To Move Mountains
Shendu watched with growing impatience as they tried to open the Pan'ku box. It had been too obvious to open it the more conventional way, but the Dark Hand thugs had tried almost everything they could to crack the blue contraption open. They'd used saws, hammers, grinders, axes, tile-cutters, even lock picks when they thought it was in need of a key. But so far the box remained impervious to any damage, the magic inside of it preventing it from coming to harm or giving up its secrets before it was opened the right way. They were now using a power-drill, the Pan'ku box held in a vice on the table whilst Ratso used the drill in an attempt to break the box's shell, sparks flying and casting shadows on all of them as they watched. Shendu waited with arms folded, drumming his fingers against his arm to try and hold in his impatience.
"Whoa!" Ratso exclaimed in shock when his arm suddenly jarred. He held up the drill as he stopped it, to reveal it had broken in half where he had been pushing against it so hard.
"Not even a scratch Big V –" Finn said as he looked at the still pristine blue diamond shaped box. Shendu glared at him, and seeing the red eyes in the human body, Finn quickly corrected his mistake. "I mean, err… Shendu, sir,"
"Try harder," Shendu hissed out, his impatience evident in his voice. "The Pan'ku box must be opened."
"CHARGING RHINO CRACKS WALNUT!" Hak Foo shouted as he leapt into the air and brought his head with all the force he could muster onto the Pan'ku box. When the human lifted his head, Shendu was marginally surprised to see that the human still had his skull intact, though he now had an imprinted mark of the box's top and first four trigrams on his forehead. Chow came forward nervously, lifting the Pan'ku box from the now destroyed vice, and ran his fingers along its edges, as if searching for a catch.
"Err… open sesame?" he tried.
Shendu hissed as he suddenly stiffened, feeling Valmont struggle with him for control, and forcing him to be pushed to the back of the conscious mind as the human took control, much to Shendu's ire. He could only mutter to himself at the stubbornness of his host who refused to simply sleep through his possession and let Shendu have complete control. Shendu blamed his own rotten luck for giving him such an uncooperative host.
"What an absurd waste of time!" Valmont snapped angrily as he turned on his heel as if to walk out of the fish cannery. "Cheery-O!"
Not willing to let Valmont ruin things for him, Shendu forcibly took control of the body before Valmont could take another step. It was not a painless transaction, he made sure of it, as Valmont doubled over and tried to fight him, Shendu easily won out as he brought the body back under his control once again.
"Need I remind you Valmont…" Shendu smirked as he straightened himself. He then flipped himself backwards through the air, going higher than any human possibly could and landing in a crouch without making a sound, not hurting a single muscle in his body with the move. Shendu stood, feeling he'd made his point clear though he had to rub it in to the mortal's face as he came up to the large freezer in the room, where Valmont could see Shendu's head over his own reflection. "That it is I who holds controlling interest in this partnership," he spat. "And the sooner we find the portals and release my demon brethren, the sooner you will have your pathetic body to yourself."
"The sooner, the better." Valmont hissed as he momentarily fought for control to snap back at Shendu. "I find it completely horrifying for you to use my body to kiss women you want in the meantime."
"What of it?" Shendu snapped as he wrestled back control.
"Apart from the fact that it is completely disgusting that you would find anything remotely attractive in a girl centuries younger then you?" Valmont pointed out, looking at the reflection in the side of the freezer as if he were talking to a physical body.
"Wait, what?" Finn spluttered as he and the others were suddenly brought into the conversation with curious and shocked glances at each other.
"Oh yes, what on earth is wrong with that?" Valmont continued sarcastically. "Not to mention the fact that you are a demon, using my body to put the moves on that insufferable girl."
"You were not in control at the time, therefore it was not you who was kissing her,"
"I am still aware of it! And it's disgusting!"
"I would have to disagree on that…" Shendu smirked smugly at the memory.
"You're revolting…" Valmont muttered. "And besides Shendu, I thought you would have more taste then to go for the plain-Jane type. I honestly don't know what you see in that boring and meddlesome girl,"
"Valerie is my Other," Shendu hissed at Valmont. "And as such is of value to me. I cannot have her in this current state, but this body makes me more compatible with her, and that will suffice for the time being. Rest assured Valmont, you will not touch her. I on the other hand…"
"Whoa, wait!" Finn choked as he looked at the others in shock. "Are we talking about the Payne girl? Well… this just got freaky…"
"Have I mentioned how much I despise you?" Valmont muttered to the reflection.
"I heard that!" Shendu snapped. "And think of it this way, Valmont, the sooner my quest is complete, the sooner I will be gone from your body and you will not have to intrude upon my business a second longer."
"Well… then there's only one thing for it…" Valmont muttered with determination as he marched up to Chow and snatched the box out of his hands, trying his best to wrench it open. "Go! Open already – Argh!" He cried out as the Pan'ku box suddenly hissed and spat out green lightning that burned at Valmont's hands. Immediately, he dropped the box, rubbing his singed hands tenderly. Shendu had felt the pain more, the magical energy had struck Valmont but had seared through him to the core where Shendu lay. Irritated by the human's foolishness, Shendu pushed his way back to the forefront of the mind.
"Remember… I cannot touch good magic." Shendu spoke slowly as if he were speaking to a simpleton. He felt Valmont take control over the body once more, and kicked out at the fallen Pan'ku box in frustration. It banged against the wall loudly before clattering to the floor, though Valmont turned away from it to see to his still aching hands.
"Err… Shendude!" Finn said worriedly as he pointed to where the box had gone. Normally Shendu hated that disrespectful nickname, but he chose to ignore it in favour of interest when he saw what Finn was pointing at. The Pan'ku box levitated in the air, eye level with all of them, and right before their eyes, the box began to rearrange itself, different parts of it twisting and flipping whilst still maintaining its own shape.
"Hey… it aint no box… it's a puzzle!" Ratso exclaimed excitedly.
Suddenly, bright green light blinded them all as a section of the box lifted to reveal its core of magic which projected a beam of light onto the closest wall. Shendu looked at the picture that was displayed for them, recognising the formation as a map. It showed a landmass surrounded by water, the trigram for the mountain demon in the corner, and over the map was ancient Chinese text as if it were directions.
"Ahhh… the map to the first portal!" Shendu grinned, finally making progress with his quest, his excitement filling him as he stalked closer to the map.
"Err… It says…" Chow said slowly as he pointed to one of the lines of ancient text, slowly speaking as he deciphered it, though Shendu had already translated it in his own head and memorised it. "We gotta find 'That which runs but never walks… to the mouth which never talks…'"
"A puzzle with a riddle!" Ratso was grinning, almost bouncing with excitement.
