So this is a little one-shot, possibly story if I get enough reviews requesting it. At the line break is where I originally wrote to at school years ago, but I decided to expand on it and take a chance. So please enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned this show, then Tarakudo would have put way more effort into turning Jade back to his side.

Jade's weakness

Jade was caught off guard and one of the demons caught her. Toruh charged at the demon, so he summoned his shadow Kahn, unknowingly sending some of his power through his hand; Jade felt it start to surge and the familiar pull of energy, she accidentally started to absorb it. After a moment the Oni general pulled away exclaiming, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" This effectively snapped Jade out of her trance, but not before the general caught the grin that had graced her lips and the glowing red eyes filled with a hunger for power beforehand. After he got over his momentary shock, he remembered that they had specific orders from Tarakudo not to harm this little one. So he got an idea, quickly before she could recover her wits, he grabbed her again and traveled through the shadows to his master.

She struggled a little while in the shadow realm but it didn't seem to really bother her in the sense of pain. 'weird she is human, she shouldn't be able to even breath so much as actually be attempting to fight in here.'

Jade wouldn't admit it, but she was trying not to enjoy the power the shadow realm was offering her.

They arrived by Tarakudo, who seemed quite surprised, and also quite pleased upon seeing who he brought. Jade was struggling to get out of the generals grasp yet, and he was actually starting to struggle a little to keep her in his grasp. Had she gotten stronger since he abducted her?!

"Jackie's gonna kick your butt, you'll see!" She shouted at Tarakudo.

Tarakudo simply smiled and replied, "Oh really now? Are you so sure about that? Why, if I didn't know any better, I would think he is still in a rather tight spot." He laughed at his own joke then went on to asking. "So, what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

"You won't believe this master, but I think she started to absorb my energy, and she even survived the shadow realm. She is certainly an interesting human child." Tarakudo just laughed at him for his astonishment with her. "Master, I don't understand…. What is so funny?"

"Well, I would expect nothing less from the former queen of the shadowkahn." The general seemed completely dumbfounded at this info.

"This, this …. Little HUMAN girl is, or was our QUEEN?!"

"Yes, and I do believe she wishes to resume her role. Isn't that right Jade?" Tarokudo asked her like he knew something no one else did. He looked her in the eyes and she soon found herself unable to look away. The general was confused until he saw his masters mark appear in both sets of eyes and noticed that the girl was not struggling anymore but tensing up. It was clear there was a mental battle going on between the two.

"I know you don't want to stay human Jade. Why fight what you truly desire? Is it because of your dear Uncle Jackie and his constant rejection of your truest self or perhaps because you somehow like being tormented with being forced to live as if you were someone else? Was the power you acquired not able to set you free from these restraints you put on yourself?" The lord of the Oni questioned her with a hint of sadness in his voice.

She was trying to fight the darkness pulling at her mind, reminding her of all the torment she went through with the kids at school and whenever Jackie would try to make her be so well behaved that she would just not do anything. She was tired of a normal life, of being like everyone else and focusing on miniscule things when she knew there was more out there. She desperately wanted to come to America so she could be and individual, that's why she acted the way she did, so her parents would send her away from all the other kids who were trained to be all alike. And now her Uncle still wants her to be like everyone else... why can't they just let her be her?

She could feel the coolness of the darkness as it was beginning to wash over her heated thoughts... it was almost like a calming effect. But not all the memories were bad... her Uncle did amazing things all the time and helped a lot of people, and he was teaching her some martial arts. And he did want to take care of her even when she disobeyed him. He loves her and so do Uncle and Toruh. And Black cares too... along with Viper and Paco and his uncle... she has loved ones and they were awesome and helped people even though they were ordinary humans. She got a sudden vision of her standing over them, with a fanged smirk on her face. NO! She couldn't imagine wanting to hurt them...

Thus the battle continued in this mental relm. Jade's light was pulling through until Tarakudo stepped his game up another notch.

