A Demon's Familiar

Turn 1: Lesson in Familiarity

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The streets were flooded with the hustling, bustling masses as cars blared warnings and drivers flung insults over each other's incompetent vehicular expertise. Children ran amuck through the parks, playing tag while an old woman complained about the amount of mustard on her hotdog. Shady alleys covered shadier deals that were overheard by wire-taps, before the crackle of semi-automatics filled the air. All in all, a perfect day.

Except for one Jade Chan.

She didn't get to go to the park or the movies or even outside in general. Her uncle and legal guardian had had a rather informative talk with her science teacher about her experimentation that involved the effects of pop rocks with soda on the class guinea pig. Six overturned desks, two broken rulers, a few horror-filled cries of possible bite infection, and a broken terrarium later and now here she was, sulking in her room atop her Super Moose bed spread. Her eyes gazed longingly out the window before she fell back, sighing heavily.

It was already ten past twelve, and already she was bored out of her skull. The activities her uncle had suggested held no interest to her. Board games, origami, reading, and even stamp-collecting? Snooze-City. She'd rather beat the ever-living crud out of some mutated super soldiers on her handheld, but alas, it'd been taken out of her room along with any other viable entertainment outlet. Jackie had even found her secret stash in Uncle's mung bean cabinet, leaving her both impressed and irritated at his detective skills.

Another ten minutes trickled by and she found herself staring at the ceiling, her mind filling with the myriad of possible things she could be doing instead of being cooped up at home. Her thoughts drifted back to a time just a few months ago, when her life had been filled with danger and excitement. She dearly hoped that something similar would happen. Demons, flying carpets, and heck, she'd even accept that the sky could start raining lemon-scented doggy treats. As long as it happened soon and she was free to tag along against her uncle's wishes.

Ten more minutes ticked by and the sky showed no signs of spontaneous mystical outburst, so she huffed back onto her bed sheets. If only she had the Talismans, they'd ensure some relief to this mind-numbing boredom. Even if she had to risk practicing magic on her own down in Uncle's shop.

It took all of five seconds for that thought to sink in before the girl shot upright in her bed.

"That's it!" she yelled out triumphantly. "Why didn't I think of this two hours ago?!"

Springing from her mattress, she stopped just shy of the door before carefully creaking it open.

"Hellooooo?" she called out, her voice giving the very faintest hints of an echo.

With the coast clear, she sneaked from the doorway and quickly called upon her innate spy skills. Creeping down steps was always the hardest part, as every time she put her small foot down, it'd creak unbearably loud. She made it a mental note to remind Jackie to call someone about it. Stupid, noisy stairs. Once she was back on solid ground, she swept the room and gave a brief sigh of relief. From there, she swiftly sneaked her way through the house, peeking into one of the rooms.

In it, books were stacked as high as the ceiling, all leather-bound and yellow with age. Separate sheets of individual papers were scattered on the floor, half-finished sketches and ink splattered in rushed sentences. And sitting in a chair at one desk was Tohru. After all, who else could fit their entire, massive bulk into such a frail, wooden chair? Jade tip-toed in, carefully watching the former Enforcer snooze away over an open book detailing the beginning steps of some chi spell. The young girl then grabbed a book and rushed out of the room to the kitchen.

Half an hour later saw one Jade Chan hovering over a crock-pot, the shimmering clear water reflecting her scrunching face. It'd taken her a few minutes to realize it was written in some long dead language and she had to sneak back and retrieve a book of translations. After carefully skimming through the tome, she came upon a spell she found particularly interesting. One, because it was short and two, because of what it did.

"Transportation Spell." she muttered excitedly, rubbing her hands together in that cliché villain way she'd seen on television. "Let's see…I'll need some dried lizard scales."

She put in every ingredient listed, each more weird and confusing than the last, transforming the pure water into a seeping soup of foul emerald. More confusing was the fact that her Uncle had nearly every item on the list. She didn't know either to be thankful or disturbed. But still, there was one item she didn't have. The girl ran her finger over the text and looked up the translation.

"Proof of Being? What the heck could that be?" she asked herself out loud, and what followed was several minutes of head-scratching as her mind tried to conceive just what this could possibly mean.

Hopping down from her perch on the stool, she once more pilfered a book from the study where the sumo still slumbered, this one containing an index of various magical ingredients. After a few minutes of searching, she found it.

"Proof of Being- A physical component that relates the caster to the place/object/thing of desire. Most often than not, said component is likely a removable part of the body, preferably the nails or hair."

Well, that was easy. The girl placed the book back onto the countertop and brought her hands to her face. Curling her fingers, she figured her nails wouldn't do the trick seeing as they were bitten down to the quick. She internally cursed her stupid, nervous habit. Sighing, she combed her hand through her ebony locks, fingering it carefully. Then, grabbing a few strands, she braced herself and tugged.

