An: A chapter focused mostly centered around Jade and her life... why she is so damn powerful... and just how she feels about people also a brief what goes on Jade's head...

There is more than one way to skin a cat. Total mind control had failed but she still had hundreds more tricks up her sleeve. After all you don't hibernate for a few millennia's without coming up with a trick or two. Besides it would be easier for her if Jade truly believed in her cause, and that wouldn't be to hard after all Jade didn't truly believe in the sources causes. That was another similarity the two shared they didn't like the idea of the source. Jade distrusted it yet she followed it reluctantly; Lilith had broken away from the source and was now trying to destroy it.

It was odd how similar the two of them were, and that's what intrigued Lilith the most. She was the only person who could possibly pose a real threat to her. Combined Aly and Bloom were also a force to be reckoned with but Jade was possibly her only intellectual equal in the world. This might not have been true, but Jade generally put things less important things of so she had a lot of spare time on her hands which she spent with her nose behind a book, not training obsessively like many would, she was both mentally and physically fit. That and she had already defeated a conduit, which was the kicker… it had taken Lilith years to be considered strong enough to even think about beating Jade had simply rushed in after a month's worth of training and taken down a fully manifested conduit within three hours… it had taken her three days and three nights. But there were things holding Jade back from being on the same level as Lilith, the main reason… she cared too much. And that was her only distraction… she was too emotional though she tried to hide it and that would was her one and only weakness. Lilith didn't have to worry about emotions anymore she had evolved from that stage in her life and eventually so would Bloom, Jade and Aly but as for right this instance they were young and completely inexperienced. And it was time to play on there weaknesses.

"Reversus," Lilith muttered under her breath as Jade let out a muffled scream of pain, as she clutched her heart dropping from where she was standing in the tree hitting the ground with an undignified thump. Lilith stared at her face portraying boredom as she casually sauntered over to Jade's writhing body the starseeds hammer extending behind her back. "If I wouldn't move if I were in your situation, that could only hurt you more. Reversus the reversing of your blood flow must like hurt like a bitch." Jade let a small scream, which was blocked by the spurt of blood that was now gushing out her mouth. Lilith cocked her head but eased up on the spell, causing Jade's body to go slack. "Even though it strongly looks like it I'm not trying to kill you, that would be stupid after all I need a conduit." Jade coughed trying to clear lungs as her healing factor began to heal her.

Lilith brushed Jades long hair out of her face almost like a caring mother would do when their child was sick, causing Jade to flinch slightly at the touch. "But that's just it isn't it Jade, people always need your help they always want you to fight for what there cause, they don't really like you they're just on a power trip. They are scared of you… of what you can do aren't they. That's why you never show anyone just how strong and smart you truly are because you don't want them to leave you alone. But Jade you're already alone, you refuse to get to close to people because whenever they find out they leave. Wasn't that the case when you were learning all those martial arts…"

Jade didn't want to hear this not from Lilith, but even then her thoughts slowly drifted back to those years in the numerous dojo's all over the realms…

She sat there alone watching all the other children having fun sparring each other boasting about how one day that they would be the greatest fighter in all the realms. She heard the whispers about her flying through the air talking about the huge freak. She was never allowed to play with them because she was better than them, she could beat them easily and when she offered to help them improve she was rejected. They rejected her, the only time that they would be gracious enough to let her join them was when she let them win, and that was only because the sensei would punish her for losing on purpose and she'd usually spend her punishment days by herself anyways doing those punishments. It was during those days that she had learned to never truly show your enemy all your cards, and it was one she still lived by.

Jade attempted to get up, only to be hit with another Reversus, and again her body contorted and writhed until Lilith once again eased up, "They were jealous of you Jade, they were scared of you and they didn't understand you, and humans as weak minded as they are tend to fear what they do not understand. Just like you Jade you're scared of what you can do. You wonder why you can't be normal, what is it that allows you to be as strong as you need to be? That's simple really it's your fathers fault. He only saw you as a vessel for the phoenix force, a vessel not a human. If he saw you as a human then he would have taken the safety percussions, and if he done that there would have been barriers making you at least semi-normal, do you understand Jade you have never truly been loved. Remember Jade think back you'll see that I'm not lying."

