Author's Notes: Welcome back everyone! And, as always, I'm surprised at how well-received this concept seems to be amongst the JCA community. I was half-way expecting people to simply out right ignore it since it featured Drew who seems to be the poster boy for bashing amongst the fandom's characters. So anyway, thank you for all the attention you've given this story and I hope to grasp your attention further with this chapter.
Ni二: An Indentured Service
When the city awoke, it was to many new changes.
The morning news covered the apparent theft and assault against a local deli store owner who would passionately retell the entire incident with vivid clarity. The apartments on Lakeview and Manchester would be disgruntled as the resident artist lay in a hospital bed after undergoing procedures to mend his twisted arm. A firefighter would rant angrily at a detective, demanding results on the whereabouts of his son. A certain young Chan would sit at her desk only to notice her neighbor conspicuously absent.
And over off in the forgotten reaches of the city, a boy lay on a raggedy mattress staring balefully at a metal can.
After the mysterious stranger had introduced himself as Kaito, he advised him to seek shelter for the night and upon the sun's first light would return to speak with him. A bit of searching had led him to an abandoned factory, the boarded windows and desolate field dissuading those that might seek entry to it. After jimmying a board wide enough for him to slip through, he climbed inside and claimed one of the rooms on the upper floors which thankfully had provided him with a tolerable, if musty, bed for the night.
When morning did finally arrive, it was to the sound of his aching stomach, not pleased with having been left unfed from yesterday. Memories of his last attempt at vying for food encouraged him to look for sustenance within his current dwelling, which had happily provided him with a can of chicken noodle soup still an entire year from it's expiration date. Now, if only he could get the stupid tin can to open.
"Stupid can." he muttered under his breath as he attempted to simply pry it's top off with his bare hands, hoping his transformed strength might prove superior to the metal. When this proved fruitless, he employed aid from his sharpen dentures though they were just as futile. Seems whatever had happened to him had deemed it fit to give him teeth to bite flesh, but not metallurgy.
"Child, why do you insist on performing this task yourself when you are clearly unable to accomplish it?" Drew shot a glare at his shadow, which had morphed into the silhouette of the mysterious Kaito "Would it not be simpler to call for one of your minions, as they are more properly armed to tackle the endeavor?"
The bluish boy simply stared, eyes blinking twice before he once more summoned one of his ninjas. The man crouched, retrieving the offered can before deftly removing the uppermost layer, spilling nary a drop of condensed stock before presenting it to his master. As Drew accepted, he observed as they bowed and than sank in the shadows and out of sight.
"So," he carefully tilted the can, mindful of the fact that a spoon was not present for him to use reducing him to sipping it as if from a thermos "you were getting to the reason I'm all blue and stuff."
"Correct." here the outline shifted, as though settling in for a long conversation "To begin, what do you know of magic?"
"That guys in stupid capes and top hats use it scam people out their money." He was rather surprised by the look that overcame the shade "What?"
"My word," he sighed, face vanishing as he moved as though to rub his face "it seems fate is yet again a cruel mistress. As you've proven yourself to be ill-informed, allow me to rectify this with a brief summary of Real Magic."
"...Okay." Drew rose a curious brow, tilting another swig of soup to his mouth
"Eons ago, when your kind was still young, the many mystical races reigned supreme. At the time the Earth was fertile, rich with fantastical wonders that stretched to all four corners of the worlds. The dragons soared through the skies, the nymphs frolicked in the waves, and the gods ruled from on high in their shimmering citadels. And on island nation, my kind was born."
Drew's brows were fully raised now, soup slowly lowered from his lips as he listened raptly to the shade.
"We were always a middling existence, not helped by the circumstance of our birth which sprang forth from a violent clashing from two of the reigning deities of the era: Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun and Tsukuyomi, God of the Moon. Tsukuyomi had gone to his sister, seeking amnesty from his past transgression of slaying Uke Mochi, invoking claims of passion and outrage as the reasons for his actions. Furious that he would show his face in her domain to pardon for so grievous an offense, she lashed out at her brother and the resulting battle blotted the sun as Amaterasu's brilliance dimmed beneath her sibling and the world was cast in shade."
