Sailorlyoko4life: (sneaks into room to try to tell readers about her disapearence)

So apparently I have a bad habit of starting a chapter, thinking I had posted it, but then realizing I never finished it and that people have been waiting for a year... yeah sorry won't cut it.

But to be fair my dad passed away and I was dealing with the trauma of being the one to find him and all of that grief at the time I wrote the first half of this chapter (which was the first half of last year)

On a good note though I was finally able to move to NYC like I have always wanted ( I have lived in Indiana my whole life) so I just got busy with jobs and whatnot.

Then I come back to this story today and realize I need to finish the chapter I had started! Geez. I always freak once I finally notice how long its been since my last update. Apparently since last march... which has been a year. But during said time I have constructed a fine tuned ending for this so now that things have calmed down I will get to work with my favorite kids again! (That makes me happy!)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own either shows, but I would pay someone to do comic strips for me of the story lol.

Lessons to Learn

Two days later

Doc was taking another look at the pictures him and Jackie took in the cave. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he knew something was wrong. He switched from the entrance pictures back to the deepest ones they took. Something was wrong. What was it?

Jackie came into the counsel room in his white tank top and sweat pants with a glass of water in his hand and a towel on his shoulders. He had just came from the training area at the back of the ship, he was doing a training session with Jade.

"Hey there, how did your session with your niece go?" Doc asked as he waved to Jackie. Jackie smiled and waved back while walking over.

"Good. I even had an extra student today." He said as he looked at papers Doc had spread out on the table.

"Really?" Doc gave him his full attention.

"Yes. Zak wanted to join in, and I must say he learns very quickly. I was impressed with how well he takes instructions." Jackie stated. He glanced over at the video that Toruh had sent them of him unrolling the only Semarian scrolls the shop had so they could pause it and read them. He kinda missed being at the shop. But he actually kinda liked the way the Saturdays did 'work'. With the Saturdays it seems work and play are often balanced together pretty well. It was kinda nice to have such a family atmosphere even with the stress of the new mysteries they have been dealing with.

"Well, um, thank you I guess. I mean I know he is good with picking things up quickly, but I guess it's not easy to know exactly how well he is doing if you have no one to compare him to other then adults. Being a teacher you can probably gauge Jade better." Doc said as he reluctantly took the complement about his son. Jackie gave a bit of an odd expression at the mention of Jade.

"Yes, well she is very unruly so it makes it difficult to gauge her properly sometimes. She does well with picking things up quickly and actually can handle harder moves much more quickly then most adults even, but she has too much energy and likes to get into trouble with that energy a lot. It can make it hard to tell if she is truly progressing or not." Jackie picked up one of the pictures Doc was trying to figure out. He looked at it just as skeptically. Doc was curious as to what Jackie meant though.

"What do you mean by 'hard to track if she is progressing? It sounds to me like she is clearly learning a lot and quickly." Jackie was still focused on the photo.

"Her parents sent her to me to learn self control and to help teach her how to stay out of trouble. HUH" He sighed heavily like it was a large weight. "It's not easy with all the magical stuff I get involved in to show her how to do that or even to make sure she stays out of it."

It was clear to Doc that his charge of Jade was taxing. It wasn't like she was his own kid. He didn't even have experience raising a kid. Let alone one as energetic as Jade. But he could see why they would send her to him. Jackie was a very well rounded person who seemed to not like trouble, but dealt with it well. He was a good role model for her.

"I can see how that can be stressful. But I think they chose well to send her to you." Doc said as looking at a photo of the entrance he had looked at 10 times already.

"Thanks. But I don't think I've been helping her much being involved with magic all the time. I don't really know how to get that abundant amount of energy out other then martial arts, which clearly isn't doing the trick. I'm not sure what else I can do anymore." Jackie seemed dejected.

"I think your doing enough already. Just make sure she knows she's loved. Sometimes I wonder how we raised such a good son even through all of the chaos that always seems to be happening in our lives, especially lately. But I couldn't ask for a better son. Zak was raised to be good. But I think what really helped us raise him is making sure he knows we love him no matter what. I would like to believe that that's been helping him through the Kur stuff." Doc paused after that last part. Jackie never see's it much, but it seems the Kur stuff has been worrying Doc more then he lets on. "My point is just make sure she knows you value her and love her. Sometimes that means you have to show her that you trust her. And sometimes that also means you have to give alittle and let her do what she wants. Now I'm not saying to never tell her no, but we try to keep it balanced with Zak. Not too much freedom to the point we don't know where he is, but not too short of a leash that he feels he has to act out just to get our attention." Doc made sure Jackie understood that last part as a nod to him and Jade.

"No, you don't think..." Jackie never thought of it like that.

"Yeah, honestly I noticed it the first time we met, but didn't think it was my place to say anything. But maybe now is the time to mention that you are extra strict with Jade. And by the sounds of it so were her parents. Trying to always control her could be the reason she is acting out. Sometimes you have to let them learn on their own."

Jackie took that in for a few minutes while pretending to still be looking at the pictures. He hated it, but the more he thought about it the more Doc's theory seemed to be right. The more he pushed her to stay away from danger, the more she seemed to want to be in it.

