Valmont sat back in front of the mirror, waiting for Shendu's response. After a telling amount of time, Shendu finally responded, "I can."
"Then do so," Valmont directed immediately. "Before we move for the portals - or even attempt to open the box - we need to discuss a few things. Strategies, capabilities...terms." He smiled softly. "After all, if I've been hired to do this job, I want to be sure I have all the details I need."
"I can tell you-"
"And I don't deal with middle-men, Shendu," Valmont interrupted. "You aren't the client here, since you have no power to pay for my services. It will be your siblings who reward me when the job is done, so it is them I will discuss these terms with."
"I like him already, my siblings," a hissing, purring voice suddenly spoke from the mirror as a pale blue-white face with mer characteristics appeared, shortly followed by others.
Valmont gave a courtly half-bow from his seated position. "I aim to please, my lady. Might you honor me with your name?"
"And a gentleman!" the largest green face proclaimed warmly. "You made a good choice here, Shendu...for once."
It wasn't long before each of the Demons had introduced themselves, and Valmont could put a name to each face, since he had only faces to work from. He then focused on Tso Lan. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but from how you all speak - both to each other and to me - I believe you are the one who holds the most authority in your family. I suspect you are the eldest?"
"Not entirely accurate," Tso Lan corrected, his face tilting obliquely. "However, if you are asking for the one who holds the most trust amongst our band - and thus the one who would oversee any group negotiations - then yes, that would be me."
Valmont nodded. "I am glad to hear it. Negotiating one to one is far more efficient than attempting to do so via committee. And now, before negotiations actually begin...should events result in the only available action left being resuming your chosen torment to Shendu for his betrayal, would that do harm to my body or soul if he's still bound to me?"
"He actually told you about that?" Dai Gui growled in surprise. "He's more desperate than I thought!"
"Oh, he didn't have to tell me," Valmont replied, waving one hand dismissively. "His hesitance to get in contact with you all told me on its own. Besides, I did have dealings with him for well over a decade. I know his character."
Tso Lan's expression didn't change - given the odd shape of his mouth, it would be impossible to tell if it had - but Valmont got the impression from his eyes that he was grinning. "A mind such as yours is rare amongst humans, and a valuable asset. I can guarantee that within the month, the spells of torment shall be altered in such a way that you will experience no harm from their use, even if Shendu is still bound to you."
Valmont grinned widely. "In that case, I think I might want to delay opening any portals for a month and stock up on popcorn!" he joked, causing Shendu's eyes to widen in terror as his siblings burst into uproarious laughter.
"Brother, once we are free, can I have this one?" Bai Tsa purred eagerly to Tso Lan. "He is most entertaining, and it has been eons since I've observed a mortal I judged even remotely worthy."
To his surprise, Valmont found himself blushing. While his position as head of a crime cartel meant he had the money and power to attract plenty of possible female companionship - and his looks were such that he could draw such on their own merits - those had always had him in the position of power for the 'negotiations'. A demoness capable of controlling the oceans themselves - as he understood Bai Tsa's power - asking if she could keep him was...a very different experience. "I...I'm honored by such high regard," he finally managed to stammer out, tugging at his shirt collar. "And I would be overjoyed to discuss such arrangements...after your successful release has been arranged, and I am free of...awkward hangerons for such negotiations." He gestured obliquely at the silhouette of Shendu's horn.
"Agreed," Tso Lan spoke up firmly, a turned gaze silencing Bai Tsa even if she was visibly pouting.
To Valmont's surprise, he felt a message directly into his mind from Po Kong. You made quite the impression on Bai, she murmured in his mind. She hadn't been this bubbly over someone new since she was a teenager. Keep things up, and I expect your 'reward' for services from her might turn out to be more than just wealth or power.
Valmont did his best to school his expression as Tso Lan continued the discussion. "Now then, what is there to discuss? Our wishes are straightforward, as are the terms. You free us, we will reward you."
