Jade Chan Adventures

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter. This particular chapter has a few references to various episodes in the series.


Jade vaguely heard Jackie calling her name over the sound of her own scream.

Everything seemed to slow down as Jade felt the balcony section collapsed under her feet and she felt her breath caught in her throat. Not the way she planned to go out.

I'm sorry, Jackie, Jade thought mournfully as she came hurling down towards the sharp broken stands below.

Suddenly, a hand shot out and latched onto her arm in the last second. The brunette winced as she felt the limb almost popping out of its socket from the abrupt halt and her legs daggling in midair while the rest of the debris fell with a deafening crash beneath.

She glanced down at the pile of concrete and metal blow and gulped, heart racing like mad. That was close…

"Jade!" she heard Jackie shout above the noise.

Jade looked up and gasped in shock.

Drago was bracing himself over the railing, her forearm in a firm grasp.

The fire demon seemed to be shocked at himself for not putting a hit on his longtime nemesis then and there, but instead of doing just that - as Jade would have expected him to - Drago glared at her as if her near-accident personally offended him.

Jade gaped at him. It was only there for a split-second; maybe she might have imagined it, but Jade prided herself in her sharp sense of observation that never failed her yet. Drago was vexed, startled, angry even. But Jade could see what was in those intense ruby eyes; and she could see that Drago was scared for her that brief moment he let the emotion flash across his rough features. The dragon scowled at her.

"I'm not finished with you yet, Chan."

A realization hit her and she returned his scowl with one of her own. Of course he'd save her - gecko boy's ego would pummel if the girl who was the bane of his existence was ousted by a mere rock avalanche instead of being personally barbequed by him during one of his many attempts.

"Can't sleep at night unless you K.O. me yourself?" she scoffed, mustering up as much bravado as she could. Drago rolled his eyes.

"Don't tempt me," he muttered. Jade bit back a smart remark in case he changes his mind and decide to drop her.

He did not. Slowly, but surely, Drago pulled her up onto the balcony and carefully set Jade back on her feet without releasing her.

Still disoriented and heart racing from the shock of the fall, Jade suddenly came to a surprised Jackie standing a distance behind them with Paco tailing behind. The unanswered question in her uncle's troubled gaze was replaced with angry parental concern as his eyes darted to the dragon's grip on her wrist.

"Let her go, Drago," Jackie declared, reminding the fire demon he was outnumbered. Drago's tail twitched in irritation.

"Sorry, you didn't say the magic word," he spat.

Before Jade could stop him, Drago turned and blasted at the two with a large fireball.

"Guys!" Jade exclaimed, lurching forward. Jackie and Paco both yelped and fell to the floor to avoid the large torrent of flames. The fire hit the stands behind them, causing a tremendous explosion.

Jade angrily yanked her arm free from Drago's hold and tried to run past him, only for the fire demon to cut her off in a flash. He shot her an exasperated look.

"Just because I stopped you from turning into mincemeat doesn't mean you're off the hook, short stop," he growled, advancing on her. Jade snorted.

"Can't blame a girl for trying, Junior," she retorted waspishly, making him scowl at the hated nickname that her future self often used to taunt him. "I don't do that grateful damsel thing."

No, it wouldn't suit you, Jade, thought Drago, taking in the intensity of her amber gaze and powerful stance. Like a lioness...

She swiftly pounced and swung a fist at his head.

The fire demon eluded the blow with ease and immediately thrusting a palm-heel strike to her center with just enough force to send his opponent skidding back on her feet, even when she managed to blocked it.

"Leave her alone!"

Drago could sense the attack before it came and flipped around with a roundhouse to the boy's chest, causing him to fly back. Paco, unused to taking hits, wrapped his arms around his middle and coughed dryly.

"Paco!" Jade cried. Her uncle rushed to hook the boy's arm over his shoulder and lift him back on his feet.

This has gone on long enough, thought Jackie as he steadied Paco. He would not let the fire demon continue to harm the teenagers.

Drago growled and shook his head, torn between the flare of annoyance at the note of concern in her voice and confusion at the presence of that pesky emotion. Deciding to deal with it right away, Drago turned to flash a toothy grin at Jade. "Say goodbye to your little boyfriend."

Drago blasted a large stream of fire at the boy just as Jade socked him hard in his bruised jaw and making him stagger forward.