"Yeowch!" Jade cried, amazed she hadn't screamed louder. Who knew magic could be so painful?

With the final ingredient in hand, Jade scrambled back up the stool and hovered her hand over the bubbling mixture, a wide beaming smile pasted on her face.

"San Francisco Park, here I come!" she hollered with excitement as she dropped the hair into the soup. The strands sunk deep into the pot before it glowed brightly, wisps of steam streaming off into the air. The curious youth leaned forward before being engulfed by the encompassing energy and pulled into it. Then with a bright flash, Jade Chan was gone.

S-J

Shendu was NOT in a good mood.

The dragon hadn't been in anything resembling good spirits since his return to the Nether Realm, a fate he'd avoided for the past 900 years. If not for the failure of his revenge to re-conquer his stolen domain, then it was most certainly for the treatment he'd received from his siblings these past few months. They'd been most furious to learn that in his time on Earth, he'd have ruled without them. A fact made worse when they realized that once he was freed from his stone prison, their brother had made no attempt to open their portals.

The dragon had managed to find refuge in a far off corner amidst the floating rocks and bloody sky. He knew he'd be safe out here…at least until his siblings become bored and once again seeked him out. Sighing heavily, he slithered his body onto one of the craggy islands, curling in on himself.

He absolutely hated the form he was currently in. It was weak, near powerless to do anything but possess the forms of others, which unfortunately, didn't work on his fellow demons. He'd spent hours nursing a scorch mark from Tchang Zu, who hadn't taken the attempt lightly. Casting out his thoughts for the moment, he allowed himself to try to attain sleep. But just as he nearly achieved it, his thoughts went to that of Jackie Chan, and the mere thought of that mortal instantly made him wide awake with anger.

How could he, the Demon Sorcerer of Fire and once great Ruler of China, be defeated by a bumbling human? One who was just supposed to be a simple archaeologist at that! Chan was so clearly inept, simply surviving due to pure happenstance and blind luck. And mostly because the demon's own underlings were such absolute fools. He'd struck the bargain with Valmont out of desperation, not by choice. He needed someone's help to gather the Talismans and the man had appeared to be quite confident and reliable, along with being easily manipulated through such a petty thing as wealth. Oh, but how wrong he'd proven the demon. How wrong indeed.

With another sigh, he purged the hated humans from his mind. It wouldn't do dwelling about revenge. He'd need his energy for when his family came looking for him, no doubt to further repay their gratitude for his extended absence. Slowly, his red eyes closed and he was swiftly brought to blissful, calming sleep…

...which lasted for all of five seconds before he felt something hit him.

He stiffened on instinct, body fluidly untangling to face his assailant. Was it Dai Gui? The Earth Demon always had a knack for ambushing. As his gaze surveyed around him, his eyes found themselves glued to something in front in him. He took in the black hair, orange hoodie, as well as the red sneakers. A pair of lightish-brown eyes looked up at him in confusion before widening as recognition set in, the being letting out a surprised yell as they scrambled backwards. The demon felt his inner fire become a raging inferno inside him, smoke escaping from the corners of his snout as he released a vicious snarl.

"Chan…" Shendu hissed with barely contained fury, the name came out venomously, a lisp accentuating the syllable.

Jade Chan stared at the Fire Demon, her brown eyes wide with horror and disbelief. Where was she?! Why was Shendu here?!

"You?! But you're dead!" She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, realizing that last part hadn't been in her head.

The giant, snake-like dragon slithered into the air, coiling over to the frightened girl, with an air of calmness that Jade instantly knew was fake. "In some ways, I suppose I am. But here I am, in the flesh…so to speak." A faint smile graced his mouth and Jade knew that it was not a good sign.

She was proven correct when the demon suddenly lunged towards her, his serpentine body wrapping around her form at a blindingly fast speed before constricting tightly. The girl wiggled and squirmed to no avail as Shendu brought his prize up to his face, his smile growing only larger and more frightening.

"I do believe I never properly thanked you for destroying my body and reducing me to this." His ghostly form tightened and the girl felt her own body start to yield painfully out the immense pressure, the demon taking sadistic pleasure in the strained groans she was making.

"Allow me to rectify this." Shendu hissed. " And don't worry child, I'll make sure your suffering is nice and slow…"

Just as he was about to put an end to the loathsome, meddling girl, a harsh flash of orange light struck him. The force sent the demon reeling through waves of agony as he felt the light invade his form, tearing into his incorporeal being. His death grip slacked and the girl landed on her rear with an 'Oomph!'. Her hands were instantly upon the afflicted area, soothing it vigorously. She coughed a few times while gasping for breath, and stretched her body to get out the painful cramps from almost being squeezed to death.

