Hi everyone, welcome back to more J-WITCH. Now, a few reviewers have been saying in their reviews, as well as leaving PMs for me, how they think this chapter and the future of this story should go. While I do appreciate how much everyone enjoys this story, it's still ultimately my story and I decide what direction I want to take it.
Now, with that being said, let's get started, because this chapter has quite a few surprises for all of you.
One Person's Trash
Nomads were not an uncommon sight in Meridian. They weren't official residents of the kingdom, having chosen to spend their lives roaming around the wilds, making their own ends meet by trade, such was the case of this group of Nomads that were visited by a certain Passling.
"Treasures for trade! Treasures for trade!" Blunk announced as he showed various pieces of garbage from Earth. "This rare find, good for um…" Blunk pulled out a rubber hose. "…Building muscles!" He stretched the hose above his head. "It help Blunk get such good body! Ah feel burn!" He however caused it to snap and send it flying onto a hog's rear, causing it to squeal in pain. "Also, good piggy alarm clock." He chuckled nervously.
However, Blunk also saw another Passling having entered the camp and had approached a nomad with a cocking pot. "Jeek! You evil Passling!" He rushed in front of the rival Passling. "This my customer! Very loyal! Never trade with you!"
"I'll take it!" The nomad customer seemed to accept Jeek's bargain as he pulled out the item to trade with. "For this."
"Jeek no want stupid horn." Jeek declined.
Blunk gasped once he saw the horn in question. It was a Horn of Hypnos! "Ooh! Blunk do! Blunk very musical! Trade horn for waker-uper and flower cooker!" He offered the rubber hose from before along with a flowerpot.
Jeek narrowed his eyes. There was no way he was losing out to Blunk! "No, Jeek must have horn!" He was about reach into his bag, but Blunk pushed him out of the way to show a football helmet and a pompom. Jeek pushed Blunk out of the way to show an old shoe. Blunk pushed back to show a model ship. Jeek pushed back in retaliation to show a horseshoe. Blunk still pushed back as he showed a record album with a bite mark on it. Jeek tried desperately to look into his own bag for anything of value.
"Blunk trade it all for horn!" He offered pretty much all the treasures he had on hand. "Please accept discount."
"I accept." The nomad took Blunk's whole bag as he handed the Passling the Horn of Hypnos.
Once he put the Horn in his sack, Blunk ran out of the Nomads' camp and into the surrounding forest. "Blunk do good! Blunk get a Horn of Hypnos! Blunk remembers. Wong and Cedric use Horn of Hypnos. Sound make good guys into zombie minions. Into trance marchers." He briefly stopped to look at the Horn in his bag. "Guardians and Chan Clan know what to do with you. In wrong hangs, Horn big trouble."
Blunk took out the Tonga Tooth to open a Fold before leaping into it, unaware that Jeek had been following him. "Big trouble smell like big profit." Jeek grinned as he leapt into the Fold after Blunk.
Earth – Heatherfield
A junkyard would be the last place one would find a crime lord, and that's exactly who was there, scavenging for food or anything that could be useful in any way, shape, or form. What was once one of the most dangerous and powerful men in the world, was now a shadow of his former self as his clothes were torn, his hair was greasy and in shambles, and his clothes were a wreck. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
"Ugh, when did it come to this?" Valmont muttered as he looked at a rotten piece of pizza. "Me, Valmont… mastermind of the Dark Hand… looking for scraps merely to survive." He threw the rotten food away. "I should never have listened to that blasted Fire Demon...!"
Suddenly, a Fold had opened up above him, prompting Valmont to hide behind a pile of garbage as he saw Blunk emerge from it and Jeek right behind him, the latter digging into the junk to avoid being seen as Blunk found a half-ripped basketball and put it over his head like a helmet.
"Ooh, cool helmet! This Blunk lucky day!"
Jeek peeked out from the pile of junk to see Blunk's bag. "This Jeek lucky day."
Valmont observed the Passlings from a distance as they left the junkyard. "Isn't one of those a pet for Chan and his girls?" He recognized Blunk as a smirk fell on his face. "Hmm, this could prove interesting."
"I'm being held hostage!" Irma complained as she stood in her garage, her father opening the door to reveal all the junk that pretty much occupied every inch of it.
"No, you're being grounded." Tom told her.
"That's just being held hostage, with a bonus lecture." Irma stated with crossed arms.
"Young lady, I didn't pack our garage with all this junk, and I'm not cleaning it out either." He said as he walked away.
'I'm going easy on you, this time. I'm going easy on you, this time.' Irma directed her mind powers to her dad, and it seemed to work as he stopped just before the door that led into the house.
"I'm going easy on you, this time." Tom said, causing Irma to smile. "You're not grounded… so long as you clean up this garage until it's garbage free and scrubbed spotless." He said before walking inside.
Irma's eyelids lowered. "Jedi master, I am not."
With a sigh of defeat, the Water Guardian began to clean out her garage, carrying a few boxes in her hands towards the curb when Blunk suddenly appeared by her side.
"Yo!" Blunk greeted.
Irma gasped. "You!"
"Blunk have big news! Big surprise in bag!" He pointed to the bag he held.
"I said 'you could store a few things in my garage'! A few!" Irma stated. "Now look! It's the Mount Everest of garbage!"
"Not garbage, collectibles! Blunk collect from best dumps in city!" He was then tossed the junk that Irma had.
"Well, you can help me uncollect it, right back!" Irma ordered.
"But…"
"Now!" She exclaimed. "Or I'll scrub you spotless along with this garage!"
Blunk really didn't have much of a choice in the matter as Irma more-or-less forced him to help, but this ended up leaving the bag he held, the one containing the Horn of Hypnos, unattended.
Meridian
The nomads screamed as their camp came under attack from none other than the Knights of Vengeance. Gargoyle crushed some of their wagons with his enormous arms while Frost rode Crimson to tear the others down, Sandpit blew away all the tents in its twister form. As the people tried to run, they would find their path blocked by StrikeMaster Ice.
"Yo, why the rush hobo-folk?" Ice grinned. "You got ice in the hizzhouse!" The people would soon find themselves completely surrounded by Tracker with Sniffer, Hak Foo, DJ Fist, and MC Cobra.
The leader of the camp, the one that had previously traded with Blunk, was webbed to a rock as Miranda loomed over him while Drago and Raythor faced him directly.
"All the rumors we've heard said that one would be here!" Raythor said as he drew his sword and pointed it to the head nomad's throat.
"What!? What do you want?!"
"This." Drago opened his palm to produce a flame and reveal the Horn of Hypnos. "Now you're going to tell us where it is, or I'll give you a literal third degree!"
Earth – Uncle's Rare Finds
"Hmmm." Alchemy sat at the same table as Tohru and Uncle as the latter was teaching his apprentice some more advanced spells in the back room of the Chan family shop.
"So… if adding the tentacle of an octopus to three eyes of newts creates the ingredient needed for the potion… then I would need five times the amount of garlic to suppress the reaction, right?" Tohru asked.
"Correct." Uncle confirmed with a smile. "Your knowledge of Chi Magic is increasing, Tohru. You may not be an apprentice much longer."
Tohru couldn't help but smile at the praise of his teacher.
"Wait… but what if you used a squid's tentacle instead?" Alchemy asked, getting into the conversation.
"Aya! Squid tentacle is only half as potent as octopus!" Uncle stated. "Potion will be ineffective!"
"But wouldn't that also mean there's less of a reaction? And no need to pack all that garlic?" Alchemy wondered, causing Uncle to blink in surprise.
"Huh, I honestly never thought of that." Tohru said.
"Well… these spells you guys are going over, I get how complex then can be but… what if you don't have the exact ingredients?" Alchemy asked. "Gotta find some way to substitute it, right?"
"She does actually have a point, Sensei." Tohru followed along. "If you lose the ingredient that you have…"
"Which is why it is important to check and make sure you have all you need to perform spell." Uncle replied. "A good chi wizard makes spell his own, yes. But replacing ingredients could change the effect of the spell being cast."
