Hi everyone, glad to see you all again.
Before we start, allow me to apologize for the delay with this one. Half-way through my update, my computer screen cracked, and I had to take it in to get it fixed. Fortunately, I keep all copies of several of my updates saved on a separate hard drive, just in case something like that happened, but I didn't lose any data either, so I was lucky. But right as that happened, I got hit with a nasty bug (don't worry, it's not COVID). So yeah, this week's been crazy. But my computer's fixed and I'm feeling better.
Now, this is one chapter where I really had to get creative. If you remember, in canon, Miss Hartman only got infected with the Sky Demon Chi because Jade took the Chi-Omatic on the school fieldtrip to alleviate her boredom. Since Jade's matured more in this story, it just didn't seem like a thing for her to do this time around. So, this will be a mostly original chapter of my own making and I had a lot of fun coming up with this. I hope it's to your liking.
That said, let's get started.
A Demon's Wings in the Witches' Town
The school bus proceeded down the highway, carrying several students from Heatherfield, which included Jade, Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Matt, Alchemy, Elyon, Caleb, Frank, Charlie, and Rocko. Professor Collins was up near the front with the bus driver.
"Am I the only one who's actually kinda excited about this field trip?" Hay Lin as she sat next to Taranee asked with an eager grin. "We're actually going to Salem! The original witches' town!"
"Sure, if you wanna be all giddy over one of the most infamous tragedies in this country." Taranee pointed out.
"Yeah, it was messed up but… ya know, we're…" Hay Lin gestured to herself and the rest of their friends.
"J-WITCH?" Jade finished, sitting close to Will and Matt, in a somewhat deadpanned way. "No offense Hay Lin, but that joke is too obvious."
"Yesh, all a bunch of party poopers." Hay Lin pouted.
"What's so special about this Salem town anyway?" Caleb asked, sitting behind Irma and Cornelia.
"The Salem Witch Trials." Elyon explained as she sat next to Alchemy across from him. "Over four hundred years ago, dozens of innocent people were hunted and judged under the false crimes of being witches."
"So, they could use magic, like you guys?" Caleb asked.
"No." Taranee shook her head. "They were just ordinary people who didn't follow the principles of their church. Mass hysteria and overly zealous religious ideals."
"Well… now that we all know magic is real, maybe there might have been real witches back then?" Matt asked, more so towards Will.
The redhead looked in genuine surprise. "Huh, never really thought of it like that. It was still really messed up though."
"Even if they did use magic, it didn't mean they were bad people." Jade added. "Or that they deserved what they got."
"What exactly did they get?" Caleb asked. "If being a witch was a crime, what was the punishment?"
"Oh, not much. They just burn them alive at the stake." Irma responded.
"Whoa…. What?!" Caleb exclaimed.
"Or they just hang them." Cornelia added.
"…That's a bit on the extreme side, don't ya think?" The horrified Caleb questioned. "Couldn't they have proved their innocence?"
"Nope." Alchemy shook her head. "The only way to avoid all that was to 'confess' to witchcraft and devote yourself to the church as a form of redemption."
"Basically, you have to lie and join a cult in order to get out of being killed for being accused of being part of a different cult." Irma commented.
"That doesn't sound like a proper trial at all." Caleb said disapprovingly.
"It's not." Taranee confirmed with disapproval evident in her voice. "It's messed up and cruel. People using religion for their own benefits and some people still do that today, even in politics."
"Religion and politics. Two things that should never mix." Jade said with an annoyed sigh. "Still excited about all this, Hay Lin?"
"Okay, I get it." Hay Lin sunk in her seat, her excitement now out the window.
"Students, we'll be arriving at our destination within the hour!" Collins announced as he stood up to address everyone on the bus. "Now I want everyone on their best behavior while we're here. And I mean… everyone." He said that last part specifically to Frank, Charlie, and Rocko.
"Hey, we're good guys!" Charlie pointed out.
"Except when bad guys are bad, that's when we get bad with them." Rocko said, who was quickly elbowed in the sides by his friends.
"We'll be good, teach." Frank said in a long sigh.
"Good." Collins nodded with a smile, as he walked back to the front, he happened to pass by Will and gave her a quick wink and a smile much to her confusion.
"What was that about?" Matt asked.
"No idea." Will said as she glanced out the window to see dark clouds forming with lightning starting to flash in the sky. She couldn't quite explain it, but with those storm clouds forming, she couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this trip.
Uncle's Rare Finds
Storm clouds had also formed over the Chan family shop, which Uncle noticed causing him to look concerned.
"Aiya… dark clouds are bad omen."
"Let me guess, an omen for the awakening of Demon Chi?" Jackie assumed.
"But with the girls on their field trip, we may not be able get in touch with them to retrieve the Demon Chi." Tohru said.
"That's if it truly awakens, it could just be a case of bad weather outside." Jackie put in. "And, even if that were the case, we can retrieve the Demon Chi on our own. I know the girls can handle themselves, but if we were able to complete a mission without putting their own lives in danger, then I'm not complaining."
Suddenly, the Chi-Omatic, which happened to be sitting on a nearby table, glowed green, getting all their attention. The three of them then saw a magic projection being shot up from the Chi-Omatic, revealing the image of a winged-demon they all recognized.
"Hsi Wu, the Sky Demon!" Uncle stated. The image then shifted to reveal the object that contained the dark chi. "Flute of the Immortals!"
"But where is it located?" Tohru asked.
"Once we find out, I'll call Captain Black so we can get there as soon as possible." Jackie said.
The image then shifted to reveal a large wooden building, one that had the architecture of the 1600s, as well as a sign on a road that showed the name of the town the building was located in.
"Salem, Massachusetts." Tohru identified.
"The same place the girls are heading for their field trip…" Jackie said in disappointment. "Bad day… Ow!" He felt his forehead where Uncle just dope slapped.
"Not bad day, good day!" Uncle chastised his nephew. "If girls are near immortal relic, they can safeguard it from Drago who has no doubt sensed Sky Demon Chi as we speak!" Uncle then picked up the Chi-Omatic. "Jackie, call girls! Tohru, drive! We must get Chi-Omatic to witch town before Forces of Darkness do! Hurry!"
"Sensei does have a point." Tohru pointed out as they hurried out to the van outside. "Maybe the girls can watch the flute until we get there."
"Yes, I understand. But that doesn't mean I have to like it." Jackie commented. "Especially if that means some of their classmates could be in danger."
Meanwhile, at the steel mill that served as the Knight of Vengeance hideout, a quartet consisting of MC Cobra, Frost, DJ Fist, and Miranda (in her human form), all sat around a steel block with each of them holding a set of cards in their hands. They gazed at each other before putting them down.
"Three of a kind!" MC Cobra showed his hand of three aces while DJ Fist silently folded.
"Four of a kind, I believe." Miranda placed her hand down, revealing four queens.
"Full house." Frost put down his cards, but it looked nothing like a full house. He had two aces and two queens in his hand.
"Nah dude, that's Blackjack. Wrong card game." MC Cobra corrected.
Frost groaned in annoyance. "How many card games does this world have?"
At the same time, Raythor, StrikeMaster Ice, Tracker, and Hak Foo all hung by the side. "Yo, how much longer we gotta wait, dog?" Ice questioned.
"We do nothing without Drago's say." Raythor told him.
"What, we can't go tearing up the enemy's home turf? Lay waste to Heatherfield fire-and-brimstone style?" Ice questioned again.
"We don't have the means to conduct a siege. We lack the numbers and power." Raythor glared. "Be patient, boy."
"Well how about you get me unbored with a bit of a sparring match, old man?" Ice made a martial arts stance.
"I could use a spar myself." Hak Foo was ready to join in.
Before Raythor could even make a protest, they heard the voice of their leader from above. "Time to mobilize, Knights of Vengeance!" Drago leapt down from the ceiling to get all their attention. "Cause we got some Demon Chi!"
After arriving at Salem, the bus came to a stop at an old mansion, the storm clouds above only seemed to flash brighter with lightning as Collins lead all the students inside.
"Welcome everyone, to the home of Governor William Phips, the very man who established the court for the Salem Witch Trials." Collins announced to all his students.
