Hi everyone, thanks again for your patience. I know things have been difficult with the problems this site has been having regarding email notifications (among other things), but hopefully this chapter will help raise your spirits. I've been wanting to write this one for a while, especially given it takes place directly after the previous chapter and how it ended. Expect a lot of action and emotional drama here.

Oh, and please take a look on my Fanfic profile as there is an important notice on there, regarding the current issues with the email notification issues and a possible way to still catch my story updates despite said issues. Thank you.

With that said, let's get started.

Weight of the Burden

It was the following morning after the 'Jewel-incident' in the Chan family household. Jade was currently eating a bowl of cereal with a drained look on her face, it was hard to tell whether she was able to sleep or not given what had happened last night, not that her family could blame her as they sat at the table around her, all looking toward her with concern.

"Jade…" Jackie tried to find the right words. "What happened yesterday wasn't your fault."

"Oh really? Even though I gave Will the idea to use an Astral Drop, and that led to Jewel being born and all that?" Jade questioned.

"That may be so, but Drago and the sorceress taking advantage of that situation is on them, not you." Tohru told her.

Jade put her spoon back in her cereal as she had an emotional look on her face. "She was alive…! They made her with my chi! It was… it was like she was a part of me! A part of Will, too! And then Drago just… He killed her…! I mean…. Should I be surprised? Like father, like son! But… she was right there in front of me! Why didn't I do something!?" She exclaimed as she slammed her hands on the table, startling Scruffy who had been eating from his dog bowl near the table.

"Nothing could have been done." Uncle told her. "Drago catch us all by surprise. Jewel, while truly alive, was a being made out of energy. No medical technology could have saved her and no time to use any healing magic."

That didn't seem to help Jade at all as her fists clenched, trying to think of something that she could have done differently. But those thoughts were interrupted as Jackie reached out and gently grabbed his niece by her hand.

"Jade… it wasn't your fault." Jackie said with sincerity and seriousness. "I'm sorry it happened, truly. But… you don't have to deal with this on your own. We're here for you. All of us. Your friends, your family, we are here for you."

The girl looked to her uncle with a teary-eyed expression as she got up from her seat on the table, met her uncle and hugged him, burying her face into his chest as she cried and let out all her pent up frustrations and grief. Jackie wasted no time in returning the gesture as Uncle and Tohru came in close, with Scruffy nuzzling against Jade's legs to provide comfort as well. Despite how frustrated and sad Jade felt about all of it, it felt good to let it out and to know that no matter what, her family and friends were still with her. She wasn't alone in this.


At the same time, a very similar moment was happening at the Vandom residence with Will having her own bowl of cereal, having a clear frustrated look on her face as she sat across from her concerned mother. After the emotional breakdown the previous night, Will had turned in without saying another word to her mother and slept purely out of emotional exhaustion. But ever since she had woken up, she still hadn't had said a single word to her mom, and it wasn't hard for the older woman to understand why.

"Will… I…" Susan began, stuttering for a brief moment before speaking again. "I should have told you that I was seeing Dean. I shouldn't have kept that from you."

"First name basis, huh?" Will commented as she just chewed her breakfast a bit more aggressively, causing Susan to wince slightly.

"Look…. I didn't tell you because… you just seemed to be doing so well and I didn't want you to worry…"

"So, lying and keeping secrets about it was your answer?!" Will questioned. She then sighed as she stood up from her table. "You're the adult, you can date whoever you want, I don't really care." She took her dishes to the sink before heading to the door. "I'm going out for a bit." That was all she said as she walked out the door, leaving her mother alone as all she could do was sit with remorse.


Will had stepped out of her apartment building and was about to head toward the sidewalk, but happened to see her boyfriend standing outside, apparently waiting for her.

"Matt?"

"Hey Will, how are you doing?" He asked, looking toward her with concern.

"I'm fine." She replied, looking away in frustration.

"It doesn't seem like it." Matt said, which only caused Will to grumble even more before Matt spoke again. "I heard what happened with Jewel." That caused Will to wince as her look of frustration mixed with that of grief. Just as Jade felt Jewel was a part of her, Will felt the same thing. "I'm so sorry. I was right there, but I didn't help…"

"Don't. It's not your fault." Will raised her hand. "You were busy with your band, and we couldn't risk anyone in the gym seeing us."

"I guess, but it's not your fault either." Matt said before walking over and placing his hand over hers. "I promise, we'll make sure that fire-breathing psycho gets exactly what's coming to him."

That's right. This was Drago's fault. He and that sorceress partner of his were the ones who took advantage of Jewel, and he was the one who ultimately killed her. One thing was certain, the next time that she saw him, Will would make sure that Drago paid for that. She was going to make him hurt.

"But right now, I'm here. If you need anything at all, just ask me." Matt said.

Will's expression relaxed slightly as she leaned into him. "Right now… can you just keep me company?"

Matt wrapped his arms around her in assurance. "Yeah, I can do that." He said as the two walked away.


After spending a good thirty minutes walking, the couple had arrived at Uncle's Rare Finds. During their walk, Will hadn't really said much of anything to Matt, and he understood why. He didn't press, but he was still by her side every step of the way and given how she leaned onto him during their whole walk, it was clear that she at least appreciated the company. When they opened the front door, they all saw that Irma, Hay Lin, Cornelia, and Taranee were all present alongside Jade and her family.

"Hey Will." Taranee greeted.

"Hi." She nodded. "Where are Alchemy and Caleb?"

"They're in Meridian with Elyon, Blunk, and the Enforcers, trying to make a new spell so they can track down Drago." Cornelia answered.

"Grandma went with them to see if she could be of any help." Hay Lin added.

"Maybe we should go with them." Will said, looking away with anger in her eyes. "So that when we do find him…"

"We'll beat the crap out of him." Irma finished for her before looking to her leader and friend with concern. "But… what about you? Are you doing, okay?"

Will sighed. "Surviving."

Jade then walked toward her best friend and spirit sister. "Hey."

"Hey." Will repeated as they shared eye-contact. There really were no words to say to each other as they both could tell what the other was probably thinking, evident when they wrapped their arms around one another.

However, the tender moment was brought to an end as a green light shined from the back room of the shop, drawing everyone's attention with Uncle being the first to enter and see the Chi-Omatic on the table was glowing, the dial spinning rapidly.

"Aiya!" Uncle exclaimed. Just as everyone else had showed up, they saw a green energy projection shine out from the device, showing a giant, overweight, green-skinned demon with rocky scales, tiny arms, and red eyes.

"I know that demon." Jade commented as the projection changed to reveal a wooden drum and a pair of drumsticks.

"A drum! The immortal relic used to defeat Po Kong, the Mountain Demon!" Uncle stated.

"Looks like it's her chi that's been awakened this time." Tohru observed. "But where is it?"

The projection changed to reveal an aerial view of the country the Demon Chi was currently located in. "Canada." Jackie identified as the projection changed again to reveal a specific town with stone walls throughout the area. "Stone walls… must be Quebec, it is a walled city!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Will stated.

"Whoa, hold on a minute…" Matt stopped his girlfriend. "Will, are you sure…?"

"What? You want Drago and his gang to get their hands on some Demon Chi? We're Guardians, remember?" Will reminded the whole group. "Our job comes first."

"But… Will…" Hay Lin tried to say something.

"No, she's right. We can't let the Knights of Vengeance get their hands on this kind of power." Taranee said. "Especially after recently losing the Thunder Demon Chi."

"Exactly. They'll be more determined than ever this time." The leader of the Guardians said before a serious look formed on her face. 'And if Drago comes to us, it'll be all the easier to bring him down! Hard!' She thought as she clenched her fist in anger, thinking on his smirking face as well as the fading Jewel in her arms.

Though everyone, particularly Jade, looked with concern towards their friend, they all agreed that they had to secure this batch of Demon Chi before it falls into the wrong hands.

"Let's go." Jackie said as they all left the shop.