Paco yelled in surprise, leaping out of the way a second in time to avoid being barbequed. Jackie ran ahead.

The archaeologist evaded the attack by jumping into a spin over the flames and using the momentum to land a tornado kick on Drago.

His foot made contact with the off guard fire demon's chest and Drago flew back, landing roughly in what was left of the stands, smoking tendrils escaping the sides of his mouth.

"Thanks Senor Jackie," said Paco with a grin and rubbed at his chest where he was kicked. He had a newfound awe at how the archaeologist and his niece managed to always come out mostly unscathed when running into battle. He followed the two to the exit.

"Let's leave before the loco lizard man wakes up."

"We have to help Tohru and El Toro banish the earth demon child," said Jackie, leading them down the stairs. They could buy some time to get rid of her with Drago out cold. "Uncle will be arriving soon from the hotel."

Jade smirked, "With half the J-Team and two chi wizards here, there would be no way ol' lizard lips and Terra the terror can keep up."

"Drago is a demon sorcerer, Jade," chided Jackie. "And a dangerous one at that. We don't know if he will pull another surprise spell on us like he did before."

Jade sobered, remembering how Drago had seemingly pulled an incantation out of nowhere to extract all eight demon chi from his treacherous old lackeys. What came next was not fun.

A resounding crash in the center ring drew their attention back to the other fight taking place.

Terra had dodged Tohru's chi blast and burrowed a large crater in the center of the ring. Jackie gulped as he spotted curved horns poking from the ground and heading straight towards him. He jumped just as Terra shot up from the ground with a snarl.

"Stand still, pest!" she roared, throwing twin stones at him. Jackie managed to squeeze in between the two.

"No, I'm sorry, I do not think I should do that!" he shouted and tried to run around the monster. Terra grinned and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, bringing Jackie up to eye level.

"Going somewhere?" she asked and raised a fist in front of his face. Jackie gulped and chuckled nervously.

"Away, yes," he said and lifted his legs and kicked Terra off. Paco quickly jumped into a crouch behind the earth demon, tripping her onto her back. Jade popped up next to Tohru.

"Whadya need, T?"

"I will need something that belongs to the earth demon," responded Tohru, preparing a green potion. Jade bit her lip and surveyed the mounds of debris and numerous craters decorating the stadium.

"And that would be..?"

"It's like finding a needle in a haystack," groaned Jackie, looking around frantically. "We don't even know what belongs to her."

Paco perked up.

"The dumbbell! It's right over…" he stopped, pointing to the weights on the far opposite side of the ring where Terra had thrown it. "There."

The boy barely took a step forward when he was yanked back by a large hand. Not a second later, a large stone landed right in front of him.

"Heh, gracias," he murmured to Tohru. Terra stepped into the center of the ring, blocking the dumbbell from sight. She cracked her neck twice and leered at the group maliciously.

"Looks like the odds are against you," Terra growled. The sound of heavy footsteps made her pause momentarily.

"It is you who are outnumbered," declared El Toro, stopping behind her. Terra looked over her shoulder lazily.

"It would not matter, as you're still outmatched," the earth demon pointed out, turning to face him fully. She frowned at the luchador's knowing look. "What?"

"Tag team!" shouted Paco. Running up behind Terra, he tackled her middle in a hold. She did not budge.

"Hilarious," Terra growled, as she grabbed a handful of his shirt.

"El Toro, tag me in!" Paco yelled. Without much trouble, she pulled him loose and tossed him aside. Suddenly a pair of chi blasts hit her between the shoulder blades, sending her stumbling forward. El Toro charged, tackling Terra in the gut and sending her sprawling on her back.

She shoved him off with grunt. "Is that the best you can…"

Terra stopped when a large shadow cast over her. Tohru came crashing down with a body slam, effectively crushing the earth demon.

"Ooh," hissed Jade with a mock wince. "That's going to leave a mark."

"That was a very good move, my friend," agreed El Toro, helping the massive sumo up. "Have you ever considered becoming a luchador?"

Paco jogged across the ring and picked up the dumbbell, struggling visibly with the heavy weight. He staggered back and handed it to Tohru, who held it up easily in one hand and poured the green potion on.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao," he began chanting as the liquid soon covered every surface. The dumbbell slowly glowed green with chi magic. "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai-"

"You really don't wanna finish that," growled a voice.

