The Life and Times of Juniper Lee: Rise of the Te Xuan Ze

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee: Rise of the Te Xuan Ze is a series special that takes place five years after the event of Season 3, marking the first evolution of Juniper's powers of the Te Xuan Ze.

Synopsis
June's powers are put to the test as a new source of dark magic shrouds over Orchid Bay City, destroying the Veil that hides magic from human eyes and setting back years of human and magic oppression. As her friends learn of her being the Te Xuan Ze, the stakes are high as not only Orchid Bay City is in a state of chaos, but the whole world. Can Juniper put her trust in her friends, or resort to keeping the secret alone?

Plot
The story opens up recapping what took place since June was the new Te Xuan Ze; from when she first encountered Auntie Roon, Maret, and Lex, to battling Steven the Sandman in and out the Dream Realm, and banishing The Demoness, Gigi, Darnock Demon and many others. It soon ends with Juniper reciting the oath of the Te Xuan Ze: "I am but a hand, I am but a vessel, I am the stone that balances the worlds", and she takes off on the rooftops to battle a monster... with Jody watching her best friend in shock.

5 years later

At Ah-Mah's house, Juniper, now 16 in her battle armor from when she was battling Kai Yee, trains with her grandmother as Ah-Mah is still recovering from her battle with Auntie Roon. Just as she was about to land the final blow, Juniper hesitates and Ah-Mah asks why. June says that it's nothing, and Ah-Mah encourages her granddaughter to stop hesitating and attack. They continue fighting with Ray Ray, 13, Dennis, 19, Monroe, and Lila, also 16, watching the sidelines with Ashley joining the group.

Ray Ray has never seen Jasmine and June fight like this before, when Monroe explains that Jasmine is still recovering from her injury by Auntie Roon. Dennis informs the two that their parents are going to be gone the whole Spring break as they will be all staying with Ah-Mah until they return. Lila is surprised to see Jasmine still holding on her own thanks to Lila's natural healing remedy when Ashley shows up out of the blue, announcing her status as the now 10th-degree sorceress, which Ashley could only assume to have been from when she was taming the Baguano beast. However, she realized then that it was rushed because upon leaving, she overheard one of her teachers talking to the Magic Elders, the same people Juniper met with Ah-Mah years ago. She's heard them say that stars have begun to align and sun and moon are set to be eclipsed, for they must prepare for the worst; the Encroaching Darkness draws near, which sparked concern in Monroe. Curious, Ashley did some digging and has found what they were talking about before; a prophecy called the Night of Eternal Darkness. Lila asks what it was, where Monroe responds that it's a prophecy that happens every 600 years after the Te Xuan Ze is chosen the same time Auntie Roon is banished. It involves the planetary alignment and the solar eclipse. During said eclipse, Orchid Bay City will be cast into a shadowy twilight and during that semi-darkness, certain creatures like Loki, Steven the Sandman, the Darnock Demon, Gigi, The Demoness, Mitch the Enchanted Rhinoceros, Maret, Monotuke, Donnie, Jean-Claude, and even the dark-hearted souls like Kai Yee gain infinite power. When the eclipse is total, the Veil is weakened. And darkness will spread throughout the world, transforming the innocent into dark magical beings and use them as an army to conquer the world. It is also said that on the 16th year of the Te Xuan Ze will the Night of Eternal Darkness happen again on Spring break...which is less than three weeks away. Ray Ray wondered if Kai Yee was corrupted the whole time since turning on the Elders, whereas Monroe responds that this was before the Encroaching Darkness happened. However, because of his actions while being the Te Xuan Ze, there was a darkness already stirring within him that resulted in the Elders imprisoning him in a jade statue. Lila asks if there's a way to stop it from happening, which Monroe sadly responds there is no way to do so, for all they can do is prep June for what is yet to come. But unbeknownst to them, one of Dennis' friends, Donnie is listening in on the conversation with a recorder in his hand from behind the bushes, implying that he has recorded everything per Jody's instructions. After being told from what she had witnessed, Donnie has had suspicions about the magic items Dennis keeps borrowing from June's room for LARP, especially since he's disregarded her role for hunting monsters just because she's a girl. And after he, Reggie and Zachary chastise Dennis for not meeting their standards and providing anything substantial for fantasy role-play, they've heard news of supervillains roaming in Orchid Bay City, which they chalked up to coincidence that Dennis had anything to do with it. But now, they were having second thoughts and felt guilty for kicking him out of the group. Not to mention laughing at him like real jerks. When they asked Dennis to come back, he politely turned them down, telling them that he has "found another calling of his choosing." Furthermore, when Auntie Roon resturned the second time, Donnie, Reggie and Zachary claimed to have seen monsters appeared out of nowhere and wreaking havoc all over the city. And just like with Jody, they too saw June leaping from building to building. Now that the pieces are coming together, it was time to have a talk.

