Hi everyone, welcome back to J-WITCH. Let me tell you, this is the chapter that I've been waiting to write… ever since I even conceived the story! Seeing fan arts of the battles to take place here and going forward is what inspired me to write this story in the first place, and now we're finally here! We're at the part that I have waited years to write!
Everything has led to this. From the Chan Clan meeting the girls in Heatherfield, all their adventures and battles against the likes of Valmont, Phobos, Tarakudo, even Nerissa… we are now about to have our favorite elemental girls of J-WITCH duke it out with the Demon Sorcerers!
With all that out of the way, let's get started!
Guardians vs. Demons
Po Kong, the Mountain Demon, a being who was widely known and feared rightfully for her size, hence her title now slept on an enormous rock as she floated aimlessly in the Netherworld. How long she slept was honestly anyone's guess. With no day or night in this bone-dry void, it was almost impossible to tell just how much time had passed. A few of her siblings were smart enough to keep track, but she honestly couldn't care, at least not anymore. The only thing that really interested her was finding her next meal, and seeking vengeance on those who had wronged her, and she was robbed of both.
A part of her had considered eating her siblings, but given how powerful they all were, it would be too much of a hassle. Plus, if she did do that, she'd be bored all by herself. The only real entertainment she had found in this imprisonment was the torture of her ghostly brother Shendu. But somehow, he had escaped from the Netherworld, yet again. This time, without the aid of her or her siblings, which meant they had no way to track him. And knowing that back-stabber, he had likely abandoned them all to rot here. So sleeping was pretty much the only thing that she could do at this point.
"Wake up, Sister Po!" A shrill voice called to her. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to see her scrawniest brother hovering over her with his wings.
"You know… out of all our siblings, Hsi Wu, I have a better chance of eating you." Po Kong told him. "But I don't because I honestly find your tiny size cute, and easy to pick on."
The Sky Demon's eyelids lowered in annoyance. "How fortunate am I." He said with sarcasm.
"What do you want?" The Mountain Demon questioned.
"It seems our dear brother, Shendu, has made contact." Hsi Wu informed.
"Oh?" That drew her attention as the enormous demon hauled herself up from the enormous rock, prompting Hsi Wu to hover backwards and perch himself on a smaller rock that put him on equal level with her face. "He's actually calling us? Now this should be interesting."
"Over here!" Hsi Wu called to all his other siblings.
One-by-One, the other Demon Sorcerers arrived. Tchang Zu was the first, riding on a storm cloud as bolts of lightning shot out from his hands to obliterate several of the surrounding rocks that hovered in the void, while Dai Gui leapt from rock-to-rock, smashing every one of them as he did so. Bai Tza somehow flew through the void, though the motion of her body gave the illusion of her swimming through water, despite none being present in this infinite and empty realm. Xiao Fung used his windy breath to propel himself towards the area. And finally, Tso Lan hovered in the same direction, every rock around him cleared away from him due to his gravity powers.
"What does that parasite want now?" Dai Gui growled.
"Whatever it is, I will not give him the chance to so much as speak!" Tchang Zu's body surged with lightning.
"How did he even escape this realm in the first place? Escape the torment he deserved?" Bai Tza questioned.
"I had sensed dark magic on the other side." Tso Lan replied. "Perhaps he had aid outside of the realm."
"As he did before…" Xiao Fung said, recalling Shendu's escape almost a thousand years ago, and him making no attempt to free them soon after. "But given that he contacted us, he is either desperate, or he has a plan to use us."
"I suppose we're about to find out." His Wu said reluctantly.
In the middle of the gathering, a blue vortex-like window as opened before them. On the other side, it appeared to be a snowily landscape, set within a frozen cave. And the one on the other side, was none other than their most despised brother.
"Ah my dear brothers and sisters, a pleasure to see you all again." Shendu greeted in a confident manner, bowing to them with a smirk plastered over his face.
"I see you have your flesh and blood again." Tso Lan observed.
"That and more." Shendu sneered.
"Let me guess, your Talismans?" Po Kong practically spat.
"No need to be jealous, my dear sister." Shendu replied. "After all, you have more than your fill."
"What do you want, Shendu?" Bai Tza questioned.
Tchang Zu roared as more lightning flashed around him. "Don't think that because you live again and you wield the Talismans, that you are safe from my wrath!"
"Your hostilities and distrust are warranted." Shendu began. "Admittedly, I have let you all down. But I now present the chance to make it up to you."
"You already tried altering history itself for us." Xiao Fung pointed out. "If you can find something to actually top that, I'd be impressed."
"Then I shall impress you, in due time." The Fire Demon answered. "But first, how about a chance to free you from this prison. Permanently."
"Do you take us for fools?!" Dai Gui glared. "All our portals have been sealed!"
"And yet, I stand here free." Shendu pointed out.
"So, did you employ a dark wizard to find a means to liberate us as well? In the same way you escaped?" Po Kong questioned.
"Something like that. Allow me to introduce… the rest of our family. First… my son, Drago." Shendu stepped to the side to reveal his half-demon son, a sight that caused all of the demons to look in genuine surprise.
"Sup." Drago greeted as he flashed a peace sign with his claws, which were caught on fire.
"You have a child?!" Bai Tza questioned.
"I can see the resemblance." Hsi Wu pointed out.
"Such a tiny thing… not even an hors d'oeurve." Po Kong commented.
"Careful. Swallow me and you'll get a nasty case of heartburn." Drago warned.
"Well, he certainly has your temper, Shendu." Xiao Fung said.
"But why bother having a child?" Tso Lan asked. "We are immortal. There is no need for us to procreate."
"Allow me to answer that by introducing the boy's mother, my dear Nerissa." Shendu introduced as the former Guardian stepped out of the shadows from the cave at Mount Thanos to reveal herself to the demons.
"A pleasure to finally meet you, mighty demons." Nerissa bowed to them. "The legends do not you do justice."
Meanwhile, Miranda hung a bit further in the back and out of the demons' sight. Not that she was afraid of them, but she didn't think there was any point in introducing herself to them.
'So, these the original demons… the ones whose power the Knights and I all sought.' Miranda thought with interested. 'This may prove interesting.'
"What is this?!" Tchang Zu's body, once more, lit up like a thunderstorm. "You matted with a human?!"
"…Yep, that went about as well as I expected." Drago muttered.
"A human who wields the power of Quintessence." Shendu revealed.
"Quintessence?!" Xiao Fung exclaimed in surprise the other Demon Sorcerers all gasped. That honestly caught the attention of all the demons. "The power over life itself…?!"
"Very few have ever wielded that power… even we had never obtained that ability…!" Hsi Wu stated.
"It is true, mighty ones." Nerissa said as she held the palm of her hand open to generate a surge of her electrical quintessence power. "Much has changed since your reign, but the power of Quintessence is mine to wield. As it is for my son."
Drago mirrored his mother's action as he clenched the first that was once lit a flame, only now for it to surge with dark red and black bolts of his own Quintessence energy, which further surprised his aunts and uncles. "Now do I have your attention?"
"A demon… our own kin… no less… Wielding Quintessence…!" Bai Tza muttered.
"Alright. I'm impressed." Xiao Fung admitted.
"Bah." Dai Gui growled yet again. "Quintessence or not, he is still his father's son. And anyone who is willing to mate with Shendu has no value to us!"
"Even if said power and mate are the key to your release?" Shendu asked rhetorically.
"What are you getting at?" Po Kong questioned.
"While it is true that all your portals are sealed… I know of a means to undo that problem." Nerissa began as she pulled out a certain relic. "I believe you know of this item."
"The Pan'ku Box." Tso Lan observed.
"And this…" Nerissa held in her other hand, a familiar jewel. "Is the mystic Heart of the realm of Meridian. With this amplifying my own powers, as a means to open Folds between dimensions, I can channel it all through the Pan'ku Box and force your portals open, allowing you all to escape that dreadful pit."
"And how can we trust this will proceed as you claim it?" Bai Tza questioned. "As argued, Shendu is untrustworthy, and if you are the only ones to possess the means to open the doors, we have no control. How can we be certain this isn't a trick?"
"You don't really have any other options." Drago pointed out. "It's either that, or you stay where you are. Your call." He pointed a finger gun at them with a smug grin, which caused many of the demons, notably Dai Gui and Tchang Zu, to growl.
"Give us a moment." Tso Lan said as he used his powers to pull in all the rocks that his siblings stood on, bringing them all closer together and further away from the window so that Shendu and the others could not hear them.
"We cannot trust them." Tchang Zu said.
"Obviously." Hsi Wu agreed.
"But we literally have no alternatives." Xiao Fung countered. "And if they were able to obtain a realm's mystic heart, theoretically it would be enough to force open each of our portals."
"Yet, we do not know how they obtained it." Bai Tza said. "It could still be a ploy."
"The fact that Shendu contacted us though is interesting in of itself." Po Kong commented.
"Indeed." Tso Lan nodded. "Even if he does intend to betray us and deceive us, it is unlikely he will do so right away."
