A Friend In Need
Both Shendu and Valmont were glaring at the assembled enforcers in front of them, who had failed at yet ANOTHER mission. Not only had they allowed the Rat Talisman to escape their grasp as well as the location of Section 13 – at which Shendu had raged at Valmont for the best part of an hour – but not a few days later they had been sent to the Alps to retrieve the Horse Talisman and had come back with nothing.
Well not exactly nothing, they were all disgustingly ill. Ratso had a leaking nose and the shivers, Finn was coughing up his lungs, Chow was sneezing uncontrollably and Tohru was bellowing his sneezes as they sprayed everywhere. Apparently Chan had outwitted them yet again, this time by causing a minor avalanche to fall on them, hence their ailments.
"AAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tohru bellow once again, the spray of his snot and saliva going everywhere, including onto Valmont's sleeve.
"Cover your mouth!" Valmont snapped irritably as he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away at his sleeve.
The Enforcer's tried to stifle their symptoms as best they could, but were still shivering and sniffling uncontrollable.
"B-b-b-Big V," Finn shivered pathetically. "D-do you th-think you could t-t-t-turn up the h-h-heat?"
"Allow me," Shendu hissed as a torrent of fire suddenly poured from his mouth, causing the enforcers to scream as they all dove for the ground to avoid the flames that passed over their heads, narrowly avoiding even singing their hair. Shendu allowed his rage to fuel the flames, keeping them going until it threatened to start setting the office on fire. Only then did he finally relent. All four enforcers poked their heads over the desk, eyes wide and shaking though not from their colds.
"That's plenty!" Finn squeaked.
"Much obliged," Ratso added quickly in a nasally voice.
"Careful Shendu," Valmont warned as he turned to look at the statue, whose mouth was still hissing steam. "If you charbroil the help, they'll never find the next Talisman,"
"The next Talisman is insufficient Valmont," Shendu growled with his usual impatience. "I need all twelve if I am to shed this petrified skin and regain my true powers!"
"We are working on it, Shendu," Valmont said in a hard tone.
"With your customary ineptitude," Shendu went on icily. "Once again, this Chan has snatched another Talisman from your so called 'professionals',"
"Too bad Chan aint working for us," Ratso coughed.
Valmont turned to look at his enforcers then, a thoughtful look crossing his features as he tapped a finger against his chin.
"Perhaps he can be persuaded…" Valmont smirked, and the enforcers just looked at each other, confused.
Valerie hated being sick. She hated it because it meant going to the doctors, which meant needles, tests, bills, monotonous men droning on at her, and possibly nasty tasting medication to take. What she hated even more, apparently, was having a sore throat, stuffed head and having to cycle everywhere the post depo assigned her in the cold and wet. But she dared not complain, her new boss had already kicked up a fuss when she said she wanted no more trips to the city centre after her trip to Valmont's office.
The only thing that could take away the awful feeling in her gut even slightly, was a hot cup of tea as she walked out of the coffee store, sighing contentedly as the tea slipped down her throat, soothing the ache and the warmth helping her shivering hands. She couldn't stop a groan as she looked at her bike, knowing she had more parcels to deliver, which meant more in the January cold and rain. She really hated her new job.
All of a sudden, her phone began to ring, and she fumbled for a moment to fish it out of her pocket with numb fingers and answer it.
"Hello?" she said.
"Whoa, Val, you sound terrible," came Jade's voice.
"Thanks," Valerie grunted. "How you doing?"
"We're good. Listen! Uncle's out at Bingo tonight, so Jackie and I were gonna have dinner at the shop, and we were wondering if you wanted to come," the girl said in a rush.
"Uncle plays bingo?" Valerie raised an eyebrow in astonishment.
"Err, yeah, sure, all the time!" Jade said a little too quickly. "Please say you'll come, please-please-please!" she begged into the phone.
Valerie thought about it for a moment. It would be nice to see friendly faces again, and to have a decent meal, not the cheap junk food (which she loathed) she'd had to buy recently when she got back from work too exhausted to cook.
"Sure, what time?" she said as she tried to smother a cough.
"YES!" Jade shouted happily, so loud that Valerie had to hold the phone away from her ear with a wince. "Come to the shop at eight! Thanks Val!"
Then she hung up.
Valmont waited in the office as Shendu summoned the long shadow to cross the floor of the room with a threatening air. It stopped about a foot or two from Valmont's feet, and from it materialised a Shadowkhan holding a metal box. Deftly, the Shadowkhan undid the latch and lifted the lid, revealing a glass vial of bubbling amber liquid, a snake carved of jade twisting around the outside of the container. Valmont smirked as he reached into the box and lifted up the vial in order to see its contents better in the light.
"This potion should accommodate your needs perfectly Valmont," Shendu murmured as the human grinned.
"Then by this time tomorrow," Valmont said triumphantly. "Chan will have no choice but to work for the Dark Hand. Now, for the bait…"
Jackie climbed down the face of the presidents on Mount Rushmore, edging his way down as he held onto the rope as if his life depended on it… which it did. Captain Black had phoned Jackie that morning to tell him that Section 13 intelligence had detected another Talisman on Mount Rushmore, and Jackie had endured the gruelling flight in order to try and find another Talisman in the same week, having found the horse talisman in the Alps. If things kept up this pace then the hunt for the remaining Talisman's would be over within the month!
However, they didn't mean that getting to them still wasn't challenging.
"Argh, the Talisman couldn't be in the gift shop?" Jackie grunted to himself as he dropped further down the giant face. He came until he was level with the eye, and grinned when he saw the sparkle of a talisman glittering within. "Ah, what big eyes you have… don't blink Mr President," Jackie muttered as he reached into the huge eye and plucked the talisman from the rock wall at the back.