The boy shifted forward, soup forgotten as his attention was kept tightly honed on the tale being weaved in front of him.
"And it was near it's end, as the Goddess regain the tide of battle that Tsukuyomi, enraged at his impending lost, struck out at his sister and drove his hand through her stomach. The battle ended swiftly after, yet the deed had been done. He had set within her a piece of his own power which lay festering in her innards as it sought creation. Furious at her siblings audacious action, she gathered the thing into a tight ball before vomiting it out to the Earth. And that was how my kind was birthed: The bastard race of two Kami, whose true birth was denied in spite of another. For centuries, they were formless until a wondering minor deity took pity upon them and gave them shape."
The shade paused as if gathering his thoughts.
"This was the creation of the first General Ichiro, who crafted from his own shadow the first of the ShadowKhan Tribes. Under his leadership, his tribe thrived mightily, carving out their territory in the mountains. But as his people's number's grew, so too did his loneliness. Yearning for a companion, he scoured the countryside until he happened upon a young maiden in service to a local Yokai Lord. A single glance at her stunning visage and ease of grace and he knew he must have her. Ichiro laid siege to the estate, taking the young maiden and bestowing her a place at his side as his General and gifting her the name Katsumi. And from them the tribes grew vast and numerous, shaping themselves in all manner of ways as our people grew larger and stronger. It was glorious."
He came to a halt, a look of fondness overcoming him before his shoulders drooped visibly and he frowned.
"Sadly, it would come to an end all to soon. Before long, strife and conflict between the many tribes arose eventually spiraling into a bloodied and vicious civil war that was only ended when the Nine Tribes united and vanquished their rebellious brethren. For a time, peace reigned and our numbers once more swelled to prosperity and we were content. However..."
"What?" Drew was hunched now, can placed out of harm's way as inched forward "What happened?"
"There were those among us that grew...dissatisfied and sought to further improve our might. And it led to our downfall. For centuries, I sat and watched as our kind was fit for nothing more than a tale to frighten young children and minding the orders of those who seeks only to exploit our gifts. But now," he stopped, gaze firmly planted on Drew who shrunk under their scrutiny "for the first time in nearly a millennium, I have hope."
The boy simply looked on, mind stuttering as it assimilated the knowledge suddenly thrust upon him as well as Kaito's last statement.
"Why?" it seemed an innocent enough question while simultaneously gaining the answers he seeked.
"Because of you." Well, so much for that.
"Again, why? Heck, why me in the first place? If this is some humongo prophecy thing, why am I in it period? I'm nothing special." Which was true. He didn't possess any of the natural talent and ability that others in his grade had or that Ninja Girl seemed to extrude like some kind of gifted dandruff
"Precisely." The confusion of Drew's stare made it clear he wasn't expecting such an answer "Do you know what made the Generals of my kind so formidable?" A shake in the negative "Diversity. Even reduced to Nine our tribes are each unique, varied in our skills yet unified in our purpose. No one tribe is inherently better than another just as no mortal in fundamentally greater than one another. And do you know why this diversity exist?" Again, a negative shake. "Because each General since the birth of Ichiro has been created from another being. We are not like other races, able to produce heirs from wombs or flesh and blood. Our race can only further itself from the inclusion of others. It was the way Katsumi was birthed, it was the way I was birthed, and quite soon, shall be how you will be birthed."
"Wait, what?" Drew may not have been as observant in his classes as he should've, but he knew enough about biology to know things didn't get 'born' twice "How's that even possible?"
"Such matters will be explained at a later date. As it stands, we have other issues to address such as your willingly indenturing yourself." Kaito seemed curious of the matter himself, though Drew didn't exactly know why. What he did know was what 'indentured' meant. Thank you Black History Month.
"Whoa, whoa. Hold up." Drew held up his hands to further emphasis his point "Are you saying I signed up for something? Because I didn't." He was sure he'd remember something of that sort-...Oh. "Oh."