Meridian

Hak Foo gave a roar as he leapt up from a spot in the cave that served as the hideout for the Knights of Vengeance and went straight for the stalactites on the ceiling. "Dragon Slices Stone!" With several slashes of his hands, the stalactites were all shattered just as he landed on the ground.

"Yo, someone's got their energy back." StrikeMaster Ice observed as he and the rest of the Knights were all gathered at one spot on the cave.

"I imagine he's also venting his frustrations over the loss of the Thunder Demon Chi." Frost commented.

"That and we back to cave hideouts, dog." MC Cobra added.

"Yo, that space needle lair was off the hook!" StrikeMaster Ice said. "Too bad we're stuck down here in cavern hell."

"If it provides us with appropriate shelter, I'm not really complaining." Miranda commented as she sat on a rock in her human form.

"We shouldn't let our guard down." Raythor said to all of them. "Even if we're rather far from the castle, our enemies will still track us down, so we must prepare our defenses."

"Or…!" All eyes looked towards a smaller cavern as Drago and Nerissa exited into the main chamber where their subordinates were. "…We could juice up on the new batch of Demon Chi that just woke up."

"Now I like the sound of that, homeboy." StrikeMaster Ice grinned. "So, what power we got this time?"

"The power of the Mountain Demon." Nerissa revealed. "While not particularly flashy as the Thunder Demon Chi, this power will allow us to, quite literally, crush the enemy underfoot."

"So, pack it up, Knights! We're heading out!" Drago said as he used his ring to open a Fold, allowing a majority of the Knights to enter, save for Gargoyle whom Drago pointed to. "You stay here, big guy. I'll call you if we need some extra titan power here."

The stone beast growled affirmatively as it sat down with Crimson. As the last of the Knights entered the Fold, the half-demon was about to follow them…

"A moment, Drago." Nerissa got her son's attention. "Will seems to have taken Jewel's death rather hard, and she also appears to be having some troubles at home with her mother. I trust you can use that to your advantage?"

The young fire demon grinned with an eager growl. "Oh yeah. I can definitely work with that." He then stepped into the Fold, which disappeared, leaving a sneering Nerissa behind.


Earth – Quebec

The group that consisted of Jackie, Tohru, Will, Jade, Irma, Hay Lin, Cornelia, Taranee, and Matt had all arrived in the Canadian city, following Uncle who had the Chi-Omatic as he led them toward the immortal relic that contained the Demon Chi, wherever it may be.

As they walked on, Cornelia caught up with Jade. "Hey, how are you doing?"

The girl of the Chan Clan sighed a bit. "Still kinda taking it in…" She replied honestly. "But doing a little better."

"That's good. A little better's fine." Cornelia said.

Jade gave the blonde a teasing grin. "Are you trying to be a therapist for me or something?"

"What? Is it wrong that I'm concerned about my friend?" Cornelia commented, surprising Jade a bit. While Jade didn't doubt that she considered Cornelia her friend, they weren't exactly the closest due to their opposing personalities. So it was a surprise to hear Cornelia openly call Jade her friend, but it was a welcome one as Jade genuinely smiled.

"Thanks Cornelia. I appreciate that."

"No problem." The Earth Guardian put a hand on her shoulder as she continued to walk.

"Hey, this is a pretty nice town." Matt observed as he walked by Will's side. "How's about after we snag the Demon Chi, we go out to eat somewhere? I'm sure Jackie and the others can get it to Section 13 just fine."

"That's nice, but I'd rather make sure that it's secure before we do anything." Will replied, getting very serious about this particular mission.

Matt then happened to exchange glances with Taranee, Irma, and Hay Lin, all of whom seemed a bit concerned for Will. While it did seem natural to take this job seriously, she seemed to be focusing a bit too much on it.

"She probably just needs to focus right now. It makes for a good distraction." Taranee said.

"Yeah, I figured." Matt assured.

"Still… gotta be really rough." Hay Lin said with sympathy. "I mean… we all know how close Will and Jade are… the whole spirit sister thing… then they get a third sister… only for her to…"

"Die?" Irma finished. "Yeah… that's…. geeze." The Water Guardian couldn't even imagine something like that, and the very idea that two of her closest friends are actually going through that was rather heartbreaking.

Despite being at the front of the group, Jackie happened to get a basic gist of what was going on with the girls. Jade seemed to be getting the support and doing a bit better, but Will seemed to be focusing too much on the job right now, using it as a distraction, which wasn't necessarily unhealthy or anything, but still concerning. Once they had secured the Mountain Demon Chi, Jackie would make sure to sit down with Will and talk with her about this, just like he did with Jade. He promised Yan Lin at the start of this whole journey that he would be by the girls' side every step of the way and was determined to keep that promise.

"We are here!" Uncle announced to the whole group as they came to their destination, the Chi-Omatic pointing directly to a door of a certain shop.

"'Ancient rice and artifacts collection.'" Tohru read the sign aloud, the English translation directly below the French.

"Rice? I thought we were looking for a drum." Hay Lin said.

Cornelia took the Chi-Omatic to get a good look at it. "This thing's probably busted or something… Ow!" She felt her forehead where Uncle had dope-slapped her before taking the Chi-Omatic back.

"Since when are you Chi expert! Chi-Omatic not broken!" The elder chi wizard chastised.

"Well, why else would we be at rice shop and not a music store or something?" Irma questioned.

"It's here." Will said.

"Will? How do you know?" Matt asked.

She held up the Heart of Kandrakar and looked through the crystal, seeing the door as well as a small batch of dark energy inside the building.

"Well, I'm convinced." Jade said.

Jackie then walked forward and knocked on the door. A young woman with blonde hair in a ponytail opened the door and greeted the group.

"Bonjur. Comment puis-je vous aider?"

Most of the group looked in surprise and confusion, not understanding a word the woman just said.

"Um… Jackie a little help here?" Taranee requested.

"I'm afraid I don't speak French." Jackie revealed.

"What?! But aren't you some kind of world-renowned archeologist?!" Irma questioned. "Isn't it your job to know every language?!"

"Ancient languages, yes. But there's not really a whole lot of excavating in France." Jackie said with a wincing and apologetic smile.

"Tohru?" Hay Lin looked towards the sumo, who just shrugged.

"Don't worry, I got this." Cornelia stepped up. "Bojur. Mesa mis et moi visitons la ville et nous serions ravis de voir votre collection si cela vous convinet."

Everyone blinked with blank expressions, not expecting this at all while the owner of the building gave her response.

"Bien sur. Entrez." She allowed the group to enter the building.

Cornelia turned to her surprised friends with a smile. "My dad's a bank manager and has taken my family on some of his business trips to France. Had to pick up the language to pick up the fashion."

"Wow. Go Cornelia's dad." Hay Lin said.

"Hmm. Uncle impressed." The elder chi-wizard nodded.

"Hey, let's save the praise until after we get what we came here for." Will urged the group as she went inside first, with everyone else following.

The owner led them to the back room, a large two-story warehouse, where multiple barrels of rice were stacked up in every direction, along with multiple ancient tools that were up for display on the first and second floor.

"Merci d'etre venu. Amusez-vous." The owner said to all of them as she gestured to the room before walking away, to which Jackie bowed in thanks before the group began to walk around the large room.

"Uncle knows that people collect many things. But rice?" The elder chi wizard commented.

"Rice has been stapple food in most cultures all over the world." Taranee pointed out. "Guess it has historic value."

"But what's it gotta do with the Demon Chi?" Irma asked.

"Well, the demon whose chi were looking for was a big heavy eater. Maybe that has something to do with it." Jade commented.

"Was that a joke, Jade?" Will questioned.

"No. Really. She would eat anything." Jade replied.

"I'm afraid to ask." Matt commented.

The Chi-Omatic in Uncle's hand began to glow once again, prompting him to follow in the direction he was being led with the rest of the group right behind him. They came to the other side of the room where a large glass case that contained multiple bowls and chopsticks inside.

"Chopsticks?" Hay Lin asked.

Jackie saw that the arrow on the Chi-Omatic was pointing directly at them and that's when he realized it. "Wooden chopsticks!"