"Maybe it won't work exactly the way you want… but that doesn't mean you can't improvise, right?" Alchemy pointed out. "I don't know if I'd come up with a complex spell on the fly in a fight. So… why not a bunch of smaller spells together?"
"That… does sound rather clever." Tohru commented.
As the three continued to talk, Jackie, Matt, and most of the girls were close enough to hear most of the conversation.
"Is it just me… or does Alchemy sound like she's got a thing for spells?" Jade wondered.
"Yeah… ever since Tohru's shown her some basic chi magic… she's actually been getting the hang of it." Taranee added.
"Hey, if she's able to stump the old guy, I'm not complaining." Cornelia said.
"I can't even make out half of what they're saying." Matt commented. "All that chi-stuff sounds more complicated than our chemistry class. No offense." He said to Jackie.
"None taken. Trust me, half of the time I feel like Uncle is just making it all up." Jackie replied.
"Hey Irma, where are you?" Will asked over the phone. "We all said we'd meet up at the shop to plan Mrs. Rudolph's retirement party."
"Do. Not. Blame. Me." Irma replied with irritation. "Blame Blunk! The mobile disaster area!"
"At least he's helping you clean up." Will replied.
Irma looked to see Blunk carrying a large amount of junk before it all collapsed on top of him. "Yeah… anymore help, and we'll have to condemn the house..."
Suddenly, Tom appeared to snatch his daughter's phone away. "I'm sorry, but Irma's a tad busy right now." He hung it up before addressing Irma directly. "So, I'll just confiscate this until my garage sparkles." He put the phone away before walking away, leaving Irma to sigh in annoyance.
Matt cringed a bit. "Ugh, are you sure Blunk is with her?" He plugged his nose from the stench.
"Yeah… cause I'm smelling Passling stink big time." Cornelia added.
"Unless it's Uncle coming up with one nasty spell…" Jade winced.
"Do not blame Uncle for stench!" The elder chi wizard exclaimed.
"But what even is that smell…?" Alchemy cringed as she and Tohru caught the scent as well.
"I don't think it's even coming from inside the shop." The sumo followed the scent towards the back door with everyone behind him.
Meanwhile, in the back alley just outside of Uncle's Rare Finds, Jeek rummaged through all the junk around him as he looked for a way to get back to Meridian.
"Must be portal somewhere! Must be! Must be!" He tried to sniff out for a portal, but ever since he switched Blunk's bag for Jeek while he was distracted at that girl's house, he has been unable to locate it.
The door to the shop around the corner opened as the Chan Clan, the girls, and Matt all went outside, prompting Jeek to hide around the corner.
"It's definitely coming from out here." Taranee said.
"Yuck! It's worse than usual! Like skunk loaf all soaked in fish oil smothered in limburger cheese." Will grossed out.
Jade fought back the urge to puke. "Thanks so much for that mental image, Will…!"
At the sound of the Guardians' voices, Jeek made a run for it, but that also alerted him to the heroes' presence.
"It's Jeek!" Jackie said before sprinting after the evil Passling with everyone else right behind him. Jeek tried to run as fast as he could, but Jackie kicked off a nearby wall and towards a fire-escape on the wall across from him. He grabbed the ladder and swung himself to land in front of Jeek and halt his path. When Jeek tried to turn around, he found that the others have quickly arrived to block his path.
"How the heck did this creep get here? There aren't any more portals!" Jade stated.
"No more portals…?" Jeek looked in surprise before trying to put on an act. "Jeek not need portals! Jeek very talented! Come and go as pleases! Go back to Meridian now, with this!" He reached into the bag to pull out a certain horn.
"A Horn of Hypnos?!" Hay Lin exclaimed.
Jeek quickly leapt towards that same fire escape Jackie used and tried to make his way to the roof top, but Jackie was quick to give chase and made it to the roof top just as Jeek did, but Jeek had thrown a banana peel right when Jackie leapt onto the ledge, causing him to slip and fall off the roof top with a scream.
"Guardians Unite!" Will had already transformed herself and most of the girls just as Jackie fell, with Jade quickly flying up to catch him before flying back up to the rooftop. Hay Lin had picked up Matt to fly him to the roof just as Cornelia and Taranee did the same for Alchemy and Uncle respectively while Jade used her shadow magic to erect a large ladder-construct made of shadows to allow Tohru a chance to climb up. But when they were all on top, Jeek was nowhere to be seen.
"The guy's gotta be close… I can still smell him." Alchemy cringed as the group began to search the immediate area.
"So… didn't you say that was a magic horn or something?" Matt asked.
"The Horn of Hypnos." Will explained. "It basically hypnotizes you and turns you into a zombie slave."
"But I thought we destroyed that thing last year." Cornelia remembered.
"We destroyed a horn. Horn of Hypnos is rare artifact. More than one." Uncle said.
"And Jeek somehow managed to get his hands on one of them." Tohru stated as they continued their search, but they had found next to nothing, even as they regrouped on a smaller rooftop.
"The stench trail ends here." Cornelia said. "But I don't see him."
"You think he maybe did return to Meridian?" Hay Lin asked.
"It couldn't be with the Horn though, that doesn't open Folds." Taranee replied.
"Drago and the Knights of Vengeance can open Folds. Maybe Jeek has something too. How else could he have gotten to Earth?" Alchemy said.
"The Horn of Hypnos is too dangerous of a relic to be left unchecked." Jackie stated. "Uncle, Tohru, Matt, Alchemy, you all go find Irma and Blunk and tell them what has happened. The rest of us are going to Meridian to try and find Jeek."
"On it." Matt nodded as he, Tohru, Alchemy, and Uncle quickly left, while Will took out the Heart of Kandrakar to open a Fold, allowing the four Guardians and their mentor to enter the quickly enter.
However, it seems they've failed to notice that Jeek had never left Earth as he had hidden in an old mattress that had been conveniently laying around on the rooftop, they were all on.
"Jeek clever Passling. Guardians and friends fall for his Horn revealing plan." The sinister Passling then leapt into the Fold himself just as it closed.
And unbeknownst to him, the entire thing had been seen by none other than Valmont from down in the alleyway with a pair of old binoculars. Though he couldn't hear anything they were saying, he could tell by their mannerisms that this was a serious event taking unfolding.
"It seems like our heroes are in a tight spot." He mused to himself as he saw Tohru, Uncle, Matt, and Alchemy making it down to the ground before quickly running toward their own destination. "And perhaps they could use the assistance of an… unlikely ally." Valmont grinned.
Meanwhile, it would seem that Irma and Blunk were just about done as most of the junk had been pulled out of the garage and brought out to the curb, with the pair bringing out the last of it.
"Shame to be giving away such booty…" Blunk said with reluctance as he looked at an old toilet seat.
"We're not giving it away, Blunk. We're throwing it away! It's garbage!" Irma said as she put down the last box. "And that is the last of it." Now up next was the scrubbing part, which wasn't much trouble for the Water Guardian.
Using her powers, Irma collected all the condensation from the grass and spread the water all over the floor of the garage while she spun around in the center, spreading the water all across the floor, walls, and ceiling before pulling it all away and sending it into the street and toward the nearest sewer drain. In no time at all, the garage was spotless.
"Now my dad can eat off of this floor." She grinned.
"Irma!" Alchemy called to her, causing her to turn around to see not only her, but also Tohru, Matt, and Uncle.
"Hey guys." She greeted.
"Jeek has a Horn of Hypnos!" Tohru informed. "Jackie, Will, and the others all Folded to Meridian after him."
"That crazy talk. Blunk have Horn." Blunk dumped the contents of his own bag, or what he thought was his bag, because the Horn was no longer there, just a pile of garbage, much to his shock. "Ah! Blunk had Horn!" He desperately searched through the garbage for the Horn. "Blunk outtrade Jeek for Horn! Gave up good stuff, too! Blown up picture tube, good!"