"Indeed." The shadow nodded, or at least appeared to "When you graphed the King's seal to your skin, you bound yourself, intentional or not, in service to the King. In times past, you'd be tested on your aptitude for certain arts before being assigned under a General. Afterwards, you'd either enter into the lower ranks as a common Thrall or perform excellently enough to be awarded a higher status." Here, the shade shifted and widened as if folding its arms "The one before you showed great promise, though her mind was subjected and overcome with the might of the Mark and drove her to fits of delusional fancy. 'Queen of the ShadowKhan'. Tsk, as if she was worthy of such a mantle. Anko was a far more competent leader and would never make such brash and messy mistakes."
"...Okay." The fact that someone had done this whole routine before was welcomed knowledge, but he needed to get back to the matter at hand "But what does that have to do with me? You said your race was gone now so how's that my problem?"
"It concerns you," And whoa, when did it drop a whole twenty degrees in here? And why did Kaito look decidedly more pissed than before? "because you are now tied to our people, no matter how loosely. And there are forces in this world that would sooner see you destroyed than allow you the freedom to roam freely. And more to the point, we need you to-"
"Need me whaaah?!" Drew's query turned into a shriek of terror as his shadow pooled and tendrils of solid darkness grasped him snugly. With a tug, he gave a final scream as he was hauled in to depths of the nothingness before everything faded to black.
- \=/ -
The prison kitchen had seen many things in its lifetime, but what was about to transpire easily took the cake.
"This had better work, wizard." The inmate that spoke was an intimidating fellow, easily dwarfing most common man in size, a fact he was quick to make known as he rolled his shoulder causing years of hard-earned muscle to shift powerfully
"It shall." This time, the voice had come from a much smaller, frailer inmate who's gnarled hands were spread wide over a cauldron, wickedly long nails curving inwards as his mismatched eyes shone in the reflected emerald goop "I may be disenchanted, but I am not without a few tricks up my sleeve."
"Oh, oh! Can you pull a rabbit out of them? I'd like something to cuddle while I wait for my appeal to go through." The third voice was rough but giddy with childish excitement over the idea of owning such an adorable thing, his red eyes shining brightly
"It's a figure of speech, Ratso." It was followed by a light smacking and the red haired, long nosed man leaned against the counter with a easy stance "Besides, we're about to cash in our 'Get out of jail free' card, right Wong?"
"Indeed, now silence. I must concentrate." His eyes slid closed and he waved his hands over the pot, stirring the mystic powers that misted about until they formed a solid connection and firmly pulled the presence he sought to his side. The liquid's surface wrinkled before the container shook and its caster gave a wary look of alarm before it frothed and then preceded to explode like a child's science project.
"Ah, man! It's in my mouth!" Chow hollered, sputtering the captured fluid at the floor.
Daolon wiped his face with his sleeve, wondering why his spell had so violently misfired when he caught sight of a figure hunched on the floor. They were colored mostly blue with hints of darker shades with hair cut close to the scalp as well as cloths one might find on the youth of today. Curious, but not deterred by the twist of events, he nodded for Hak Foo to secure the boy.
"Ugh." Drew moaned, his stomach doing backflips with angry butterflies as his head pounded incessantly "What hit me-Umph!"
His legs kicked air, swinging at nothing as he sought desperately to escape from the restrains he found himself in. Looking around, he saw a motley set of men all dressed in bright orange jumpsuits and a glancing above showed that he was currently being held by a massive, red haired man. He struggled fiercely in his grip trying to escape but found his bonds too strong to yield to his meager strength.
"Hey! Let me go, you big, stupid ape! Help!" He looked down at his shadow, only to find it distressingly blank "Somebody, help me!"
The old guy smiled, stepping forward easily before he suddenly crumbled as a fist impacted his stomach. His captor too was struck, releasing him into the waiting arms of a ninja who quickly backed from the ensuing fight. Drew racked his brain, trying to think of some way out of here when his escort evaporated into dust. Falling to his rear, he let out a small 'ommp!' of pain before looking up and letting his eyes widen with shock. The large red haired man was a blur, knocking his guys off their feet as he loudly and vicious attacked from an inconceivable amount of angles.