The next morning, after being informed what Ashley told them, June had no choice but to cancel everything she had planned for Spring break while her parents are vacationing out of town. Ray Ray and Lila console with her, knowing all too well when it comes to liking Marcus for so long, that she was willing to ask the one question; to finally be hers. Knowing Melissa, she is likely to jump the chance before June could, but it's a sacrifice she's willing to make as the Te Xuan Ze. As usual, Jody has been listening on their conversation the whole time without them knowing it. This definitely confirms her suspicions from what she had witnessed years ago and from what Donnie told her, she can't hold it in any longer. After passing by Ophelia, Roger, and of course Marcus, she signaled them to meet up at her house with Donnie, Reggie and Zachary. Jody already called her sister Rachel and asked if they could have an indignation meeting in Rachel's room, who approves since she was helping her parents pack up for Spring break, and has understood completely about June's whereabouts since Lila came along. She's actually in a better mood because Brandon has asked her out on a date to make up for the many mishaps they had since Jody's sleepover. She even teasingly asked Jody about her "boyfriend" Dennis if he's coming over for the meeting. Jody responded that she does not really know what to call Dennis since he's also involved with what June is doing since she saw a bookcase full of spells, potions and charms. And now Ashley is in on it since she's last visited before Lila. Rachel asks if she could ambush either of them and take them back to her house, whereas Jody said to leave them alone for a while until everything is put together for the time being.

That night, after Rachel and Jody's parents left--along with Ophelia's, Roger's, and Marcus' parents--as soon as school is out, June's friends and Dennis'friends have all gathered in Rachel's room with Rachel bringing in the food and drinks. They had just finished listening to what Donnie had recorded at Jasmine's house, having not missed a single detail, including Lila's story about how she went from sasquatch to human upon meeting June, and Ashley going from 4th degree sorceress to 5th degree, now having moved up to 10th degree sorceress. To say that they are surprised is an understatement. But none of that compared to what they heard about the eclipse and the planetary alignment. Marcus, however, doesn't seem to comprehend as to what all of these events have anything to do with June. Jody tries to explain that June is not who he thinks she is, reminding him what they noticed about June's behavior. Ophelia remarked with how Jody "noticed" the way she was speaking to Roxanne in front of June. Or how Jody's sister behaves like an attention-craving war monger. Or that no one has heard from Roxanne (Jasmine) since her "departure", and her rejecting Roger's affections. Rachel recoiled at Ophelia's second comment and Jody tries to defend her, but the older sister admits in defeat that she's behaved that way because sometimes, she envies Jody for having great friends like June, Ophelia, Roger, Marcus, Ashley, and Lila. Judy is surprised to hear that kind of confession from her sister, and she was the one who's more scared in her shadow. Rachel now promises to be a better person from now on, for her sister and he friends' sakes. Donnie does not want to interrupt the sweet moment, but there is a matter of importance to discuss; from the recording, Ashley has also mentioned of an approaching darkness that somehow correlates to the storylines of L.A.R.P. Those who are black-hearted and even the innocent souls are drawn to this temptation and become corrupted by its power. Unless there's one powerful enough to destroy the Veil that hides magic everywhere, it's not permanent. Ophelia asks how are they supposed to help June if they can't see what she sees, with Rachel responding to leave it to her. They will have to wait until the time is right.

Elsewhere, something strange has occurred. In the void, where he's caged by his own son, Loki is seething with anger by the turn of events and tries to escape by himself when, in a flash, he disappears! At the movie theater, the same thing happens. The Demoness, whose name is revealed to be Kassandra, and her father Kordoth are still floating in space from a Star Wars parody where June left them. Just like with Loki, Kassandra disappears as well. At LeGrosi's Zoo for Magical Beings, Gigi, the demoness imp who once disguised herself in the human world, is sleeping in her cage as it is also nighttime during the working hours when a beam of light appears and she's gone in a flash. Speaking of little imps, Monotuke is serving food for the Unglian Banticores when a hand grabs him and he's gone. At Orchid Bay Park, Mitch the Enchanted Rhinoceros, with Kellington by his side, tests a new invention for sweat-absorbent shoes that will make flushing out toxins in the body much easier. They were just finishing selling the last of the stock when a small rift opens in one of the boxes and sucked them right in, without anyone knowing. With the Darnock Demon and Geoffrey the Zolera beast, they were exchanging each other's energies to reverse the absorption of Ray Ray's turtle when an orb surrounds the two and teleports with them in it to who-knows-where. Jean-Claude, the former elder in the magic realm, is taken away from his entourage until he gets teleported in the blink of an eye. Then Steven the Sandman at the Sleep Realm is gone, Maret at Fresno goes too, Donnie (the demon) falls into the portal during a wrestling match with Jordan the Destroyer and finally Auntie Roon, leaving her shark behind.

