Notes: A long time ago I decided that if there was something you would like to read that has not been written yet, it becomes your job to write it. Well, I was surfing FanFiction one day and when I hit the cartoon section I saw that there was no Jackie Chan Adventures section! ::gasp!:: I looked under "Miscellaneous Cartoons" and found only TWO JCA fanfics, both unfinished! ::da da duuum!:: There should be more! So now I'm writing a fic of my own.
As for the timeline, this story roughly takes place after "Queen of the Shadowkhan." Just, ah, pretend that Jade hadn't destroyed the Demon Archives, and that the Dark Hand still had it. Feedback is greatly appreciated. However, please don't say something like "this fanfic sucks, go to hell!" is pure stupidity. Tell me *why* it sucks. Comprende?
And of course, much appreciation goes to Jayne for editing this and Olivia for critiquing it. You guys rock! Now...sorry this was long, just enjoy the real story!
Disclaimer: Jackie Chan and the other characters belong to Kids WB and the real Jackie Chan. Anything suggested to cartoon Jackie's past is in NO WAY related to the real Jackie's. At least, I don't think so. But I mean no harm! I'm a pacifist, really. ^_^
THE DEMON WITHIN
Part One: The Letter
by Iceblade5
Jackie whistled softly as he swept the floor of the antique shop. For the most part things had been pretty quiet lately: the last Demon Portal they had conquered was at least three weeks ago, and there was only one mishap in between. The only problem was that the Dark Hand was now in possession of the Demon Archives. But right now Jackie wasn't going to worry about it.
One might say this was almost boring, but for Jackie it was a sweet reunion with his only chance at a normal life. He was not a secret agent. His main interests stood in archeology and ancient artifacts, not secret agent action and superhero stunts. So he had extreme martial arts skills and an uncle who was a master in Chi Spells. So what? He could still live like normal people do for now.
Right?
"Would you stop that whistling? You give Uncle a headache!" Uncle shouted, and Jackie stopped obediently. "One more thing. Send Jade out to get more rice cakes. *Somebody* ate them all." He glared at Tohru, who was dusting off the shelves; a thick guilty grin formed on Tohru's face.
"Okay, Uncle," said Jackie. Then he called Jade down for her errand.
"Coming, Jackie!" she called back.
A moment after Uncle went back to his studies, Jade was about to climb down the stairs in her new roller blades without the help of the banister. Jackie looked up in time to yell out, "Jade, don't!" But it was too late: Jade slipped and came thumping down.
Jackie raced to the stairs in an attempt to catch her but slipped on the skateboard that was left at the bottom. His stomach landed on the skateboard and Jade fell on his back; the force of her weight sent them both rolling into a bookshelf. The bookshelf shook and two vases perched upon it fell horizontally. Jackie sat up and did a summersault and landed on his back in front of the bookshelf, catching the pottery.
Real normal.
"*Jade*!" Jackie stood up and set the pottery back on the shelf. "How many times have I told you not to wear your roller blades indoors?"
Jade grinned innocently and rubbed the back of her head. "Heh. Sorry."
He sighed and resumed sweeping. "While you're out, can you get the mail?"
"Oh, that reminds me. I found this in the attic yesterday," she said, handing him an envelope. "It's from your parents. So how come you never opened it?"
Jackie took the envelope and stared at it, confusion set on his face. It was certainly from his parents; the return address was from Australia, the last place they had moved when he was a kid. A dull ache brandished in his stomach. "I never got this," he said finally.
Jade raised an eyebrow. "That's weird."
"Yeah," he agreed numbly as he carefully slit open the envelope. "Weird."
