I have no idea what any of this says!"

"Tynar… you've worked in the castle." Aldarn said as he held a spell book himself. "Anything Daolon Wong might have had that could help us?"

"You really thing Daolon Wong was the type to share his magic secrets with us lowly guards?" Tynar questioned rhetorically with a scroll in his hand.

"Right…" Aldarn nodded in reluctance.

"Okay, what kind of magic stuff is this?" Matt asked as he sat alongside El Toro and Viper, with Scruffy also sitting next to him, his tail wagging while Matt seemed unable to read the spell book he had. "Any of you got any idea what this all means?"

"No, I'm afraid not." El Toro shook his head.

"I'm just looking for any pictures involving dragons." Viper said. "Figured it could help us slay this one."

"How does Billy Goat make sense of all these scribbles?" Mama Tohru asked as she and Yan Lin read a scroll. "But more importantly, how does my boy make sense of all this?"

"Hard work and a lot of patience." Yan Lin answered. "I can read most of this stuff too, but it seems none of this can help us stop Shendu."

"Hotcha!" Everyone heard Uncle's exclamation upon finding something.

"Did you find something?" Caleb asked Uncle eagerly.

"A way to take down Shendu?" Captain Black also asked, only for Uncle to dope-slap them both.

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

"Shendu not important!" Uncle stated. "I found way to defeat the person who knows how to defeat Shendu. Even though that person does not yet know he knows."

Captain Black and Caleb looked to each other in confusion, before looking towards Tohru, who simply shrugged in an equal amount of confusion.

Meridian

Hay Lin screamed as Shendu, in his normal form, flew in pursuit of her, blasting flames at her from thrusts of his palms. She was caught in the shockwave of one explosion that knocked her toward the ground. Shendu then blasted a pair of heat-beams to finish her off, but Jackie leapt in front to tank the blast with the Armor of the Eight Immortals. Though the armor was still undamaged, it didn't stop Shendu from reaching forward to pin Jackie to the ground as he quickly knocked Hay Lin away.

Jackie tried to struggle out of the grip, but Shendu's already enhanced super strength proved too much even for him. "That armor may be indestructible, Chan. But you are not!" Shendu was prepared to roast him with another blast of fire from his mouth, but Jade flew in to erect a shield of shadow-magic to block the flames.

Will then went into Shendu's face and brought both her fists down onto his head, in-between his eyes to disorient him as Cornelia grew more vines from the ground to ensnare Shendu's wrists and pull them back. Irma then focused all her water into a single stream of pressurized water that when it shot, it pierced through Shendu's chest. Taranee then added to it blasting the hottest flames she could into Shendu's open wound, creating a large explosion that blew a sizeable hole into his chest, causing him to back away and fall to his knees.

However, Shendu's injuries quickly healed as he growled before ascending to the sky again to rain down fireballs, once again, forcing the heroes to scatter and avoid the blasts and try to find cover.

"We're throwing everything we have at him, and he's barley slowing down!" Cornelia exclaimed.

"Well duh, he is immortal!" Irma pointed out.

"Maybe if we cut off his head?" Taranee suggested, causing everyone to look at her in confusion. "What? I mean…. That is how you take down most immortals, right? Vampires, zombies, even demons?"

"Hang, on would that even work? We haven't tried it before." Jade said, looking toward her uncle.

"Maybe…" Jackie shrugged. "At the very least, it should slow him down if it doesn't work."

"Great, but how are we gonna do that?" Will asked. "He's not gonna let us if we just ask him."

"Maybe if we sneak up on him?" Hay Lin hopped.

Jade began to think before an idea came to her. "Okay, I think I got something. Uncle Jackie, Will, can you guys distract him?"

The two shared eye-contact before nodding with serious expressions. "You got it." Will grabbed the armored Jackie by his wrists and flew straight up toward Shendu. He continued to try and blasts fireballs and heat-beams at the pair, but Will did her absolute best to avoid each attack before getting close enough to spin around and launch Jackie with all the gathered momentum that when he struck, the force was enough to knock Shendu out of the air and sent crashing back to terra firma. Will was able to pull Jackie away just in time before he landed.

"Get him!" Jade ordered her other friends. "Focus all your powers on his head! Get it right in his face!"