"Rhino Crushes Eggshell!" He barreled forward, shoulder digging into the ninja's diaphragm and slamming them into the edge of the counter where they disappeared with a soft poof. Drew scurried backwards as he realized he was once again alone with these people and desperately called for their aid again. Only none came and the attempt did nothing but cause his vision to blur and his world to spiral as darkness danced at the edge of his sight. When it finally returned, he was once more in restrains, only now there was numbness spreading from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
"As I was saying before being rudely interrupted," Drew was thankfully able to move his eyes which then became fearful as they beheld the eyes of the short, old man "I have summoned you to free us from this place so that we might return to our work. I understand calling you from your was sudden and you are disorient-"
"As if I'm helping you jerkwads after you tied me up twice!" Okay the first time he'd been held, but that wasn't the point! "And what makes you think I'm gonna help you bust outta jail!?"
He would've protested more but streaks of pain gripped his body, enveloping him in raw agony as he let loose a howl in anguish. After a moment, it fled and he sloughed forward, breaths escaping in harsh, heavy gasps. This time when the man spoke, it was with a harsh edge.
"I believe that is the reason, or do enjoy being subjected to bursts of Good Chi?" In his hands, he held a rock which he squeezed, air leaving him once more as he hollered "Now then, you will aid in our escape or I shall make you regret the decision for the rest of your short life. Now, will you cooperate?"
"Um, he kinda has too. Ya know, with you using that shock rock and everything." Drew rolled his eyes in the man's direction. Thank you, Captain Obvious.
As it turned out, getting out of a maximum security prison was far easier than movies and video games had made it seem. Granted, he had shadow-walking ninja that were several times more skilled than ordinary humans but, he thought it would've been a harder obstacle to overcome. As it was, all it took was knocking out the right guards, at the right time, and opening the right gates to see them step out once more into the green grass and blue sky. As three of the group raced off into the open basking in the freedom, the old man and tall, muscled bruiser simply looked at him in expectation. With a grudging muttering of various swears, he followed in step behind them.
-\=/-
After distancing themselves as far from the correctional facility as possible, they stopped to rest at one of the motel the nearest towns had to offer. As the three Enforcers shared a bed in a huddled pile, Daolong Wong the other, and Hak Foo took to the floor on his side, Drew was currently fuming as he glared through the slit of the grate.
They'd locked him in a closet and covered in with weird paper things that shocked him something awful whenever he tried to escape. His ninja wouldn't come and trying that whole sinking deal that they did proved just as useless. As he sat there and sulked, he was thoroughly surprised when the shadow casted on the near wall sudden trembled and spoke.
"Child." The boy squeaked before slapping a hand firmly against his mouth. Making sure that on one had stirred from outburst he leaned forward and hissed "Where were you?"
"The same place I always am, in the shadows." When he received an unimpressed look, he sighed "When you were called, I severed our connection to prevent myself from being revealed. Such revelations would be disadvantageous at our current juncture."
"Okay, first off: stop using all those complicated words. I'm still in fifth grade." Drew would need a dictionary for half the words this guy said at this rate "Second: Why don't you have eyes or a mouth?"
"The wards sealing you within this room and disrupting your connection with what limited powers you have is also preventing me from manifesting completely. As it stands, even this state drains me considerably. Which is why I must speak to you of an important matter." The boy made a 'hurry it up then' motion "Whatever the Wizard has in store for you is nothing good. Disenchanted he may be but the knowledge he still possesses makes him more than a match for you in your present state. As such, I advise you do as your told only until an escape present itself, then you vacate to as far a location as possible."
"Seriously? That's your advice?" Drew asked, barely able to keep his voice down "Even I could've come up with that! What about how all this crap concerns me? Or this birth-rebirth gibberish you were spouting?"
"My apologies, young shade." Kaito's voice wavered, the shadow shaking in uncertainty "But it seems my strength nears its end. Remember what I have said and I shall contact you once you have freed yourself."
With that, the voice faded and Drew was once more left alone on the floor of the closet. He leaned sullenly against the wall, a scowl on his face.
"Stupid shadow-creature-general-thing."
-\=/-
"Come, Sapling." the old man strove on, as his most competent aid beckoned the youth faster "Our journey nears it's end."