In neat Chinese characters that was clearly his mother's (contradictory to his own clumsy handwriting, both in Chinese and English), said the following:
iJackie,
According to James, you are still living with your uncle in America, and you are also currently looking after James's daughter. Your father and I both scolded him, for we knew your uncle could not possibly provide for all three of you. We are just hoping you don't get in too deep. So please, Jackie, you have got to send Jade back home where she belongs. She is already troubled as it is; we don't want her to end up like you. She still has a chance. Do the right thing and let her have it./i
And it ended like that. His blood boiled. He felt his face go red like a tomato. He could barely hear Jade as she asked if he was okay. Dropping the broom, he stuffed the letter into his pocket and stomped to the door.
"Where are you going?" Jade asked.
"Out," he grumbled and slammed the door behind him.
Jade stared at the door. She had never seen Jackie get so angry before. That letter must not have been very pleasant.
"Aaiiyaa! What was all that racket?!" Uncle came back out, obviously disturbed by the slam of the door.
"Uh...I think Jackie just went to the store," Jade said.
"Aaiiyaa!" Uncle gesticulated wildly. "*You* were supposed to go to the store!"
"Well, now I'm sweeping!" Jade said, picking up the broom.
"I am going back to do more research," said Uncle, "and I don't want to be disturbed anymore! One more thing. Let me know when Jackie gets back. I will teach him about slamming doors when other people are trying to work."
"Okay, I will," Jade promised. She decided not to tell Uncle about the letter, to let Jackie take care of it. She continued sweeping, eager for Jackie to return so that she could ask him about the letter.
***
"Healing!" Ratso ran into a wall as fast as he could but was unharmed. "It don't hurt!"
Chow held up the Snake Talisman. "Now you see me-" he activated the Talisman's invisibility spell "-now you don't!"
Finn levitated a little downward from the warehouse ceiling. "Man, I'm really gonna miss these powers."
"Yeah." Ratso heaved a wistful sigh. "If only we could keep them."
"Least we get Shendu out of our hair," Chow pointed out.
"I heard that." Shendu, in his Valmont disguise, stepped from the shadows, his red eyes gleaming. The Enforcers became stiff as tension infiltrated the atmosphere.
"We-we didn't mean nu-nuthin' by it--"
"Yeah, was just jokin'--"
"Never mind that now," Shendu interrupted. "We have more important matters to attend to."
"Like what?" Ratso asked absently.
"Jackie Chan." The name formed over Shendu's lips in a slow, impenetrable hiss.
The Enforcers stared at him blankly.
"The plan!"
"Oh, right, right, the plan!" "Of course! The plan! How could we forget the plan?" "Yeah, the plan! I remember the plan!" The Enforcers all began blabbing nervously at once until Shendu silenced them with a gush of his fire breath, which they ducked at.
Shendu was loosing his patience. "You forgot the plan, didn't you?"
"What? No, no, no, no! We just, ah-" "Forgot."
Shendu sighed, for he suspected this would happen.
"First," he began, "my shadowkhan will corner Chan at Bicentennial Park and fight him until he can fight no more."
The Enforcers nodded, repeating the first step to themselves.
"Then," he continued, "you will lock him in the back of your truck and report back here immediately."
"Um...Shendu...there's one problem with that," Chow said.
"What is it?" Shendu was getting more aggravated.
Ratso said, "Well, see, it's kinda hard to bring Chan back here--I mean, with all those Kung Fu moves-"
"My shadowkhan will fight Chan! He will be unconscious, you imbeciles!"
The Enforcers stared blankly. "Oh."
"Moving on," Shendu said, "when I am in possession of his vessel, I shall pretend I am the *real* Chan. Got it?"
"Uh-huh."
"At least three people must help cast the spell -- and whatever you do, do *not* remove *any* of the Talismans. As for the rest, you *can* follow a few simple instructions, can't you?"
"Oh yeah!"
"Sure!"
"No problem!"
"Good," Shendu hissed, "or else you and Valmont shall have very unpleasant futures."
The Enforcers exchanged worried glances and gulped.
***
Jackie's sense of direction must not have been working that day, for instead of going to the store he roamed the park, now walking over the small wooden bridge. Lost in a jumble of thoughts, he paid no heed to this. He did notice, however, that the part of the fiery redness that had clouded his vision in Uncle's shop extinguished, replaced with forlorn. That letter...it made his stomach knot and his chest swell. He felt his eyes brimming with tears. A deep breath and he was able to keep everything in check.