"The only reason he would contact us… is if he needs us." Xiao Fug assumed.
"But for what?" Dai Gui questioned. "He still cannot be trusted."
"And if he has all of his Talismans again, that makes him a match for all of us combined." Hsi Wu put in. "Not to mention his mate and son both wielding Quintessence makes them wild cards."
"But again, if he needs us, it may be some time before they attempt to betray us. We could use that time to devise a counterstrategy." Tso Lan offered.
All the demons exchanged eye-contact and nodded to one another before turning towards the window.
"Very well Shendu, we'll hear what you and your mate and offspring have to say." Bai Tza accepted.
"A wise decision, my dear sister." Shendu sneered, as did Drago and Nerissa, with even Miranda smirking in the back.
"Yet we must also consider something…" Xiao Fung began. "A certain obstacle that is responsible for our current predicament."
"Chan." Tchang Zu growled.
"Ah yes. Jackie Chan. Our nemesis." Shendu knew this was coming. "And unfortunately, it is no longer just him."
"What are you talking about?" Dai Gui questioned.
"Chan's taken some protegees under his wing." Drago explained. "A group of cute little girls with elemental powers of their own, including his niece, who now fancy themselves as Guardians of the cosmos."
"The Infinite Dimensions have no such Guardians." Po Kong replied.
"As said, much time has passed since your reign, mighty demons." Nerissa told him. "The universe has changed. However, if you listen to what we have planned… not only will we free you… we may have the means to remove those obstacles once and for all."
"Speak, then… Nerissa, was it?" Tso Lan requested. "What is this plan of yours?"
A Couple Days Later – Hong Kong
A Humvee pulled out of the tunnel and arrived the gates of Moose World, which was closed as it was currently the middle of the night in Hong Kong. Stepping out of the vehicle were Jackie, Tohru, Uncle, Yan Lin, and Captain Black.
"No sign of anyone so far." Captain Black observed.
"Do not drop your guard." Yan Lin warned. "However cunning you think Shendu, Nerissa, and Drago are… it's really ten times that at least."
Jackie then pulled a special comms device that he used to contact all his allies. "We're now at Hong Kong Moose World, the location of Shendu's portal. Is everyone else where they're supposed to be?"
"Jade sounding off at Fenway Park." Jade said as she was currently in her Guardian form, hiding just around the corner of where the women's restroom was, which just so happen to be the location of Hsi Wu's portal. "Good thing the Red Sox aren't playing today."
"All clear at Mega-Galactic Studios." Taranee relayed, also in her Guardian form, as she hovered close to the ceiling, hiding in the shadows behind all the steel beams, and just above the spot where Tchang Zu's portal was located. "I'm surprised you were able to clear out the whole studio, Captain."
"The base at Section 13 might be totaled, but I'm still a government agent with connections." Black responded.
"So far so good up here too." Will said in her Guardian form, hovering in the zero gravity that was the Niagara space station that currently hovered over the Earth. "Remind me again how a demon portal is in space? Last time I checked, ancient China didn't have space travel a thousand years ago."
"I haven't the faintest idea." Tohru answered.
"That particular portal is tricky, Will." Jackie told her. "It's not in the space station itself, but at a certain point in the Earth's orbit where the station will intercept. And Tso Lan is arguably the most powerful of all the Demon Sorcerers."
"Don't worry, Uncle Jackie. My bestie's in her home turf, too." Jade said.
"Got that right." Will agreed as she hovered to the station's central controls "Everything all clear, Huston?"
"All clear. No dangers in sight, over." The space console itself spoke to Will.
"Aiya, take Moon Demon seriously!" Uncle stated, causing the redhead to wince slightly.
"Trust me, I'm taking this very seriously." Will herself said with a serious look in her face.
"As serious as the Romans all were?" Irma said as she, while also clad in her Guardian form, sat in one of the seats of the Roman colosseum, looking toward the specific spot where Bai Tza's portal would be through a pair of binoculars.
"If Uncle where there, I'd smack you three times on head!" Uncle chastised.
"Sorry, but joking is keeping me from being totally and completely freaked out of my mind right now!" Irma stated as her face looked in a mixture of frustration and panic.
"For real, we don't we even know which of these portals our favorite twisted family will go too!" Cornelia agreed. The blonde was, just like all her teammates, also in her Guardian form as she hid inside an old vila, where Dai Gui's portal was located just outside, in the middle of the countryside in Pamplona. "And we're all scattered!"
"Which is why we have a plan." Jackie said over the other side. "Each of us are hiding at one location, keeping any possible sign of Nerissa, Shendu, or Drago. The minute one of us sees them, they will contact the others, and Will and Blunk will Fold us to each of their locations."
"It's just going to take a slight detour since we can't Fold onto the same world, so we'll make a pit-stop at Meridian before coming to that spot." Will said.
"Really wish we could just tele-transport. That would be way faster." Hay Lin said as she was currently hiding just behind a laundry machine within the laundry room of Hollowlands Penitentiary. And just like all her friends and teammates, she was also in her Guardian form.
"Sorry Hay Lin, but it will take time to learn that technique, and we do not have time." Yan Lin apologized.
"But, I do have one question." Hay Lin began. "How were you able to clear out a whole prison, Captain Black? It feels kinda weird."
"I didn't have too." Black replied. "After Jackie fought the Wind Demon there, the guards discovered all the tunnels underneath. Once they found that, the facility was no longer deemed secure and shut down. Now it's abandoned and awaiting demolition."
"Getting back to the current crisis, even if we did have the option to tele-transport, I doubt you can do that for a whole army." Caleb pointed out as he was hiding in the top room of an old Japanese castle that stood on an island in the middle of Tokyo Bay.
And Caleb was not the only one. In the room with him were Blunk, Aldarn, Vathek, and Julian; and scattered throughout the entire castle and hidden around the perimeter of the courtyard where Po Kong's portal was located where several other soldiers and former rebels from Meridian, as well as Matt, Finn, Ratso, Chow, and Alchemy, all of whom were also equipped with communicators, and armed with various weapons.
"Speaking of, why do we need an army for this one?" Aldarn asked. "I know these Demon Sorcerers are powerful, if Shendu is anything to go by but…"
"Dude, you don't know how big this demon is." Finn interrupted.
"She's called the Mountain Demon for a reason." Chow put in.
"Yeah, she's Shendu's big sister." Ratso said.
"Um… how big is big…?" Blunk asked nervously.
"Well, given how big we saw Frost get when he absorbed that Mountain Demon Chi… I'd say… big." Matt assumed.
"Caleb, everyone's in position." Vathek told his young friend and former leader. "If this Demon emerges from her portal, we'll be ready."
"Good work, Vathek." Caleb said.
Alchemy, from her spot, gave a sigh as she leaned back against a wall. "We've covered all our basis; our plan seems solid… but why does it feel like we're playing right into Nerissa's hands?"
"Yeah, she and Sonny-boy have been one step ahead of us this whole time." Cornelia responded with Jackie and his group listening closely, while also finding spots to hide around the front gate at Hong Kong Moose World. Jackie and Yan Lin hid around one ticket stand on the left side of the gate, Uncle and Captain Black were on that of the right side, and Tohru was within the gate itself.
"They got a point." Taranee agreed. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous."
"Right, give us more reasons to be totally freaked out of our minds." Irma commented sarcastically.
"Hey, Jackie and I beat all these guys before, and that's before I got powers and you guys came along." Jade tried to perk everyone up. "They're tough, but they're not invincible."
"Jade's right. We beat all the Knights of Vengeance when they had the Demon Chi, the same kind of power these guys have." Hay Lin agreed.
"True, but we mustn't get overconfident." Jackie advised. "Be ready for anything."
"We will be. Wish us luck, Jackie. I got a feeling we're gonna need it." Will said before signing off.
Jackie then looked back slightly to see an uncomfortable look on Yan Lin's face, which caused the man to look in sympathy. It didn't take a genius to understand why Yan Lin felt this way.
"Miss Lin, you don't have to be here." Jackie told her. "We can handle this."
"I don't doubt that… but I have too." Yan Lin said seriously. "I'm partially responsible for all of this. I should have helped Nerissa and Drago. Perhaps if I had… Cassidy would still be here… and, they could have been a family. A real family… far away from that monster who acts a father. We intended to raise Drago… more than just a force for good… but someone who could have a life of his own, one that separated him from his father!"
"I'm sure…" Jackie put a hand on her shoulder. "In another world… perhaps Drago could have been part of this group… a friend even. I am sorry that's not how it turned out. I know this cannot be easy. But I promise, we will set things right. We may not be able to undo the past, but we will stop them now."
"Yes, we will." Yan Lin said as she clenched her fist. "I won't allow them to hurt anybody else every again."
"Glad to know I left such an impression on you, Auntie Lin!"
All eyes turned towards the very top of the entrance gate, where Drago himself stood at the very top of the moose-head with a smug grin.
"But I'm honestly having more fun on this side of things! And I'm gonna have even more fun as we turn this universe inside out!"