However, when he pulled it out to look at his prize, Jackie was most confused to see that it was the Serpent Talisman.
"The snake? We already got that one!" he frowned.
It all happened so fast, he couldn't stop it before it was too late. The Talisman suddenly split and opened up, two fangs leaping forth and puncturing the skin of his hand, causing a burning pain to erupt in Jackie's hand. He cried out, flinching on instinct, causing the fake Talisman to fall hundreds of feet to the ground below.
He suddenly felt woozy, and Jackie had to struggle to keep his hold on the rope as he climbed back up towards the top. As he reached the top, he was suddenly stopped when a well-crafted and polished Italian shoe came into his path. Looking up, Jackie was shocked to see Valmont glowering down at him.
"Valmont –"
Suddenly, Valmont seized Jackie by his sweater, pulling him up to the top and setting him down in front of him. Jackie's confusion only escalated by the minuet.
"Upsie-daisy," Valmont smirked. As soon as Jackie's feet touched the ground, he placed himself into a battle-ready position, though Valmont didn't appear worried, in fact he looked at Jackie's hand curiously. "Oh, snake-bite, could be fatal…"
"You bring me all the way out here to poison me?" Jackie narrowed his eyes at the other man as he glanced at the wound on his hand the fangs of the talisman had inflicted on him.
"A rather appropriate lure," Valmont said with a hint of smugness. "Since the venom now rushing through your veins will soon turn you to stone,"
"Just because I believe in magic Talismans," Jackie glowered at his enemy. "Doesn't mean I'm gullible,"
"A visual aid," Valmont said as he plucked a passing fly out of the air, bringing a tiny vial filled with amber liquid from his pocket. He poured just a drop onto the insect, and Jackie watched with mounting horror as it completely turned to stone. Jackie gasped, looking at his own hand as if he expected it to turn to stone. "In twelve hours Mr Chan," Valmont smiled cruelly as he held up the stone insect for Jackie to see. "You shall be among the statuesque. The venom takes twelve hours to fully infect humans," Valmont went on to explain as he pocketed the stone insect. "Fortunately for you, an antidote does exist, and I can provide you with that antidote Mr Chan,"
"What's the catch?"
"An exchange of goods," Valmont said simply as a helicopter began to circle above them. "The cure to your affliction, for the Talismans at Section 13. Should you decide you're interested in my offer, you may rendezvous with my men at Coit Tower in exactly eleven hours and fifty two minutes… and don't forget the Talismans."
Valmont turned around to leave, and Jackie, filled with a growing sense of desperation as the full weight of his situation came crashing done on him, flung himself after Valmont, turning the other man around and rifling through all of his pockets. Valmont didn't move, only looked at Jackie as if to ask what the hell he was doing. But as his search came up with nothing, Jackie angrily looked into Valmont's face, not bothering to hide the fear that sank behind his eyes.
"Where is the antidote?!" he demanded.
"You think I'd be foolish enough to bring it with me?" Valmont sneered as he kicked Jackie away from him.
In his anger, Jackie launched himself at Valmont, doing his best to try and cause the man any kind of pain. Jackie still hadn't fully gotten over what Valmont did to Captain Black and Valerie, and this was just the perfect opportunity to release that anger. But just like at the gold reserve, Valmont matched Jackie move for move, the pair equal in skill and technique as Valmont calmly defended and didn't allow any blow to hit. They fought and struggled until Valmont managed to kick Jackie towards the ledge, where he wobbled precariously, and was about to fall when Valmont snatched out a hand to pull him back to safety.
"Ah-ah-ah! Need those Talismans…" he said in a sing-song voice.
Jackie kicked off his grip, growling as he once again leapt after Valmont and began to fight him, throwing punches and launching high kicks which Valmont blocked constantly. Jackie put on a burst of speed to his movement, catching the other man by surprise as he knocked his cane aside and grabbed his tie. He was about to punch him square in the face… when Jackie felt something very strange begin to happen to him: at first it was like a tingling, which then transformed into a roaring pain that made him squirm and contort… before one finger on his right hand turned to stone.
"Ah, so it begins…" Valmont's eyes glittered maliciously in the light of the setting sun. He kicked Jackie off of him, sending the man sprawling to the ground. Jackie tried to get up, but felt the breath knocked out of his lungs. "Time is a wasting, Mr Chan," he heard Valmont call above the roar of the helicopter. "And it's a two hour flight back to San Francisco!"
Jackie could then only watch helplessly as Valmont climbed into the aircraft and it took off, leaving Jackie all alone on the peak.
Valerie smiled as she walked up to the familiar antique store, a buzz entering her stomach as she knocked on the door politely. Quickly taking out a tissue and blowing her nose to try and clear her sinuses before she would meet her friends again. She felt a little foolish to be so happy to see her friends again, she was an adult now, not a child. But that didn't stop her from nearly bouncing at the prospect of chatting with Jade and talking with Jackie, to see what they had been up to recently, to hear all the latest gossip about magic talismans and secret government organisations. She knocked again, and waited on the doorstep. What she was met with however, was not what she expected.
Uncle opened the door, and instantly upon seeing each other, the two yelped in surprise.
"You?!" they both said in unison.
"What are you doing here?" Uncle demanded hotly. "I thought I fired you!"
"I thought YOU were supposed to be at Bingo!" Valerie snapped back with a croak.
"Bingo?! Uncle is not an ancient relic, he does not play Bingo!" he yelled.
"Oh… hey Valerie…" came a nervous voice, and both Uncle and Valerie turned to look over his shoulder to see Jade standing awkwardly behind Uncle, a huge and nervous grin on her face. "Nice of you to drop by…"
"Jade…" Valerie and Uncle said in a testy tone as they folded their arms.