"Whoa…" Rocko said as he, Frank, and Charlie looked around in awe.
"Total Creepsvile." Charlie commented.
Jade gave her titular scoff. "Please, tourist trap."
"Now everyone, stay close together." Collins instructed as he led the students deeper into the mansion. "Seeing how he was a major political figure during the trails, the city elected to have much of Phips' home refurbished into a museum in remembrance of the trials, though they have done what they can to preserve what they felt was important to history."
"If these Witch Trials were so bad, why do you have a museum dedicated to it?" Caleb asked Cornelia, who simply brushed him off, not all that surprising for him, but Taranee was quick to provide an answer to the question.
"So, people can better understand what happened in the past in order to keep it from happening again in the future." The bespectacled girl said. "You know the old saying 'those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it'."
"That's actually the first time I heard a saying like that." Caleb commented. "But… I can see why something like that would be important. Don't want to repeat any mistakes."
Collins then led all the students into what appeared to be a living room with plenty of old furniture, such as chairs, shelves, a chandelier that hung from the ceiling that hung at least twenty feet above the floor, and even a rug made from a bear's pelt, much of it was surrounded by rope and warning signs to not touch. There were even several smaller objects encased in plexiglass on various shelves and on the walls, including several framed pictures and hand-written documents.
"This was Governor Phips' personal living space. Feel free to look around, but don't touch anything. Much of this is older than everyone here combined." Collins said to the students.
As the students scattered, Irma noticed what appeared to be a wooden flute on a wooden table near the wall, and just like everything else, it was encased in plexiglass. "Hey, what's with the flute? Did he play a funeral song for all the people he killed?"
That comment sounded like a mix between a snark and an insult, which one couldn't fault her for.
"No Irma, that was his own personal possession." Collins answered as he came up to her. "Apparently music was his favorite hobby."
"Oh, good to know." Irma said before walking off.
Hay Lin, Alchemy, and Elyon found themselves looking at some of the framed and preserved documents, appearing to not notice Charlie trying to creep up from behind with a mischievous look on his face.
"Charlie, you might wanna rethink what you're doing." Elyon advised, not even turning around, her eyelids lowered.
"Aw come on, I wasn't doing anything!" Charlie stated before he grinned again. "Maybe… it is the ghost of this witch hunter guy trying to take control of my body so he can hunt you guys down! Boo!" He tried to scare them, but it didn't work in the slightest.
"First off, nice idea." Hay Lin complemented. "This place could make for a cool haunted house. We should come back here on Halloween."
"Hey, yeah! That's a great idea!" Charlie agreed.
"And second, you don't want to sneak up on us." Alchemy advised. "A guy sneaking up on a couple girls? You know that sounds creepy, right?"
"I wasn't gonna do anything weird! Just a little bit of a scare, that's all." Charlie said.
"Well, we've seen plenty of scary stuff, so we don't startle so easily." Elyon commented.
Matt spotted an old painting that depicted Governor Williams himself. "Heh, never did get why all those fancy old guys wear the wigs." He attempted to joke but noticed that Will next to him was looking a bit uncomfortable. "Will, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Matt." Will assured. "It's just… this place… it kinda makes me feel uncomfortable."
"Is it because this dude ran the witch trials and you're well… magic?" He asked in a slight whisper.
"Partly, but… there's just something going on here." Will replied. "I don't quite understand but… this place is giving me the willies."
"Seriously?" Jade questioned, standing next to her. "After everything we've been through? This dusty old tourist trap scares you?"
"She's got a point." Matt seemed to agree. "Compared to literal demons, this place is pretty mild."
"I get it, and you're right. It's just…" Will felt her phone in her pocket vibrate, prompting her to answer. "Hello?"
"Will, we have a problem? Where the others?" Jackie questioned on the other line.
"Wait… Jackie?" Will was quite surprised, as were Jade and Matt. "Everyone's right here, what's going on?"
"Where are you, now?" Jackie asked.
"We're… at this old house museum, Governor Phips. Why?" Will responded.
"The Sky Demon Chi has been activated!" Jackie answered, causing Will to look in surprise. "And it's at that very building! The Demon Chi is located within a flute! Have you happen to see one?!"
"A flute…?" Will looked nervously towards the preserved flute that Irma had spotted before. She took out the Heart of Kandrakar and held it in front of her so that she would look through the pink crystal and toward the flute itself. She, as well as Jade and Matt both saw a transparent image of the flute inside the Heart, encased in a dark blue aura before revealing the image of Hsi Wu, causing all three to look in dread.
"Yeah… You might wanna hurry over." Will urged.
The Old Burying Point Cemetery. A very well-known graveyard in the United States for being one of the oldest cemeteries in the United States. Many of those buried here were victims of the Revolutionary War as well as the Witch Trials that Salem was most well-known for. At this point in time, any bodies that were buried here would have long since decayed, leaving nothing more than fragile skeletons that could turn to dust easily enough.
The storm clouds that had not yet rained continued to hang over this graveyard, even as a Fold had opened up, allowing Drago and his select group of Knights, consisting of Raythor, Miranda, StrikeMaster Ice, Hak Foo, DJ Fist, MC Cobra, Frost, and Tracker, along with Sniffer, to enter the large and old cemetery.
"Yo, this place give me the creeps." MC Cobra commented.
"Why are we here?" Hak Foo questioned.
"The Sky Demon Chi is near." Drago said. "But we can't just afford to up and grab it like before."
"Why not?" Frost asked.
"All our past attempts to gain the Demon Chi have ended in failure." Drago explained. "So we have to change our approach. We need to divide up the Guardians and their friends, so we're calling in reinforcements."
"What sort of reinforcements can you get from a cemetery?" Frost asked.
"Yo, we gonna raise an army of zombies? Because that would be metal, dog!" StrikeMaster Ice seemed onboard, while Raythor seemed uncomfortable with the idea, despite a literal zombie standing next to him.
"Not exactly." Drago began. "I can't any raise any zombies, aside from the bodies buried here being too old, but I can awaken their vengeful spirits."
"Is that so?" Miranda questioned. "And you've always had this ability?"
"Well, yes and no." Drago explained. "I have a unique magic ability not inherited by my father, but it can only work here under these unique circumstances. This town is pretty infamous for the judgement and murders of innocent people, and because of the presence of the now-awakened Demon Chi, the spirits of all those who were falsely accused are becoming restless. My power can awaken those spirits. We can use them to split up our enemies and make it easier to grab the Demon Chi."
"So, an army of ghosts, not zombies." StrikeMaster Ice summed up. "I can get behind that. Not as metal, but still cool."
Miranda grinned evilly. "Oh, that is devious. I love it."
"The Salem Witch Trials." Hak Foo chuckled. "How ironic that the spirits of those victims will soon serve the will of real demons."
"Drago, while I understand the strategy behind your plan, I feel I must protest this method." Raythor spoke up. "We are desecrating the dead by doing this. I've done many things and I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, but this is too far."
"Losing your spine, Raythor?" Frost challenged while DJ Fist crossed his arms with a disapproving expression.
"You do know there's an actual zombie here, right?" MC Cobra pointed to Tracker behind him, who glared at Raythor.
"The Tracker was brought to life from Daolon Wong's practices, and I had no control over that." Raythor said. "But here, I can let my opinion by known, and I cannot approve of any of this."
Drago sighed for a moment before speaking. "I get what you're saying Raythor, but the people buried here all share common ground with you." That got Raythor's attention as he listened closely. "All these people are victims, falsely accused of worshiping demons and practicing magic and executed for it. There was no evidence to prove it, yet they were all sentenced to death for something they didn't do. Men, women, even children. Anyone that was spared only could so because they had to lie and pledge themselves to the actual cult that ran this town, using their beliefs to grab for power. Sound familiar?"
Raythor knew what that was like. He too was falsely accused of something he didn't do, and sentenced to a fate that would have ultimately led to his death, had he not had the will and resolve to try and climb back up. The only difference was, he had a chance at life and vengeance, these people did not. The idea that even women and children suffered under this made his blood boil.