Right when the half-demon made that declaration, Shendu flew straight down from the sky and landed hard on the ground in front of the with enough force to create a shockwave powerful enough to blow back all the present heroes.
"You chose to divide and conquer…" The Fire Demon began to address his enemies. "Scatter your forces at each of the portals' locations, assuming we would use one portal to free all my siblings all at once and would join together for a joint assault to overpower us. Not a bad strategy, all things considered."
Suddenly, Nerissa and Miranda, the latter in her draconic-spider form, both appeared alongside Drago.
"Too bad for you, that's exactly what we've been counting on!" The shapeshifter hissed.
"We need to be at the location of only one portal, yes." Nerissa began as she held the Pan'ku Box in one hand, and her scepter in the other. "Only because we need use this location to connect to all the other portals and open them all at once!"
Jackie, Uncle, Yan Lin, Tohru, and Captain Black all gasped as soon as they heard that.
"Now… let the entertainment begin…" Holding the Pan'ku Box up high, Nerissa channeled her own Quintessence power into it as she began to recite a spell. "Oaz Id Iaf Iawg Iug Om Uy! Oaz Id Iaf Iawg Iug Om Uy! Oaz Id Iaf Iawg Iug Om Uy!"
As she chanted the spell, the Pan'ku Box began to hover into the air, every part of the box began to turn in various directions. The sides were turned vertically left and right while the top and bottom turned horizontally. "Oaz Id Iaf Iawg Iug Om Uy! Oaz Id Iaf Iawg Iug Om Uy!"
Suddenly, all the parts of the Pan'ku Box broke off the reveal a green energy orb at the very center of it, which quickly turned a dark red as the good magic that was once the power source of the relic became corrupted. So much so that a powerful whirlwind began to blow away, one that kept all the present heroes at bay and unable to interfere, not that the towering Shendu would let them.
"Sensei, what is happening!?" Tohru questioned as Uncle listened to to the spell Nerissa recited.
"Oaz Id Iaf Iawg Iug Om Uy! Oaz Id Iaf Iawg Iug Om Uy! Oaz Id Iaf Iawg Iug Om Uy!"
Uncle gasped as he realized what she was doing, recognizing the incantation as a reverse of his own. "Aiya! It is a reversal spell! Nerissa is using the Heart of Meridian to amplify her own power and reverse the banishing spells, forcing the portals open!"
"Can't we stop it?!" Black questioned.
The second he asked that, the red energy orb broke apart as seven red beams of energy were shot out in various directions throughout the sky, and Jackie knew exactly where they were going. He immediately opened his comms again to warn the others.
"Everyone! Nerissa is opening the portals!"
Fenway Park
"Wait… Portals?" Jade questioned. "Plural?!"
"Which ones?!" Cornelia questioned as well.
"ALL OF THEM!" Jackie screamed on the other line.
Right when she heard that, a beam of red light shot down from the sky and struck the sign on the door to the woman's restroom. Jade watched as the trigram of three unbroken lines appeared on the doorway.
A portal that resembled a Chinese gateway, with dark pink ridges and a swirling red vortex within, then appeared and Jade could only watch in shock as Hsi Wu, the Sky Demon, emerged from the portal with a shriek.
A red energy beam shot out from Earth and right at a specific point in space, just as the Niagara Station reached a specific spot in orbit.
Will gasped as she saw the red beam pass through the front window of the control room and toward the back wall on the end of the hallway. The trigram of a solid line in-between two broken lines appeared on the wall just as another portal opened up, and hovering out of it was none other than the Moon Demon, Tso Lan.
Rome
Irma stood up from her spot as she saw a red beam shot straight down from the sky right onto a lion's face that was carved into the floor within the hypogeum of the colosseum. She immediately flew down to see the glowing trigram of a broken line above two solid lines appear right before a portal opened.
A giant stream of water shot out of the portal, right before the water began to take a solid and physical shape. In less than a second, the Water Demon Bai Tza had materialized as she gave a shrill cry.
Hollowlands Penitentiary
Hay Lin looked in utter surprise as she saw a red light pass through the wall near the ceiling of the prison's laundry room and right onto the face of a dryer. The trigram of two solid lines over a broken line had formed right before a portal had opened, allowing the Wind Demon, Xiao Fung to step outside.
Mega-Galactic Studios
Taranee's eyes widened as she saw a red beam shot down from the ceiling and onto a prop doorway. The trigram of two broken lines over a solid line had formed right before a portal had begun to open up.
Before it even finished opening, a pair of claws had appear to try and force the portal open faster, revealing the electrically charged Thunder Demon, Tchang Zu.
Pamplona
"What the…?!" Cornelia exclaimed as she saw a red beam shot across the sky and straight towards the castle she was hiding in.
The blonde flew out just as the trigram of three broken lines formed on the doorway right before a portal had opened, where the Earth Demon, Dai Gui, stepped out into the open.
Tokyo
Caleb, Alchemy, Blunk, and the Enforcers all looked in absolute shock to see the final red beam shot across the night sky and strike a lock on an old door into the castle they were all hiding in. They did not see the trigram of a solid line over two broken lines appear on the lock, but they did see the enormous portal, one that was the size of the castle itself, open up.
And stepping out of that portal with thunderous stomps was the largest of the monsters that they dared to face: Po Kong, the Mountain Demon.
In that very moment, Caleb, as well all as Alchemy, Matt, Blunk, as well as all their other friends across the world consisting of Jade, Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin… They all said two words.
"Bad day."
Hong Kong Moose World
The spell was complete, the red energy orb vanished, and the pieces of the Pan'ku Box, now broken, fell to the ground as the villains stood triumphantly over the heroes.
"It is done." Nerissa said. "The portals are opened, and the demons are free. And with the destruction of the Pan'ku Box, goes the means to banish them again."
"Thanks for dividing up the girls and all their friends." Drago gloated to the heroes. "Can't wait for them to get acquainted with the rest of my family."
"Not that any of you will see it for yourselves." Miranda sneered.
"Indeed. For this is where you all die now!" Shendu unleashed his fire breath towards them, forcing all five of the adults to scatter. Shendu then re-directed his ongoing stream of flames towards Jackie as he backflipped toward the Humvee, landing behind it just as the fire struck it, causing the vehicle to explode.
Shendu laughed at his apparent victory.
Only for that victory to turn into shock as something shot out of the smoke and struck Shendu with enough force to send him crashing through the front gate and into the amusement park.
The figure landed to reveal it was Jackie, clad in the Armor of the Eight Immortals, who dusted off the flames from his shoulder while Jackie himself wasn't the least bit damaged.
"I will handle Shendu. The rest of you, deal with Nerissa and the others." He said before jumping into the park after his demonic nemesis.
Tohru looked to see Drago landing in front of him, the half-demon sneering at him while the sumo glared and narrowed his eyes. Drago jumped to deliver a flying kick to Tohru, only for the large man to catch him by the foot and haul him over to smash him to the ground, but Drago kicked at Tohru's feet to let him go before turning over to blast him with a point-blank fire-breath, which Tohru defended himself against by crossing his arms, despite the resulting burns. When Tohru opened his arms, he looked to see Drago charging before delivering another flying kick, one that landed a solid hit onto his face.
Captain Black rolled across the ground to avoid the exploding web shot by Miranda as her draconic-spider form scaled along the wall. He quickly drew his pistol and returned fire at her, prompting her to move deeper into the park where the man followed.
This left Uncle and Yan Lin alone to face Nerissa. Never breaking eye-contact with his former friend, the Chi Wizard tossed Yan Lin a spare dried lizard while he dual-wielded a pair of blowfish. Each of their tools glowed green with chi-magic while the smirking Nerissa flexed her hand to show off a bit of her Quintessence power.
Inside the closed amusement park, the armored Jackie walked around the general area, looking all around at all the roller coasters and games for any sign of his enemy. Though it seemed like he didn't notice anything.
That is until an invisible force picked him up, hauled him up into the air and threw him into a spinning octopus ride, breaking the ride, even more so as Jackie felt a squeezing pressure on him. Which was revealed to be Shendu himself, pinning Jackie down with one claw as he turned visible and towered over him.
"Even with that armor, it can only stave off the inevitable of your soft human flesh being crushed under my power." Shendu gloated. "Just as your precious wards can only lost so long against my more powerful and more experienced siblings." The Fire Demon was about to blast a pair of heat-beams from his own eyes, but Jackie was able to wrench himself free and flipped back to avoid the eyes, jumping over to the top of the ride, where he then jumped forward to land a solid punch to Shendu's face and knock him down.
"I'm baffled as to how someone who has lived for over a thousand years can't seem to learn the same lesson." Jackie said as he turned to see Shendu get back up. "Don't underestimate those you perceive to be weaker. We're stronger than you think."
Niagara Station
Will slowly hovered backwards as the Moon Demon hovered over her and closer towards her, glaring down at her with his glowing red eyes.
"Will, we have a problem." Huston communicated to her.
"Yeah we do…" She muttered before addressing the demon in front of her. "Tso Lan, right? You don't seem all that tough. Shendu is way bigger."