"Okay!" Jade blurted. "I invited Val for dinner, so you two could make up and she could come back! But that's not gonna work now is it?! Maybe she can help?" Jade looked at Uncle with pleading eyes.
"Do not meddle in Uncle's affairs. And one more thing: she wouldn't know anything anyway!" Uncle snapped.
"Wait, what's going on?" Valerie asked Jade, wondering what could make the normally fearless girl sound so spooked.
"Val, we have a situation…" Jade murmured. "Do you know anything about ancient poisons?"
"We've covered a little in class, and if I don't know then history books will tell me," Valerie said with a small smile, wanting to make the girl the same smiling face of confidence she'd known.
"Good! Then you can come in and help!" Jade exclaimed as she shoved past Uncle and practically dragged Valerie into the shop.
"Poison is not normal, it is magic!" Uncle muttered as he closed the door a little too forcefully.
"Magic poison?" Valerie asked.
"Yes," came Jackie's sorrowful voice, and Valerie turned around to look at him where he sat in the corner, his head dropped and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Valmont lured me to Mount Rushmore, he poisoned me, and now… I'm turning to stone,"
"What? You got to be pulling my leg…" Valerie laughed nervously, her stomach sinking even as denial raced through her. "What, like a medusa effect?" she tried to joke it off, but realised that no one was laughing with her. Jackie then slowly held up his right hand, and Valerie yelped and leapt back in fright when she saw that one of his fingers was made completely of stone. "Oh my… this is real?!"
"Yes, and according to Valmont, it will affect the rest of me ten hours from now, the only antidote is with him. And he will only give it to me if I give him the Talismans," Jackie told her sadly.
"Then WE make a cure," Valerie said, suddenly finding a conviction in herself she hadn't known was there.
"That is what I am doing!" Uncle snapped defensively as he turned to stroll towards the backroom.
"Fine, then I will research it!" Valerie snapped at him bitterly.
"You? Work? Ha!" Uncle said forcefully. "You couldn't navigate those books! What do you call a blonde in a library? Lost!" Uncle laughed, and Valerie scowled at him.
"Why you –!"
"Enough you two!" Jackie scolded them, and they both went their separate ways in the back room, Uncle to his desk, and Valerie to the piles and shelves of books and began to sort through the many titles before her, plucking out one after the other into a neat pile of the books that looked promising.
"I will make an antidote, just you wait and see…" Uncle muttered under his breath.
"But Uncle, we don't know the formula," Jackie said hopelessly.
"Bah!" Uncle waved a hand dismissively as he reached for an egg-shaped object on one of his shelves. "Mine will be just as good," he looked at the thing in his fingers before handing it to Jackie. "Swallow,"
Jackie shrugged, before eating it in one gulp. Almost immediately, his eyes widened and he retched, cheeks bulging as he clamped a hand over his mouth, stomach rumbling its protests.
"That's the antidote?" Jade asked sceptically with a thumb pointed at Jackie's face.
"No." Uncle said simply. "Fomented beetle lava is good protein,"
Unable to hold it in a second longer, Jackie heaved once again as he turned and ran out of the backroom towards the bathroom.
"And that was so helpful for this situation," Valerie muttered.
"You hush up!" Uncle snapped at her, and Valerie stuck her tongue out at him in response.
Whilst Uncle was actually working on the antidote, Valerie reclined in a chair, drowning out all background noise as she patiently searched the indexes of her chosen books to try and see if there was anything useful. What she had always learned from her father, was that a good investigator always went to the past when trying to solve a mystery. Even if it be the victim's backstory, or if the way the victim died resembled something from mythology or history or religion, each could give vital clues to the nature of what you were dealing with. Valerie felt a wave of grief sweep through her at the very thought of her father, but she pressed on and blinked back the automatic tears, knowing she didn't have the time to sink into her usual silent hole whenever her thoughts turned to something like this.
So, she had first looked to history, as she always did; her own encyclopaedic knowledge lending her a bucket-full of information, such as famous poisons from arsenic to belladonna to cyanide. Whatever she couldn't remember off the top of her head, she read from her many history books, some from her bag others just plucked from Uncle's shelf. However, these might have told her the appliances of more widely used poisons, but none of them that could help in this situation. She even looked through some of the Chinese books in Uncle's collection (all in English, thankfully) and found some interesting pages on Chinese poisons; one that looked rather promising was the Gu poison. Apparently it was created by sealing several poisonous creatures away and allowing them to eat each other until the sole survivor had a concentration of toxins inside it, and then milking it for the poison. The poison could do a number of things apparently, both magical and practical, such as causing hallucinations, a painful death, creating diseases even. But unfortunately, there was not even one mention of turning someone to stone.
So she then turned to mythology, for this current problem did seem to have more of a basis in magic then in reality – Valerie had to correct that thought as she reminded herself that she had been proven wrong with the existence of these talismans and apparently demonic possession as well. She read up on many things, most obviously being the Gorgan sister Medusa, and then there was the basilisk, as well as the cockatrice, all three of which turned people to stone with a single look. And frustratingly yet again, there was nothing on poisons.
She looked over at Uncle and the others, who were all working over a glass beaker filled with a bubbling liquid that smelled rather bitter, even from where Valerie was sitting across the room. Uncle added a single drop of a liquid from a syringe to the potion, and Jade hastily handed it to Jackie.
"Drink," Uncle told him. Jackie looked a little nervous, but swallowed the potion. There was a few minutes of heavy silence as everyone waited for it to work, even Valerie. And then Jackie started to contort and squirm again, but not as if he were sick like before.
And then something happened that made everyone's jaw in the room drop. Valerie's eyes bulged as she stared. Jackie had just grown green scales! Everyone was still staring at him when he finally finished growing his new skin, and he looked around at their horror struck faces in confusion.
"What? What is it?" he asked.