"So you protect them because they have taught you that being good helps people? And all the while they won't let you do the same? If you want to do good and they want you to be like everyone else who only hurt you... well I think they just don't trust you. They don't think you can do it. Why? Why cant they believe in you?" The red head floated closer to the girl, his voice penetrating deeper and deeper into her mind and starting to echo into her very being.

"Is it because you break the rules? Because you don't like to be bossed around and held down by such human fears of getting hurt? You are not afraid of the same things they are. They fear power, while you embrace it and use it to your advantage and help them win... yet they don't trust you. Face it my dear, you never wanted to be human. You were never fit for such a pathetic role. You are smarter, faster, stronger, and have more energy then any one them. You do not succumb to power, but utilize it when others just fall to it and destroy themselves. You have the qualities of a leader, and the wisdom of a Queen. Don't let those fools deny you of your true self, they are only afraid of you so they tie you down with human fears. Is that really love to you? Is that really what you want to be?" Tarakudo sighed empatheticaly with the last part. He truly wanted her to be happy with herself, and couldn't stand the state that those do gooders where forcing her into. She could only be free to be herself once she succumbs to her truest desires.

That last part was what drove it all home... she could never be what they wanted because she never wanted to be what they wanted. It was all true, she always did the opposite of what she was told and never cared for being afraid of the fighting.

Tarakudo knew he had her now. He told the general to let go of her, and watched as she fell to her knees with her hands on the floor, still caught up in the relm that connected her mind with the Oni lords.

For the first time since she became the queen, she let herself remember all that she did in the most vivid of detial. She punished the dark hand, and almost got revenge on Andrew, and then took over section 13. She accomplished all of this in one day, she only lost when Valmot pulled his stupid stunt that distracted her long enough for Jackie to get the upper hand. But she would not make that mistake again. She was smarter now and more powerful.

The power... she loved it. She loved being able to do what others couldn't and being in control. Tarakudo was right, she loved showing her skills and whit and proving others wrong when they thought she couldn't do it.

She'd always hated those bad guys who acted like monsters and destroyed everything and only rambled on about power like it was something anyone could have. It wasn't. It was something only someone who has the right amount of will power and wisdom to have... and they never did. That's why they always lost in the end. They were always overcome by the power and thought they were invincible, overconfidence was the true killer.

But she knew better... it was easy to see their mistakes. Yes, she was so much wiser. The reason she lost her power was due to circumstance and luck. Jackie was one step ahead of her, and that was only because she wasn't at her peak of understanding her power, hence why she wanted Shendu to translate the book to her. But she won't loose this time. She had Lord Tarakudo now; and he was right... she knew she was better then them. And she didn't want to loose again and be put back into her miserable state of mind that she couldn't be herself. She was sick of it... sick of striving to be someone else and going against her instincts just so she can fit the box they wanted her to be in.

Being forced into a box.

That sounds a lot like a prison. Like she can't be trusted. Like she was doing something wrong by wanting to help and being herself. Was she happy with this life? No. Not when they are always trying to close her up and deny her of her rights to be herself. That's it then, she refuses to be that miserable ever again. She won't hold back, and they will see that she is not going to be pushed around or locked up ever again.

Tarakudo was smiling, her whole body had just relaxed and the shadows around her were starting to stir in response. He knew she still had some of her powers from before, even though she couldn't summon them that one time. They were buried deep, so if she truly wanted to use them then she needed to dig deeper. Like now, now she was ready to use them again, thus their response to her.

The shadows hid her face, but he could feel her resolve. When she looked up she seemed normal, but she had trouble standing and wobbled a little. The general behind her helped her steady herself and she thanked him quietly. Finally Tarakduo spoke.

"Welcome back, my Queen. Are you feeling alright? I know it must be a little shock to the system to suddenly re-gain your power." He asked in concern. She managed to take a nice deep breath and flexed her hands a little, surprised that they weren't blue yet.

Alright, i'm not sure if I want to continue, I might just leave it a one-shot. I've came back and re-did this a few times before posting it... if first only started as an idea and ended at the line break. Do you think it was better left at the line break or as a full chapter/possible story? Tell me what you thought of my little experiment.