"And you must be the leader of these so-called Guardians that I've heard about. One who wields the rare power of Quintessence." Tso Lan acknowledged.
"Isn't your portal supposed to be in the middle of space or something?" Will asked as she gently rubbed her fingers together, in a subtle method so that her enemy wouldn't notice, even as tiny pink sparkles fell to the floor.
"Nerissa timed the opening so that this station would be at that point in space when my portal opened." Tso Lan answered. "I admit it was a clever plan. And you will need that and more if you are to survive me, child."
"I might be young… at least compared a dusty old demon like you… but I got a few tricks up my sleeve. Huston! Now!"
Suddenly, the floor underneath Tso Lan, as well as the walls around and the ceiling above him all glowed pink before the metal paneling all changed and molded into the shape of multiple metallic hands to reach out and grab Tso Lan, followed by several wires from the station's innards to further insnare and bind the demon.
"I have detained the intruder! Might I recommend the airlock?"
"No. This guy tried to rip away the moon the last time he was out. You hold him still so I can fold him back to where he came from!" Will took out the Heart of Kandrakar.
However, a dark purple energy began to seep out from the metal and wiring bindings around Tso Lan before it all exploded to blast not only the restraints away, but even send Will flying and crashing through the space station all the way to the back wall, smacking her hard.
"Ugh!" She held herself, she moved way faster than she should have and hit that wall harder than expected.
"I see." The now-free Tso Lan advanced closer towards her. "You used your power subtly enough to bring to life the technology within this station, turning it into your ally. Not bad. However, even the power of life pales in comparison to one of the four fundamental forces of the universe itself. Behold, my mastery of gravity!"
Tso Lan stretched one of his four hands forward to blast a beam of dark energy at Will, engulfing her in the aura and increasing the gravity around her to the point where she was forced hard to the ground and unable to move, despite her enhanced strength as a Guardian.
"Come on…! Come on…!" She struggled even as Tso Lan moved closer.
"Life is finite, dear child. Gravity is not. And unfortunately for you, your life ends now." Tso Lan was ready to use his powers to crush Will right then and there, only for the floor panel below him to tear open thanks to a pink aura as the wiring underneath took the form of a giant fist to punch Tso Lan and knock him to the ceiling, breaking his concentration and freeing Will from her predicament.
"You're still on my turf, Tso Lan! Tecno and I got this sympatico thing!" Will said before she flew straight for Tso Lan as he descended to the ground. Even as he tried to blast beams of gravity at her, Will flew around and dodged them all to close the distance, grab him by his upper arms with both of hers. Even as he tried to use his lower ones, she kicked them away before using her strength, and the weightlessness of being in space, to haul Tso Lan over herself and smack him into the ground before using her Quintessence power to restrain him to the floor once more. "And I learned Kung Fu from the same guy who kicked your butt before."
"Yes, so I've heard." Tso Lan acknowledged before generating more gravity power around himself to break away the restraints and face Will once again. "In that case, this shall be an interesting battle."
Fenway Park
A blur shot over the empty stadium before Jade was sent crashing into the seats on the other side. With a groan, she looked upwards to see Hsi Wu hovering over her.
"Jade… you've grown since I last saw you." The Sky Demon commented with a sinister grin.
"Glad to see that you're about as creepy as you were before, Seymour." Jade glared back as she stood up and shadow flames appeared in her hands.
"I heard how you developed powers of your own." Hsi Wu said as he saw the dark powers himself. "Derived from the Shadowkhan and the Oni. But let's see how well they fair against a Demon Sorcerer!"
"Don't even need to ask." Jade threw out her hands to blast a stream of shadow flame at Hsi Wu, who flapped his wings back to generate a gust of wind to slow them down before quickly flying up and over. Just as Jade herself flew up, Hsi Wu was already on her, grabbing her by the shoulders with his talons and slammed her again to the ground, but he wasn't done yet.
The Sky Demon then proceeded to drag Jade along the seats around Fenway park, moving at such speeds that it was like a blur as Jade's body was being dragged through. Though she was able to generate a cocoon of shadow magic around herself, which quickly grew spikes to pierce Hsi Wu's feet, causing him to scowl in pain before letting Jade go.
This gave Jade a chance to fly up, grab him by his shoulder with her right hand as they both flew higher in the sky while creating a spiked shadow-gauntlet in her left to repeatedly punch Hsi Wu in the face. At the seventh punch, she pulled back to deliver an even stronger punch to his face to send him twirling across the air, but Jade wasn't about to lose him as she threw out a shadow-lasso to ensnare him around his neck. He tried to wrench it free, only to feel himself being pulled in by Jade as she generated a mace of shadows.
"I will not be leashed!" Hsi Wu's wings extended before he flew right toward and straight past Jade, pulling her along as Jade held onto the shadow-lasso as he pulled her into the city of Boston.
Despite both having the ability to fly, Hsi Wu appeared to be the faster flyer with Jade struggling to hang on and refusing to let the demon go. "Heel boy! Heel!" She called out, despite the intense winds being brushed against her face as they flew in-between some buildings.
"You may be physically stronger Jade, but let's see of your endurance has improved!" Hsi Wu spotted a very narrow alleyway and flew right into it, turning his body to where his wings were straight and vertical and smashing Jade along the tight walls, several pipes and gutters and even a fire-escape. Just like before, Jade tried to generate a shadow wall in front of herself to act as a shield, but with such a tight squeeze it was hard to maintain her concentration on both the shield and rope, which began to dissipate.
Hsi Wu shot out of the alley and quickly halted his flight, the momentum throwing Jade forward as her shadow-lasso snapped and she was flung into and through a billboard sigh and crashed across the rooftops of two buildings before stopping at the third.
"Ugh…" Jade rubbed her sore head as she tried to get her barings.
"Say chi spell!" She heard Hsi Wu say to her as he flew in once again and lashed out with his talons, moving at high speeds that the impact felt like a devastating strike that sent Jade crashing into the building she was previously in, with the Sky Demon flying in after her.
Rome
"Liberation, once again!" Bai Tza basked in her newfound freedom.
"Don't get too comfy!" Turning around, the Water Demon saw Irma flying in at high speeds with a large cluster of water over her fist to land a solid strike to her enemy's face and knock her to the ground with a splash of her own body, though it quickly reformed as Bai Tza glared at the hovering guardian. "Cause you're gonna need a demonic emergency room by the time I'm done with you!"
"You must be one of the children Nerissa and my sniveling brother spoke of." Bai Tza said. "Even if you are the so-called Guardian who wields my element, you are far out of your depth compared to me."
"Let's see if you can back-up that talk, calamari-face." Irma launched a stream of water from her hands at Bai Tza, who let herself take it as her body was absorbed directly into the water that then re-directed itself toward Irma, who looked in surprise to see Bai Tza's body reforming up close and personal before the demon's right hand morphed into a water-mallet, which she used to smash Irma to the ground. Though Irma was able to fly out of the way as Bai Tza shot herself towards her, but quickly swirled after her.
Bai Tza's tentacles converted into razor water spikes that extended out towards Irma rapidly as she flew backwards, but Irma was quick to erect a water wall to allow the spiked attack to merge into it, which Irma then took as she spun it around her body and used it to slam into Bai Tza, delivering sufficient force to smash her underground.
In the underground chamber underneath the colosseum, Bai Tza's body reformed on the floor just as Irma flew in. Bai Tza hissed as she generated a large sphere of water in her hands and threw at Irma, who caught it with her own powers and remolded it into a large water blade resembling a guillotine-blade, which she attempted to use to biset Bai-Tza, but with a swipe of her hand, and the creation of water whip, Bai Tza had sliced through Irma's attack.
Though this did give Irma a chance to get up close and personal and puncher across the jaw. "Sorry fish queen. But anything you can do, I can take and throw it back at you!"
When she coated her fist in water again and tried to punch Bai Tza once more, the Water Demon opened a hole inside her own body to allow the punch to pass through right before it closed in to seal Irma's fist. She tried to wrench herself free but her hand was quite firmly stuck.
"You were saying?" Bai Tza sneered before her whole body exploded and expanded like a swirl of water, which formed completely around Irma, incasing her in a water bubble and cutting off her oxygen supply. Before Irma could even think about using her own water powers within the bubble, Bai Tza's body reformed as she wrapped her arms around Irma's body to pin her arms to her side and her face tentacles ensnared all over Irma's face to block her vision.
"You and I may wield the same element, but you are still a human child." Bai Tza told her as she kept a firm grip on the struggling Irma. "And like all humans, you need to breathe. Now drown in your power… or rather… mine!"
It was true. Bai Tza's grip was so constricting that she couldn't lift her own arms. And the tentacles over her own face were seeping water into her mouth and nose to drown her. Irma couldn't concentrate on her elemental powers to escape. But that wasn't the only trick she had up her sleeve.
'Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!' She mentally screamed as she channeled her mind powers to Bai Tza.