"Nothing…" Uncle breathed, eyes wide. "D-don't look in the mirror!" he cried, but too late.
"ARGH!" Jackie screamed as he turned to look at the full length mirror that was standing right beside him, seeing himself in all his scaly glory.
"I told you not to look in the mirror!" Uncle yelled as he slapped a palm over his face.
"Argh! I am a lizard! I will become a stone lizard!" Jackie cried miserably as he clapped both hands over his face. But as he tried to pull his hands away, his fingers caught on his scales, ripping it away with the sound of tearing paper, revealing normal human skin underneath.
"See, reptiles shed their skin, no problem," Uncle said rather cheerily. Jackie scowled to himself as he began to rip at his scales in an attempt get them off.
"Urgh…" Jade said with a horrified look. "Did the antidote work?" she asked. Uncle didn't answer, only looked at her, before they turned back to look at Jackie who was pulling off the last of his skin on his hand and noticed that the stone didn't come off with it. He shrugged –
Suddenly, he began to contort and seemed to have a fit, and Valerie thought he was going to grow another layer of scaly skin. But instead, they all watched with growing dread as another of Jackie's fingers turned to stone.
"Guess not," Jade said miserably.
"Don't worry," Valerie murmured as she reached over to place a comforting hand on Jade's shoulder. "Uncle will find a way,"
"He would much faster if Valerie did her work and researched!" Uncle glared over his shoulder at them as he tapped away at Jackie's new stone finger curiously.
"I'm working on it!" she retorted.
"Well, maybe Captain Black could get the doctors at Section 13 to help," Jade murmured hopefully, desperately.
"Modern medicine has no power over ancient spells," Uncle told her. "I will make another antidote,"
As Uncle walked away to get back to his vials and pots of different brews and ingredients at his desk, Valerie saw Jade slump with defeat and misery. All at once, Valerie knew she hated seeing the girl look so depressed, she knew that hope was the one thing that keep the girl from despairing and start mourning her beloved uncle before he even left.
"Uncle's right, Jade," Valerie murmured to her softly as the girl looked at her with shining eyes. "Captain Black doesn't even believe in the magic talismans. The doctors won't know what to do. Our best hope is for Uncle to come through and make an antidote, and I have every faith in him,"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Uncle pause in his work for a moment, looking over his shoulder at them, before going back to his project silently.
An hour later, Valerie was still sitting in her chair with books piled around her, a dull headache throbbing in her temples as she tried to concentrate on the words on the page, even this late at night. A pit of despair was yawning ever wider within her chest the longer she carried on, but refused to let herself give up. She coughed as she felt a tickle at the back of her throat, her chest aching as she threatened to cough up a lung.
And yet, for all her researching it was no use, she had as of yet not come across any page that described Jackie's affliction or any way to stop it from getting worse. And Uncle's antidotes were not faring any better than the first. Eventually, Uncle needed room and Jackie was tired of the constant experiments and so had gone for a stroll not too long ago, Jade had gone with him, looking to be on the point of tears as she hurriedly followed him though he did not notice.
Valerie sighed, wishing she could –
Suddenly, Jade burst into the room, jogging over to Valerie and grabbing her hand as she pulled her up.
"Come on, Val! We got to go now!" she said as she tugged on the woman's arm.
"Jade? What are you –" Valerie squawked in alarm but was hushed when Jade winked at her.
"Did you forget again? Jackie wants you to babysit me tonight, what with all of Uncle's work. Come on, the car to Section 13 is waiting outside!" Jade made a tiny gesture with her head, eyes widening so Valerie could see the way the girl looked pointedly at the door.
Very confused yet unable to deny the young girl, Valerie allowed Jade to pull her along to the outside of the shop and climbed into the car that was waiting for them. They drove silently to Section 13, and Valerie kept on shooting glances at Jade, who didn't speak a word, appearing to be bored as she looked out the window. It wasn't until Valerie followed Jade through Section 13 all the way up to Jade and Jackie's room, when the child closed the door behind them, that Valerie raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously.
"Jade," she said in a low voice. "You have five seconds to tell me what the hell is going on,"
"You and I are going to save Jackie," the girl said in a voice just above a whisper.
"What? How are we going to do that?"
"By making the trade with the Dark Hand,"
"WHAT?!" Valerie half shrieked, before Jade jumped up and clamped a hand over her mouth. Jade's eyes were wide and pleading and panicked, as if she feared the whole of Section 13's agents would be upon them. But it was only after a moment when only silence rained down on them that Jade sighed in relief and let go. "Jade!" Valerie hissed in a whisper. "What on earth are you talking about?! We can't give the Dark Hand the Talismans!"
"We have to Valerie," Jade pleaded quietly, her eyes bright and shining again. "Valmont's the only one with a working antidote –"
"Or so he claims," Valerie added.
"But that's more of a shot then what Uncle's doing! Uncle's antidote might not be ready in time, and Jackie's gonna be a statue unless we do something!"
"Jade… don't you remember what happened when Valmont had the Dragon Talisman? Or when your body was possessed?" Valerie said softly, trying to make Jade understand. "Think of what could happen if the Dark Hand got hold of all the others,"
"And think of what would happen if Jackie turned to stone completely!" the girl said passionately. "He'll die! I can't let that happen! Val, he's your friend, can't we at least try to save him?"
Valerie thought about it for a moment. She thought about the bruises she had suffered when Valmont had attacked her, the fear of that much power wielded by a bad person was something truly terrifying to behold. She still hadn't told Jackie or Captain Black of Valmont's office since she'd learned that Valmont knew where she lived and was close to ordering her assassination. She'd been scared out of her wits – and she still was – but she'd still done all she could to help Jackie from the Dark Hand snatching the other talismans. Would that work all be for nothing now? But what of Jackie? He was her friend, absolutely, and would it be cowardice to stick to Uncle's methods that could very well come too late? Or was it murder to have Jackie die when he became a full statue? The thought of letting Jackie die made her feel queasy, and she knew she couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't for her.