"Owwwww...don't know what was up with that freaky light show, but at least it...got…me…" Jade stopped moving altogether as her eyes beheld the sight of the coil of shifting orange that hugged her body, extending until it met halfway with a stream of flowing amber dotted with red flecks.

Which was flowing from Shendu.

The girl wasn't the only one shocked, for the dragon was also staring at the sight with eyes filled with astonishment as well as with vague recognition. Seeing her chance, Jade leapt to her feet and booked it as fast as she could. She made it only a dozen steps before an irresistible force tugged her body, sending her completely topsy-turvy for a moment before she landed hard on her back with a pained yell.

"It would seem as if fortune has finally shined down on me." The girl looked up at the voice and saw the Demon's grinning visage hovering over her, upon which she instantly scooted back a few feet on pure reflex.

"Stay away from me, lizard breath, or I'll…I'll-" she fumbled with her words, racking her brain for some punishment she could inflict on the demonic dragon. Her frantic finger pointing and clumsy tongue only served to make Shendu chuckle, something that only enhanced his already intimidating presence.

"You can no more escape me now than I could escape you." he said, before moving forward around the shocked girl, scales wrapping securely around her meager frame, this time far lighter and with considerable care. "Our energies-no, our very essences have become one and the same."

The Chinese felt her mouth go dry. "W-why's that?"

Shendu gave her a smile, filled with long, sharp fangs and teeth that made her think he was about to eat her. Instead, the tip of his tail came up and poked her forehead in a mockingly, playful manner.

"You, Jade Chan, have become my Familiar."

Seconds passed, neither of the two moving from their positions, waiting for the other to respond.

Jade acted first, tilting her head in confusion. "What the heck's a Familiar?"

The demon's grinning face dropped and simply stared at the girl, before he sighed in exasperation. "I would think someone living under the same roof as a disciple of Chi Master Fung would be more well-informed in matters of the mystical variety."

The girl crossed her arms, lips jutting out into a pout. "Hey, it's not like I even knew about all this magic junk before I came to live with Jackie."

Shaking his head, he muttered something under his breath that she couldn't hear. "Regardless, a Familiar is a being that serves to assist wizards and sorcerers in their practice of magic. However, they also have a second and far more important task." With every word, Shendu slowly snaked around the girl, who stood in place shivering nervously, gasping a little when his tail wrapped securely around her stomach, albeit with far more care.

The draconic demon pulled her closer, stopping a few feet shy of his scaly face, which had a knowing smirk on it. "They also act as an all-important anchor between worlds."

Jade slid further into her captor's coils, fearful of his answer. "And that means?"

"With you, I can finally be rid of this accursed place and once again return to Earth."

Jade gasped, which only made his grin return with a vengeance.

"You-you're lying!" Jade yelled desperately, an action that only made the demon chuckle darkly at the girl's pathetic attempt at denial.

"Like I'm gonna help you bust out so you can try and take over again!" she shouted, angrily pushing at his body, trying to rid herself from his grip. "Even if you do get out, Uncle and Jackie'll find you and magic your scaly butt right back here!"

"I highly doubt it." Shendu responded with a wry smirk, his form shifting as he slithered into the air, his newly-pronounced and protesting Familiar in tow. "Even if the Chi Wizard and your annoyingly irksome ilk do manage to find me, with you as an anchor, they cannot send me anywhere. The Familiar's Bond is one of the most advanced forms of Chi magic in the world. And the chances of them breaking ours is very, very slim."

Jade growled, pounding her fists against his mighty coils and attempting to pry them apart bare-handed. She tried to think of some witty retort, some insult to hurl at the miserable fire-breathing gecko. She knew her family would no doubt learn of her absence and come looking for her. But what if Shendu was right? What if there was nothing her family could do? Would she be stuck with this demon forever?

"Keep your head in the game Jade." She mentally scolded herself. "Just play along until Jackie finds you and Uncle whips up a spell and then 'Poof!' everything will be back to normal."

The next few minutes were marked by silence, the slithering of Shendu's snake-like body the only ambiance. As the jagged, floating chunks of rock flew past, Jade wondered just what her captor was searching for. Then the dragon halted. She swiveled her head around, but could find no hints of anything that might catch the demon's interest. Her ears perked when they heard chanting. It sounded similar to the spells her uncle did, with the words sounding foreign and strange to her ears. As the words continued to spill from his forked tongue, the air before them shimmered before it literally started to shred itself apart.

