A/N: Thank you all so much for your patience. I hope to have another chapter ready by the beginning of next month! Read and review! AND ENJOY!
Back in San Francisco, school was finally out for many kids and teens as they rushed to go home and relax for a bit with video games and TV before worrying about homeworks, chores, and bedtime. But for Jake, Trixie, Spud, Luz, Amity, Willow, and Gus, they had all the time in the world to relax as they were watching a telenovela on the TV in the Section 13 breakroom. As the teens glued their eyes to the drama on screen, over by the door, King was pacing back and forth very nervously, while looking up at the clock on the wall. Rose was still away trying to research something after the topic of Phillip Wittebane came up at breakfast earlier that day.
"Uh, I'm guessing he bought her the big pipe organ and she's very nervous about it?" Jake asked Luz with a nervous smile, trying to figure out what the characters were actually saying. He and his friends were clearly not fluent in understanding Spanish, so they hoped Team Owl House, mostly Luz, would help them translate.
Luz laughed and shook her head. "No. Actually, he was having an affair with her sister, and now she feels betrayed." she informed with a grin.
"Dang Luz! You sure like these spanish soaps!" Trixie grinned, feeling impressed by her new friends' knowledge. Of course, she should have expected it due to Luz being of Latina origin after all.
"Well, truth be told, when you get suspended from school and you get bored watching the same movies and cartoons over and over again, you'd be surprised what hidden gems await you on your TV." Luz explained with a smile. "One of the perks of having ADHD after all."
"Oooh! Senorita Catalina is confronting Ana about the affair!" Amity squealed with delight, getting into the show as well. Luz was a great teacher in helping her girlfriend learn Spanish, and thanks to Luz's teachings, Amity was able to understand the show as well.
"I'm not sure I want to know the rest…" Spud admitted.
Jackie passed by the teens, looking over his newspaper, his mind still going to the confrontation with his former friend. He honestly had no idea that Monterey would get all those weird ideas from an innocent comment that Jackie had made. Still, he did feel at least partly responsible for giving Monty the idea of turning into a monkey-man, and he believed that he now had a responsibility to stop him and set him straight again.
"I still have trouble believing that…" Jackie said, putting his newspaper aside for a moment in order to take a sip of his jasmine tea to soothe his nerves. . "I knew Monty was kind of eccentric, but to turn into some kind of super-criminal because of a comment I made…Well, that is crazy even for him."
Jake caught wind of Jackie talking to himself, so he got up and walked over to Jackie as he sat at his desk, hoping to distract himself with work. "I do hope I could possibly talk some sense back into him." Jackie mused, and Jake stepped in front of him.
"Hey Jackie, let's not be too hasty!" Jake said. "OK, yes, he was your friend, but now he's turned into a mega villain. I mean, sure, you can try to reform these bad guys like you did with Tohru, but sometimes they aren't to be messed with." He then glanced to find Rose standing right behind him, glaring at her boyfriend. "I didn't mean you. Pretty and special girls like you are the exception." Rose managed a grin and gave Jake a kiss on the cheek.
"I understand Jake, but I still want to see if I can have my old friend back." Jackie sighed.
"Try not to worry about that too much, Jackie. Try to focus on what you can control." Rose smiled before the sound of King pacing back and forth filled the room. The Titan was also glancing over the clock with anticipation.
"Say Jackie, are those clocks right?" King asked, pointing to the clock that read 2:35 pm.
"King's waiting to see when Jade's going to walk in the door." Luz whispered with a giddy smile. Jackie, Jake, and Rose giggled.
"Don't worry, King. Jade will be back. She'll always be back from school." Jackie promised with a gentle smile.
"It's beyond cute that you miss her." Rose giggled.
"King did the same with me when I first started Hexside High." Luz whispered and giggled.
"The King of Demons missed no one!" King denied and huffed. "I wouldn't care if that girl would walk in this door right now."
Suddenly, as if on cue, Jade walked in, all done with school for the day. "Heyo team!" Jade grinned.