"He must have followed you when you Folded to Earth and switched the bags when you weren't looking!" Matt deduced.
"Why didn't you say something sooner?!" Irma questioned. "Ugh! Blunk, how could you lose… OW!" She felt her forehead where Uncle delivered his titular dope slap.
"How Horn lost, not important! Finding Horn, is!" Uncle stated.
"But if Jeek doesn't have a way to open Folds, then maybe he's still on Earth!" Alchemy suggested.
"On the contrary…" Stepping out from around the corner, Valmont revealed himself. "That is no longer the case."
"Wha… Valmont?!" Irma exclaimed in shock as everyone else looked in surprise, save for Tohru who quickly seized him by his ruined suit and hoisted him up with one hand with a growl.
"Easy now… we don't want to cause a commotion and alert the family…" Valmont gestured to the door in Irma's garage that led to the inside of her house.
"Tohru, put him down, we can't cause a scene." Alchemy said, causing Tohru to grumble as he set his former boss down, but he still kept a firm grip on his shoulder as everyone glared at him.
"So… that's the Valmont crime lord I've heard about?" Matt asked.
"Yep." Irma confirmed. "He's even more slippery than Blunk." That earned a gasp from the aforementioned Passling. "And he smells like him too…" She plugged her nose. "You ever heard of showers, man?"
"Not a lot of options of bathing when you're a wanted criminal." Valmont commented.
"What do you want?" Tohru practically growled.
"To provide my assistance, in your current predicament." He explained. "That Jeek-character you mentioned? When Chan and his young protegees opened that Fold you say to Meridian, Jeek followed. A rather crafty fellow, that one."
"Aiya…!" Uncle put his palm to his face in annoyance, realizing how easily they were tricked.
"And you're telling us this, why?" Matt questioned.
"Because I wish to make amends with all of you." Valmont replied.
"Yeah, and I'm gonna be the head of Disney." Irma said sarcastically.
"It is no trick, I promise." Valmont assured. "I realize my… checkered past leaves much to be desired… but I feel it is time for me to turn over a new leaf. I'm tired of living on the streets, looking for scraps just to survive the day. I wish to start over. After all, you gave Tohru a chance here, did you not?"
Tohru glared, but realized he had no way to argue back as that was true. But that didn't mean that Tohru was going to trust him.
"Guys… I don't think we have time for all this." Alchemy said. "If what he says is true and Jeek is in Meridian with the Horn, he could cause a lot of trouble for everyone, even our friends!"
"Yes! Jeek wrong Passling to have Horn!" Blunk agreed.
"And you're the right one?" Irma retorted.
"Do not argue!" Uncle got up in her face. "We must go to Meridian now!"
"What about him?" Matt referred to Valmont.
"We will take him with us." Tohru said, causing Valmont to smile. "If only so that we can keep an eye on him." He quickly added, casting a suspicious glare to the crime lord.
"Yes… please, allow me to earn your trust so that I may prove my worth to you." Valmont said.
"Blunk, take us to Meridian." Tohru told the Passling, who nodded as he took out the Tonga Tooth and opened a Fold for everyone to enter, which they did one-by-one. Though Alchemy was the last one to step in as she had her phone out for a few seconds before putting it away and going into the Fold, which closed right after.
A few seconds later, Tom entered the garage and looked more than a little impressed with how clean it was.
"Looking good, and in record time." He smiled. "That girl deserves…" As he stepped out, he accidentally stepped onto the pile of garbage that Blunk had previously spilled out and slipped to fall flat on his back. "Permanent… grounding…"
Meridian
The group had indeed arrived in Meridian through Blunk's Folding, but not in an ideal way. They all hung by a series of branches near the top of a tree as Tohru held onto the trunk of the tree below most of them while Uncle, Alchemy, and Irma clung to the branch above him, with Matt and Valmont on the one above them while Blunk held to the tree itself across from them.
"Blunk, you Folded us into a tree!" Irma groaned.
"Heh… windy day. Folding aim still a little off…" Blunk apologized.
"Well… on the positive side… we are perfectly balanced." Valmont put in. "So long as nothing disrupts said balance, we should get down with little issue."
"So, let's try and get down slowly." Alchemy said.
"Don't worry, Blunk help get us down…" The Passling tried to crawl more onto the branch that Matt and Valmont were on.
"No, Blunk wait!" Matt tried to stop him, but it was too late. Their combined weight was enough to break the branch, causing Matt, Valmont, and Blunk to fall onto Uncle, Irma, and Alchemy, and them to fall onto Tohru, all seven of them screamed before they landed on the ground hard.
"Told you…!" Blunk said in an apologetic wince.
"Is everyone alright?" Tohru asked as they all pulled themselves up.
"Peachy." Irma replied sarcastically.
"So… this is Meridian." Valmont looked around. "How very… natural."
"Hey, don't get any funny ideas." Alchemy warned.
"Of course, not." Valmont straightened his worn-out suit. "I am unfamiliar with this realm and would have nothing to gain by slipping away. Therefore, I shall follow your lead." Blunk immediately got to work as he sniffed the ground, crawling on all fours as he caught the scent of Jeek and led the group. "And what is he doing?"
"Passlings have distinct sense of smell." Uncle explained. "He can lead us to Jeek."
"A magical bloodhound. Very interesting." Valmont looked rather intrigued.
The group didn't have that much farther to travel as they came towards a small ridge which led to an old and ruined shack that looked rather poorly patched up, which was also surrounded by garbage inside and out.
"See? Blunk help." The Passling pointed to the shack. "Blunk track down Jeek. Follow smell."
Irma groaned. "Ugh! A trunkless elephant could follow this smell! It reaks!"
Blunk took in a deep breath to inhale the stinky air. "Nice, huh?"
"Smell not important. We must retrieve Horn of Hypnos now!" Uncle stated as the group made their way closer.
"So what exactly is this 'Horn of Hypnos' capable of?" Valmont asked.
"None of your concern." Tohru told him.
"If I knew more of what you were looking for, perhaps I can be of some assistance." Valmont offered.
"You're not here to help!" Alchemy pointed to him. "You're here so that we can keep an eye on you! Now keep moving!" She pushed Valmont forward as the group made their way closer to the shack, the former crime lord groaning in annoyance.
"What do you mean you lost them?!" Matt questioned as they all surrounded Jeek inside his shack, who was eating what one would assume would be soup, using a fancy helmet for a bowl.
"Guardians see Jeek, Guardians no see Jeek. Jeek lose Guardians." He took another sip of his soup. "Oh, Jeek lose Horn too."
"Jeek not lose Horn, Jeek trade Horn! For this!" Blunk accused as he pointed toward the helmet. "Who Jeek trade?!"
"Not remember." The sinister Passling replied. "Jeek make many trades. Jeek equal opportunity trader."
"Tohru, maybe you should jog his memory?" Irma suggested, the large man already cracking his knuckles, but Valmont stepped out in front.
"If you don't mind, I believe I have a less violent alternative." He proposed before turning towards Jeek. "Now then, Jeek was it? You fancy yourself the art of trade? Have you by any chance… seen something like this before?" He reached into his suit and pulled out some partially lit Christmas lights.
"Oooh, pretty…" Jeek looked at the lights with wonder.
"Where the heck did he get those?" Alchemy whispered towards Uncle, who simply shrugged.
"Tell us what we want, and these lovely lights are all yours." Valmont offered.
"Deal!" Jeek accepted as he took the lights in his hands. "Jeek trade Horn with angry lizard boy who breathes fire!"
"You sold the Horn to Drago?!" Matt exclaimed as everyone else looked in shock, save for Valmont.
"Whom?" This was the first time Valmont heard that name before.
"Oh nobody… just the son of your old boss." Irma stated, causing Valmont to look in surprise.