"But at this point, those that had killed these people would be long since dead." Raythor commented.
"True, but don't you think we at least owe it to them to satisfy their need for vengeance?" Drago replied. "And once our goal is done, and their thirst for retribution quenched, they'll be laid back to rest. So, what do you say?" Drago put his arm around Raythor's shoulder. "One agent of vengeance to a hundred others?" He gestured toward the many graves.
He still didn't like this. There was no way to sugar coat that they were desecrating the dead with this action. But, all these people were innocent victims, and even if the ones responsible for their demise were no longer among the living, they could still serve a great purpose here, and if it helped satisfy their need for revenge, then he would at least help them in that regard.
"Do it." Raythor nodded with reluctance.
Drago grinned, revealing all his teeth as he aimed his claw at one tombstone. "Quintessence!" Bolts of black-red energy shot from is clawed-fingertips and onto the tombstone, which spread to the ground and all throughout the cemetery. What Drago said was true, ordinarily he wouldn't have the means to do something like this. His mother, maybe, and that was probably with only a select few souls. But here, with the Demon Chi now active, its dark presence in the air, as well as his own demonic traits infused with his own Quintessence power, that was enough to stir awake the dozens or even hundreds of souls and draw out the negative emotions they each felt at their deaths, notably anger and a need for revenge.
All the Knights looked in surprise and even awe as Drago's dark Quintessence power had spread throughout most of the cemetery around them. Though it faded after a few seconds. All was then quiet, not a single person present made a peep as they looked expectantly for something to happen.
Just then, a ghostly figure began to rise from the ground in front of them, before the tombstone. It was a transparent, dark red, ghost, wearing a torn dress that a woman would normally wear in the 1600s. But what wore the dress was nothing more than a ghostly skeleton, that looked up at all of them, before letting loose an ear-splitting wail.
Nearly all the Knights, even Miranda, looked in genuine shock and even a bit of fear as they saw similar-looking skeleton ghosts, all transparent and dark red, wearing torn and old clothing of men, women, and children, all rising from their graves and surrounding the Knights. This caused Drago's grin to grow even more.
"Yo, I take it back. That is way more metal than zombies." StrikeMaster Ice commented.
Jackie pulled the van to the curb of the Phips' mansion, now a museum, and was immediately outside with Uncle and Tohru right beside him.
"We need to hurry. Hopefully we can extract the Sky Demon Chi before Drago arrives." Jackie urged as Uncle took out the Chi-Omatic, which immediately glowed as the dial on the top pointed toward the mansion.
"Demon power is still inside." Uncle said. However, before they even made one step forward, Tohru happened to glance up to something that made his face go pale, something the other two noticed.
"Tohru?" Jackie looked with concern. The sumo's only response was to point upward, causing Jackie and Uncle to look in the same direction to something that made them both gasp in audible terror.
It was a swarm of skeletal ghosts, all circling above the mansion in a ring of dark red like a swarm of predators. All the ghosts moaned and screeched as they descended upon the mansion, entering the building through the ceiling and upper windows.
"The girls…!" Jackie immediately broke into a sprint with Tohru and Uncle not far behind.
"Demon Chi? Here of all times? Of all places?" Taranee questioned as she and her friends had gathered together while Collins, Frank, Charlie, and Rocko were looking around the room.
"Yeah, looks like the Sky Demon Chi this time." Jade said.
"So, what can this power do?" Matt questioned.
"It lets you fly." Jade answered.
"That's it?" Irma questioned, sounding unimpressed. "It just lets you fly?"
"We already got plenty of that." Cornelia added. "Between all the dragons, tornadoes, earthquakes, flashfloods, and gravity-stuff… this seems kinda lame."
"Yeah, Hsi Wu was the runt of the demonic litter, for sure." Jade seemed to agree. "But he could fly as fast as the Rabbit Talisman can let you run. Would you want to let Drago or buddies fly at supersonic speeds?"
"Okay, that does sound pretty bad." Will commented.
"Maybe it's a good thing." Hay Lin said for optimism. "Since we're here, maybe we can grab the flute before Drago shows up."
"We can't. We'd be busted for stealing private property." Alchemy added.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Caleb questioned.
"Jackie and the others are already on their way." Will explained. "Maybe a few of us could stand guard until they show up with the Chi-Omatic."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Taranee agreed.
"But what do we do about the Prof and the nephews?" Irma asked, referring to Collins and the Enforcers' nephews. "What if they see any of that stuff?"
"Well, since they're uncles work for me, I wouldn't mind having Frank and the others in the loop." Elyon said.
"And Collins? Yeah, that would make for a really awkward parent teacher conference." Cornelia stated.
"Um… something's telling me that's the least of our problems right now!" Matt pointed toward the ceiling, causing them all to look up to see something that truly made them gasp in terror.
Dozens of ghostly skeletons, all wearing 1600s-style clothing, had phased from the ceiling and quickly descended on everyone in the room, including Frank and his friends, as well as Collins, and the young heroes. They flew in all directions, moaning and cackling, much to the everyone's concern, or amusement for the nephews.
"Whoa… ghosts, dude…!" Rocko looked with a smile.
"Dude, slick special effects!" Charlie commented.
"Um… This isn't in the brochure…" Collins looked nervously as he took out said brochure to double-check.
Suddenly, the ghosts all wailed as they spun around at a faster rate, almost like a dark red whirlwind that seemed to encompass everyone, with Collins getting struck and sent crashing into an old dresser that broke on impact and seemed to have knocked him out. One ghost looked like it was about to come at Will from behind…
"Will, look out!" Matt tackled her to the ground to avoid getting attacked, but this only pushed her out of the way as all their friends were swept up with yells and screams as the swarm of ghosts carried them out of the room at high speeds and into the hallways.
Jackie, Tohru, and Uncle also noticed the swarm of ghosts incoming. Tohru then used his arms to push Jackie and Uncle to opposite sides of the hallway just as he was engulfed by the swarm of ghosts and swept up like everyone inside as well.
The steam of ghosts reached the wall and split into two streams that went off into two different directions, with the one that went on the right splitting off once it reached a flight of stairs with one going up the stairs, and the other going further down the hall.
"Tohru!" Jackie exclaimed.
"Jackie, Tohru and girls can handle themselves! We must acquire Demon Chi before Knights of Vengeance do!" Uncle stated.
Despite wanting to help them all, Jackie knew that Uncle was right and securing the Demon Chi came first. They would worry about the others once that was done.
"Then let's go."
With the swarm of ghosts appearing to be gone, Matt helped Will to her feet. "Will, are you okay?"
"I'm fine… Hey, was it just me, or were those actual ghosts?" Will questioned.
"I think so… what you've never had to deal with ghosts before?" Matt replied.
"No… this is actually a first for us." Will said. "Where is everyone?!"
"I don't know… must have gotten taken." Matt responded before they heard Collins' groan and saw how he still appeared to be unconscious, slumped against the wall and in the ruined dresser. "I don't think we have time to wait for Jackie. You grab the flute; I'll help Professor Collins."
"Okay." Will tried to run towards the incased Flute of the Immortals, only for a stand of webbing to stick to her back and pull her up towards the ceiling with a startled yelp. She looked up in shock to see Miranda in her spider-form, perched from one of the beams.
"Will!" Matt was about to try and help her, only to get pulled into a bearhug by DJ Fists, his steel-coated skin made it hard for him to escape.
As Miranda used her web to cocoon Will, she also snagged the Heart of Kandrakar from her before she was thoroughly wrapped in webbing from the neck down. "Sorry, little Guardian. No chance of victory, this time." Miranda sneered before shooting some more web onto Will's mouth just to add insult to injury and left her strung upside down from the beam as she lowered herself to the ground just as Drago leapt in from a nearby window.
"What I tell ya? Divide and conquer. Now to get what we came for." Drago said as he tore off the incasing and revealed the flute that contained the Sky Demon Chi. "Maybe you'd like a taste of this, Miranda? A real terror of the skies."
"Oooh, first the Water Demon Chi, now this? You know what a girl likes, Drago." Miranda lulled.
