Hi everyone.

Before we begin… I want to pay acknowledgement to the sudden and unfortunate passing of Akira Toriyama, the creator of "Dragon Ball" whom we lost recently due to a blood clot in his brain. His work was not just any manga/anime series… it is one of the core series that brought anime to western audiences and served as a foundation and inspiration for a lot of what we have now. The man had created something that has probably changed a lot of lives and left a lasting impact on all of us all across the world. Let us both mourn a brilliant artist and celebrate everything he did for us. Rest in peace, Akira Toriyama, for you have created a legacy that has and will continue to span generations to come.

….

Now, regarding my story, I'm so glad that my last chapter, which was my take on Nerissa's fall from grace, was handled so well. Though questions from a lot of you have arose from that as well, specifically how Uncle and Yan Lin have not recognized Drago after what had happened to him and Nerissa all those years ago. You'll get an answer here in this chapter.

And so, without further delay, let's get started.

The Uncertain Present

"…Is anyone else worried that we haven't heard from Caleb and Elyon in… I don't know… weeks?!" Will questioned as she, Jade, Hay Lin, Cornelia, and Irma all hung around in Uncle's Rare Finds while Jade herself was feeding Scruff.

"Not really." Cornelia said. "Caleb knew I was traveling during the summer, and Meridian is definitely a roaming charge."

"Yeah, they're probably busy cleaning up all the damage the Knights left behind." Jade assumed before looking away slightly "But… Uncle's still out of it."

"Still?" Irma questioned. "Geeze, I know old people sleep a lot, but that's gotta be one serious magic comma to keep him out of commission."

"And the old lady who knocked him out is still out there, along with Drago and Miranda." Hay Lin added.

"But we did capture all the Demon Chi, right?" Cornelia recalled. "Is there any more damage they can even do now?"

"It's gonna be harder to fight them now with school starting back up." Jade commented.

The front door opened as Jackie stepped in with Taranee and Alchemy right behind him. "Oh good, you girls are all here. I was planning on calling you over."

"Yeah, we were all in the neighborhood and just decided to hang out." Will said. "But wait… you were gonna call us over? Is something going on?"

"Well, I've been doing some research while on vacation…" Taranee began.

"Taranee, the point of summer vacation is to not do homework." Irma told her in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Well, what if said homework could decide the fate of the world?" Alchemy questioned, which got all the other girls' attention as Taranee set down her laptop on a table and everyone gathered around it.

"Like I said, I was doing some research while on my trip… my topic being the Demon Sorcerers." She revealed as she pulled up all the data she had, including photographs of said demons in their modern-day fights against Jackie, courtesy of Section 13, and even pictures of old hieroglyphs and stone carvings. "Eight demonic overlords who ruled the Earth in ancient times. Bai Tza, the Water Demon; Tso Lan, the Moon Demon; Po Kong, the Mountain Demon; Tchang Zu, the Thunder Demon; Dai Gui, the Earth Demon; Xiao Fung, the Wind Demon; Hsi Wu, the Sky Demon; and last but not least…"

"Our favorite dragon." Jade finished for her.

"Shendu, the Fire Demon." Taranee confirmed.

"Taranee came to me after she got back from her trip, and we went to Jackie to use his archeological connections to see what information we could find about demons during the time they ruled." Alchemy said.

"At one point, they ruled every corner of the globe." Jackie said as Taranee pulled up a world map with every continent highlighted to show where one of the Demons ruled at that time.

"Yeah, we already know that." Jade said. "Even Bai Tza ruled Atlantis at that time."

"You know at this point, the idea of Atlantis even existing, doesn't even surprise me." Cornelia commented.

"Yes, but the Demons' reign came to an end when the Eight Immortals banished them to the Netherworld with the Panku Box." Jackie continued.

"But wait, I thought Shendu was turned into stone." Hay Lin recalled.

"Actually, our research showed that Shendu ruled over his own domain twice over." Alchemy replied. "First was when he and his siblings were running around, and then after the others were banished."

"But if Shendu was banished with the other Demons, how'd he come back?" Will asked.

"Our research doesn't quite answer that, but we can take a guess based on our own experiences." Jackie explained. "Shendu was resurrected in Meridian thanks to Daolon Wong. One time, Uncle told me that there were other Dark Chi Wizards throughout history, Wong was not the only one."

"So, there was another evil wizard back then who pulled dragon-breath out?" Irma guessed.

"We can assume so, yes." Jackie confirmed.

"Okay, but why are you even researching these guys?" Jade questioned. "We already know everything there is to know about them, and they're all locked up in that same inter-dimensional slammer."

"It's not those Demons I was worried about." Taranee said. "It was Drago…"

"What there's an old scroll about the demon prince ruling his dad's castle or something?" Cornelia questioned sarcastically.

"No… there's nothing on Drago. At all." Taranee revealed, much to everyone's surprise. "We looked up everything we could about both times Shendu ruled, but there's no mention of an heir or anything."

"Uncle, Tohru, and I had already conducted research on Drago after our first encounter with him, but we found nothing." Jackie added.

"But… Elyon confirmed that Drago was Shendu's son… right?" Will asked.

"She did." Alchemy nodded.

"How exactly did scale-face even have a kid, anyway?" Irma questioned.

"Shendu is a dragon, a reptile." Taranee responded. "And some reptiles reproduce asexually, maybe that's how Drago was born. But that's not why I conducted this research."

The girls all looked to each other with concern. "So… why do it?" Jade asked.

"If Shendu did have a son, even though there's no mention of him in any form of history or mythology… who's to say that his siblings couldn't do the same thing?"

"Wait... back up…!" Will stood straight at that. "Are you saying there are other demon kids out there?!"

"Next gen Demon Sorcerers…" Jade shivered at the very thought of it.

"I wouldn't worry about that." Jackie quickly assured the girls. "Drago was able to locate each of the Demon Chi when they activated because he is their kin. If the other Demon Sorcerers had children, then they would have gone after the Demon Chi too."

That caused them all breathe a huge sigh in relief. "Well, that's good to know." Hay Lin said.

"Yeah, Drago's already enough of a headache. The last thing we need are for him to have any cousins." Cornelia pointed out.

"Even if Drago is the only demon-kid out there, we still don't know where he came from, or how he was even born." Alchemy said. "But… I have a gut feeling that old lady might be involved somehow."

"The old hag who KO'd Uncle?" Jade asked.

"And we still got no clue who she is." Irma pointed out.

"We do know that she has some kind of connection with Drago." Jackie said. "We need to find out what that connection is, if we are to have any hope of stopping them."

Darkness… that was all he could see… How long had he been like this? How much time has passed since he saw…

Nerissa…

That name alone. That stirred up so many memories, both good and bad. A time in Jin's life that he would never forget. He had met five extraordinary women and traveled all over the world he had called home, even traveled to other worlds, battled monsters and villains, saving lives. He had felt like he was part of new generation of Immortals, just like the legendary heroes of Ancient China he read about.

But then, it had all come to a horrific end.

He had lost one friend… and one he considered a sister was imprisoned. Their group fell apart and they all went their separate ways. He dedicated himself to becoming a Chi Wizard, to become someone that would stand against the dark forces should they arise, even without Guardians patrolling the infinite dimensions. Granted, he knew that one wizard could not change the fate of the universe or anything so grand… but if he could save one life… it would be worth it.

And he has done all of that, and then some. Not only that, but he has also passed his knowledge and teaching onto a new generation. His nephew, his great-niece, he had found an apprentice and they have influenced this new generation of Guardians who were already well on their way to surpassing their predecessors.

But now… that dark past has come back to haunt them.

Nerissa has returned. What was once a kind and beautiful woman had now been twisted and corrupted into something ugly and destructive. Something that has endangered his family and countless others. And…

She wasn't alone.

"A child… inside me…!"

"She's pregnant!"

"That's just it… I don't know what it is…"

"Nerissa… that… child…"

"I fell into a pit… an old mine… it was the home of a demon."

"…It had me bare its child."

"He is my son!"

"…Let's raise him ourselves."

"DRAGO!"

Drago…! It couldn't… it couldn't possibly be the same Drago, could it?! He never even knew the name of the demon that had forced itself onto Nerissa! They even searched that mountain after… that horrible incident. They found the old mine as she described, but there was no sign of the demon. She claimed to have killed it and he believed her. Did she lie…? Thousands of demons have existed throughout history, not just China, but Japan and other lands throughout the Earth. They even battled a few when all six of them were still together.

But if it's true… And this Drago is indeed the same one that Nerissa bore… then the demon she bedded with was…

"Uncle! Uncle!"

A vision of his own face had appeared throughout the darkness. Why was he here?

"Not important!" The vision said upon reading his thoughts. "Awakening, is! You have discovered that the Drago that you are fighting is the same child that Nerissa had birthed! You must awaken and tell the others what you know!"

Awaken? How…? He feels nothing. He hears nothing. All he sees is darkness. Isn't he dead?

"Aiya! How can you be dead?! Nerissa put you under a sleep spell!" The vision chastised.

Oh… Right.

"One more thing. Slap Oracle on head when you awake!" The vision told him.

Oh, he most definitely will do that.

"Now for you to awake!" A spectral hand appeared in the void to deliver a dope slap.

"Ow!" Uncle shot up, finally awakening and holding his forehead.

"Sensei!" Tohru exclaimed in relief as he, Yan Lin, Halinor, and multiple Ben-Shui monks, including the High Mystic, had all gathered together with Uncle laying on the bed in the monastery, all of whom looked with smiles as they were happy to see Uncle finally wake up.

"Tohru… Yan Lin… Halinor… where…?" Uncle looked around.

"The Ben Shui temple." Yan Lin explained. "You've been out for more than two months."

"Sensei, so much has happened since you were put under that spell. I don't even know…" Tohru tried to speak, but Uncle was already attempting to stand.

"Tell Uncle later! First, we must…" Uncle briefly loss his balance, but Yan Lin and Halinor were quick to catch him before he could fall over.

"Jin, you have been lying still for more than two months!" Halinor told him. "Your body needs time…"

"Body's state not important! We must get to Mount Thanos, now!" Uncle stated.

That requested caused Yan Lin and Halinor to look in clear shock. Out of all the things they were expecting Uncle to say when he awoke… that was one thing they never expected to hear from him.

"Mount Thanos?" Tohru asked.

"It is a dark and cold place." The High Mystic explained. "Not a place of evil, but one where no one dares to venture. A mountain so cold that it gets no sun light. It is lifeless."

"Jin…" Yan Lin looked to him with a worrisome yet serious expression. "Why do you have to go there?"

Uncle looked towards his former flame with an unsarcastically fearful look in his eyes. "The darkness of our past, now threatens the present of our families."

Meridian

Nerissa gave a cackle as she shot a large bolt of Quintessence power from the palm of her hand, a bolt so strong and powerful that it leveled a whole house in a village. Now that she wielded the Heart of Meridian, not only could she safely use her Quintessence without sapping her life-force, having used her crystal staff from before as a medium to provide some aid in that regard, her own power was now five times stronger than it ever was. And she wasn't the only one having fun.