The J-Team all leapt back as a massive fireball hit the ground, lighting up the ring. With the incantation disrupted, the dumbbell stopped glowing in Tohru's hand.

Drago leapt the wide distance from the balcony, landing in the ring on all fours.

Jade groaned inwardly. Duh! Superhuman healing abilities.

Terra grunted slightly from the crater that outlined her monstrous form.

"What have you been doing, cousin?" she growled, rolling onto her side and pushing herself up slowly. Drago groaned and shook his head.

"You don't even wanna know," he sighed, annoyed. It would be hard to explain to his cousin that he had just saved a Chan and then got his butt handed to him by another Chan all within five minutes. He then turned to the group of humans.

"The gang's all here," he observed out loud, flashing a toothy grin. "Now the fun can really begin."

On cue, Terra slammed her palms down, causing ripples to snake through the ground and widen.

Oh no! though Jackie, recalling the last time he had used the earth demon chi on Strikemaster Ice and his gang years ago.

"RUN!" Jackie yelled, grabbing Jade and running as fast he could. He trusted the others to follow suit.

They weren't fast enough. The cracks in the ground opened wide enough for the J-Team to fall into. With a final push, Jackie gave Jade enough boost to leap out before the ground closed in from all sides, effectively trapping him, El Toro, Tohru, and Paco from the shoulders down.

Jackie looked around desperately, breathing out a sigh of relief when he spotted the green potion-covered dumbbell still lying on the side aboveground. He needed to distract the two demon sorcerers from getting rid of the only object able to banish the earth demon.

Drago sauntered to his captives, positively smug.

"Everybody comfy?" he asked, taking in the pained expressions and poisonous glares. "No? Good."

"Shall we do the honors?" asked Terra, lifting a giant boulder to crush the trapped humans. Drago grinned victoriously, ignoring the slight twinge of pain in his jaw from Jade's earlier double whammy.

Drago suddenly froze as blatant realization hit him. "Where's..?"

"And here comes T-girl with her takedown dropkick!"

"No!" Drago shouted. But it was too late.

Terra barely had time to register the blur coming from behind when Jade's foot slammed into her. The earth demon fell hard, the large boulder she was holding landing on top of her. Everyone winced at the heavy thud that echoed through the stadium.

Terra laid spread-eagled under the stone, unmoving.

"Ouch," muttered El Toro.

"Go Yade!" crowed Paco loudly. If his arms were free, he would have fist pumped the air at such a perfect hit. Jackie and Tohru sighed with relief, glad to not be turned into pancakes.

Drago gritted his teeth and surveyed the girl who always managed to get under his scales. "Always one for surprises, Chan?"

He began to circle her, eyes sharp and blazing. Jade smirked and mirrored his moves. "Just like old times, Scaly."

Those amber eyes had an intense glint to them as she held up her fists in a fighting stance. Drago growled and shook away the memory of the same pair of intense amber eyes that unwaveringly matched his ruby gaze before in a different battle.

Sorry Scaly, I'm not the sentimental type.

"Tch, you might have gotten Terry, but you're not getting Terra," he shouted, his claws glowing red hot. Nevermind that he did not truly want to hurt Jade, but he needed to get ride of this persistent thorn in his side. Jackie piped up from where he was trapped on the ground.

"Jade, be careful!" he yelled. Jade scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully.

"Don't worry, Jackie," she said, turning to smirk at her opponent. "Uncle has it covered."

Drago quirked a brow at her, annoyed. "What?"

"Go Uncle!" Jade shouted.

"No-!" Drago shouted and turned, only to be cut off as a blast of powerful chi magic hit him in the chest. Drago flew back into one of Terra's craters, landing with a thud.

Uncle winked at Jade, waving his blowfish. The shopkeeper made his way into the destroyed fighting ring, eyeing the hands and feet sticking out from under the large boulder with slight interest.

"Ah yes," said Uncle, adjusting his spectacles. "I can sense the very bad chi from the child of Dai Gui, the earth demon."

"Senor Uncle, can you lend us a hand, er, shovel?" asked El Toro, awkwardly wiggling in the dirt.

"Do not rush Uncle! You want to banish earth demon? Yes?" demanded Uncle, wagging his blowfish. "Then let Uncle figure out what item for banishment spell!"

El Toro shared a longsuffering look with Jackie, but decided to stay silent. Tohru glanced at the fallen dumbbell.