Matt cringed. "Okay, is that for real?" He asked DJ Fist, who gave a slight nod to confirm it. "A dragon and a spider? That's just gross." Fist nodded once again in agreement.
Drago held the Flute in one hand and used his other extract the Sky Demon Chi as his free claw glowed a dark blue. But just as the evil power was pulled from the Relic, beams of green energy struck him in the back, as well as Miranda and DJ Fist, all courtesy of Uncle holding a blowfish in one hand and the Chi-Omatic in the other. These stun-spells forced Fist to let go of Matt and caused Drago to lose the Sky Demon Chi, which then flew up and around the room. Another stun spell was shot at the web that kept Will hanging from the ceiling-beam, causing her to fall into Jackie's arms, who was quick to pull the webbing from her mouth.
"Miranda took the Heart! I can't transform!"
"I'll get the Heart." Jackie said as Matt came over to them. "Matt, help free Will. I'll deal with Drago and the others while Uncle gets the Sky-Demon Chi."
"I'm on it." Matt said as Jackie set Will down before leaping forward to deliver a kick to knock Drago into the wall but was then forced back to avoid the clumps of webbing shot at him by Miranda. He ended up backing into DJ Fist, who lifted his arms in an attempt to crush him, but Jackie was able to leap over him and avoid the impact before landing behind.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." Uncle recited the spell as he aimed the Chi-Omatic at the stray Sky Demon Chi, which began to work its literal magic as it began to suck in the demonic power. However, Drago was not about to let that happen.
"Oh no you don't!" He let lose a fire-blast from his mouth, forcing Uncle to duck and the Sky Demon Chi to miss him and fly straight toward the downed Collins who had been behind Uncle.
The history teacher's eyes slowly opened just in time as the dark energy hit his body, engulfing him in a dark blue aura. All the fighting in the room stopped as their eyes set on Collins. His skin turned dark grey, his body grew slightly taller, tearing up much of his clothes as razor sharp talons grew out from his feet, ripping through his shoes, his fingers became elongated claws, a lizard-like tail grew from his back, his face became more twisted and gremlin-like with blood red eyes and fangs with three antennae coming from his head as his ears became elongated. But what stuck out the most were the massive bat-like wings that grew from his back.
"Wha… what's going on…?!" The demonically transformed Collins looked towards his hands and the rest of his body in clear shock. "Wh-what's happened… to me…?"
"You gotta be kidding me…" Will muttered.
One large room, that was most likely a dinning room, had been converted into an exhibit for the practice of so-called witchcraft. There were manikins wearing dark dresses and robes, along with old pictures of many of the victims along the walls.
And currently, four individuals were flung in through the door by several ghosts that disappeared as quickly as they entered. Jade, Cornelia, and Alchemy landed on the ground rather hard, but gasped in audible terror as they saw the shadow of Tohru before he fell and landed on all three of them.
"Ugh…" Tohru groaned as he tried to push himself up, but he heard a series of muffled yells and screams underneath him, and looked in shock to see he was sitting on three of the girls, and quickly pulled himself up. "Oh! Girls, I'm so sorry!"
Jade, Cornelia and Alchemy laid flat on the ground for a few seconds, the intense weight on top of them wasn't exactly easy to deal with, but they tried to stand.
"No worries… used to being crushed by now…" Cornelia straightened out her back.
"T….. glad to see you're here." Jade was indeed happy to see the big guy. "Where's everyone else?"
"I don't know. It seems we've been separated." Tohru assumed as he looked around at their new location. "Were those ghosts just now?"
"Indeed, they were, but they are the least of your worries." The four turned around to see none other than Raythor approaching them, his fire-sword drawn as Frost and MC Cobra were at his sides.
"Divide and conquer, a simple yet brilliant strategy." Frost sneered.
"Where you're fancy magic power now, suckas?" MC Cobra gloated before the three Knights of Vengeance went on the attack.
Irma, Taranee, Caleb, and Hay Lin had already picked themselves up and looked at their newfound location, which appeared to be an old courtroom with two rows of seats facing a judge's stand.
"Where are we?" Caleb questioned.
"Looks like an old court room." Taranee observed.
"Did this Phips person conduct trials in his own home?" Caleb asked.
"Doubtful, this was probably just built in as part of the exhibit." Taranee said.
"Yeah, let's focus more on the old museum and less on the freaking ghosts that attacked us!" Irma exclaimed.
Hay Lin then gasped, coming to a horrific realization. "Guys, Will's not with us! Without Will, we can't transform!"
"Got that right, little lady." StrikeMaster Ice fell down from the ceiling, landing behind the judge's stand and kicking his feet up as he sat back, like he owned the place. Hak Foo also leapt down from the ceiling while the Tracker broke down a wall on the side to enter the courtroom with Sniffer by his side.
"Oh great, it's Jack Frost and his entourage." Irma's eyelids lowered as Taranee, Caleb, and Hay Lin readied themselves for a fight.
"Yo court in session, dog." Ice cracked. "And his honor, StrikeMaster Ice found you guilty of being nosy do-gooders. What's say the verdict, Mr. Jury?" He asked Hak Foo specifically.
"Death." The demonically transformed Black Tiger said dangerously.
Elyon looked in actual terror as she, along with Frank, Charlie, and Rocko, found themselves in a room that seemed to focus on the execution portion of the witch trials, which was made evident by the empty gallows surrounding them, and the mannequins tied to stakes with prop fire.
"Yeah… that's not horrifying or anything." Elyon commented.
"Dudes… those were ghosts… like real ghosts…" Rocko shivered in fear.
"Those couldn't have been real ghosts, just part of the act, right?" Charlie assumed.
"One hell of an act, then." Frank commented.
Elyon winced. Given the situation they were all involved in, the Enforcers' nephews would probably have to learn their secret. But as this was a life-or-death situation, they really didn't have much of a choice.
"Guys… listen, there's something I need to tell you…"
However, the young queen was interrupted as multiple ghosts rose from the floor, descended from the ceiling, and out from the walls. They quickly surrounded the frightened quartet before taking a moment to observe the exhibit they were all in.
"This… this is how we died…" A ghostly woman said.
"Strangled by rope… our necks snapping…" Another ghostly woman growled.
"Tied at the stake… burnt alive…" This was spoken by a ghostly man.
"Even children suffered this fate…" A little girl skeletal ghost moaned, creeping close to Rocko, who gave a high-pitched yelp.
"We were innocent! We pleaded! We cried our eyes out!" The ghosts went on, looming ever closer on the kids.
"But we were called agents of the devil! Witches!"
"Our killers may have died… and good riddance… but their descendants have the audacity to display the tools for our execution with such pride?!"
"Wait, it's not like that!" Elyon tried to call to them. "Nobody's proud of all that!"
"Silence!"
"There is only one thing that can quell the pain in our souls!"
"And that is your death!"
"They called us monsters… Now is the time to become them!"
All the ghosts screeched as they lunged at their supposed victims. The nephews all screamed as they clung to each other, only to look in shock at a magical barrier appearing over them to block the ghosts' advance and keep them at bay. They were even more shocked at the one who appeared to cast the barrier.
Elyon looked with a determined expression as she lowered her hands to lower the barrier before facing the ghosts directly.
"I'm sorry for all that happened to you." Elyon said. "But I'm not going to let you hurt my friends. If you won't listen to reason…" Her fists clenched as they surged with magical energy. "Then let's go! I'll take you all on myself!"
Collins, now infused with the Sky Demon Chi, flew around the room as he tried to wrench himself free from Drago who was holding onto him tightly before slamming down to the ground. Drago then used that moment to pin the transformed teacher to the wall.
"What do you want?" The demonically transformed Collins questioned.
"What do you think, old man?" Drago replied. "You just sprouted wings out of thin air? You have my Sky Demon Chi, and I want it back!"
Collins bit down on Drago's arm, causing him to loosen his grip before extending his wings to knock him back. "I don't know what's going on… but you don't seem like the type I should be helping!"
When he flew up in the air again, Miranda appeared to be waiting for him as she shot a strand of webbing at his wings, causing him to fall back to the ground. DJ Fist then grabbed Collins in a bear hug as Miranda and Drago approached him.