"At last," Shendu muttered with a dark grin. "The demon sorcerers will return and walk the earth, casting their shadow upon all human –"
He was suddenly cut off as another bright flash of green light lit the room before fading away just as quickly. Shendu spun around just in time to see the map disappear and the Pan'ku box slowly lower itself to the ground, closing its opening. The trigram for the mountain suddenly shot up until it was sticking out from the top of it like the teeth of a key. They all gathered around the box, which remained lifeless and unhelpful to their confusion. Shendu would have growled in frustration, but felt Valmont clamber into control as he stared at the others desperately.
"Tell me someone wrote that down!" he said, looking to the others, who cast their eyes to the floor sheepishly. "Anyone?"
"Uncle, please slow down," Jackie said soothingly as he watched the old man go back and forth across the backroom, hefting the weirdest sounding potion ingredients Valerie had ever heard, from beetle feet to lions tail. Valerie also watched Uncle from where she was stood on the steps leaning against the bookshelf, Tohru standing beside her as he handed her the books she needed. Since returning from Tibet, Valerie had made it her mission to sort out Uncle's books in a coherent order, much to the old man's horror and frustration. In truth, it was also just to take her mind off of a certain something. Or someone.
Since Shendu had kissed her, Valerie knew that she couldn't keep the knowledge of her and Shendu's connection secret for long. The guilt inside of her, the burning need to tell, was gnawing at her bones. Her stomach twisted and many times now, she had opened her mouth and attempted to say something, but the words died in her throat. After all, how could one come out and say that a demon wanted to bind her soul to his so that he could have crazy power? Yeah. She could just imagine how well that conversation would go. So she threw herself into her work, keeping her mind busy with cataloguing books at the shop as she finished completing Uncle's bookshelves and writing history essays for the university.
"You so need to chill," Valerie heard Jade grumble, but was quickly silenced when Jackie tried to smother her, but too late.
"If I chill, demon sorcerers will be dancing upon all our graves!" Uncle said hurriedly as he continued to go back and forth, picking up bits and pieces and dumping them in specific corners. "I must research the proper Chi Spells to seal the seven portals. All needed ingredients must be on hand and ready!"
"Not that one!" Valerie suddenly exclaimed as she jumped down from the top of the steps in front of Uncle, who had picked up a book from one of her piles. She plucked the book out of his hands with a stern look on her face. "You can't have this one,"
"Aiya!" he shouted. "That is a book I will need if I am to research the eight immortals!"
"Then you can have it once it has been put in its proper place: with others in the section of ancient beings." Valerie said as she walked past him.
"This is my shop! You cannot just rearrange everything in it!" the old man shouted furiously.
"I believe that Valerie is organising the books well… especially after –" Tohru tried to say, his voice small and humbled, but was silenced by Uncle's scathing glare.
"Who asked you?!" he snapped.
"Uncle," Valerie scolded. "You can have your book back as soon as it is put in its proper place. I don't want it getting mixed up with the others." She said as she placed the book on the shelf in front of her. Her fingers had only just left the cover, when Uncle suddenly reached up and snatched the book back off the shelf.
"Good. Thank you." He said quickly as he strolled across the room smugly. Valerie growled in frustration.
"Tohru," she said, doing her best to be calm and not snap at the large man. "Why don't you finish off this shelf whilst I get the next load?"
"Of course," Tohru nodded.
"Uncle," Jackie said as Uncle came walking past him with jars of animal body parts that Valerie really didn't want to know the name of. "At least let me help,"
Uncle suddenly spun on his heel to face Jackie, snatching at his ear in order to pull him down to his level. Jackie squirmed at the pinching pain.
"Do you know about magic?!" Uncle demanded. "I was apprentice to Chi Master Fong for FIFTEEN YEARS!" he shouted, before walking away, leaving Jackie with a dazed look as he put a finger in his to clear it of what Valerie was sure was a sudden ringing noise.
CRASH! Valerie spun in time to see Tohru – who had climbed onto the steps that she had vacated to put the books on the shelf – suddenly have the stairs crack and break underneath him. He cried out in alarm as he fell to the ground in a heavy heap, knowing Uncle over as he did so. Valerie, Jackie and Jade came rushing over to help them, to find Uncle alright as he picked himself back up.
"Perhaps it is time for me to train an apprentice of my own…" Uncle sighed to himself.
"What… wizard training like Hogwarts?" Valerie shared a hidden grin with Jade.
"Do not be ridiculous! That is a load of garbage!" Uncle snapped, causing Valerie to quickly snap her mouth shut. But she noticed the very excited look in Jade's eyes. Uncle then began to pace, thinking aloud as he spoke: "Someone of sound judgement, whom I can trust with my Chi knowledge…"
"Me! Me! Me!" Jade said excitedly as she ran forward. "I'll put some focus in your hocus!"
"What about Tohru?" Valerie asked.
"WHAT?!" Jade cried as she whirled on the woman. "Val! You sold me out? You broke the girl code!"
"What?" Valerie asked innocently. "Tohru has good judgement, is good tempered, and he and Uncle already work well together as a master and student. And you are a little girl."
"Why not volunteer yourself?"
"Because I have already had enough of magic. I do not want anymore." Valerie muttered, thinking of the magic she had seen and felt when Shendu had kidnapped her.
"Tohru it is!" Uncle exclaimed.
"Huh?" Tohru asked, eyes wide and jaw dropping in shock.
"Don't worry big guy," Valerie said as she patted his back. "You'll be fine." She offered a small smile, but the sumo did not return it as he looked at Uncle nervously. Valerie then turned and saw Jackie, a sudden urge coming over her. "Hey Jackie,"
"Yes Valerie?" he asked as she approached him. Valerie steeled herself, wondering if now was the time to say something. She had thought it over in her mind, and realised that Jackie would be the best one to tell, as he wouldn't shout at her like Uncle would, but she was also nervous about telling him, for he would undoubtedly be disgusted and horrified and worried. She opened her mouth, letting her practised words come to mind… but could not voice them. They got stuck in her throat, and she quickly panicked as Jackie looked at her expectantly.
"I want you to teach me martial arts." She said quickly.
"What?" Jackie asked in surprise, and Valerie inwardly kicked herself for taking the cowardly root. Again.