"Hey! Look who's-" Jake wanted to say before King's eyes went wide with happiness at seeing his new friend.
"YOU'RE BACK!" King cheered, quickly climbing to the top of Jade's head, but the pre-teen girl didn't mind one bit. Jade smiled at the affection the Titan was showing her. "I didn't miss you at all!"
"How was school, kiddo?" Trixie asked.
"Brutal." Jade groaned, setting her backpack down on the floor, exhausted both mentally and psychically, but most of all relieved to finally be done with school for the day. "We had a math test which was 200 hard! Then, Drew beat my team at dodgeball. And on top of that, the cafeteria served goulash for lunch because they ran out of pizza. I swear, they just mix in leftovers and make sure nothing in there is moving before serving it up!"
Team Owl House and Team Dragon nodded. They certainly had their share of gross school lunches a few times. "Well, that sounds like a crumby situation!" King joked, using bread puns, his favorite way of telling jokes. Luz, Jackie, King, Willow, and Amity laughed while the rest of Team Owl House, Team Dragon, and Jade stared at them, not sure what to make of it.
"Get it? Crumby? It's a bread pun!" Luz grinned, playfully punching Jade's shoulders, hoping she would get it.
"Oh!" Jade realized with a smile before saying, "Sorry, Luz. I don't think that's funny."
Luz frowned at that as Jackie's cell phone rang. He answered it. "So, how did your guys' school day go?" Jade asked as she set her backpack down.
"Oh, we just got done like 5 hours ago." Jake smirked. Jade's eyes went wide with shock.
"Wait, WHAT?!" Jade exclaimed. She had heard about online schooling, but she never expected that a school day online would be that fast.
"Oh yeah. We went through our lesson plans and when we got done, we found out we had a lot more free time." Trixie grinned.
"So we decided to lay back, eat junk food, and binge on Spanish soap operas." Luz finished with a smirk.
"You guys are SO lucky." Jade smirked before sighing. She sure wished she had that kind of luxury to just do school online and get done so she can goof off however she wanted.
"You telling me!" Jake quipped. "Finally, after spending middle school under Rotwood's thumb, I can just chill with my buds and my girl." Rose blushed under her smile when Jake said that. "No longer would I have to worry about Rotwood giving me detention for wearing my Nikes!"
"Or worry about Rotwood tripping on any of us for wearing low cut jeans and forcing us to run laps as punishment." Trixie quipped.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm actually going to miss being at Hexside High throughout all this." Luz said with a sad expression.
"OK, I'm on my way right now." Jackie said, hanging up his cellphone. "That was Kim. She wants me to meet her and Ronald at Oakland. She said Dalon Wong, Monty, and the Huntsman might have discovered an ancient, deadly weapon."
"Weapon? Oakland?" Jake asked, confused. "I thought they were looking for the nobel animals."
"Yes, but there might be a possibility that this weapon might help them in their quest. I must leave now." Jackie said, grabbing his backpack, but his way out was blocked by Jade, staring up at him with the cutest, pupp dog eyes and an eager smile. Jackie sighed, knowing this was the part where Jade would beg to let her tag along.
"Jackie, can I come with you? PLEASE!" Jade begged cutely that neither Jake nor Luz could resist. "I always wanted to fight alongside Kim and Ron! They're the BEST team of teen heroes ever!"
Jake chuckled. "Wow. She's got a lot of pep in her." he smiled. "You know Jackie, she did show amazing skill during our first mission. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to have her tag along." But Jackie glared at the half teen and half dragon, clearly not amused by Jake's suggestion.
"Yeah, you seem to have taught her much when it comes to fighting. But just in case, I know a few simple spells that can help butt whup those goons into the next millennium!" Luz smirked, making Jake laugh alongside her, but their laughs died down as they saw that Jackie still kept his glare.