"I'll be taking what's mine now!" Miranda hissed as Drago prepared to extract the Sky Demon Chi from Collins, only for multiple stun blasts from Uncle to strike all three of the villains, forcing them to release Collins as Jackie went on the attack, delivering a flying kick towards DJ Fist's face to push him back while sweeping his feet, which Drago and Miranda avoided as they leapt backwards before blasting fire and webbing at him, which Jackie backflipped to avoid.
Meanwhile, Matt was able to help Will get free from her cocoon. "My teacher is now a demon… Please tell me that we're not going to bring him into the group." She groaned.
"We'll figure that out later." Matt told her. "Can you transform?"
"No, Miranda has the Heart." Will shook her head.
Collins stood back up and extended his demon wings to break the webbing from them and take to the air once more, which Drago responded by unleashing his fire breath on the ceiling, setting multiple beams on fire, including the chandelier. Though the initial blast did break down one beam, causing it to collapse towards Will and Matt, both running in opposite directions to avoid the crash, the shockwave knocking Will to the ground with a yell.
Hearing Will's scream got the demonic Collins' attention as he flew directly toward her. She didn't even have a chance to pick herself back up before Collins grabbed her by the arms with his claws and flew out of the room.
"Guys! Help!" They heard Will call out as Collins flew her through the hallways and up the nearest fight of stairs.
"Will!" Matt was about to run after her, but DJ Fist stood in his way. "Back off, metal boy!" Matt tried to punch him. But when his bare knuckles hit Fist's metal skin, he waved his hand and winced in pain. "Ow. Metal boy. Right." He was forced to duck and avoid DJ Fist's punch and quickly rolled away to get some distance, but DJ Fist gave pursuit.
As Uncle appeared to be locked in a fire-fight against Miranda, him blasting stun-spells at her while she shot strands of webbing at him in response, the two using their respective forms of agility to avoid the enemy shots, Jackie was stuck on the defensive against Drago as he tried to parry all his strikes, but was unable to dodge a kick that knocked Jackie back against the wall, though he ducked under the punch that broke a hole through it.
Matt backed away as DJ Fist continued to advance towards him, all while Matt desperately looked around for whatever he could use against his steel-clad foe. He happened to back into the bear's pelt just behind him and glanced upward to see the burning chandelier directly above him, and it looked like it was about to fall at any second. That's when it came to him.
Digging his left foot under the bear's pelt, he swept his foot to send the pelt right into DJ Fist's face to cover and blind him. As the silent fighter tried to shake and push the pelt off, Matt saw the chandelier's chain break, which caused it to fall, Matt then pushed the covered DJ Fist down and ran backwards as the falling chandelier landed on him, causing him to crash through the wooden floor and likely into a possible basement below.
"Maybe a little too much iron in your diet, huh?" Matt smirked as he gazed down the hole.
Uncle's blowfish was knocked from his hands by a stand of webbing from Miranda. "Ha, let's see how well you do without your fancy spells, old man." The spider hissed before charging and attempting to pounce at him. Uncle's eyes narrowed before he thrusted his palm to her face, then a chop to the side, a jab to her underbelly, and a kick that sent Miranda flying into a bookshelf, which collapsed on top of her.
"That is how Uncle sprays for bugs." The elderly wizard dusted his hands.
Jackie had grabbed a five-pronged candle holder and used it to block and parry Drago's claw slashes but was forced to duck and avoid Drago's fire breath. Though the candles were briefly lit from the flames.
"Heh, heh… happy birthday?" Jackie tried to joke before blowing them out and running away. Drago tried to leap at him, but Jackie timed it so that when he got to a rocking chair, he had jumped to the top of it and tipped it over so that the momentum would catapult Drago through a wall.
"He won't be gone for long." Jackie said as he joined Matt and Uncle at the bookshelf that had fallen onto Miranda as they appeared to be shifting through the rubble. "We'll need to find everyone as soon as possible."
"Guardians can communicate via Taranee's psychic link, but they and friends may be under attack from dark forces." Uncle said.
"Then the best thing we can do is get this to Will." Matt said as he pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar from the rubble.
"Let's go." Jackie stated with a nod as they ran out of the room.
Raythor swung his fire-sword towards Jade, who ducked and backed away to avoid the deadly slices. She backed against a wall with a mannequin next to it, one holding a pitchfork, which she quickly grabbed and tried to use to defend against Raythor's slash, though it ended up cutting the pitchfork in half, with Jade being literally backed into a corner.
"Looks like you're out of ideas, little one." Raythor said before thrusting his flaming blade at her, which she was not only able to avoid, but she also caught Raythor by the wrist with the pitchfork, his wrist in-between two of the tines. This took him by surprise, which allowed her to twist her makeshift weapon, causing Raythor to lose his grip on his sword, which Jade was quick to grab as she swept her feet to trip up Raythor before moving around him and point the blade at his face. Though its flames were extinguished the second it left his hand, it was still really sharp and deadly on its own.
"Not quite." Jade smirked before slashing the sword towards him, putting Raythor on the defensive.
Cornelia had thrown down a mannequin towards MC Cobra, but he was able to deliver a lava kick that melted and broke it in half as he advanced towards her. She grabbed a nearby broom stick and spun it around like a master before lunging it at him, but he was quick to grab it and set it on fire with his lava-hands, forcing her to let go.
"Nice moves, blondie. But I got the power, and you don't." MC Cobra gloated.
"Then why don't you cool off!" Alchemy pulled on the emergency fire-switch, activating the sprinkler system and causing water to spray everywhere as it poured on the lava-coated MC Cobra, causing him some minor pain as the water turned to steam the second it made contact, allowing Cornelia a chance to get around him.
"Thanks Alchemy." The blonde thanked with relief.
"Don't mention it." She replied.
Tohru gave a yell as he charged and grabbed Frost and ran to smash him into the wall. But Frost was able to lift his arms and bring them down on Tohru's back, his demonically enhanced strength made it easier to push Tohru down and force him to loosen his grip. He then picked up Tohru by the shirt and threw him towards the girls in the room, all of them screamed as they ducked and let the flying sumo pass over them before he smashed through the wall.
"Tohru, are you okay?" Jade was the first to address him as they all came to his side.
"I've been better…" He groaned as he tried to pick himself up.
MC Cobra, while still being pelted by water from the sprinklers, appeared to have had enough as he created a lava ball in his hand and threw it at one of the sprinklers on the ceiling, and repeated the process until all the sprinklers were destroyed and the water stopped spraying.
The four watched as they saw the trio of villains regroup and menacingly make their way towards them.
"This would be a whole lot easier with our powers…" Cornelia commented.
"Yeah, I'm thinking a tactical retreat is in order." Alchemy agreed.
"We do have a way out now." Jade pointed to the big hole in the wall that Tohru made upon impact.
"Follow me!" Tohru ordered as he led the girls out in the hallway and they proceeded to run for their lives with Raythor, MC Cobra, and Frost in hot pursuit.
"Dragon Commences Execution!" Hak Foo thrusted his claws towards Caleb, who leapt over one of the seats to avoid the thrust that broke through the wooden chair. Hak Foo then jumped over Caleb and landed in front of him. "Demon Kick!" He delivered a fierce roundhouse to knock Caleb back, all the way to the wall on the far side. The young rebel groaned but gasped as he saw Hak Foo leaping over to deliver the final blow. "Demon Sends Rebel to Hell!" Caleb rolled out of the way to avoid the devastating blow from his feet that would have shattered his bones.
Hay Lin ducked behind a seat on the other side of the courtroom exhibit as the Tracker flailed his mace at her, she pulled her head down as the zombie's weapon broke through the wooden furniture. The Tracker pointed in the direction of Hay Lin to send Sniffer to flush her out. The hound proceeded along the floor, in-between a few seats and was about to close in on Hay Lin, only to back away as Taranee slammed a wooden rod in front of it.
"Bad dog! Stay back!" Taranee held the stick like a baseball bat, the tip of it lighting on fire. Despite not being able to transform without the Heart, she could still generate a small amount of fire. She waved the flaming stick in front of the mut to keep it at bay, despite Sniffer barking and snarling at her.