"That infernal albatross had a child!? Now that is truly terrifying…"
"Albatross? Blunk thought Shendu dragon." Blunk wondered as Irma smacked her hand against her face.
"Jeek told who trade with. Why Jeek still with you?" Jeek questioned as he had his hands tied behind his back while being escorted by the others through the forest with Matt holding the rope.
"You were the one who traded with Drago, you will lead us to where exactly that happened." Tohru said.
"Meridian big place and Jeek trade with Drago some time ago. Drago may not be in same place anymore." Jeek commented.
"He may not be wrong about that." Valmont said. "And while I understand that you are reluctant to share information with me, perhaps you can at least tell me more about Drago himself so that I may be mentally prepared for what we are dealing with?"
"Drago not as powerful as Shendu but is as cunning and ruthless." Uncle said.
"Not to mention he's got the personality of an angsty teenager mixed with a serial killer." Alchemy added.
"Oh jolly." Valmont said sarcastically.
"Blunk sniff out Drago, but Jeek smell too strong." Blunk said.
"Yeah, between the two of you and Stinkmont here, it's like a symphony of stink! You know, this is all your fault!" Irma pointed out.
"Me?! You so bossy Blunk never had chance to tell about Horn!" Blunk argued.
"If you hadn't filled my garage with garbage…!" Irma argued back.
"Not garbage!"
"Garbage! Ow!"
"Ow!"
Both the girl and the Passling were dope-slapped by Uncle. "Do you want Drago to turn all of Meridian people into trance marchers?! No? Then stop arguing and start looking for Drago!" The elderly chi-wizard exclaimed to both of their shocked faces.
"Um... I don't think Drago is the one currently possessing the Horn." Tohru said as the group looked ahead to see none other than Will, Jade, Hay Lin, Cornelia, and Taranee, all five in their respective Guardian forms, with Jackie in the lead as he had the Horn of Hypnos in his hands.
"Guys! You got the Horn back!" Matt said as most of the group smiled.
However, none of their friends offered a response. In fact, if one looked closely enough, they could see that their faces and eyes were completely blank, as if they were under some sort of spell.
"Something's not right…" Alchemy looked a little worried. "Look at their eyes…"
Jackie slowly brought the Horn towards his face and was ready to blow into it.
"They are trance marchers!" Uncle quickly drew his blowfish and fired a stun spell at the Horn to knock it out of Jackie's hands and keep it from blowing.
"Get the Horn, I'll hold them off!" Tohru ordered as he charged at their hypnotized friends. Jackie rolled out of the way though, but Tohru was able to grab all five of the entranced Guardians and pin them to the ground.
"You heard him! Grab the Horn!" Irma stated as she was the first to try and move towards it, only for Jackie to come in and kick Irma in the side to send her rolling down a hillside. He would have gone for the Horn himself, but Uncle stood in-between it and him.
"So… Nephew wants a piece of Uncle?" He took a Kung Fu stance while the hypnotized Jackie did the same before, they engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
Tohru tried to keep the girls pressed down with all his strength, but a large whirlwind erupted from underneath him, one powerful enough to send him flying straight up and towards the rest of the group.
"Run!" Irma exclaimed as she tackled Valmont out of the way while Alchemy and Blunk ran in one direction and Jeek and Matt ran in the other just as Tohru landed hard on the ground. Before Tohru had a chance to recover, the ground under him cracked open before he fell in, which quickly closed to trap him with his head and shoulders sticking out, courtesy of the hypnotized Cornelia.
Taranee flew in the direction that Alchemy, Blunk, Matt, and Jeek ran toward before she blasted fire from her fist to halt their path. Though Alchemy pulled Blunk out of the way and into the forest before the flames could spread, a wall of fire was raised to cut off Matt and Jeek, with Will coming in to grab them both.
"Will, snap out of it! You're not yourself!" He struggled in her grip, but she was unable to respond to him.
Jackie threw a punch to Uncle, which he blocked with one hand before grabbing him by the wrist with the other and pulled him in as Uncle swerved around him to deal a kick to his back and knock him down. But Uncle's own shadow began to move of its own accord before it was pulled up from the ground and wrapped itself around Uncle to bind him.
"Aiya…!" Uncle struggled as Jade kept him restrained with her powers, allowing the hypnotized Jackie to retrieve and blow the Horn in the general direction of their captured friends. This caught Uncle, Tohru, Matt, and Jeek in its spell and turned all four of them into Trance Marchers.
Fortunately, that was not the case for Irma and Valmont as they hid behind one tree. And the same went for Alchemy and Blunk as they crawled through some bushes to regroup with them.
"Blunk hear Horn, why not under spell like others?" Blunk asked.
"It has to point at you, remember?" Alchemy reminded.
"So… this Horn of Hypnos has the ability to hypnotize those it's aimed at." Valmont realized before turning to Irma. "I suppose I should thank you for saving me from being turned into a… 'trance marcher', I believe."
Irma cringed. "It was just a reflex, okay? We're not going to the prom together."
"Guys, sssh!" Alchemy shushed them. "We've got company."
The four peeked out to see that as the hypnotized Tohru, Uncle, and Jeek were released from their respective bindings, Drago had arrived as well.
"I'm assuming that is Drago?" Valmont guessed.
"Hmm, mmm." Irma nodded in confirmation.
"I see you got the old guy and the tub of lard, with some extras." Drago spoke to the trance marcher Jackie specifically. "But what about the wannabe firefighter, Irma?"
"She escaped with Blunk, Alchemy, and Valmont. But they are still close." Trance marcher Jackie replied in a monotone and emotionless tone of voice.
"Fine. Old guy, make a tracking spell to find… OW!" Drago was dope-slapped by the hypnotized Uncle.
"Locator spells are complicated. As trance marcher, Uncle's mind is blank. Cannot cast complicated spells." Trance marcher Uncle said in the same emotionless tone as his nephew.
Drago growled in annoyance. "Then use this to sniff them out!" He picked up Jeek to show them before dropping him. "Make sure you get all of them! Irma's top priority, but I don't want any loose ends. I'll be at the nomads' camp with the others." He instructed before leaving.
"Given our current predicament, I feel that our best chance at survival lies in all of us working together." Valmont pointed out.
"We don't really have much of a choice." Alchemy said with reluctance.
"Fine, but the prom is still out." Irma accepted.
"Follow Blunk. Blunk knows woods like back of hand." Blunk proceeded to lead the three of them away as quickly and quietly as possible.
Night had fallen over Meridian as Blunk led Irma, Alchemy, and Valmont up the side of a cliff while trying to get as much distance from the hypnotized heroes as possible as they continued to search for them.
"Have idea! Irma use mind power!" Blunk offered.
"I've been trying!" She replied. "But it's like their mental cellphones are battery dead!"
"You have the power to control minds as well? Interesting." Valmont looked rather intrigued. "But back to the matter at hand, perhaps Blunk here can transport us all back to Earth? Might I suggest Section 13 to gather allies, possibly even equip ourselves with the Talismans for additional firepower?"
"Terrible idea!" Alchemy shook her head. "Aside from letting you near the Talismans, Will can just follow us and hypnotize everyone in Section 13, giving Drago even more zombie slaves!"
"Blunk knew Horn was trouble." The Passling sulked.
"Well why didn't you just smash the thing when you had it?" Irma questioned.
"Uncle says 'magic must defeat magic'." Blunk replied. "Don't know if Horn can be smashed with not-magic stuff."
"Blunk might be right." Alchemy said. "We don't know if anything non-magic can destroy it."
"Perhaps if we were to get a hold of the Horn ourselves…" Valmont offered.
"Will you just stop with all these ideas that involve giving you dangerous stuff?!" Irma questioned.
"At least I'm trying to come up with some ideas. All you've been doing is complaining." Valmont shot back.
"I wonder if I'd be charged with manslaughter for pushing you off this cliff." Irma said aloud with a groan.
