Valmont stared at the image displayed by the Pan'ku Box against the wall of his office. The portal was marked as being in Japan, as expected. "Follow that which runs but never walks," he began softly as he read the riddle, "to the mouth that never talks. Did you get that, Ratso?"
"Got it written down, boss," Ratso confirmed. "Also got the rough coordinates too."
"I do not understand the sudden need for urgency," Shendu hissed angrily from Valmont's mouth. "Up until now you've been content to take your time releasing my brethren, but suddenly you want to release Po Kong immediately. Why?"
"Several reasons," Valmont responded easily, "both professional and personal."
"That does not answer my question," Shendu hissed angrily.
"And if I cared for your opinion, I might answer your question," Valmont pointed out dryly. "But as I don't..."
"I admit to my own curiosity," Bai Tza spoke up as Shendu snarled imprecations under his breath. "Why the sudden rush?"
"Personally, because my parents are coming to visit soon, and if I intend to introduce them to the love of my life, I don't want a third wheel involved," Valmont responded readily, setting Bai to blushing brightly. "Professionally, I leave it to my associate to explain." He gestured to Dao Long Wong where he sat in the lotus position, staff across his lap.
"The locations of your portals are a matter of record for the Veil Authority," Dao Long Wong explained simply. "And the magical balance of the portals is distinctly different when they've been recently opened, or when the demon they are meant to contain is not inside. The spectacles of Tchang Zu and Dai Gui may have allayed the Chans suspicions, but your presence has made them aware that there is at least one demon running loose. It's only a matter of time before the bureaucracy gets its act in gear and sends someone to check the balance of the portals unaccounted for...which would lead to an insane level of guard at Po Kong's portal."
"And even if they don't arrange for blatant guards, I wouldn't put it past the Veil Authority to arrange to have the Chans in the area for seemingly unrelated reasons," Valmont added. "Or to officially send them, for that matter. We don't have time to wait anymore. We have to act now...just as soon as we know exactly where we're going-"
"Thanks Rocko!" Ratso said into his phone. "Love ya bunches. Try to behave for your folks, okay? Bye!" As he hung up, he turned to Valmont. "The rhyme sounded like a little kid's riddle, so I asked my nephew to try and solve it. It's talking about a river...specifically the Sumia River, based on the coordinates. We go to the mouth of that river, we find the portal!"
"How certain are you that his answer is reliable?" Valmont asked curiously.
"We can be sure of it," Ratso offered confidently. "Rocko's a bit slow in some things, bit of a goofball like me, but he's a genius when it comes ta riddles!"
Valmont nodded, taking Ratso's word for it. "Then we're heading for Tokyo, Japan," he stated firmly. "But if we're this worried about getting spotted or caught, we shouldn't take normal transportation. And it is at the mouth of a river..." He smiled warmly at Bai Tza.
Bai grinned back. "I wondered when you'd enjoy my services again outside the bedroom," she offered teasingly and happily. "It's been some time since I swam those waters. I wonder how much things have changed?"
"A tour of the world's shrines?" Jade demanded in stunned disbelief. "Why in the world would I want to go on a tour of the world's shrines? Especially..." She took a closer look at the parchment. "The lesser known ones?"
"For the development of your magic," Hsi Wu offered as he looked the paper over. "You have a great deal of magic potential, but it's largely unfocused. While you're being trained, a pilgrimage to places of power is a traditional part of magical training once you reach a certain level of mastery."
"Well why does it have to be the lesser known shrines?" Jade demanded angrily. "I mean, the one where Dai Gui's portal was was pretty well known, and looked really grand!"
"Thank you," Sofia offered happily from the table where everyone else was eating. "My sisters and I worked hard to keep it that way."
"Why can't I go somewhere awesome like that for my pilgrimage?" Jade continued ranting. "Like the pyramids, or Stonehenge?"
"Oh, those are on here," Hsi Wu pointed out logically. "But pretty low down the list."
"Why?" Jade whined despairingly.
"Stability," Hsi Wu explained. "The Pyramids and Stonehenge both have incredibly potent magic focused into them - even if no one's entirely sure what the magic in Stonehenge is for-"
"Wait, you don't know?" Jade gasped in surprise.
"Stonehenge was ancient when Tso Lan, the oldest of my siblings, was born from the Moon's dark side," Hsi Wu explained softly. "It's rumored even the Jade Council isn't entirely sure of its purpose...though no one's dared to ask them that."
"Think we should ask Santa about it?" Scootaloo whispered to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "Christmas is coming up soon..."
"We've never asked fer anythang selfish from Santa," Apple Bloom pointed out.