Irma used what marital arts training she could muster to block and parry all the attacks that StrikeMaster Ice lashed out at her. When he tried to deliver a downward chop, Irma crossed her arms above her head to block it before grabbing his hand, extending her leg over his own foot and used his own momentum to flip him over, though he was able to land on his feet.
"Alright, you got some moves little lady." StrikeMaster Ice complemented, a frosty chill escaping his mouth. "But you think you can bring the heat to this icy chill?"
"I don't know. Can you, pizza-face?" Irma taunted as she generated a sphere of water in her hand behind her back. "Or are you afraid of another ass-whooping?"
"Oooh, you got some bark." Ice smirked. "But no magic powers, means no bite." He shot a frosty breath attack towards her, just as she had hoped as she threw out the water ball to intercept the attack, causing it to explode in a flurry of snow, one that temporarily blinded Ice and gave Irma a chance to run towards the door and kicked it open.
"Guys! Let's book!" Irma told her friends, getting all their attention as they ran out of the courtroom exhibit and into the hallways.
"Yo, they're getting away!" StrikeMaster Ice exclaimed as he wiped the snow from his face.
"After them!" Hak Foo ordered as he, the Tracker, Sniffer, and Ice gave pursuit.
"We can't fight them like this!" Caleb stated as he and the girls ran through the halls.
"Taranee, think you can call the others?" Hay Lin asked.
"I'm already on it!" The Fire Guardian reached out with her psychic powers. "Will! Jade! Cornelia! Where are you guys!? We need to regroup!"
"Jade and I are together!" Cornelia contacted back. "We're with Tohru and Alchemy, kinda running for our lives right now!"
"I think I'm in the attic of this place, or at least close to the rooftop." Will responded. "Oh… and Professor Collins has the Sky Demon Chi."
"Wait… what?!" Taranee exclaimed.
"How the heck did that happen?!" Cornelia questioned as well.
"Long story, don't ask." Will said in a whisper as she sat on a pile of objects that the flying demonic Collins had gathered and was still gathering from all the objects in the room. "Miranda took the Heart, so I can't transform. But I'm sure Jackie got it. You guys just try and regroup; I'll see what I can do about Collins here."
"Alright, be careful." Jade said.
"Hmm, let's see." Collins flew to the window and pulled down a drape. "Yes, this will do."
"So… you uh… building a nest?" Will asked somewhat nervously. "Don't suppose I can… step out for a bit and help you find some more stuff… since you used up everything in the room…" She tried to step away, but the demonically transformed Collins flew in front of her.
"You're not going anywhere."
Will backed away slightly but took up a martial arts stance. "Professor Collins, I'm warning you! I know Kung Fu! I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have too!"
"Will, it's alright. I'm not trying to hurt you." Collins assured, causing Will to look in confusion. "I brought you up here to protect you from that dangerous lizard boy."
"Protect me?" Will questioned.
"Of course, I'm your teacher." Collins said. "I don't know what's going on, but you and the other students are my responsibility. Once I know you're safe, I'll go down and get the others and bring them here."
'He's thinking about us?' Will thought to herself for a bit. 'When Caleb used the Earth Demon Chi, he was still the same. I thought maybe because he had a strong enough will to keep all the demon thoughts at bay or something.'
"So… you're still you?" Will asked. "I mean… you got wings and claws and red eyes… you don't feel any… different? No angry or evil thoughts?"
"I guess I do feel a tad bit more… aggressive." Collins thought before hovering in circles. "But my first responsibility is to my students and I'm going to make sure they're all safe." He flew down towards Will. "That includes you, Will. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you." He assured as he put his clawed hand on her shoulder.
She could tell right away that he meant it. He was prioritizing her safety and that of her friends over everything else, even his newfound powers and appearance. 'Guess I underestimated him.' She thought with a smile as a newfound respect for her history teacher was formed right then and there.
The ghosts all shrieked as several flew down to attack Elyon, who had thrown up an energy barrier with one hand to block their assault before thrusting the other to send a wave of magic to push them all back. Four attempted to ambush her from behind, but she felt their presence coming and raised a wall of glowing white flames. The sight of those flames caused the four ghosts to back away in clear fear.
"The flames…!"
"You torture us with them yet again!"
"No longer!"
Multiple ghosts came at Elyon from all sides and attempted to engulf her in a vortex made from their own spectral forms. Their shrieks and moans echoed throughout the room, but within the vortex, a bright white light could be seen before it exploded outward, blasting all the ghosts away, leaving only Elyon as she hovered in the air, the magic around her glowing brightly as she glared at the reforming ghosts with a hardened look of determination.
Unbeknownst to her, the jewel that she continued to wear around her neck, the one from her late mother that was also a present from Trill, it too began to glow with her.
"Whoa… Are you guys seeing this…?" Rocko said as he, Frank, and Charlie all looked in awe while hiding around the corner for cover.
"Dude… Elyon has freaking magic powers! That is so cool!" Charlie grinned.
"Dang right! She's wiping the floor with those ghosts!" Frank hollered. However, he looked back towards his other friend and saw a conflicted look on his face. "Rocko, what's wrong?"
"Is this right…?" Rocko wondered.
"What? What do you mean? Elyon's kicking butt!" Charlie stated.
"Well… yeah, she's awesome but… aren't those ghosts not really bad?" Rocko asked.
"Dude, those guys are trying to kill us!" Frank pointed out. "They seem pretty bad to me!"
"But… those witch trials were bad too, right? Innocent people died?" Rocko remembered. "Aren't those ghosts the same people?"
That caused Frank and Charlie's eyes to widen in surprise as they looked toward each other.
"Dude… I think he's right." Charlie said.
"So… what? Do we just… try and talk with them?" Frank asked. "Like that one movie with Bruce Willis?"
"I was thinking that claymation movie with that kid." Charlie pointed out. "The one that was also set in Massachusetts."
"Yeah, we should talk to these guys." Rocko said as he was the first to run out with his friends right behind him. "Elyon! Hey! Elyon!" Rocko called out to her, getting her attention.
"Guys, what are you doing?! Get back!" She ordered as she continued to fend off the ghosts' assault.
"Elyon, they're not bad ghosts! They're good ghosts!" Rocko said.
"What….?" Elyon looked more confused than anything.
"These guys are all victims of the witch trials, remember?" Frank clarified.
"Maybe we can try talking to them!" Charlie added. "If you got magic superpowers, then use some kind of magic telepathy to talk with them or something?"
That's when Elyon's eyes widened in shock. How could she have forgotten?! All these people were indeed victims of the witch trials! They were once ordinary men and women, children even. But they were accused of something they didn't do, and they couldn't even tell the truth to save themselves. They were paid with the truth by fire and rope. By death. And that's when she remembered…
How she almost did the exact same thing.
Caleb and the rebellion, she had thought they were the bad guys, or at least misguided. And her friends, those that she had trusted, for years in the case of Cornelia and Alchemy, she had thought them brainwashed and manipulated. They tried to help her and tell the truth to her. How did she repay them? She attacked and tried to imprison them! While it was true that she was deceived by Phobos and his allies, it doesn't change what she did. And now, she was doing it again.
'No. I will defend my friends if I have to, but I won't repeat my mistakes!' She declared internally.
"Everybody stop!" Elyon let loose a circular magic wave in all directions, one that caused all the ghosts to freeze in place, much to the awe of the boys below her.
"Whoa…" Frank muttered.
"Please… just…listen to me…" Elyon spoke to the ghosts. Despite being frozen by magic, she was confident they could still hear and see her. "I know what you've all been through. You were accused of something you couldn't have possibly done. You were accused of being witches. You tried to tell the truth, but nobody believed you, did they? Your own communities, maybe even friends and families, they all turned on you… maybe to save themselves from a similar fate… but they still left you. You suffered so much… and… I'm not all that different. I turned my back on the people I cared about, accused them of something they didn't do or something they weren't, and so many innocent people paid the price…" She looked with regret before solidifying her resolve. "I know… what's been done to you can't be taken back, and maybe my words aren't enough to satisfy any of you but… please… let's just talk. Let me find a way to help you. Is this really what you want? Revenge? Hurting people who never even caused you any harm?"