"Guys!" Alchemy exclaimed. "Can we please stop arguing and focus on surviving!?" The group then came to a stop as Blunk quickly began to scale the rocky wall. "Blunk, what are you doing?"
The Passling had climbed towards a rock that had a large tree attached to it and pushed it so that it would fall. But rather than fall towards the ground, it stopped as the tree attached to it was stretched outward and tied to a rope that led to a pulley-system made from ropes, rocks, and trees attached to the cliffside, all of which led to a larger boulder that was pulled up to reveal a hidden cave.
"A pulley-system…" Valmont observed with an impressed smile as they all walked inside. "Very clever."
"Yeah… And I can't believe I'm actually agreeing with Valmont and complementing Blunk at the same time." Irma commented.
Blunk went to a motorcycle attached to another part of the the pulley-system inside the cave. When he revved on the handles, the boulder was lowered to seal the cave shut, leaving all four in the dark.
"Blunk, we can't see!" Alchemy stated.
"Not sure I want to see with that disgusting smell in the air." Irma pointed out.
Blunk then lit a torch which not only provided light, but the light of the flames even reflected off a disco ball that hung on the ceiling, illuminating the whole cave to reveal what appeared to be Blunk's treasure (or trash) horde.
"I believe we have found the Passlings personal vault." Valmont said.
Irma gasped. "You trashed my garage, and you already have your own junkyard?!" She accused Blunk.
"Let's at least be grateful we have somewhere to hide!" Alchemy pointed out.
"Not for long! This place reeks to high heaven!" Irma argued. "Jeek can track the smell, and everyone else won't be far behind either! Seriously Blunk, do you ever take a bath?!"
"Blunk take bath!" He kicked a bathtub down from a pile junk. "Blunk take a couple baths!"
"Some sanctuary is better than none." Valmont said. "This will at least give us a chance to come up with a plan."
"Then we better think of one fast." Alchemy was already trying to think of something.
"Hmm, mmmm, hmmm, mmmm!" Blunk hummed, trying to find some kind of rhythm. "Hmmm, mmmm, mmm!"
"Oh, is that your 'I'm sorry' song?" Irma questioned.
"Blunk remember! Special tune break Horn spell!" Blunk remembered.
"Hey, you're right!" Alchemy smiled. "Uncle was even able to use that tune to make a spell to make people immune to the Horn's power!"
"Smashing." Valmont smiled as well. "So, how does this melody go?"
Blunk tried to think. "Can't remember… Wish Caleb were here. He played tune last time."
"And Jade was the one who recorded it, but I don't think she's willing to share right now." Alchemy added.
"You know, I wish anyone else were here besides you two!" Irma said specifically towards Valmont and Blunk. "I'd take Uncle's attitude and garlic breath over you, because he's at least useful!" She pounded a stack of trash on her left to vent her frustration, but this caused the pile to fall down and knock Irma over, breaking many of the stuff.
"My precious!" Blunk cried.
"Not precious! Worthless! Worthless garbage! Just like you!" Irma shouted.
"Irma!" Alchemy scolded.
"What?!" Irma exclaimed back. Alchemy then pointed at Blunk, who looked really hurt by that, to the point where his eyes were watering as he looked down. That caused Irma's anger to vanish as a sinking feeling of guilt set in.
"And they say I'm cold hearted." Valmont commented.
As Alchemy looked away with a sigh, she happened to spot a half-eaten and half-rotten vegetable. "Wait a minute…" She picked it up in her hand, before picking up a random rock in the other. That's when an idea came to her. "I need a bowl."
"What…?" Irma asked.
"A bowl! A cauldron! A helmet! Something that I can used to mix stuff with!" Alchemy rummaged through the horde to find anything that could fit the description. She then spotted a broken tricycle that fell from the pile Irma knocked over and she was quick to pry the basket off it. "Good enough." She put the basket down in the middle of the cave. "Irma, fill this thing with water!" Alchemy instructed.
"Why? Alchemy what are…?"
"Just do it!" She ordered.
"Okay!" Irma pointed her finger to spray out some water and fill the basket up. Thankfully it was a closed plastic basket so there were no leaks.
"Alright, now I need vegetables, I don't care if their rotten or half-eaten! Anything will due!" Alchemy continued.
"What exactly are you doing?" Valmont asked.
"Making a spell, one that can give us a quick escape if the others find us!" Alchemy said as she tore up the vegetable she had in her hands and put it into her make-shift cauldron. "Now I need something to smash rocks with, or small pebbles! Anything!"
"Yeah, okay!" Irma decided to trust her friend as she had little to no choice.
"Right away!" Valmont joined her to look for anything that could be of use.
Alchemy noticed that Blunk was also helping, but he moved slowly, and she could even hear him sniffle a bit. Irma's words clearly hurt him, and she couldn't help but feel bad for the poor Passling. But they would work on that later, right now they had to hurry.
"Trail ends here." The trance marker Jeek had followed the scent up to the sealed cave with the rest of the hypnotized heroes following.
"Must be in here." Tohru was already at the boulder and began to push it out of the way with his raw strength, he was already making progress.
"They have found us!" Valmont exclaimed as the boulder began to shake.
"Alchemy…?!" Irma hoped.
"Just about finished!" She put some powdered rock into the basket and then put her hands together to recite the chant. "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." The potion then turned green, showing that it was ready. "Everybody in the tub!"
"Tub ready!" Blunk had finished tying a ski to the front of a bathtub's bottom, and a set of weights to the back to act as makeshift wheels. All four piled in as Alchemy carried the basket and dumped the contents of the potion on the ground in front of them. Already the ground began to soften and liquify, turning into mud.
It seemed that the trance marcher Tohru wasn't fast enough as Cornelia came in and used her powers to break the rock apart.
But just as that happened, a portion of the cliff below them had turned into mud as the quartet in the moving bathtub slid out before sliding down the side of the cliff, catching the attention of the hypnotized heroes. Will had picked up Jackie, Jade carried Uncle and Jeek, Cornelia lifted Tohru, and Hay Lin carried Matt as they and Taranee flew in pursuit.
Irma, Alchemy, Valmont, and Blunk screamed as they rode the mobile bathtub down the hill and into the forest, and it was far from a pleasant ride for any of them.
"How do you steer this thing?!" Irma questioned.
"Steer?" Blunk asked.
"Incoming!" Alchemy warned as fire balls rang down towards them, courtesy of Taranee among the hypnotized heroes that flew above them. Uncle even drew out a blowfish to fire a series of stun spells. As they tried to take cover while holding on for dear life, Alchemy pulled out a dried lizard of her own and returned fire with her own stun spells, but due to the shaky ride, she was unable to get any proper aim.
Valmont glanced towards his left and spotted a nearby lake. "I have an idea! Shift all your weight to the left!" No time to argue, everyone shifted their bodies towards the left, causing the bathtub to veer and change directions, just in time as well as Cornelia had already used her powers to raise a mound of earth to try and halt their path.
The four vanished into the trees, causing the trance marchers to lose sight of them. They would soon emerge out of the woods as the tub shot up from a flat rock like a ramp and straight towards the lake. The tub skidded on the surface of the water for a brief moment before flipping and wiping out, knocking everyone into the water.
"Help! Blunk can't swim!" Blunk thrashed in the water, but blinked in surprise to see that everyone else was standing up.
"Blunk." Irma had her arms crossed, emphasizing the lake was only knee-deep at most.
"Oh." Blunk smiled nervously. "Low tide. Still hate getting wet."
"They're coming! Irma cover us!" Alchemy ordered as she spotted their hypnotized friends heading their way.
Irma acted quickly threw up a large dome of water from the lake around them to cover herself, Alchemy, Blunk, and Valmont and shield themselves from Taranee's fireballs and Uncle's chi-blasts.
"This won't hold them long! We're trapped!" Irma stated.
"No, that's what they think we are!" Valmont replied. "They are zombies, correct? They are mindless! Unable to think that we have a strategy!"
"And what strategy is that?!" Alchemy questioned.