"Well, nothing selfish for ourselves," Sweetie Belle corrected pointedly.
"Ah don't think we should start now," Apple Bloom continued. "He's always really happy ta see us, after all."
"Anyway," Hsi Wu continued, "exposing you to that much ancient magic before your magical aura is fully stabilized could cause you to be overwhelmed by the power, which could do you great harm." He tapped the sheet. "That's why the World Magi Council sent you this all expense paid world tour of shrines and other places of potent magic, and laid out the itinerary the way they did...and why it's just the five of us going: you, your familiar, and your teachers."
As Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo began to bounce with excitement, Jade sighed sadly. "So...some nowhere shrine at the mouth of a river in Tokyo is our first stop?" she asked morosely.
"Look on the bright side," Hsi Wu offered. "There's plenty of time in our itinerary for sightseeing, and there's a gaming convention in town."
Jade's eyes lit up as she grinned widely at that notion.
"Have fun on your honeymoon trip with your boyfriend, Jade," Viper called out, making Jackie choke on his food.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Jade called out angrily.
Good plan Valmont, but random chance threw another monkey wrench in there!
8385065
There is no such thing as random chance when Magic is involved. Valmont was right on the money about having to move fast.
Can we please keep Valmont as the main antagonist? I really like having a competent criminal mastermind. :)
Also, watch the Chan Clan do nothing when Po Kong makes it clear she wants to stick around for the wedding and will do absolutely nothing to jeopardize that goal of hers. Or better yet… the second the Chan clan shows up, Valmont drops down to one knee, pulls out a ring, and asks Bai to marry him right there on the spot!
And Po Kong, as Bai's sister, would be the maid of honor at the wedding! There's no way the CMC would ruin that ship they've worked so hard to protect… especially since those three will be the flower fillies. :P
Ah yes, that Boyfriend gag doesn't get old, I can't wait to see what happens to Jade when she and Jackie go to London and they visit Stonehenge, I bet she would absorb the magic from it before those mages there can set it off.
8385068
That would be bad for her. Likely make her explode.
8385069
Ah but don't forget she's got a Familar now, so there is a LINK between the two of them, this way they can share magic and if need be she could send extra magic through the link to her Familar then incase of an emergency.
8385071
Which might have a side effect of de-aging Hsi Wu—possibly physically back to his teenage years—cause him to bulk up, and maybe regrow some hair on his bald demon head.
Whoops
Man, I love how you weave all this together. 8385067 already pointed 'em out, so I won't bother doing it again. I just wonder if the Council is also aware of how Valmont is approaching the demon releases. It's only Jade, Hsi Wu, and the girls. Sure, they're powerful, but if they really wanted 'security,' I figure they would've had Jackie and everyone else go as well. And since the portal is their first stop, I'm guessing they wouldn't expect Jade to be very developed yet magic-wise. But eh, I've been surprised before... which in and of itself is not a surprise. And there will likely be plenty of other guards, so there's that.
And holy crap, Stonehenge sounds like its levels of magic go toe-to-toe with why nobody talks about Australia.
Chapter One Hundred Forty-One
"Bad Day"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 39
"He's Not My Boyfriend!"
/
Chapter Count: 1
Total Count: 44
(Tats, you tease, leaving that one for the tail-end of the chapter! )
Stonehenge, the source of an insane amount of magic with no currently known purpose?
I'm calling it. Jade somehow gets Excalibur, and Stonehenge has something to do with, either as the sword's resting place, or as the portal to Avalon.
Why am i not surprised?
When it comes to the CMCs, coincidence becomes natural occurance.
8385118
It's probably where "The Creator" left earth's climate controls.
Or possibly it's landmass configuration controls.
It might even be a dormant magical pizza printer.
That sounds like a pretty awesome trip even if they are mostly just lesser-known shrines. In some ways world traveling is its own reward
8385118
Stonhenge is worse than that, its Earth's own Way Nexus, a link to other planets and the Outer Realms, not by design, but by destiny of its age and inherent design making it akin to the Astronomicon in Magic's own perspective.
To rephrase, Stonehenge is like the .com domain registrar database, and just as the .com standard had no reason for becoming as big as it did, so too has Stonehenge become a nexus-reference point for uncountable domains and their address paths.
I'm going to guess Stonehenge was an interdenominational portal station and that it will be used so that the CMC can come and go from Equestria.
8385118 I'm calling it. Stone Henge is supposed to be an interstellar transmitter to summon aliens.
8385137
Dormant magical pizza printer... is that as ridiculous as it sounds to me?
8385156
I know that if I had to pick a superpower, the ability to eat infinite pizzas forever would come in way ahead of something useless like heat vision.
