Valmont blurred through the world as pure light. His transit to his destination would take less than a second, but his thoughts were so much faster now that it felt like hours to him unless he deliberately slowed his mind down. In one part of his mind, he was remembering every single moment of his time with Bai Tza, slowing down the memories until he could capture every single moment in exquisite detail. The flicker and play of emotion on her face, the cruel sensuality of her nature, the slowly blooming love that soon became all consuming...
In another part of his mind, he was sunk in his rage. However, even as all consuming as the rage was, it no longer clouded his thoughts. It didn't take long for him to deduce why. He was no longer human. His true body was no longer flesh and blood. No glands pumping exotic chemicals into his brain to distort his perceptions. He could let those emotions overwhelm him as they did when he was human...but he could also suppress that effect at need. It was mildly disturbing, and morbidly fascinating.
Another part of his mind was minutely examining every bit of information he'd managed to secretly extract from Shendu's mind while the demonic spirit had been sharing his body. He'd already gotten the first detail he needed in order to enact his current plan of action, but he wanted to collate what he knew to ensure the plan would succeed. It would do no good if he made the attempt only for something to backfire.
Yet another part of his mind marveled how much easier it was to multitask with the biological chains on his mind unbound, setting pure thought free to work. Part of his mind was even so bored with what little there was to do that it was rereading his memory of War and Peace to pass the time. At this rate, running his criminal empire would practically be an afterthought while he focused on whatever truly interested him.
Then again, if his plan worked, his criminal empire wouldn't even matter anymore. Trading everything that was to create a 'might have been' he desperately wanted...all that mattered was a specific detail. Well, it was a detail he could add if it wasn't there. All things needed were a bit of fine tuning...
Hsi Wu slowly sat up, struggling to move his wings and limbs without disturbing the precious burden in his arms. The last few hours in the Netherrealm had been painful...but he'd toughed it through. He'd been grateful when the sympathetic echoes through the familiar bond had eventually knocked Jade out, he didn't have to hold in his screams after that. Still, it seemed he was as tough as he'd always believed, as all his limbs and magic still worked. He was scorched and scarred, but otherwise unharmed.
When Shendu's portal had opened for free transit, he'd been shocked when Po Kong grabbed them both and hurled them through with all the force she could muster. He'd actually risked more harm using his body to shield Jade's from the impact than he had from Tchang Zu's lightning. He had some gift with lightning from his Sky magic, and had been able to redirect it through his body enough to not do permanent damage. But seeing Valmont's demonic ascension had left him frozen. That was never something that happened cleanly. There was always fallout from the first excursion. Feeling Jade regaining consciousness, he knew it was only a matter of time before the - as Jade had pointed out the phrase was now - shit hit the fan.
Jackie groaned as he slowly sat up nearby. "Are you two ok-AH!" He clutched at the burn on his chest before falling back.
"Stay still," Hsi instructed. "There's a reason Demons of Light are so incredibly rare, and feared when they do exist. There's likely internal damage from that burn-"
Just as Jade fully regained consciousness, Hsi's words were interrupted as both of them heard an intense screeching like some sort of alarm boring into their ears. "What the hell is that?" Jade screamed out desperately as she tried to cover her ears.
"What is what?" Jackie asked in confusion.
"Don't you hear it?" Jade wailed.
"He won't," Hsi managed to growl out through gritted teeth. "It's the No-Man's alarm. It's only audible to anyone Class 2 or higher. I'm considered borderline there, since while I can't match a God in raw power, I do have spells capable of killing them. That makes me a Class 2-Z being, the lowest in the Class-"
The beeping changed to a message. "Unauthorized entry into Australia by Class 2-Omega Demon Sorcerer. All beings hearing this message are requested and authorized to intercept as soon as possible."
Hsi Wu's eyes went wide. "Fuck!" he screamed out, his voice somewhere between rage and terror.
"Language!" Jackie snapped angrily.
Hsi quickly scooped Jade up and spread his wings. "Ground me for it when we get back if the world is still here!" he snapped as he surrounded himself and Jade with a bubble of air before rocketing into the sky at somewhere upward of Mach 2, the sonic boom sending Jackie tumbling in pain.
"Hsi, what-" Jade began in earnest.
"Australia is where all the artifacts too dangerous to be left available for access to anyone are sealed!" Hsi explained as they shot southeast. "There are things there that if misused could tear the very fabric of the universe apart! I should know, since I made five of them, which is why I was ordered locked up in the Netherrealm in the first place!"
"For making five of them?" Jade asked in surprise.
"For trying to make a sixth against orders from the Jade Council to stop," Hsi clarified.
"How would Valmont even know that?" Jade demanded. "He was at the epicenter when the world changed-"
"Shendu got an army sent after him on his second release for trying to access a complete archive of Australia's contents!" Hsi snapped out. "With how long he was in Valmont's head, I wouldn't be surprised if a few details slipped through!"