"I would very much appreciate it if you would leave Jade out of this. I am her uncle. So I will make decisions regarding her. And please remember that you are our guests so please stay out of whatever business concerns me and her." Jackie said firmly. Jade groaned, already knowing Jackie was going to say no. Jake and Luz smiled and nodded sheepishly before Jackie faced Jade. "And as for you, Jade, the answer is no. It is a school night. I will see you in the morning."
"But Jackie-" Jade tried to interject but Jackie glared at her again.
"I said no. AND NO ARGUMENTS." Jackie said before walking out the door.
"Awwww man! He wouldn't even let me finish!" Jade pouted. "I was going to tell him that he didn't need to worry about me missing school because I got the rest of the week off."
Trixie then approached her and gave her a warm smile. "Hey, don't feel bad, Jade. You'll get a chance to bust out those butt whupping moves soon." she said, making Jade smile a little.
"Thanks Trix, but it's not just now. Ever since I moved in with Uncle Jackie, he never lets me join any of his missions. He's always like, 'Jade, stay with Uncle', or 'Jade, you have homework'. But I'm a big help to him! What is his deal?" Jade ranted.
"He simply worries for your safety." Lao Shi's voice was heard as he walked right in, surprising the teens.
"Gramps?! What're you doing here? I thought you were with Uncle, Tohru, and Eda, trying to find the rest of the animals." Jake said.
"Do I honestly need an excuse to check in on you, Jake?" Lao Shi quipped, making Rose giggle a bit, before Lao Shi faced Jade. "Jade, it is true Jackie greatly underestimates you. In your own way, you have been a huge help to him." Jade managed a smile at that. "But, you also are very impulsive. Quick thinking does come in handy in certain situations, but other times, you must stop and think. Balance is very good when it comes to protecting the ones you love."
Jade froze, knowing Jake's grandfather had a point. Jackie always tries to teach her about balance, and while sometimes she does take some of the advice he gives her, her pride gets in the way, leading to more bad decisions and bad outcomes.
But her train was interrupted by the door to the Demon Realm appearing, much to the shock and awe of Jade and Team Dragon. "Don't freak out, people! It's just Hooty." Luz assured her new friends.
"After defeating Belos, we tricked out the door so we can travel anywhere we went besides Luz's world, and so Hooty can deliver what we might need every now and then." Amity explained.
"That's nice." Jake smiled before asking, "Wait, who's Hooty?"
As the door opened, the house demon who guards the Owl House, Hooty, appeared, all smiles as his eyes laid on Luz, King, and their friends. But of course, Team Dragon and Jade were all very weirded out by him. "Hoot hoot! I missed you all so much!" Hooty smiled, happy tears coming out of his eyes.
"AWWW!" Luz gushed as she, Amity, King, Willow, and Gus all hugged the house demon. "We missed you too!" Luz then broke the hug and turned towards her new friends who were still weirded out by the house demon. "Everyone, this is Hooty, security/defense of The Owl House back in the Boiling Isles. Hooty, these are our new friends: Jade Chan, Jake Long, Rose Thorn, Trixie, and Spud."
"Oh, uh, pleased to meet you, Hooty." Rose smiled nervously while letting out an unsure giggle.
"Pleased?! To meet ME?!" Hooty exclaimed happily. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Any friend of Luz is a friend of mine! WHO WANTS HUGS?!" He then tried to stretch all the way to Team Dragon and Jade who immediately backed away.
"NO!" the rest of the teens, minus Team Owl House, screamed.
"They don't want hugs, Hooty! At least not right now." King said.
"Just give them time, Hooty. They'll like you." Amity promised with a smile.
"OK! I can't stay long anyway. Just wanted to drop something off for you." Hooty smiled before vomiting something from his mouth, quickly grossing Jade and Team Dragon out greatly.
"Oh no! I'm going to hurl!" Jade warned, quickly running off towards the bathroom.
"SO SICK! Jake groaned while shielding Rose's eyes from it.
"I DO NOT WANNA KNOW WHERE HE PUTS ALL THAT!" Trixie groaned as Hooty spit up what appeared to be school books.