"But I don't want her to get hurt. Don't you worry about what would happen if you weren't there and Zak got hurt?" Jackie asked. He wanted to protect Jade.

"Of course. As a parent I never stop worrying about Zak's safety. But I think about what would happen if I got hurt and was alone. I have the knowledge to figure out what to do. So since I can't always be by Zak every second of the day I make sure I pass that knowledge to him so that he knows how to as well in case he ever does get in some kind of situation." Doc said fondly. "As adults its our job to teach the kids. If you really want her to be safe, then teach her how to take care of herself. If you know she knows how to handle herself on her own, then you don't have to worry about keeping an eye on her all the time cause you can trust that she will be ok."

Jackie understood it now. He thought about all the times he has seen the Saturdays let Zak go off on his own or let him come along on things. They tell him to be safe and meet them at certain time and place and he seemed to follow those instructions pretty well. He has just as much energy as Jade does and just as much of an adventuress spirit as she does as well. But he seemed to follow the rules better. Not perfectly, but better then Jade does. Doc and Drew teach Zak the most important things. Yes they still worry about him and want to protect him, but it's clear Zak has a respect for his parents and seems to be more mature then Jade. He likes learning new things. He is pretty good with handling himself when in action. And his parents are clearly very proud of him. Zak has a good relationship with his parents. This family is a very good family. All these things seem to float around Jackie's head as him and Doc try putting the pictures in order from when they entered the cave to when they exited the cave.

Finally Jackie said, "Do you mind helping me teach Jade? I know she's not your problem but...*sighs* oh who am I kidding, I think I need to be taught some things too." Jackie was hesitant to ask for help. Doc smiled.

"Of course. Being a parent isn't easy. Even if she is only your niece. It all comes down to balance and trust. I'm not saying we are perfect, but we can teach you what we have learned so far." Doc said with confidence. It made Jackie smile and not feel so ashamed about needing help. These were definitely good people to learn from.

-With Zak and Jade, right after Jackie left-

Thanks for letting me jump in with the training session! It was actually fun! I like the way Jackie starts and ends it with breathing and meditation." Zak

"Yeah I enjoy it too. Though its sometimes tough to do due to my ADHD." Jade admitted while she picked up her towel.

"You have ADHD?" Zak asked, a little shocked. He had actually never met anyone with it before, but he knew what it was. Up until now Jade had never mentioned it before.

"Yeah, my parents tried to medicate me but it wasn't doing much good, so it ended up being one of the reasons that they sent me over here to live with Jackie. They wanted me to learn self control and for him to be a good influence on me." She moved to grab herself some water. "Why do you sound so surprised? I figured it was pretty obvious that I have it."

"I guess I have never been around anyone with it so I didn't really notice. But I think you definitely have been overcoming it. From what I know about it you should be acting like a 6 year old, especially since you aren't on medication anymore."

"Yeah, well I guess I've gotten better at hiding it." She said.

Zak looked at her for a long minute. Then he said, "No. I think you have been getting better at managing it, not hiding it. It's only my opinion, but I think the lessons with Jackie are actually helping more then you realize." He also got some water from the mini-fridge and took a long swig before continuing. "Ahh. My mom and dad always say that having physical discipline helps you know how to direct your energy. And in order to have physical discipline you have to have mental discipline. So when you learn something like martial arts it goes hand in hand. That's why Jackie starts with breathing, it brings mental focus. Then he goes into the action and ends it with breathing again and then adds some meditation. He designed these training sessions specifically to help you learn more then just martial arts. I mean you just said that's one of the reasons they sent you here right?" Zak took another swig. Jade's mind was racing. Actually no, it wasn't. It was slowing down. It made too much sense. Everything clicked. Jackie was doing exactly what her parents wanted him to do. And apparently it was working. But if it worked, then would Jackie tell them that? Would he send her back home?

Zak noticed her face go from realization to questioning to dread. He figured he said something wrong. "But I could be wrong, I mean really it could be just a coincidence. Martial arts focuses heavily on those things as it is, so it could just be an added bonus to learning it." Zak was unsure of what to say. Jade wasn't talking or acting like it made her feel any better. She just said, "yeah" and walked out. Zak wasn't sure what it was that he said that made that conversation go south but he figured she would talk to him about it if it bothered her. But he really didn't like the dark look that her face took on before she left.

-With the bad guys -

In the naga's new lair the Queen was pleased with herself. She accomplished the first part of the new plan. And with the help of her old friend they have now established a permanent link with the children they were after. Yes, things were going well indeed.

"Its niccce to sssee you again, my friend." She stated as she was brought the King of all Oni and his bubmling human slaves.

"Likewise your highness. I am now able to pursue Jade even as she is awake. This should make things much simpler for us in the long run." Tarakudo stated, thinking back as to how Zak and Jade had fallen for their trap with the mirror, in which Tarakudo was behind, and had connected to him mentally of their own will this time. Now with the vision he gave both of them and the specific one he gave Zak it should make the kids wonder more about the future and their own families, paving room for doubt and distrust to grow.