"Fine," she sighed in defeat. "What do we do?"
"Yes!" Jade beamed. "They finished building the Vault, so all of the Talismans are now stored there: heavily guarded and almost impenetrable!"
"So how are we going to get them all out?" Valerie asked sceptically.
"Leave that to me," Jade smirked. "You just meet me at the Vault in five minutes!" Jade made to run past her, but Valerie quickly snatched at the girl's shoulder, forcing her to look at the older woman.
"Whoa, wait!" she murmured. "You do realise that this is the Dark Hand? They will try to double cross us,"
"I'm hoping it won't come to that," Jade muttered. "Give them the talismans, then they give us the antidote. Simple."
"I don't think so… we need a backup plan, just in case," Valerie said as she eyed the first aid kit on the wall. "Do you still have that orange pop you like?" she asked the girl suddenly.
"Yeah in the fridge, why?"
"Just in case,"
It was approaching six o'clock in the morning when Valerie and Jade made their way to the old tower, climbing the many stairs as they made their way towards the top. Valerie was in the lead, a cricket bat held firmly in her hands – her new replacement for her baseball bat since it had been blasted apart by Valmont. Her pockets bulged with a syringe and a small can of orange soda; she hoped for a plan b, that she could fake the look of a poison with the soda. Jade came up behind her carrying the bag filled with all the talismans that they had collected so far. Valerie still didn't know how the little girl had managed to pull it off, according to her the vault had been sealed with a key card, passcode and laser sensors, and yet somehow Jade had managed to get them all with not a scratch. Valerie didn't know if that was a point to Jade or a minus point to Section 13 that a child could beat their security system.
They were approaching the top, when they could hear the voice of the enforcers, who all sounded miserable and as sick as Valerie.
"Valmont had to pick the draughtiest place in town," Valerie heard Finn shiver.
"Should've called in sick," Ratso mumbled. "Can I borrow a tissue?"
"Alright you sicko's," Jade said as she and Valerie came to the top of the stairs, glaring at the enforcers in as menacing a show as they could muster as the enemy turned to look at them. "Let's get down to business,"
All of the enforcers burst into fits of laughter.
"Isn't it past your bedtime?" chuckled Finn.
"I'd listen to the girl if I were you," Valerie said in the most threatening voice she could muster despite the croak in her voice, striking her cricket bat against the ground so that it thudded loudly. The Dark Hand's laughter instantly died as they all glared at Valerie.
"Oh come on, where's Chan?" Ratso grumbled.
"Never mind him," Jade said, slipping off her rucksack from her shoulders as she carefully opened the bag to reveal the talismans within. "I've got everything you want right here… Well?" she prompted when the enforcers just stared at her, as if waiting for her to make the first move.
Valerie's eyes widened as a gigantic Japanese man brushed past the other enforcers in order to stand at the front of them as he radiated authority. He was ten feet away from them, but he was still so massive that his shadow still came close to falling over them. Valerie felt her heart skip a beat in fear as her knees shook with her resolve.
"Oh… my… Jade, you said nothing about taking on a giant," Valerie hissed to the girl beside her, not taking her eyes off of the giant man before them.
"I am Tohru," the man growled at her in a deep voice. "Now, the Talismans," he held out a hand demandingly.
"The antidote first!" Jade retorted as she pulled her bag behind her back protectively. Tohru glared at them both, and Valerie had to wet her parched lips as her nerves began to get to her, making her hands shake. The Japanese man help up a small vial of green liquid between his massive fingers. Jade looked at Valerie, who gave her a serious look, trying to get the hint across that this may be the double-cross they had talked about. "How do I know that antidote is the real deal?" Jade asked testily.
"What choice do you have?" Finn sneered.
"You want the talismans? Then prove it," Valerie glared at the man, who faltered.
Tohru remained silent, even as he opened his palm to reveal a tiny stone bug in his palm. He opened the vial, and poured only a single drop onto it. Instantly, the bug shed its stone skin and came alive once more, buzzing around the room frantically before flying into the open air outside. Valerie still had her mouth open in amazement as Jade turned back to Tohru.
"That'll work," she muttered.
"AAACCHHOOO!" Tohru bellowed as he sneezed, snot and spit going everywhere.
"Bless you," Valerie muttered with a slightly disgusted look on her face.
"Thanks," Tohru mumbled, before regaining his self-control and glaring at the pair before him. "Now, the Talismans,"
Valerie escorted Jade closer, fingers twitching to tighten her grip on the cricket bat as they came closer to the hulking man. Both he and Jade held out their respective offerings, Talismans and antidote about to be switched carers, when Valerie saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She tensed, automatically thinking it was a Dark Hand set up, but was astonished to see Jackie racing to the top of the stairs, and turning to look at her and Jade with fear.
"JADE! DON'T!" He yelled. Jade gasped and she and Tohru looked over at Jackie as they noticed him enter for the first time – just as Jackie's nose turned to stone.
"I have to Jackie," Jade told him miserably. "You're running out of time,"
Valerie only saw it because she looked over at the girl with such pity and sympathy, that she was able to see the glint in Tohru's eyes, the little flicker before his muscles tensed and he lunged. Valerie gave a wordless shriek of terror as she launched herself forward and grabbed the back of Jade's orange hoodie and wrenched her back towards her. The giant managed to miss snatching up the little girl as Valerie threw them backwards towards safety, but his hand did manage to snag on the rucksack, and he pulled it from Jade's grasp with a hint of triumph.
"Thank you," he smirked.