"They must have been carved from the drumsticks that were used to play the drum to defeat the Po Kong!" Tohru realized.

"Wow, talk about recycling." Jade commented with a grin.

"Well now that we found it, let's grab it!" Will urged.

"Hold your horses, Will. We gotta find out which chopsticks have it." Cornelia said as she got a look at the case. "Cause it looks there's over a hundred…"

Jackie quickly noticed an incoming fireball in the reflection of the glass and immediately pulled Cornelia out of the way just as the fireball obliterated the case, the resulting shockwave knocking the heroes down, scattering all the chopsticks that were inside, as they all glanced up to the second floor with an open window…

Where Drago, Raythor, Miranda, StrikeMaster Ice, Hak Foo, DJ Fist, MC Cobra, Frost, the Tracker and Sniffer and Sandpit had all arrived.

"Chan fried rice, anyone?" The half-demon sneered.

"Aiya!" Uncle shouted.

"The Knights of Vengeance!" Jackie exclaimed as the heroes picked themselves up, Will especially glaring at Drago.

"Well, well, the gang's all here." Drago began to address his enemies. "Well, not everyone. The kid-queen is missing, along with the old lady, the novice chi wizard, that punk rebel, who else am I missing?" He asked with faux ignorance. "I know I'm forgetting someone." He snapped his fingers a few times. "Jill… Jilly… Oh! That's right! Jewel!" He looked directly to Will as her glare intensified. "As in, the Altemere I barbequed!"

Will already had the Heart of Kandrakar out as she said the magic words. "Guardians Unite!" As the flashy transformation of the assembled girls took place, Drago began to relay his orders.

"Raythor, you're with me! The rest of you, take em down!" He ordered.

"Understood."

"What about the Demon Chi?" Miranda asked.

"Leave that to me." Drago answered just as the transformation finished, revealing Jade, Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin, all transformed as J-WITCH.

Sandpit was the first to attack, blasting a sand twister toward the heroes, to which Hay Lin retaliated with a cyclone of air to block the attack, blasting a wave of sand in all directions as most of the villains had already descended to the first floor. But once the way was clear, Will flew directly up towards Drago and Jade followed.

The remaining Knights of Vengeance began to surround the group when Jackie noticed a bag from a pile of old rice bags had been blown over to his feet. "Uncle, gather all the chopsticks! We'll sort them out, later! Matt, help them! Everyone else, give them cover!"

"Flying Dragon Corkscrew!" Hak Foo spun his body around rapidly and slammed into Jackie, knocking him toward the wall, leaving Jackie to face not only Hak Foo, but also the MC Cobra, the Tracker and Sniffer.

Tohru and Frost grappled with one another; StrikeMaster Ice blew his ice-breath at Irma, who countered with a steam of water from her hands; Taranee threw a fireball at Miranda, who leapt up towards a wall in her spider-form and began to scale it; Cornelia was engaged in hand-to-hand combat against DJ Fist; Hay Lin blasted a cyclone at Sandpit; all the while Matt began to help Uncle collect all the scattered chopsticks.

Will had flown straight towards Drago, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him straight into the wall. When Jade tried to provide a helping hand, Raythor stood in her way as he swung his fire sword at her, prompting her to create a shield made out of shadows and block the strike before condensing it into a shadow-katana and engaging Raythor in a duel.

Despite being pinned against the wall, Drago was able to kick Will back with both his feet and get some distance from her. "I'm sensing some hostility here." He said. Will said nothing as she flew at him and threw a punch, which he rolled to avoid, but not before her fist broke through the brick wall and she glared at him.

"You expect anything less after what you did?!" She called him out before trying to blast him with raw Quintessence energy, but Drago had jumped towards the wall to avoid the blast, scaled across it and leapt at Will with a double-kick to the floor before pinning her with his hands to her wrist and his feet to her ankles.

"What? That little patchwork was just a whimsy. Don't take it so personally." Drago said.

"She was alive!" Will practically screamed. "And you murdered her!"

"And you… just stood by and watched." Drago leaned in close as he gave her his most mocking grin. "Some sister."

With a yell, Will headbutted Drago in the face, and flew forward at high speeds to collide into him and ram him into the wall on the other side of the pathway.

"Ce qui se passe?!" The owner of the building walked in, upon hearing all the commotion going on, but gasped at the magical brawl that was taking place in front of her.

Unfortunately, Miranda happened to notice her. "Ah, a hostage. Perfect." From her spot on the wall, she tried to spit a strand of webbing at her, but Taranee flew in and crossed her arms, which got webbed up. But this was part of her plan as she smirked and lit the webbing on fire, sending a flaming trail straight up towards Miranda. It exploded on contact, sending the spider-girl crashing into a pile of rice barrels, the grain scattering all over her.

"Run!" Taranee told the owner, who nodded before running out as fast as she could.

"Furious Dragon Claws!" Hak Foo lashed out with clawed strikes towards Jackie, who flipped backwards and up onto a pedestal to avoid it, only for said pedestal to be destroyed when the Tracker flailed his mace at it. Jackie fell towards the ground, near a set of old rice hoes for display. When the Sniffer tried to pounce on him, Jackie quickly picked up the old harvesting tools and used one to block the bite of the Sniffer before throwing the hound towards the Tracker as Hak Foo engaged Jackie again. "Strike of the Iron Demon!" Hak Foo threw his fists out, which Jackie blocked with the tools in his hands, crossing them together as Hak Foo brought his fist down before throwing them out to stagger him, giving Jackie an opening to hook Hak Foo by the shoulder with one hoe, spin him around, before sending him stumbling and crashing into both the Tracker and Sniffer. Jackie was then blown away as a lava ball was thrown at his feet.

"Who's up for a game of hot potato." MC Cobra laughed as he threw another lava ball at Jackie, who tried to bat it away with the rice hoe in his right hand, only for it to melt upon contact. MC Cobra then threw another one at Jackie, who slid on his feet towards a rice bag he spotted on the ground before throwing his remaining hoe at MC Cobra's head, briefly distracting him as he held his head, and allowing Jackie to throw the empty sack over Cobra, covering him and giving Jackie a chance to grab a hold and toss the dazed MC Cobra into a stack of containers, all of which were knocked over like bowling pins.

"Strike." Jackie said with a satisfied smile.

Cornelia was knocked into a stack of rice barrels, causing them to tip over as a great deal of rice was spread all over the general area. DJ Fist cracked his knuckles as he approached her menacingly. When he pulled back his fist, he was surprised to see his metallic punch was blocked by a wall of rice that Cornelia raised with her powers.

"Rice is an earth product. You do the math." She trolled before thrusting her hand out to blast DJ Fist with a column of rice, sending him crashing to the other side of the room.

"Yo, hope you packed your coat. Cause this about to get bone-chilled, dog." StrikeMaster Ice said before running towards Irma and trying to deliver a kick towards her, but Irma brought her hands together to generate a large bubble of water to catch Ice by his foot and fell back downwards to use his own momentum against him to vault Ice over.

"Okay, I'm really getting sick of all your punk-talk. Seriously, who even talks like that anymore?" Irma questioned.

Tohru and Frost glared at each other as they continued to press their respective strength against one another. Tohru then threw his belly out at Frost to stagger him before grabbing him, lifting him up, and throwing him away. Suddenly, Tohru was hauled up in the air by a stream of sand before falling back down toward the ground. Fortunately, Hay Lin was able to create a cushion of air to soften his landing and prevent serious damage.

"Thank you, Hay Lin." Tohru said with a relieved smile.

"Anytime." She smiled back, but gasped as she saw Sandpit about to blast his whole body at them, prompting her to create a tornado around herself and Tohru, acting as a shield to blast all the sand away.

Matt had put three chopsticks into the bag that Uncle held. "That all of them?"

"Yes." The elder wizard confirmed.

"Then let's extract the Demon Chi and… Ow!" Matt felt his forehead where Uncle dope slapped him.

"We do not know which chopsticks have Demon Chi, that is why we gathered them all to sort through later! Pay attention!" Uncle chastised.