"W-with everything that has been happening, I can't defend myself as easily as everyone else, and I want to learn. After Valmont, and Shendu and then this demon business…" she trailed off, wondering if now was a good time to say the truth, but the words still would not come, so she carried on. "I figured it would be a good time to learn. I know you give Jade lessons. You don't have to worry about teaching me the complex stuff, just the basics will do."
"Are you sure?" Jackie asked, looking at her with concern, the same way a parent would if they were trying to find the real truth.
"Yes. I've already played the victim once, I plan to make it a little harder for them next time," she said, truth in her words.
"Okay," Jackie said softly. "As long as you're sure. We'll start tomorrow,"
"Great." Valerie forced a smile as Jackie passed her, patting her on the back. She sighed growling at herself in frustration. This was going to be much harder then she thought…
"It won't budge…" Ratso said between his teeth as he struggled to turn the sides Pan'ku box in any way possible. But it remained strong and unyielding, the trigram sticking out from the top and the box solid.
"Clearly the box's way of telling us we must find the first portal before proceeding to the next," Shendu theorised aloud to the others as they all gathered in the Cannery's office. Shendu stopped his pacing, thinking with his hands behind his back, when Hak Foo entered, holding a globe of the world in his hands. The large man offered it to Shendu, who looked it over quizzically. "Well, if our recollection of the directions are accurate…" Shendu murmured as he placed his hand on the globe and spun, watching in whirl around and around until all of the land masses became a blur, but Shendu's superior demon vision could still spot the details. "Then the portal which imprisons Po Kong, the mountain demon, will be found in what is now…" he slammed his hand onto the globe, stopping its endless spin, and his fingers were perfectly on the destination. "Tokyo, Japan."
It was late, everyone in the shop had enjoyed a nice take-out dinner together, and now Uncle was getting ready for bed and Tohru was reading in the back room, whilst Jade was simply hanging around waiting for Jackie to pick her up and take her home. Valerie was just gathering her things in order to head home, when Jackie came barrelling in through the door, almost knocking Valerie over.
"Whoa! Where's the fire?" She asked as she quickly righted herself, looking at Jackie as if he'd gone mad.
"Fire?" Jackie blinked in confusion. "Oh! Sorry, it's just that I need to speak to Uncle. Where is he?" He asked, but before Valerie could answer, he'd already turned away from her to shout out. "Uncle!"
"What?!" The old man shouted irritably as he came in to the room in his dressing gown.
"Pack your things," Jackie said urgently. "Captain Black just informed me that Shendu is headed for Tokyo."
"Tokyo?" Valerie asked, slightly panicked. "To release a demon?!"
"Yes," Jackie nodded. "Come on Uncle, we need your Chi spells if we are to stop him!"
"Do not move." Uncle said as he came towards Jackie.
"What? What is it?" Jackie asked as he looked over himself as if he might have a spider on him. "OW!" he suddenly yelped as Uncle flicked his nose.
"Do you expect me to seal the demon door with salt and pepper? Noooooooo?" he snapped. "Then you go to Tokyo and find out which demon we are dealing with so I can research a proper Chi spell! Huh, goodnight!" he dismissed as he turned on his heel and left.
"Yes Uncle," Jackie sighed.
"Soooo… good luck?" Valerie said, trying to sound encouraging, though failing miserably.
"I'm sorry we won't have that lesson tomorrow Valerie. I shouldn't be gone for long. If you could watch Jade for me, I would appreciate it." Jackie said.
"Of course." Valerie nodded.
"I don't need a babysitter!" they heard Jade yell, infuriated, causing Jackie to turn to the glaring child.
"I'll leave you to it," Valerie murmured quickly before rushing out of the door.
"The map indicated that we proceed three hundred paces south-east from the cherry blossom grove," Shendu said as he looked over the map he had redrawn of what he could remember from the flashing image the Pan'ku box had provided. The Dark Hand enforcers were gathered around him, looking at the map over his shoulder. "Where we will follow that which runs but never walks, to the mouth which never talks…" Shendu trailed off as he lowered the map…
To find himself in the middle of Tokyo City.
"Err… I don't see any cherry blossoms," Chow murmured as he looked around at the raging traffic on the road beside them. Shendu only felt mild discomfort as he sensed Valmont take over the body whilst Shendu concentrated on pondering the riddle at the back of their now shared mind.
"That wretched box is now thousands of years old!" the man whined. "There have clearly been some developments in the landscape since then,"
"Oh! Lookie-lookie-lookie!" Ratso suddenly shouted excitedly as he pointed to a huge animatronic of a toy on top of a building.
"No Ratso, you can't have one," Finn said irritably.
"Don't you see?" Ratso asked as he redirected Finn's gaze back towards the huge robotic figure. "It runs on batteries, but doesn't walk. And it's got a mouth, no way it talks!"
Shendu wanted to snap his disagreement that such a thing was ridiculous, but then… he could come up with no better ideas. And the riddle was still looping around in his mind, the answer evading him. Also, he was not in control of the body at that moment.
"I suppose it's worth a look," Valmont sighed in exasperation before leading them towards the store across the street.
"AIIIIYYYYAAAA!" was all Valerie heard as she walked into the store the next morning. She winced, the sound hurting her ears. She dropped her bag behind the counter and walked into the back room, where she was just in time to see Uncle storm over towards Tohru, who had startled awake from where he had been sleeping on his books. Had he slept there all night?
"Uncle – OW!" He flinched when Uncle whacked him with two fingers angrily.
"You cast a lousy spell!" the old man yelled as he pointed his finger at the larger man.
"I did?" Tohru asked in confusion.
"What's going on here?" Valerie asked as she stepped fully into the room, causing the other two to turn and look at her.
"My one of a kind vase is no longer one of a kind!" Uncle moaned as if this were a tragic loss, gesturing towards his desk in his study.
Valerie and Tohru looked at the vase on the desk that she indeed recognised as Uncle's most valuable item in the whole shop. A perfect replica now stood beside it, exactly the same in every aspect as far as Valerie could tell. How was that a lousy spell? She then gasped, as right before her eyes, one of the two vases split, turning two into three.
"Ah! One more thing!" Uncle gaped in horror.
"Wait…" Valerie said as she realised that she hadn't hear a very familiar voice yet. "Where's Jade?"
"Not here." Uncle shrugged nonchalantly. "Probably gone with Jackie."
"WHAT?!" Valerie shrieked, panic shooting through her. "She's GONE?! Jackie's gone to fight a DEMON and you two are not even worried about this?!"
"She does it all the time," Uncle said dismissively.
"Yes but…" Valerie trailed off. "Does Jackie even know she's there?"
"If he doesn't, he will know soon enough," Tohru murmured.
