Chapter 3

Hi again. Just want to say,

That an author by the name of Spleef says that the eight relics (from the competition in chapter one) Are the relics are drum, the fan, the castanets, the lotus flower, the flute, the gourd and the sword.

And I am afraid that the answer…..is absolutely right and I am no good at being funny so I will stop it now….

I will leave the humour to the comedians/Jade and stick with the writing.

Although I would like to say thanks to all the people who reviewed my story so quickly!

Thanks to

Spleef

Shero

Dragolover1

I mean, the story has only been up a few days. I am pleased!

Here is the next instalment. Hope you all like it. If you do, you can review me please! (Not hinting in the slightest…)

Well, on with the story.

Jade sat up crying all that night, and the next day, and the day after that. On the third day, she stopped crying, but she stopped smiling too. Her face was blank and the slightest sight of a car, the slightest mention of magic, demons, Chi, dragons, or Chan, made her burst out into tears again. Even when she picked up a piece of broccoli for Tohru, she began sobbing hysterically. Simply because it was green.

"Jade you have to stop this. Drago was a bad man, dragon, demon, being. He was probably trying to hurt you not."

"He saved me and the only one who is hurting me right now it YOU!" Jade spat and ran to her room. The door locked and Tohru sat with the distraught Jackie. From the first sob, every member of the Chan family, (and Tohru), knew they were in for yet another night of hysterical crying.

"Jackie…don't beat yourself up about this. Drago obviously did something, somehow, to prove his worth to Jade. She believes that he has some good in him and nothing we say will ever change her mind. Trying to will only make matters worse and her morn longer and harder. The best we can do for her right now is support her."

"But Tohru, how can I support her when she never comes out of her room other than to eat and go to the bathroom. And recently…she hasn't even left her room to eat. All day.

"She will eat. I will take her some food later."

"Thank you Tohru. I just…"

"What Jackie?" Tohru sat besides his recent friend and saw Uncle listening in, but didn't mention it.

"It's just that Jade has never reacted about anything so strongly before. I want to comfort her, but if I don't understand why she is upset then how can I help?"

"What don't you understand?" Jackie slummed backwards in the couch and rubbed his temples.

"I don't understand how Drago can mean so much to her in one encounter. He is evil and has tried to deep fry us on more than one occasion. Why would he save her life now? What changed?"

"He changed." All three men, only two of them in sight, turned to see a snivelling Jade, holding her Mighty moose tight to her chest. "He changed." She repeated. "He told me about how he hated his father."

"But he tried to free him more than once."

"He did that for one reason only. To try and make the father he never had, proud of him. He had been without his father for so long, that he was willing to do anything to make him happy." Jade sniffed again and hugged her teddy moose for dear life. "He told me that he spent all his life, wasted all his life, trying to please some one who never loved him, never spent any time with him or cared about him. He said to me, 'I tried to do everything he said and lost him through it. He never loved me and my affections fell on a cold heart and deaf ears.'" She broke into sobs, but held the tears back. "Never let that happen to you, it happened to me and I will give you this advice to serve you well. At least then…" she choked a whimper but was determined to continue "At least then. I will not have died in vain…" She let her tears burst out freely and fell to her knees.

Jackie picked her up and took her to her room. She fell asleep and Jackie tucked her in. He then returned to a very silent living room.

"Hey…she's asleep…"

"Good good. One more thing."

"Yes?"

"…Will Uncles niece ever smile again?"

"…We don't know uncle…we don't know…"

"Well, morning Jade. You ready to get into agent mode?" Captain Black put his best smile on. He didn't want to let anything slip…

"Sure…why not…"

"Good. Now let's go. My men will pick up your things."

"Sure…why not…" Jade just followed Black, her face blank and unnerving.

"Right." She followed Him until they were both sat in back of the Van. Black kept fidgeting. When he wasn't on the job, keeping a secret was almost torture and he hated it. Especially because of what the secret was.

Before Black

"But Jackie, he saved her life. Shouldn't she know that he."

"No Captain Black. Jade can not know about this. As her guardian I only want her to be safe and getting involved with that sort of person, is not good for her. She is upset as it is. He could make her do anything in this state. No, you are not to tell her."

"But." Captain Black gave in as he saw Jackie cross his arms and pulled a very serious face. "…if she ever found out…that you knew and still didn't tell her…she would hate you."

"I want what is best for her. And if that means that I will not be popular with Jade, then so be it. I don't want to be the bad guy, but I have to do what is right. Besides…she is upset now. If she saw him like that, it would break her heart."

"One thing I myself have learned, is that when someone saves your life, takes your place, you feel more attached to them than you can imagine. When I was starting out as an agent, I got caught in a bomb blast from a bank robbery. My squad leader threw me out the way as a wall started to cripple. He died because of me. I should be dead right now, not him. And if I could see him again, just to say thank you, it would make the world of difference to me. I would give anything to tell Charlie how sorry I am and how thankful I am for what he did for me. and I think maybe, that is how Jade is feeling. But she is so young, that it hurts her too much for her to control. Jade has always been an emotional person, in heart and spirit. So she will be emotional in her morning and pain too. It will pass Jackie, don't worry. It will pass."

"I hope so…I can't bare to see her so upset for much longer. She is a young girl who should be complaining about school work and having a tantrum every time to tell her she can't come with me on a mission. Not morn a death…"

"I know Jackie, I know. That is actually why I think we should tell her that."

"No. I told you my decision and you said that you would respect it."

"But she would stop morning if she knew that."