Drew was not a happy camper. Why, you might ask?
Because he was on a leash.
A frickin' leash. At the very least it wasn't a collar which would've signified him as barely that of some common mutt, but somehow the harness tugged just as painfully as the red haired mercenary yanked again, sending his next three steps off balance and nearly causing him to tumble to the ground. They were still a bit wary that he might simply remove the seal placed on him or move out of the trigger's area of effect, so they opted for a way to keep him on a leash: literally. In the back of his mind, a part of him that was stirred on by the foreign power coursing through him howled for these bastards blood.
"Whoa." But such thoughts were soon forgotten as they entered the mouth of what had to be the biggest, most cavernous space Drew had ever seen.
The ceiling stretched higher than he thought would've been allowed and floor was covered by a garden of dark, twinkling crystals that led to a stupefying grand pillar that rose to the roof and jutted with massive cliffs of gemstone. As they walked, Drew caught his reflection in one of the tremendous stones only to recoil as the reflection distorted and warped into a twisted facsimile.
"Ah, the Caves of Somber Ambition." Daolong paused, breathing deep before letting out his breath in a pleased sigh "I remember when I first came her as a young ward, fresh from killing my master. Here, the epicenter of all Dark Forces of the world, is where I first bathed in the Eternal Spring and truly became a Dark Wizard. Ah, should fond memories."
Well, aside from thinking that the man was several pieces short of a system, Drew thought little of what he said or spouted as he was constantly on the look out for various opportune escape routes should his captors let their guard down long enough for him to slip away. So occupied was his attention that when they finally came to a stop, he nearly ran into the mercenary's leg. He thought that they had finally reached their destination.
"How?!" the old man screeched "How could you possibly know we were here?!"
"'Uncle has his ways. And Uncle cannot allow Daolong Wong to regain magic!" A new voice said that was heavily peppered with an Asian accent
Well...Drew wasn't expecting that.
He peered from behind the man's leg to behold a sight that caused his heart to skip a beat. There, right in front of him, was another old man with grey, spiked hair and glasses wielding a lizard and puffer-fish, an unbelievably huge man cracking his knuckles, a modest looked man wearing a weary expression. And perhaps the most surprising of all: Jade Chan marching forward with a cocky and determined smile.
"Long time, no see, boys. Let me guess, you got out on good behavior?" It was clear she didn't believe such a statement for a second, voicing it simply to goad the actually answer from them.
"Enough of this." The old man said, cutting off one of the others as they made to ask "Boy! Summon your aids."
A tug brought him forward, his feet catching under him and nearly sending him crashing but for the grace of the leash. He heard gasps from the opposite party as well as the old man urging, but he was still far to occupied with his own shock to register anything else. At least, until the shock came and a scream ripped from his throat. More cries filled the air, some of alarm and others outrage, but Drew ignored them as he urgently called forth his ninja, six emerging from his shadow and leaping into action. His handler joined the fray with a mighty leap as the rest rushed forward as well. Drew didn't bother to move, still reeling from the pain and barely realized he was being moved until he heard familiar muttering in his ears.
"Stupid wrinkly old man...doing this to Drew...may be jerkwad but he isn't that bad...guy's put on weight..." Drew decided to take offense to the last comment
"Have...not." That made his crutch halt, taking in his consciousness with a look of awe before hurriedly scampering a few more feet and depositing him against one of the massive gemstones.
"Drew? You awake? Come on, don't pass out on me. I'm no good when people pass out." Drew forced his eyes wider, taking in the girls flustered face which relaxed as he looked at her "You awake? Great, stay that way. Don't worry, we'll get you out of here. And Uncle'll fix whatever Nine Inch Nails did to you and we can get you back home-"
"He didn't...do this." Sentences were coming easier as his body stopped aching and feeling returned to his limbs "I kinda...screwed up."
"Huh?" Jade gave him a confounded look "But-but...how? How'd this even happen? What'd you do, get hit by some weird spell or something?"
"Or something." Here, he rolled up his sleeve to allow the glowing ink on his shoulder to be seen and found the strength to move his lips to a grin "Your not the only one you can get a real tattoo, Jade."