Her son stood on the rooftop of another house as he used his fire-breath to blow away at the foundation of the wooden building in front of him, causing it to burn and collapse at the same time. Drago then turned in the direction of his father, seeing Shendu raise both his fists to smash the buildings in his path before waving his claws and hands around to demolish everything in sight. Despite not having any of his Talisman powers, Shendu's overwhelming physical form was still a force to be reckoned with.

Miranda also appeared to be participating in the onslaught, though her spider form appeared to be different. It was no longer black, but dark green. Her quadrupedal legs were now clawed and scaly with her fur also being dark green and the tips extending even more. She spat silky webbing, which was also lit on fire, to set the whole ground ablaze.

"Hmm, not as powerful as when I wielded the Water Demon Chi." Miranda mused to herself, looking toward her hand. "But still quite the improvement."

"That's just a taste, Miranda." Drago leapt to her level, having given her a portion of his own Fire Demon Chi beforehand. "Soon, we'll have more power than we can possibly know what to do with."

"Oooh." Miranda lulled as she shifted back into her human form, which somehow looked just like her young adult form she had assumed back in Hawaii. "I like the sound of that." The two stared at each other in a menacing-yet-intimate sort of manner.

However, the moment was soon ended by the sounds of battle cries as they turned to see several soldiers, led by Caleb (with Blunk on his shoulder) and the Enforcers, arrive on the scene and charge directly at them.

"Why do they even bother?" Miranda questioned.

"False hope. It's as contagious as it is annoying." Drago said before calling out to his parents. "Yo, Mom! Dad! We got company!"

Both Shendu and Nerissa turned to see the charging soldiers and looked more amused than anything else. "Shall I slaughter them?" Shendu asked, flexing his claws.

"No, we still need messengers." Nerissa flexed her hand again and activated her powers. "Quintessence!" Rather than one massive bolt, dozens of smaller bolts were shot out and straight for the soldiers, drawing to their weapons like lightning to a lightning rod. The second her power touched the weapons, more than two thirds of the soldiers all had their weapons pulled from their hands, which floated in the air, before striking their original owners, slicing and cutting them every which way. Anyone that had a shield would provide some cover while the others would seek shelter and grab whatever they could use as a shield.

Those that did still have their weapons soon found themselves cowering before Shendu. "It really only takes one to send a message. We don't all of you alive." He swept his backhand at the soldiers in front of them, sending five of them flying and crashing into the burning buildings. He lifted his left foot to stomp on and crush two more as they tried to run away. He even grabbed another guard and put him into his mouth, before biting down, with blood oozing out from between his teeth as the Fire Demon sneered.

Drago and Miranda were soon met by Finn, Caleb, Ratso, Blunk, and Chow, four of them having their weapons out while the Passling hid behind Ratso's leg.

"Take care of the three stooges. That one is mine." Drago told Miranda, pointing towards Caleb, who glared as he held his katana and rushed Drago, who stepped back and allowed Miranda to face the others.

"I suppose I could use some fodder to test my new powers on." Miranda smiled as she, while still in her human form, generated a fireball in her hand, which she threw out towards the Enforcers as they and Blunk all scattered to dodge and avoid. Miranda put her fingers together before forming a web of fire in her hands which she quickly expanded to take the form of a large net, which she threw at Chow, who tried to use his shield to defend himself, only for the shield to get sliced to ribbons by the fire-net and explode, blasting Chow back. Blunk acted quickly to try and pull him behind a well for cover.

Ratso and Finn tried to surround her pair of webbing strands grew out from her wrists which were set aflame. She then flailed them like a pair of whips to keep Finn and Ratso back. Finn tried to come forward with a sword, only to get struck back by a fire-whip and push him down. Miranda then wrapped the other one around the pole of Ratso's hammer as he tried to hold it.

"Hey, how you come aren't all scaly like your friends were?" He asked.

"If you must know, I'm a shapeshifter." Miranda told him. "I was in my beast form when Drago lent me a portion of his power, but my human form remains unchanged. But regardless of which form I'm in, I wield the power of a fire demon, so I'm no longer just a shapeshifter." She threw a fire ball at Ratso's feet to send him up in a burst.

Caleb yelled as he swung his katana downward at Drago, who swiftly dodged it. "Not bad." The half-demon told him. "I can tell you've been practicing, but it's not quite enough." Caleb then charged Drago again, slicing his sword with any form he knew, delivering enough force and speed that would be a problem for a normal opponent, just not the Son of Shendu. "Come on, you were a solider before. Don't tell me you got soft all these months." Drago continued to taunt, resulting Caleb thrusting his katana to try and stab Drago, but he dodged that and grabbed Caleb by his arms with one hand to pull him up close so he could clearly see his red eyes. "Put more effort behind it." He delivered a backhand to Caleb's face. "And actually try to kill me!" The force sent Caleb crashing into a well, which collapsed upon impact and ne nearly fell in, but just barely grabbed the edge.

"Now, now, boys. That's enough playtime for today." Nerissa said as she stepped by her son's side. Miranda and Shendu weren't far behind as the four regrouped before the former Guardian opened a Fold, allowing them all to escape.

Caleb struggled to maintain his grip, the crumbling bricks of the well started to chip and fall apart, but just bfore Caleb fell in, Chow and Blunk were both quick to grab him.

"Gotcha!" Chow said as he and the Passling helped to pull Caleb back up to the surface before they all fell on their rears in exhaustion. Finn and Ratso joined them as the former helped his friend to walk, holding one arm over his shoulders before they set down. As they did, they all looked around at what was left of the village. Nearly every building was either collapsed, burning, or both at the same time.

"How many villages does this make?" Finn asked.

"Blunk lost count." The Passling confessed. "Never good at math."

"Hey at least all the people made it out… right?" Ratso said for the sake of optimism.

"But at what cost…?" Caleb looked to see the remainder of the soldiers, now a small handful, try to recover and patch up their wounds. "We can't go on like this. We have to Fold to Earth and get reinforcements. No matter the risk."

"Uh… risk what… exactly?" Chow asked, not liking the sound of that.

Earth – The Next Day

It was the first day of the new school year, and Taranee was now just arriving, having been driven in her mother's van which pulled up the curb.

"Taranee!" She heard her name being called and looked to a see a certain red-haired boy calling and waving to her, something her mother also noticed.

"Isn't that the boy you went to the dance with? So, that's why you're so excited to be back at school." Theresa teased.

"Mom!" Taranee blushed in embarrassment before stepping out. As her mom drove away, Taranee saw Nigel and was ready to try and catch up with him…

Only for Uriah and Clubber to block her path with Taranee accidentally bumping into Clubber, causing her glasses to fall off.

"Watch it, nerd bait." Uriah told her.

Kurt reached down to grab Taranee's bag, all while unzipping it. "Here you go." He looked like he was handing it back to her in a false act of sincerity.

"Thanks…" But when she took it back, all her books and supplies fell out on the ground, causing the punks to laugh.

"Hey!" Uriah was pushed away by Frank as he, Charlie, and Rocko came to Taranee's defense. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?!" Frank challenged.

"Oh yeah?!" Uriah challenged back.

"Yeah!" He and Frank literally butted heads while Charlie and Clubber did the same, as did Rocko and Clubber, both parties glaring hard and ready to throw down.

"Knock it off, Uriah!" Nigel also stepped in, pulling Uriah away.

"Whatever. We're done here." Uriah dismissed as he and his gang walked away.

"You okay, T?" Charlie asked as he and the Nephorcers helped Taranee pick her stuff back up.

"Yeah… thanks guys." She said to them as she looked for her glasses on the ground. "You too, Nigel." She told him as he helped with her stuff as well.

"Sorry about that. Uriah isn't always a jerk." Nigel said. "Sometimes he's fun to hang with."

"Why do you hang out with him?" Rocko asked. "He's a bully. Bullies are not cool."

"Well, I didn't exactly have anybody else to hang out with." Nigel replied. "Pretty much everyone else was gone during the summer. And Heatherfield's not exactly a vacation spot either. But…" He gently grasped Taranee's hand to help her stand up. "With you back in town, my options look a whole lot sweeter."

Taranee smiled as Rocko handed her backpack while Frank and Charlie just grinned knowingly with the way Taranee was looking in Nigel's direction.

"And if you're not doing anything tonight, there's a sweet band playing at the club." Nigel invited.

"Then I guess I am doing something." She happily accepted.

"Sweet! I'll see you at eight." Nigel walked away, leaving Taranee to smile dreamingly.

"Hey, is your boyfriend?" Rocko asked, causing her to look in surprise.

"What?! Nonononono!" She frantically said.

"At least not, yet." Frank teased while Charlie snickered.

The bell then rang, prompting all the students to head inside. "The bell!" Taranee exclaimed in a panic. "Who has my glasses?!" The Nephorcers all looked around but didn't seem to find them.

"I don't see him." Rocko said. "You guys?"

"Nope." Frank shook his head.

"Nada. Sorry." Charlie apologized.

Taranee groaned in annoyance. "Hey, we'll walk you to class." Rocko offered.

"I'm not blind! I can see enough to get to class!" She stated as she walked the building, but the Nephorcers stayed by her side regardless.

"You know, you really should get contacts." Charlie advised.

"I just got some, but they're at home. I'm more used to my glasses anyway." She said, the four unaware of Uriah around the corner as he spun the stolen pair of glasses on his fingers with a taunting smirk.

Meridian – Infinite City

After passing through the waterfall that served as the 'doorway', Caleb, Blunk, and the Enforcers had entered what appeared to be the Mage's domain. It looked like something you would find in the lair of a medieval witch or wizard; shelves were lined with spell books and scrolls, as well as various magical relics, including preserved magical creatures in jars; there were also experimentation tables with beakers and jars filled with potions and other similar liquids.

"Ugh. Creepy." Finn shivered.

"You sure we're not in Wong's old place? Because this feels more like the kind of stuff he'd have." Chow commented.

"It's the Mage's place." Caleb confirmed. "But I wouldn't be surprised if she took some of Wong's materials to use herself. I'd rather that stuff be used in the right hands."

Blunk looked around and gave a started yelp when he saw what appeared to be a fanged skull on a shelf. "Blunk forgot! Left bath running! And Blunk never miss bath!" He was about to run away, only for Caleb to grab and pull him back by his shirt. The group then spotted the Tonga Tooth on a pedestal.

"You sure we should be here?" Ratso asked. "I don't think the Mage said she was finished undoing that curse."

"We've been plagued by Shendu and his wicked family for weeks! We can't go on like this!" Caleb stated as he tried to reach for the Tooth, only for the Mage to suddenly appear and grab Caleb by his wrist, preventing him from grabbing the relic.

"Whoa!" Finn and the rest of the Enforcers were more than a little started by her sudden appearance. "Uh… how long have you been there?"

"Sorry to intrude." Ratso apologized.