Within moments, the empty space was filled with a wide portal to the real world, all while Jade stared in utter shock as Shendu succeeded in tearing the space-time continuum asunder. His grin was downright wicked as he savored his triumph, reveling in the promise of long awaited freedom.

"Shendu!"

The demon twisted on his neck, the girl doing the same, eyes completely wide with horror upon seeing who had spoken. Coming into view was a most unusual pair. The first was a relatively small creature with greyish-blue skin and long, dangling arms that ended in sharp claws. They wore a rather tattered cloth around their waist that just barely covered their private areas and had equally long legs with sharp talons. The most distinguishing part of them, however, were a pair of bat-like wings with which they were currently using to fly.

The other figure was a skinny light blue color with white markings accenting its obviously feminine build. Her legs were nonexistent as they instead flowed into a long tailfin, sort of like a mermaid. And on her head was a mass of curling and writhing tentacles. Both of these new entities stared at Jade and Shendu with the same pair of featureless, red eyes.

"Hello, brother and sister." Jade's eyebrows shot clear into her hairline at the dragon's words. "Have you come to see me off?"

"What is the meaning of this, Shendu?!" the mermaid demanded, pointing a claw at the dragon. "How can you open a portal here?! None of the portals in the human world have been opened!"

"Ah, I would have my Familiar to thank for that." he raised his tail, showing the speechless girl to his surprised siblings.

"Since when did you have a Familiar?" the bat-demon asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you more than any of us felt that relying on another power was beneath you."

The dragon gave the equivalent of a shrug. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth I suppose. And as you can see, I was just about to take my leave."

The fish demon snarled, tentacles twisting about angrily. "And leave us here in this void of despair?! I think not, dear brother. I would sooner destroy you."

"Bai Tza." Shendu shook his head, forgetful of his sister's hot-headedness. "Are you so quick to judge? What makes you think I do not already have a plan to return you all to your former glory?"

This time it was the smaller demon you spoke, his voice seeping with contempt. "Because you didn't include us in your last plan for the past 900 years. How do we know that this time, you will keep your word?"

"I am not without my honor, Hsi Wu." he assured his brother. "Besides, for far too long humans have ruled over the land that was once ours. They have desecrated it with their numbers and destroyed its pristine nature for the sake of their technology. And I think it's time they should be reminded of their place. And to that end, I swear to release all of you once I have escaped."

The two stared at the dragon for several moments, mulling over what he'd just told them. To say they were skeptical would've been an understatement. Their brother was a wily one, always scheming and looking for ways to further his own causes. But he did stick to his domain when he ruled, never transgressing upon those of his fellow demons unlike others. The two turned and nodded at one another, before raising their hands and blasting the fire demon with rays of emerald energy. He twisted around in agony for a few moments, his tail curling tightly around Jade, who grunted as it squeezed her small frame.

"What trickery is this?!" he shouted, watching the glow pervade over his body.

"A simple spell to ensure you keep your promise." Bai Tza replied as she crossed her arms smugly. "With it, you'll be unable to summon your army of dragons or any magic that involves the opening of portals of any kind."

Shendu snarled, furious that the two would inflict such a spell upon him! Upon reflection however, he had to admit that it was something he could see himself doing as well.

"Very well, I shall go and seek out your Doors. And when I'm done, I expect you to uphold your end of the bargain." And with that, the demon slithered through the portal, dragging one thoroughly confused Jade Chan with him. Before she slipped through, the girl finally gathered her thoughts enough to yell something out loud.

"Shendu has FAMILY?!"

Bai Tza and Hsi Wu stared at the space where Shendu and his newly-made Familiar had disappeared. Then Hsi Wu turned to his sister.

"So how long do you think the girl will last with our dear brother?"

Bai Tza gave the bat-demon a look before a small smirk of amusement appeared on her face. "I'd give her a few days at best."

S-J

The alley was dark, save for a single, wonky light bulb that casted its fabricated light into the darkness. All at once, it flickered, tethering on and off before succumbing to the all consuming darkness. A foul wind swept through the narrow passage, scattering stray trash and debris, before the air twisted violently and then split in two. A swirling vortex of red and golden energy suddenly came into being and spat out it occupants before disappearing into nothingness.

Shendu rose into the air, breathing in the scent of the swelling, putrid air. To him, it smelled of freedom. To Jade, it smelt like a rotten egg farted into a jug of spoiled milk. Twisting in on himself, the spectral demon brought his Familiar close.

"I am free!" he practically sang, his body jittering about in excitement "But before anything else is done, I do think we must do something about this form."

Author's Notes Revision: So here is the newest revised edition of the first chapter with changes made by Hamsterjellyman. Nothing too radical but expect even greater changes in future revisions.