"Oh, oh my." he stated out of no where. His face seemed a little shocked, but soon turned to a pleased one. The queen simply smiled at the change but the dark hand was at a complete loss as to what was happening to their boss.

"Um pardon us your umm snakeness, but what exactly is happening here?" Chow asked nervously. She didn't seem to mind explaining though.

"Lord Tarakudo now has a sssstronger connection to the children. Sssoo naturally he can now ssssenssse major changessss in their powersss. And with hissss connection to the darknesssss within the girl growing he can now ssssenssse her emotional sssshifts when they are big enough, even when sssshe is awake." The Naga Queen hissed out in glee. The dark hand all smirked at eachother. If the boss was reacting to something with Jade then things were about to get interesting.

-Back with Jade-

She couldn't shake it. She had gone to the secret place Zak and her like to go to to talk at night wihtout the adults hearing them, but it wasn't helping calm her down like she had hoped. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't seem to shake this anger. She knew why. She could feel the shadows around her and could hear the whispering sounds in the back of her head. It was reminding her of her dream the other night about Tarakudo directly talking to her as the Queen. Ever since she has been hearing whispers in the dark. Even when she was in a lit up room she feels like the shadows are watching her, waiting for her. Talking about her even. She can hear them. But she doesn't want to hear them. She doesn't want to feel like she has and audience to her tantrum. She just wants to be alone.

"Well you might be soon." She suddenly hears behind her.

Jade takes a sharp breath in. She looks around quickly. That felt too close. No way Tarakudo be here, they were protected by Uncles magic onion barrier. She tries to slow down her breath.

' ok I need to get it together. No one is here. Just breathe and regain your focus, like Jackie always says. ' She thinks to herself.

"Like that's going to do you any good when he sends you back to your no good parents."

"aiuah!" She shouts and jumps like she was about to be attacked. "Where are you? Who are you?" She yells into the nothingness of the empty room. The plants were still, the table and chairs were still, nothing was moving. It seemed even the shadows went silent, probably wondering what she was yelling at. She was wondering the same thing. "Answer me!"

*snickering* "Why the dumb questions?You already know the answers. So how about I ask one. What are you waiting for?" The voice asked. It sounded like the person was right in front of her, but nothing was there. Jade was sweating and started to shake. What was going on?

"I, I don't know what your talking about." She said out loud. The voice sighed in discontent.

"Are you really just going to wait until the inevitable happens? No wonder you're so miserable!" It suddenly shouted. "You don't want to be controlled and yet you let yourself be controlled by him! By all of them! You have the power, and you know it. You could just leave in an instant and they wouldn't be able to stop you. But you let them lock you up. You LET them restrain you!" She was angry. And in a seething hiss she said "You let them walk all over us."

Suddenly Jade didn't need to see her guest. She knew who it was. She knew who she was. She looked to the floor and noticed her own shadow was glaring at her. It was her.

Jade took a few steps back, towareds the exit. But she couldn't leave. She froze.

"I... I ..." She was scared to answer. She just grabbed her head and tried to shake it all off. But she couldn't unsee it now. She only saw the shadow smirk.

"Nope, not a dream. Sorry. I'm not going anywhere. But you can." Jade could feel the darkness at her shaking feet shift. She knew if she really wanted to that she could just step forward and sink into her own shadow to escape the room... to escape Jackie. She could feel cool air around her face moving her hair. She stopped shaking. She just had to-

"JADE!" Zak came running into the room effectively shaking Jade out of her trance. She stumbled backwards. Zak looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. But when he looked at Jade that clearly wasn't the case.

"Are you ok?!" He took her by the shoulders. She was shaking terribly and looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Jade! What's going on?" Zak asked again, trying to get her to focus on him. She finally seemed to realize that he was asking her something.

"I... don't know." Was all she said at first. She grabbed his arm. "Can, can we just go somewhere else?" She asked. This was the place they usually went to, so he didn't understand why she wanted to leave it, but it was clear something had spooked her pretty bad so he nodded, took her hand, and they headed towards the bedrooms. Finally once they were away from the room, she seemed to calm down and collect her thoughts. She had her thinking expression on so Zak knew not to pry yet. He just let her have her time. But he wouldn't wait too long. Something had just happened and he knew it wasn't good.

They were going to go to her bed room to assumingly talk about it but Drew came up to them and told them lunch was ready. Then she noticed them holding hands...

"Well maybe it can wait." She said slyly and the two were confused until they realized what she was looking at and quickly yanked their hands apart, both blushing furiously. They were trying to make up excuses but Drew didn't seem to care. She just held up her hands and said. "I'm just here to let you know there's food. But I do suggest coming now cause it looks like Jackie likes lasagna as much as your father does." She turned around and went back the way she came. Jade threw Zak a questioning look, but he was already taking off towards the kitchen.

"Well I guess that answered that question." She muttered as she took off after him.

This is not edited at all due to it being midnight, so I will go back over it later. But what did you guys think of it?!

(Hears Zak and Jade coming down the hall and decides to climb back into the ventilation shaft to get away before they find her.)