"It is not yet safe." The Mage said to Caleb specifically. "The curse has proven difficult to lift."

"Don't care!" Caleb pulled his hand free. "You said only the person who uses the Tooth will be destroyed. If I do the folding, Blunk and the Enforcers can still warn Jackie and the Guardians."

"Whoa! Hold on, kid! Don't go jumping the gun like that!" Chow quickly said while the other Enforcers looked just as shocked.

"Caleb too pretty to be destroyed too!" Blunk protested as he held Caleb's arm.

"Seriously, let one of us risk our lives and test the Tooth!" Finn offered.

"You all have nephews. Family." Caleb told them.

"So do you! You got a dad and a girlfriend!" Ratso argued.

"If you are determined… there is one last spell." The Mage said. "But the risk…"

"Just do it!" Caleb ordered.

The Mage gave a reluctant sigh used her powers to levitate the Tonga Tooth before enacting the spell. "Relinque Malevola!" Bolts of electricity shot from her hands and onto the Tooth, the five observers backing up slightly before the spell was finished and the Tooth fell into her hands.

"I cannot tell if it worked. The Tooth may still destroy you." The Mage warned.

"Now all we gotta do is decide whose gonna use the thing." Ratso said.

"So, what? We play rock-paper-scissors or…?" Chow asked, only for Cabel to suddenly grab the Tooth and slice it in the air to open a Fold before anyone could protest. The bright light engulfing all five of them before they all vanished….

Leaving only the Mage who smirked sinisterly.

Earth – Mount Thanos

A Fold had opened up in the sky as Caleb, Finn, Blunk, Ratso, and Chow all fell out and landed on the top of the snowy mountain.

"Dude! Why'd you do that?!" Finn questioned as most of them recovered, only to look in shock as Caleb laid flat on his back in the snow and quickly assumed the worst.

"NO! CALEB DEAD! COLD AND DEAD!" Blunk cried as he held Caleb by his shirt.

"Quick, who knows CPR?!" Chow exclaimed.

"Oh! I know mouth-to-mouth!" Ratso stated, only for Caleb to shoot his hand up and push back Ratso's face.

"Absolutely not! Caleb alive…!" He pushed himself up as he covered his own body from the cold, the rest of his friends doing the same thing. "Frosted, but alive…!"

"Well, that's a relief." Finn said as he shivered with everyone else… "We'll talk about you jumping the gun like that later. But first… where the hell are we anyway?"

"On Earth." They turned around and were stunned to see Uncle, Tohru, Yan Lin, and Halinor, all wearing heavy winter clothes with torches in their hands. "Atop Mount Thanos." Yan Lin told them.

The conjoined group entered the cave located at the summit of the desolate mountain. It wasn't that much warmer, but it was at least out of the snow.

"Heard you were out of it, old man." Chow said to Uncle.

"Uncle woke up." The old man answered simply. "But not important now."

"Well, what are you guys doing here, and how did we end up here too?" Caleb questioned. "We were trying to get to Heatherfield. Elyon… and Meridian…"

"Are in danger." Halinor finished.

"Wait… you know already?" Finn questioned.

"The sorceress that has been eluding us for so long… we think we may know who she is." Yan Lin said. "But I sincerely hope that we're wrong."

The group soon found what they were looking for in the deepest part of the cave, where they saw a smaller cave that was barred with magical energy, and inside the makeshift cell, appeared to be the sorceress who sat on the flat stone that acted as a bed.

"It's her!" Caleb stated while Blunk screamed and cowered behind him.

"Okay… what in the actual hell is going on?" Chow questioned. "The old bat just leveled a village yesterday, now she zaps herself in prison?"

"Maybe she has a twin sister?" Ratso wondered.

"No. She does not." Uncle said as he pulled out a blowfish and shot a stun spell at what they thought was Nerissa… only for the spectral image to vanish upon contact, much to the surprise of Tohru, the Enforcers, Caleb, and Blunk.

"It was a fake…?" Tohru questioned.

"An Astral drop…" Halinor's face went pale, realizing what this meant.

"Aiya…" Uncle muttered as he and Yan Lin instinctively held hands, sharing nervous glances with one another.

Heatherfield – Sheffield

It was lunch time as Will, Jade, Matt, Irma, Martin, Hay Lin, Cornelia, and Alchemy all sat at a table in the cafeteria and ate their meals. However, Hay Lin happened to look in a certain direction and saw none other than the very same boy that she saw before on her bike back in the summer, the same boy she developed an obvious crush on.

"It's him!" She whispered, covering the side of her face. "He goes to Sheffield!"

"And who are we talking about?" Jade asked, whispering for some reason herself.

"I don't know his name. Just his…" Hay Lin sighed dreamingly. "Gorgeous cosecant." She then gasped as she saw him walking in their direction. "Oh no! He's looking at me!" Neither Hay Lin nor Jade said anything as the boy passed by and gave a friendly smile before walking away.

"Not that I'm a romance expert or anything, but don't you want him looking at you?" Jade asked teasingly.

"Well that depends on who's doing the looking." Irma put in.

"Are you talking about me?" Martin asked.

"You're doing better now, so that's something." Irma answered, causing him to smile slightly.

"Oh, hey Taranee! Aren't you eating?" Will asked as the aforementioned girl, who was still missing her glasses, passed by their table.

"Can't have to find my glasses." Taranee replied. "If I hadn't already outlined the first three chapters of all my textbooks, I'd be totally lost."

"Only first three?" Cornelia questioned.

"Besides, I need them for tonight." Taranee said as she smiled, pulling in Will and Jade. "Nigel asked me to the club!"

"What is this, romance season or something?" Jade asked.

"Hey uh… Irma…? You wanna hang out at the club too?" Martin was about to ask her the same thing. "And no, it's not a date! Just… you know… hang out. No dinner or anything."

Irma thought for a minute. "I guess… if we don't have to stop the end of the world anytime soon."

"I'm gonna go search outside." Taranee told her friends as she tried to turn around, but almost bumped into someone. "Just as soon as I find the door…"

Meanwhile, outside in the courtyard, Uriah's gang was presently defacing the Sheffield statue as Kurt wrapped toilet paper around it, while Uriah stood on Clubber's shoulders to help him up to the statue's face, where he not only put on a green wig and a princess hat, but even painted lipstick on its face.

"Hey, Nige! I think we found your date for prom!" Uriah laughed while Nigel just watched them continue to deface the statue, not participating in it, but not stopping them either.

Taranee happened to make her way outside, where she met the Nephorcers. "Hey Taranee. We just checked the lost and found, couldn't find your glasses." Frank said.

"You know guys don't have to help me with this." She told them.

"Hey, friends help each other, remember?" Charlie reminded.

This seemed to cause her to smile. "Thanks guys." She turned her blurry vision towards the direction of the statue, but could barely see it herself. "Hey, what's going on over there?"

"Oh, it's just Uriah being a jerk again." Rocko glared with his friends.

However, Nigel noticed their presence as well. "Taranee! Sweet. Come look!" He waved to her. "Hey Uriah, toss me that."

Taranee made her way closer to the statue to get a better look with the Nephorcers by her side with crossed arms and glares towards Uriah's gang, not trusting them to not mess with her.

"Nigel? What are you doing?" She asked.

"Uh… ambush makeover…?" Nigel answered.

Once she was close enough, Taranee saw what he had written at the base of the statue with the lipstick. It read 'TC + NA' with a heart drawn around it.

"Awe." Rocko gushed at that, only to get elbowed in the sides by Frank and Charlie.

"Oh that's so swe…" However, Taranee noticed the state the statue was in. "Wait, what are you doing to old man Sheffield?"

"You wasted my lipstick on that?" Uriah was far from impressed. "The nerd girl and her bodyguards?"

"Dude. Chill." Nigel told him.

"Yeah, knock it off! And give back her glasses!" Frank stated.

"You were the ones that took them, didn't you?!" Charlie accused, but Taranee, who still had trouble seeing, ended up bumping into Clubber, this almost caused him to trip, which almost led to Uriah falling off from his shoulders. As Clubber stumbled, Uriah grappled onto the statue's outstretched arm for stability.

"Clubber, you dope!" However, the statue couldn't support Uriah's weight as the arm broke off and Uriah fell, but Rocko caught him bridal style. "Ugh, put me down you idiot!"

"Okay." Rocko let Uriah drop to the ground.

"Oh, my goodness!" All eyes turned to see Principal Knickerbocker, looking in a mixture of shock and anger.

Classes got out and all the students were going home. The group consisting of Will, Jade, Irma, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Matt, Martin, and Alchemy all walked down the sidewalk, chatting among themselves until they heard a horn honking.

"Somebody order takeout?" Irma asked as they saw a delivery van owned by the Silver Dragon pull up to the curb next to them.

"I think we are the takeout." Will assumed.

Jackie was in the driver's seat as he pulled down the window to address them. "Get in. Now."

Right as he said that, Caleb had opened the back doors of the van, prompting them all to pile in where they saw Tohru, Yan Lin, Halinor, Finn, Ratso, Chow, and Blunk, who gave a burp as he laid on a pile of boxes, having eaten all the food inside. But the one who really drew their attention was the old man they all knew, who was now wide awake in front of them.

"Uncle!" Jade wasted no time in hugging him, followed by Hay Lin while Will, Irma, Matt, Martin, and even Cornelia all smiled. "You're awake!"

"You really had us scared…" Hay Lin said emotionally.

"I wasn't worried." Cornelia commented. "He's the most stubborn man on Earth, no way he's gonna let a nap do him in." Irma happened to nudge the blonde with a teasing smile, seeing through her tough façade that she was happy to see Uncle back on his feet.

"Yes, it is good to see you all, but now is not time for tearful reunion." Uncle stated. "Where is Taranee? We must Fold to Kandrakar immediately!"

"I'll see if she's taking calls." Will said as she reached out with their telepathic link. "Taranee? Can you hear me? Where are you?"

"Besides in a world of trouble? The principal's office." She answered on the other side of their link.

"She's stuck." Will revealed reluctantly.

"We'll have to wait for her later." Halinor informed. "The crisis we face now is catastrophic."

"Hey, we can fill in." Matt offered, referring to himself and Martin.

"No offense but, I'd rather not see you 'filling in' her tights." Will joked.

"You sure? You seem like the type who'd enjoy that." Jade teased the redhead.

"Don't even start, Jade." Will muttered as Matt, Martin and even Irma all looked somewhat mortified, taking out the Heart of Kandrakar.

"Yeah uh… I'm not the type to do that either. Right?" Martin muttered, looking toward Irma for some reason.

"Don't look at me!" She quickly said.

A brief flash of pink shined in the parked van, followed by one of blue before it all the glowing stopped, leaving the now empty van parked on the curb.

Kandrakar

"Why have you not informed us of Elyon's fate immediately?!" Lube questioned as the Mage was now speaking to the remainder of the Council of Kandrakar.

"The Sorceress cursed my ring! I could not use it safely, until now." The Mage informed.