"No!" Jackie yelled as he ran forward, but tripped and fell as his whole leg turned to stone. The enforcers all cackled with laughter, that all developed into hacking coughs and wheezes. Valerie released Jade as the girl ran to her Uncle's side, a look of absolute terror and desperation in her little face. Valerie was slower to get up as she looked at the enforcers with absolute hate. She reached into her back pocket slowly, so as not to be noticed, her heart beating at a million miles an hour as she doubted for a brief moment whether her plan would work. But then she looked over at Jackie, and his stone leg, an new idea forming in her mind… She made her way over to Jackie and Jade, helping Jackie to stand as she supported him, watching Tohru carefully as he counted up the Talismans in the bag, eyes widening slightly after a moment before he turned to glare at Jackie and Jade.
"One is missing!" he growled angrily.
"No way!" Jade shook her head in obvious denial. "I cleared out the vault – oops!" she clamped her hands over her mouth as she turned with wide eyes to Valerie. "I forgot the horse one at Uncle's!" she whispered in horror, before turning back to Tohru with pleading eyes. "Erm, if you give me the antidote, I really for sure promise to get you the other one! Scouts honour?" she mumbled.
"Like she's a scout," Finn scoffed.
Tohru held out the antidote at arm's length, a merciless look on his face as he –
"WAIT!" Valerie's voice rang out through the room, causing everyone to pause and look at her expectantly. Without thinking, Valerie snatched out the needle from her back pocket and before he could do anything, Valerie struck it into Jackie's arm.
"OW!" Jackie yelped.
"Sorry," she whispered as she pulled on the plunger, withdrawing some blood into the syringe as she pulled out the needle and hastily stepped back from Jackie so that she was out of reach of everyone and held up the needle, resting the tip against her jugular, her heartbeat racing at a million miles an hour with fear at the threat resting upon her throat. "Give the girl the antidote. Now." She ordered.
"What is she doing?" Chow asked in a bored tone. Valerie tried to steel herself as her resolve faltered; she had to gain control of the situation, or she, Jade and certainly Jackie were doomed!
"In this syringe is Jackie's blood which is intoxicated with the venom Valmont placed in him," Valerie said, her voice trying to sound calm and deadly, though it came off as angry and pleading like a child begging for a toy. "I'm gonna take a guess that the molecules of the toxin reach a certain maturity after a length of time in their host. So I'm guessing that seeing as Jackie is at the near fatal stage, should I inject it into me, then it will put me at the same stage as Jackie, correct?"
The uneasy silence was her answer.
"Thought so," she muttered. "If you don't hand over that antidote, then I'll-I'll…" she faltered slightly, trying to swallow past the sudden lump in her throat. "I'll inject this into me and become a statue like Jackie,"
"And… why should we care?" Finn shrugged.
"Listen! I know that I'm valuable to SOMEONE you work for!" she cried desperately, trying to use anything and everything she could to make this work, trying to repress a sickly cough. "Someone who doesn't want me to end up as a rock! So why don't you phone your boss, see what he says when you tell him,"
All the enforcers looked at each other uneasily.
"Do it," Tohru growled. Jumping, Finn quickly brought out his phone and punched in a number. Valerie could feel Jackie and Jade's eyes upon her but she did her best to ignore them, keeping the needle pressed against her vein though not piercing the skin.
"Err, Big V," Finn said nervously to the camera on his video call. "We kind of have a situation…"
"Do you have the Talismans?" came the voice of Valmont.
"Yeah, and the antidote… but their driving a threat if we don't give it to them…" Finn said uneasily.
"What could they possibly do? If you have the talismans and the antidote, then they have nothing left to bargain with!" Valmont growled out angrily, and slowly, Finn turned the phone so that the screen was facing Valerie. She couldn't see the screen clearly, but she thought she saw the fuzzy outline of Valmont behind his desk on the screen as he looked at her: standing alone with the needle pressed against her throat.
"That's Chan's toxic blood in the –" Finn went on to explain, but all of a sudden, an unearthly screech blasted from the speakers of the phone, so loud that the sound actually began to distort.
"STOP HER YOU FOOLS!" came a raspy yet screeching voice that screamed so loudly with anger and outrage that Valerie had to wince when her poor eardrums protested.
It all happened so fast that Valerie was unable to stop it. As she winced from the awful sound, Tohru pocketed the antidote, threw the bag of talismans at Chow and came charging across the space between them towards her with a furious snarl – much faster then she would have anticipated, considering the weight of a man his size. Valerie just had enough time to screech as she twisted away from Tohru, but his arms came around her and snagged at her waist, hoisting her up into the air and pressing her against him in an unforgiving bear-hug that threatened to crush her ribs.
"Let her go!" cried Jade as she ran up to Tohru and began to try and kick and jump at him, though her efforts were like that of an annoying fly compared to the big brute as he stoically ignored her. Valerie kicked and struggled, trying to at least free her arm as she tried to defy her captor. She saw Jackie try to hobble his way over, but Finn, Ratso and Chow came running at him with sickly grins on their faces.
"Jackie!" Valerie yelped out a warning.
Jackie turned in time to see Chow reach him first, aiming a punch for his ribs. There was a loud "CLUNK" sound, and Chow suddenly recoiled, clutching his hand as he yelped in agony. Jackie gave a confused frown as he lifted up the corner of his sweater, revealing that his whole torso had been turned to stone. Valerie felt sick as she could count the seconds ticking by. Her terror and desperation made her struggles all the more frantic.
Finn, Chow and Ratso tried to rush Jackie at once, but he used his stone leg for balance as he quickly punched Chow in the jaw, sending the man back, dazed, whilst he pivoted and kicked Finn into the air as he then grabbed him and sent him flying head over heels. Jackie managed to back Ratso against a wall as he shuffled after the man, but just as he was swinging, Valerie watched his arm turn to stone, smashing a hole into the wall as Ratso ducked.