"Actually, Sensei, I have already made the potion. We just need to recite the incantation," he said, nodding to the item.

Uncle looked at his apprentice, impressed. Jade lugged the weights over and pointed it at the unconscious Terra. "Ready when you are, Unc."

Uncle waved his blowfish and began chanting loudly, "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao..."

The dumbbells shot out a green beam that consumed Terra, who was beginning to stir.

"Wha-" she slurred, feeling her body rising from the ground and red eyes flashing open in alarm. "What-!"

The red portal that appeared above her, and she clawed at the ground desperately. Terra howled as the vortex slowly consumed her and sealed up as she entered, leaving a deafening silence behind.

Everyone gasped as the ground suddenly rumbled, and the cracks widened in the ground, freeing those who were trapped. Jade grabbed Jackie and Paco's hands to help them out while the heavier El Toro and Tohru crawled out and shook out their numbed limbs.

"Thanks Uncle-ow!" Jackie yelped when the old man's fingers thwacked his forehead. "What was that for?!"

"For not guarding shop well enough!" Uncle yelled back. "Uncle has been shoplifted!"

The J-Team followed the shopkeeper out of the destroyed stadium, feeling bemused. El Toro pulled out his phone to dial a limo; they were a large group after all, a cab would not do.

Tohru looked to his mentor. "What exactly did the thief took, Sensei?"

"A very important book!" snapped Uncle. He furrowed his bushy brows, troubled. "The same one Shendu took before using Valmont...a book on where to find powerful magical artifacts."

Tohru paled. "The same one he used to find the Panku Box to unleash the other seven demon sorcerers, Sensei?"

"Yes," Uncle said. "We must find out who took it and why."

"It must be the fire demon," stated El Toro confidently. But Uncle shook his head.

"The book is protected with good chi magic," he explained. "Uncle cast the spell after the book was retrieved from the clutches of dragon teeny bopper's father. He would not be able to touch it."

"There's one thing we do know," said Jackie gravely. "Whoever took it is up to no good."

"Hello!" Jade scoffed. "It could only be Trent! You saw how suspicious he was acting before when he and his goons were stalking our front door."

Paco and El Toro shared confused glances and turned to Jackie, who explained what happened.

The sound of engine revving alerted the group of a vehicle arriving. Jade perked up as a long stretch limo pulled up in front of them, the long door sliding open.

"Cool!" she said, beaming. Suddenly the night did not seem so bad...

"Thank you, El Toro," said Jackie. They needed to get back to San Francisco as soon as possible to find out where the thief had went.

"A celebrity must know who to contact to make a fancy appearance," said El Toro with a wink. The large vehicle seemed to sag a little under the added weight, but otherwise, moved fast to get to the hotel.

"What?" inquired Jade when she noticed Jackie looking at her strangely. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Drago saved you earlier," her uncle said, getting straight to the point. "I am glad you are not hurt, but why save his enemy?"

Jade scoffed. "Isn't it obvious, Jackie? Gecko boy wanted to out the hit on me himself."

"Even so," Jackie murmured, shaking his head. "That was very strange."

When he did not inquire further, Jade shrugged off the subject and pulled out two bottles of grape soda from the cooler and handed one to Tohru.

"To another J-Team victory," she said smiling and raising her bottle. Tohru mirrored her with a warm smile.

"To victory," he said. The two chugged their soda enthusiastically. Paco suddenly nudged her shoulder and she turned to him.

"Um, Yade?" he started, nervous. When she turned to him, Paco held out the bouquet of poppies from earlier, still perfectly intact. Before they left, he had found the flowers lying safe on the stands near the front, untouched by the chaos around them.

"Thank you for earlier," he said, the tips of his ears visibly red under the neon lights of the limo. "You were pretty cool."

Jade accepted the flowers with a smile. "Thanks, Paco."

Paco nodded and turned away, blushing.

While the others talked, Jade's mind wandered back to Drago. Jackie was right. Why save his greatest enemy? Ever since she first laid eyes on his scaly hide, he had been trying to do away with her and the rest of the Chan Clan, ever since he followed her future self back into the past (her present). Worse of all, he seemed to enjoy every second of it.

So what made her any different?

She was sure she didn't imagine it. For that one moment, he was truly concerned for her.