"Fate…? What's that supposed to mean?!" Alchemy questioned as she and all her friends arrived, with the present Guardians now transformed into their respective forms.

"Where's Elyon?! What is going on?!" Cornelia looked just as worried.

However, before anyone could answer, Uncle had marched past everyone and went straight for the Oracle. "Jin. You've awakened. I'm glad to see that you are… OW!" He felt his forehead where Uncle had delivered his titular dope-slap, much to the surprise of the remaining council members, Guardians, Chan Clan, and their friends. Though Halinor and Yan Lin shared concerning glances as they actually expected this.

"You are responsible for this because of your negligence!" Uncle chastised. "Guardians fight for lives, theirs and others, while you hide in fortress in clouds! You make poor judgements, and we all pay price for it!" He advanced on the Oracle, causing him to back up as he repeatedly pointed into his chest. "Our mistakes now haunt new generation!" He gestured back towards his uncle, great-niece and everyone else. "Have you considered consequences to your own actions?! No! Now it has all come back to bite us!"

"Uncle!" Jackie quickly came to pull his elder away from the Oracle. "What is going on?! Pay for what mistakes?! What has happened?!"

Caleb, the Enforcers, and Blunk all shared serious glances before explaining the situation to all of them.

Earth – Heatherfield

Taranee was escorted out of the school by her mother, and they happened to pass by Uriah and his gang, including Nigel, cleaning up the statue they defaced as their punishment. Though Taranee did catch Nigel smiling in her direction as she passed.

"We are so lucky the principle believed you and your three friends weren't involved in the incident!" Theresa said to her daughter.

"Involved in it?! I couldn't even see it!" Taranee exclaimed. "I just hope Knickerbocker goes easy on Nigel."

"I don't want you seeing Nigel!" Theresa stated as they arrived at her car.

"What?! Nigel's a good guy! Trust me!" Taranee tried to tell her.

"I don't trust him! And your judgement is clearly suspect! He was tagging your initials!" Theresa put her foot down.

"Mom!" Taranee tried to protest.

"Case! Closed!" Theresa left no room for argument as she opened the passenger door for her daughter, who reluctantly got in before Theresa herself got in the driver's seat and drove away.

The exchange happened to be witnessed by the Nephorcers as they had also left the school. They didn't receive any punishment from the principle as there was no fight and they just happened to be in the area, but she did warn them to avoid any further confrontations in the future. But that wasn't what they were concerned about right now.

"Yikes." Charlie said. "Wouldn't wanna be her right now."

"Taranee's mom looks mad." Rocko also said.

Frank then heard his phone ping and took it out to see he had got a text. "It's from Taranee." That got his friends' attention as he read the message aloud. "'I need your help. I'm going to sneak out tonight and meet Nigel at the club. Can you help me get there?' She even sent her home address."

"Uh… wouldn't we get her into more trouble by doing that?" Rocko asked.

"Her mom isn't the boss of us." Charlie replied. "I'd say we do it."

"Yeah. She's actually asking for us help." Frank agreed. "Let's go for it." He sent the reply text that read 'we're in'.

Kandrakar

"Okay… let me get this straight…" Jade began. "Shendu is back… and the old hag is Drago's mom?!"

"And she's the one who killed Elyon's parents?!" Will also exclaimed as all the Guardians, Jackie, and Tohru couldn't help but look in surprise.

"Yeah. Granny snuck her way into her parent's court to try and steal Little E's powers when she was born." Finn confirmed.

"But Mrs. Rudolph had gotten to Elyon first and used the Seal of Phobos to escape to Earth." Jackie remembered.

"Yeah, but then the Sorceress became Trill, used her new identity to play both Phobos and the Rebellion during the whole war." Caleb said with a growl. "She used the resources on both sides to try and track down Elyon so she could end up stealing all her power!"

"This whole time…!" Cornelia clenched her fist as she and her fellow Guardians looked down in anger. They all remembered when they first met Trill who saved them from Phobos' forces, and even after Phobos' defeat, she was always by Elyon's side and was so nice and courteous to them. But in the end, it was all just a ruse.

"I can't believe she fooled us…" Hay Lin muttered.

"Believe it. Cause it happened. Her and junior have been messing with us this whole time!" Irma exclaimed in frustration.

"And now she has Elyon." Alchemy looked away, fearing the worst for her best friend.

"But even though we now know for certain that the sorceress is Drago's mother… it still leaves the unanswered question of how and when she met Shendu and conceived a child between them." Tohru said.

"We can answer that question." Yan Lin said gravely. "For the sorceress… Drago's mother… is Nerissa."

Everyone in the Council looked in shock at that revelation, their faces growing pale. "No…" Tibor muttered.

"Impossible…" The Mage also said.

"Are you absolutely certain?" The Oracle asked in a tone of uncertainty and even fear.

"We went to Mount Thanos to see for ourselves." Halinor confirmed. "All that was there was an Astral Drop of her."

"Uh… who is Nerissa?" Martin asked Matt.

"Don't know, never heard that name before." He answered, looking towards Will and her friends as they all seemed just as confused.

"I have." Jackie said as he had his own serious expression before looking toward Yan Lin. "She was a Guardian, alongside you and the rest of your team."

"She was." Yan Lin confirmed, looking down as Uncle also looked away.

"What…?" Will questioned as she and her team, as well as Tohru, Caleb, the Enforcers, Alchemy, Matt, and Martin, all of them looked with wide eyes and expressions of pure shock. "H-hold… hold on… what?!"

"The old hag… the same one who killed Elyon's parents… started the war in Meridian… who's been up our wings for months was a freaking Guardian?!" Jade practically screamed, pulling at her hair.

"Not just any Guardian." Uncle revealed. "She was original bearer of Heart of Kandrakar, wielder of Quintessence. Your predecessor, Will."

As if the redhead wasn't shocked enough. Her eyes were practically circular as she backed away on instinct and almost fell down, but Matt was quick to catch her. "My… predecessor…?"

The Oracle had a sorrowful look on his face as he spoke. "As many of you already know… there were many Guardians in the past. Your direct predecessors were Cassidy, Halinor, Yan Lin, Kadma, and Nerissa."

"C… H… they were CHYKN?" Ratso pointed out.

Chow chuckled. "Okay… that's actually kinda funny. Heh, heh… OW!" He stopped laughing when Uncle delivered his dope-slap.

"Group name not important! Pay attention!" The old man chastised.

'I'm so glad we're J-WITCH.' Hay Lin thought to herself, but dared not speak as she herself was still processing this revelation.

The Oracle then continued to tell his tale. "For many years, Nerissa and the others defended the dimensions of the cosmos from the Forces of Darkness. Jin joined them as well, and despite him not having magical powers, he more than contributed to the battle. Many victories were won, and lives saved. But Nerissa, soon grew weary of the constant battles and sought a more… permanent solution. A way to eradicate the concept of evil entirely."

"Is… is such a thing even possible?" Jackie asked.

"No." Yan Lin shook her head. "Evil is a force of nature, just as good is. Neither can be truly destroyed, just changed from one form to another."

"Right… the whole cosmic balance thing. Yin and yang." Jade seemed to understand.

"Yes, but Nerissa couldn't accept that." The Oracle went on. "Her weariness of the conflict aside, she also became intoxicated by her power over Quintessence, as well as the Heart of Kandrakar. So much so that she wanted to take the mystic hearts from other worlds to amplify her power and eradicate the concept of evil from the minds of all who live in the universe, essentially depriving them of their free will. To save her soul, I took the Heart away and gave it to Cassidy."

"I'm guessing she didn't take that very well." Cornelia assumed.

"No, she didn't." Halinor shook her head. "The rest of us tried to intervene and dissuade her, but she attacked us. And in the chaos, she fled Kandrakar and arrived on Earth, specifically on a mountain side in the Black Rock desert of Nevada. After recovering, we tried going after her. When we found her, she was already pregnant."

"Wait... Pregnant?!" Will exclaimed as everyone looked in even further surprise.

"And in labor." Yan Lin confirmed. "Jin, Cassidy, Kadma, Halinor, and I… we all helped her through it. And when it was done… her son, Drago, was born."

Everyone continued to pay close attention as Uncle spoke next.

"Child was a demon, or rather half demon." The elderly Chi Wizard explained. "Nerissa awoke the next morning and told us what had happened. She claimed to have stumbled upon a demon, who had forced itself onto her to breed an heir."

"Shendu…" Tohru looked serious.

"We did not know it was Shendu at the time." Halinor said. "Nerissa never mentioned the demon's name. In fact, she claimed to have killed the demon responsible and we believed her."

"And you couldn't see it?" Irma asked the Oracle. "I thought oracles were supposed to be all-seeing or something."

"For some unknown reason that we have yet to discover, that particular region in the desert was shrouded in darkness." The Oracle answered. "A blind spot, that my powers could not see through. Even today, that darkspot still remains."

"None of us truly knew what happened with Nerissa back then." Yan Lin said. "Perhaps Shendu did force her, or she participated willingly, we still don't know. But when Drago was born, she changed… and for the better. Despite being a demon, Drago was still her son, and she cared for him like any mother would."

"Cassidy came up with idea that we all raise Drago together." Uncle said, referring to himself and his former teammates. "Under our protection and care, Drago could become a force for good."

"Well clearly, you failed." Caleb stated angrily. "He's the furthest thing from a force for good and so his mother!"

"Wait… Grandma, if you and your friends all raised Drago…" Hay Lin's face went pale. "Does that mean he's my uncle?!"

"Or my uncle?!" Jade also questioned. "Like my third cousin once removed or something?!"

"And why are we only hearing about this now?!" Cornelia questioned angrily. "You guys all know what he's been putting us all through! All the times he's tried freaking murder us and all our friends!" That caused Will too look away with a mixture of anger and sorrow as she was reminded of Jewel, prompting Matt to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We did not know it was the same Drago!" Halinor stated. "Aside from not knowing the father's identity at the time, we had thought Nerissa's son had died!"

"Wait… what…?" Irma muttered with all their anger turning into surprise and confusion.

Uncle, Yan Lin, and Halinor all looked with grief and regret before the former Air Guardian spoke. "Nerissa spent most of her time on that mountain raising Drago, taking a break from being a Guardian while the rest of us continued our work, though we would pay her visits and help however we could."

"Nerissa feared what the Council would do if they learned of Drago's existence, so we all compromised and felt that Nerissa and Drago could stay in that darkspot until we were all ready to tell them. It was a delicate situation." Halinor said.

"For months, Nerissa was a good mother." Uncle explained next. "She was happy. Content. Even Cassidy had considered returning Heart of Kandrakar."

Jackie however suspected that wouldn't last. "What happened?"

A scowl formed on Yan Lin's face. "She and Drago were discovered by hunters, looking for game on that mountain. They chased and cornered her to a cliff and shot at her. By the time we arrived… it was too late. The baby Drago… had fallen into a pit."