Taranee, Hay Lin, Irma, and Cornelia flew in from all four directions, blasting streams of fire, air, water, and even clumps of earth, into Shendu's face. The elemental attacks hit him as the four Guardians encircled around him, with Jade flying in from above and spreading her hands out to create a sphere of shadow-magic that not only engulfed Shendu's head, but even trapped all the elemental attacks inside with him. Jade then squeezed her hands together to condense the sphere as tight as she could make it, until finally…

*BOOM!*

A large explosion encompassed the upper half of Shendu's body. The dust cleared to reveal that Shendu's entire head was gone, up to the base of his neck. Everyone looked in shock as they saw the decapitated Fire Demon fall back to the ground, unresponsive.

"Did… did that do it…? Like for real this time…?" Hay Lin asked.

"I don't think he's getting up from that." Irma commented.

"Can't regenerate if there's nothing there." Taranee added. "I think that did it."

As most of the girls began to smile and even celebrate an apparent victory, Jackie looked toward the supposed corpse of the Fire Demon, uncertain for himself. It wouldn't be the first time he thought Shendu was dead. Will and Jade both noticed Jackie's uncertainty, and even Jade herself didn't want to celebrate just yet, despite the attack being her idea.

However, something soon happened that caused all three of them to look in absolute terror.

"Um… guys…!" Will's frightened squeak caught the attention of the other girls, as they too gasped in horror to see Shendu's headless body rise from the ground before something formed at the point where the head was missing. Spinal bones began to grow upward, followed by muscles and blood vessels, along with dragon-like scales. The bones quickly formed a reptilian skull as the muscles, organs, and scales formed around it, complete with the glowing red eyes as Shendu's head had fully regrown.

"That was… unpleasant…" Shendu growled.

"I…uh… what… what in the actual… hell…?" Cornelia muttered; her face completely pale along with the rest of her friends; Hay Lin being the most visibly terrified as she couldn't even speak.

"No way… no freaking possible way…!" Irma almost screamed.

"How did that not kill him…. Or even slow him down….?!" Taranee questioned, sweat flowing down her face.

"You think of the powers of the Talismans as separate and that I simply wield the powers, but that is not entirely the case." Shendu explained. "They are not all for destruction and power as the Dragon, Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Monkey, Pig, and Rooster all are. Several are used for my own sustenance, such as the Horse and Dog, or even the Rat for when I was imprisoned within stone. But, out of all of them, the most crucial piece is the Tiger. The power of balance that is the glue to bind the conflicting powers of all the other Talismans into one unified whole. All their powers meld together into one: fire, strength, speed, flight, all of it, but most importantly, immortality and healing. It's impossible for me to die, simple as that! I am not called the Ultimate Evil for mere exaggeration; I've earned that title as I cannot truly be stopped!"

Jackie Chan and the Guardians backed away on instinct as they continued to look in terror at the Demon Sorcerer that continued to loom over them.

"And yet that, despite that, some mortals still choose to stand against me, foolishly clinging to the infectious disease of hope!" Shendu said as he threw out another fire blast in their direction, forcing them to run or fly away as the demon continued the monologue. "And what is most vexing about it, is that despite the powers I've accumulated, and the scores of corpses I leave in my wake, they refuse to give up! Some have even managed to defeat me!" He blasted a long stream of heat-beams from his eyes, burning across the ground as they shot after Jackie, who was caught up in the blast and sent rolling back. "Lan Caihe! Xing Jing and the four traitors! Lo Pei! Even you Chan!" Shendu hovered over the armored martial artist specifically. "However, despite the clear indignation, it's also quite gratifying!" He lifted Chan in the air with his telekinetic powers. "Because it gives me an object to focus my hatred and wrath upon! Be it the individuals in question, or their descendants, I am left with nothing more than the insatiable desire to decimate them completely! That, my beloved nemesis, is the height of ecstasy!"

He threw Jackie around like a ragdoll, telekinetically dragging him across the ground, digging a trench as he skidded before Shendu pulled him back up and slammed him through multiple roots, plant tendrils, and rocks and finally threw him up rather high before slamming him down hard onto the ground.

"Jackie!" Jade exclaimed, but Shendu had suddenly appeared behind her, thanks to his super speed, and delivered a powerful punch that it shattered her make-shift shadow-shield and pummeled her into the ground. He then flew at Irma, blasting a huge steam of flames at her, which she tried to block with her water powers, but he added to the flames with his heat-beams and overpowered Irma, sending her up in an explosion before rolling across the ground.