"I have a plan for which we can get close to the Horn and end this madness! But you must trust me!" Valmont said.
Trust Valmont!? How could any of them do that!? However, before Irma could make up an argument, she saw through the water that everyone had the water-dome surrounded as Jackie, Matt, Jeek, Tohru, and Uncle were on the ground, while Will, Taranee, Hay Lin, Cornelia, and Jade hovered above.
"Alchemy? Got any fancier spells?" Irma hoped.
"No time to make anything!" Alchemy replied.
"Hmmm, mmm, mmm, mmmmmm!" Blunk tried to hum out the melody needed to break the spell, but while Irma did recognize it, it wasn't the right one.
"That's 'Twinkle-Twinkle'!"
"Knew Blunk heard somewhere!"
"Ahem!" Valmont coughed to get Irma's attention again, looking to her with an intense expression.
Irma saw that they really had no choice right now. It was either listen to his plan or get hypnotized. "Alright! Fine! I'm listening!"
Jade grew an elongated set of clawed shadow hands from her own arms and stretched them over the dome. She dug them into the water and with a wave of her arms, she ripped the dome apart, revealing and exposing the four.
Jackie then aimed the Horn of Hypnos at them. "Jackie! No! Please!" Irma pleaded. But it fell on deaf ears as Jackie blew the Horn and appeared to have entranced all four with its magic.
What was left of the ruined nomads' camp currently served as the temporary base for the Knights of Vengeance, with the nomads themselves having been turned into trance marchers and acted as servants for many of the Knights. One brushed Miranda's hair in her spider-form, another fed Frost grapes while one brushed Crimson's horn, even StrikeMaster Ice laid on their front on a table as a nomads gave him a back-rub.
"Ah yeah, get it right in the shoulders, dog." Ice said in a relaxed tone.
Drago, Raythor, and Hak Foo sat at a fireplace as they saw the hypnotized heroes return with Irma, Alchemy, Blunk, and Valmont in toe.
"At last." Raythor grinned as the three stood up to address their trance marcher servants. "All six Guardians are now under the horn's spell."
"Looks that way." Drago grinned as well before speaking to Will. "Give Irma her full power."
"Guardians Unite." The hypnotized Will used the Heart of Kandrakar to transform Irma into her Guardian form.
"We even have Valmont under our control." Hak Foo observed.
"Now ain't that ironic." MC Cobra commented as he joined in. "We used to work for the guy, now the dude works for us."
"Would he be of any use to us?" Raythor asked. "He doesn't quite have the appearance of a warrior."
"Heh, probably cannon fodder at best." Drago shrugged before walking up to Valmont's face. "Though I wouldn't mind keeping him around as my personal slave, considering he used to wait on my dad, head and foot." He snickered.
"I think not." Valmont spoke up, catching Drago by surprise before he drove a kick into his stomach to knock him back, alerting the Knights. "NOW!"
Irma quickly thrusted her hands in all directions to blast two geyser-like streams of water from her hands and hovered up slightly to spin rapidly, sending her geyser blasts in all directions, forcing the Knights to duck and find cover, while also knocking back all the trance marchers, their friends included.
"Blunk, get the Horn!" Alchemy told the Passling as she ducked for cover. Not needing to be told twice, Blunk tried to rush towards the downed hypnotized Jackie where the Horn of Hypnos fell, only for a stream of sand to shoot up from the ground in front of him, revealed to be Sandpit as it shot itself towards Irma in retaliation just as Gargoyle rose with a roar.
"You!" Raythor had his sword drawn and lit it aflame, facing Alchemy. "How are you not under the Horn's spell?!"
"It's hard to hear anything with water all logged into your ears." She replied before drawing her dried lizard and blasting Raythor with a point-blank stun spell to knock him down.
In all the commotion of the Knights trying to regroup, and the trance-marchers getting back up, Blunk tried to find the Horn of Hypnos, but he seemed unable to find it. "Horn! Horn! Where Horn?!" A shadow loomed over him as DJ Fist appeared, ready to throw his steel-coated fist onto him, causing Blunk to scream as he ran to avoid the attack that smashed into the ground where he stood.
Irma did her best to fight off the airborne Sandpit, but this seemed to make her vulnerable for Gargoyle to come up behind her and try to bring his club-hand down on her. Though Irma was able to shield herself with a barrier of water, the force of the impact still knocked her to the ground close to Alchemy as Blunk scurried to them, all three quickly finding themselves surrounded by all the trance marchers and most of the Knights.
"Blunk, where's the Horn?!" Alchemy questioned.
"Blunk no find Horn!" The Passling replied.
"Because it's right where it belongs." All eyes turned to Valmont as he stood some distance away from the camp, revealing the Horn of Hypnos in his hands. He inhaled, ready to blow into it.
Acting quickly, Irma threw up a water dome around herself, Alchemy, and Blunk, while Drago lit his palms on fire and put them over his ears just as Valmont blew into the Horn.
The sound of the Horn of Hypnos traveled throughout the camp, this not only turned all of the Knights of Vengeance, including Sandpit, Gargoyle, Crimson, and Sniffer, into trance marchers, it also put those already turned under his control. Though Irma and her friends were safe because of the water blocking the soundwaves, and the sound of the flames over Drago's ears overlapped the sound so that he couldn't hear it either.
"Now then… bow down before your new master!" Valmont ordered.
The entire camp then bowed to him. Most of the Guardians, the Chan Clan, the Knights of Vengeance, and the hypnotized nomads, they all bowed towards the current wielder of the Horn.
"Sneaky Valmont betray us!" Blunk accused.
"Yeah, kinda saw it coming, but he still got the drop on us!" Irma commented as she kept the water barrier up.
"So, you are the Son of Shendu?" Valmont addressed Drago, who turned to him with a snarl. "You don't take much after your father. He was a titan, but you are just… more akin to a teenage lizard."
"What? You gonna trance march me now?" Drago growled.
"No. I'm going to have you ripped limb-from-limb by your own servants." Valmont sneered. "Consider it retribution for all the abuse your father put me through! And after that, I shall form an army of trance marchers and take over this world of Meridian as its new king! But first, bring me the Water Guardian! I want the full set!" He ordered the Trance Marchers. "And exterminate the overgrown lizard!"
With that, the entire camp erupted into chaos as many of the hypnotized Knights and Guardians attacked Drago, throwing out long-ranged attacks of fire, sand, air, shadows, ice, and stun spells, forcing Drago to jump and flee while several trance marchers chased after him, and all the others attempted to surround Irma, who still kept all her friends encased in water.
"Hmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmm!" Blunk tried desperately to remember the melody to break the Horns' spell.
"That's Ba-Ba-Black Sheep!" Irma pointed out.
"Blunk try remember! It at back of Blunk's head!" The Passling pounded his own head with his fist to try and remember.
"You're gonna have to try! It's our only hope!" Alchemy said before she spotted a pot that was probably used by one of the nomads. "Irma, I need you to try and hold these guys off as long as you can! Blunk and I will try to make a spell to break the Horn's power!"
"Are you sure?" Irma asked.
"Blunk not sure! Blunk can't help! Blunk useless!" Blunk hung his head down.
"No, you're not!" Alchemy told him. "We need you right now, Blunk! You're the only one who can remember the song! I need you to think of it and help me gather ingredients to make the spell! Please, I need you!"
"We need you…!" Irma looked towards him with a pleading expression of her own. "Please…!"
They needed him? They really needed Blunk? The Passling could see the look of desperation in both girls' eyes to see that they were indeed speaking the truth. And with that, Blunk stood up straight and saluted.
"Blunk report for duty!"
"Glad to hear it." Alchemy smiled. "Irma…"
"Yeah, I'll keep them busy. Just hurry." With a yell, Irma threw out her arms to explode the water dome and blast all the surrounding trance marchers away before flying over to draw their attention.