"Oh, our new school books." Amity smiled. "Thanks Hooty."
"You're most welcome! Goodbye!" Hooty smiled before going back into the door, which then folded unto itself and disappeared.
"Looks like Hexside High finally upgraded their history curriculum." Willow smiled as she saw that her new history book actually erased all the stuff that Belos tried to implement into the young students' brains and provided a true history.
"Well it's about time." Luz grinned as she looked through the book with Willow before seeing a picture of Phillip and noticed a familiar looking mask. "Wait! Willow, go back two pages."
Willow did just that as Jade came out of the bathroom. "Is that weird bird-tube demon gone?" Jade asked, feeling relieved after throwing up.
"Check this out!" Luz exclaimed, not paying attention to Jade's question. "It says here that when Phillip Wittebane first stumbled upon the Demon Realm, he wrote on a piece of paper that says, 'For any new witch hunters who might appear before me, let it be known that on this day that I, Phillip Wittebane, founder of the Huntsclan and the very first Huntsman, will finally cleanse the Human Realm of dangerous witches who threaten our realm, starting with the Boiling Isles."
Everyone's eyes widened, especially Rose's, as they learned that Luz's now dead arch-foe, Phillip Wittebane aka Emperor Belos, is actually the founder of one of the most dangerous factions to all magical creatures, the Huntsclan. "I KNEW IT!" Rose exclaimed, reaching for Luz's book. "I knew it had to be connected!"
"Whoa. This might be a small universe…or multi-verse after all." Jade commented, still awestruck.
"So the Huntsclan was founded by Belos." Rose said. "And even though he didn't make it back to the Human Realm, the Huntsclan still grew, going after more than just witches. They went after all magical creatures including mermaids, trolls…" Rose then froze upon looking at her boyfriend, then gulped. "...and dragons."
Jake nodded, knowing he and Rose went through a lot when they started out fighting each other, then Rose learning about Jake's identity, then starting out as a couple, then Rose sacrificing herself in order to protect Jake and her family, Jake wishing that Rose was never captured by the Huntsclan, Rose and her family moving away, and then finally being reunited after the Dark Dragon incident in Hong Kong. He then placed a loving hand on his girlfriend's shoulders, making her smile a bit before Luz spoke up.
"Wow. This Huntsman stuff seems very important to you." Luz said.
"Trust me. It's very personal." Rose said, stepping away for a bit, taking a deep breath, then facing her new friends, showing off her birthmark. "Details are still really sketchy, but from what I can remember and from what Jake has told me so far, I had this birthmark at the moment of my birth. The Huntsman then saw it and snatched me away from my birth parents, raised me as his own, lied to me about them being dead, and constantly taught me that magical creatures had no place among the human world." She sniffled as a few tears fell from her eyes. Rose then collected herself and continued. "Jake then wished that the Huntsclan never took me, and that's when I got my memories erased. Somehow 88 and 89 survived the effects, and they got their memories back when I did. And hence, they resurrected the Huntsman. And now everytime the Huntsclan talks to me, I get massive headaches as more bad memories flow into my brain."
Rose then broke down and began to cry, and Jake immediately wrapped her girlfriend in a tight hug, followed by Lao Shi, Jade and Luz. The human witch couldn't help but cry alongside her new friend, knowing a thing or two about bad memories, especially since she still had nightmares about the final battle between her and Belos. "Wow. Just…wow." Amity said after Luz and Rose collected themselves.
Just then, an idea popped into Gus's mind. "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" he smiled.
"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Spud asked with a smile, confusing Gus and yet Trixie and Jake rolled their eyes amusedly.
"No. But those do sound good." Gus smiled. "Since we know that our worlds are actually connected, maybe we can find out more stuff about Belos and the Huntsclan so we can better prepare ourselves and defeat the Huntsman and his new cronies once and for all."
"Gus, that's genius!" Rose smiled, actually liking the idea. "Surely whatever methods 88 and 89 used to bring him back to life might also permanently erase him."