"And that's where the issue comes in," Valmont spoke up. "Aligned against us is a highly skilled Chi Wizard of Daolong Wong's...acquaintance, three powerful if immature Qi Lin, a skilled martial artist who possesses a recently crafted magical weapon, and as yet unknown government related magical resources to draw on...not to mention a fully manifest Dryadic familiar and two other skilled warriors. Or, to put it in other terms, we're dealing with a ragtag band of heroes touched by destiny." He interlaced his fingers. "To be blunt, I don't like our odds."
"You don't strike me as the sort to throw in the towel so easily," Tso Lan pointed out as the other demon heads in the mirror growled back and forth to each other.
"I'm not," Valmont confirmed, "but I'm also not the sort to be reckless. I make plans, and to make plans I need to know what resources are at my disposal, and how cooperative those I'm working with will be. And that leads me to one major question." He stared Tso Lan straight in the eyes. "How many of you are capable of assuming a human form?"
He was rather surprised that this question was greeted with dead silence. Tso Lan finally spoke up. "It is your intention that we hide?" he growled out angrily.
"It is my intention that we are successful in freeing you all," Valmont corrected. "That means not confronting the Chans and their allies until we have overwhelming force on our side...which means having all of you free. If you can assume human forms, it will be very easy to hide you from their eyes...especially since they'll expect you to be unwilling to do so."
"Your conclusion, however unpleasant, is accurate," Tso Lan concluded. "Very well. What are these terms you wished to discuss?"
"Simple," Valmont explained. "I will arrange each of your release. So long as you follow my directives as far as keeping you from being banished by the Chans, I will guarantee you will remain free. Once all the portals have been opened, whoever has managed to remain free by those dictates will owe me a payment from wherever their personal treasuries are stored. If that's all of you, this will also include releasing Shendu from his bonds to me...though what you do with him after that is none of my concern."
"And if we refuse to abide by these terms?" Hsi Wu snapped out angrily.
Valmont grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "Then the Pan'ku Box gets locked up where only the Dark Hand will have access, and I stock up on popcorn. I leave the decision up to all of you."
Silence greeted this assertion. "...we will discuss these terms and get back to you," Tso Lan concluded finally. The faces of the Demon Sorcerers vanished one by one.
Bai Tsa vanished last of all...shooting Valmont a smile and a flirtatious wink before she did.
"Goodness," Valmont murmured as the magic faded from the room and Daolong Wong let himself start breathing again. "I seem to have made...quite the impression on Bai Tsa."
"Hope you like drowning," Shendu growled out petulantly.
"Daolong Wong," Valmont called out, "do be a good sport and research a way to magically give me gills and deep ocean pressure resistance, just in case such things slip the lady's mind?"
Is it wrong I suddenly want this to be a evil ship with the two of them talking and flirting with one another all the time???? And she becomes the only one who would honestly want to reward him????
This is probably the one time I want to ask the bad guys to let me join in the fun....
Again, I ship them, a good evil villain pair is interesting and dynamic.
Hell, even her sister ships them.... Tats, set these two up with a private dimension love nest at the end so they can enjoy one another.
*Tosses Valmonst some Gillyweed* SHIP IS LAUNCHED!!!!
Yeah, I like Bai Tza and Valmont,. I want to see her get released first and stay hidden the whole time just to see them interact more and her hopefully enjoy being in human form and flirting with him to disgust Shendu. Plus, I can see her in human form doing the Honey Rider rise up from the ocean scene in Valmont's private pool.
I gotta say I like that you are allowing the villains to be more competent in order to balance out the overwhelming power our heroes currently have.
Oh hell yeah, it looks like Jade won't be the only human to be shipped with a demon. I totally approve. The only problem I'm going to have with this season is remembering which names belong to each demon. I only was able to memorize half of them back in the day. Those were Po Kong, Dai Gui, Hsi Wu(my favorite), and Bai Tza. From memory only two of the sorcerers took human form, I will be curious as to see what the others will look like, you might have to start looking at fan art.
Wow are things getting worse. I suddenly think that somehow they will find a way to put the genie back in the bottle. Becuase now they are in far more danger then how canon went, even without the enemy's IQ drop.