Back at Ah-Mah's house, June wakes up from her sleep to get a drink of water when she gets a head-splitting migraine and she drops the glass, which alerts Ashley, and she helps June to the couch since she can't go back to bed. The next morning, June's headache has subsided as she is drinking tea made by Ashley, but it's really bizarre for it to occur so sudden. Ray Ray and the others are surprised to see his sister awake so early, whereas June responds that she was up all night because of the headache she had, which never happened before. The one time she felt this kind of pain was when she, Ray Ray and Dennis were visiting Ah-Mah since they were younger, when June becomes the new Te Xuan Ze. June wonders if that's a sign of her powers evolving, while Ashley theorizes there is a major imbalance in the magical realms. June asks why'd she think that, whereas Ashley responded that the night she was helping June with her headache, her wand was vibrating like crazy, so she conjured a spell to find the source. The first screen she's conjured is a void of space...with a familiar-looking cage in view. Juniper recognizes it to be where Loki tries to trap her in... with his son, Taylor. But it looks no one is the void now. The next picture shows a Star Wars parody with Kordoth and Kassandra's minions, but no Kassandra. Another screen shows LeGrosi's Zoo for Magical Beings where Gigi used to be. Then, Ashley slides the next screen to where Monotuke was sent to the 9th Circle prison with the Unglian Banticores until his disappearance. Then, another where Kellington and Mitch the Enchanted Rhinoceros are selling the shoes at Orchid Bay park. The next one is where the Darnock Demon and Geoffrey are exchanging each other's energies until the orb appears and dissappears with them in it. Another screen is at a café in the magic realm where Jean-Claude taken away by security guard trolls until a flash of light happened, meaning that he's gone. The next four screens show Steven in the Sleep Realm until vanishing into thin air, Maret in Fresno before disappearing leaving the Pirados demons behind, Jordan the Destroyer standing alone in the wrestling ring, but no Donnie, and the cave in one of the magic realms where Auntie Roon is banished to before her disappearance. And the final screen shows Jasmine's house, zooming to where Kai Yee's jade statue used to be. Lila asks who that is, when Monroe explains that he was the greatest, most dangerous Te Xuan Ze there is, and when he asked to be one of the Elders, they rejected his question, only for him to turn on the Elders, which resulted in him being imprisoned in a jade statue. June wonders if that's why she had the headache last night, which Jasmine confirmed to be so. Monroe asks where the magical beings and the statue could have gone, whereas Ashley responds that when she tried to trace down where they were teleported, her link has cut off. It's as if something or someone has prevented her from tracking down the source to where they were teleported. Monroe wondered if it's Loki's son, Taylor, but June denied that it's not. He asks how did she know when she responds that it's a "gut-feeling". Taylor may have the same powers as his father, but he doesn't have that kind of strength to teleport all magical beings into one place, even with a single charm. And there's no way he'd teleport his own father out of prison, especially after making up for his wrongdoings to trap June. Besides, Taylor was already gone before his father disappeared. Lila could only ask if Taylor or his father were not the ones to blame, then who teleported every evil magical being in one place? Jasmine deduces there's only one person--or the very people--she knows to be responsible for these incidents, someone who wants the rid the world of magic, as well as ending the life of the Te Xuan Ze, and June seems to be thinking the same thing; H.A.M.