"And it'll make hunting the remaining Nobel Animals much more easier." Jake smiled.
"Awww…where's the fun in that?" Luz complained playfully, earning a few laughs from everyone else before they noticed Jade's forlorn face, still a tad bit upset over Jackie not letting her tag along on his mission with Kim and Ron. Jake then smiled as an idea entered his brain.
"Hey, your Uncle Jackie you couldn't tag along with him, but he didn't say anything about us letting you help us out." Jake smirked, letting an excited smile form on Jade's lips.
"Oh yeah!" Jade happily realized. "You're right! We can go on our own mission and give the bad guys a butt whupping they truly deserve."
"Yeah! And I can even teach you some basic witch spells!" Luz smiled, happily brandishing her staff and Stringbean.
"And I'm sure it won't hurt for you to learn some moves that I once learned as a former Huntsgirl." Rose smirked.
"OK! Then it's decided. Tomorrow, we'll all go on a research expedition into the city and learn some new info about the new bad guys!" Trixie smiled.
"And once we learn how to put the kibosh on Monkey Fist, the Huntsman, and Dalon Wong, it'll be The Mega J Team: 1! Bad guys: 0!" Luz smirked.
"Whoa, whoa! I thought we still hadn't decided on a name yet." Spud said. "I had a couple new suggestions I wanted to throw at everyone."
"Actually, after some thinking, I believe J-Team is a better fit for us." Luz smiled. "After all, Jade came up with the name before she met all of us anyway." Jade smiled at Luz when she mentioned her team name.
There was some silence from most of the other teens before Trixie was the first to speak up. "You know what? I second that." Trixie smiled. "All in favor?"
Every teen and King raised their hands. "It's official: our team name is The Mega J-Team!" Jade grinned.
Meanwhile in Oakland, in the museum, Kim and Ron were readying themselves along with Jackie for a visit from their enemies...
"So, Kim... you are certain this sword could be of interest to our enemies?" Jackie wanted to confirm, taking a good look at an ancient looking sword, looking somewhat like a katana, but with a broader blade and several strange runes etched on the hilt.
"Yes, Jackie, I am positive. I had Wade dig up all the facts, and it's certain The Huntsman would certainly want to seize this blade for himself." Kim explained. "It is capable of wounding magical creatures and can even draw a Titan's blood, so it makes sense that he would be interested in stealing this sword for himself."
"Of course, whether the rest of the bad guys let him keep it and not just try to beat each other up for it... well, that's a whole different can of eggs, right?" Ron answered. "I mean, it's Villainy 101, as Senor Senior Senior would put it. Bad guys are always up for a sudden but inevitable betrayal!"
"Oh brother..." Rufus commented.
Kim smiled and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's odd ideas, before getting back to the matter at hand. "Well, here we are. So, want to go through the plan once again? We will position ourselves in this room, making sure to stay hidden. Ron, you'll stay hidden in the cupboard there, while I will cling to the ceiling and wait for our friends to pay us a visit. Mr. Chan-Er, I mean Jackie, can you stay hidden under that desk until the time comes?"
"You bet I can!" Jackie answered. "Still, I am not sure this plan will work."
Kim offered a nervous giggle and an uneasy smile. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"Well, I know Jade admires you because you do this on a regular basis and I hope you will not mind me saying that, but...you two are teenagers facing my friend, a hunter, and a dark chi wizard. I believe it is too risky for you to expose yourself like that."
Kim's smile faded and she wrinkled her nose at that. She didn't much like the fact that Jackie seemed to underestimate or want to protect her and Ron just because they were teenagers. Uh, in case you forgot, my motto is I can do anything! Who are you to talk to me like I'm a little kid! She thought. However, before she could answer, Ron came up with a proper answer.
"Hey, don't underestimate us, J Man!" Ron answered happily. "I mean yeah, we haven't encountered that much magical stuff, much less dragons, Titans, witches, and dangerous wizards, but you haven't seen what KP, Rufus and I went through! We've fought mad scientists, monkey-ninjas, mutant creatures from Camp Wannaweep, crazy golfers, Shego, and we're still alive and kicking butt!"