7991180 You're not the only one that wants to see Bai Tza and Valmont hookup. Heck, I'd say it might even make them go neutral evil if things pan out well. Can't wait to see where this rabbit hole goes.
Valmont is the best kind of villain. Sophisticated as hell and ready for most anything.
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I hope this actually come to fruition! Great Chapter, I hope to see more of these two together!
Well now, that budding relationship looks like it's going to have some very interesting consequences down the line. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where you take it because it should be a good ride no matter where it goes, and unlike hero relationships there is a real chance of it going south one way or another which makes it nice and unpredictable.
7991200 Yeah, they already have the makings of a great evil couple! Plus, I bet her human form is extremely hot, so I can just imagine Valmont's jaw dropping when he sees it for the first time and the enforcers quickly getting out of the room as she struts towards him with a smirk on her face. Five hours later, Valmont is saying, "I need to order a new desk!"
Damn. This is, like, the best change to a character I've seen so far. Valmont is soooooo much better than the whiny little git he ends up becoming by the middle of the Pan' Ku arc!
And... well, almost everyone is saying it already, so I'll just throw my hat in:
7991180
...Honey Rider?
Okay, I have to be honest, the way you've written this story is WAY better than the canon, heck if this weren't a crossover then this would make for an awesome rewrite of the whole series
7991234
and it's later tribute:
Basically, sexy lady comes up out of the water in just a bikini.
Hopefully Bai Tsa hasn't waterlogged Valmont's decision as of yet.
Forcing the demons to hide. Oh the humanity of it all!
Guess Shendu better be quick about things otherwise his monthly premium is gonna be up.
I always liked Valmont in canon. I like THIS Valmont even more.
Oh Val will be drowning alright....
And it's such a great sight to see you put on a new dynamic on this scenario. Great job as always.
Valmont, you magnificent bastard...nice going.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I adore your Valmont. This is the kind of guy that would form and lead a global crime organization, the kind that would be a major target for a secret government organization (section 13) who still can't fully touch him.
Also, I ship Bai Tsa/Valmont so hard. I just see them being... cute together. Plus Valmont apparently loves a stronger woman.
Also, poor Jade, being under rated and underestimated by Valmont. Maybe that will change when her full chi potential comes to light. This is the girl that made herself a one child army by accident, a giant and created a shrinking spell by mistake. Oh, and her hair applied to a banishment spell makes a antidemon blast strong enough to knock the earth demon on his rear.
Giggety
bai tza / valmont ship is entering international waters now:)
Hyper competent Valmont is best Valmont. The best villians are the ones who know what resources they have to work with and uses them to maximum effect. Seeing how this will play out without the demons immediately going on a take over the world bender is gonna be interesting.
Best chapter so far XD
Valmont and Bai Tsa, huh. It's an odd ship, but the codes check out.
Valmont x Bai Tsa
I say, this is no regular ship. It's a submarine!
I had been more or less rooting for the improved bad guys in this story, NOW I DEMAND the bad guys win or at least not loose.
Stories with COMPETENT AND CAPABLE bad guys are so hard to find.
Edit: have Valmont (when he gets the demons in human form) pull strings and have the demons nationalized! The full works, S.S. Cards, B. Certificates, Passports, the WHOLE NINE YARDS and then add 7 more just for and then have the become model citizens as well as leaders of the community some how, that way when Chans and everyone go after them they have to go against popular opinion to take down the demons. And when\if the demons are taken down and Valmont starts getting carted off to jail have him on National TV have him defend the demons and their being in human form with the assualts. Yeah, Section 13 just got defunded.
Ok, I KNOW I'm not the only one now shipping Bai and our dear Valmont!! Seriously, somewhat out of no-where and even if it goes south that has massive comedy potential. Throw in the obvious that the bad guys are proper competent and our heroes are that awesome, and we got a story i can't stop reading!! Well done, well done on all counts!!
Wow. I mean, WOW!
I really like this version of Valmont. He's sly cunning, charismatic and knows how to strategize. e puts the valmonst from the show to SHAME.