With the enemy's focus away from them, Alchemy quickly ran to snatch the pot that she saw earlier and scooped up enough water nearby to fill it up slightly. "Okay, Blunk… I need you to find whatever ingredients I tell you, or at least something close to it! And try and remember the melody, that's the only way this is going to work!" She instructed as she hid behind a tipped over wagon.
"Blunk help in anyway Blunk can." He promised.
Irma flew in the air, avoiding the blasts of fire and air that Taranee and Hay Lin shot at her, but she avoided most of them before flying in to close the distance and grabbed them by their faces. "Sorry guys!" She said before blasting water from her palms to send both girls falling to the ground.
She then felt her ankle being ensnared by a shadow-rope, courtesy of Jade as she pulled her down closer to the ground, readying a shadow-claw with her free hand. Irma retaliated by waving her right arm to throw out a water-shield to block the attack, while swerving under and around Jade as she slashed to grab her and flip backwards to send her tumbling into the incoming Will, knocking them both down.
"Oh man… Sorry Jade! Sorry Will!" Irma apologized. "Whoa!" She just barely dodged a rock that veered past her face, courtesy of Cornelia who telekinetically lifted several boulders to throw at Irma, but she quickly moved around each of them before flying in to land a punch across Cornelia's face.
"Heh, heh, not sorry, Cornelia." Irma snickered. She was then suddenly tackled to the ground by the hypnotized Matt, but she used the momentum to her own favor as she pressed on her hands and flapped her wings to flip over and send Matt flying off of her. Before she could apologize to him, Jeek leapt at her to wrap himself around her face.
"Ugh gross! You do smell worse than Blunk! And I do not need that on my face!" She tried to pry him off with her own strength and was finally able to do so before throwing him away. As she tried to catch her breath, she was pulled into a bear hug by Tohru from behind. "Sorry, T! I know you're a hugger but… this is a bit much!" Irma coated herself in water to lubricate herself enough to slip out of Tohru's grip and roll away from him. He tried to charge at her, but Irma was quick to splash a great deal of water in Tohru's way, causing him to trip and slide away from her. Suddenly, she was struck in the back by a kick to knock her down.
Irma pulled herself up with a groan to look with a gasp to see none other than Jackie facing her, while Uncle approached from the back, both taking martial arts stance, causing Irma to look nervous.
"Bad day…"
Drago unleashed his fire breath onto the incoming StrikeMaster Ice, sending him plowing into the Tracker and Sniffer. MC Cobra tried to charge at him with a punch, but Drago caught his lava-coated fist and hauled him over to send him crashing into DJ Fist. The half-demon was suddenly struck in the back by a strand of webbing from Miranda before being pulled to the ground, where Raythor, Frost, and Crimson approached him. One drew his flaming sword while the other raised his fists.
"I gave you your powers, I can take them back!" Drago raised his own palms to call back the Fire Demon Chi he had leant the pair, reverting them back to their original forms. But that didn't stop Raythor and Frost from bringing their sword and fists down on him respectively, but Drago was able to catch both their strikes with his hands before pulling back his feet to kick them both back. He then leapt over the hypnotized Crimson and blasted a fireball at its rear to send the rhino charging towards Miranda, ramming into her to knock her back.
Hak Foo came forward with a leaping kick, which Drago ducked to avoid before extending his hand forward to reabsorb Hak Foo's own Fire Demon power back before blasting the ground in front of him and sending Hak Foo flying in an explosion.
"So you have the ability to give your literal fire power to your allies." Valmont observed, still holding the Horn of Hypnos, while sitting comfortably on a hill top with two hypnotized nomads on their hands and feet to act as his chair while another did the same to act as a foot stool, while the other nomads were gathered around him as one woman waved a large leaf near him like a fan. "Your father never demonstrated that ability before. I could have done so much more if he granted me even a portion of his power."
"Maybe he couldn't do it." Drago replied. "Or he thought a loser like you wasn't worth it, and I think my old man was right."
Valmont narrowed his eyes. "Oh, I will enjoy watching you get smashed into a paste!"
No sooner than when he said that, Gargoyle had appeared to loom over Drago and attempted to smash him, but the half-demon was quick run underneath his legs and avoid the devastating smash, only to get blasted back by Sandpit in its more fluent form.
"Three tree roots!" Alchemy ordered, opening her hand as she continued to sit in front of the spell-in-progress.
"Here!" Blunk quickly handed Alchemy the roots which she put into the pot before he went through the wreckage of the camp to find her next ingredient.
"Strings from a lute! And I mean the instrument!" She requested, prompting Blunk to find said stringed instrument and pry them off before quickly running back to Alchemy, who dropped them into the pot.
"M, m, m, m, m, m!" Blunk continued to hum to try and find the right melody.
"That's the alphabet song!" Alchemy told him. "How do you even know these things?!"
"Blunk hear songs in Earth school when searching through dumpster." Blunk answered. "Little kids songs catchy."
"Well, that melody better be catchy too, because this spell won't work without it!" Alchemy stated as she looked at the green boiling liquid in her pot.
Irma did her best to dodge and parry Jackie's strikes, but she was stuck on the defensive. And when she tried to blast him with water, Jackie grabbed her by her wrist and stuck his leg out before pulling her in to trip her over and knock her down.
"Ugh! How does a zombie even know Kung Fu?!" Irma questioned. She then gave a startled gasp as she saw the flying Uncle fall toward her with his foot extended. She quickly rolled out of the way just as the foot struck the ground, leaving a large crack.
Irma struggled to catch her breath, the exhausting of fighting off all her friends was quickly getting to her. And that only added to her fears as she saw Will, Jade, Tohru, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Taranee, Matt, and Jeek regroup with Jackie and Uncle, the group slowly advancing toward her.
Drago was in a similar predicament as he jumped to avoid the lava balls and sand blasts thrown at him by MC Cobra and Sandpit respectively, along with the strings of web from Miranda. He would soon find his way barred by Raythor, StrikeMaster Ice, Hak Foo, Tracker, Sniffer, DJ Fist, Frost, and Crimson on one end, with Gargoyle on the other, causing him to back up.
Before either of them realized it, Irma and Drago were forced back-to-back as they were surrounded by their hypnotized allies.
"You've gotta be kidding me." The Son of Shendu groaned.
"Hey, I'm not exactly thrilled about this either, gecko-boy!" Irma retorted.
"Yes!" Valmont sneered as he stood up straight, getting off the hypnotized nomads. "Finish this! Subdue the girl but crush the demon!"
Will, Jade, Taranee, Hay Lin, Cornelia, Uncle, Miranda, StrikeMaster Ice, MC Cobra, and Sandpit all blasted their long-ranged attacks at the pair, forcing them to fall flat to the ground just as all the attacks met in the middle, creating a large explosion above them that blasted in all directions. The shockwave did push back several of the trance marchers, while a few stray blasts happened to hit the remains of the wagon closest to Alchemy and Blunk, including a kitchen set owned by a nomad.
One particular pot was blown away and hit a nearby rock to clang before bouncing and banging on the ground, though this also seemed to carry a tune that Blunk recognized.
"Grang, hang, swang, twang, brang, twang!" Blunk sung aloud. "That's it! The notes! The notes!"
"You're right! That's it!" Alchemy recognized it as well just as she put a feather into her makeshift cauldron. "And the spell's ready! Blunk, I need you to sing again as I chant the incantation! It has to be done at the same time!"
"Blunk understand." He nodded.
"On three… ready? One… two… three!" Alchemy then began the chant as she put her palms together. "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao!"
"Grang, hang, swang, twang, brang, twang!" Blunk sung with Alchemy.
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao!"
"Grang, hang, swang, twang, brang, twang!"
"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao!"
"Grang, hang, swang, twang, brang, twang!"
As both the chant and song were voiced simultaneously, the spell reacted to it, causing it to boil before it flashed brightly in the pot.