Cornelia tried to open the ground underneath Shendu and grow multiple plant tendrils around him, but the Fire Demon transformed into a large demonic-looking hawk that flew up quickly to avoid getting entangled and came at Cornelia, grabbing at her with his claws and blasting her point-blank with his heat-beam eyes. Shendu then transformed back to normal and brought his hands together to blast a large stream of fire towards Taranee, which she attempted to catch with her own powers, but this was Shendu's intent as it left her open for him to speed to her and deliver a powerful punch to send her crashing through a large root and skidded to a halt in the dirt. His head then turned a full ninety-degrees to blast another stream of fire at Hay Lin, which she attempted to shield herself from by encasing herself in a tornado, but Shendu simply reached through it, despite his hand getting sliced all over, and grabbed her. His injuries quickly healed before he slammed Hay Lin on the ground, he then turned his eyes upon Will, who became frozen with terror once his glowing red eyes set upon her, specifically the jewel around her neck.

"The power of that crystal will be mine, and with it, the very cosmos will become my whole domain!" Shendu declared.

Despite being clearly terrified, Will tried to steel herself as she held the Heart of Kandrakar in her hand firmly. "Over my dead body."

Shendu smiled evilly. "My plan exactly." He said before unleashing is fire breath upon the screaming Guardian.

Daolon Wong grunted as he hoisted himself up on a nearby tree, having recovered from his landing far away from the castle. He glanced behind him to see the castle in the distance, with the sounds of battle being heard even from this location, followed by a few explosions even. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.

"That thieving lizard is no doubt battling the Guardians." Wong muttered to himself. "No matter, let him kill those pests. I'll be there to see to it he pays dearly for his betrayal!"

"He is not the only one!"

The dark chi wizard brought up a shield reflexively to block the magic blast from the enraged Phobos as he glared down at him.

"I knew you and Cedric were plotting against me, but Tarakudo suggested that I let it be as the combined efforts of the myself and the Oni could have overpowered both of you." Phobos practically growled. "But I should have thrown you into the Abyss of Shadows myself! Rest assured, I will not make that mistake again!"

"You are welcome to try, 'my prince'." Wong snarled back. "Zen!" He summoned his most powerful Dark Chi warrior by his side. But before either of them could make a move to attack…

"Ahem!"

The three of them had their attention drawn to the large group of heroes that stood before them. Caleb, Captain Black, Matt, Viper, El Toro, Paco, Aldarn, Vathek, Tynar, Mama Tohru, and even the Dark Chi Enforcers stood together with a group of rebels and Section 13 agents, aiming bows and arrows and guns respectively at the villains. But in front of them were Uncle, Tohru, Alchemy, and Yan Lin, each holding a dried lizard in their hands as the four recited a familiar chant.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao."

"Are we interrupting something?" Captain Black asked.

"Attack!" Wong ordered Hak Foo, who proceeded to charge forward; while Phobos conjured a sword in one hand and readied a magic blast in the other. But they were ready for even this.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." As Uncle and his group chanted, a ring of green chi magic formed around Phobos, Daolon Wong and Hak Foo, halting whatever attacks they may have planned. All three of them were engulfed with green magic. At the same time, Finn, Ratso, and Chow were also engulfed by a flash of Chi Magic before it all faded.

When it was all set and done Wong and Phobos had fallen to fall to their knees, Wong's dark magic scepter turned to dust and the sword in Phobos hand faded away to nothing. Hak Foo also landed on his back in front of them, back in his human form.

"What…!? Why am I… so weak…?!" Hak Foo questioned, looking at his human hands, and they weren't the only ones.

"Hey look at us!" Finn said as he, Ratso and Chow had also been turned back to normal. "We're not orange anymore!"

"We're… human!" Ratso smiled excitedly with his friends.

"We're free!" Chow raised his fist high as he and the Enforcers exchanged high-fives.

"What… did… you… do?!" Phobos growled as he pulled himself up, trying to blast them with magic by thrusting his palms forward, but nothing came out.

"Disenchantment spell." Yan Lin answered with a trolling grin. "Your magic as well as Daolon Wong's has been permanently stripped from you."