"Oh, that's just great!" Valerie growled sarcastically as she stormed towards the counter and snatched up the phone. She dialled in Jackie's number, and waited for it to connect. She growled again when it went straight to voice mail, and she had to wait until she was allowed to record her message. "Jackie, it's me Val. Listen I… Well I…" she paused, wondering if she should tell Jackie in a voice message that she had lost his niece. "You know what, just ring me back as soon as you get this message. Like literally, straight away." She then put the phone down, and hung her head. This day was already turning out just wonderful.
Shendu waited impatiently as they stood upon the roof next to the building with the large contraption that the others had guessed would be the location of the portal. They placed the Pan'ku box onto the wall, but it did nothing. Shendu waited for all of a minuet for the box to do something that would alert them to the presence of the portal, but nothing happened. For every second that passed that they were wasting their time next to this toy shop, the more Shendu felt fire itch up his throat. As if sensing the demon's growing ire, Chow carefully picked up the box, turning it over this way and that as he peered at it.
"No portals to demon worlds here –" he mused but was cut off as a hook on a rope suddenly wrapped around his wrist and yanked his arm upwards, causing the Pan'ku Box to fly into the air. "Hey!"
"Chan!" Finn shouted as he pointed a finger, and Shendu spun to see. Sure enough, Jackie Chan was running towards where the box had fallen. Shendu only had to glare at Hak Foo, and the large man was quickly charging to intercept Chan. Chan quickly backed away from Hak Foo, only to pull on the rope he had dropped, which was still attached to Chow. Chow yelled as he was yanked off of his feet and pulled into a collision with the back of Hak's legs. Ratso immediately tried to come to his friend's aid, but Chan quickly through a bucket at him, the hard metal winding the large man as he was knocked back with enough time for Chan to grab the box. Shendu thought he would be as hot as a volcano if his pathetic henchmen fooled around a second longer!
Finn grabbed Chan's wrist, and the two quickly scrabbled for the box, until Chan successfully outwitted him and then Chow who had recovered from his fall. Finally having enough, Shendu purposefully placed himself in Chan's path as the human dealt with Ratso, growling menacingly as he stood almost a head taller than his enemy. It wasn't long before the others recovered from their beating and quickly surrounded the lone man –
"JACKIE!" Came a little voice, cause Shendu to snap his head towards the sound, to see the girl standing a few yards away, hands in the air as she waved to her uncle. "I'm open!"
"Jade?! What are you doing –" Chan gaped at the girl, but then quickly cut himself off as he rolled his eyes. "Why do I bother to ask?" Chan didn't get another word out as Ratso and Chan tackled him, and Finn tried to snatch the box. Only for Chan to drop it and kick it to his niece, who caught it out of thin air.
"Get her!"
The enforcers quickly abandoned Chan in favour of running after the girl, much to the uncle's horror as he quickly ran after them.
"I got her!" Shendu heard Ratso call as he chased the child through the pipes and vents that littered the roof.
"No! I got her!" Chow then called a little ways off from Ratso.
"What are you talking about? I got her!" Finn laughed on the opposite side of the roof. Shendu had to wonder at the seemingly boundless energy in children that could give them such speed… "But she don't got the box…" Shendu heard Finn say.
Shendu heard Hak Foo go after Chan, and soon realised that somehow Chan had gotten his hands on the box, and quickly raced after him, following the man as his henchman came running behind him towards the edge of the roof. Chan quickly jumped from the roof edge to the waving arm of the animatronic that they had thought would house the portal, trying to edge his way to safety. But Shendu and his men were quick to follow. Only once they were on the arm itself did they realise their error.
"Bad day, bad day, bad day!" Chan murmured in fear as they all heard the metallic groaning as the arm of the animatronic threatened to give way, barely coping under the strain of the weight of five men… and then Hak Foo was peering down at them from the roof edge, seemingly to not notice the apparent danger.
"ANGRY CROW TAKES FLIGHT!" He screeched as he leapt towards them.
"No!" Chan yelled, but too late. As Hak Foo landed on the robotic arm, the structure completely gave way and broke apart, and began to fall. The others all screamed as they impacted with the roof, sending it crumbling and they all crashed into the interior of the store. Shendu groaned in the rubble, mortal body aching – another reason he hated it, too susceptible to damage even with his heightened senses – as he slowly sat himself up, looking around for the others. He quickly spotted them, Hak Foo walking towards a limp and dazed Jackie Chan. Chan was holding the box, which had been digging into his stomach, until Hak Foo took hold of his jumper and held the man in the air, snatching the Pan'ku box out of his hands.
"I'll teach you to take things that DON'T BELONG TO YOU CHAN!" he shouted, fist ready to pulverise the weak Chan. But before he could move, Shendu's hand snatched onto Hak Foo's wrist, stilling it with impressive strength.
"I have a better idea…" Shendu grinned.
Valerie was drumming her fingers impatiently on the desk, bored out of her skull and anxiously awaiting any and all news that could come from Jackie. He still hadn't phones in, and it had been hours since Valerie had left her message, and she was starting to worry. It was a worry every fireman's or soldier's or policeman's family felt when they went on the job, not knowing if they would come back in one piece. Valerie was all too familiar with this fear that churned in the pit of her stomach. She'd spent most of her life waiting with this fear as she waited long after dinner time for her father to come home, the longer he stayed away doing his job, the more she worried. He would always return, triumphant at keeping the city safe or helping to put down a few bad-guys, but he always came home… until one day he didn't. Valerie shrugged off the memories, simply hoping against hope that her bad luck wasn't with her still.
She was startled from her thoughts when the phone next to her rang, causing her to almost jump out of her skin with a shriek. Calming her frantically beating heart, she reached for the phone, only for her hand to be slapped away by two fingers. Valerie yelped as she looked up Uncle with a glare.
"Hotcha! Do not touch!" Uncle snapped at her as he snatched the phone receiver in his hand and put it to his ear. "Hello! Uncle's Rare Finds! How may – Jackie?" Uncle said, and Valerie felt her heart lift with relief to hear that he was alright, and hoping that he had also found Jade. There was a long silence as Valerie assumed Jackie was telling Uncle the situation, and she waited in nervous silence. "Hmm… full line atop two broken lines…" the old man said thoughtfully. "Jackie!" he gasped suddenly. "That is the trigram of the Mountain Demon! I will gather Chi ingredients and come at once! Oh…" he then trailed off, and looked at Valerie. "Jackie says Jade is fine." He said dismissively before putting the phone down.