Speaking of whom, the headquarters have been rebuilt after its destruction by June, Ray Ray and Monroe. Just as Jasmine deducted, all the villains are gathered around in a conference room and some of them are in their transformed state, with Geoffrey caged up and Kai Yee's jade statue on a pedestal next to him. Gigi is back to her youthful form, the Darnock Demon has grown larger without having to siphon from the powers of the Te Xuan Ze, Monotuke has changed to a much more muscular and taller form, Auntie Roon is aged back to her younger years like when she was fighting against the previous Te Xuan Ze before Jasmine and June were born, Maret is in his strengthened form like when he first ate the Goblet of Nesteer, Steven the Sandman is now the Boogeyman, and Mitch has grown to be the height of Jordan the Destroyer, dressed in armor like Maret's. In between Kassandra and Loki is a cloaked figure with a familiar robotic arm as their head is down with a hood over it. The voice is male, saying that he's a man with a few words. The figure reveals himself to be Victor Gravewill, whom June nicknamed "Lex Luthor" since the Monster Convention. Victor revealed that he brought every magical creature in the room for one purpose and one purpose only; to destroy the Te Xuan Ze. But a task as simple as this requires the perfect strategy to get June and Jasmine by themselves. Victor asks every villain if they're familiar with the Night of Eternal Darkness. That name sparked quite an memory as they know too well that when the Encroaching Darkness fast approaches, they gain infinite power to spread darkness on both worlds. But they need someone with even a black-hearted soul to destroy the Veil permanently. Kellington, being the business monster he is, knows that they can't afford to free Kai Yee again, for he will likely escape without question and out of their hands. But maybe they could use his magical essence to turn another black-hearted soul into an evil opponent of the Te Xuan Ze. Thankfully for the villains, Victor has brought the machine that freed Kai Yee from his jade statue and has equipped it with the Debert Emeralds that will make it 10 times stronger, which will likely destroy the statue but not free Kai Yee from his prison. After that, Kassandra gives up her belt to be utilized for forging a charm that will endow the wearer powers of the Te Xuan Ze. Then, Maret transforms the Goblet of Nesteer for mixing the ingredients in a potion. Jean-Claude procures the Tarabok Weed salvaged from the Runey Stix factory for converting magic of the Elders into dark magic. Loki magically levitates the jade pieces into the cauldron to extract Kai Yee's essence. Monotuke throws in his Raconuke locator stones for detecting those with a black-hearted soul since they're crafted with dark magic. Finally, Gigi and Auntie Roon throw in their scepters to complete the forging process as Kassandra levitates her belt into the cauldron, causing it to disintegrate and mold into an amulet shaped like a demon made out of jade for the head and rubies for the eyes, and the necklace out of pale green gems. If they find the person with a black heart, they'll possess the powers of the Te Xuan Ze permanently. The innocent will be corrupted, with the wearer being the ruler of both the human and magic worlds and soon, every being who allies with the Te Xuan Ze will be enslaved in the magic realms for eternity. Unknown to them, however, a pair of tiny eyes watches from behind Geoffrey and the sounds of pattering feet is heard as it crawls away.

Back at Jasmine's house, after putting the clues together about H.A.M being responsible for the convergence of villains, Ashley theorizes that they're the reason why she couldn't track them down, for they may have possess whatever dark magical item that prevents her from doing so. However, Monroe adds in that H.A.M seems to be aware of the magical beings' reputation and that he wouldn't just bring them together for a reason since they share the same goal in mind, but they would never give their powers to someone who hates magic. It's true that they wanted to enslave every being in a world of darkness, magical or non-magical, but they also needed a magical or non-magical being; one with the black-hearted soul powerful enough to destroy the Veil. Without a vessel at their arsenal, the Encroaching Darkness is not permanent. June asks how are they going to find a black-hearted soul in the human world, and who it might be. Monroe gravely responds that it could anyone, and the only dark magic item to possess that kind of quality is Amulet of the Shen Dei Sei, with is the dark version of the Te Xuan Ze.