That earned gasps from everyone in the audience. Will, Jade, Jackie, Irma, Hay Lin, Cornelia, Tohru, Alchemy, Caleb, Blunk, Matt, Martin, Finn, Ratso, and Chow… they could already picture it. Even if it was Drago, the idea of a baby falling off a cliff was a horrifying one.

"Nerissa went on a rampage." Halinor went on. "She took back the Heart and transformed, killing every hunter on that mountain. We tried to stop her… but when Cassidy got in the way… she…" the former Fire Guardian looked away. "She took a blow and… lost her life."

Yan Lin and Jin looked down in regret, as did the Oracle and the rest of the Council. Everyone else felt their eyes widening, looking in even more shock and horror than before. Hay Lin even covered her mouth as she looked to her grandma in sympathy, with Jade, Jackie, and Tohru having similar expressions towards Uncle. Irma happened to feel rather surreal about it. Nearly all of her friends have met their predecessors, but hers died? It almost felt like she lost someone she never even knew.

"Nerissa was devastated…" The Oracle continued. "Aside from losing Drago, she and Cassidy were very close, even romantically involved. So, I imprisoned her…"

"You what…?!" Jade questioned as she soon directed her anger towards the Oracle. "This lady lost her son and girlfriend on the same day, and you locked her up in a cell and what, left her to rot?!"

"I had hopped she would redeem herself if she faced her guilt." The Oracle responded. Though he did catch Jin's glare as he silently agreed with his great-niece.

"We all tried to help her, to speak with her, to show her that she was not alone." Halinor said. "But she wouldn't listen. She was too consumed by her grief. Our team would eventually break apart and we went our separate ways. And you all know the rest."

"Okay, I get that at least… and you all thought Drago was dead, I get that too…" Will began. "But what about after he showed up? All the times he's attack us?! All the times we fought the Knights of Vengeance?! The Demon Chi?! None of you even thought to mention it to us?!"

"We didn't know they were the same." Yan Lin said. "Even as a baby, the Drago that Nerissa gave birth to, never showed any signs of magical powers, particularly fire magic."

"Even though they have the same name?" Irma questioned.

"Drago is derived from the word dragon." The Oracle said. "And dragons are a common concept throughout the realms, Shendu was not the only one."

"And countless demons have existed throughout history. You all know this." Uncle added. Even if he disagreed with the Oracle, he still had to admit that there were too many options to narrow down.

"Didn't you guys at least try to look for him?" Cornelia asked. "Or find out what was causing that darkspot or whatever?"

"We searched everywhere." Yan Lin answered. "Every inch of that mountain. We found no sign of Drago, the source of the darkspot, or even the demon that Nerissa had laid with."

"But wouldn't Shendu have been a statue at the time?" Hay Lin asked. "It's not like he could just get up and walk away."

"Not to mention you can't exactly get someone pregnant if you're made out of stone." Matt added.

Will thought for a second before her eyes widened in realization. "Unless maybe she used her Quintessence on him!" That got all their attention. "Quintessence is life energy, right? Maybe it was enough to break him out of the stone!"

"But he was still encased in stone when he was working with Valmont and the Dark Hand." Tohru recalled. "It's the reason he sought the Talismans at the time."

"Maybe what she did to him was only temporary." Will assumed.

"Which would mean he had either escaped on his own, or somebody else had found him." Jackie theorized. "And he would eventually find himself in San Francisco."

"Which lead to all our crazy adventures, finding the Talismans and later sealing up the Demon Portals." Jade remembered.

"What happened in the past… is unfortunate." The Oracle said. "And despite many still-unanswered questions, one fact remains. Drago survived, and he has joined with both his father and mother in a quest of chaos and destruction. As many of you know, every world has a source of mystic power, like the Heart of Kandrakar. Elyon was the Heart of Meridian and now she is in Nerissa's possession. And with that power, her power equals that of all the Guardians combined."

"And how are we supposed to stop them?" Caleb questioned. "They're constant rampages throughout Meridian have taken many lives already!"

"Oh, and Miranda is with them, and Drago gave her some of his own power. So… there's that." Ratso added.

"Ugh, her again." Alchemy growled.

"Right, cause things just can't be easy with us." Irma said, not even trying to hide her sarcasm.

"But they don't know we're onto them." Will put in. "If we go after them now, we might be able to stop them before they cause any more damage."

"Uh Will… need I remind you that the last time we fought Shendu, we almost freaking died?!" Cornelia reminded.

"Back then, Shendu had the Talismans. This time, he doesn't." Will replied. "He's vulnerable."

"And our powers are twice as strong now as they were back then." Jade added. "I'd say we jump them!"

"We do have the element of surprise." Jackie said as well. "And you girls are not facing them alone." He referred to not only himself, but also Tohru, Caleb, Matt, Alchemy, the Enforcers, even Blunk and Martin. "We'll go to Meridian, find them, and stop them."

"Hmm, a wise plan." The Mage granted, doing her best to hide her sly smile.

Earth – Later that Evening

Frank, Charlie, and Rocko had arrived on their bikes, though Rocko appeared to be riding a two-seater, as they were now at the driveway that led to a large two-story house with a separate garage.

Charlie whistled. "Dude, her family's loaded."

"Well, her mom's a judged so…" Frank said before looking to Rocko as he had his two-seater bike. "Remind me again why you have a two-person bike."

"My Uncle Ratso and I like to bike together. It's fun." He answered. Soon, a certain someone had just stepped out from the driveway and approached them.

It was Taranee, but she looked nothing like how they saw her before. Her hair was dyed pink and pulled up in a mohawk-style with a slight strand hanging off the side. She wore a black leather jacket over a white tank-top, exposing her midriff. She also had a dark purple mini skirt with black and gray stripped leggings and black boots. She still didn't have her glasses, currently wearing contact lenses over her eyes.

All three boys looked rather stunned to say the least. "Uh… are we sure we're at the right house?" Charlie asked as Frank took out his phone to make sure.

"Yeah… it's the right address."

"Guys, it's me." Taranee said irritably.

"Holy cow… Taranee!? What happened to you?!" Rocko questioned. "You look like her evil twin!"

"My mom thinks I'm untrustworthy, she's got untrustworthy." Taranee said as she got on the back seat of Rocko's bike. "Come on, we're going straight to the club!"

"Uh… sure." Frank said as he and his friends shared concerning glances before biking away.

Meridian

A Fold had opened up in the Castle's courtyard with the Mage stepping out, and just behind her was the large group that consisted of the Guardians, Chan Clan, Enforcers, Matt, Alchemy, Blunk, and Martin.

"I will leave you all now." The Mage said as she walked away. "I must find study and find a means to take the Heart of Meridian from Nerissa."

"Would help if we know exactly where to find her." Jade commented. "She and her twisted family could be anywhere in Meridian."

"We may need a locator spell." Jackie said before looking towards his own uncle and cautiously put a hand on his shouler. "Uncle… are you going to be okay with all of this?" It wasn't hard to understand why Jackie was concerned, given that Nerissa was once a close friend of his.

The elderly chi wizard had a conflicted expression before he sighed and put on a serious look. "Nerissa is a threat, now. She must be stopped."

As the group continued to plan, Martin happened to look around the general area, this being his first real time in Meridian, looking in awe at the castle's architecture, despite the dark and cloudy sky. Though he happened to spot something odd when he looked at one of the towers, it appeared to be a large statue resembling a certain mythical reptile, perched like a gargoyle, with most of its features obscured by shadows.

"Hey uh… Elyon have a giant dragon statue?" Martin asked, which drew everyone's attention.

"Statue? No she doesn't have anything like that." Caleb answered.

"Martin what are you…?" Irma happened to follow his gaze, as did everyone else as they saw what they thought was a statue. Only for it to turn its head in their direction and gaze down at them with glowing red eyes. Lightning shined in the sky to reveal the dreaded Fire Demon they all knew very well.

"Oh crap…!" Will muttered.

Shendu roared as he leapt from his position on the tower and fell toward the courtyard, prompting everyone to scatter and avoid the devastating crash as the enormous humanoid dragon impacted the ground. He soon stood up from the crater he had just made with a growl and addressed his scattered enemies.

"Ah, it is good to see you all again. And even better, as this will be the last time." Shendu sneered.

Before anyone had a chance to counter, a stream of fire shot down from the castle wall toward Cornelia, Hay Lin, Ratso, and Alchemy, causing them to back up as they saw Drago standing on top of the wall, Miranda in her draconic-spider form just below him. And on the opposite side of the courtyard, facing Uncle, Will, Hay Lin, and Cornelia, hovering in the air as lightning surged all around her, was none other than Nerissa herself.

Seeing her once again caused Uncle to look more than a little conflicted. As he saw the old woman, he also happened to see his former friend and sister-in-arms as multiple memories played through his mind. But he tried to snap himself back into reality, reminding himself that whatever history they had, Nerissa had become an agent for the Forces of Darkness and needed to be stopped.

No banter to give, Nerissa threw out multiple bolts of her power all across the area, while Drago and Miranda did the same for their respective fire attacks, causing the heroes to scatter even further.

"Bad day! Bad day! Bad day!" Jackie exclaimed as he dodged all the elemental attacks, only to stop with a gasp as he found himself at the feet of Shendu who growled at him. "Bad day!" Shendu raised his claws and was ready to smash onto Jackie, only for Jade to quickly fly in and grab her uncle, pulling him into the air to avoid the devastating impact.

"Hey scale for brains!" Irma hovered over him. "No fire power? No way to block two thousand pounds of water pressure!" She blasted a powerful steam of water at Shendu, which seemed to force him back for the most part.

"Give me back my BFF!" Cornelia tried to act quickly as she grew a multitude of tendrils from the ground and around the hovering Nerissa to try and ensnare her, but this only caused her to smile more. "Quintessence!" Using her juiced up power, the electricity surged through the plant tendrils, causing them to release Nerissa and come together to take the form of a giant plant-like monster resembling a Venus Fly Trap that glared at the blonde.

"Wait! You're my big bad!" The Earth Guardian complained in shock, not expecting her own power to be used against her like this as the plant monster lunged its head at Cornelia, smashing her to the ground.

Hay Lin tried to blast Nerissa back with a cyclone, only for a barrier of her electrical Quintessence power to form around her and shield herself, nullifying Hay Lin's attack.

"Hey, why don't you pick on somebody with your own power!" Will flew in next, extending both her fists to blast a beam of pink energy at Nerissa, who countered with a bolt of her own power. The bolt blasted through the pink energy and struck Will, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Will!" Hay Lin quickly flew to try and pick her back up.

"Little novice. You have much to learn." Nerissa mocked. Her attention was caught by a blast of green chi energy that erupted behind her. Though the barrier did protect her, it was enough to get her attention as she turned around to see Uncle, standing behind and glaring up at her. She lowered herself to the ground face Uncle on even footing. "You don't really believe you can match my power, can you Jin?"

"You may wield great power, Nerissa…" Uncle granted as he drew a pair of dual blowfish, the tips surging with chi-magic. "But not the skill to properly use it."

