graphicalregrets

[graphicalregrets]

So I started a story over on Fanfiction, and this is a scene from Chapter 1: Shadows of the past. Below is an excerpt from the story, so its a bit of a spoiler. It is a pretty early one so it should be fine to share here.

Feel free to read it if you want. Just know it’s only got a few chapters right now. If you want to read it, it’s called JCA: A New Adventure.

Cheers!

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Realizing that they needed more information on the vision, Jackie anxiously turned to where the demon had been standing moments before. "Drago, can you tell us exactly what you saw?" But as he looked around, he realized Drago was no longer in the room. "Drago?!" both Jackie and Captain Black called out simultaneously. Having a magical demon boy running loose in Section 13 was not something they were prepared for.

Meanwhile, Drago walked confidently through the unfamiliar halls of Section 13. "This building has to be Dad's...surely he must be here somewhere," he muttered to himself.

Jade, having taken off before Jackie or Captain Black, soon found Drago aimlessly walking through the halls. She knew that he was still a dangerous threat and needed to be closely monitored. "And where do you think you're going, dragon boy?" she shouted as she rounded in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "I go where I want! You can't tell me what to do!" Drago declared defiantly with a stomp.

Overhearing the arguing, Jackie and Captain Black quickly located Drago and joined Jade in blocking off his path. "Get out of my way!" Drago barked at them. Captain Black loomed over the demon, "Stay where you are, Drago. You don't have clearance or permission to leave our sight."

"You're not the boss of me! I answer to no human!" the young demon roared over Captain Black's order.

"Oh...this is a very bad day," Jackie declared solemnly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You're not going anywhere. You are going to stay here until we can figure out what to do with you!" Jade stated as she placed her hands on her hips. "You can't boss me around! I'm a prince!" Drago shouted; his voice filled with indignation. A low growl rumbled from his throat, feeling threatened as they surrounded him.

Jackie quickly stepped between the two children, trying to de-escalate the situation. "Now, now children, let's use our inside voices." He pleaded.

"But Uncle Jackie, he can't just have the run of the place. He's our—"

"Jaade...as of right now, he's our guest," Jackie lightly hinted to her. He didn't want to upset the young demon more than he already was. Not to mention that even though he was a child, Drago still possessed a fire demon-dragon's strength and power. Noticing the boy's features slightly relax when Jackie referred to him as a guest, Jade backed off. "Okay, okay...fine."

Jackie knelt down to be at eye level with Drago; if there was anything he'd learned about taking care of Jade, it was that kids respond better when you see them eye to eye.

"You must be full of questions after your...er...long nap," Jackie asked, smiling as he tried to connect with him. Drago looked down at his feet, his tough façade cracking. "I... I just want to know where my dad is..."

"Shen Du was sealed away in the demon netherworld along with the rest of the demons," Captain Black stated as if he were giving a common report. As Jackie tried to motion for Captain Black to ease off about the banishment of Shen Du and Drago's future self, the little demon was already glaring up menacingly at the most powerful man at Section 13.

"You're a liar!" came Drago's ear-piercing scream at Black's words. "My daddy would never let himself get banished! Never! Now tell me where he is!" he demanded, his voice trembling with both frustration and contempt. "Right now!"

Jade thought back to that time, when the future Drago went toe-to-toe with Shen Du and pulled him into the demon netherworld, just before being yanked down himself. Unafraid, she backed up Captain Black. "Drago, it is true. And we can prove it!" She looked to Captain Black, knowing exactly what would convince Drago. "Let's show him the video—he needs to see it."

"See...what? What do I need to see?" Drago yelled, not as loud this time but still clearly agitated.

"Your father was in a fight with...a..." Jackie stopped himself, thinking of a way to explain this without revealing Drago's future self. "...in a fight with another demon. That demon pulled your father down into the netherworld, banishing them both," he explained. It wasn't technically a lie, and it helped omit their part in Shen Du's banishment.

Drago's glare was unwavering as he spoke with authority, smoke slipping through his fangs. "Prove it," he challenged.

[graphicalregrets]

As evening embraced the room, a warm glow spilled from the window, illuminating Shendu’s back as he sat at his desk. He carefully lifted his son onto his lap, ensuring the boy had a clear view of the mysterious book in front of them. Shendu was in the midst of explaining his plans for acquiring new magical powers to his curious son.

"...and with these 12 magical animals, I will become the strongest and most powerful demon to ever exist," Shendu declared with a hint of excitement in his voice.

His son, wide-eyed and filled with admiration, chimed in, "But daaaddy, you're already the strongest!"

A soft chuckle escaped Shendu’s lips. "That may be true. But with these," he gestured towards the intricate drawings of the 12 magical animals, "I will become unstoppable. See these two animals here?" He pointed at the illustrations of a rabbit and a rooster.

The son, eager and curious, followed his father's clawed finger. "Yeah, the bunny and the chicken!"

"With the combination of these two," Shendu explained, "I should be able to fly at great speeds and perhaps even travel around the whole world within a day." He lifted his other hand upward, emphasizing the possibilities.

His son's eyes lit up with excitement. "That is so cool! I want to do that! Daddy, I want magical animal powers too! Please! Pretty please!"

Shendu, however, was not amused by his son's enthusiastic demands. "Absolutely not," he said sternly.

The son's grin faded, and his voice took on a whiny tone. "But why!? That's not fair! I want to be strong and unstoba- unst... un-"

"Unstoppable," Shendu corrected.

"Unstobble!!" His son insisted. "I want to be strong too!" In a fit of frustration, he crawled onto the table, facing his father, and stomped his feet in a tantrum. "I want magical animal powers too!"

Shendu, unyielding, lifted his son and patted him on the head. "These powers are meant for me... and only me. You are far too young and inexperienced to try and use this sort of magic."

Defiantly crossing his arms, his son turned away, sulking. "It's not fair... I want to be strong, like you," he mumbled pitifully.

Shendu contemplated for a moment and gazed down at his son. "Perhaps... one day, when you're older, I will help you find and obtain a different set of powers. Something fitting for a young spit-fire like yourself," he soothed, closing the magical book.

Still pouting, the son turned to face his father, hope flickering in his eyes. "You... promise?"

"I promise."

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So this was something I thought of the other day when I was thinking about a favorite childhood show of mine, Jackie Chan Adventures. Drago’s background in the show has always been open to interpretation and I’ve always had the idea that he was born back when Shendu ruled China, 900+ years ago. Drago would be very young here and like most young children he idolizes his father and wants to be like him, which I would argue is still accurate even in season 5 of the actual show. Also, I don’t believe the name “Drago” was his real name, no way Shendu would name his kid something that wasn’t Chinese, so I just refer to him as… “his son” in the short story above.

I don’t normally do backgrounds for my drawings so this was more of an experiment to see if I could do it, and see if I could accurately capture a “mood”. Also note, I don’t know how to write Chinese so all of the characters are just scribbles, maybe think of them as “demon language” if that helps. Just don’t try to read it, its just fake text.