Characters and Appearances

 * Juniper Lee(voiced by Mae Whitman)- The current Te Xuan Ze and the main protagonist of the series, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. As she enters her junior year, June's new every-day attire is a dark red long-sleeve, turtleneck minidress under a spring green, cropped, sleeveless cheongsam with gold lining and her signature dragonfly logo, a gold chain belt with a hibiscus for a belt buckle at the waist, deep blue bellbottom jeans with magenta dragon scales up the sides and orchids at the end, and brown ballet-style flats with black toes. Her hair has grown to a waist's length and styled into a half-bun with the rest cascading down at the hips. After her powers of the Te Xuan Ze have evolved, June had undergone a new transformation. Her attire consists of a short, sleeveless spring green cheongsam dress with gold lining as well as her dragonfly logo and slits on the thighs, azure leggings, and white boots tied with spring green ribbons up the knees. Her accessories are gold arm bracelets above spring green to azure blue fingerless gloves, a jeweled choker that resembles the bracelet she wears for sensing imbalance in the world, and a silver forehead tiara that corresponds into a heart with an oval-shaped magenta gem in the center. Her entire hair turns magenta with light purple streaks and styled in a low braid.
 * Ray Ray Lee(voiced by Matt Hill)- Juniper's youngest brother and secondary protagonist of the series, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. Starting his sophomore year, Ray Ray is a now a pre-teen, reaching Juniper's previous height and gained a much more athletic body. His new attire is a bright red T-shirt with the Boomfist logo under a black long-sleeved bomber jacket, denim jeans, and dark gray slip-on sneakers. Upon receiving the full powers of the Te Xuan Ze, Ray Ray is dressed in an armor similar to June's dream one, only it's black with red chestplate covering the upper body along with a matching helmet and bearing the Boomfist logo.
 * Dennis Lee (voiced by David Faustino)- Juniper and Ray Ray's older brother of the series "The Life and Times of Juniper Lee". Starting his high school year, Dennis wears an off-white thigh-length poet's shirt with an adjustable drawstring and a logo that resembles Ray Ray's Viking helmet, a dark grey denim tunic over it, forest green jeans, and dark red sneakers. Upon obtaining magical abilities of the Elders, Dennis wears a full-body armor in shades of cyan with a tan diamond-shaped gem at the chest, and a hooded cape like in his LARP outfit.
 * Jody Irwin(voiced by Marÿke Hendrikse)- One of June's best friends and ally in the series The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. She is also now Dennis' girlfriend. For her junior year, Jody wears an indigo short hoodie with a yellow daisy logo over her pale pink undershirt, dark purple denim pants, and light brown ankle-length flats. Her hair is styled in high ponytail with a pink bow.
 * Ophelia Ramirez (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent)- One of June's best friends in the series The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. She is also now Roger's girlfriend. Starting her junior year, Ophelia's new attire is a black-and-purple striped tank top under a cropped, off-shoulder, long-sleeve grey shirt with her signature skull logo, black denim skirt with a chain of brass knuckles for a belt, purple leggings, and black motorcycle boots at the knees. Her hair has grown to a neck's length, revealing it to actually be black at the roots, and it's brushed down with bangs swept to the right.
 * Roger Radcliffe(voiced by T.J. Miller)- One of June and Ray Ray's best friends from the series The and Times of Juniper Lee. He is also now Ophelia's boyfriend. Starting his junior year, Roger now wears a dark green sleeveless hoodie over yellow shirt that stops halfway below the elbows, denim cargo pants, and cerulean converse sneakers. His hair is trimmed smoothly and evenly, and now wears a blue sock hat.
 * Marcus Conner(voiced by Ogie Banks)- One of June's best friends in the series The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. He's now June's boyfriend. Starting his junior year, Marcus wears a hunter green long-sleeved dress shirt with a folded collar, a black blazer jacket over it, beige khakis and hunter green slip-ons with white toe and heel caps. His hair has grown at a chest's length and is tied in a low ponytail while in dreads.
 * Ashley(voiced by Dakota Fanning)- 4th degree sorceress now having moved up to 10th degree. Her new civilian attire consists of pale pink bare-shouldered, long-sleeved minidress with her signature heart logo connected by two red strips of fabric around the neck, matching slightly flared jeans with hearts at the bottom of the legs, and pink slip-ons with white tips and light pink insteps. Her hair is wavy with fringes parted sideways and clipped with her heart logos.
 * Taylor Evermore Valhalla(voiced by Ben Schwartz)- Son of Loki and now an ally of June as well as a love interest of Lila. After moving forward to start a new life from his father's tyranny towards June, Taylor's new attire is hazel-green T-shirt tucked in his cerulean denim pants, a harvest gold biker jacket over it, a black leather belt with a domino belt buckle, and brown cowboy boots with goldenrod soles and red markings from calf to ankles. His hair is now dyed in auburn with red streaks and spiked upwards in a windswept way.
 * Lila(voiced by Tabitha St. Germaine)-The only female sasquatch disguised as a human with an Exfoliax charm. Starting her junior year, Lila now wears a sienna brown, burnt orange, and forest green frock-like tunic with squares cut out on the sleeves and end of the shirt, olive green dress pants, and brown open-toed flats. Her hair is waist-length and wavy with bangs parted sideways at a chin's length, and has an orange and brown headband. Her necklace is now added with fifteen extra black claws around the collar bone with a gold leaf pendant in the center by Taylor, who now has a crush on her.