As the pair arrived in Australia, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo arrived on Cumulo. "You got th' message, too?" Apple Bloom asked curiously.
Another shrill beeping echoed. "Security Breach at the Cave of Time. Five entities in range to intercept. Act quickly."
Hsi Wu let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. It's just the Book of Ages."
"The Book of Ages?" Sweetie Belle gasped out as Hsi led the way towards a cavern that had been blasted open to reveal a massive temple. "You mean the magical tome that records all of history, the one that can fundamentally change history all at once if someone writes in it?"
"That's right," Hsi agreed as he led the way down the right turns. "That's the one."
"And that deserves an 'only'?" Jade asked in surprise, getting to her feet to run alongside the rest.
"If we're still us by the end of the hour, I'll happily explain," Hsi promised.
As they reached the end, they found Valmont hovering over the Book of Ages in his human form, only the horned crown of thorns made of light hovering over his head a visible sign of his true nature now. "So I am part of the Brotherhood now," he murmured thoughtfully as he lifted a quill. "That makes this easier..." He reached towards the top of the page.
"No!" Jade screamed out as she led the charge, the group leaping onto him...only to come to a halt as they hit an invisible barrier.
"Relative to you all, I've had two weeks to familiarize myself with my magic with how fast my thoughts go now," Valmont observed idly as he started to write. "Do you really think you can succeed in stopping me?"
"We can try!" Jade screamed out as she leapt onto the Book itself, trying to stop his writing.
"Futile," Valmont observed idly as he flicked his hand, sending her flying back to land lightly on the floor some distance away, not noticing the small fragment torn out of the book. Turning, he finished the sentence he was writing, and watched as the magic flowed.
And the Nine Sorcerers of the Demon Brotherhood reigned over the Earth's Past, Present, and Future.
.......................Okay. THIS is an interesting way to use the book. Valmont emotionally hurting due to being separated from Bai Tza, who got sealed back into the Brotherhood Prison Realm. And this time, JACKIE is the one who was at fault because he jumped the gun.
THAT is a VERY damn good plot twist. VERY well done Tatsurou. VERY VERY VERY well done.
Excuse me, Valmont? Unless you meant to negate your change, shouldn't that be the TEN Demon Lords? You plus the original nine?
Daaaaaaamn. That's one way to go about things... Hoping the girls step in and convince him otherwise to make things more agreeable to everyone somehow in the end...
Writing on my phone from a hospital waiting room (I'm okay). Someone please remind me later to come back and put in my counter properly!Sheesh, 14 hours...Chapter One Hundred Forty-Six
"Bad Day"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 40
"He's Not My Boyfriend!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 44
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*REMINDER*
Remember to come back after your visit in the hospitale and put in your counter properly.
8425825
.... there had been eight, Shendo included.
Dang. I wonder how the retcon will effect everything with Hsi Wu.
I sense another twist in the Death Note's style here. It might come down to who finish writing first. Jade, now is the best time to use your wit and quick.
I wonder if Jade is going to be Hsi Wu's Queen when she wakes up in "Demon World".
Makes sense as the right time for a Book of Ages arc. Hopefully the end results are a little less bleak than the current situation, I was looking forward to see Atlantis rise.
8425825
I think he means "Fuck Shendu".
I kinda liked this arc in the show. As far as what happened last chapter, I'd say Valmont has earned this
Okay, this was a damn good exchange.
To quote a certain Time Lord, "Time can be rewritten." A destroyed universe cannot be. :P
I get the gut feeling this is not going to result in the future Valmont thinks it will. Mostly because I wonder how Bai is going to react when she finds out what Valmont did.
Also, poor Shendu. The dragon lost everything. :P
Huh. So we are doing the Book of Ages Arc. I kind of figured that with all the changes we would've skipped that. Until the latest series of events, I mean.
...So...
...
*Sigh*
How in the world do you react to this? Best possible outcome at this point? Valemont just has each demon rule over what he was planning before shit hit the fan and simply removes Dalong Wong from the picture... But I have a feeling that Valemont isn't going to settle for that. I hope he does, because making the Chans into slaves just perpetuates the problem.
This will definitely be an event to be written down for the ages.
Not sure if things are considered as going Down Under or not yet.
Let's hope Valmont will be able to see the light at the end of this tunnel. He's been through alot.
8425854
He pulled something like this in one of his jca stories on fanfiction
So how much are the demons going to remember about all this? Because I can easily imagine most of them beating the ever-loving crap out of Tchang Zu and Dai Gui for screwing things up enough to make the historical re-write necessary. And Wingus and Dingus would deserve it.
Also Daolong Wong is probably also due for an ass kicking.
Cliffhanger... Again
When things get straitened out, Jackie is going to have such a aching butt from the hardcore ass kicking that will be very much deserved
Okay... we had two bad outcomes... I really need to see the good outcome of this story... most likely will still have the Demon of Light Valmont, but hopefully it goes way better for everyone
Wait wait wait! I just realised something! They can use the book to stop jackie from destroying the Pan’ku Box! That would fix everything right?