A few minutes of quiet calmed his nerves and he was now able to think logically. He shivered. It was the end of October and he wished he had remembered to wear a jacket.
He leaned on the bridge's banister and gazed out at the lake, rubbing his arms, trying unsuccessfully to warm up. The lake glittered like blue sapphire against the sun's rays. His attention was distracted from this sight, however, for he heard a swooping sound behind him.
Jackie turned around and gasped. Around him were at least a hundred shadowkhan scattered everywhere: atop trees, propped on benches, and across the lake he could see them in the playground, mounted on the monkey bars and swings, all ready to fight him.
So much for normal.
Jackie groaned in misery, "Is it so hard to just call in sick for a change? That way you wouldn't have to miss your favorite soap operas!" He was answered when one shadowkha lashed a sword at him, and Jackie did a back flip and landed on the banister. "Never mind."
Two more attacked him: one threw a punch at him, which he caught easily and chucked at the other shadowkha.
Now they all launched at him, swinging swords, tossing blades, punching, kicking all once it seemed; despite this intricate pattern Jackie was able to keep up, all the while yelling, "Bad day, bad day, bad day!"
Something happened -- Jackie was not sure what or why -- but he waived a little of his speed: during this time a shadowkha tripped him and he fell backward; he screamed as he was sent plunging into the lake.
The chill of the water pierced his skin, but his stomach felt as though it were on fire due to the belly flop. Ignoring the diverse and limitless pain encompassing him, he began to swim to the surface, but not before the shadowkhan dove in. Three of them blocked the surface while two more grabbed him from behind. He jabbed his elbows into both their stomachs, breaking free. Then he dodged the threatening sword in front of him and kicked the shadowkha. The other two he grabbed by their ninja suits and shoved them deeper in the water.
He lifted his head out of the water and breathed deeply -- but he barely had a second to even hold his breath, for another shadowkha pulled him back under by his ankle.
***
Jade sat on her bed, playing her Game Boy intensely. She had finally gotten to the last boss level in "Super Mario" and was surmounting Bowser with expertise. "Yes! He's almost finished..."
"JADE!"
"Aaah!" Jade jumped in surprise, and while doing so "Game Over" flashed on the Game Boy screen.
Jade glared up at Uncle, who was standing by the door. "*Uncle*! You just killed me!"
Uncle ignored her complaint. "Where is Jackie?"
Jade's eyebrows raised in concern. "He hasn't come back yet?"
"He was been out two hours!"
"What?!" Jade sprang to her feet. "What happened?"
"Do I look like a fortune cookie?! How should *I* know?!"
"Well what should we do?"
Uncle rubbed his chin pensively. "We will wait by the phone. If something happened he will call."
"And if he doesn't?"
Uncle considered this momentarily. "He will be back soon. One more thing. We still need rice cakes! I will send Tohru out."
Before Jade could respond Uncle left the room and shut the door behind him.
"And if he doesn't?" she asked herself again. "Well, since Tohru'll be at the store, and Uncle has to watch the shop, I guess that means *I* should go find him." She grinned mischievously.
***
_Air...have to get air..._
Five Shadowkhan were restraining Jackie, two on each side and one behind him, while another continuously punched him. Deprived of air, Jackie was weakened, which made it much easier for the shadowkhan. Although all odds were against him, Jackie was not about to succumb to defeat. He did a head butt with the shadowkha refraining his right arm. Using his now free arm he pulled he shadowkha behind him into the punching one in front of him.
The shadowkha to his left punched him in the face; another one kicked his stomach. Distracted by this new pain, Jackie failed to notice the one on his left remove his sword from his belt. It came very suddenly: he felt it drive into his spleen; Jackie's whole body stiffened and his eyes were open as wide as they could go...he could not scream, could not even think. It was left in there momentarily, the pain unbearable. Everything seemed to stand still until finally the sword was being slowly pulled out. The pain increased for a split second and then it vanished. His vision then swirled and soon everything went black.