Jade's thoughts floated back 17 years to a memory that she couldn't recall… maybe Lilith planted this memory but it seemed so real…

Jade growled silently, "I wanna go help my mommy and daddy please nanny I can teach those meanies a lesson," she said swinging her fists around.

"Hush Ms. Jade your parents know what's best for you, and…" the nanny was broken of by the door pushing itself open as Jade's father the King of Shira fell through the door in a fit of exhaustion. Jade ran to him ignoring the blood and other things on his shirt as she hugged him.

"Hey kiddo come here and hug your old man," her father said hugging back, "Now I had hopped to do this when I felt you were old enough, but you have to take it," her father said incoherently, his blood flowing onto his daughters body.

"Sir you can't, you know the consequences of your actions, this could scar her for life and the markings are unbecoming," her nanny babbled away.

"Quiet Daine you know it's either this or those nasty Witches and their Orcs or this and we can't let the power of the phoenix fall into their hands, we knew that this was coming and I have made arrangements," her father argued, as he put his hand to his chest where a tattoo of a phoenix was, and began to pull the ancient power from his chest.

"Sir you haven't done the cleansing period yet and it will hurt her, emotionally and physically," Daine said concern filling her voice.

The fiery red tattoo faded from his chest and he held out a small red ball of fire, "Honey this is going to hurt and I don't want you to scream okay, I want you to be big and brave, just like your old man," her father began to push the fire into her chest as Jade whimpered in pain.

Jade never cried or screamed as her father forced the magic into her body, Jades began seeing all sorts of monsters and having vision after another, till her father finished the pushing of the fire into her body. Jade fell limply to the floor, as Daine rushed to see if she was okay.

"See he never loved you he just wanted to protect the power from the Trix. Without that cleansing period the phoenix force had nearly had 12 or 13 years to fully integrate into your system. Even when Darcy pulled it out of you there was still a huge chunk of the phoenix force left. All those years Jade it had full reign over your body and it was the little voice in the back of your head telling you, you had to get stronger. And you did and the phoenix force forced your body to evolve till it was perfect to be it's host, it's learned to adapt over the years to the point where even I couldn't take the phoenix force from your body, and if I want something I get it. Do you comprehend what that means Jade if you ever have children they will inherit part of the phoenix force but you will never be able to remove it and choose them as a host, so the power dies with you."

"I wouldn't want them to carry the burden," Jade muttered.

"At least you'll care for your children, treat them like humans more than what you ever received. Let's see your blood father treated you like a weapon… Ascot beat the crap out of you among many other things that would make most children grow up into sociopath's, Daine your supposed mother scorned you and became to wrapped up in her own life, and your real mother she didn't really love you… you've had it rough… I doubt anyone of these people would face a conduit for you so you can live. But you've adapted to this, and you've even sworn that you'd make better parents than what you got which probably wouldn't be that hard to do, you'd do anything for your so called friends why wouldn't you do the same for your children. That's what makes us so similar Jade we each care to much, my best friend Chova was scared of me and because of that I no longer have any live relatives because the source has destroyed them all. Do you have any idea what it's like to be forced to kill your children, to watch starseeds torture them before they die? Hearing them beg for me to save them but I can't do anything about it. All I did was prove that I can co-exist without God and I'm being constantly punished for it. Jade I faced down a conduit so I could save them, just like you I became as strong as necessary to protect the ones I love, so whose the villain here, me or the tyrant God that ordered these killings because I wouldn't submit." Jade didn't answer causing Lilith to sigh. "You put all your trust in someone who willingly allows his subordinates to change someone's destiny to fit his desires. Who punishes people who don't follow him, and punishes you for being able to think on your own…"

"I don't particularly care much for the source or any god for that matter, they've screwed with my life enough but overthrowing someone because I don't like so I can put someone I don't trust nor like is stupid," another Reversus caused Jade's body to contort in pain.