"Which makes this all the easier." Caleb walked straight up to Phobos before slugging him in the face, knocking him down to the ground and leaving a black eye. He was quickly surrounded by Tohru, as well as many rebels and Section 13 agents.

"That must have felt good." Matt said to Caleb with a smirk.

"You have no idea." Caleb replied with a satisfied smile of his own.

"Hey there, Big P." Finn, Chow, and Ratso walked toward the downed Phobos. "Welcome to Loserville."

"Aw, don't look so sad pal." Ratso said in mocking fashion.

"Yeah, you're one of us now." Chow gloated, causing Phobos to groan in annoyance before hanging his head in defeat.

"I surrender."

"Yes, you do." Tohru said firmly.

Hak Foo got up with a growl. "Powers or not, I am strong enough to tear you all apart with my bare hands!" He leapt into the air for an attack. "Angry Crow Takes…!"

He was interrupted and met in the air by Viper, who landed a kick into his chest to knock him down into the ground, where he was pulled into a bear hug by El Toro and flipped over to land his face into the ground. Hak Foo saw swirls for a moment, before his vision cleared slightly to see Paco leaping down from a tree branch to drive an elbow into his face and finally knock him out.

"Nice, kid." Viper nodded to Paco as El Toro ruffled his head, while Paco smiled brightly.

That left just Daolon Wong, who began to back away as Uncle approached him. Desperately, Wong tried to pull out a skull with crystals for eyes, only for Uncle to knock it away with a finger slap. A dark magic potion was next, but slapped away as well, followed by a large bug, only to get slapped away again before Wong ended up backing into Aldarn, Vathek, and Tynar.

"You're finished, wizard." Vathek glared as Aldarn began to tie Wong's hands together.

"You may be disenchanted, but I believe you still know many ancient spells." Uncle said.

"I will tell you nothing!" Wong practically spat in Uncle's face.

"Do you want to have your revenge upon Shendu? Yes? Then start talking to Uncle!" He exclaimed as Aldarn and Tynar tried to hold him back.

Wong could only look away with a scowl as he muttered some curse no one could understand.

Blunk chuckled as he remained in the back of the group. "Bad guys not tough anymore. Right, Elyon?" He turned to his side, only to see no one was there. "Elyon? Where Elyon go?"

That caught Alchemy's attention as she and the Enforcers made their way there. "She was right here, right?"

"Where the heck did that kid run off to?" Chow questioned. However, another explosion sound drew everyone's attention back to the castle where the battle against the Ultimate Evil was still being waged. Even someone like Ratso could put the pieces together.

"Aw nuts." Ratso cursed.

"What are we gonna do with that kid?" Finn shook his head.

Jackie, Will, Jade, Hay Lin, Irma, Cornelia, and Taranee, all laid beaten on the ground, barley conscious as they groaned from the pain that they were in. They tried to pick themselves up as best as they could, but with Shendu looming over them, the fear and terror he induced almost made their willpower drop to zero.

"You certainly provided me with adequate entertainment." Shendu commented. "But I'm finished with you now."

"Shendu…!" Jackie was able to pull himself back on his feet. "If you must take your revenge on someone… let it be me… and let the girls go."

"Jackie!" Jade exclaimed as the other Guardians looked in shock and even fear.

"What…? No! No way!" Will cried out.

"We're not leaving you!" Irma exclaimed.

Shendu chuckled. "It seems your young friends are already spoken for, Chan. But look at this way, you'll be together for eternity in the afterlife."

"Get away from them!"

The Fire Demon raised a curious eyebrow to see a certain princess standing in-between him and his would-be victims, much to their own horror.

"Elyon!?" Cornelia screamed. "What are you doing?! Get out of here!"

"So, the future Queen of Meridian returns." Shendu observed with amusement. "Tell me, how do you plan to stop me without your vast powers, little one? It was all drained in order to bring me back to life, was it not?"

"I won't let you hurt my friends anymore, monster!" Elyon exclaimed, but despite her face appearing fierce, she was shaking like a leaf. Being powerless and facing a monster that easily dwarfed her size was nothing short of terrifying.

"You call me a monster, but you were not the one who betrayed them?" Shendu mocked, causing Elyon's look to falter. "Were they not your beloved friends? Did they not try to save you from your foolish brother and myself? And how did you repay them? Attacking and imprisoning them as if they were your enemies. Even under the impression they were being manipulated by an unseen force, you still took arms against them. You think you have any right to stand beside them now? You think sacrificing yourself will earn their forgiveness? Then you really are a hopeless child."