For that you get your.... 3rd bonus point, i believe?
is it bad that I ship Jade with Hsi Wu if only because of what happened in Canon especially if she still gets the power over the Shadowkahn ninjas. Also SQUEE VILLIAN SHIPPING! I mean seriously Valmont is actually in a far better place than he was in Canon!
Wow I gotta say that this chapter is my favorite to read simply for the teasing relationship between Bai Tsa and Valmont. Valmont has developed far beyond the comic relief he was sometimes reduced to in the show and is showing actual thought and reasoning with demons of all beings. Also, it was never really made quite clear whether all of Shendu's siblings could assume a human form, so that should be fun to witness. You do a great job at introducing believable character development as well as intriguing relationships between characters in his story. Keep up the good work!
Oh, this could be very interesting. There was enough shipping spawned from that one episode with Jade and gargoyle-boy, but giving them all a chance to get in with the locals? Only you, Tats, only you.
Of course, I'm still going to call Deus Ex Anus if you manage to get all of them hitched, but I definitely wouldn't be surprised if... (What was Shendu's son's name again? Demongo? Demigra? It at least started with a D, right? Damnit, that's going to bug me.) What's-His-Face ended up with a few cousins in this timeline.
If nothing else I enjoy this chapter for showing Valmont as being WAY smarter than he was in the series and actually interacting with the demons is a massive plus. Also enjoy the whole Bai Tza subplot, wasn't expecting that to happen.
though that makes me curious what the other demons would look like as humans and if any pictures exist as I'd like to see that. Overall you've made this even more entertaining than the original show and I enjoyed the crap out of it. So kudos.
Sorry, chapter title made me instantly made me think of this.
Competent, genuinely affable, yet still threatening antagonists are so rare. Well done. I can't help but root some for Valmont in this, I want to see him get some sort of reward, even after the inevitable victory the Chans pull off.
Who knows, maybe even Draco will get introduced early.
... One thing that always bothered me is that they never said who Draco's mom was.
Why did you put that image in my head and why does Valmont seem to like it?
I have quickly come to realize that I don't remember shit about this show past the "releasing the other demons from their individual portals" arc. I need to go rewatch this show.
Also totes on board this ValmontxBaiTza ship.
I think, and I of course must stress the word "think", I see what you're planning here. Granted I only have a small inkling, so I can't say how you'll do it... but if you do either of the ideas I have, I will be really impressed
7991823
Power.
It's all about power and cleverness. Both of those are attractive to Valmont and Bai Tsa. Physical attraction has no say in it at this point, but rather a mutual respect born of observing the others' power and capabilities.
Besides, if Bai Tsa can assume a human form, I doubt even physical attraction would be an issue.
Okay, Valmont gets major props not only for orchestrating such a grand scheme and negotiating terms with demon sorcerors, but catching the eye of one of them.
This one is truly a respectable paragon of villainy
...Also, I ship it.
7991723 Samurai Jack villain, DBZ Xenoverse final boss and demon god. The guy you're thinking of is the mysterious Drago.
Are you ready?
Somehow, something tell me this is a spoiler of how is going to go.
Very good change, compared to the original.
So that's where the Dazzlings came from!
Releasing Bai Tza is now a priority, just so all their flirting - and more - can gross out Shendu. And since he's bound to Valmont, he won't be able to get away from it. Truly a greater torment than any of his siblings could think up on their own.
Missing 'be'
7992037 Or how Aquaman came to be!
Don't eat any fruit with swirls.
That's all I can say.
He's done weirder ships.
Chapter Ninety Three
"Aiyah!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 45
"One More Thing!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 76
Bai Tsa and Tso Lan continue to prove themselves my favorites of Shendu's siblings. And seeing Bai Tsa all flirtatious like this? Pure awesome.
Excellent chapter! Reading this almost makes me want to rewatch the series. Looking forward to more!
Team Valmont and Bai Tsa forever.
I remember Douglas Adam's other book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, the detective said something to the effect "The thing to remember about contracts is "Contracts are only good if they can be enforced" and you're dealing with someone who's idea of a lawsuit is to send an invisible monster to cut your head off and stick it on a pike"
Valmont will do well to remember that.