"Please don't interrupt me, now let me point out a fact, I'm using the Reversus spell because I have no intention of fighting you before we finished talking, and I'm not telling you how to think or anything of that sort I'm just trying to get my point across, however doesn't the source sound a lot like Ascot… didn't he beat you because you didn't listen to him, for wearing clothes he didn't approve of or friends he didn't like. He tried to control you just like what the source does Jade so by fighting for it your fighting for people like Ascot and everyone else who has tried to use you for there own gain. And don't say that I'm also using you Jade because unlike them I'm giving you the option… they never did Jade and remember I don't need a willingly conduit all I need is for you to be in vicinity of where I will release Seth." Again there was silence, and Lilith could see that Jade was truly thinking this through. "And your so called friends… they are using you for there own personal gain, Bloom only wants Sky, Dani needs you only to show her family that she isn't a complete loser… when the time comes they will betray you, after all didn't Bloom already scorn you once…" Lilith didn't need to finish her sentence as Jade forced herself up to her elbows.

"I'll do it, and that is only because I don't truly believe that you're the evil one, true you may go about it in a way I disapprove on but you're right." Jade's eyes were unusually hard.

Lilith lips curled into a smile as she flashed her fangs at Jade, "Well now you can finally receive my mark."

"What mark?" Jade asked but it was to late Lilith had already sunk her teeth into the base of Jade's neck causing Jade to shiver involuntarily. Lilith withdrew and wiped away her mouth, noting the two small incisions there.

"This is just a mark to prove that you're on my side now," Lilith guided Jade's head down her body was completely paralysed and her eyes seemingly screamed at the huge amount of pain Jade was in, which subsided as she fell into unconsciousness "Don't worry the poison isn't that lethal, and with your advanced healing system the markings should start happening right about now…" Lilith glanced her face once again emotionless as she stared into the beaten faces of the Trix and the vampire. "You failed again I see, if I wasn't in such a good mood you'd all be dead now. One more chance is all your going to get this time… bring me the tear, and we will go and wake up Seth…"

Darcy eyes focused on Jade, "What you do to her? She looks awful."

"You'll see now about the tear…?"

"Don't worry they're hot on our trail and so we can ambush them…" Icy stopped as Jade stirred and red and black markings appeared on the left side of her body. It was an intricate design of horizontal black waves.

"Is she still alive?" Stormy leaned into Jade to take a closer look at Jade's prone body only for Jade's hand to shoot up and grab Stormy's neck her eyes opened her teeth bared. Stormy's eyes widened as she looked into Jade's eyes, shivering slightly as Jade's eyes bore into her soul.

"Sleep," Lilith commanded and Jade let go her eyes closing as she drifted off into a deep slumber. She looked at Stormy about to say something but her attention to the fast approaching Winx club and BOBS, "They'll be here in a few minutes… and the conduit will wake up in a few minutes… finally its time for the final battle to begin."

This place had become so familiar to her in the past couple of years. The first time she had ever reached that she had ever been here was during her fight with Darcy; there she had met Ot. As she had grown stronger she was then able to decipher other parts of her soul mostly her emotions… and then there was living embodiments of her powers, the phoenix force which was Ot, her winx, and her mathematical conduit powers. To reach this state either took one of two things… for her to be nearly dead, or to be in a deep state of meditation and each time she visited this part in her mind she arrived completely corporeal.

Under normal circumstances the pitch-blackness was quiet and calm, however these were not "normal" circumstances as most of her emotions were on the run from something hiding in the depths of the darkness.

"What the hell is going on? What are you running from? "Her voice rang in the darkness causing most of her emotions and embodiments to look at her.