Valerie breathed a sigh of relief, before turning to Tohru across the desk from them.
"At least we know what we're dealing with now," She murmured.
"Allow me to assist you, Sensei," Tohru offered to Uncle.
"Why?" Uncle snapped. "You are a lousy apprentice!" he shouted as he gestured to the shop which was now filled with duplicate vases that made a sea of purple. Valerie sighed, for it seemed the with each passing hour the number of vases grew, and showed no sign of stopping. But still, she disliked Uncle's tone.
"Uncle." She bit out. "No need to be rude."
"Rude?!" he squawked. "Then what do you call desecrating my shop with a bad duplication spell?!"
"But I did not cast the duplicator spell," Tohru defended himself almost helplessly.
"Bah! If you did not then who did?" Uncle asked as he turned away, only to freeze, as if a sudden thought had come to him. And Valerie had to agree: it seemed so clear now. If Tohru had not cast the spell, then who would be foolish enough to dabble with magic with untold consequences, not tell them and still not own up to or try to reverse what they had done? There was only one answer:
"Jade." Valerie groaned.
"Hurry now! We must gather Chi ingredients!" Uncle yelled as he quickly marched towards the back room. Valerie and Tohru dutifully followed, though Valerie noticed the sad look in Tohru's eyes, though he tried to hide it behind his ever stoic mask. Felling a swell of pity for him, Valerie went into the back room and quickly picked up the books that she knew Tohru had been reading the night before, walking back to him as she offered them to him.
"Something tells me you're gonna need these," she murmured with a helpful smile. Tohru hesitated, before slowly taking the books from her. It wasn't long after that, that Jackie phoned back and told them of the destination of where the portal would be: the mouth of the Sumida River.
"When in doubt," Valmont murmured as he spied Jackie Chan going to a temple at the mouth of the river. At the back of their shared mind, Shendu was gleefully celebrating the brilliance of his plan, it had all worked out perfectly. "Allow Jackie Chan to do the grunt work…"
Shendu then swiftly took control of the body as the enforcers rowed their boat after Chan towards the temple. They landed and Shendu was the first onto land as he quickly climbed up towards the outer wall of the temple, careful to not be seen, his henchmen quickly following. They scaled the walls, watching patiently as Chan scouted the outside of the temple looking for –
"How do we know Chan's even warm?" Finn asked in a hushed whisper to the others, interrupting Shendu's thoughts.
"I don't see any portals," Chow agreed.
"Yeah," Ratso murmured as he brought himself out of the bush that he had landed in. "Just a souvenir stand and –" Ratso cut himself off with a gasp as he suddenly held up the Pan'ku box, which Shendu was gleeful to see was glowing with powerful chi. It shot a beam of light to a door on the side of the temple, transforming the keyhole there into a perfect replica of the top of the box, with the trigram for the mountain demon clear. Chan raced over to the keyhole, but was quickly restrained when Hak Foo grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms in place so that he couldn't escape.
"Many thanks for leading us here, Chan," Shendu grinned smugly as he and the other enforcers came towards them.
"So how we gonna open the portal?" Ratso asked. But no sooner had he said the words, then the box began to glow and levitate itself out of the man's hands. It shot itself towards the transformed keyhole, the trigram fitting perfectly into place. They all watched in amazement, as the box opened itself, like it had done when it revealed the map, only this time, the energy it spewed out suddenly erected a door from thin air right in front of them. The centre of the door was a swirling red mass, one that only Shendu recognised as the unmistakable void that was the netherworld.
From the depths of the red haze, an arm tipped with three claws suddenly reached out, grasping for the air like a drowning soul climbing out of the water. Then, out of the portal followed a massive hulking body, round and enormous in both girth and height, with seemingly tiny legs and arms that stuck out. The demon possessed a large head with great red lips that hid her dirty fangs, her red eyes hid behind grotesque lashes, and seemingly hair was pulled back into a bun on top of her head. The Mountain demon smiled, truly living up to her name as her massive height and width overshadowed them all, and as she smiled, Shendu noted in slight disgust that she had never been a pretty sight to see. But he quickly reigned in his reserve, because for all his sister's grotesqueness she was the least ambitious of the demon-Sorcerers, only wanting to quench her own insatiable hunger, and so he and she had never really clashed like the others. He turned to the others with a triumphant smirk.
"Behold!" he proclaimed. "The triumphant return of my sister: Po Kong! The Mountain Demon!"
"Must be his big sister…" Ratso whispered to Finn.
"Enough fanfare," Po Kong said dismissively as she turned her eyes on Shendu with a grin. "What's for supper?"
"Chan," Shendu smirked as he gestured to the captive in Hak Foo's arms. "Bon Appétit."
Valerie, Uncle and Tohru took the boat across the river to the temple that Jackie had told them about. They had first gone to the hotel after their long flight (despite Valerie's exhaustion from the jet lag), but had been rather worried when they saw that Jackie was no longer there, a note left by Jade being the only indication as to where she and Jackie had gone. With Uncle's ingredients for his chi spell at hand, the three of them had then sped through the dazzling lights of Tokyo city as they followed the river to the temple. Valerie hated the fact that it was the first time she had ever come to Japan and she was only here to stop a demon. It wasn't fair!
Quickly climbing out of the boat, Valerie, Uncle and Tohru ran up the steep hill to the temple gates, quickly pushing their way inside… and beholding what was within. Valerie felt her jaw almost hit the floor as she looked up and up at the gigantic ugly creature that stood in the centre of the temple courtyard. Tall, fat, green, with little arms and legs, bulbous lips, red eyes and a grotesque face, Valerie knew that she was looking upon the Mountain Demon.
Suddenly, the mountain demon smashed a souvenir stand with her claws, and from behind it jumped Jackie as he quickly ran from the monster that was practically salivating as she tried to snatch him up. Valerie gasped, seeing her friend suddenly running for his life from the monster that was evidently trying to eat him. Looking around desperately for any means of escape, Jackie ran between the Mountain Demon's legs, trying to evade her. Though Valerie was surprised at how quickly such a large demon moved as it turned and followed Jackie, who only just managed to escape her by jumping down one of set of twin wells.
"Jackie!" Valerie yelled in fright, instantly covering her mouth as she looked to where the Dark Hand were standing, and a pair of red eyes in human sockets turned to look at her upon hearing her voice. Hearing Uncle murmur for ingredients as he prepared his spell, Valerie knew she had to keep the attention off of him. And so, gulping loudly as her heart drummed in her ears, she stepped forward, focusing her eyes on Shendu, the only one to have noticed her as he walked towards her.