Matt sighed. "Then let's get out of here while the others hold them off." He and Uncle were about to head to the exit, when Drago noticed them, despite still fighting with Will. He then smirked once again towards Will.

"Since I fried Jewel, how would you like Matt cooked?" Drago questioned sadistically as he grabbed Will by her wrists, flipped her over himself and kicked her in the back to knock her face-first into the brick-wall. "Rare? Medium? Or Well-done?" He asked as he jumped to the first and blasted his fire breath at Matt and Uncle.

"Aiya!" Uncle said as they both ducked, the pair running into the maze of stacked rice barrels with Drago in hot pursuit. Will had pulled herself from the wall, gasping before growling and flying into the maze.

"Will! Wait!" Jade tried to fly after her, only to get blasted in the back by a wave of flame from a slash of Raythor's fire sword, knocking her to the floor.

"You should stay focused on the opponent in front of you." He tried to plunge his sword down, but Jade rolled out of the way as the flaming blade pierced the wooden floor. While she was down, Jade swept her legs to trip up Raythor, quickly flew above him and blasted an all-encompassing shadow-fire to blast Raythor through the wooden floor, sending him crashing to the first floor.

Meanwhile, Uncle and Matt tried to navigate through the maze of rice barrels, but ended up coming to a spot that had no turns to it whatsoever, and the only way was back.

"Now what?" Matt asked as he was the one holding the bag of chopsticks.

"Dead end, boys." They both turned to see Drago grinning maliciously at them. "In more ways than one."

"Does the Son of Shendu want a piece of Uncle?" The chi-wizard challenged as he drew his blowfish, ready to blast him with a stun spell…

Only for Will to ram herself into Drago, both crashing into a stack of rice barrels, the containers and grains inside spilling in all directions, even knocking Matt and Uncle back slightly as Drago grappled with Will.

"Ya know what? Once I'm done with your boyfriend, how I go over to your place and pay your mom a visit next?" Drago asked. He saw Will's enraged expression and knew he hit the mark. "I wonder, does she know about you? How do you think she's gonna take it when she finds out her only child is fighting monsters?"

"Shut up...!" Will growled, but Drago went on.

"Well, when I'm through with her, your so-called spirit sister… might be the only family you'll ever have left."

That tore it! The redheaded leader of the Guardians screamed as she was about to blast a point-blank Quintessence attack, but Drago had swerved under and around her, grabbed her by the back of her shirt and threw her right towards the recovering Matt and Uncle, knocking the bag of chopsticks out of Matt's hand and right into Drago's.

Almost on cue, Frost had punched his way through a wall of rice barrels and joined his leader. "This fight is getting nowhere. Do you have the Demon Chi?"

"Perfect timing, Frost. Hold this." Drago tossed him the bag of chopsticks. "Ya Gaa Mee Mo Ya Gaa Mee Chi Wa! Ya Gaa Mee Mo Ya Gaa Mee Chi Wa!" Streams of dark energy shot from Drago's finger tips and toward the bag of chopsticks that Frost held. The energy was drawn to the Mountain Demon Chi that was connected to a pair of chopsticks within the bag, which was then extracted and went straight to Frost, enveloping him in dark energy and infusing him with the Demon Chi. Just as Will, Matt, and Uncle recovered, only to watch in shock to see the process finishing up.

"Knights! We're done here!" Drago called out to his subordinates before using his fire breath to blast a hole in the wall, leading outside. "Mission accomplished!"

Sandpit acted first, breaking off from its fight with Tohru and Hay Lin as its body converted into a stream of sand to move across the torn up room, gathering Raythor, StrikeMaster Ice, Miranda, DJ Fist, MC Cobra, Hak Foo, the Tracker, and the Sniffer before moving to collect Drago and Frost, who could only grin as he winked at Will.

"No!" Will tried to fly in and stop them.

"Will, wait!" Matt called out, but the sand stream had already flown out of the hole, taking the Knights of Vengeance with it as they escaped into the city.

The rest of the Guardians and Chan Clan regrouped with everyone else as they looked out the hole where the villains escaped.

"What just happened?" Cornelia questioned.

"Frost has absorbed Mountain Demon Chi!" Uncle revealed, much to the group's surprise.

"Oh, that can't be good." Taranee said with a wince.

"We have to go after them!" Will was about to fly out, only for Jackie to grab her by the shoulder and stop her.

"Will, they could be anywhere in the city by now! We won't be able to find them without a plan!" He told her.

"And what if they're back in Meridian?! Drago can open Folds!? Let's open one ourselves and…!"

"Will, you're not thinking straight!" Jade told her, grabbing her best friend by the shoulders and keeping her grounded so she didn't fly off. "Keep a cool head! I wanna catch Drago too, but we can't just be reckless about this!"

"If… Jade of all people is calling you reckless, you know something's wrong." Irma commented with Taranee nodding in agreement.

Despite wanting to argue and go out further, Will knew Jade was right. She let Drago get to her and that also led to Frost getting the Mountain Demon Chi, which only made her more angry and determined to find them. But they weren't getting anywhere just by flying out at random. They needed some kind of plan.

"Fine." She grumbled in acceptance. "What's the plan?"

"They couldn't have gotten far, so there is a chance we can track them down." Jackie began before turning to his uncle. "Uncle, is there a chance the Chi-Omatic can still locate the Mountain Demon Chi even if it's been infused into somebody?"

"Demon Chi is still fresh, so Chi-Omatic can possibly locate it." Uncle said as the Chi-Omatic he held in his hand began to glow, though the green energy around it was faint and flickered in and out.

"I even brought an extra, just in case that one were to be destroyed." Tohru revealed, pulling out the second Chi-Omatic.

"Then we'll split into three groups and search the immediate area." Jackie began. "Irma and Hay Lin, you go with Uncle. Cornelia and Taranee, you go with Tohru. Will, Jade, and Matt, you three are with me. We'll use the Heart to try and find the Demon Chi since it too can help to find it. If we're unable to find them, we'll assume they returned to Meridian and go there to talk to Elyon, Caleb, and the others and bring them in."

"Alright. Sounds like a plan." Taranee said, prompting the party to split into their respective groups and moved out.


As it turns out, the Knights of Vengeance were still in Quebec, having regrouped in a nearby alleyway as Sandpit's body dispersed, allowing the gathered Knights to step out as Sandpit reformed.

"Yo, we got it!" StrikeMaster Ice. "Give me, props!" He told his crew.

"Sweet! Yeah boy!" MC Cobra smirked as he, Ice, and DJ Fist all shared a three-way high-five with each other.

Frost felt his stomach a bit as a loud grumble was heard. "Ugh… I'm starving!" He spotted a nearby dumpster and immediately went over to it, opening the lid and reaching his hand in to pluck out the garbage and began to consume it, much to the disgust of the Knights.

"Disgusting!" Miranda cringed.

However, Raythor's look of disgust became one of surprise as he saw Frost lifting the whole dumpster and letting all the garbage fall out as he ate a great deal of it as it fell out. He threw the dumpster away once it was all emptied.

"I'm still hungry! Give me more food!" Frost sniffed the air as he caught a warm and lovely scent coming from outside the alleyway. This led him to a bakery around the corner. Frost wasted no time in smashing his way through the glass, much to the shock of the customers and bakers. "Get out!" He yelled at all of them, causing the people to scream as they ran out of the bakery, allowing Frost to grab all the bread and baked goods for himself and proceeded to eat them all.

"What is happening to him?" Raythor asked as the Knights gathered outside the bakery to watch Frost eat everything in there. "Frost may be something of a heavy eater, but this is too much, even for him."

"It's called the Mountain Demon Chi for a reason." Drago explained. "Because Po Kong was literally the size of a mountain. Since Frost now has her Chi, he needs fuel in order to gain all her power and strength."

"Yo, you telling me that guy's gonna be as big as a Mount Everest or something?" Ice questioned.

"I have seen Mountain Demon myself and I can confirm it." Hak Foo replied. "She was the largest of all the Demon Sorcerers."