Ot gave her a wry look, "What you succumbed to."

"What do you mean I succumbed too?" Jade bafflement plastered all over her face.

"You made a deal with Lilith, the most evil…" Phoenix force Jade told her.

"Lilith is a shade of grey… I thought I stopped looking at the world as black white, but you never answered my question what are you running from?"

"The Beast," Conduit Jade told her. Jade eyes turned towards the darkness as two glowing red eyes glared back at her.

Jade began to work to the glowing eyes, completely unafraid as she stretched out her right arm, "C'mon one more embodiment can't hurt me… after all I deal with you nearly every day."

And that was her greatest mistake; after all she hadn't expected a part of her soul to attack her. And so brutally too, as a huge gaping hole appeared through Jade's stomach, causing her eyes to widen, as she fell into the dark abyss known simply as her soul, leaving whatever had attacked her in control of her body, mind and soul. And that embodiment had begun to morph not only itself but Jade's physical body as was seen by the markings that had appeared on half of her face and it ran from her neck to the tips of her left arm. Her fingers grew longer her fingernails were now as sharp as claws; her teeth were longer and sharper. At the end of the transformation there stood, a more feral looking Jade one with glowing red irises and that wave like pattern on her left side.

All of Jade's old emotions, and embodiments, stared at the Beast with a look of complete horror in there eyes, some emotions and embodiments even had a look of horror in there eyes.

The feral Jade waved its hand and all of the Jade's embodiments and emotions were thrust into a cage. This was the true power of the Mark of the Beast, a curse that made you completely feral yet completely loyal to Lilith.

"Let the end game begin." Feral Jade thought to herself.

"Jade… kill them all," Lilith told Jade's body as shot up and her eyes opened her eyes and even Lilith was taken aback. "Both of your eyes are supposed to be red… doesn't matter as long as you kill them all."

"Jade wouldn't kill us even if she was under your spell," Makoto pointed out walking over to Jade completely calm.

There was a scream as blood splattered everywhere as Makoto dropped to the ground dead, Jade's hands covered in blood. Jade turned to glare at her friends sending chills down there spines as her blood red eye seemed to go to the depths of there soul. It wasn't just that it was her look she seemed completely unfazed by it. In fact she grinned at them baring her sharper canine teeth and raised her bloodied hand and beckoned for the next person to step forward…

"We're all going to die aren't we?" Ellie said fear etched in her face.

"If Jade doesn't snap out of it… then yes, we will die," Bloom replied.

"Take out Lilith," Ivy said suddenly, "This mark will only as long as Lilith's still living."

"In case you haven't noticed Jade is protecting Lilith we'd have to get through her to get to Lilith," Tecna pointed out.

"We need a distraction… someone strong enough to survive… and strong enough to try and bring back Jade… or if all fails kill her," Bloom said taking charge.

"I'll do it," Aly's voice resounded through the air as she went Winx. "You guy's take down Lilith I'll keep Jade busy for as long as I can walk… or fly."

"Which won't be all that long," Ellie muttered. Aly ignored her and nodded at Bloom who gave her an encouraging grin. This was suicide plain and simple facing someone who had kicked your ass time and time again as training while she read books on philosophy.

"Maybe I…" Bloom began.

"They need you… you're the strongest, besides I need to know if I can do it," Aly gave her a smile.

"Then let's go Ivy, Tecna and Riven, you take Darcy. Musa, Layla, and Ellie you guys go against Stormy. Stella, Timmy and Flora take down Icy. Everyone else take down Achmed. I'll go toe to toe with Lilith this is our last chance people so make it count." Bloom ordered as she to went Winx.

Aly rushed Jade using her powers of wind to create a dust storm, that the group used to there advantage as they rushed there various opponent.

This was it no more room for mistakes… this was now a kill or be killed situation… there would be no more holding back. No more time to stop and catch their breath… no excuses they had to win.

Next chapter: ALY vs JADE