On further thought, is Shendu going to team up with the Chans? Or did Valmont leave our Hsi?
sir your creative xver has put you in dire straights i am now thoroughly engrossed in your literature and will badger you constantly to remind you how good it is.
8425991
Remember he wrote NINE demon sorcerers even with shendu that would only count eight unless he included himself.
I think Uncle may punch Jackie in the face instead of just swat him with two fingers
8425975
While Daolong Wong is definitely looking at a torture chamber, a more fitting punishment for wingus and dingus would be to put them in charge of a worthless area that goes against their element. For example; Making Dai Gui (Demon Sorcerer of Earth) the Demon Overlord... of Antarctica
That was... just... damn.
8425975
I get the gut feeling His Wu will still be bound to Jade since she ripped her page out of the book. The main question is what is Valmont going to do to the Chan clan? To him Jackie deserves torment for eternity because of what he did—probably the same for Daolong Wong—though the real question is what happens to the CMC.
Remember, he took an extreme liking to the four Chan Girls, so perhaps… oh. OH! I see what Valmont is going to do in the new timeline! He's going to marry Bai! And the CMC will still be his flower girls!
Was...was that a Tenchi Muyo reference? I want to say it was. Seriously, this whole exchange sent my mind straight to the epilogue section of that series featuring the mad scientist (her name escapes me at the moment) with crimson hair and penchant for weapons of mass destruction. It went a little something like this:
Mad scientist: And in respect to this new age of peace, I swear to the galactic community that I will never build another terrible weapon again!
*crowd cheers wildly*
Narrator: A week later, she fled into exile after she was caught making another weapon of mass destruction.
Also, this section:
Did you pull a classic doctor who on us here? It feels like every time in the old series where the doctor would throw out some techno bable or vague threat then answer his companion's understandable confusion with "I'll explain later." Which I'm pretty sure is Gallifrey speak for "I'll tell you off screen because I don't want the audience to know I can't actually explain any of this theory myself and/or pulled this out of no where."
What got ripped from the Book, I wonder?
Aiya! Bad day, bad day, bad day!! T____________________T
8426227
It may not even matter. Just holding onto a piece, could protect someone from the effects of said book. Meaning that they would still retain all their memories of the Old World, much like what happened after they defeated Shendu.
8426212
The Scientist's name was Washu who was the Greatest Scientist in The Universe.
...Cancel the funeral for the Bai/Val ship folks. This shit just got good.
Really instead of conquest just have the guy who started this mysteriously pass out and thus no one gets banished
Having done a recount, there are in fact EIGHT canon members of the Demon Brotherhood. So, since Valmont just wrote NINE, that means Shendu gets back into the game. As for the small corner that's how Jade managed to remember things in the canon.
huh, for casual flicking away of a flea that was very gentle of Valmont.
8426212
Washu the name your looking for is Washu :D Being that's she's a immortal goddess in the guise of a mad scientist doesn't help her case in the slightest! She just can't help herself just like Jumba from LIlo and Stitch. Mad scientist even the nicer ones just can't help themselves they have this drive THEY TO BUILD THINGS!
EDIT: Ninja'd.
So if Jade quickly wrote "jk" on the scrap of paper to mean just kidding about what Valmont wrote, would that backfire by making all existence a joke?
I can't wait to see how the Familiar bond between Hsi and Jade works with reality warping around them... though if Jade finds herself in a Princess Leia metal Bikini Hsi is never going to live it down. I can't wait to see what kind of kids Bai and Valmont have now that Valmont is a demon of light.
Chapter One Hundred Forty Six
"Aiyah!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 47
"One More Thing!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 82
Yeah... Somehow I get the feeling Valmont is going to soon be bitten hard by the law of unintended consequences for writing a passage so vague and the multiple ways causality could interpret it...
As long as I can read my pone, I don't care who the hell is in charge.
8425822
I AGREE, OH SO MUCH! Hopefully it doesn't turn out as bad as it did in Canon, because if it does, I do believe Valmont will be appalled enough to willingly work with the Chans to fix the Book of Ages.
8426123
Antarctica has volcanoes and land. A better choice would be the Arctic.
the loss of one you truly love.. can push one beyond the line of reason..it is understandable.. people do crazy things when they are in love
I'm hoping Valmont isn't actually enraged with Jackie or the Chans. I'm hoping Valmont allowed them to keep their minds.
I'm hoping being a Demon of Light means more than kick ass burning powers.
... I wonder how different this arc will be from the show's equivalent? I hope it delivers well.
8426862
For a Light Demon... he's not that bright. Just use the book to make a way for his love to say Bai Bai to the Netherworld.
Oh this is gonna be good. I can't wait to see how this arc turns out. Though now i'm worried at what could be worse or more powerful than the Book of Ages.