"So, you couldn't just conquer the world yourself, you had to turn it into a family business?" Valerie remarked boldly, though some part of her mind was screaming at her as to why she would say such things!
"Ahhh, Valerie," Shendu smirked, ignoring her comment as he stepped forward, causing Valerie to sidestep him, instinctively wanting to keep some space between them. Shendu's smirk grew wider as he matched her step for step. "So nice to see you again,"
"Wish I could say the same," she muttered. "You're not going to touch me again!"
"A little sore I took you by surprise?" he chuckled to himself, but Valerie just glowered at him. She stumbled slightly from the tremors in the ground as the Mountain Demon tried to dig Jackie out of the well. "Come now Valerie, why do you fight me?" Shendu's voice asked, snapping the woman's gaze back to him. "I am offering you more than I have anyone else,"
"I'm not the ambitious type," Valerie growled out, continuing to circle to keep Shendu's eyes on her and away from Uncle. "Besides, I want to fall in love with someone before I marry them. Guess I'm old fashioned that way," she remarked.
"Is that a challenge?" Shendu asked as he stopped in his tracks, grinning at her, his eyes lighting up as if a sudden idea had just come to him.
"What?" Valerie jolted, suddenly off balance by the demon's words, wondering if she had just put her foot in her mouth – so to speak. They heard a scream, and once again Valerie's eyes snapped to the well in time to see the Mountain Demon snatch Jackie out of the air, licking her lips as she pulled him up towards her gaping mouth. Valerie wanted to scream as –
"Hey! Big Bertha!" shouted a tiny voice, and everyone, even the Mountain Demon, turned to see Jade standing in the middle of a larger gateway, staring up at the Mountain demon angrily. "It's not polite to play with your food."
"Hmm, another tiny portion?" the Mountain Demon asked mockingly in her deep and gruff voice as she smirked at Jade. Then, the doors on either side of Jade opened wider… and revealed dozens of Jades.
"Wha…" Valerie's voice went numb as her eyes grew wide and she blinked several times at the many identical little girls, thinking that her eyes must be playing tricks on her. "Jade! Jade… Ja... Ja… ohhhh…" Valerie groaned as her head hurt from this sudden development. She'd known that Jade had cast the duplication spell, but on herself?! How could they all possibly deal with so many Jades?!
"Jades!" Jackie cried out as the demon dropped him in favour of leaning in close to the small army of little girls.
"Hmmm… finger food!" the demon grinned with another lick of her lips.
"You mean… KNUCKLE SANDWICH!" The Jade's cried as they all leapt as one and punched the demon in the face. Alone they were nothing, but together, they all had enough force to send the demon falling backwards, the earth trembling under her weight as she landed, causing Valerie to cry out as she tried to keep her balance.
"The chi spell, Tohru!" Uncle said as he and Tohru finished grinding the ingredients. Tohru nodded, and held out the glass container to his sensei.
"Quick!" Came one voice of the many Jade's. "Hold her down!" Said another. "Gotta hold her until Uncle casts the Chi spell!" said others, and they all held on to whatever piece of the demon they could hold in their attempt to keep her down. Valerie honestly didn't know how they would do it, but it appeared that the weight of numbers counted for more than there actual weight, as the demon struggled under their hold.
"Jades! Be careful!" Jackie called out.
"Nice try girls!" she growled out as she tried to pull herself up. But then, there was blinding flashes of light, and each Jade seemed to sprout a replica, adding the already impressive number into the hundreds! Valerie's jaw gaped open as the combined weight of the girls managed to hold down the demon, though barely.
"Now, the drum," Valerie heard Uncle say to Tohru, and saw the sumo pale.
"Drum?" he asked as if he had misheard.
"The symbol of the immortal who originally imprisoned Po Kong!" Uncle yelled frantically.
"Err," Tohru gulped. "I-I thought you had it,"
"Aiiiyyyaaa!" Uncle shouted. "What kind of apprentice are you?!"
"A lousy one?" Tohru offered miserably. Jackie quickly looked round, and found a makeshift drum amongst the wreckage of the souvenir stand, and shouted to Uncle. Immediately, Uncle lit a piece of parchment on fire, and began to chant.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao…" Uncle moaned the chant, and the fire of the paper turned green as he dropped it onto a circle of chalk that had surrounded him. A sphere of green light surrounded him, and Valerie gasped, but she wasn't the only one who noticed. Beside her, she heard Shendu hiss as he noticed the spell, and suddenly tried to race towards Jackie as Uncle threw the spell into the drum. "Jackie! Drum must be struck three times!" Uncle called, unaware of the approaching danger.
"No!" Valerie called out as she grabbed Shendu's arm. Shendu spun around and tried to extract her from him, but she clung onto him, trying to hold him back and distract him long enough. Each second that she remained within arm's reach of him, Valerie felt her heart race to new speeds. Jackie struck the drum once. Shendu tried to use his strength to push her away physically, but Valerie used her slippery agile body to move around him and out of his way in time whilst still trying to hold him back. Jackie struck the drum a second time.
"Enough!" he snapped at her, snatching and holding both her wrists in his hands as he –
Jackie struck the drum the third time.
A shockwave pulsed out from the drum, and seemed to ignite something in the air. Valerie felt Shendu freeze in place, his eyes widening. She looked over her shoulder, and saw with a gasp that a huge doorway had suddenly sprung from thin air, a large swirling red mass at its centre. Po Kong gasped in fear as she stared into the red abyss, claws digging into the dirt. Suddenly, a furious wind like a hurricane erupted in the temple grounds, pulling at all those within as it attacked Po Kong and dragged her massive bulk slowly towards the portal. However, the wind was so strong, it began to pull anything and everything towards the portal. The Jades scrambled off of Po Kong and held onto anything they could grab, Uncle, Tohru and Jackie do the same. The Dark Hand enforcers were even holding on to the paving in the stone of the floor.
Valerie was caught off guard as she felt the gust of wind hit her back, sending her stumbling and then tripping her head over heels as it sent her spinning as it sucked her up. Valerie screamed as she was flung to the winds like a leaf in the autumn, her arms flailing out as she tried to grab onto anything. But then, suddenly, she felt herself jar to a halt, the socket of her arm screaming as it threatened to be dislocated by the force to stop her momentum. Valerie looked up to see Shendu holding onto her arm with one hand, the other holding onto a lamp-post with white knuckled claw-like fingers. Shocked, Valerie looked from her hand back to Shendu's face, fearing for a moment if he would release her as the winds picked up around them. He had just been angry with her a moment before, but nothing in his eyes now said that he was even thinking of letting her go. With a surge of desperation giving her energy and strength, Valerie gripped his arm, pulling her other arm around to hold onto him. She held onto him for dear life, as if she were never letting go, pulling herself upwards slowly with her weak upper-body strength so that she might get a better grip. Shendu's hand slid from her wrist upwards to her upper-arm, as she curled her arms around his in a vice like grip, hugging his arm to her chest as she held on and battled against the winds, her hair whipped around her face.