As for the timeline, this story roughly takes place after "Queen of the Shadowkhan." Just, ah, pretend that Jade hadn't destroyed the Demon Archives, and that the Dark Hand still had it. Feedback is greatly appreciated. However, please don't say something like "this fanfic sucks, go to hell!" is pure stupidity. Tell me *why* it sucks. Comprende?
And of course, much appreciation goes to Jayne for editing this and Olivia for critiquing it. You guys rock! Now...sorry this was long, just enjoy the real story!
Disclaimer: Jackie Chan and the other characters belong to Kids WB and the real Jackie Chan. Anything suggested to cartoon Jackie's past is in NO WAY related to the real Jackie's. At least, I don't think so. But I mean no harm! I'm a pacifist, really. ^_^
THE DEMON WITHIN
Part One: The Letter
by Iceblade5
Jackie whistled softly as he swept the floor of the antique shop. For the most part things had been pretty quiet lately: the last Demon Portal they had conquered was at least three weeks ago, and there was only one mishap in between. The only problem was that the Dark Hand was now in possession of the Demon Archives. But right now Jackie wasn't going to worry about it.
One might say this was almost boring, but for Jackie it was a sweet reunion with his only chance at a normal life. He was not a secret agent. His main interests stood in archeology and ancient artifacts, not secret agent action and superhero stunts. So he had extreme martial arts skills and an uncle who was a master in Chi Spells. So what? He could still live like normal people do for now.
Right?
"Would you stop that whistling? You give Uncle a headache!" Uncle shouted, and Jackie stopped obediently. "One more thing. Send Jade out to get more rice cakes. *Somebody* ate them all." He glared at Tohru, who was dusting off the shelves; a thick guilty grin formed on Tohru's face.
"Okay, Uncle," said Jackie. Then he called Jade down for her errand.
"Coming, Jackie!" she called back.
A moment after Uncle went back to his studies, Jade was about to climb down the stairs in her new roller blades without the help of the banister. Jackie looked up in time to yell out, "Jade, don't!" But it was too late: Jade slipped and came thumping down.
Jackie raced to the stairs in an attempt to catch her but slipped on the skateboard that was left at the bottom. His stomach landed on the skateboard and Jade fell on his back; the force of her weight sent them both rolling into a bookshelf. The bookshelf shook and two vases perched upon it fell horizontally. Jackie sat up and did a summersault and landed on his back in front of the bookshelf, catching the pottery.
Real normal.
"*Jade*!" Jackie stood up and set the pottery back on the shelf. "How many times have I told you not to wear your roller blades indoors?"
Jade grinned innocently and rubbed the back of her head. "Heh. Sorry."
He sighed and resumed sweeping. "While you're out, can you get the mail?"
"Oh, that reminds me. I found this in the attic yesterday," she said, handing him an envelope. "It's from your parents. So how come you never opened it?"
Jackie took the envelope and stared at it, confusion set on his face. It was certainly from his parents; the return address was from Australia, the last place they had moved when he was a kid. A dull ache brandished in his stomach. "I never got this," he said finally.
Jade raised an eyebrow. "That's weird."
"Yeah," he agreed numbly as he carefully slit open the envelope. "Weird."
In neat Chinese characters that was clearly his mother's (contradictory to his own clumsy handwriting, both in Chinese and English), said the following:
iJackie,
According to James, you are still living with your uncle in America, and you are also currently looking after James's daughter. Your father and I both scolded him, for we knew your uncle could not possibly provide for all three of you. We are just hoping you don't get in too deep. So please, Jackie, you have got to send Jade back home where she belongs. She is already troubled as it is; we don't want her to end up like you. She still has a chance. Do the right thing and let her have it./i
And it ended like that. His blood boiled. He felt his face go red like a tomato. He could barely hear Jade as she asked if he was okay. Dropping the broom, he stuffed the letter into his pocket and stomped to the door.