"I believe it, cause the guy's already getting pretty big!" MC Cobra pointed into the bakery as Frost had finished the last of the bread and was already now twice his original size, a dark aura forming around him as he grew even bigger. His eyes glowed blood red, his skin became a bright green as rock-like scales formed on various parts of his body. And as he turned around to face his comrades, a greedy and evil smile formed on his face.

"Food! Must have food!" Frost bellowed with a dark parasitic tongue in his mouth. He broke out of the front of the bakery, the Knights taking a few steps back as they watched the Demon Chi infused Frost, pluck a traffic signal off a lamp post and ate that in one sitting, causing him to grow even more before he began to eat everything around him.

"How long is he going to keep doing that?" Raythor asked.

"Until he's the size of my overweight aunt." Drago answered.

"This is rather similar to when Tarakudo unleashed that one particular tribe of Shadowkhan." Miranda recalled. "The ones that would consume the shadows of others and grow to enormous size."

"Yeah, but Frost won't be limited by just shadows. He'll eat anything and everything in his sight. Or… anyone." Drago revealed with a sinister smile. "Like the Guardians and their friends."

This caused many of the Knights of Vengeance to smirk in response as they moved to follow the continuously growing Frost as he consumed more and more.


Will carried Matt as she flew alongside Jade, who carried Jackie, the group searching from the air over the immediate area, looking across the rooftops and in-between the buildings, but so far they had seen no sign of the enemy.

"Nothing. Let's look at the next area." The Quintessence Guardian said.

"Will, we need to stop." Jackie told her.

"What? You found them?" She asked.

"No. We need to stop and talk. Right now." Despite the sincere tone in Jackie's voice, there was also some finality in there that left no room for arguments. Will also looked at Jade's face and saw that she had a similarly serious expression with a raised eyebrow, even looking down toward Matt who seemed equally concerned.

"Fine." She said with reluctance as they landed on a rooftop. "But it seems like a waste of time. The bad guys got the Mountain Demon Chi so…"

"Uncle and the others will let us know if we find them, but we need to talk about what happened." Jackie said.

"About how I screwed up back there? How it's my fault that they got the Demon Chi?" She questioned irritably.

"Will nobody here thinks that it's your fault." Matt said.

"What if it is?" She crossed her arms and looked away.

"But it's not the reason your mad." Jade stepped up. "We all know the reason." Despite still looking away from them, Will's expression softened somewhat. "What happened with Jewel… I…"

"There wasn't anything we could have done." Jackie spoke up. as he put a hand on Jade's shoulder. "I'm sorry but…"

"Maybe not, but we can at least put the guy who did it in the ground, right?!" Will yelled. "No less than what he deserves!"

"Even if Drago does deserve that, we can't let our anger get the better of us!" Jackie said firmly. "I've been there before and it doesn't help at all. If anything, it can make the situation even worse."

"Kinda like what I just did?" Will questioned again.

"Will…!" Jade still tried to say something, but she wasn't done yet.

"Well, you seem to be doing just fine! What if you're the one who's calm and acting like all that didn't happen! Not upset about Jewel at all!"

"Of course, I'm upset!" Jade yelled back. "I'm devastated for Jewel! I'm furious at Drago! I want to make him pay just as much as you do! But Jackie's right, we can't just keep getting angry about it!"

"Well at least you get to talk to your family, but I can't with mine!" Will practically screamed.

That caused Jade, Jackie and Matt to both look in surprise.

"And apparently keeping secrets runs in the family, because she's been dating my history teacher for a while and didn't tell me about it!" Will went on before giving a hallow laugh. "Guess that makes me a hypocrite, since I've been lying to her for about a year about all this stuff! She thinks I'm so responsible, but I'm not! I'm a liar who can't say anything to my own mother, or couldn't even save my new sister right in front of me!" She threw out a blast of pink energy that blew away a chimney, startling those around her before falling to her knees. Her anger vanishing and leaving only grief and frustration as she put her hands to her face. "God… when did this turn into such a mess…?"

In that moment, they seemed to understand. Jade herself had also known about what was going on with Will's mother, having seen Jewel's memories of Susan and Collins together, but she didn't say anything out of respect for her best friend. Everything all seemed to be happening all at once, it felt like worlds were colliding and it was just too much for Will to bear.

Jackie was the first to walk over to Will and kneel to her level. "I'm so sorry Will. I know…. This is a lot, especially for someone so young. But… we can't always control everything. Even if we do everything right… some things are just going to happen. Some things bad, some things that we don't expect. But, we have to find a way to make it work."

"What if I can't?" Will looked to Jackie with tears in her eyes. "I obviously can't tell my mom about all this! What would she think of it?! And Jewel was literally right in front of me! In front of all of us! Why couldn't we do something?! Why didn't I do something?!"

Jade then sat down by her best friend, Matt right beside her as the former spoke. "Maybe it is a bit easier for me because I get to talk to my family, and we've been doing all this magic stuff for a while. But… you can still talk to us, right? You can talk to me. Isn't that what sisters are for?"

"I know I'm kinda new to all this but… I'm here for you too, Will." Matt also said. "Whatever happens next… whatever kind of crazy magic monster thing pops up… or whatever family drama you got going on… I'll be right here for you."

"We all will. We are here for you, Will. All of us." Jackie said as he gently grasped Will's hand with an encouraging smile. "We are here for you."

She saw the looks of understanding and support from those around her, her teacher, her best friend, and her boyfriend. "Guys… I…"

"Um, hi! Is anyone there?!" The group heard Hay Lin's panicked voice from a walkie-talkie that Jade had on her as she answered.

"Hay Lin? What's up?"

"We found Frost! And he's entered the big leagues! Emphasis on 'big'! We need back up! Like now!"

"W-we're on our way!" Jade was a bit hesitant on responding given how emotional Will appeared to be and was concerned if she was alright and able to keep going.

"Come on, let's go." Will stood up straight.

"Will, are you sure?" Matt asked. "If you need to take five minutes…"

"It's fine." She rubbed her eyes and tried to keep her emotions down for the time being. "We have a job to do and that comes first. But… once it's all done… I wouldn't mind… sitting down and talking with everyone."

Jackie smiled at that. "I think we can arrange that."

Will smiled as she offered her best friend her hand. "Ready to kick some evil butt?"

Jade smiled back as she accepted Will's hand. "You even need to ask?"


People screamed as they ran off the street that was somewhat close to St. Lawrence River from the towering Mountain Demon Chi infused Frost, who was now well over a hundred feet tall, and bearing a much more striking resemblance to Po Kong. As he continued to walk, he reached down to grab whatever he could from lampposts, to mailboxes, to even cars, and proceeded to eat them all like nothing.

"Whoa… Someone seriously needs a diet." Irma commented as she, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Uncle and Tohru tried to catch the growing giant.

"Just how much can that guy eat?!" Cornelia exclaimed.

"Given how big the real Po Kong was, I'd say he needs to eat his complete fill to reach the same size." Tohru theorized.

"And Uncle fears today's special is all of Quebec!" Uncle stated.

"Well can't you cut him down to size before that happens?!" Cornelia questioned.

Uncle pointed his blow fish to try and enact the removal spell, only for the light to fade away as the giant Frost stepped further away. "Frost is too far away! Must be closer to remove Demon Chi!"

"We'll slow him down for you!" Taranee said as she and her fellow Guardians flew as fast as they could to try and catch Frost. Hay Lin, being the fastest flyer, caught up to him rather quickly as she blasted him with a cyclone of air in the back of his head to draw his attention, and stop him from eating a whole truck.

"Hey, Frost Kong! You're gonna give yourself heartburn if you don't stop eating!" Hay Lin called to him. Frost roared in response as he pried a lamppost from the ground and threw it at her. "Whoa!" She exclaimed as she just barely dodged it, watching the lamppost impale into a nearby building.

This also gave Taranee, Cornelia, and Irma a chance to catch up and hover above their target. "Cornelia, loosen the ground beneath him! Trip him up and use his weight against him!" The Fire Guardian told her.