But as she looked up into Shendu's eyes again, she saw with horror that his hand was slipping from the lamppost as the winds continued to grow more ferocious as it pushed Po Kong further towards the portal, no matter how hard she tried to escape her fate. Shendu seemed to recognise that he was slowly losing his strength, but Po Kong was almost completely through the portal now. But Valerie wondered at the same time as Shendu: would he be able to hold on for that long? Gritting his teeth, Shendu looked about, and then, spotting something, then began to swing his arm back and forth. Valerie cried out in surprise as Shendu began to build up momentum, and then screamed when he suddenly flung her into the air, letting her go completely. She screamed as she was flung through the air, with enough speed and power that not even the winds were able to snatch at her. Valerie had just enough time to see she was being thrown straight at Tohru, who's eyes widened as he quickly caught her in his massive arms, knocking them both to the ground.
"Noooooooo!" Po Kong screamed as she was sucked into the portal, and it closed behind her and the winds ceased.
Everyone fell to the ground now that they no longer had to hold themselves up, all of them remaining in place, as if they didn't know whether or not they should move just yet. For a long while none of them moved, all simply dazed as they tried to regain control of their spinning heads before they moved. Finally, Valerie groaned as she slowly sat herself up, head dizzy as she looked around, hair wild and dishevelled on top of her head. She saw that the Dark Hand and Shendu were suddenly gone, and the Pan'ku box with them. She sighed, knowing that of course it wouldn't be that easy. But as she looked around, she wondered why she wanted Shendu suddenly there, to thank him? She snorted at such nonsense, quickly banishing the idea. Looking down, she saw that she still lay over Tohru.
"Nice catch big guy," she murmured as she patted Tohru on the shoulder as she climbed off of him. Tohru only groaned as he sat up.
"The Pan'ku box!" Jackie exclaimed as he climbed to his feet, noticing that Shendu and the box were both gone. He made a move to go after them, but Uncle quickly stopped him, turning Jackie back to face him.
"I think there is a bigger problem to solve," Uncle pointed towards the multitudes of Jades standing with them in the courtyard, all of them doing their best to smile innocently. Valerie once again felt her stomach drop at the sheer number of girls in front of her.
"You've got to be kidding…" she murmured. "How are we supposed to fix this?"
"Uh…" Uncle sighed as if exhausted, shoulders slumping. "I must do research…"
"Err, no need Sensei," Tohru spoke up nervously, causing the others to turn and face him. "I believe no finishing charm was applied to the original duplication spell, that is why it continues to repeat."
Uncle gasped in amazement, and the others blinked at him in surprise.
"I err… did some reading during the long flight," the big man shrugged with a shy smile to Valerie, who gave him a beaming grin.
"Tohru will be a good apprentice!" Uncle proclaimed. Valerie grinned as she clapped a hand on Tohru's arm in congratulations.
"Did you bring the finishing charm?" Jackie asked hopefully.
"Uh-huh," Tohru nodded. "But it will only work on the original Jade."
"JADE!" Jackie called out into the crowd.
"Oh!" "Pick me!" "No, me!" "Please pick me!" "Over here!" "Pick me!" a hundred shouts called out at once, hands raised into the air excitedly. Jackie groaned in despair.
"Oh this is going to be easy…" Valerie murmured sarcastically.
"We resort to dangerous methods…" Jackie murmured, and Valerie looked at him in confusion as he shouted out angrily: "Okay! Whoever cast the spell in the first place is grounded! With no TV for a year!"
"Ouch." Valerie winced.
"SHE DID IT!" All the clones shouted at once, pointing to a specific person as they parted to show one in the middle of them all, who looked up with wide and terrified eyes. Seeing that she had been ratted out, the 'original' Jade growled as she crossed her arms grumpily.
"Tch, Tattle-tales." She muttered.
They returned to San Francisco the next day, and it was late in the evening when they all arrived at the shop, Valerie having to pick up the things she had left there when they had hurried out to Tokyo. Jade was now back to normal, and as they entered the store, Tohru was quick to apply the finishing charm to the hundreds of vases that now littered Uncle's shop, quickly clearing the space. Valerie breathed a sigh of relief as she collapsed into a chair, relieved that the work for the day was done.
"Valerie," the woman turned to see Jackie standing beside her chair, looking down at her with a warm smile. "I wanted to thank you for your help with the Mountain Demon,"
"Me?" she blinked in surprise. "I didn't do anything at all, I was pretty much useless,"
"You occupied Shendu long enough for Uncle to apply the Chi Spell," Jackie corrected. "And you are right,"
"I am?" Valerie asked, confused. "About what?"
"That I should teach you martial arts, even if it is just the basics," Jackie sighed. "Shendu has an interest in you, and that is dangerous. I can't always be there to keep you safe, so you will need to know how to defend yourself."
"Err… okay…" Valerie said awkwardly, the burn of guilt making itself known in her stomach.
"Cool!" Jade said as she literally jumped into the conversation. "Val's gonna kick butt too?! That's awesome! Teach the big-bad-dragon not to mess with the Chan Clan!"
"Not really…" Valerie mumbled.
"We might know how to keep Shendu away from you," Jackie tried to say helpfully, mistaking Valerie's reluctance for fear instead of guilt. "If only we knew what he wanted with you…"
"I do."
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, unable to take the sink of her heart at hearing them talk about protecting her when she was keeping secrets from them. Everyone froze and turned to look at her, some with faces of confusion, and others with denial.
"Valerie? You knew?" Jackie asked, something in his expression seeming to be hurt by the deception, causing Valerie to wince as she felt rotten inside with the guilt.
"No way!" Jade gaped.
"Back when Shendu kidnapped me…" Valerie began, knowing that she'd need to come clean with it all. Though she decided to keep the whole 'demon-bride' out of it and only tell them what was important. But she felt the need to explain her actions, and so hastily added: "He said things, things I didn't think were important at the time, because he was dead, and since then everyone's been so busy I… I just…"
"Valerie, what is it that you know?" Jackie asked softly, a guarded expression on his face.