"I… I… will… let you go…!" Bai Tza released her grip on Irma, who wasted no time in channeling all her power to explode the bubble and blast the water in all directions before she fell to the floor to cough and hack out all the water in her mouth.
"Never thought… I'd be… on the losing end… of a water fight…" Irma tried to catch her breath. But before she could even stand up, Bai Tza's body had reformed once again behind her, but Irma was still able to fly away and keep some distance before Bai Tza could attack.
"Mental powers… interesting." The Water Demon noted. "You are also a slippery one. But which of us is the slipperier?" A pair of water bubbles appeared in the palm of her own hands before she grasped them and they took the form of translucent water blades. "Let's find out, shall we?"
"Oh boy…" Irma muttered, feeling more than a little nervous right now.
Pamplona
Dai Gui had only taken a few steps forward on the stone road in front of him, right before multiple plant tendrils shot out from the ground underneath him. The Earth Demon looked in surprise to find his body quickly ensnared and bound by the plant tendrils with several flowers quickly growing over them. He growled and snarled, struggling to escape the bindings.
"You know, it's guys like you that earth-lovers a bad name." Cornelia commented, drawing Dai Gui's attention as she hovered over him. "It's not all just dirt and rock you know."
He growled the second he saw her. "You are either a talkative insect, or one of the Guardians that sorceress spoke of."
"Oh please, can you even call something this cute a bug?" Cornelia waved her own hair. "Maybe you need to get your eyes checked. A nice long nap will help you with that." She clenched her fist, causing the flowers around Dai Gui to burst and spread a multitude of spoors over his body. "Those spores should make you nice and sleepy. Lord knows you could use some beauty…"
*SMASH*
Looking in shock, Cornelia found that as the cloud of spoors cleared, it revealed a giant hole in the ground where Dai Gui once stood.
"…Sleep. Earth Demon. Right." Her eyelids lowered in annoyance.
A giant fist made out of rock shot up from the ground to punch Cornelia and send her flying up into the air. She tried to stabilize herself, but didn't even get the chance as Dai Gui exploded out of the ground and leapt high towards her to grab Cornelia and slam her into the ground, creating a crater upon impact, which Dai Gui further expanded with his own powers to dig them even deeper into the ground.
"Plants and vegetation." Dai Gui spat. "Weak and fragile. Easily torn to shreds. The true earth… rock and stone… is strong! Crushing!" Dai Gui tightened his grip on Cornelia, causing her to moan in pain, and that pain turned into fear as the dirt and soil around her began to move of its own accord to begin burying her even as Dai Gui kept his grip onto her. "The earth is all consuming! It devours everything, crushes it under the weight of its own darkness. Now submerge, Guardian." Dai Gui told her as the struggling Cornelia was completely encased in the dirt and soil, even covering her face and hair before she was covered entirely. "Let the darkness take you and be crushed!"
Just then, a series of plant vines shot out from the side of the crater behind Dai Gui to ensnare around his legs, wrists, waists, and neck before pulling him back and away from the buried Cornelia, allowing her to pull herself free with a cough as her body was covered in dust.
"I'm a fan of mud baths, but not dirt naps!" She then used her telekinetic powers to haul up some large rocks to the ground before glaring at the struggling Dai Gui. "You like your rocks so much, then have your fill!" She them them all at Dai Gui to smash at him deeper into the side of the crater.
However, Dai Gui allowed himself to sink into the ground. Right before the mound underneath Cornelia began to shake and an enormous pillar of earth shot out and stretched itself straight up into the air, with Dai Gui emerging at the top above Cornelia to throw a punch at her, but she quickly flew around the strike and underneath his legs to channel her own powers into the top of the pillar, causing it to break apart and send Dai Gui falling off the ledge. The Earth Demon landed with a smash in the ground, only to retaliate with multiple enormous boulders and rocks thrown Cornelia's way, who could only fly to avoid most before trying to catch the largest with her telekinetic powers.
But Dai Gui used his own powers to break the rock apart into multiple smaller spiked rocks which struck Cornelia all over as she braced herself as hard as she could.
Mega-Galactic Studios
A blast of lightning shot upward through the roof of a studio with Taranee flying out shortly after to avoid the lightning bolts shot at her by Tchang Zu, who had leapt through the hole and formed a storm cloud at his feet, which he used to fly after her and shoot more lightning at her.
Taranee quickly coated herself in fire for her protection and created a wall of flame in front of her to act as a shield against the next lightning attack. The collision of flames and electrical power created a large enough explosion that acted as a smokescreen and forced Tchang Zu to cover his face…
Leaving him open for the flaming Taranee to fly down and land a kick, which she added a blast of fire to, blasting Tchang Zu off his storm cloud and sent him falling back to the roof of the studio. But Tchang Zu quickly recovered with a roar as lightning surged around him.
"Accursed flames…! You!" He pointed towards Taranee. "You who wield the power of my treacherous brother… you shall suffer my wrath as well!"
"How's that fair?! Not all fire-users are the same, ya know!" She pointed out, only to limbo and avoid the lightning bolt he threw at her and flew straight down toward him even as he continued to throw more bolts, but when they closed the distance Taranee had generated a fireball in the palm of her hand and exploded it into his face to blast him to the other side of the roof. "Fine. Think you can take the heat?" She warned with flames appearing in her glasses. Extending her arms, Taranee had lit the edges of the roof on fire to completely surround Tchang Zu.
The Thunder Demon retaliated by extending his hand upward, causing a dark storm cloud to form before bolts of lightning stuck down all across the rooftop, causing the structure to collapse.
The inside of the building was now currently set ablaze as the flames spread below and lightning continued to flash in the sky above. Taranee, still coated in flames, squared off against Tchang Zu whose own body surged with an electric aura. Both opponents galred at each other before they charged at one another to engage in brutal close combat.
Tchang Zu struck first with an electric punch to Taranee's face, knocking her to the ground before she kicked a fireball at his feet to trip him up towards her where she delivered a flaming uppercut to his jaw to knock him up in the air, where Taranee flew like a meteorite to smash Tchang Zu threw several walls. However, he raised both his fists, creating a large ball of electricity, which he used to smash down into her to smash and blast her into the ground. Tchang Zu didn't even give her the chance to recover as he landed with an electric explosion onto her to further blast her down. Only for a column of fire to shoot up and blast Thcang Zu back.
Getting back up, albeit shakily, Taranee took a few breaths to recover before facing against Tchang Zu again and blasted a stream of fire at him just as he shot more electricity at her, clashing their elements against one another.
Hollowlands penitentiary
The walls were blown away by a gust of wind as Hay Lin was blown into the wide and open prison cafeteria. Though she was able to stabilize herself in the air, she looked to see Xiao Fung leaping out from the hole and landing on the ground below her.
"I must admit, I never did face against an opponent who wields the same element as me." The Wind Demon commented. "This should be quite the experience."
"That's actually kinda funny, cause I did fight someone who used your power before." The Air Guardian replied right before she used her powers to erect a tornado around herself and her enemy, blowing away all the tables with the two facing off against one another. "So that makes me the experienced one!" She redirected all the winds and gathered objects at Xiao Fung.
However, the frog-like demon opened his mouth with a powerful inhale to suck up all the wind that Hay Lin threw at him, and while several of the objects did strike him, most flew around him to smash into the wall around him. Hay Lin looked more than a little surprised at what just happened.
"How did…?"
"As you said, experience, my dear." Xiao Fung answered. "Even if you faced someone who once wielded my power, I have wielded mine for thousands of years and know how to properly use it." He then let loose a dangerous whirlwind from his own mouth at Hay Lin, one that was enough to press her against the wall, and kept up the intense pressure to keep her pinned while he advanced closer.
However, Hay Lin used this to her advantage as she pressed the palms of her hands against the wall, generating some air-blades to cut through the wall and used the force of Xiao Fung's wings as a makeshift escape to let herself be blasted into the next room over.
The Wind Demon stopped this assault briefly and leapt through the hole and into a cellblock. He looked in all directions and didn't seem to find Hay Lin anywhere.
"Running away already? And here I was having fun." Xiao Fung called out. "But then again, that was a smart decision. Best to avoid a fight that you know you cannot win."
"Don't count me out just yet!"
Before he could respond, a tornado appeared out of nowhere to strike him in the side to blast him into an open cell, breaking through the surrounding walls. Though Xiao Fung was able to quickly recover as he pushed the debris away to step outside, but still looked around and saw nothing.
Exactly as Hay Lin, who was currently invisible and crouched near the railing of the second floor just above her opponent, had intended. From her position she created a multitude of air-disks, which she threw at Xiao Fung to slice at his sides, causing him to growl. Those air-disks were redirected back at Xiao Fung and continued to move around and slice at him, which kept him distracted long enough for the invisible Hay Lin to land at his side and blast another cyclone at him to send him crashing once more into the cells and surrounding walls. Hay Lin then re-directed her air-disks at the supports of the second floor above where Xiao Fung was, causing it all to fall down and collapse on top of him.