Kim gave an embarrassed smile. "Thanks for the explanation, Ron!" she giggled and blushed. She then turned back to Jackie. "So, why don't we just stick to the plan?"
Jackie didn't seem too convinced, but he accepted the explanation with a shrug. "Well, if you say so. I am just worried about you, after all." He explained, before he turned to a topic that was particularly sensitive to him. "And speaking of monkey-ninjas...I guess Montgomery will probably be among those who will try to steal the sword, correct?"
"That's quite likely." Kim answered seriously.
"Well, about that...If Monty does show up, I would like to talk to him and try to convince him to stand down." Jackie explained to which Kim and Ron went wide eyed. He was going to try to reform one of Kim's arch foes?
Ron began laughing. "Good, Jackie!" he gasped through his laughs. "Next thing, I suppose would you want to convince Shego to quit Drakken and go back to the side of good." He and Kim then saw Jackie not backing down. His laughs subsided and his smile faded. "Oh. Serious face."
"Yes, I am serious." the archaeologist said sternly. "After all, I believe I know him pretty well. I believe I have a good chance of appealing to his better nature. I know that, even though he might have turned himself into a monster, there is still a human soul inside of him, and I will be able to talk some sense into him."
Kim sighed, now knowing trying to convince Jackie wasn't going to be easy as it seemed to be. "Jackie, I know you and Monkey Fist used to be friends, but he's not that person anymore. Can people change? Yes. But Monkey Fist is an exception. He's pure evil now."
"KP knows what she's saying! I make it a habit never to trust a monkey!" Ron continued. "Or a creature from Camp Wannaweep, for that matter!"
"I know what you mean, kids…" Jackie tried to assure them with a smile, but the last word finally snapped whatever patience Kim had left within her.
"Kids? WE ARE NOT KIDS!" Kim exclaimed, clearly tweaked, surprising Jackie. She then glanced towards Ron who was busy playing with a paddle ball. "At least I'm not."
"Kim, you need to apologize to me." Jackie said in a stern tone he usually reserved for Jade.
"OK, first off: you are not my parents. Second: yes, I'm 17, but I'm very mature for someone my age. And third: just because me and Ron don't have that much experience as you doesn't mean you're allowed to underestimate us." Kim explained, leading to her and Jackie to glare at each other.
Ron then saw his girlfriend and Jackie glare at each other, then stepped in between them with a nervous smile. "Hey, come on! Why don't we use this opportunity to share our feelings?" he chuckled uneasily, hoping to bring some peace between the two. But then he gulped as he saw they were not backing down.
"Listen to me Kim, I do believe everyone has a chance of redemption. In fact, I know a certain someone who was once evil, and he turned to the side of good." Jackie stated in a firm yet gently manner.
"Oh, yeah? Who?" Kim challenged with an arched eyebrow, still tweaked.
"Tohru. He was once a member of the Dark Hand, working for Valmont alongside Finn, Chow and Ratso. And now he is one of our most trustworthy allies. I know it could be the same for Montgomery." Jackie answered.
"I find your toxic positivity very disturbing." Kim remarked dryly.
"And I do not appreciate your tone, young lady." Jackie said sternly, causing Kim to get even more angrier.
Ron could feel that there was some clear tension and disagreement between the two of them. "Rufus, buddy… I'm afraid this assignment might be a little harder than we thought…" Ron answered.
The naked mole rat crossed his arms on his chest and nodded in agreement. "Yep. No doubt."
Before the argument could go on, however, the air seemed to get colder, and both Kim and Jackie broke off the discussion and took on a guarding stance. "Is this…?" Kim asked, already knowing the answer. "Man, they came here sooner than I expected!"
"It's an ambush! Keep your guards up!" Ron instructed.