The ghosts were indeed listening to her. They couldn't quite explain it, maybe it was a result of them being touched by her magic, or it was just the power of her words alone, but they could feel the sincerity in her voice. A longing to listen and understand their pain, their anger, their regrets and grief. As they listened, one-by-one, many of them felt their anger subside.
"She… you want to… listen to us…?"
"Nobody… ever listened to us…"
"We weren't witches… we weren't monsters…."
"But now… look at us…"
"We're attacking children…! Innocent children whom have never harmed us…!"
"We've… we've become what they accused us of…!"
"We shouldn't be here…!"
"No! What are we doing?! Why are we doing this?!"
Gone was their anger, now there was only grief and regret. Elyon and the boys could even hear their sobs and calls of sorrow, which caused all four of them to look in sympathy.
"I'm sorry…" Elyon said sincerely to them as she released her magical grip from the ghosts and lowered herself to the ground closer to her friends. "I'm so sorry you all went through so much. I know it can't be undone but… please. My friends… they're in trouble and… maybe you can help them. If you do that… then maybe I can find a way to help all of you."
That got many of the ghosts' attention.
"Why…? Why would you want to help monsters such as us?"
"You're not monsters." Elyon said as she walked towards the nearest ghost. "You're victims. You're people in pain. And I want to help ease that pain however I can. Please." She extended her hand to said ghost, who stared at it with an emotionally moved expression.
"Will!" Matt and Jackie were the first to enter the highest room in the building with urgency, Uncle lagging behind them as he took a moment to catch his breath.
"Old house needs elevator…!" Uncle breathed.
"Guys, it's okay!" Will assured her mentor and her boyfriend with the demonically transformed Collins perched next to her. "Professor Collins is still right in the head!"
"Then how about I fix that?" They all turned toward the other side of the room as Drago emerged from a window with Miranda and DJ Fist climbing up behind him. "By caving his head in as I take back the Sky Demon Chi!"
"Oh boy…" Will winced.
"How about we even the odds a little bit?" Jade stated as she, Tohru, Cornelia, and Alchemy entered the room with Taranee, Irma, Hay Lin, and Caleb right beside them.
"Oh and FYI, we got a whole bunch of ticked off bad guys right behind us, so…" Irma urged.
"Right. Will, I think this is yours." Matt threw the Heart of Kandrakar towards her, which she was quick to catch with an eager grin as she said the magic words.
"Guardians Unite!"
With yet another flashy transformation, Will, Jade, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin had all donned their respective Guardian forms of J-WITCH just as the remaining Knights of Vengeance entered the room.
"So much for the whole 'divide and conquer' shtick." StrikeMaster Ice pointed out.
Drago growled. "Crush them all! I'll take the Sky Demon Chi!" He leapt from his position and was able to grab a hold of Collins and tackle him to the ground, Will quickly flew to assist him as the rest of the heroes and villains engaged in a massive brawl.
"Angry Dragon Takes Flight!" Hak Foo leapt above and came down towards Jackie, who dashed out of the way to avoid the downward strike, but Hak Foo kept up his relentless assault. "Rapid Fang Strike!" He threw out several punches, which put Jackie on the defensive as he blocked them however way that he could.
Jade held Raythor's stolen sword as she coated it in shadow-magic while also generating a shadow katana in her hand to dual wield as she squared off against Raythor.
"Ready for round two, knight-boy? Too bad you don't have a sword." Jade taunted.
"There's more to a soldier than just their weapon, child." Raythor said as he shot a stream of fire from his mouth in a similar manner to his leader, which Jade blocked by crossing her shadow-swords like an x before flying to slice at him, which he backed away to avoid before setting his own hands ablaze as he delivered several punches, which Jade blocked with her shadow-coated blades.
StrikeMaster Ice gave a martial arts yell as he charged Taranee throwing multiple punches and kicks her way, she too coated her fists with fire as she blocked his icy-strikes before performing a roundhouse to generate a wave of flame, but Ice flipped backwards to avoid them before he breathed a frosty-breath attack at her, which Taranee countered with a blast of flames from her fists, clashing fire and ice attacks against one another.
Irma and MC Cobra were in a similar situation as she blasted a stream of water at him to push him back, but his lava-coated skin protected him from the brunt of the attack as steam left his body. He jumped into the air and threw down a lava ball towards her, which Irma shielded herself against by generating a water dome around her body, creating a cloud of steam upon impact, which MC Cobra broke through as he landed in front of Irma to strike at her, but she flew back and upwards to keep her distance.
Cornelia used her telekinetic abilities to gather up whatever objects she could around her and threw them at DJ Fist, who was easily able to break through most of them with his steel-coated fists and body, quickly closing the distance between him and Cornelia. However, she also found a sheet along the ground and threw it at DJ Fist's face, obscuring his vision, allowing her to use her opponent's own momentum against him as she ducked and tripped up his feet, sending him rolling and crashing through the wall.
The Tracker threw his mace towards Hay Lin, who coated her right foot in a whirlwind to protect herself as she kicked the mace away before flying down to deliver a kick to the zombified hunter's chest, pushing him back and allowing her to go on the offensive as she punched and chopped across his body. But, to her shock, the Tracker caught her foot when she attempted to kick him and hauled her over himself to slam her onto the ground. However, she spun her body to generate a mini tornado around herself to break free of the Tracker's grip before blasting him back with a point-blank cyclone from her hands.
Tohru rushed and slammed his shoulder into Frost, carrying him and smashing him through the wall and into the hallway outside. However, right as he fell, Frost pulled back both his feet and kicked Tohru back before grabbing him by the shirt and using his own enhanced strength to throw him back inside, breaking the wall down even further. While the sumo was down, the demonicaly transformed hunter wrapped his arm around Tohru's neck in an attempt to choke him, even as Tohru stood back up and rammed his back and Frost into the nearest wall in an attempt to shake him off.
Matt had picked up a coatrack as he and Alchemy were approached by Miranda and a growling Sniffer.
"What do you expect to do with that?" Miranda mocked as she shot some webbing towards Matt, who caught it with the coatrack.
"Oh nothing, just this!" He pulled the coatrack and, in turn, pulled Miranda towards himself, to which he slammed the coatrack into her to knock her to the ground. While she was down, Matt pressed the coatrack down onto her to keep her pinned, which he struggled to do. Sniffer tried to rush and bite him, but Alchemy had blocked his way by pushing down a dresser, causing the Meridian hound to turn his attention towards her.
"Heh, nice doggy?" She tried but was forced to run as Sniffer chased after her. Fortunately, a stun spell from Uncle had struck Sniffer on his side.
"Dog should go back to obedience school!" Uncle said as he blasted Sniffer once again.
"Thanks, Uncle." Alchemy said. "Now, can't you suck up the Demon Chi from Collins so we can be done with all this?"
"Demon teacher fly too fast!" Uncle stated. "Must be stationary for spell to work properly!"
True to his word, the Sky Demon Chi infused Collins was unable to hold properly still as Drago continued to cling to him with Collins trying his best to shake him off. He tried to slam Drago into an upper part of the wall and then the ceiling, but when he tried for a third attempt, Drago kicked the wall he was about to be rammed into and pushed himself back to throw Collins for a loop, allowing Drago to angle himself and blast the demonically transformed teacher with his fire breath to push him to the ground. Drago was quick to get on top of him as he raised his claw and attempted to extract the Sky Demon Chi from his body.
"Claws off my teacher!" Will slammed into Drago to push him off Collins. Drago rolled on the ground briefly before pulling himself up to face Will's relentless attacks, which Drago was unable to block until Will tried to kick him, which he was able to grab with his tail before pulling her in close to wrap his hands around her neck and slam her to the ground.
When it looked like he was about to choke her, Collins had flown back up to grab Drago by his shoulders and toss him away. He landed near Will, looking to her with concern as she pushed herself back up, even as Jackie was tossed close towards them, Hak Foo approaching them in a menacing way.
"Jackie, this is getting out of control!" Will told him.