The invisible Hay Lin then flew back up as Xiao Fung leapt out of the rubble to land in the middle of the ground. But rather than seem frustrated, he looked intrigued.
"I see… you possess the power of invisibility." He realized, causing Hay Lin to gasp slightly from her hiding spit. "Rather than take me head-on to over-power me, you switched to hit-and-run tactics to throw me off guard. Most impressive. But not impossible for me to counter."
Xiao Fung once again inhaled, this time drawing in all the air from the area, creating a strong suction force that pulled in all the air towards his mouth. The invisible Hay Lin felt herself being pulled as well and grabbed onto the bars of a cell door to keep herself from being sucked in, but she lost her invisibility none-the-less.
The Wind Demon stopped inhaling when he saw her again. "Ah, there you are." He then let lose all the air he sucked up and concentrated it all in a single blast to strike Hay Lin and blast her through the ceiling.
Tokyo
Po Kong stepped into the seemingly empty courtyard as she licked her own chops. "Come now, where is the welcoming banquet for my return?"
"NOW!" Caleb's voice echoed through the courtyard.
On her right, multiple ballistae, had appeared to launch a multitude of roped harpoons at the Mountain Demon. This struck her across her body, piercing through the skin on her left shoulder. On her left, several other ballistae appeared to fire more roped harpoons to fire and pierce into her right shoulder. This caused all the ropes to cross and tangle together at Po Kong's front, ensnaring her small arms to her overweight body.
"Pull!"
Upon hearing Caleb's command, all the Meridian soldiers, including Matt, Caleb, Vathek, Alchemy, and even Blunk on the right side pulled on the ropes and ran behind Po Kong; while Finn, Ratso, Chow, Aldarn, Julian and several other Meridian soldiers did the same on the left side. With the combined might of over a hundred people pulling on all the ropes, Po Kong felt herself being pulled down to the ground.
"Timber!" Matt called as the massive demon slammed on the ground with enough force to create a small tremor which knocked a few people off their feet.
"Keep her down! Don't let her get back up!" Caleb exclaimed as they continued to pull hard on the ropes.
However, Po Kong was able to wrench her head up to bite down on the ropes closest to her, breaking off some of her bindings. "Nice try, little ones." She told the as the remaining bindings gave way to her strength, pulling down some of the people holding the ropes, allowing Po Kong to wrench herself free.
"So much for that…" Chow grumbled.
"Now there's my banquet." Po Kong smirked at all the people around her. "Who will be my appetizer?"
"Everyone move! Now!" Caleb ordered as the rebels scattered and ran to avoid Po Kong stomping toward them. She happened to spot Alchemy and Blunk being the closest to her and was quick to grab them both with one hand.
"Hmm, finally. The first human I've had in centuries, and a young female at that." The Mountain Demon licked her chops. "And… whatever it is you are." She said to Blunk in particular, causing him to scream.
"Blunk not snack! Blunk not even take bath! Too stinky to eat!" The Passling squirmed.
Po Kong opened her mouth to chomp down but Alchemy had pulled out a blowfish. "You hungry? Well eat this!" She blasted a stun spell into her mouth, causing Po Kong enough pain to let go of the pair and causing them to fall.
"I got em! I got em!" Ratso ran in their direction and was able to catch Alchemy and Blunk.
"The ballistae failed, fire the catapults!" Aldarn ordered as several Meridian soldiers pulled forward a multitude of catapults, which they used to launch multiple flaming boulders at Po Kong, causing her to stagger back towards the castle.
"It's working! Keep it up! Launch the second round!" Caleb ordered.
However, before they did so, Po Kong recovered with a gravel. "Enough!" She stomped her right foot so hard she created a small earthquake, causing a tremor to travel towards the catapults before the ground broke apart, causing the devices and several soldiers to fall inside, munch to everyone's shock.
"Uh… I think we just pissed her off." Matt winced as the roaring Po Kong advanced further on the screaming and running soldiers.
Hong Kong Moose World
Jackie ran towards a roller coaster and used the strength provided by the Armor of the Eight Immortals to leap from beam to beam, avoiding the devastating fire breath of the flying Shendu that began to melt the base of the ride. When Jackie made it to the top of the structure where the cars were, just as the ride was about to collapse, Jackie quickly grabbed a car in each hand and leapt from the melting and collapsing ride.
Shendu and Jackie met in mid-air where Jackie was able to strike Shendu in the face with one car, causing him to fall down. The armored Jackie landed on Shendu's belly and used the cars as makeshift weapons to pound Shendu's face repeatedly. But no matter the damage he did, Shendu's face was quickly healed thanks to the combined power of the Talismans inside him. When the rides in Jackie's hands were so crushed from their use, Shendu simply smirked at his glaring nemesis before shapeshifting into a giant snake to loom over Jackie and lashed out with his fangs at him, which Jackie caught. But even then, Shendu's mouth was still open enough to unleash his fire breath and blast Jackie back.
Captain Black was sent into a game with water guns, the stall breaking apart on impact. Miranda's draconic-spider form approached him and was ready to unleash her explosive attack again, but Black was quick to draw a water gun and spray it at the flaming web she spat out, extinguishing the attack while also splashing wet webbing all over her face. This disoriented her long enough for Black to rush her, drawing a taser to zap her in the side.
"Ugh!" Miranda hissed before swiping her hand at Black to knock him back before she finally whipped the wet webbing from her face. "You will pay dearly for that."
Tohru had managed to grab Drago and throw him at a high striker game, the half-demon's head hitting the bell at the top before he fell to the bottom. Though he quickly noticed the hammer and snatched that just as Tohru charged, with Drago ducking under his punch before smashing the hammer into Tohru's face.
"What do you think big guy?" The young fire-breather taunted as he stood on top of his enormous belly. "Think I'm strong enough?"
Uncle and Yan Lin both ran around Nerissa as they blasted a multitude of stun spells at her, but a barrier of Quintessence energy shielded her well enough from them. But when she tried to retaliate with bolts of her power, Uncle proved nimble enough to avoid most, while Yan Lin just used Stun Spells to block most of them. Nerissa then shot one large Quintessence bolt, which soared right over Uncle.
"You need eyes checked! Missed Uncle by mile!" The old man chastised.
"Who said I was aiming for you?" Nerissa replied with a grin.
Uncle heard the sounds or revving engines behind him and turned around with a gasp to see that he was standing in front of a go-cart track, where several cars, all of which were now brought to life by Nerissa's power, quickly sped out and drove after Uncle.
"Aiya!" He exclaimed as he ran away, with Yan Lin trying to provide cover fire with her own stun spells, but she too found herself facing against a go-cart.
"Never was a big fan of go-carts!" She commented before retreating herself.
Nerissa chuckled at the sight before contemplating to herself. "Sufficient time has passed. Let's see how my 'in-laws' are doing."
Waving her hand, Nerissa created a magical window that allowed her to see the fight between Will and Tso Lan in the Niagara Space Station.
Flipping and flying over and around every gravity attack that the Moon Demon shot at her, the leader of the Guardians touched every wall and panel she came into contact with, her hands glowing bright and pink. This caused many of the metal plating and inner wiring to spring to life and lash out at Tso Lan, whether they be cords as tendrils or flying projectiles.
Tso Lan was able to blast all of this away with a wave of gravity magic, but Will shot herself under the attack and quickly rushed Tso Lan, grabbing him and flying to the furthest end of the station to pin him against the wall as they both struggled against each other.
"You were indeed correct, child." The Moon Demon granted. "This station is indeed your 'turf'. But the void outside is mine." Using his lower right hand to blast Will off with a gravity beam. "I believe it's time for a change of scenery."
Using his powers, a dark sphere of gravity had formed around Tso Lan, one that acted as a vacuum to begin drawing in everything around him, which caused the area of the space station he was inside to begin imploding.
Everything, including Will herself, felt a strong pull to the vacuum. She was quick to grab a nearby pole, but it would give way soon.
"Will, I don't think my structural integrity will last much longer! You must save yourself! Do not worry about me!"
"Okay…" The redhead thought reluctantly as she grabbed the Heart of Kandrakar. "Thank you, Huston."
From the outside, the entire station further imploded as most of it began to fold in on itself. It wasn't long before a large explosion erupted and the whatever was left of the space station was blown away, leaving nothing more than floating debris in the vacuum of space.
That as well as the gravity orb that Tso Lan was in, which quickly faded to reveal the eldest of the Demon Sorcerers was unharmed. "You put up quite a fight, child. But now your time is done. May you find despair as you freeze in this vacuum."
Suddenly, he was blasted in the back by a beam of pink energy, catching him off guard before turning around with a glare.
"You certainly are full of surprises."
What hovered above him, floating in space just like him, was none other than Will. Her Guardian form was currently encased in a bright aura of pink energy as the Heart of Kandrakar around her glowed brighter.
"Quintessence barrier. Life energy to keep me going and acts as a shield. Not bad, huh?" The redhead smirked just like how her best friend would before shooting more beams of energy at various pieces of debris around her, causing them all to come to life and take the shapes of monster-like creatures. "Get em!" She ordered, prompting all the monsters to engage Tso Lan, who retaliated with blasts of gravity energy to obliterate any that got too close.