"Oh yeah, she would stop morning. But she would start worrying herself sick and then idolise him. I am not having her have him has a role model."

"Alright. I give in. I'll go get her."

And that is how he got here, in the van, fidgeting and shifting his butt on the leather seat every few seconds. Luckily, Jade to being herself right now, didn't notice. Or didn't care, he couldn't he sure. It had been a very quiet a simple pick up for him. Argue with Jackie, give in to Jackie, go find Jade, hardly get two words out of her, load her things into the van, waste a perfectly good joke to get no response…you used to smile at that one…, and last of all, sweat buckets at the lack of feeling good. I mean, this guy saved her life. She should at least know, right?

"Well Jade. Looking forward to showing my agents a thing or to about the ancient art of what was it?...butt whoop?"

"Sure…why not…" damn, this was killing him. what happened to the smiling, pranking, mischievous girl that didn't stop grinning or doing the opposite of what she was told? Usually talking about 'butt whoop' would get her all riled up and excited. She seemed to be so looking forward to becoming an agent. Now it didn't look like she looked forward to just about anything anymore. He hadn't seen her smile once…

"We're here." Black unloaded her things, but she silently took the bags from him and took them in herself. That was very un-Jade-like. Jade would sooner run ahead than get loaded back with bags. She used to saw that if she was the pack mule, she might miss something important or exciting. But she just slowly made her way into the phone box, her face as placid as the moment he saw her this morning. He had popped in a few days after the big victory to see everyone, only to find Jade in tears in her room. He was downstairs, but he could hear her and it made his heart sink. He knew how to cheer her up, and yet her couldn't. Jackie had forbidden him.

The phone box whizzed through the building and the came to a sudden stop at the control room. "Why don't I take you to your own room?" that should get her interest. The last time she was here, she had a small room and he had already told her that her room would be twice as big this time. But alas.

"Sure…why not…" that was really starting to get to him, so he got one of the other agents to show her to her room.

After she left, Black had black coffee and sat in his office.

How can Jackie think that keeping the truth from her will help her? I just want to tell her. I would slit the throats of the ones who did this to me if I were her. But I am not allowed to tell her…but! A smile formed on his lips and he felt a lot better. A smirk came to him with his new idea. But I could always…let her find out herself. I don't have to tell her…if she were to wonder into the off-limits section of the base. If I made a big deal about her not going there, surely the old Jade will go 'exploring'. I just need to get her settled in, try and get the old Jade back, and then. One two three presto, Happy go lucky Jade Chan is back in the building. Perfect. And technically, I won't have told her. So everybody's happy.

He finished his coffee and opened his training file up on the computer.

Good, the physical is first. She will enjoy that.

"And here is your room Miss Chan. The Kitchen is to the left, the living room or 'chill time room' is in front of you, your sleeping quarters is to the right and the bathroom is joined on to that. Your Xbox is plugged into the plasma screen TV, along with your old PS2. I believe everything else is still in your bags. Would you like me to come and wake you tomorrow morning before your first training session?"

"Sure…why not…" Jade, totally in autopilot, took her bags further into the room and didn't even acknowledge the kind agent leaving. First she put all her clothes away in her pure white room. a few days ago, she would be bouncing up and down on the four-poster bed, but now, she just placed her Pj's on pillow. Then, her favourite teddy, Might Moose, joined it. Jade had taken his usual shirt off…and put Drago's black flame shirt on it. Now, her two favourite things in the world were together and on the bed. She teared slightly, just starring into the centre of the red flame on the black, torn edged shirt. She pulled herself away and unpacked the rest of her things.

Uncle had packed her a large bag of food to put in her fridge. Even a mung bean sandwich if she got hungry on the way. They were all so worried about her and she didn't even seem to have a spirit anymore. Uncle got to upset, that he did a Chi locator spell on Jade as she slept. Her spirit was there, so was her sole. But her good Chi was diminishing everyday. Not because of a Chi vampire or a hex, but because she was losing the will to go on. Slowly, she withdrew into herself a little more each day. She didn't cry anymore. But she didn't express herself in any other way either. It was like Valmont had paid someone to make an exact copy of Jade, a robot, and abducted the real one, leaving this impostor in her place. But Tohru checked and it was still Jade. Jackie was starting to wonder if he made the right decision by keeping the truth from her, but his pride wouldn't let him go back on it. She would get better, right?

Where am I? Am I back in the vortex?

No, I can't be. I feel no mystic energy around me like chains. Am I in hell? I deserve to be. But, why aren't I in mortal pain? Why am I...numb? I can't feel anything. Not even my own heartbeat. Maybe I am dead. I have to be. I died I know I did…didn't I?

But this doesn't feel like death, it feels like sleep. Am I sleeping? A coma perhaps. But if I was in a coma, I would still be alive and that is impossible. If I were alive…Jade!

That Minx didn't leave did she! I bet she came back for me…why? Why did she? I tried to kill her so many times, just because I saved her once, doesn't make me good.

Little Minx…I bet she still has my old shirt too. He he owww. Ok, now I felt that. I think I have a javelin lodged in my gut. DAMN! Ok my led too. SHIT!

"AAAAARRRRR!" Black shifted in his new chair, watching as the drugs started to ware off. He knew that not keeping him sedated would feel like murder to him, but he really didn't care. He wasn't doing this for his wellbeing; he was doing this for Jade. He needed some more information before he went ahead with project 'Jade retrieval'.

"Nice to see you awake Drago."

Aint I a stinker he he.

Sorry about the cliff hanger, but I just had to do it. hope you like, review if you do.

From

Draguna