Not that it mattered, thought Jade sourly. He still attempted to roast her afterwards. But if she were to be honest with herself, Jade was sure he did not really attempt to harm her. With all that superhuman strength and speed, he could have easily done it, as she recalled the ferocity of his fight with Future Jade when they had first arrived for the Dragon Teeth. Now, he did not seem to be putting in half the effort nor animosity as before.

Even the way they fought and taunted each other almost seemed like - dare she say it - flirting...

Yeah right, thought Jade, When Drago turns over a new leaf...which will be never.

She suddenly thought back to the incident in the library and blushed, remembering how close he had been to her. Jade frowned. I won't let gecko boy take me by surprise like that anymore. Time to up my game.

Perhaps she'd better have a little chat with him...


Much later...

Back at the junkyard, Drago paced back and forth, fire shooting from the sides of his mouth. Finally, the fire demon lost his cool and blasted an old fridge, creating a huge explosion.

"I almost had them!" he shouted, and sat down, growling. "What happened back there?!"

As much as he hated to admit it, disappointment was burning him just as much as anger was. He had underestimated them again, and it had lead to his defeat. He shouldn't have expected any less from the Chan clan.

Despite age working against him, Jackie was still as skilled a martial artist if not slightly less agile. Even the sumo had joined the old geezer in becoming a chi wizard. And Jade...

Jade...

Drago repressed a growl. The memory of those fierce amber eyes seared through him unlike any fire magic he encountered before.

The fire demon had spent the past five years brewing in anger, ready to take revenge if the chance ever came around. His plan backfired, obviously, because why else would Drago find himself missing their old fights and tauntings? It was the boredom and loneliness from the Netherworld that caused this longing for interaction.

Jade was a formidable opponent, testing him in fighting skills and wit and prowess in magic. She viewed herself as his equal in every way.

He gave another irritated sigh, an uncomfortable sensation creeping under his scales. It was one thing to toy around and banter during a fight, but to go out of his way to save her when all he wanted to do was rid himself of her persistent meddling in his plans…

Drago had felt something snap in him earlier at the sight of her falling. It was not anything new, but before, he had always half-expected her to leap out of the way of an incoming fireball or for her uncle to swoop in at the last second to bring her out of harm's way. There had been no way for her to leap out of the way in time and any help was far from reach the moment she started falling. He did the first thing that came to mind, which was to jump over the railing headfirst and grab the brat before she got turned into a very bloody pancake.

The realization hit him like a blow, stunning him. No…no, no, no, no…

He could admit that Jade had peeked his interest more than any other human he'd came in contact with. He could admit that she was a challenge both in wit and in battle. He could even admit - grudgingly - that she was striking with her soft raven hair and lithesome body toned after years of training and her saucy tongue.

But there could be no possible way that he'd actually care for his worse enemy.

Drago rubbed at his temples, feeling a migraine coming on. He decided to push away the matter temporarily. Now he had to focus on successfully awakening the next five demon cousins without the Chans' interference. As much as Drago hate to admit it, solo was no way to go if he wanted to succeed.

"Hmm, maybe I really do need some," he shuddered. "...sidekicks."

The fire demon thought back to the gargantuan failures that were the Enforcers and Ice and his crew. Drago sighed. Here we go again.

He slowed down his breathing and closed his eyes, hoping that he would not regret what he was about to do next.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered darkly and began meditating. After a few moments, he conjured a fiery image of Shendu in front of him. The elder fire demon quirked a brow at his son from the other side of the magical barrier., planes away from the human world.

"I didn't not expect you to summon me so early, boy," Shendu rasped. Drago dived straight to the point.

"I need backup," he stated. "Good ones."

Shendu sneered at the younger fire demon. "And so you decided to come crawling back to your father for assistance?" Drago gritted his teeth, biting back a scathing remark. "Your pride has blinded you. My brothers were not nearly pleased to be reunited with their offspring again so soon."

Drago scoffed. "Figures."

"You have lost valuable allies," his father growled, pointing a claw at him. "Do not take this matter lightly, boy."

"Are you going to help me or not, old man?" demanded Drago impatiently, crossing his arms.

"Impudent brat," hissed Shendu. "You would be wise to respect me if you wish to use my servants."

The dragon lifted a claw, drawing an intricate symbol in front of him. Drago quirked a brow at the sign, confused. "What is it?"

"A summoning key," responded Shendu with a smirk.


To be continued...R&R!