But with the monsters keeping him distracted, Will was able to fly in from behind and land a solid punch to Tso Lan's face, knocking him through the void and into a pack of her monsters that attempted to swarm him. But that only lasted a few seconds as an explosion of gravity magic obliterated the last of them only for Will to fly at him and engage again in close combat, striking him with punches and kicks across his body.
"Huh, that's an interesting use of Quintessence." Nerissa was actually impressed. She and her old team never ventured into space, so she never really had the need to generate a barrier of life energy around herself for protection and life support. "But enough of the Heart's bearer, let's see how our wild card is doing."
Waving her hand over the magic window, it changed its visual from Will's battle with Tso Lan, to the inside of an old warehouse where Hsi Wu was currently located.
Boston
Hsi Wu landed in the middle of a dimly lit warehouse, the only source of illumination being several lights around him, a few windows, and the gaping hole in the ceiling.
"Oh Jade…!" The Sky Demon called out. "Come out, come out wherever you are…!" He walked around the area, looking around a few stacked boxes, not finding Jade anywhere. "I believe we are still owed a dance."
However, the lights above him flickered a bit before shutting off entirely. This only caused the shadows in the area to grow, but Hsi Wu didn't seem all that interested.
"What happened to all that bravado?" He asked mockingly. "You were such a ball of energy back then. Did gaining powers ironically make you a coward?"
Right as he said that, the shadows around the entire warehouse began to spread, creeping up and around the walls, covering up all the windows and slowly eliminating the light. This caused Hsi Wu to look with concern, even more so as all the shadows met up in the ceiling and sealed off the hole at the top, encasing the entire room in darkness.
"I'm not the same you knew before." Jade's voice echoed in the darkness. "I've grown, gotten stronger…"
"Yet you're too afraid to face me. You'd rather hide in the shadows." Hsi Wu said aloud, looking around but he could barely see past his own face.
"No. I'm playing it smart."
Suddenly, Hsi Wu was struck in the face and knocked to the ground. He pushed himself up, only to get struck in his gut by something before feeling a kick to the back of his head. He tried to retlaite with lashes of his claws and tail in the direction he was struck, only to feel a punch on his side, a kick in his shin, another sock to the jaw, and something wrapping around his neck to haul him up and over to smash him to the ground.
Growling, Hsi Wu tried to hover up in the sky, only to feel the back of his head hit something solid, which only further fueled his frustrations.
"Hard to fly when you can't even see five finches in front of you, huh?" Jade's voice echoed just as another strike hit him to knock him back down to the floor.
"Show yourself!" He demanded as he stood up.
However, he didn't even notice that Jade was directly behind him. In addition to being able to nullify light, Jade could see very clearly in the dark, almost like she was in broad daylight. Her own personal night vision.
"We were in your domain, Sky Demon. But you're in my house now." She whispered into his ear right before shadow tendrils ensnared him around his arms, legs, tail, and even latched onto his wings and pulled them all in separate directions to keep him suspended and unable to fly away.
The shadows pulled away slightly to over a tiny bit of illuminating for Hsi Wu to see the smirking face of Jade right in front of him.
"Say chi-spell!" She sung before pulling her fist back and delivering a punch into his face.
Nerissa's eyes narrowed as Jade once again surprised her. She was not only discovering new abilities but quickly mastering them. Once again, Jade proved to be among her greatest challenges. But she was confident that she could find a solution to her.
As for the others, Nerissa opened several more magic windows to see the other ongoing fights.
In California, Taranee continued to engage Tchang Zu in a flashy duel of fire and lightning that mixed martial arts and close combat with long ranged elemental attacks.
Underneath the Roman Colosseum, Irma and Bai Tza were locked in a water duel as they both blasted streams of water at each other, pressing one current against the other.
At Hollowlands Penitentiary, a miniature hurricane had all but torn up the inside of the prison as Hay Lin blasted a cyclone at Xiao Fung, who countered with a blast of wind from his mouth to collide with her attack.
In Pamplona, Cornelia had raised a large cluster of plant tendrils and roots at Dai Gui, who overpowered all of them with a wave of dirt and rocks to bury them.
"Hmm, more even than I had expected." Nerissa mused. "Though I suspect the girls' stamina may ware down sooner if this keeps up, but this should still deliver the results I intend. Now then, last but most certainly, not least…"
She opened one more window to see what was going on in Tokyo…
The entire island was an absolute wreck. The old castle was all but leveled, debris laid scattered everywhere along with the crushed bodies of various Meridian soldiers as whoever was left kept fighting the Mountain Demon however they could.
Several, including Aldarn and Julian, had torches lit which they threw at Po Kong to try and draw her attention as she stomped their way closer towards a large pile of broken wood and rubble that Caleb, the Enforcers, Vathek, Blunk, and Alchemy and a few others had set up.
"Giant demon coming!" Blunk pointed to the advancing Mountain Demon.
"Yeah, we can see that!" Chow exclaimed.
"Alchemy…!" Caleb looked towards her.
"Hang on! I got it!" Spreading some chi powder over the debris as Po Kong stomped closer, Alchemy pulled out a blowfish and shot it at the powder, causing to spark and light up with green flames. "Everyone move! Now!"
The group ran away just as Po Kong stomped onto the pile of debris, which exploded to send a plum of green fire into the giant demon's face with the flames quickly spreading all over the front of her body, causing Po Kong to yell in pain as she felt a very painful burning sensation.
"Heh, flaming stun spell. Pretty neat, huh?" Alchemy smiled towards her friends.
"Not bad, kid." Finn gave her a thumbs up.
"Heads up!" Ratso warned as Po Kong jumped forward to let herself fall on her front.
"FALLING GIANT DEMON!" Blunk screamed.
"RUN!" Caleb ordered as they sprinted as fast as they possibly could, just barely avoiding Po Kong landing on her front on the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that sent nearly everyone flying towards the river, all except Caleb who landed smack on the ground.
Po Kong rubbed her belly against the ground to extinguish the green flames, digging a large hole as she did so. After a little bit, the spell was negated and Po Kong slowly stood up, revealing some burns on her large belly.
"That hurt." She growled but soon spotted Caleb as he tried to pick himself back up. But before he did, Po Kong reached out to grab him.
"Caleb!" Julian exclaimed in worry for his son, just like everyone else, who tried to swim back to shore.
"So now… I'm going to chew you extra hard before swallowing!" Po Kong opened her mouth to devour the young warrior.
"Oh, I think not." Nerissa's eyes narrowed as she flexed her fingers to shoot a bolt of Quintessence through the magical window.
That same bolt re-appeared out of nowhere behind the giant demon to strike her in the back of her head, causing her to holler and losing her grip on Caleb.
Not sure what just happened, but he wasn't about to let a chance like this slip. He pulled himself free from her hand, drew his katana, and quickly leapt at Po Kong's face to drive his sword into her left eye, leading her to scream in agony. She waved her face to try and shake Caleb off, but he plunged his sword even deeper to maintain his grip. That is until Po Kong smacked her hand across her own face to knock Caleb off, causing him to fall.
"I got em! I got em!" Ratso, who had just came to shore, ran forward to try and catch Caleb, only for the young man to land on top of him, cushioning the impact and saving his life, but it was no less painful. "I got em…!"
Po Kong growled as she felt her bleeding eye with her hand. "This is not over!"
"It is over." Nerissa said. "Time to reconvene."
She created more windows to allow her to see all seven of the ongoing battles against the Demon Sorcerers and waved her scepter in front of all of them.
The injured Po Kong attempted to stomp forward and resume her battle against the small army before her, only for a giant Fold to open on the ground in her path. The second she stepped in, the Mountain Demon felt herself being pulled directly inside, much to the surprise of the recovering heroes. Once she was completely submerged, the Fold closed, leaving no further trace of the enormous demon, save for the destruction she left in her wake.
This only left the rebels confused and concerned as they shared disturbing glances with one another.
Jade continued to pound the restraint Hsi Wu as hard as she could, not even giving him an inch to slip and fly away.
However, she was pushed away as a Fold suddenly opened in front of her. The bright shine of light caused the shadow restraints around the Sky Demon to loosen, allowing him the chance to wrench himself free before flying into the Fold, which closed shortly after.
Jade scoffed in annoyance. "That cheating hag."
Tchang Zu threw an electric punch at the flaming Taranee, who parried it with the thrusts of both her hands, while also grabbing the Thunder Demon and extending her right foot over his legs to pull him over and trip him up.
He would have fallen on the floor, had a Fold not opened up, allowing him to fall inside that instead just before it closed.
The Fire Guardian looked in brief surprise at what just happened before signing, taking a quick look at whatever was left of the building around her that was still on fire, and chose to focus her powers on diminishing the flames and keep them from spreading to the surrounding area.
