Okay, here's chapter three! I'm gonna let you know something before we get too far...Jim Hawkins WILL be in this story, just not as the main character. Jaqulin, I figured, is a lot like Jim in some aspects so I thought it'd be cool to make them friends!

Again...I own no rights to the characters used in this story (except mine) or the story. Thanks!


Chapter 3: Beware the Half Demon

Jaqulin sat silently on the roof of the inn, listening to the conversation below. She absentmindedly threw pebbles down the roof as thunder rumbled around her. She concentrated on her mother's and Jack's voices.

"I really don't know how you do it, Aerith," Jack was saying. "Trying to run a business while raising a felon…uh, I mean…female…daughter...yes, daughter, like Jaqulin."

"Managing it?" Aerith repeated. "I'm at the end of my rope."

Jaqulin hung her head, ashamed of herself. How could she bring this stress upon her own mother…the only parent she ever knew in her life?

"Ever since her father left…well…Jaqulin's just never recovered." Aerith sighed sadly. "And you know how smart she is. She built her first solar surfer when she was eight!"

Jaqulin smiled to herself.

"And yet, she's failing at school…"

Jaqulin frowned again, wincing slightly at Aerith's words.

"…and she's constantly in trouble and when I talk to her, she's like a complete stranger to me. I don't know, Jack. I've tried everything…"

Jaqulin didn't really want to hear more. She turned away right as a tornado-looking object blew by and landed on the docks. Jaqulin slid down the roof and ran as fast as she could to the strange object. It continued to twirl when she reached it.

"Um…hello?" Jaqulin asked in uncertainty.

Suddenly, a strong arm reached out of the tornado and grabbed Jaqulin's shoulder, making her jump in shock. A man pulled himself free from the tornado and it disappeared. Jaqulin didn't know what to say or think.

The man certainly wasn't from around those parts; he was well-built, but he wore a brown furry outfit that reminded Jaqulin of a wolf. His hair was long and black, pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes were a sharp blue and his ears were pointed, like an elf's. A wrapped, rounded object was clutched in his hand.

"Mister, are you alright?" Jaqulin questioned, staring at the man.

"He's after me," the man grunted. "But he won't be getting anything that belongs to me. That half-breed demon will have to pry it from old Koga's dead fingers before I give it up."

"Uh…you hit your head pretty hard there, huh?"

"What are you talking about? That half-breed is coming…" The man, or Koga, winced as he collapsed to the ground.

"Oh, my gosh," Jaqulin breathed. She hurried to Koga and grabbed his arm. "Here, let me help you…Koga, right?" Jaqulin slung one of his arms over her shoulder, helping him walk to the inn. "That's it."

"Thank you," Koga whispered. Jaqulin smirked to herself, the rain beginning to beat down on her back.

"Mom's gonna love this," she said quietly.

Aerith changed the scenery of the window so the rain outside couldn't be seen. Instead, a field of flowers appeared and brightened the room.

"Thanks for listening, Jack," Aerith said. She sat down at a table and rested her forehead on her hand, sighing. "It helps."

Jack rested a hand on Aerith's shoulder. "I don't know much about anything, Aerith, but I can tell you it'll be alright," he said. "You'll see."

"I keep dreaming that one day I'll open that door and there she'll be the way she was," Aerith whispered, opening a locket and revealing changing holographic movies of Jaqulin as a little girl. "A smiling, happy little girl, holding a new pet and begging me to keep it."

The door flew open as thunder roared and lightning flashed. Jaqulin's silhouette was seen against the blinding light. Aerith gasped, rising to her feet.

"Jaqulin Danee Strife!" she cried.

"Mom, he's hurt…bad," Jaqulin explained as she gently laid Koga on the floor of the inn. Koga panted heavily, his eyes barely opened. The object he had was next to him.

"My…" Koga started. Jaqulin saw what he wanted and scooped up the possession. She handed it to Koga, who held it firmly. "He mustn't find it…at any costs…if he does…he'll be unstoppable. He'll be coming soon."

"Who'll be coming?" asked Jaqulin. Koga grabbed her black vest collar and pulled her close.

"The half demon," Koga murmured weakly. "Beware the half demon."

Jaqulin's eyes widened at the news as Koga slowly fell away from her and never moved again. Aerith's hand flew to her mouth in shock. Suddenly, lights from a ship shined through the windows and there was shouting outside—very loud shouting. Jaqulin hurried to the window and when she flicked the lever slightly, the scenery split in two by an inch. Jaqulin glanced out cautiously. She saw shadows of many men right outside.

"Quick, we gotta go!" Jaqulin screamed, pushing Aerith toward the stairs. She spotted Koga's object on the floor and picked it up. Jack gasped when the blade of a very large sword burst through the door.

"I'm with Jaqulin on this one!" he shouted, sprinting up the stairs after Aerith. Once upstairs, the trio heard crashing and crunching downstairs. Flames suddenly began to engulf everything in sight. Jack glanced out the window where a brown horse with a white mane and tail stood hitched to a carriage.

"Epona! Thank goodness!" Jack exclaimed. Epona reared up, nickering as flames shattered the windows from the lower level. "Stay! Don't move!"

Downstairs the shadow of a man with dog ears on his head cast over the body of Koga. "Well…where is it?" he sneered. "Wherever it is, FIND IT!"

Meanwhile, Jack and Aerith were standing in the window, readying themselves to jump.

"Don't worry, Aerith!" Jack yelled over the roar of the fire around them. "I'm a genius of flight!"

Jaqulin shot him a nervous look when she saw shadows moving up the stairs.

"On the count of three. One…two…"

"Three!" Jaqulin shouted, pushing Jack and her mother out the window and into the carriage.

Jack gathered up the reins and snapped them. Epona whinnied, starting to gallop with all her might. "That's right, Epona, go!"

Aerith glanced behind them at her hotel. It was going up in deadly flames, everything she had ever worked for. She turned around and her head dropped into her hands. Jaqulin felt sympathy for her mother. Then, she remembered the round object from Koga. Jaqulin reached inside her khaki capri-looking pants and slid the sphere out. She carefully unwrapped it.

Jaqulin's eyes widened when she lifted a large pink sphere from the cloth. It glowed a radiant magenta and it seethed with immense power and strength in her hand.

What does this mean?