"Then show me the skills you've learned, old friend." She encouraged as she threw a bolt of lightning at him, but Uncle backflipped to avoid it, quickly landing on his feet to blast more stun spells at her.

Caleb gave a yell as he and the Enforcers charged at Drago, only for the young half demon to blow a stream of fire in their direction. Though the Enforcers were able to split and avoid it, the flames did hit the ground in front of Caleb, which quickly encircled around him to form a ring of fire and prevent him from advancing forward.

"You just chill right there." Drago told the glaring Caleb as he was surrounded by the Enforcers. Ratso tried to swing his hammer at him first, but Drago ducked and grabbed Ratso by his shirt before throwing him over. He then swerved around the spear that Chow lunged at him and delivered a punch to knock him down and slashed his claws to parry and knock away the sword Finn had swung before swiping his tail to knock him down.

Alchemy tried to fire a stun spell from her own blowfish at the draconic-spider form of Miranda as she scaled the wall, who was quick to evade all the spells before retaliating with explosive web at Alchemy's feet to knock her into a garden.

"Exploding webs?! Are you kidding me!?" She exclaimed.

"What can I say?" Miranda mused as she crawled down and transformed into her humanoid form. "Turns out I have a taste for hellfire." She was suddenly grabbed from behind by Martin, who pinned her to the ground as Matt was quick to come in with some chains.

"Hold her down so she can't transform! I'll tie her…!" Matt tried to instruct, only for Miranda to easily break herself free from Martin's grip, lift him up by his shirt with one hand and throw him away.

"You were saying?" Miranda mused as she extended a strand of flaming webbing from her right wrist and snapped the makeshift flaming whip at Matt, forcing him to jump back. Alchemy tried to help by blasting more stun spells at her, one landed a successful hit on Miranda's shoulder, causing her to stop her attack, and Matt tried to press by grabbing Miranda's injured arm, pinned it to her back and her to the ground. "Enough!" An aura of fire grew around her body, forcing Matt to pull away and avoid getting burnt. She once again transformed into her draconic-spider form, a blazing aura still surrounding her as she turned around to glare at the nervous Matt and Alchemy.

Irma and Jade tried to double-team, pounding Shendu as much as they could with streams of water and shadow-fire respectively, the large demon keeping his arms up to protect himself.

"Dude's not immortal, so how is he still standing after all this?!" Irma questioned.

"He is a thousand-year-old demon dragon! Pretty sure that scaly hide of his isn't for show!" Jade replied.

Having enough of this, Drago forced himself through the magical onslaught and grabbed both Irma and Jade with his enormous hands, halting their attacks. He looked ready to crush them both in his grip until…

"Shendu!" Gazing to his right, he saw Jackie running along a stone wall until he got close enough to leap at him, just as Tohru charged from behind. Both their attacks hit at the same time as Tohru rammed Shendu in the back of his right leg while Jackie dealt a punch to the demon's face. This was enough to trip up the enormous demon, giving Jade and Irma a hcance to escape his grip just before he crashed on his back on the ground.

Seeing as a chance to end it, Jade materialized a large shadow construct, taking the shape of a guillotine blade. "One beheaded demon coming up!" She tried to bring it down onto him, only for Shendu to recover quickly and open his jaw to bite down on the shadow blade, crushing the shadows in his jaw.

"Oh please." He dismissed as he stood up, Jade looking especially shocked at that along with Irma, Jackie, and Tohru. "I may not currently wield the Talismans, but as you said, I am an ancient demon sorcerer! One known for crushing armies with my own claws." He acted quickly and swiped at Jade to crash her hard onto the ground, delivered a backhand to Irma to send her into the castle's walls. Shendu raised his foot to try and stomp Jackie, only for Tohru to quickly come in and grasp the foot with his bare hands, pushing back with as much strength as he could manage.

"Jackie! Go! I'll hold him!" Tohru ordered.

The martial artist nodded to his friend as he leapt to Shendu's left knee and try to run up his body, but Shendu quickly grabbed him with his right claw before he could make a move.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice!" He backed away from Tohru, only for Shendu to throw Jackie at him with as much force as he could muster. Though Tohru was able to catch Jackie, the force of it was still enough to skid Tohru, as well as Jackie, all the way to the castle wall.

Uncle dodged all the bolts of Quintessence that Nerissa threw at him, retaliating with any stun spell he could with even a second's opening before dodging whatever Nerissa threw at him next. However, any and all stun spells easily dissipated upon hitting Nerissa's barrier, leaving Nerissa herself unharmed as she threw another bolt at Uncle, who flipped over Nerissa and landed behind to try and deliver a kick, only to impact the barrier and to get blasted back.

"I am pleased to see you haven't lost your touch." She complimented. "Even if you are skilled, you can't break through. You already look exhausted..." She saw how Uncle was taking heavy breaths. "While I have energy to spare."

"Perhaps…" However, a smirk fell on Uncle's face. "But just as before… you focus too much on what is in front of you, and not around."

This seemed to make Nerissa confused, only to be surprised as a green hand reached out from behind her left side to snatch the jeweled necklace that was the Heart of Meridian, keeping Elyon trapped inside, from her person.

"Ha! Blunk got it!" The Passling praised, having snuck into Nerissa's barrier just before it formed. Only to give a startled yelp as the jewel vanished from his hand and re-appeared back around Nerissa's neck and Blunk himself was telekinetically lifted into the air by surging Quintessence around him.

"I would have thought you've learned already, Jin." Nerissa said to the surprised eldest Chan. "A Mystic Heart can't be simply taken. Unless more than one individual has laid claim to the Heart, such as when our old team were Guardians, it can only be relinquished willingly. You knew that when Phobos tried the same thing before. I suppose you must have forgotten, too consumed by mixed emotions. Ah well." She tossed Blunk back at Uncle, knocking them both down. Blasts of pink energy and multiple razor-wind disks were thrown at Nerissa from above, though they seemed ineffective against her barrier. "Stubborn youths, aren't you?" She glanced up to the hovering Will and Hay Lin.

The former Guardian looked at the ongoing battles around her. Shendu had dominated over Jackie, Jade, Irma, and Tohru; Drago had Caleb trapped and easily overpowered the Enforcers; Miranda had Matt, Alchemy, and Martin corner; and Cornelia was still struggling against the plant monster.

"It wouldn't be fair if we left dear Taranee out." Nerissa mused to herself, glancing up to a tower where there was a potted plant on a windowsill with a spider in it. "Quintessence." Shooting a bolt of her power at the potted plant, and the arachnid inside, the plant grew to enormous proportions and took the form resembling a four-headed hydra beast, with even the spider growing to be just as big.

Will and Hay Lin gasped as they were forced on the defense, flying backwards to avoid the charging at them while the hydra-plant slithered its way to the middle of the battlefield, lunging its heads at all the scattered heroes, causing even more chaos.

Drago turned in the direction of her mother as she nodded to him, causing him to grin. "Time to go." He opened a Fold with his Ring, allowing him and Miranda to leave, while Shendu reconvene with Nerissa, who opened a Fold of her own with her scepter, giving them a means to escape as well, and leaving the heroes to fend for themselves, not noticing that their enemies have escaped.

Cornelia tried to throw out multiple rocks from the ground to beat back the flytrap monster that had her pinned. This allowed her a chance to escape before trying to use her own powers on the monster to get it back under her control. All she succeeded in doing was growing more flowers from its body.

"Ugh! This isn't working! I'm only giving it a makeover!" She exclaimed before getting smacked down by a vine from that monster.

The hydra-plant's heads stretched out in all directions to chomp at the flying Will, Irma, and Hay Lin, while lashing out its lower tentacles to Jackie, Tohru and Uncle. The Guardians all flew to avoid most of the heads lashing out, while Jackie and Uncle used whatever agility they could to evade the tentacles, while Tohru grounded himself to grab a hold of a large root tentacle and hold it in place, while Uncle and Alchemy came together to fire chi-blasts at the base of the monster, which hollered in pain.

"Time for this weed to chill!" Irma said to Hay Lin as they both nodded, combining their respective powers to blast freezing cold water onto half of the hydra-plant, freezing most of its body, including two of its heads. But the other two acted quickly as one lashed out to ram itself into Irma and Hay Lin, while the other lunged at Will, who formed a pink energy barrier around her body to protect herself. Irma and Hay Lin both fell, but Jackie quickly moved in to catch the former while Tohru caught the latter.

Jade hovered in her spot to see the situation unfolding in front of them. Not only was this a losing battle… but Shendu, Nerissa, Drago, and Miranda all left! No time to worry about that now, though. She had to help her friends.

"Grrr, if Taranee was here, she'd burn these plants down!" Jade groaned, but a scream from Blunk caught her attention, causing her to look down as she saw Blunk running for his life from the enormous spider that Nerissa grew. Matt, Ratso, Martin, Finn, and Chow all tried to come in and grab each of the spider's legs, but it quickly threw them all off before cornering Blunk at a castle wall.

"Blunk eat bugs! Not other way around!" The Passling coward as the spider looked ready to devour him…

Only for Jade to land in-between and grab the spider by its mandibles. "Little guy is off limits!" Jade pressed her strength against that of the spiders, shadows growing from her hands and quickly spreading over the spider's body.

As the shadows spread however, it quickly began to shrink, much to the surprise of Jade and Blunk as they saw the spider shrink back to its original tiny size.

"Spider not big anymore?" Blunk blinked in confusion while Jade looked at the shadows in her own hands before she remembered something…

'Just like what happened with the Annihilators… That's right! My shadow power is magic kryptonite!' A grin fell on Jade's face as she got an idea.

Jackie, Irma, Tohru, Will, Uncle, Hay Lin, and Alchemy continued to struggle against the hydra-plant, despite its form being half-frozen. Fortunately, Jade flew straight at it like a missile with her arms pointed forward, super-hero style, and a mass of shadows forming at her fists and taking the shape of a drill, which she used to drill through the tangled mess of vines at the base of the monster.

"Jade!" Jackie exclaimed as everyone looked more than a little shocked, fearing the worst.

However, the monster writhed in pain as shadow flames emerged out from the base, causing the half-frozen beast to wither, shrink, and fall apart, the Quintessence energy that was used to animate it, now being negated by Jade's shadow magic. Fragments and torn remains of plants and frozen ice all fell around Jade while everyone blinked in surprise, before the girl turned to Cornelia's predicament. "One to go."

The Earth guardian was ensnared by the plant tendrils of the fly-trap monster and was ready to bring her in to devour her, but Caleb came in with his katana to slice the tendrils, freeing Cornelia, whom he caught bridal style.

"I got ya." He smiled in assurance.

"And I got this!" Jade flew straight at the fly-trap monster, who lunged its head to bite down onto her, but Jade not only caught the beast by its jaws, she also coated herself in shadows once more, spreading that same power to the monster, which caused it to shrink and fall apart just like the larger plant monster from before.

"Whoa…" Cornelia muttered as Caleb set her down and only then realized that he was now free. "Wait... Caleb, you're free!"