"Where are you going?" Jade asked.
"Out," he grumbled and slammed the door behind him.
Jade stared at the door. She had never seen Jackie get so angry before. That letter must not have been very pleasant.
"Aaiiyaa! What was all that racket?!" Uncle came back out, obviously disturbed by the slam of the door.
"Uh...I think Jackie just went to the store," Jade said.
"Aaiiyaa!" Uncle gesticulated wildly. "*You* were supposed to go to the store!"
"Well, now I'm sweeping!" Jade said, picking up the broom.
"I am going back to do more research," said Uncle, "and I don't want to be disturbed anymore! One more thing. Let me know when Jackie gets back. I will teach him about slamming doors when other people are trying to work."
"Okay, I will," Jade promised. She decided not to tell Uncle about the letter, to let Jackie take care of it. She continued sweeping, eager for Jackie to return so that she could ask him about the letter.
***
"Healing!" Ratso ran into a wall as fast as he could but was unharmed. "It don't hurt!"
Chow held up the Snake Talisman. "Now you see me-" he activated the Talisman's invisibility spell "-now you don't!"
Finn levitated a little downward from the warehouse ceiling. "Man, I'm really gonna miss these powers."
"Yeah." Ratso heaved a wistful sigh. "If only we could keep them."
"Least we get Shendu out of our hair," Chow pointed out.
"I heard that." Shendu, in his Valmont disguise, stepped from the shadows, his red eyes gleaming. The Enforcers became stiff as tension infiltrated the atmosphere.
"We-we didn't mean nu-nuthin' by it--"
"Yeah, was just jokin'--"
"Never mind that now," Shendu interrupted. "We have more important matters to attend to."
"Like what?" Ratso asked absently.
"Jackie Chan." The name formed over Shendu's lips in a slow, impenetrable hiss.
The Enforcers stared at him blankly.
"The plan!"
"Oh, right, right, the plan!" "Of course! The plan! How could we forget the plan?" "Yeah, the plan! I remember the plan!" The Enforcers all began blabbing nervously at once until Shendu silenced them with a gush of his fire breath, which they ducked at.
Shendu was loosing his patience. "You forgot the plan, didn't you?"
"What? No, no, no, no! We just, ah-" "Forgot."
Shendu sighed, for he suspected this would happen.
"First," he began, "my shadowkhan will corner Chan at Bicentennial Park and fight him until he can fight no more."
The Enforcers nodded, repeating the first step to themselves.
"Then," he continued, "you will lock him in the back of your truck and report back here immediately."
"Um...Shendu...there's one problem with that," Chow said.
"What is it?" Shendu was getting more aggravated.
Ratso said, "Well, see, it's kinda hard to bring Chan back here--I mean, with all those Kung Fu moves-"
"My shadowkhan will fight Chan! He will be unconscious, you imbeciles!"
The Enforcers stared blankly. "Oh."
"Moving on," Shendu said, "when I am in possession of his vessel, I shall pretend I am the *real* Chan. Got it?"
"Uh-huh."
"At least three people must help cast the spell -- and whatever you do, do *not* remove *any* of the Talismans. As for the rest, you *can* follow a few simple instructions, can't you?"
"Oh yeah!"
"Sure!"
"No problem!"
"Good," Shendu hissed, "or else you and Valmont shall have very unpleasant futures."
The Enforcers exchanged worried glances and gulped.
***
Jackie's sense of direction must not have been working that day, for instead of going to the store he roamed the park, now walking over the small wooden bridge. Lost in a jumble of thoughts, he paid no heed to this. He did notice, however, that the part of the fiery redness that had clouded his vision in Uncle's shop extinguished, replaced with forlorn. That letter...it made his stomach knot and his chest swell. He felt his eyes brimming with tears. A deep breath and he was able to keep everything in check.
