Jackie watched Jade and Hsi, the latter in his human form, from the doorway to the living room. The two of them were snuggled up on the sofa with popcorn, soda, various other snacks, and an old Disney movie playing on Uncle's decrepit VHS player. Part of Jade's "crash course on being human". It was late and Jade had nodded off some time ago, her head resting on Hsi's shoulder.

He suddenly noticed that Uncle was standing beside him, "I still can't believe it," Jackie said, "They look so normal."

Uncle nodded, with a faint smile, "Perhaps with someone to compete with, Jade will finally take school seriously?"

"I can only hope," Jackie replied. They had decided that the best way for Hsi to assimilate into the new world he found himself in would be for Hsi to attend school with Jade starting next year. Captain Black was working to make 'Seymour Wright' an alias that would hold up to a reasonable level of scrutiny. Thankfully Jackie had been able to talk Hsi out of 'Skywalker' as his surname, much to Jade's displeasure. The demon had settled for the humans who first conquered the sky.

Hearing voices, Hsi twisted around to glance backwards at them curiously. Jackie smiled, and Hsi turned his attention back to the TV. Jade stirred, mumbling in her sleep. Hsi tucked her blanket around her a bit better, a look of utter contentment on his face.

Jackie stepped back quietly, "I think they'll be good influences on each other, strange as it may seem."

Uncle chuckled, "Ha, already are. Could not have demon in shop otherwise!"

Jackie heard the faint whistling of the kettle start up. He was looking forward to a nice, relaxing cup of chamomile before bed. With a fond glance at the two on the sofa, he headed for the kitchen. It had been a long time since he had enjoyed such peace and quiet.

Viper was waiting in the kitchen, having already poured two cups. Jackie gave her a quick hug, before they sat with their tea. Viper grinned, "So how're the lovebirds doing?"

"Ack!" Jackie choked on his tea. "They're not," he insisted, as Viper giggled at his spluttering.

"No, but Jade's getting older, and from what I hear she had quite the crush on 'Seymour' the first time around," Viper said, giving Jackie a soft thump on the back to help catch his breath, "So I guess you can be the anxious uncle and I'll be the fun aunt."

"Ugh," Jackie sighed, raising his cup and taking a long sip, "At least we won't have to worry about Daolong Wong anymore. Teenage drama will be a nice change of pace."

"Be careful what you wish for," Viper replied, with a sly smile.

February 6, 1974

Location: CLASSIFIED UPSILON CHICXULUB ESCHER

A man stood and shaded his eyes against the sunlight glinting off the deep alpine snow. He trudged awkwardly up the hill, his skis proving as much a hindrance as help. At first glance, with his thick, bushy beard he might be mistaken for a simple woodsman, but the sharp eyes peering through thick coke-bottle glasses revealed a keen intellect and inquisitive mind.

He continued to make his way to where he estimated the meteorite had landed. A small one had come in right over head a few hours earlier, and no scientist of his caliber could pass up a chance like this, even if he was on vacation.

Cresting a small hillock, he saw the track of disturbed snow from the impact. With a gentle push, he glided down to it. A short trench terminated in a crater in the snow. Kneeling at its edge, he peered down at the small sphere at its center.

It appeared crystalline, which surprised him, and glowed with a soft light, which flickered once, then faded. Some kind of piezoelectric driven luminescence? He sprinkled some snow on it to test its temperature, and gently took it in his glove when it did not melt. It was no mineral he recognized, but as he turned it in his hand, he discovered a large crack, and several chips separated from the whole.

The man fumbled a small plastic sample bag from his pack, and gently slipped the sphere and its fragments inside. Behind him, another man, panting with exertion, reached the hilltop.

"Dr. Schaeffer! Did you find it?"

"Yes! And it's quite fascinating, Dubois. I'm quite tempted to cut the trip short so I can study it some more!"

"Ha!Your wife might kill you if you suggested that!" Dubois said, "Just be glad you found it before we had to return to the lodge for the night! You're on vacation; enjoy it! The science will wait until you get back to the lab."

Schaeffer put the meteorite in his coat pocket, and the two pushed off down the slope to where a pretty rose-haired woman waited. Yes, the meteorite was a problem for tomorrow; but his mind was already racing at the possibilities.

The End?

And it's finally done! Thank you to everyone who stuck with me all this time. Couldn't have made it without your comments and attention.

The primary purpose of this story has always been about finding a way to extend Hsi's character into a redemption arc where he and Jade can develop into friends or more in a way that felt natural. I hope I succeeded. I have some desire for a sequel with an older Jade and Hsi which would probably have a more "sci-fi" slant to it. I've seeded the necessary foreshadowing throughout this story (most blatantly here) but I can make no promises, since the concept is far to rough to begin, and I've got other projects to work on.

One more thing! There will be a bonus one-shot that's not really a part of this story or a sequel. Coming soon*

*Don't ask when soon is. I'll give you the title though, "To Soar"