"Drago's ring of fire just vanished." He replied.

"Yeah, along with Drago himself and his folks." Jade confirmed.

"Wait… they're gone?!" Will exclaimed as everyone regrouped together.

Earth – Heatherfield

A line was formed outside the club as people were being checked in, and near the back of the line was Nigel, with Uriah and his gang behind him.

"Can't believe you're ditching us for the queen of nerds." Uriah snorted before putting on Taranee's glasses and giving an impression of the girl in question. "Oh Nigel, you can't have any friends! That might actually lead to fun, and fun will only take time away from your studies." His mockery spurred laughter from Kurt and Clubber, and annoyance from Nigel.

"You don't even know her! And give me those!" He tried to take the glasses back, which Uriah tossed to Clubber, who tossed it to Kurt, and back to Uriah again, with Nigel trying to reach out and grab them. Uriah happened to lose his grip on the glasses, and they almost fell to the ground, but Nigel was quick to catch them, much to his relief. "Sweet."

However, he along with Uriah's gang noticed Taranee herself step onto the scene, with the Nephorcers behind her. None of them were expecting this new appearance in Taranee, especially Nigel. She looked nothing like the 'queen of nerds' as Uriah described her.

"Ta…ranee…?" Nigel blinked.

"My mom says you're a bad influence. Like I need any help being bad." Taranee grinned.

Uriah whistled towards Nigel. "Dude, if it doesn't work out, can I have her number?"

Meridian

"They just left?!" Cornelia questioned.

"Yeah. Probably bailed after making all those monsters." Jade confirmed.

"Why though? They were wiping the floor with us." Hay Lin commented. "Not even a gloating speech or anything?"

"Thought this would be easier since old dragon breath didn't have the Talismans." Irma put in.

"Drago's still every bit the pain as usual." Finn said.

"His spider girlfriend's also got the same kind of fire powers too." Ratso added.

"Not to mention the old bat's got Elyon's powers…" Chow also said.

Will sighed as she put her hand on her forehead. "I really thought we had this…! Thought we could get the drop on them… but they got to us!"

"Will this was nobody's fault." Jackie tried to assure her. "They took us all by surprise."

"And your whole team wasn't here, remember?" Matt also assured her.

"Ugh! Duh! That's why they left!" Will smacked herself upside the head, coming to a realization. "It's a total divide and conquer! They're going after Taranee!"

"So, what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Caleb urged.

"Hold on… before we go in guns blazing, look…!" Jade gestured to what was left of the plant monsters. "Nerissa's monsters had us on the ropes, until I chopped them down."

"Yeah… how'd you do that?" Martin asked.

"Remember what happened with the Annihilators?" She reminded. "They were unstoppable until I used my shadows on them."

"Of course!" Uncle realized. "Jade's shadow magic negated that which animated them."

"And if Quintessence brought them to life…" Alchemy began.

"Then Jade's ability could probably cancel out Nerissa's powers as well!" Tohru finished, following the train of thought.

"Even though she's juiced up with Elyon's magic?" Caleb asked.

"Perhaps Jade can't cancel out Nerissa's power entirely, but it perhaps it can weaken it… or even allow Jade to bypass her barrier." Jackie assumed.

A smirk fell onto Jade's face. "With that in mind… I have a plan."

Earth – Heatherfield

The band in the club played rather loudly, with even further noise being added to it by the cheering audience. And packed within the audience was Nigel and Taranee, with the Nephorcers nearby.

"So, you look really different!" Nigel tried to say to Taranee.

"What?!" She didn't hear him over the loud noise.

However, electricity surged through the ceiling and all the wiring, causing the lights to suddenly turn off and all the electrical instruments to stop playing.

"I said you looked different!" Nigel shouted just as all the noise died down, causing Taranee to wince. But they and everyone else blinked in confusion at the sudden blackout.

"What happened to the lights and music?" Rocko asked as everyone in the crowd was now becoming restless.

"Alright, stay calm everyone!" The owner of the club said, stepping onto the scene. "Lightning just hit the building; we're closing up! No refunds!"

As everyone reluctantly walked toward the exit, Taranee pondered what she just heard. "Lightning? On a clear night?" A suspicious look formed on her face as she slipped away from the crowd. Frank, Charlie, and Rocko noticed this form her too as they nodded and slipped away as well.

"Maybe we can go somewhere else and…" Nigel suggested but quickly noticed that Taranee was no longer with him. "Taranee? Taranee?!" Everyone else had already left the building, and she was still nowhere to be seen.

"You too, kid! Let's go!" The owner pulled Nigel out by his hood.

"B-but my girl…!" His protest fell on deaf ears as he was brought out of the building.

Taranee had managed to find the stairs that led into the building's basement, which seemed to be a storage area for musical instruments. It was rather dark, so much so that the girl needed a flame in her hand for some illumination.

"Alright, come on out! Drago, sorceress, or whoever else you're working with! I know you're here!" She called out.

An answer came in the form of another flame, being held by a certain scaled hand right next to hers, and the wielder emerging from the shadows behind her.

"You called?" Drago sneered and tried to throw the fire in his hand at her face, but Taranee had ducked and swiped her feet, tripping up Drago, but he landed on his hands as he fell back before leaping over to land on his feet in front of Taranee as she threw out a kick, but he caught her foot in his hand. "Love the new look, by the way. The nerd going through a rebel phase?" He threw Taranee back towards the wall. "Luring me into an isolated area to fight me without drawing a crowd and endangering people. You tried that trick the first time we met. Can't you try and come up with something more original?"

"Sorry, but effectiveness beats originality." Taranee glared.

"You sure about that?" Drago questioned. "Because you're all alone now."

"Who's alone, scale-face?!" Suddenly, he was tackled to the ground by Charlie, with Frank and Rocko holding him down.

"Come on! Hold him down!" Frank said. "Sit on him, Rocko!"

"Already doing it!" Rocko was sitting on Drago's back.

Taranee didn't have time to question the Nephorcers' finding her, but she still had to warn him. "Careful! The owner said lightning struck the building! So, his sorceress friend is here too!"

"You are the smart one." The pinned Drago commented as he grinned. "But she's not my only back-up here."

Suddenly the ground began to shake as a giant clawed hand broke through the floor, grabbing Taranee and pulling her down.

"Taranee!" The Nephorcers all exclaimed in surprise, which left them open for Drago to break himself free from their grip, causing them all to tumble down into the hole that was made, with Drago leaping in after them.

The three boys fell into a large sewer tunnel and gazed up in terror to see Shendu himself, holding Taranee in his grasp with the hovering Nerissa by his side, Miranda scaling the ceiling in her draconic-spider form, and Drago landing on his father's shoulder.

"Shendu!?" Taranee practically screamed upon seeing the Fire Demon, clearly not expecting to see him.

"How satisfying it is… for your last word to be my name." The Ultimate Evil sneered.

"Don't count on it!" Taranee tried to activated her powers, flames in her eyes, only to blink in pain as she had to blink out her contacts, which melted from the heat. "Flames and contact lenses! Bad mix!"

Shendu opened his mouth, ready to devour her whole…

Only for a geyser of water to erupt from the sewer water below, taking the shape of a large fist, and strike Shendu in the face, knocking him back, with Drago jumping off his dad's shoulder, and forcing him to let go of Taranee, who was quickly caught by Will.

"Gotcha!" Will helped to put Taranee down on the ground alongside the rest of her fellow Guardians and the Chan Clan, with Matt, Caleb, Blunk, Alchemy, and Martin right beside them.

"Come on kids, let's go!" Chow helped his nephew out of the sewer water, with Finn and Ratso doing the same for Frank and Rocko respectively. As they did, Irma used her powers to create a large wave of sewer water to push back against the villainous quartet while Hay Lin added to it with a breath of cold air to splash and freeze them all over.

"Okay, who the hell are you and what have you done with Taranee?" Cornelia questioned as she and nearly everyone else looked in surprise to see her newfound appearance.

"The pink washes out, okay? Now a little help please!" She urged.

Right as the ice began to break apart, a sign of the villains breaking free, Will had taken out the Heart of Kandrakar again and activated its power to transform Taranee. "Guardians Unite!"

With a flash of pink light, Taranee had transformed into her Guardian form as she created a flame over her fist. "Now we're talking!" She could even see just fine now too, even without glasses or contact lenses. Guess being a Guardian helped with her eyesight too.

"Blunk, get our nephews outta here!" Ratso told the Passling.

"Yes! Leave now! Good idea!" Blunk used his Tonga Tooth to open a Fold.

"Go on, you kids need to go!" Finn told them.

"No argument here!" Frank agreed as he, Charlie, and Rocko entered the Fold.

"Martin! You too! Go!" Irma told him.

"Yeah. I'm kinda outta my league here." He admitted. "Kick their butts!" He entered the fold along with Blunk, which closed right after.

The ice finally shattered, courtesy of Nerissa as she hovered in the air, surging with Quintessence powers. Shendu, Drago, and Miranda were all beside her when Jade noticed an adjacent tunnel behind the villains. She, Will, and Jackie both exchanged looks and nods.

"Taranee, we're gonna need fire! As bright as you can make it!" Will instructed.

"You got it!" She created a flame in her hands, which she threw to the ceiling before it grew to enormous proportions and shined brightly, almost like a miniature sun. This forced all the villains to briefly close their eyes, which Jade took advantage of as she flew straight forward, grabbed Nerissa by her shoulders and flew her straight into the adjacent tunnel.

"Cornelia, seal them off!" Will ordered. The blonde nodded as she used her powers to raise an earth-wall to completely seal off the entrance to the tunnel. "Guardians, take down Shendu! Jackie, Matt, Caleb, you guys handle Drago! Uncle, Alchemy, and Tohru, you got Miranda! Enforcers, make sure they don't get anywhere near where Jade is! Let's go!"

With that command, all of the heroes charged forward to engage against their respective foes.

Jade stood her ground in their closed off section of the sewer, Nerissa hovering in the air as her Quintessence barrier shined brightly to protect her.

"Jade Chan… you certainly have proven yourself quite the wild card." The former Guardian commented. "Your shadow powers, and spiritual connection to young Will aside, your cunning has caught me off guard more than once."

"That's me. Just your favorite agent of chaos." Jade stated.

"As entertaining as you are, and despite you being family to an old friend of mine, I cannot allow you to interfere in my plans any longer." Nerissa told her.

"And I don't care if you and Uncle got a history. After what you did to my friends, especially Jewel, I'm gonna take you down! Hard!" Jade flew directly at her.

"So headstrong and foolish…" Nerissa tisked as she sent bolts of Quintessence energy towards Jade, who dodged as many as she could to close the gap and quickly generated a shadow-katana…

*SLICE!*

Before Nerissa even realized it, Jade's shadow-sword had sliced through her Quintessence barrier, as well as landed a successful cut on her body.

"Huh…?" She blinked before falling and landing hard on the ground. She shook as she tried to pull herself up. "What…?" Feeling her chest with her hand, she felt blood trickling down where Jade had sliced her.