"Ow! Ow… Err," Jackie paused as he looked at his new stone fist. "Actually that doesn't hurt at all," he mused.
"Put her down you big bully!" Jade cried, making Valerie look down in panic to see the little girl climbing up Tohru's leg. The big man gave a grunt of annoyance, but shook his leg. Jade screeched as she tried to hold on, but was shook loose and was sent flying across the room, tumbling and rolling on the floor with a groan.
"Jade!" Valerie screeched.
"Jackie!" came the sound of a familiar voice, and all heads turned for a fraction of a second to the stairs. Valerie felt her heart leap for joy as she beheld the sight of Uncle.
"Uncle!" Jade cheered happily.
"You found the antidote?" Jackie grinned hopefully as he sent Finn flying with a punch from his stone hand.
"No," Uncle slumped before fishing something out of his pocket. "But I brought the horse talisman to trade for their antidote," he smiled.
Valerie's heart sank. Both Jade and Jackie groaned in unison.
"One MORE thing," Uncle said a little cheerily. "I also brought the antidotes that did not work, maybe if I mix them together…"
"GET IT!" Tohru roared.
"AIIEEEYYYAAA!" Uncle screeched as Ratso plucked the talisman from his hands. And then, he promptly sneezed on it, Valerie thought she saw the Talisman begin to light up, and her stomach twisted with fear at what power it might grant –
"Gesundheit," Jade said as she jumped into the air and plucked it straight from Ratso's hands. before he could grab her, she quickly threw it into the air to Jackie, who caught it deftly in one hand.
"The Dark Hand will never have all twelve –" he stopped as convulsions suddenly seized him, and Valerie felt Tohru chuckle as he squeezed her. Valerie, Jade and Uncle all watched in horror as slowly, from the toes up, Jackie completely turned to stone.
"NO!" Jade screamed, tears in her eyes.
"A dollar says his hand'll snap right off," Ratso grinned.
"Deal!" the others chimed as they raced towards the new statue man.
"You stay away from him!" the girl cried furiously, tears pouring down her face as she stood protectively in front of her Uncle.
"TWO more things…" Uncle said angrily from behind the enforcers, who turned to look at the old man curiously.
Uncle poured the beaker of one of his "antidotes" onto Ratso and Finn, instantly turning them into scaly men. The men coughed from the stinking scent, backing up from him as they wiped at their eyes. But then, they turned to face each other, and screamed at what they saw, running away from the other… straight into a stone column, knocking them both out. At the same time, Chow tried to charge Uncle, who produced a sprayer, and blasted the man into the air with a small explosion and a flash of flame. Chow collapsed where he fell, the bag of Talismans falling from his pocket.
But Valerie couldn't concentrate on any of it. She was in shock, denial racing through her brain; she couldn't believe it… Jackie… was dead?
No! She thought furiously as tears burned in her eyes. She refused to believe it! Jackie was always so good and loving and wonderful, there had to be a way to save him, there had to be! Desperately, furiously, Valerie looked back at Tohru, who was watching Jackie with a sick grin that would probably haunt her nightmares for weeks, but he wasn't paying attention to her… and his neck was very exposed.
Taking her first impulse, Valerie sank her teeth into Tohru's neck.
The big man screamed as she bit him with as much force as she could muster, sinking her teeth into his flesh until she could taste blood bubbling into her mouth, making her feel sick as her stomach flipped in revulsion. The initial shock of the pain was the only opportunity she had, as Tohru flinched, his arms relaxing their hold only slightly, not completely letting her go, but just enough for her to wriggle one arm free and press the point of the needle to the side of his head. Tohru instantly froze, and Valerie unhooked her teeth from his neck as she glared at him.
"Put me down and give me the antidote," she growled furiously, with more emotional despair then anger, but she didn't care. "Or I will turn you into that," she gestured over to Jackie's statue.
Ever so slowly, making no sudden moves, Tohru gently placed her on the ground, unhooking his arms even though Valerie kept the needle pressed against the side of his face.
"Now, the antidote," she prompted, and Tohru faithfully produced the little green vial from his pocket and Valerie plucked it from him. "Jade!" she called as she threw it to the girl, who caught it and quickly poured the entire thing on Jackie's stone face.
There was a long moment where everyone held their breath; a soft cracking sound could be heard, like the breaking of ice. Everyone: Valerie, Jade, Uncle and even Tohru all watched in quiet fascination and apprehension as they saw the greyness in the statue's skin begin to fade, and all thoughts in Valerie's mind were all centred on the one question: was he still alive? Even with the antidote, would he simply collapse on the floor in front of them? She remembered the insect Tohru had showed them, but was it the same? She watched, unable to look away as the colour slowly returned to Jackie's body…
And he gasped. Valerie could have wept for joy, as she saw him take in a huge breath, a tentative smile spreading across his usual goofy face as he wiggled his fingers experimentally. Valerie beamed, Jade as well, Uncle smiled fondly and Jackie grinned at them all.
"Hey!" Jackie said cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear. But then, his eyes locked on Toru, who was still hunched over with Valerie pressing the needle against the side of his face. His expression darkened into something fierce as he held up his fist into a battle stance. "Hey."
Jackie leapt into the air, yelling a battle cry as he aimed a flying kick straight for Tohru. Valerie yelped as she had only just enough time to throw herself out of the way as Jackie hit Tohru so hard he was sent recoiling backwards, and teetered on the edge of the stairs. He wobbled, arms wind milling in an attempt to keep his balance, but didn't keep it. The giant man fell backwards, folding into a ball as he fell down the long spiralling stairs, grunting with pain as he went down, down, down, like a bowling ball all the way to the bottom. A loud crash echoed up from the bottom of the tower to say that Tohru was done for, at least for now.