"I'm on it!" The Earth Guardian flew to the ground, placing her hand on the concrete, and channeled her powers directly underneath the giant Frost. This caused a tremor in the area that broke up the ground, which soon collapsed under Frost's enormous weight, bringing him ankle-deep into the ground as he fell face first onto the street.

"My turn!" Taranee landed as her body ignited on fire. She made herself as hot as possible, two condensed balls of pure heat forming in her hand before placing them on the ground. This caused the pavement on the street to melt into tar, which spread all the way to the downed Frost, causing him to sink as he tried to pull himself up, but slipped and fell in, almost completely covering him. "Cool him off!" Taranee exclaimed.

Hay Lin and Irma both exchanged looks and nods as they flew above the immobilized Frost, blasting streams of cooled air and water respectively to rapidly cool the molten tar, solidifying it as Frost was half-way stuck in it and coating the area with steam.

When it was all set and done, and the four Guardians regrouped in the air, Frost was stuck half-way in the street, all his limbs and half of his face were completely stuck as he glared up at the Guardians above him.

"Think that'll hold him?" Hay Lin hoped.

"If not, we're in serious trouble." Irma said.

"It'll slow him down enough for Uncle to catch up and remove the… AH!" Taranee yelled in pain as a blast of ice struck her in the side, freezing her wings and sending her to the ground. Before either of her friends could respond, blasts of fire, sand, ice, and lava were all shot in their direction as Drago, Raythor, StrikeMaster Ice, MC Cobra, and Sandpit emerged from a nearby alleyway and continued to blast long-ranged attacks at the airborne Guardians, forcing them away from the immobilized Frost, with Hay Lin quickly flying down to pick up Taranee before joining the others.

Tohru and Uncle both appeared to arrive on the scene as well. "The girls look like they're in trouble!" The sumo said.

"Then you must help them!" Uncle instructed. "I will enact the removal…" However, Uncle's blowfish was yanked away by a strand of webbing. "Aiya!" He exclaimed as he saw Miranda scaled to a wall, and snagged the blowfish away from him.

"Nuh, uh, uh." She waved her finger with the blowfish in hand before tossing it away.

"Charging Dragon Crushes Mountain!" Hak Foo exclaimed as he and DJ Fist both rushed Tohru, slamming themselves into him and sending the sumo crashing into the wall of a nearby building.

Before Uncle even had a chance to retaliate, the Tracker appeared behind him and pulled the old man into a bear hug. The struggling chi-wizard gasped as he saw the growling Sniffer approach him.

"Uncle is not chew toy! Dog get rabies shot!" The old man said.

Fortunately, just as the Sniffer was about to leap at him, Matt came in with a metal pipe to smack the hound away just as Jackie appeared with a flying kick to Tracker's side, freeing Uncle.

At the same time, as DJ Fist and Hak Foo tried to throw punches towards the downed Tohru, Will had appeared in-between them quickly erect a barrier of pink Quintessence energy to protect Tohru from the strikes before she turned the barrier into a blast to push both of them away. Miranda tried to shoot some webbing at Will from behind, but Jade had caught the webbing in her hands, which were coated in shadows to protect her as she yanked Miranda from the wall and towards a roundhouse kick, knocking the blowfish from her hand and into Jade's as Miranda was sent skidding across the street.

"Guys!" They heard Hay Lin call to them as she, Cornelia, Irma, and Taranee, all regrouped with the rest of their friends, Taranee having used her own fire powers to melt the ice off her wings and enabling her to fly again.

"What's the situation?" Jackie asked.

"We have Frost stuck, but Drago and his goons aren't letting us get in close to drain him!" Cornelia informed.

However, right as she said that, they felt the ground beneath them shake as they turned toward the immobilized Frost, who struggled in his predicament. Cracks formed on the ground the more he struggled before the trap he was in ultimately gave out and exploded outward, with the giant Demon Chi infused warrior escaping with a deadly roar.

"Or, we had him stuck." Cornelia corrected.

"But you can remove the Mountain Demon Chi, right?" Will asked Uncle.

"Yes. Uncle just needs to be close enough." The old man confirmed as Jade handed him his blowfish.

"Okay, here's the plan." Will began. "Irma, the St. Lawrence River is practically right next to us. Remember what you did back at the Titanic? You're gonna use that to keep Frost distracted and let Uncle get in close."

"You got it." Irma nodded.

"The rest of you are going to keep the Knights off Uncle's back while he removes the Demon Chi." Will continued. "Jade, you and I are gonna take on Drago."

"Count on it." The Shadow Guardian confirmed.

"Hey Will… are you sure you're alright?" Hay Lin asked with concern.

Will took a deep breath before answering. "Don't worry. My head is in the game. Just beat the bad guys. Can I count on all of you?"

"Of course." Hay Lin smiled.

"Always." Taranee said firmly.

"When have you ever doubted us?" Cornelia replied confidently.

"Leave it to us." Tohru nodded.

"Then let's do this." Will said as the Guardians, Chan Clan, and Matt all made their way closer towards the towering Frost as he resumed his meal, eating everything he could find on the street.

Once again; Drago, Raythor, StrikeMaster Ice, Sandpit, and MC Cobra unleashed their ranged attacks on the group as they got closer to Frost. Jade quickly raised a large barrier of shadow flames to block their attack before briefly dropping it as she and Will both flew out, gunning straight for Drago, grabbing him by the arms and moving him down to the street.

The current gathering of Knights soon found their way bared by Jackie, Matt, Taranee, Hay Lin, Cornelia, and Tohru, even as Miranda, Hak Foo, DJ Fist, The Tracker and Sniffer caught up. Both opposing groups glared at one another before engaging each other in combat.

Irma flew above Uncle as he moved to catch up with the towering and consuming Frost, whose enormous size made it easier for him to enlarge the distance. The Water Guardian and elder Chi Wizard looked towards one another and nodded as Irma broke off and flew straight towards the river and dove in.

Frost stopped briefly to pick up a truck from the street and was ready to tear it up and bite down, until he felt a stream of water impact his face from the side.

"Hey ugly!" Turning towards his left, Frost looked towards the river to see a giant mass forming up from the water, which took the shape of a giant woman resembling Irma, the real one inside the center as she controlled it. This towering water woman stood on equal height to Frost as she took a martial arts stance. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size!?"

The Mountain Demon empowered Frost roared as he threw the truck at the giant water Irma, who slapped it away with her water arm. Frost roared as he charged directly at her, making his way towards the river and throwing a fist at her, which she blocked by crossing her arms before throwing her own punch to his face, staggering him and leaving him open for Irma to grab him by his shoulders and shove him deeper into the river.

At the same time, Drago was thrown across the street and quite the distance away from his own forces as he faced both Will and Jade together. The half-demon growled slightly before grinning.

"Ready for round two, huh Will? Or I guess I should say… ready to lose your other sis?" He taunted.

Will growled as she almost gave in to his taunts but felt a firm yet gentle grasp on her left hand and looked towards Jade, who held her hand with her own as she gave a serious yet understanding look. This caused Will to calm down slightly as she turned to face their enemy.

"I'm not giving into you again, Drago. You are going to pay for what you did." Will swore.

"We will make sure of that." Jade vowed.

This caused Drago to growl again, seeing how his taunts probably won't work if Jade's presence is helping Will to keep her emotions in check. Oh well, he still had a backup plan.

"Two on one hardly seems fair. So, let's even the odds a little bit." He used his Ring to open a Fold in front of them. They saw a giant silhouette emerging from the fold, prompting them to fly back slightly and get some distance as they both looked in surprise to see Gargoyle enter the scene, the Fold closing behind it. Though the beast was not as tall as Frost was currently, his enormous size was still intimidating.

"Bad day." The spirit sisters said simultaneously as they both flew to avoid the stomping crush of Gargoyle's club-hand. Drago had also climbed up to the top of Gargoyle's head as he blasted his fire breath at the pair while they were airborne.