'She… broke through my barrier…?'

Before she even realized it, Jade was already on her in a flash, dealing a powerful punch to the face, to knock her harder to the ground, where Jade then kicked her up into the air before following through with a series of punches all across Nerissa's body. One to the face, another to her side, multiple rapid strikes to her face and chest before Jade delivered a kick to knock Nerissa to the wall, all while the old sorceress was still trying to process it.

'Her shadow powers… neutralized Drago's quintessence that animated the Annihilators….! But even after amplifying my own with the Heart of Meridian…!? Her shadows can still negate my quintessence?!' She thought enraged as Jade was on her again, flying to deliver a kick into her stomach with enough force that Nerissa wretched out vomit and blood.

Back in the main tunnel, Shendu roared as he was blasted back by a large point-blank Quintessence beam from Will. Though he recovered to try and strike at her, Irma flew in to pull up on the sewer water and raise a water wall to block Shendu's strike before Cornelia grew multiple plant tendrils from the ground to ensnare and bind Shendu, where Taranee and Hay Lin then combined their powers to engulf the demonic dragon in a tornado of fire, which Will added to with another blast of Quintessence energy to create an explosion that sent Shendu flying back to the other end of the tunnel, crashing hard into the wall.

"Oh, what's the matter, Mr. Ultimate Evil?" Irma snarked. "Weren't you supposed to be an ancient demon who's taken down armies?"

"Kinda hard to believe when you're getting scaly rear handed to ya by five teenage girls, right?" Cornelia mocked. "That's gotta be humiliating."

"Impudent little brats!" Shendu roared as he rushed forward, but the Guardians all flew and scattered to avoid his lunge and regrouped behind him just as he landed before pounding him with a five-way attack of all their elemental powers to further blast Shendu into the ground, creating a crater as they did so.

The draconic-spider form of Miranda scaled the walls as she shot streams of her flaming web at Alchemy and Uncle, both of whom ran in opposite directions as they shot chi-spells at the wall where Miranda was on, all shots seemed to completely miss their target.

"You must be getting poor eyesight in your age, old man." Miranda hissed. "You and this novice wizard brat can't even hit me."

"Who said were aiming for you?" Alchemy smirked.

Miranda looked confused, which grew even more as she felt herself losing her grip on the wall she was on. She looked in shock to find the stone wall was starting to melt, having been transformed into mud before falling off completely.

"Respect your elders." Uncle admonished.

Tohru happened to be just below Miranda as she fell, quickly grabbing her by one hand and used his strength to slam her body into the wall on his right before repeating the process on his left, hauled her up to slam her to the ground hard before jumping up and landing his enormous and heavy belly on top of her, causing her to yell in pain as she felt squashed under Tohru's crushing weight.

Drago and Jackie seemed locked in hand-to-hand combat as the former threw punches and sliced with his claws, but Jackie parried many of them before backing up to a wall lined with pipes, and ducked to avoid another slice, which not only cut off those pipes, but even sprayed steam into Drago's face, blinding him as he backed away.

When Drago's vision cleared, he saw Caleb already on him with a slice of his katana, landing a clean hit. Though Drago's scales protected him for the most part, the force did send him to Matt, who had grabbed a nearby wrench to smack Drago's face and knock him to Jackie, who pressed his hands on the wall behind him to pull back both his feet and deal a double kick at Drago to knock him into the sewer water.

The half-demon pulled himself up to take a brief look at the battles around him. His father was being overtaken by the combined efforts of Will and the other Guardians, the trio of chi-wizards had Miranda pinned, and the Enforcers seemed to be guarding the sealed off tunnel where his mother and Jade were, and that's what got him thinking…

'Why did Jade decided to take Mom on alone?' Drago thought before jumping backwards to avoid Caleb's katana slice, landing on the opposite side of the tunnel. 'Wait a minute… don't tell me…!' It dawned on him. 'Jade's shadows were able to neutralize the Quintessence I used to control the Annihilators before! Since I got that power from Mom… does that mean…?!'

Jade had grabbed Nerissa by the sides of her head and pulled her down into a knee to her face, breaking her nose and causing more blood to spill out as the old lady was pushed back against the wall.

"Jackie always told me I should respect my elders..." Jade said as Nerissa prepared to blast a point-blank Quintessence bolt at her young opponent, only for Jade to use the shadows of the darkened tunnel to wrap a dark sheet over Nerissa's hand and negate her attack. "But I think I can make the exception with a psycho like you!" She pulled another fist back and slugged Nerissa across the face, knocking out a few teeth before grabbing her and throwing her at the wall on the other side, which cracked upon impact as Nerissa fell to the ground, feeling that many of her bones were already broken from Jade's relentless onslaught.

'This child…. This insolent… petty… worthless… nobody…!' The enraged Nerissa thought as she was covered in bruises and blood, trying hard to pull herself up. 'No… she's not a nobody… and she's more than just Jin's great-niece… even with the Heart of Meridian… her powers still threaten my own… this girl….' She covered one of her blood-shot eyes with her hand as she glared at the hovering Jade, who had shadows oozing from her form. '…She's my natural enemy!'

Jade was on her once more, the shadows around her body quickly spreading out like a multitude of tendrils to bind Nerissa and pin her to the wall.

"You might have been a Guardian before, but now look at you. Sure, you got a mystic heart; but that old body of yours has seen better days and it can't keep up. At least Uncle stays in shape." Jade told her. "Last chance. Let. Elyon. Go. Now." She threatened as Nerissa could only glare.

Shendu was further pressed down by the elemental onslaught from the Guardians; Miranda was cornered by Uncle, Tohru, and Alchemy, and Drago was also backed against the wall with Jackie, Matt, and Caleb in front of him.

"It's over, Drago. Surrender." Jackie told him.

Drago glared, but soon spotted a pipeline on the ceiling that led into the sealed off tunnel where his mother and Jade currently were, despite the Enforcers guarding it.

"Not on your life, Chan!" Drago unleashed his fire breath at the three in front of him, forcing them back and giving the half-demon a chanced to jump to the ceiling, climb onto it with his claws and grab a hold of the pipe.

"Quintessence!"

Dark red bolts surged from Drago's claws and onto the pipe, which also drew the attention of everyone else, with Will looking the most surprised.

"Wait… what did he just say…?"

Uncle gasped as he saw the dark bolts surge throughout the pipes in the ceiling. "Aiya! Drago wields Quintessence!"

Right as he said that the pipe had appeared to come alive, acting like a serpent as it wrenched itself from the ceiling, causing much of the surrounding bricks to fall off, creating a mess which halted all the fights. Miranda used this chance to slip away while the Guardians flew to evade the falling debris as Shendu stood up to see the pipe continue to break itself free and break apart the wall that sealed off the tunnel where Jade and Nerissa currently were, with the Enforcers running away to avoid getting caught up in it all.

The Fire Demon smiled evilly. 'The boy's power is not as strong as his mother's, but he knows how to use it. I expect nothing less from my own flesh and blood.'

Jade was caught off guard as she and Nerissa were exposed, and the living pipe lunging at her to coil itself around her body, feeing Nerissa from her shadow restraints. She would have fallen on the ground had Drago not caught her before carrying her in his arms and leapt outside. Jade struggled against the pipe but quickly coated herself in shadows and let it spread throughout the pipe and negate the magic that animated it, letting it slide off her before flying out herself.

Drago carried his mother and leapt closer to his father where Miranda also met up with him. He noticed the condition his mother was in and it was rather bad, covered in bruises and blood aside… she had multiple broken bones. She was in no shape to continue.

"My boy, perhaps it's time for a tactical retreat." Shendu told his son.

"For once, I agree with your father. We need to go." Miranda added.

Drago growled as he saw all his enemies regroup together and realized they were right. "This isn't over! Not by a long shot!" He used his ring to open a Fold and allow all four to escape.

"Aiya… that is what Uncle is afraid of." The elderly chi-wizard said.

"So, Drago has Quintessence to?" Alchemy questioned.

"Not surprising, considering the old hag is his mom and all." Jade replied.

"Wait… what?!" Taranee exclaimed in shock. "The sorceress is Drago's mother?!"

"Oh right… you didn't hear the whole story." Will winced.

Jackie gave a sigh as he placed a hand on the Fire Guardian's shoulder. "Taranee, perhaps you should find a spot to sit. This might take a while to explain."

After being told the whole story about Nerissa and Drago's origin story, which took about an hour or so for Taranee to process, she was able to sneak her way back to home. Climbing back up onto her balcony from the outside, she went into her room where it was dark inside. But the second she opened the door and went in…

The lights turned on, revealing her mother in a bathrobe, with an expectant and disappointed look on her face. "We'll talk about trust in the morning. But grounded? That doesn't even begin to cover it." She said before closing the door behind her, while Taranee just glared.

Taranee then heard a knock on her window and turned around in surprise to see Nigel on her balcony.

"Hey." Nigel greeted as she came outside. "I was worried… I couldn't find you outside the club…"

"That's okay. You found me now." Taranee replied, looking away slightly.

"Sorry I got you into trouble. Again." Nigel apologized. "Your mom sounded pretty mad."

"That's her problem." Taranee scowled in frustration. "I'm sick of always being the 'good girl'! The 'smart one'! The 'perfect child'!"

Nigel chuckled slightly. "I dunno… the sweet thing is… that's kinda what I like about you." That caused Taranee to look at him in surprise as he took out her glasses that he had recovered. "Glasses and all." He put them back on her face before kissing her on the lips.

He climbed back down via the pillar and made his way from her house, while Taranee just blinked for a moment before she smiled. "Sweet."

Done.

So, yeah, that was a rather big chapter with a lot going on.

Uncle has woken up and the heroes have learned about Nerissa and Drago's story, and you all now have a pretty good understanding of why neither Uncle, Yan Lin, nor Halinor recognized Drago as the same half-demon child that Nerissa bore long ago…

They thought he had died back then, and Nerissa never revealed the name of the demon she laid with (with Uncle saying that thousands have existed throughout history) and because Valmont's father had recovered Shendu around the same time, none of the past Guardians or their friends could find him when they searched the area for either Drago or the source of the darkspot, which is still active even today (we'll get more on that later). That and dragons are also a common concept throughout the cosmos, the name 'Drago' being derived from the word dragon so it could have been a matter of 'same name basis', and they never saw the infant Drago use fire magic (only Nerissa saw it that one night when her whole life went to hell).

I hope that all makes sense.

But the fights were something else, let me tell ya. Drago has given Miranda some of his Fire Demon Chi (the same way he previously did with Raythor, Frost, and Hak Foo), and Nerissa is certainly more powerful than before.
However, despite that… Jade's shadow powers are still able to negate Nerissa's magic, allowing her to come in and beat the ever-loving snot out of Nerissa! And I really enjoyed writing that particular part.

But as Drago said, this is still far from over. The next chapter is when things get really interesting, and I can't wait for you all to see that.

So, until then, stay safe. Love you guys.