"Jackie!" Jade cried happily, leaping onto her uncle and wrapping her arms around him.
"The cure was obtained by using the affliction… hmm, sounds like a Chinese proverb," Uncle mused aloud as he came up to Jackie with the bag of Talismans.
Jackie then looked over at Valerie, who was standing off to the side, feeling overjoyed and yet rather awkward at the same time, as if she were intruding on the family moment. Her eyes met Jackie's, and in them, he saw her fear, anxiety, and yet she was still here. He smiled at her, and came over to her, his eyes never leaving hers as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest in a brotherly embrace. Valerie squeaked in surprise, taken aback by the contact, but only after a moment's hesitation did she return the hug, wrapping her arms around his chest as she put her cheek against his shoulder comfortingly, allowing all the stress of the night to wash out of her.
"Thank you," Jackie murmured to her softly. "For everything,"
"What are friends for?" Valerie murmured into his shoulder.
"No, I mean it," Jackie said as he pulled back and held her at arm's length by her shoulders. "You are a good friend, Valerie,"
"Thanks," she whispered, trying to ignore the tears that stung her eyes.
"Yes…" came Uncle's slow murmur, and both Jackie and Valerie turned to see the old man coming close. Valerie folded her arms, beginning to feel awkward again as she shuffled her feet and looked at the floor. "Valerie," Uncle said to her, his tone like that of a parent who expected to be looked at when listened to; and slowly, Valerie made her eyes meet his. "I may be old and stubborn, but even I can see something for what it is worth. You risked your life for my family. And I realise that things are not the same with you gone,"
"Wait…" Valerie croaked, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. "Are you giving me my job back?"
"Of course I am, shop is getting dirty!" Uncle yelled, though there was a slight grin on his face. "And… I am sorry," he added softly.
"Me too," she whispered as she placed a comforting hand on the old man's shoulder. "But can I have today off? Because I'm shattered,"
They all chuckled warmly.
"So, what do you reckon this little baby does?" Jade asked as she flipped the horse talisman in her fingers.
"Don't know," Valerie said as she plucked the talisman out of the air, mid flip, and held it up to her face to look at the inscriptions on the back, sniffing past her blocked nose. "Maybe it's one we're not meant to –"
Her words were cut off, when the talisman suddenly lit up, blinding Valerie for a moment as she ducked her head away, feeling a sense of warmth spread through her from her fingers, as a rush of energy filled her up. And then, just as quickly, the light faded, as did the feeling of power inside of her. Valerie looked over herself and in the area around her: she wasn't glowing, there was no sign of destruction nor that anything had changed. The others were looking at her expectantly, but she breathed a mystified sigh as she –
Breathed. She breathed… clearly?
"Hey…" she said slowly, and then realised that her voice was clear. She took in more deep breaths, but there was no rattle in her lungs, no need to cough her guts up. "My cold is gone!" she grinned.
"What?" Jackie and Jade frowned.
"Yeah, it's suddenly gone… like magic," she slowly looked down to look at the talisman in her fingers, a sense of fascination dawning within her.
"'The noble horse expels all alien forces within…'" Uncle murmured thoughtfully.
"It doesn't mean alien forces in the talisman," Jade said, clearly on the same thought. "It meant the alien forces in the person holding the talisman!"
"The horse is a healing talisman!" Uncle said with a growing grin.
"Cool little first aid kit," Valerie grinned.
"Now," Jackie said as he turned to give a look to Jade. "We have some talismans to return,"
"I've got some explaining to do, huh…" Jade murmured, looking at the floor guiltily.
"We'll just tell Captain Black," Jackie told her with an affectionate smile. "That we were between a rock and a hard place," he laughed at his own joke, though Jade did not look impressed.
Why was Shendu even surprised this time at the Dark Hand's failure? All they had had to do was exchange a potion for a bag of Talismans, how was that so difficult? How could they make such a mess out of something so simple? But then of course, he knew his answer: not only were the Dark Hand outrageously incompetent, but it seemed that they had underestimated his enemies.
Namely, his Other.
Shendu couldn't fathom how he had lost control of himself when Valmont had been on the video call to his enforcers. Upon seeing the threat of Valerie turning herself to stone, he couldn't describe the torrent of emotion that had blasted through him; he'd panicked and risked revealing himself to Chan and the others, but he didn't care. If Valerie died, he would lose a great deal of potential power, something he could not afford. He hadn't needed it before, he could still conquer this world without her, but now that that power was on offer for him to take, he couldn't deny his need to have it. It was almost rather worrying at the feeling of being completed, and yet not, they were not properly connected as of yet, therefore he could only have that power when she touched him. But how to make it permanent?
Shendu was also rather impressed, for Valerie had shown herself to be a rather resourceful woman. Not to mention brave, intelligent and loyal. He was rather proud that his Other was such a capable one, not completely pointless as he'd found most humans to be.
Yet the demon had to admit, she was getting in the way of his plans. The Chinese New Year was only a month away, and Shendu needed to be free before then. So sooner or later he would need to collect his new property, so that she was out of the way of his plans, and yet close at hand to give him that power he so desired. But now, he was brought back to his earlier question: how to bind her to him in order to have that power no matter how far apart they were? The simple answer was a binding spell, that way they were connected and Shendu could lock her away where she would be safe from harm but out of his way… but for some reason that thought didn't sit well with him. So what to do now?
Author's Note: So I hope everyone enjoyed the latest Chapter! As you can see, I do change things slightly, I want my OC to have some impact on the story. ;) The next chapter you're going to have to wait for as these 5 chapters were already written up but now I need to continue to write up the next chapters. But hopefully the next update will be very soon!
A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, your support means a lot to me! And don't forget to review this chapter as well!