It was petty. Extremely so, given the current circumstance made even moreso as one of his captors went sailing into a crystal to impact with a resounding smack. Jade had flinched harshly before her muscles coiled and her expression grew stormy.
"Seriously?" The word was nearly snarled and Drew scooted back further against the hard support "Seriously, Drew? You get kidnapped by a psychotic midget, the Three Stooges, and Mister Shouts-His-Attacks, all because I said you didn't get a real tattoo? How stupid are you!? Even if you did get a real one, it could've been anything! But noo, you had to get the exact, same one I did. And look what happened! Of all the stupid things, Drew..."
But he wasn't listening anymore. Sure, some of what Jade said was true but he didn't have time to address her or anything else for that matter. The two old men were having it out, his chucking paper and Jade's relation hurtling beams of green energy from the mouth of the petrified fauna, the large merc was dealing with her uncle, and the rest of the rabble was doing a poor job against the insanely large man. His ninja were nowhere to be seen, taken out handily earlier he'd bet. However, he couldn't dwell on such thing. His opportunity had presented itself. And he took it.
He easily phased out Jade's startled 'Hey!' and quickly made his way down the sloping path, ducking towards one of the many gemstone cliffs. Another shout sounded and was quickly followed by blistering pain that tore brutally through him, driving him to his knees as he let loose a howl of agony. Jade's relative uttered a word he didn't understand and shot forth another green laser, obliterating the stone upon impact. What he didn't know, was that Daolong had warded it against such happenings and had measures for should an even come to pass. Which is why as the last bits of it fell to the floor, Drew gave one last scream before his world was nothing but pain and bright light.
The ensuing explosion sent a wave of power through the crystal structure, fragmenting several large sections that crumbled as shards upon those inside. Jackie, quickly ducking in and around Hak Foo's guard, scooped up his niece and hightailed it for the exit, uttering 'Bad Day, Bad Day, Bad Day' under his breath. Jade paid no heed to it; she was focused solely on the billowing smoke from where her classmate and the closest thing she'd had to a friend her age had been.
Author's Notes: Yay! I made a cliffhanger! Aren't I just a stinker? Anyway, this chapter was going to be far, far longer as was the next, but I decided to split the whole thing into halves so I could get things in order of how I wanted them. So, let's get to the questions, shall we.
Drew: Inept ShadowKhan Warrior: Drew isn't all that bad at being a ShadowKhan: He just isn't suited for it. Drew was meant to be something else and the whole caught between state he's in right now is testament to that. Don't worry, we will get to that part and soon.
Kaito: Shinobi General: Yes, Kaito (name used with permission from Eduard Kassel) is the Shinobi General. However, unlike other ShadowKhan Generals as they're portrayed in other stories, he isn't all that bad. Next chapter is testement to this.
Morality: It's not all Black and White: I hate, hate, hate Good vs. Evil morality. The only thing I hate more is when people make an entire race inherently evil/good. No one, no matter where there from, starts out like that. Sure, some might be more susceptible to certain ways of thinking, but I personally don't like races as all Bad or all Good. It's just not realistic to me. Plus, it's kinda lazy and is the stuff usually seen in kid stuff. In this story (actually, it's kinda a theme in all my stories) the supposed Great Evil isn't all that bad. At least, not inherently.
ShadowKhan: Creation Mythos: Inspired in part by the birth of the Japanese deity Amanozako, said to be formed from when Susanoo's ferocious spirit built inside him and he vomited her out. Also by the solar eclipse phenomenon that occurs in nature. I was going to do something more with the whole 'casting the world in shadow' thing, but decided against it. Ichiro means 'first born' and is a pretty generic name but fit his role for his people. Katsumi means 'Victorious Beauty' and was named such as she led them to many victories in battle. As for the whole civil war thing, it's my explanation for why there's only nine tribes of ShadowKhan when there use to be several dozens. We'll come back to that, but for now, that's all.
Chan Clan: The good guys are in this story and yes, we will be seeing more of them in near future.
Well, that's all for now. TTFN!