Elyon looked down slightly.

"Elyon listen… none of that matters!" Hay Lin tried to tell her. "But you have to get out of here! You can't fight him!"

"Just go! Run!" Jackie also told her.

"You're right." She admitted, causing Shendu to look at her curiously. "I did hurt them. I betrayed them. I trusted complete strangers over my friends, even my best friends that I've known since I was little…" She glanced at Cornelia in particular with a guilty expression. "I was too caught up in the fantasy of being a magic princess that I lost sight of what was really important. I don't expect their forgiveness." She clenched her fists as she faced Shendu again. "But I'm going to do everything I can to make it right! Starting with, standing up to you!"

While Jackie and the girls were nothing short of amazed by her willingness to make amends to them, they were still very afraid for her wellbeing while Shendu only laughed.

"How touching." He telekinetically lifted not only Elyon, but also Jackie and the Guardians into the air in front of him. "Well, if you truly care for them so much, then you can suffer the same agonizing fate as they."

However, before he could make any attempt at torture, or execution, or both, he heard drums beating from behind, as well as the footsteps of an army marching toward him, and a familiar chant he knew all too well.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao."

The army consisting of the Rebels, Section 13 agents, and defected Guards marched toward Shendu, several baring large white flags and even pounded on large drums. At the lead of the army was Uncle, dressed in a white robe with the Yin-Yang symbol on his chest and a red cape. Beside him were Tohru, Captain Black, Caleb, Alchemy, Yan Lin, Blunk, Matt, Viper, El Toro, Paco, Finn, Ratso, Chow, Tynar, Aldarn, Vathek, Mama Tohru, each holding Chinese Lanterns as they too recited the chant.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao."

Shendu's red eyes widened in horror. This was just like back then. Back then with Lo Pei, who bore the Heart of Kandrakar himself, when he…

"No… No! Not again!"

Will looked in surprise to see the Heart of Kandrakar around her neck beginning to glow a bright green. She couldn't quite explain it, but somehow, she knew exactly what to do. Maybe it was the spell working through the Heart, or the Heart itself that was telling her, but she knew it; and one look at all her friends told her they knew it as well.

A bright flash of Chi Magic form the Heart broke the Guardians, Jackie, and Elyon from Shendu's grip. Cornelia caught Elyon before she could fall as the six Guardians quickly flew out and hovered in front of the army, where Uncle threw out from his sleeves, a pair of Chinese Sutras, which hovered next to Will, glowing green like the Heart, as she and the other Guardians recited the chant along with Uncle.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." Jade, Irma, Taranee, Hay Lin, and Cornelia each held out glowing energy 'disks'; each one colored purple, blue, orange, white, and yellow respectively as they shot their respective elemental energies into Will, which condensed directly into the Heart as a large sphere of pulsating pink and green energy began to form in front of her.

"No… No… NO! STOP THEM!" Shendu bellowed as a massive stream of black mass shot dowm from the sky, consisting of hundreds of Shadowkhan, which blasted towards the heroes. Just then, the sphere in front of Will fired a blast of pure pink and green energy, clashing with the Shadowkhan-stream, both forces holding the other back.

But, with Shendu focused solely on the spell… it made him unaware of Jackie as he ran forward, leaping up from the ground towards the surprised Shendu's face before Jackie threw out a punch and knocked the Fire Demon to the ground.

Jackie landed on the ground gracefully, only to wave his hand as he (somehow) even through the armor, felt the stinging pain in his knuckles. "Ow…."

With Shendu's focus faltered, the spell broke through the Shadowkhan mass, and blasted Shendu, engulfing him in the pure good magic as he screamed in agony.

"The extraction spell is working!" Yan Lin exclaimed.

"Extraction spell?" Elyon asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Wait for it…" Yan Lin told her with a smirk.

Shendu tried to resist it, he tried to force himself up, but the spell was already beginning to take hold. His body began to stiffen before it twisted and folded in on itself. "NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!"