"Shendu took me because he…" she paused, looking at each of them in turn before she mumbled her answer. "He thinks I'm his 'Other'."
"Aiiyyyyaaa!" Uncle screeched as he physically recoiled away from Valerie as if she'd sprouted leprosy.
"Uncle? You know what that means?" Jackie asked in confusion, he and Jade seemingly lost.
"Look, I didn't want to keep secrets," Valerie pleaded hastily as she stood to her feet. "But after Shendu died, I thought it was nothing and – OW!" she yelped, her forehead stinging as she was shocked to realise that Uncle had slapped her with two fingers!
"It is NOT nothing!" Uncle screeched at her in outrage as he looked over her, glaring at her furiously. "Being anyone's Other is a very important thing, to be a demon-sorcerer's other is very important!"
"Uncle, what does Valerie being Shendu's 'Other' actually mean?" Jackie asked.
"Shendu seeks the good chi inside Valerie…" Uncle murmured slowly, ominously.
"Tch, Val's not even Chinese!" Jade snapped.
"Chi is a universal life-force which goes by many names," Uncle went on to explain. "As do its two sides: Yin and Yang, dark and light, good and evil."
"Chi can be described as energy, life-force, or even a soul," Tohru clarified.
"'Other' is short term for saying: Other half of one's self." Uncle said. "To find the other half of yourself is to be a complete coin. The two halves were made for each other, the Other only comes once, and there will never be another like it. Two people who are each other's Other are usually destined to be, they strengthen the other's weaknesses, and oppose the conflicting forces of their partner. This can be presented in a number of ways: lovers, rivals, siblings, even as simple companions. To meet one's 'Other' is a very rare and powerful thing. It is the universe's balance, the yin to every yang. Most never meet that one, the one who completes them, who makes them whole. If what Shendu believes is true, then this is a very bad omen."
"Why?" Jade asked.
"Because if Shendu binds Valerie to him then he will have her chi meld with his, thus completing him." Uncle's voice was becoming unnerved, as if even he was frightened by the idea of such a thing. "It will balance the dark chi within him, and in his hands that will only give him more power. Both sides of a coin have their strengths and weaknesses. Example: Good chi is powerful but can only do so much, but dark chi is more far reaching in its abilities but can be dispelled. Alone these powers are equal but together they are more powerful than any other. Now, Shendu cannot touch good magic, because he is too full of dark magic. But if he is balanced… he will be able to wield both dark and good magic. Not even I know the full consequences should he succeed in joining himself to his Other, but if he does it will make Shendu more powerful than ever, a truly unstoppable force."
"But how do we know if Shendu is even right?" Jackie asked.
"Aiyah! Shendu could not mistake such a thing." Uncle snapped. "There is no other reason he would hold such interest in Valerie. When he kidnapped her, we did not know why – now we do! There can be no doubt,"
"So how do we stop this?" Valerie asked shakily, all this information causing the swirling pit of fear in her stomach to grow almost uncontrollably.
"We cannot." Uncle shook his head gravely. "But Shendu is a spirit now, not of body and flesh. He cannot bind you whilst he lives in another's body. It would not work. So long as he remains a spirit, we are safe."
It was late into the night when Valerie finally got home, walking like a zombie, her eyes trying to close and her will power fading as she tried to stop herself from collapsing in the hallway as she fumbled for the key to her apartment. It seemed to take longer than usual to find the right key, and her hand didn't seem to want to find the keyhole as she took five attempts to insert the key. Finally, she managed to get the door open, and all but fell into her apartment, not even bothering to turn on the lights as she closed the door behind her. She didn't care that she was still fully dressed, she just wanted to collapse in her bed and sleep.
Something moved amongst the shadows out of the corner of her eye, and usually Valerie would have dismissed such a thing. But the talk with Uncle had unnerved her, and she practically jumped out of her skin as she quickly backed up against the wall, hand shaking as she slowly reached up to turn on the light.
The light was so bright she had to blink for a moment to take it all in, but once she could see clearly, she was met with the face of a Shadowkhan.
Valerie screamed, instinctively her hands flying up to push the show-ninja away from her as she ran to the kitchen, rummaging through her draws frantically. Hysteria built in her throat as she pulled out a steak knife and whirled around to face her attacker.
Only… The shadowkhan had not moved, it did assume an attack position, it did not even seem threatened by her in the slightest. It simply stood there for several moments, before holding out its hand. Valerie was so shocked at this rather passive attitude she was rendered speechless, before slowly looking down to the offered hand. In the shadowkhan's hand it held out a single rose and an envelope. Valerie looked back up to the ninja's covered face and red eyes, wondering if this was some kind of trick. It couldn't be serious? Did Shendu have no other reason to use his shadowkhan anymore that they were reduced to mail-boys? But… curiosity outweighing her caution, Valerie slowly lowered the knife and edged forward step by step, slowly, hesitantly, as if expecting an attack at any moment. She carefully reached out, and took the offered objects from the ninja's hands. Instantly, the ninja lowered its hand, and then seemed to melt into the floor, disappearing into the shadows and vanishing all together.
Valerie blinked at the spot where the Shadowkhan had stood, wondering if that was everything. Placing the rose onto her kitchen counter, Valerie turned back to the envelope she still held. It was very fancy, heavy and scented, soft to the touch and thick. She warred with herself on whether she should open it, and considered throwing it into the trash along with the rose, for anything from Shendu she wanted nothing to do with. But once again, the niggling bite of curiosity gnawed at the back of her mind until she growled at herself as she opened the enveloped and pulled out the letter inside. Opening up the letter, Valerie found a very neat and fancy handwriting swirling into perfect calligraphy, the penmanship unlike anything Valerie had ever seen before. In the corner was a mark of a swirling dragon, like an emblem. In the centre of the page was only two words:
Challenge Accepted.
Author's Note: A big THANK YOU to all reviewers! I love each and every one of them! Thank you all so much for your love and support!
As this chapter shows, I hope to make things a little different from the original cannon though still keeping to the same basic outline. Valerie will have more of an impact as we go as her presence changes certain things. I hope everyone liked the rough explanation of what an "Other" is, even though Uncle doesn't even know what fully happens when to halves are connected. Also, the ending of this chapter I wanted because I thought that I was making Shendu a little too "pervy" in the last chapter, so this chapter I wanted to bring back on track and set up the starting blocks of him at least trying to establish a "romance" even if its just so Valerie will do what he wants her too.
I hope you guys liked it! And please don't forget to review!