MC Cobra threw multiple lava balls towards Hay Lin, but she was able to fly over and around each attack before creating an air-sphere in her hands to blast into Cobra as she closed the distance and blow him away. Taranee was then sent colliding into Hay Lin from a stream of sand courtesy of Sandpit, who then encircled around the pair while they were down. However, his sandy form was quickly blown away as Hay Lin and Taranee combined their respective elements to create a flaming vortex, which they expanded outward to explode and blast Sandpit in multiple directions.

Cornelia pressed her hand to the ground and sprouted multiple large roots from the concrete and used them to completely ensnare DJ Fist before lifting him up rather high and slamming him down to the ground, creating a large impact where he landed. Suddenly, Cornelia was ensnared by the Tracker's mace as he pulled her back toward the ground. However, Tohru quickly came to her aid as he stomped on the chain and grabbed it with his right hand, only for Miranda to come in from Tohru's left side and shoot some webbing out, which Tohru raised his left hand to block, which only caused his limb to be ensnared. The Tracker and Miranda both pulled on their respective tethers to try and pull Tohru from opposite directions and keep his arms apart.

"Never was a big fan of tug-o-war." Cornelia commented as she once again channeled her earth powers in opposing directions, creating tremors across the ground that broke up the concrete beneath the Tracker and Miranda, causing them to lose their focus as Tohru brought his arms together, pulling them both in to slam them into one another. Cornelia pulled herself free from the chains and shared a high-five with Tohru.

"Angry Dragon Descends!" Hak Foo had jumped into the air and came back down feet first to try and crush Jackie, who backflipped to avoid the stomping crush, but ended up backing towards StrikeMaster Ice, who blew his ice-breath at him, but Jackie performed a split with his legs, causing him to duck as the ice-breath flew over him and impacted Hak Foo as he tried to sprint at Jackie, literally freezing him in his tracks. Jackie and Ice the engaged in hand-to-hand.

Matt backed against the side of a building as Raythor advanced on him with his fire sword, but Matt quickly spotted a trash can with a filled garbage bag next to it. He rolled out of the way to avoid Raythor's slash, grabbed the can and threw it at Raythor, which he intercepted with a swing of his fire sword to cut the can to pieces, but this left him open for Matt to rush him the garbage bag, swinging it into his face to disorient him before grabbing Raythor by the wrists and spun himself around before letting Raythor go to send him tumbling into Ice and knock him away from Jackie. The man smiled and gave a thumbs up to Matt, who returned the gesture in kind.

Will and Jade flew in circles around Gargoyle as the giant tried to strike them both with his hand and club. The two would have gone on the attack already, but Drago made that incredibly difficult by blasting and throwing multiple fire balls at the pair to keep them at a distance. Jade tried to close said distance by conjuring a shadow-shield in one hand to block Drago's flames whole forming a shadow-spear in the other to lunge at him, but Drago swerved around it and tried punched Jade down before ensnaring her foot with his tail and swinging her outward before blasting her with a point-blank inferno from his mouth to knock her to the ground. Will was quick to fly and land next to her.

"Crush them!" Drago ordered.

Gargoyle quickly lifted its club hand and brought it down toward them, with Jade and Will both throwing out their hands and using their powers on instinct just as the club was about to impact them.

Only for something powerful to intercept the club, shielding the pair from Gargoyle's strike as Drago looked in clear surprise at what he saw.

It was a barrier that rapidly pulsated pink Quintessence with black shadows, both opposing magics mixing together as Will and Jade had their hands extended, their respective powers coming together like they were drawn to one another. Such an act was a surprise to both of them as well, but that wasn't what really surprised them.

"Jade… You… you feel that… right…?" Will muttered.

"Yeah… it's like… someone else is here…" Jade's eyes slowly widened as she and Will exchanged shocked expressions.

Though they couldn't see it, they could feel her. It was almost as if an individual in a spiritual form had appeared before them. This individual was Jewel, like she was reaching out with a gentle smile to clasp both Will and Jade's hands and bring them together, bringing the streams of pink and dark energy together like a spiral.

Will and Jade both had emotional looks on their faces before they became serious, standing closer together, the spirit of Jewel right in-between them, as they channeled more of their powers together. Drago's own eyes widened as he saw the pulsating barrier change as the Quintessence and shadows all flowed together, creating an emblem that resembled Yin-and-Yang.

With a combined yell, the spirit sisters pushed back with all their might. The Yin-and-Yang barrier exploded in a flash of purple light, one so powerful that it sent the mighty Gargoyle and Drago flying and crashing into a nearby building.

The energy quickly faded as the two girls gazed at one another. They both felt her presence. There was no denying it.

"She's… she's still here…" Will said with a shaky voice.

"I don't think she ever left…" Jade replied in the same tone as she and her best friend smiled emotionally at each other.

But this took their eyes off the recovering Drago and Gargoyle as the former pulled out his ring. "Time to go." He used his ring to open a Fold, allowing the pair to escape.

Meanwhile the Mountain Demon empowered Frost continued to engage in a Kaiju battle with Irma's giant water body, the towering monster throwing a punch out, which Irma parried with her right arm before forming a spiked mace made out of ice in her left fist and smashed it into Frost's face before she followed through with a kick to his stomach, knocking him back and bringing him to his hands and knees. However, Frost was quickly to recover upon spotting the real Irma at the center of the water body.

With all the strength he could muster, the giant Frost roared as he threw his fist into the gut of the water body, grabbing Irma and yanking her out. Once she was outside, the water body completely fell apart and into the river below.

"Dinner time." Frost licked his chops, ready to eat the girl in his hands. However, Irma had noticed down below that a certain old man was now close enough to the bank of the river to begin using his spell.

"Sorry, but I think you've had your fill." Irma smirked just as Uncle casted the removal spell.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." As Uncle chanted, he held a blowfish in one hand and the Chi-Omatic in the other. A blast of Chi-magic was shot out from the blowfish to strike Frost, causing the dark aura of the Demon Chi to form around him before it was extracted.

"Nooooo!" Frost bellowed as he felt the power leave his body, dark energy moving up from his body and down toward Uncle, where it was sucked in by the Chi-Omatic.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." The last of the Mountain Demon Chi was contained within the uncle-made device, a dark spectral image of a pair of chopsticks appeared in the containment jar, indicating the Mountain Demon Chi was now contained.

Frost's body then began to rapidly shrink, forcing him to let go of Irma. By the time he was normal size, he was sixty feet in the air and would have fallen into the river had Irma not caught him. He smiled nervously at her, while she just smirked mischievously.

The hunter was dropped onto the pile of the defeated Knights of Vengeance as most of the heroes gathered around them in victory. Raythor glaring toward Jackie specifically.

"This is not over!"

"Actually, I think it is." Jackie said firmly with crossed arms.

Suddenly, a Fold had opened up directly underneath the defeated Knights, causing them to fall in just before it closed.

"Or it's really not over." Irma grumbled.

"Drago." Tohru realized in a low growl.

The group they looked to see Will and Jade arriving on the scene. "The Mountain Demon Chi?" Jade asked.

"Contained." Uncle revealed the captured power in the Chi-Omatic.

"Good." Will said with relief before sighing towards her friends. "Guys… about before I… I'm sorry."

"You wanna talk about it?" Hay Lin asked sincerely.

"…Yeah…I think I need to…" The redhead said in physical and emotional exhaustion.


After returning to their normal forms, the Guardians, Chan Clan, and Matt all went to a secluded area to talk as Will opened up about the situation involving her mother. All those that didn't know listened to what she had to say and were rather sympathetic with her plight, even as Will sat down on a bench with Matt and Jade by her side.

"Oh man… your mom and Collins…?" Cornelia asked.

"Yeah…" Will confirmed.

"And you only found out after Jewel…" Hay Lin couldn't even finish her sentence.

"Jeeze Will… I'm sorry…" Irma apologized.