A second later, a puff of whirling grey smoke filled the room, and several ominous figures began materializing inside the cloud. Kim, Ron and Rufus were quick to recognize Monkey Fist appearing in the midst of the strange mystical fog, and soon after, the menacing figure of the Huntsman, whose skull-like helmet was a dead giveaway, emerged after him. And at last came Daolon Wong, his hands raised in a mystical gesture as he held a gnarled staff in one hand. The thick smoke dissipated quickly, leaving the three villains standing near the trio.
"Monty. I knew you would come." Jackie said, staring at Monkey Fist.
"I see we aren't unexpected." Daolon commented, clearly not surprised of seeing Kim, Ron and Jackie. "You know not what forces you meddle with, little girl. I'd advise you to leave this place before you really get hurt. And believe me, I have no qualms against hurting children if necessary to my plans."
"I wouldn't worry if I were you, Mr. Evil Wizard." Kim stated confidently. "You won't get the chance to hurt me."
"Witty banter will not save your hides, children." The Huntsman thundered. "You have one chance to survive. Hand over that sword, or suffer our wrath."
"How about we just stop you instead?" Kim grinned. Taking the initiative, the young teen hero dashed at the Huntsman and delivered a perfectly-executed roundabout kick to his midsection, staggering him for a moment. The Huntsman quickly recovered and blocked Kim's follow-up punch, then lifted her off the ground and threw her a fair distance away. Kim groaned as she hit the ground, but she was able to pick herself up quickly.
"If you kept assuming that I would be an easy mark just because I focus on hunting magical creatures, you are going to be sorely disappointed." The Huntsman warned. Kim took a fighting stance, keeping her distance as she watched the Huntsman for any possible opening in his defense…
Daolon, for his part, began uttering some kind of magical incantation in ancient Mandarin. As Ron and Rufus placed themselves in front of the ancient sorcerer, both in their fighting stance, Daolon raised his staff and completed the incantation, firing a barrage of bright spheres of energy at the two of them. Ron yelped in fear and quickly dove to one side while Rufus went the other way, and the blasts of energy struck the pavement, shattering several parts of it.
"Woah! Remind me not to mock any ancient Chinese sorcerer from now on!" Ron exclaimed.
Jackie, for his part, was attempting to stop Monkey Fist. Or rather, he was keeping on the defensive, blocking his former friend's barrage of attacks while studying his fighting style and looking for an opening.
"Heh. What are you doing, old friend? Not going to fight back?" Monkey Fist taunted as he tried for a couple of punches, which Jackie swayed with little trouble.
"I do not want to hurt you, Monty." Jackie answered. "You should know that this way you are on will only lead to your ruin. Please, stop it."
"What? Are you actually that naive, Jackie?" Monkey Fist sneered. "Do you actually think you can appeal to my human feelings, when I turned myself into this inhuman monkey hybrid in order to surpass my limits as a human? And it was you who gave me this idea, my dear Jackie!"
"I know, and that's why I'm going to take responsibility for it." Jackie answered, meeting Monkey Fist's blows with skilled parries of his own. For a few moments, the two of them continued blocking and countering, neither of them making any headway against the other. "Please, listen to me, Monterey! You can't have forgotten what our teachers have taught us. I'm sure you still remember their words about honor and loyalty, and always being true to oneself."
Kim paused her fighting with the Huntsman and her mouth dropped at Jackie trying to make peace with Monkey Fist. "Jackie, didn't you hear me? IT'S NOT GONNA WORK!" Kim exclaimed, hoping to protect him. She only had time to utter these words before the Huntsman was on the attack again, forcing her to quickly dodge and get further separated from Jackie and Ron.
Jackie just ignored Kim and continued his plea, much to Kim's annoyance as she kept dodging attacks. "Monty, listen to me. I know this is not really you. You are being deceived, or perhaps you are confused... but stealing, hurting and committing criminal acts will not make anyone happy, least of all you. I have no idea why you thought it would be a good thing to turn yourself into a man-monkey hybrid... but perhaps, if we talked about it, we could find a way to help you together!"