Bai Tza lashed out with an extended water-whip at Irma, who flew under before flying straight into Bai Tza, causing her body to explode into water. But just as Irma landed behind, she turned around to see Bai Tza reforming. But before she could reform completely, a Fold had opened directly in front of the Water Demon to pull her inside, closing a second after.
Hay Lin and Xiao Fung continued to press their respective attacks of a cyclone and wind-breath against one another, creating a violent flurry of winds in-between them that continued to tear apart the surrounding and empty prison.
However, a Fold had opened behind Xiao Fung, which he quickly noticed as an idea came to him. He purposely halted his attack, allowing Hay Lin's to strike him, which sent him flying into the Fold, closing the second he entered.
"What the…?! Where'd he go?!" Hay Lin looked around in futility.
Dai Gui sent a wave of earth at Cornelia, who focused her own powers to create a tree that grew out from the wave, its roots spreading throughout the moving ground to stop it. But even more so, the roots spread through the ground and straight to Dai Gui's position before shooting up into his face, sending him stumbling backwards…
Right into an open Fold. And just as quickly as it appeared, it closed the second he entered, leaving Cornelia by herself.
"Hey! That's not fair! I had him!" She complained.
Will, still covered in her Quintessence aura, grappled with Tso Lan as they tumbled throughout space, pushing each other forward and back in the weightless void before Tso Lan finally blasted her back with gravity beams from his lower hands. Will took a second to catch her breath before steeling herself against the Moon Demon again.
Tso Lan would have continued his attack, if it weren't for a Fold opening in front of him. His eyes narrowed slightly before looking past it and toward Will.
"We shall meet again, young Guardian." He told her before flying into the Fold himself, which closed shortly after.
Will couldn't help but narrow her eyes in disappointment and anger.
"It's time to go!" Nerissa called out to her son and others, opening a large Fold for herself and them.
Drago, who continued to square off with Tohru, smirked, realizing that their plan had worked. "See ya later, tubby." He used his fire breath to create a wall of flame in front of Tohru, blocking his path as he ran in the direction of his mother.
Miranda followed a similar lead as she leapt from the ground to a nearby ride, avoiding the gunshots that Black shot at her, before landing near the Fold, just as Shendu broke off his fight with Jackie to fly in that same direction.
"Savor this reprieve, my friends." Shendu told them all as all four villains stood at the open Fold. "The war has begun!" With that, the Fire Demon, his son, the former Guardian, and draconic shapeshifter all stepped into the Fold, closing right behind them.
When it was all over, half of Moose World was wrecked. Most of the rides were currently smashed or on fire, with the go-carts that were previously chasing Yan Lin and Uncle lying upside down as green chi magic surged around them.
Jackie, Tohru, Captain Black, Uncle, and Yan Lin met in the middle of it all as they looked towards each other with worry.
Meridian
At the volcanic summit that once served as a temporary hideout for the Knights of Vengeance, the Fold that Shendu, Drago, Nerissa, and Miranda had used to travel from Hong Kong had opened, allowing the quartet to step out to where the rest of the Demon Sorcerers were, having arrived there shortly before.
"Brothers and sisters." Shendu greeted them all. "Welcome to the realm of Meridian."
"Why did you pull us from those fights?!" Dai Gui demanded.
"You were evenly matched with the Guardians. It seemed like an appropriate time to regroup." Shendu answered.
Tchang Zu tried to throw a lightning bolt at Shendu, only for the Fire Demon to take it with little issue. Whatever damage that was inflicted was quickly healed.
"You denied me a victory! Such an insult will not stand!" The Thunder Demon bellowed.
"Didn't seem that way to me, Unkie Zu." Drago teased. "Kinda looked like you were on the losing end."
"Are you so eager for an early grave, boy?" Tchang Zu growled as he leaned in close to Drago.
"Are you?" Miranda threatened as she stuck by Drago's side.
"That's quite enough." Nerissa used her staff to separate Tchang Zu from her son and his own companion. "I do apologize for interrupting your battles, but I think you are all wise and experienced enough to see that the Guardians are not to be underestimated. Each of them was able to battle you on equal footing, some were even caught off guard." She looked towards Hsi Wu in particular.
"As much as I loathe to admit it, Jade herself has become quite the threat." The Sky Demon said.
"That Air Guardian I faced displayed quite the creative mind." Even Xiao Fung admitted.
"And it is not just the Guardians, they have strong allies as well." Nerissa then looked towards Po Kong who was holding her injured eye.
"I hate it when my food fights back." The Mountain Demon grumbled.
"Then don't play with your food." Nerissa lightly scolded. "And be mindful of our enemies. Even insects can carry a painful and even poisonous sting to them if one is not careful."
"Despite keeping my word and finally liberating you all..." Shendu stepped up to face his siblings. "Chan and his wards once again bard our way. But an opportunity now presents itself. If you are all willing to work alongside me and my companions, we can not only eliminate our enemies… but even claim more than just Earth. How often have we struggled or even fought amongst each other just to maintain control of one measly world when there are countless others for us to take!"
"You wish for us to enslave the cosmos?" Bai Tza questioned.
"Why not?" Drago questioned, stepping up to the lava pit and using his own Quintessence power on the lava itself to create an image of the planet Earth. "Why settle for one world when can we each rule our own or several?" The image changed to reveal multiple worlds throughout the cosmos.
"Such an ambitious goal." Tso Lan granted. "But how would we go about accomplishing it? No doubt we will face resistance."
"I have a plan in mind." Nerissa revealed. "However, if any of you have ideas to share, I'm willing to listen. Let us… brainstorm ideas and come up with a plan… to shake this very universe to its core!" She declared as she clenched her fist, Quintessence energy vibrantly emanating from between her fingers.
Earth – Uncle's Rare Finds
Despite so many people being present… Jackie, Will, Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, Taranee, Cornelia, Uncle, Tohru, Yan Lin, Caleb, Matt, Alchemy, and Blunk, it was quiet. Depressingly so, even as some of them had to have bandages and injuries with even Cornelia holding an icepack on her own head.
"Nobody else gonna say it?" The blonde asked rhetorically. "Okay, I will. That. Was. A disaster!"
"We played right into Nerissa's hands." Taranee scowled. "And now the Demons are free."
"As if we didn't have enough of a twisted psycho family to begin with." Irma commented.
"Shendu and Drago both scary." Blunk shivered. "Demon family terrifying."
"Well, we were still able to hold our own against them, right?" Hay Lin said for the sake of optimism. "And if Jackie could beat them all before, we can do it again!"
"I almost had Hsi Wu beaten down… but that stupid hag had to ruin everything!" Jade growled.
"Yes, the Demons alone are plenty powerful. But with the likes of Nerissa working alongside them…" Tohru said with reluctance. "They're an even graver threat than before."
"And with the Pan'ku Box destroyed… we lack the means to seal their portals again." Jackie commented.
"Any chance you can fix it?" Matt asked.
"No." Uncle shook his head. "Nerissa dispelled the magic that fueled the Box. It cannot be repaired."
"What about the time when Shendu rewrote history?" Jade asked. "We still banished the demons without the Box. Can't we just use those same spells?"
"Potentially, but knowing Nerissa, she is already working on a way to counter it." Yan Lin answered.
"What about Folding?" Alchemy asked. "Can't we just use that to send them back to wherever they came from?"
"No, we can't." Yan Lin dissuaded. "Because the Netherworld is not a 'world' per say. Not like how Earth, Meridian, or Kandrakar are. Not even like the Shadow Realm. It's a void that exists between worlds…"
"So it's like how space is between planets." Taranee said.
"Yes." Yan Lin confirmed. "We cannot Fold to the Netherworld because there is nothing there to Fold to. And even if we could, Nerissa would just Fold them out all over again."
"So re-banishing them is off the table." Will said.
"We can still fight though!" Caleb slammed his fist onto the desk. "I stabbed Po Kong in the eye! They're not invincible!"
"Got that right." Cornelia agreed. "If we can't banish them, we'll beat them the old fashion way. Magic versus magic."
"You make that sound so easy." Irma said. "That wannabe mermaid was slipperier than an eel! I almost drowned in my own element for crying out loud!"
"Yes, we are faced with an even greater challenge, but none of you are alone in this." Jackie said to the whole group. "Just like before, whatever we face, we'll face it together."
"Got that right." Jade said. "The world almost ended several times before I even met all of you. But Jackie and I always came out on top. We just gotta work a little harder to win this round."
"Yeah." Will said with determination as she held the glowing Heart of Kandrakar in her hands. "Those guys want a war? They got a war."
Done.
Well, that was a wild ride, wasn't it?
The Demon Sorcerers are now free, and the Pan'ku Box is destroyed. But despite that, the Guardians have proven capable enough to battle the demons on equal footing, tough it was an uphill battle as the girls had to use whatever tricks they could just to keep up, despite getting some good hits in themselves. But they were still able to catch a few demons off guard.
However, now that they are allied with Nerissa and Drago, they are arguably even more dangerous than before with a puppet master like her at the helm. The war between Guardians and Demons has begun and things are only going to get more intense going forward.
Until next, stay safe. Love you guys.