8385164
... I can't argue with that.
8385149
Perhaps… or maybe, just maybe it could be the location of the this world's keyhole. Bringing back Riku would tie one of the three customers from the "Crazy Customers" chapter back into the story, and make that chapter a great piece of foreshadowing. Heck, if Tats wants to, when the story gets to the episode Chi of the Vampire we could get a wonderful battle between Alucard, Jiangshi, and Vampire Uncle.
Now I wonder what Tats would do with Sebastian from Black Butler in this universe… aside from making him Hsi Wu's manservant.
I just remembered something. Thanks to several crossover episodes, Lilo and Stitch, Kim Possible, Recess, and American Dragon Jake Long, all exist in the same universe. And you have Jake Long existing in this story...
So Jade's going on a pilgrimage. She still has a long way to go before she can defeat Sin and bring the Calm, though. Wait, wrong sort of pilgrimage.
8385149
I have one change to your theory not aliens but ponies it is meant to summon
8385118 I'm thinking more on the lines of maybe a beacon signal to the moon which turns out to be hollow and suddenly it becomes a giant space cannon. Wait, wrong show
On another note, anyone have any idea who Rocko is? All I get in my head is the picture of a marsupial with his pet dog Spunky.
Just go with the flow of things Jade, you won't be disappointed.
Hmm... surprisingly, few puns today.
8385164
Excuse me? Heat vision = never need a stove, oven, or microwave again! Instantly light those candles for a romantic dinner! Never worry about being out at night in the bad part of town! Make major bucks working on an icebreaker!
Yeah, one would ASS-U-ME! Right?
8385195
Not to mention Cardcaptor Sakura and Mahou Sensei Negima, and they're going to Sakura's home turf, or close enough to Tomoeda
8385215
Alien ponies. Complete with adorable antennae on their heads!
8385065
Fixed that for you.
8385145
That would make Stonehenge a Stargate. Which is kinda cool but also far more dangerous as we don’t need those villains running around.
8385238
Infinite pizza, man. I'd be a rich chain restaurant magnate within a weekend. Who needs heat vision when you can hire your own personal PMCs?
Wlam's Mystic Pizza Service. I kinda like the sound of that.
...wait a second, Valmont's parents are coming into this? Should've seen that coming.
8385149
... Considering the Flying Saucer that showed up at the end of that episode, you're probably right.
8385333
Except you couldn't do DIDDLY, having to take everyone's orders yourself. Come on, you think starving frat boys at Notre Dame are going to want to wait in line for a stale pizza coming from Wisconson?
8385218 i imagine Hsi Wu thinking, "I know there's SOMETHING I should be remembering about that shrine......"
8385370
They're frat boys. Of course they would.
8385196
Brillant but can Jade even summon or use elemental magic? Cause that would be awesome later. XD
8385375
It seems that the demons don't know the locations of the gates - otherwise Valmont wouldn't be needing to solve riddles to locate the gates when he has a hotline to the still imprisoned demons and intimate access to two demons...
8385069
Not if she immediately discharges said magic, say in a Hyper Beam perhaps?
By the way, I have a few images that you can use for reference, just follow the link, that page and the next 2/3
http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100416#.WZ8QQLpFzIV
Chapter One Hundred Forty One
"Aiyah!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 47
"One More Thing!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 82
8385627
Might want to include a count for "He's not my boyfriend!"
8385533
three Demons. He has three demons living under his roof at the moment.
Demon of Fire got BURNED by a human! *takes aloe away from Shendu*
If there's a gaming convention when she gets released I really wish Po Kong could shift into human form... but it was said with her own power... what if the Crusaders and Jade are able to broker her a deal where they seal off part of her power so she can take on a human form for traveling and her sister's eventual wedding to Valmont???
It seems to me that by sending jade on this tour, despite the obvious demon hunting bit, the Council may be trying to condition jade to someday join the council herself.
8385300
Muuuch better, thanks!
8385544
Magic doesn't work that way in this world. Especially not ancient magic.
8385647
Yeah, but last I checked, he's only intimately involved with two of them - one in his body; the other in his heart...
...you realise in japan most rivers are guarded by minor kami right? as well as various yokai of varying alignments, is the local guardian god really going to ignore the portal opening?
8385727
Kami of that level are class 6.
The Demon Sorcerers are class 3 minimum.
The rules prevent the local kami from interfering in human affairs beyond very specific situations, and once Po Kong is out, they can't do jack.
8385734
so what your saying is the veil society actually prevents guardian deities from doing there job? doesn't that seem incredibly counter productive?