Monkey Fist stopped his attack and seemed to slightly back down, his expression turning into one of doubt and uncertainty. He seemed to have been affected by Jackie's words... and Jackie decided to press on and convince him once and for all.
"You... you would really talk like that to me?" Monkey Fist asked, seemingly touched by his former friend's words. "Why is that? Do you... do you really think you can save me?"
"Of course I do! We are still friends after all!" Jackie exclaimed. "And no matter how you look, you are still a person to me! Come, my old friend, we can still help you turn your life around!"
"Watch out, Jackie, you don't wanna..." Ron tries to warn, only for a ring of energy to appear around his body, courtesy of Daolon's Dark Chi magic. Ron yelped in alarm as he was grabbed and tossed aside, knocking over a few items in the process.
"Oh no! Ron!" Kim exclaimed. She attempted to rush to her boyfriend, but the Huntsman was quickly in front of her, blocking her path.
"Annoying gnat." Daolon chuckled.
Jackie, oblivious to what was going on, approached Monkey Fist with a hand extended, and the monkey-man stood in place, looking at his former friend with what seemed to be gratitude and kindness. It seemed, for a few moments, that Jackie had actually gotten through to Monkey Fist…
But just as they seemed to be about to shake hands, Monkey Fist's expression turned to a triumphant smirk.
"Psyche!" he sneered.
A split second later, a powerful palm strike hit Jackie below the ribs, knocking the air out of him! With a gasp of both pain and shock, Jackie doubled over and desperately tried to remain on his feet... but Monkey Fist pressed his advantage, landing a savage flurry of blows on Jackie.
"Hah! What a sucker! You really thought I was going to be swayed by some pretty words! You were always such a fool, Jackie!" Monkey Fist taunted him, before delivering a powerful kick that sent Jackie tumbling over a desk and sliding painfully down to the floor. "Get that through your thick head! I'm doing this because I want to! Because I am getting to be the greatest martial artist of all time and obtain all the power I want! And I won't be swayed by your silly platitudes!"
"Oh no! Jackie!" Kim exclaimed. The Huntsman took advantage of her moment of distraction and roughly grabbed her by her left wrist, before lifting her and summarily throwing her into an open sarcophagus that was standing nearby. As Kim was stunned for a moment, the Huntsman was quick to grab the lid and close it, trapped the teen hero inside, while Ron was still tied up on the floor, with Rufus trying to somehow gnaw the magical ring holding him.
"How shameful. That was a total defeat for you meddling fools." Daolon gloated. "Now, let us take what we have come for, and be on our way."
"Gladly." Monkey Fist answered. He reached out for the magical sword, smashed the casing protecting it and grabbed it by the hilt, ignoring Jackie's wheezing pleas not to take it. "I'm not going to finish you off now, my dear Jackie. First, I want you to witness my rise! Soon, I'll be the greatest martial artist ever, and no one will be able to stop me!"
"W-Wait..." Jackie murmured. "You... you do not have to do this, Montgomery...please, stop this madness..."
"Oh, I probably don't have to do this, but I want to." Monkey Fist answered smugly. "Anyway, it was fun, but I need to cut our reunion short. Enjoy your time, my old friend! Because next time we meet, you might not be so fortunate! Hahahaaaa!"
And with that, Dalon waved his staff, and all three villains disappeared, just as Jackie began to lose consciousness and Ron was able to get free from Dalon's magic rings. "Man, for a old evil chi wizard, he clearly still has skill." Ron commented.
"Ron!" Kim exclaimed from inside the sarcophagus. Upon hearing his girlfriend's screams, Ron rushed to Kim and freed her. "Thanks for the save."
"You OK, Kim?" Ron asked with a concerned look, knowing the bad guys getting away wasn't good for them.
"Body: yes. Pride: no." Kim sighed before glowering over Jackie's body, clearly still tweaked over how he didn't listen to her. "I guess we better get him out of here."
"Good thinking." Ron commented as they both carried Jackie's body out of the museum.