"I know. We're too evenly matched. We have to find a way to end this now." Jackie replied.
Right as he said that, a couple ghosts phased up from the floor in front of them, much to their shock. Soon, all the other fights around the room came to a halt as several other ghosts fazed in from the floor and ceiling. Drago had pulled himself back up to look in surprise, which turned into a sinister grin as he saw all the ghosts that he had raised hover around all the occupants.
"Looks like the calvary's here." The half-demon sneered.
"Yeah, it is." That voice in particular drew Drago's attention as he looked to see the smirking Elyon leaning on the doorway with Frank, Charlie, and Rocko standing beside her with crossed arms. "Just not here for you."
All of the ghosts slowly descended toward the ground, completely bypassing the Guardians, Jackie, and all their friends, much to their surprise and encircled around the Knights of Vengeance, much to Drago's concern.
"What are you doing?! Attack them!" Drago ordered.
"We were judged with consorting with demons." One ghost spoke up, as did the others.
"A demon raised us from our slumber to attack innocents."
"We became the very thing we were accused of."
"But no longer."
"Now the truly wicked shall receive their just reward."
All the ghosts shrieked as they attacked the Knights, strike them from all sides as they moved like a rapid whirlwind. They encircled around the villains like a twister, screeching and shrieking with righteous fury, the Knights unable to fight back. The twister then exploded outward, blasting a hole in the ceiling as the force of the ghosts' wrath sent Drago and all his followers screaming flying to parts unknown.
With that, the Knights of Vengeance had been defeated. Now, there was the matter of the ghosts to deal with as they all turned their attention to the heroes.
The Guardians readied their respective powers while Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, Matt, and Caleb each took combat stances, ready to fight back, with even Collins spreading his wings for the same purpose.
"Guys, it's okay." Elyon assured as she and the boys stepped in front of them.
"Yeah, they're good ghosts." Rocko pointed out.
"Uh… what?" Irma questioned.
Jackie's eyes then widened. "I see… they're the spirits of the victims of the witch trials."
"Drago must have used dark magic to awaken them." Uncle assumed.
"But… they're not bad." Elyon said. "They were forced awake by Drago and used to attack us. So… I talked to them. I listened to them. And… I think we reached an understanding. Right?" She asked as she turned around to face the ghosts.
One-by-one, the ghostly figures began to change. Their dark red color turned into something of a faint yellow, their torn clothes appeared mended, and their skeletal forms were replaced by the clean faces of the men, women, and even children, whom they once were.
"Yes."
"What happened to us couldn't be undone."
"When we were falsely judged… all those we knew… turned their backs on us."
"Family… friends… our community… our home."
"But… a child… most pure… with the desire to protect those she cared for. You… you listened to us."
"You believed in us… something that our own didn't."
"For that… we thank you, sincerely."
Elyon smiled. "Your welcome."
"And… uh… thank you, for saving our hides back there." Jade added.
"Yes, thank you for your help." Jackie said. "As you said, what happened to you in the past can't be fixed… but you have saved many innocent lives today. I hope that brings you some manner of peace."
"It does." One ghost said. "More than you'll ever know."
"Oh, by the way!" Hay Lin spoke up. "Our group name is J-WITCH. I know the whole witch thing back in your time was bad but… here…with us… we use it to help people like you. Just thought it be cool for you to know."
A few of the ghosts exchanged surprised glances before they mused humorously to one another.
"Witch… used to aid others." One ghost chuckled. "The times have changed."
With that, each of the ghosts began to disappear. Their souls finding some manner of peace, and no further reason to remain on this mortal plane, the spirits of the victims all vanished. Once they were all gone, the heroes couldn't help but smile. Even if it wasn't their mission, the fact they helped bring peace and closure to some long and lost tortured souls felt like a huge accomplishment. One that brought them all joy and pride.
"Well… this whole thing has certainly been more exciting than grading papers." The Sky-Demon Chi infused Collins commented.
"Yeah… I think it's to get you back to normal." Will said to her teacher.
"He's not gonna remember any of this, is he?" Irma asked Uncle. "Having our teacher as part of the group would be really awkward."
"His first real exposure to magic. Teacher is most unlikely to remember any of this." Uncle said.
"Well, that said… thanks a lot, Professor Collins." Will thanked her history teacher sincerely. "You're probably the best teacher we've had, certainly my favorite now."
Collins smiled as he put a hand on her shoulder. "And you're a terrific student and a great kid, Will. I can see why your mother is so proud of you."
Though Will was greatly touched by the praise, she was a bit confused on how Collins mentioned her mother, but that wasn't important right now. "Uncle, if you would do the honors?" She gestured to the chi-wizard, who had the Chi-Omatic ready.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." As Uncle chanted, a green chi spell was shot from his blowfish at Collins. He gave one more demonic roar as the dark blue energy stands of the Sky Demon Chi was extracted from his eyes and mouth and pulled directly into the Chi-Omatic. Once inside the containment jar, a transparent image of a flute appeared, showing the Sky Demon Chi had been thoroughly contained.
Collins fell back in a state of unconsciousness, with Will being the first to catch him. Coincidentally, the dark clouds finally began to clear up and reveal the bright blue sky, the warm sunshine beaming down on all of them.
Professor Collins woke up with a slight groan on the moving school bus as it made its way back to Heatherfield from Salem.
"Hey, dozed off for a minute, Professor Collins?" Will asked in the seat across from him.
"Uh… wha… what happened?" Collins asked.
"We finished with the tour and got back on the bus. You were lights out the second we hit the road." Will said. "Guess that whole thing took a lot out of you."
'That's exactly what happened.' Irma focused her mental powers on Collins to try and convince him.
"Yeah… that's exactly what happened." Collins replied with a slight chuckle. "Weird though… I had this crazy dream with demons and ghosts…"
"Well, we were in witches' town, guess it really was haunted." Will joked, earning a slight laugh from Collins.
"Good news, Collins doesn't remember a thing." Jade whispered into her phone.
"That's good to hear. Uncle, Tohru, and I should be at Section 13 soon." Jackie responded. "We'll have the Sky Demon Chi contained with the others. Tell the others they did great back there."
"Will do." Jade hung up as the other girls sat around her. "Five down, three to go."
"School field trip and beating the bad guys in one take? I'd say that's a good day." Hay Lin commented.
"And it looks like we got some more allies, too." Taranee pointed more toward the back of the bus where Elyon, Alchemy, Matt, and Caleb sat close to Frank, Charlie, and Rocko.
"So, you're a magic queen and your friends are all magic superheroes?!" Charlie asked Elyon excitedly.
"And our uncles are your top guards, and you're a badass rebel!?" Frank asked Elyon and Caleb in an excited tone as well.
"That's a basic sum, yep." Elyon confirmed.
"And the Rebellion technically disbanded when Phobos was dethroned, but yes." Caleb said with pride.
"So cool!" Rocko grinned. "We wanna be magic superheroes too!"
"Kinda nice to have our inner circle grow a bit." Taranee said with the J-WITCH girls sitting around her. "More help and less people we need to keep secrets from."
"Let's just hope the Nephorcers aren't as clumsy as their uncles." Cornelia commented.
"Nephorcers?" Irma questioned.
"Oh! Cause they're the nephews of the Enforcers! I get it!" Hay Lin beamed.
"Demons, ghosts, and new friends all at once. What's our next big adventure to top that?" Jade snarked as she shared a glance with Will.
"You just love trying to jinx us, don't you" Will joked as she nudged her best friend playfully.
Done.
Yeah, this chapter was a lot of fun. Once again, thank you for your patience. Having my computer break and getting sick around the same time is a pretty bad case of rotten luck, isn't it? But that kind of thing happens to all of us.
I bet you didn't expect Professor Collins to get the Sky Demon Chi, did you? I'm actually surprised that nobody guessed it (if they did, then I clearly missed it). And no, he doesn't remember anything that happened.
But the Enforcers' nephews (whom Cornelia has now dubbed the 'Nephorcers') are now part of the main group as they know about all the magic stuff now.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as this next one is going to be very interesting. I've got something pretty big planned there.
Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.
See you next time.