"It's ready!" Alchemy quickly grabbed two broken pieces of wood and stuck them into the potion, causing the green glow to spread to both of them. "I'll break the spell! Blunk, you get to Valmont and smash the Horn so he can't use it!" She handed one of the enchanted sticks to the Passling.
"Count on Blunk!"
"Oh, one more thing…" Alchemy said before realizing with horror what she just said. 'Oh god… please tell me I didn't just say that…' Regardless, she got back to the situation and kneeled to Blunk's level to whisper something to him.
Irma and Drago had nowhere else to run as the hypnotized Guardians, Chan Clan, Knights of Vengeance, Matt, and Jeek all bared down on them.
"At last… after so many failures and humiliations at the hands of do-gooders and demons alike…!" Valmont began his monologue. "Loss after loss… Victory… at long last… is finally mine!"
"Glad to hear it!" Everyone turned to the side to see Alchemy approach them with a glowing stick in one hand and a pot in the other. "How about a song to celebrate?!" She banged the stick and pot together repeatedly, triggering the spell as enchanted sound waves echoed and spread throughout the area in the form of green chi magic. The sound reached the ears of all the trance marchers in the area, causing it to wear off, breaking the Horn's hold on them all.
"Huh… wha… what just happened…?" Jade wondered aloud.
"I don't know…I…" Jackie then spotted the villains literally standing next to them. "The Knights!"
"Get them!" Will exclaimed.
Just then, the battle became a free-for-all as the heroes and villains threw at each other in the form of a large brawl. And it wasn't just them, with the nomads also free of the Horns' spell, they all ran away from Valmont and took cover in the nearby forest.
"The spell is broken?" Valmont questioned, but remained calm despite the setback. "No matter, I'll just cast it again!" He was about to blow into the Horn once more, only for the half-torn basketball that Blunk had been wearing to be thrown at it, knocking the Horn out of his hands, much to his shock.
Blunk then appeared with the glowing stick that Alchemy had given him. "Magic must defeat magic!" The Passling said as he pounded the Horn of Hypnos with said stick relentlessly until it was rendered a flat and broken mess.
"No!" Valmont exclaimed as he pushed Blunk out of the way, but it was too late. The damage the Horn of Hypnos sustained was too much for him to even get a single note out.
"Valmont in big trouble!" Blunk looked ready to beat Valmont with the same stick.
"Wait… wait!" Valmont stopped him. "I want to make a deal!"
That seemed to get Blunk's attention. "Deal? What deal?"
"I… um…" Valmont tried desperately to look for his pockets for anything useful and happened to find a simple quarter. "How about a magic coin?" He offered it to Blunk. "A coin that can make all your choices for you. Heads for one choice, and tails for the other. All you have to do is flip, and the coin will decide what choice you want to make." He flipped the coin into his own hand for a demonstration. "And it's all yours if… you send me to Earth. Right now."
As the battle between the heroes and villains got out of hand, Drago was blasted back by a water stream from Irma.
"Drago!" Raythor quickly approached him. "What has happened?! And why is my power gone?!"
"It's a long story, I'll explain later when I give it back." Drago told him. "Sandpit! We're retreating!"
Hearing the call, Sandpit expanded its body to quickly form an enormous sandtwister, which managed to push many of the heroes back as it expanded to bring in all the Knights together. Drago then used his ring to open a Fold that allowed him and his team to leave Meridian, with Sandpit following them just before it closed.
"They're gone." Tohru stated.
"But what in the world just happened?!" Cornelia questioned. "Where did the Knights come from and what happened to the Horn?!"
"Later! Where's Valmont?!" Alchemy questioned.
"Valmont?!" Most of the heroes all exclaimed in surprise.
Suddenly, a bright light caught all their attention on a nearby hilltop. They all quickly ran to see a Fold that had opened, courtesy of Blunk's Tonga Tooth, just Valmont had stepped in right before it closed.
"Wha… Blunk! What did you do?!" Irma questioned in shock. "You let the bad guy get away!"
"No. Blunk do what Alchemy say." The Passling smirked as he tossed the quarter that Valmont gave him as he looked towards the aforementioned girl with a nod, causing Alchemy to smirk.
Valmont had emerged from the other side of the Fold, having arrived on Earth with a confident grin. "Foolish creature, looks like I get away Scot free." He straightened out his suit with a smug smile of satisfaction. "Now then, time to see what I can steal for my next meal."
"Valmont…."
The crime lord gasped as he saw Captain Black standing in front of him, with a whole squad of agents aiming their guns at him.
"You're under arrest."
"Wha…?" Valmont tried to run back into the Fold, which quickly closed, causing him to realize he had just literally walked right into Section 13! "No!" He was seized by several agents who were quick to subdue him. "How…?! I don't understand! That's not fair! I demand my right to an attorney!"
As the criminal was led away, Captain Black looked towards his own phone to review the text that Alchemy had sent him hours beforehand. "Thanks for the tip, kid."
"You… texted Captain Black about Valmont just before we went to Meridian?" Irma asked with a surprised expression towards the smirking Alchemy.
"Yep." She confirmed.
"And you tricked him into making a deal to send him right into Section 13?" Irma asked Blunk with just as much surprise as before.
"Huh-uh." Blunk nodded. "Valmont not slip away on Blunk's watch!"
"That was… brilliant!" Irma said with an impressed smile before becoming remorseful as she kneeled to the Passling. "Blunk… what I said before… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. You're not useless."
"It okay." Blunk assured. "Maybe Blunk put too much stuff in garage. Next time, Blunk ask before storing stuff."
"Sounds good to me." Irma accepted as she and Blunk shared a hug.
The sun rose for the next day of Meridian as the Guardians, Chan Clan, and Matt helped the nomads to clean up and repair their camp as Jackie and the others had been told everything that happened since Irma and the others ran into Valmont.
"I have to say, I'm very impressed." Jackie admitted towards Irma, Alchemy, and Blunk. "Not only with how you were able to handle the situation with the Horn, but even capture Valmont as well."
"Well, that was mostly them, I was just complaining the whole time." Irma said, referring to Blunk and Alchemy.
"But you did realize your mistake and worked with them to salvage an otherwise hopeless situation, and that is worthy of praise. Good work, Irma." Jackie said with a hand on her shoulder.
"Awe, thanks Uncle Jackie." Irma smiled.
"And Alchemy… you performed quite the impressive spells, and all on the fly." Tohru complemented.
"Perhaps improvisation is the groundwork for a good chi wizard." Uncle admitted with a nod of approval.
"See? Told you." Alchemy smiled. "So, do I get a cool wizard's robe? Cause I got some awesome design ideas!"
As the group continued to talk, Jeek looked as if he was about to sneak away…
"Not so fast, Jeek!" Irma called out to him as she, Alchemy, Blunk, Jackie, Tohru, and Uncle looked towards the sinister Passling with glares and crossed arms.
"Valmont and Drago aren't the only ones to blame! This whole mess started because of you!" Alchemy accused.
"But your punishment should be chosen by a jury of your peers." Irma said. "And since we have an honest, loyal and always useful Passling right here…"
Blunk grinned mischievously as he thought of the perfect punishment. "Big mess need big bath. Jeek reek!"
"Hey, that rhymes." Alchemy commented.
Irma also grinned as she aimed her water powers at the greedy Passling. "No! Jeek hate getting wet!" He cried out as Irma sprayed him down.
Done.
Bet you didn't expect Valmont to show up, did ya? I'll tell ya, I had so much fun writing him, Irma, Blunk, and Alchemy stuck together and trying to survive up till the climactic battle of the chapter, which was also incredibly fun to write.
And don't worry, Drago will give Raythor, Hak Foo, and Frost their powers back. He just had to take it away because they were hypnotized against him.
But yeah, we also got to see Alchemy show her props as a chi wizard in training, showing she's got the ability to improvise when it comes to making spells. And she's got plenty more to show us in the future.
Up next, we get back to the hunt for the Demon Chi, as this next batch is particularly… shocking.
Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.