*FLASH!*

A stream of white energy was shot from Shendu and straight up into the sky. In that one instant, all forms of darkness, be it the Shadowkhan or the corruption of Phobos' power had been washed away. The dark and bleak sky became clear blue, the sun shining brightly like on a clear sunny day. And it wasn't just the sky, the environment across all of Meridian began to change. The twisted and dangerous swamps became less hostile and more beautiful, filled with clean water and green vegetation. Even the dark castle that was once Phobos' fortress of fear turned into something more noble, made from white marble and looking like it could put Notre Dame to shame.

As for Shendu, he was no longer a towering demon. But now a flat and circular statue once again that fell flat on the ground as the twelve Talismans of the Chinese Zodiac lay around him, along with the Mask of Tarakudo.

Everyone behind them began to cheer and celebrate in victory while Jackie, Will, Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, Taranee, Cornelia, and even Elyon looked in clear shock and even disbelief.

"Uncle… was that…?" Jackie asked.

"The very same spell which turned Shendu to stone, ages ago." Uncle revealed. "And separated his powers from him, in the form of twelve Talismans."

"Even the Mask of Tarakudo was separated from him." Tohru added as he went to collect said mask. "Depriving him of his control over the Shadowkhan."

They all heard Elyon gasp in surprise as they saw her hovering in the air, magic flowing through her body once more.

"Oh, and it also removed the power that was stolen in order to reconstitute him and returned it to its original source." Yan Lin added with a smile.

"My… My powers are back…?" Elyon looked to her hands in surprise.

"Sure looks like it." Alchemy said with an approved smile.

"So... that's it? We won? Like for real, this time?" Irma asked.

"That is it." Uncle confirmed. "Shendu, Phobos, Tarakudo, and Daolon Wong have all been defeated." He said with a smile and nod.

"We won." Hay Lin said with a smile, followed by the other girls.

"We won!" Taranee began to cheer.

"WE WON!" All the girls cheered and hugged each other as everyone else continued to celebrate in joy.

Word spread across Meridian faster than wildfire, almost as fast as the 'change in scenery' to the land. Phobos and his forces had been defeated, and they had a new queen. People returned to the cities and their homes and immediately began to celebrate. People danced and cheered in the streets. Flowers and confetti flew through the air in celebration, instruments were played, it was indeed a time worthy of celebration. The war was finally over, and peace had been restored at long last.

Everyone came. All the soldiers who fought in the war, those who defected when they realized the cause they were fighting for was wrong, including Tynar, as well as civilians like Elias, Aketon, and even Alborn and Miriadel. Even people from Earth in Section 13 were joining the celebration.

Elyon rode on horseback as Cornelia, Alchemy, Finn, Ratso, and Chow walked beside her as she bore a crown of flowers on her head.

"So, feel good to be the queen?" Cornelia asked.

"Feels like I don't deserve it." Elyon said as she hung her head down. "After what I did…"

"Hey, it wasn't your fault Little E." Finn told her.

"Yeah, the bad guys were pretty good liars." Ratso added.

"If anything, we should have told you sooner…" Chow said.

"Hey, you guys were enslaved, that wasn't your fault." Elyon said. "But… I am sorry for all the trouble I caused."

Cornelia flew up to her and wrapped her arms around her in the form of a hug. "Elyon, no matter what, you're still my best friend and that is never going to change."

Elyon couldn't stop the tears of joy from falling as she returned the hug. "Thank you…"

"Awe." Ratso gushed.

"So, how does it feel to be good guys, now?" Alchemy asked the Enforcers.

"Honestly, feels kinda nice." Chow said with a smile.

"Yeah, I think we're gonna like being good guys." Finn added.

As everyone continued to celebrate, Yan Lin stood by the Mage. "Darkness may indeed rise, but light always rises to meet it. We'll see to Tarakudo's mask, but you must guard Phobos and Shendu very carefully. Just because they are powerless, does not mean they are no longer dangerous."

The Mage nodded in understanding before turning around to leave the party as Yan Lin and Cornelia walked to join the main group of Jackie, Will, Jade, Hay Lin, Irma, Taranee, Tohru, Uncle, Captain Black, Mama Tohru, El Toro, Paco, Viper, Caleb, Matt, Blunk, and Scruffy.

"You know, when it's not ruled by a tyrant, this place is actually kinda nice." Viper observed.

"Yes, a welcoming change of scenery." El Toro nodded in approval.

Matt chuckled as he stood next to Will. "Fighting ninjas, monsters, and demons… what's next for our big adventure?"