A few minutes of quiet calmed his nerves and he was now able to think logically. He shivered. It was the end of October and he wished he had remembered to wear a jacket.
He leaned on the bridge's banister and gazed out at the lake, rubbing his arms, trying unsuccessfully to warm up. The lake glittered like blue sapphire against the sun's rays. His attention was distracted from this sight, however, for he heard a swooping sound behind him.
Jackie turned around and gasped. Around him were at least a hundred shadowkhan scattered everywhere: atop trees, propped on benches, and across the lake he could see them in the playground, mounted on the monkey bars and swings, all ready to fight him.
So much for normal.
Jackie groaned in misery, "Is it so hard to just call in sick for a change? That way you wouldn't have to miss your favorite soap operas!" He was answered when one shadowkha lashed a sword at him, and Jackie did a back flip and landed on the banister. "Never mind."
Two more attacked him: one threw a punch at him, which he caught easily and chucked at the other shadowkha.
Now they all launched at him, swinging swords, tossing blades, punching, kicking all once it seemed; despite this intricate pattern Jackie was able to keep up, all the while yelling, "Bad day, bad day, bad day!"
Something happened -- Jackie was not sure what or why -- but he waived a little of his speed: during this time a shadowkha tripped him and he fell backward; he screamed as he was sent plunging into the lake.
The chill of the water pierced his skin, but his stomach felt as though it were on fire due to the belly flop. Ignoring the diverse and limitless pain encompassing him, he began to swim to the surface, but not before the shadowkhan dove in. Three of them blocked the surface while two more grabbed him from behind. He jabbed his elbows into both their stomachs, breaking free. Then he dodged the threatening sword in front of him and kicked the shadowkha. The other two he grabbed by their ninja suits and shoved them deeper in the water.
He lifted his head out of the water and breathed deeply -- but he barely had a second to even hold his breath, for another shadowkha pulled him back under by his ankle.
***
Jade sat on her bed, playing her Game Boy intensely. She had finally gotten to the last boss level in "Super Mario" and was surmounting Bowser with expertise. "Yes! He's almost finished..."
"JADE!"
"Aaah!" Jade jumped in surprise, and while doing so "Game Over" flashed on the Game Boy screen.
Jade glared up at Uncle, who was standing by the door. "*Uncle*! You just killed me!"
Uncle ignored her complaint. "Where is Jackie?"
Jade's eyebrows raised in concern. "He hasn't come back yet?"
"He was been out two hours!"
"What?!" Jade sprang to her feet. "What happened?"
"Do I look like a fortune cookie?! How should *I* know?!"
"Well what should we do?"
Uncle rubbed his chin pensively. "We will wait by the phone. If something happened he will call."
"And if he doesn't?"
Uncle considered this momentarily. "He will be back soon. One more thing. We still need rice cakes! I will send Tohru out."
Before Jade could respond Uncle left the room and shut the door behind him.
"And if he doesn't?" she asked herself again. "Well, since Tohru'll be at the store, and Uncle has to watch the shop, I guess that means *I* should go find him." She grinned mischievously.
***
_Air...have to get air..._
Five Shadowkhan were restraining Jackie, two on each side and one behind him, while another continuously punched him. Deprived of air, Jackie was weakened, which made it much easier for the shadowkhan. Although all odds were against him, Jackie was not about to succumb to defeat. He did a head butt with the shadowkha refraining his right arm. Using his now free arm he pulled he shadowkha behind him into the punching one in front of him.
The shadowkha to his left punched him in the face; another one kicked his stomach. Distracted by this new pain, Jackie failed to notice the one on his left remove his sword from his belt. It came very suddenly: he felt it drive into his spleen; Jackie's whole body stiffened and his eyes were open as wide as they could go...he could not scream, could not even think. It was left in there momentarily, the pain unbearable. Everything seemed to stand still until finally the sword was being slowly pulled out. The pain increased for a split second and then it vanished. His vision then swirled and soon everything went black.