"Thanks… but I don't think Jewel's really gone though…" Will began, getting her friends' attention. "It's hard to explain but… when Jade and I combined our powers… it kinda felt like she was there with us. I don't know… I don't really get it myself…"

"The High Mystic said that Jewel lives in the spiritual bond formed between Will and Jade." Tohru began. "Since she was created from their merged Chi, maybe she still exists as a part of them."

"And perhaps their powers combining together helps that spirit to manifest." Uncle went along with his apprentice theory. "A spirit formed from combined chi. Very interesting."

"So… does that mean we can get her back?" Jade asked hopefully. "Like her own body or something."

Uncle thought for a moment. "Possibly. But not guaranteed."

That seemed to cause Will and Jade to exchange hopeful glances with each other. The idea of getting Jewel back did sound very pleasing to them. And yet, even if it weren't the case, they both knew that Jewel was a part of them, living through their own unique bond. They still had their third spirit sister and it made them all the happier.

Will then gave a slightly hallow laugh. "You guys wanna know something funny? I don't think I even can be mad at my mom for lying about her dating. I mean, I've been lying practically since I got to Heatherfield and met all of you."

"Well… to be fair, our secrets are kinda life-and-death so… you really had to lie." Taranee put in.

"Exactly. You have a legitimate excuse." Irma added.

"But it still doesn't quite feel right." Will said. "I mean, Matt here knows. And… a government agency knows to so…"

"Will… do you want to tell your mom about this?" Matt asked.

"…Maybe?" She shrugged, sounding unsure herself. "But… how would she take it? Me lying and fighting killer monsters? She would probably kill me. But… I don't know…" Once again, her emotional exhaustion returned in spades as she felt completely stuck, not knowing what to do next.

Jackie sympathized with her plight. It really did feel like everything was happening all at once for her, somewhat similar to what happened with Jade's birthday. Though he was proud of all the girls and how far they've come, how much they've grown as people, they were all still kids who should enjoy their youth while they still had it. That being said, he knew what to do next.

"Girls. Why not take a vacation?"

They all looked towards Jackie in surprise. "A V-Vacation…?" Will questioned.

"You've all been through a lot." He began. "And you deserve a chance to rest. Spend a week, maybe even longer, not worrying about whether or not the world will end. Take a break, because you don't just deserve it, you may need it."

"But… isn't there still more Demon Chi out there?" Hay Lin asked.

"Let's see… First we had the Wind Demon Chi…" Taranee recalled. "Then Water… Earth and Moon at the same time…"

"Don't forget our repeat of Earth with Martin." Irma added.

"Then we had the Sky Demon Chi in Salem… and Thunder in Seattle…." Taranee continued. "Now the Mountain Demon Chi… that's seven demon powers."

"That just leaves one." Jade said in a serious tone. "Shendu's power."

"Do we even have to worry about that, though?" Cornelia asked. "Drago already has his daddy's power. Kinda seems redundant."

"Even if Drago doesn't go for it, someone else could get their hands on the Fire Demon Chi and that could still spell trouble." Taranee said.

"If the Fire Demon Chi awakens, Uncle, Tohru and I can handle it." Jackie said, gesturing to his friend and uncle. "We have experience dealing with Shendu's power."

"And if we do need help, we can always ask Captian Black to help assemble the J-Team." Tohru added. "I think you girls could use a break."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Even Matt agreed. "Will, you and your friends have probably saved the world a hundred times already. Give yourself some time off."

The girls all exchanged looks with one another before reaching a conclusion.

"You know… a vacation does sound nice." Hay Lin beamed. "It's summer and school's out, so let's treat it like how kids our age always treat summer!"

"No books, no homework, no super villains or psychotic demons? I'm in." Irma smirked.

"Yeah… this girl needs some stress relief." Cornelia waved her hair. "A trip to the beach sounds perfect."

"I think we all could use some time off." Taranee said with a smile. "Can't even remember my last vacation."

"Let's do it, then!" Jade stated. "And hey, if the Fire Demon Chi pops up before we go on break, that'll be even better because we'll have nothing else to worry about. What do you say, bestie?" She asked Will, pulling at her arm.

Will couldn't help but giggle. "Since when are you the voice of reason?" She gave a relieved sigh. "Yeah. I'd love a vacation."

Jackie smiled. "I'll get in touch with all your parents, and we'll get it arranged. You girls have more than earned a rest."

'Parents…' Will thought. Having been able to talk this out with her friends did help relieve some of the stress she'd been feeling, not to mention the idea of going on a vacation and taking a break from being a Guardian did sound nice, but she still had some unresolved business with her mother. But now, she had a good idea of what to do next.


Heatherfield - Later That Evening

"Mom… I… about this morning… I'm sorry…" Will began as she spoke to her mother in their apartment, after coming home.

"No, Will… I'm sorry." Susan said, slightly raising her hand. "I shouldn't have kept it a secret. I should have told when Dean and I started dating."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Will asked. "I said before I don't have a problem with you dating. I mean, my history teacher… it's awkward, but it's fine. What, we're you gonna tell me at the wedding?" Though that was meant as something of a jest to let out her frustrations, it did cause Will to worry slightly regarding that particular thought. "You're not planning to marry him anytime soon, are you?!"

"No! No!" Susan raised her hands defensively. "This only started a few months ago! And neither of us are even considering that right now!" This caused Will to sigh of relief before Susan continued. "I didn't tell you because… I was worried that you wouldn't like it. And… with how well things have been going for you… I just didn't want you to stress out or anything… but I was wrong. I'm sorry."

Will sighed once again. "Are you two happy together?"

"Yes… of course." Susan confirmed.

"That's all I really need…" Will said. "You're the adult and you date who you want, and if he makes you happy… then great. Just please… let me know about stuff like this, okay?"

"I will. I promise." Susan assured.

Now it was Will's turn to talk. "Speaking of stress… I haven't exactly… Well… things have started to get a little… hectic for me recently. And Jackie talked about us… as in, Jade, myself, and all our friends… going on a group vacation sometime this summer. Just letting you know." Will looked away slightly as she nervously rubbed the back of her head. "He'll call you and everyone else to work out all the details but… I think I need this. Just some time off and not worry about stuff. Is… is that alright with you?"

Susan smiled to her daughter as she slowly walked up to her and hugged her warmly. "I think that sounds nice." Will wrapped her arms around her mom, feeling some relief over being held in her arms like this. "Will, I'm glad that you have friends you can confide in but, you can talk to me too if you feel stressed about something."

"I know… and… maybe I will tell you all about it… just not right now. Gotta sort some things out." Will said.

"That's fine. Take your time. And whatever it is, nothing will change between us." Susan replied.

"You promise?" Will tightened her grip.

"I promise." Susan said without hesitating.

'Okay, Mom.' The leader of the Guardians thought to herself. 'Someday… I will tell you everything. That's my promise.'


However, unbeknownst to either the mother or daughter, a certain sorceress had seen and heard everything via the crystal in her staff.

"Yes… a vacation does sound like a splendid idea." Nerissa mused sinisterly.

Done.

Yeah, this was a direct continuation of the previous chapter where Will and Jade were both realign from what happened with Jewel. While Jade is still coming to terms with it, she at least had the support of her family; while Will had a more difficult time considering she can't exactly talk to her mother about this kind of stuff, not to mention her finding out about her mom's secret relationship with her history teacher certainly didn't help. So, this definitely made for an emotionally wringer of a chapter.

Fortunately, Jackie has come up with the wise idea of having the girls go on vacation and take some time off from their work as Guardians, while the Chan Clan keeps an eye out for the Fire Demon Chi, the last of the demon powers. But of course, Nerissa is now clued in, and we all know she's going to use it to her advantage, that witch (substitute the 'w' for a 'b' LOL).

I certainly had a nice time writing this chapter, particularly the action and the emotional moments, especially that one moment where it's revealed that Jewel may still be with them. What does this mean for the future though? We'll just have to see.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and that it's helped to get past the frustrations of all the issues the Fanfic website seems to be having. Writing's always been something of a stress reliever for me, so it's helped me quite a bit.

I'm looking forward to the next chapter, and here's hoping everything is fixed by then.