"Our next adventure?" Will asked almost playfully, until Matt reached out to grab her hand, causing her to smile genuinely.

"Oh, get a room." Paco told them. "That is how you say it America, right?" He asked Jade.

"Yep, got it one." Jade confirmed as she held Scruffy in her arms, who proceeded to lick her face, resulting in her chuckles.

"Blunk visit lots." The Passling said.

"What do you mean visit?" Caleb asked. "You live here?"

"Only part time." Blunk answered. "Earth need hero like Blunk too."

"Hero, huh? Got room for him at your agency, Cap?" Irma nudged Captain Black with a smirk.

"So long as he doesn't try to steal anything that could blow up." Augustus replied.

"Tohru…" He looked down to see his mother looking up with a proud smile. "You have made this old woman very proud."

"Thank you, Mommy." Tohru smiled as he pulled his mother up in a hug.

"Yes, a fine man your son is." Uncle nodded as he looked to Tohru with pride himself. "An excellent chi wizard he will make some day." This caused Tohru to blush as he pulled Uncle into a hug with his mother as well.

"Awe." Hay Lin gushed. "So cute."

"And she is not the only one." Jackie looked to all the girls. "Jade, Will, Irma, Taranee, Hay Lin, Cornelia… you have each come so far in such a short time. Even when you made mistakes, you found a way to make things right. You've saved many lives, including my own, several times. You took a stand against those who abused their power and found a way to prevail, fighting for what is right. As your teacher, friend, and even family…" He spared Jade a glance and a smile at that part. "… No words can express how proud I am at each and every one of you."

"Well, we had a really good role model." Taranee said with an emotional smile as she was the first to hug Jackie, followed by the other girls as he returned with a hug of his own.

As they broke off, Will and Jade shared a glance. "I can't believe it's all over." The redhead said.

"Yeah, for now." Jade replied. "In the words of Uncle 'a new evil will soon arise'." She put on her best Uncle impression, causing Will to laugh.

"Yeah? Well, no matter what kind of monsters we face next, they better be ready for an ass-kicking, courtesy of J-WITCH." She offered her best-friend a fist-bump.

"Got that right, bestie." Jade nodded as she bumped her fist to Will's with a proud smile.

Meanwhile, within the Infinite City, deep behind the waterfall that was within the lair of the Mage, was a dungeon that contained many new prisoners, each one locked behind magic energy bars. Among them were the many surviving Lurdens, and other monsters and villains, including the de-powered Phobos and Daolon Wong, as well as the now-human Hak Foo.

The Mage walked toward the end of the bridge that stopped in the middle of the dungeon, looking down into an open pit where Shendu's stone-form was contained, also locked behind several crisscrossing magic energy bars. His red eyes glowed with fury as he saw the pit being closed off.

"CCCHHHAAAAAAAANNNNN!"

His cries were cut off as the pit was closed behind a stone barrier that the Mage stood over.

"So… now it all begins." The Mage said, a sinister smile forming on her face.

The End

And with that, J-WITCH Season 1 has now come to a close.

Let me tell you, I had so much fun writing this chapter, as well as this story as a whole. Once again, allow me to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all the support you've given me throughout this amazing journey.

I'm sure you've all noticed some changes from the canon that I made here, one minor change is that Miranda was not imprisoned while she was at the end of the first season of the show. That was intentional, we all know she's not out of the game and she'll take a big role in my plan for Season 2. I've also permanently stripped Phobos of his magic powers, but don't worry, I've still got plans for him in the future.

But the biggest change of all is the death of Cedric. Yeah, I killed off a big bad guy. Seemed like the best way to cement Shendu's presence as the Ultimate Evil and the final boss for this story. I know what role Cedric plays in the future of the canon WITCH series, both in the show and the comics; but this is fanfiction and of course there will be some changes. Don't worry, I've got big plans in the future.

With Season 1 now complete, I'm sure many of you are expecting me to get to Season 2 right away. Well I have every intention of writing a Season 2, but you may have to wait a bit. Because after my next round of updates, I plan to start off a brand new story that I've been wanting to write for a very long time, so you may have to wait for Season 2, but rest assured, I have every intention of writing it and it's gonna be even bigger than this one.

Until then, thank you for everything. Keep your eyes out for the sequel, as well as my brand new story that I plan to start by the coming year.

Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I love you all.

This is Iron117Prime, signing off.