History

Pre-Labs

Had he not walked the road he did, Jadeite would have had it made. Born in Lapistoria, he would very rarely go to the Pop'n World. He was the oldest child of a rich family and grew up getting anything he wanted. This would come with one caveat. Expected to become the new patriarch of the family, success was important. While money was never a concern, his home life was strict. However, he had little interest in the inheritance or settling into that role.

No, he was born with a gift. He was one of the lucky few who could purify lapises. Once he found it out, he devoted himself to it. Diving deep into any source of pollution, he took pride in this ability. With his natural charisma and well-hidden manipulative streak, those he helped tended to stick around. He quickly became beloved by his classmates, in more ways than one. Having many short lived relationships, he was a playboy through and through. Despite this, he did eventually settle down with an underclassman named Alex. With money, a loving wife, and powers the average person didn't have, he had everything he could ever want.

However, it wouldn't last forever. In his second year of college, his lapis died from overuse. The once brilliant teal faded to black. No matter what he did, he just couldn't purify lapises anymore. Playing pop'n with others left them with polluted lapises, like the ones he fixed not even a year ago. When he had tried to ask MZD for assistance, the god had no clue lapises could do that. It was an unresearched phenomenon prior to his case. Left on his own, Jadeite began to try to find a way to fix this himself.

What would follow could only be described as his descent. For over a decade, he threw himself into his research, growing more distant from those who loved him. The failures he faced only pushed him into going deeper, because if he wouldn't who will? Even though he would become a well-known lapis researcher, few realized the extent of it. His measures would only grow more extreme as time passed. He would disappear for months at a time to research elsewhere, even when his wife was expecting.

After one of these month long excursions, Jadeite returned home to Alex. She seemed shaken up and had bits of lapis peeking out from her hair. The telltale signs of a vessel. By his own negligence, he had missed his chance to speak with The Original Lapis directly. When he pressed her about the possession, she broke down crying and asked why he keeps going away. Instead of this being a wake up call, it gave him a new goal. If he spoke with the deity, it could restore his lapis. Even the birth of his children would become a sidenote in his life.

One fateful day, his research caught the eye of a certain organization. He was given a job offer that would change everything. A job that would give him the means to do the research he wanted to. They had developed an interest in how lapises purify and pollute. If Jadeite helped them with making soldiers, he could experiment on their lapises as much as he wanted.

The ends justify the means, after all.

Pre-Canon

This sounded like the perfect job to him. Getting paid to further his research was something he hadn't even considered. The ethics of it all mattered little to him. After all, if purification abilities became more widespread, wouldn't that be a public good? A flimsy excuse, so he could keep thinking of himself as a good person.

As he scouted out employees for the project, one of the applicants caught his eye. A recent medical school graduate named Weiss. During his interview, the two developed a rapport in spite of their age difference. Appointing him as the head doctor, the two would work together a lot. For the first time in a while, he had a friend again. Things finally seemed to be turning up.

However, their first attempt was a failure to almost everyone involved. The first subject of the project was cloned from Weiss at Jadeite's suggestion. He did so much of the biological work, so he should have the honors. They attempted to create an artificial lapis purifier for the sake of lapis research. When the process was complete, the child's lapis was somehow already dead. Stranger yet, it was incapable of polluting lapises. With a lapis that was basically useless for research, the project lead made his disdain for Black clear.

Four subjects later, none of them had lapises that were suitable for the project. It was either their lapis was born dead or they had ones that COULD purify, but died much faster. Even though they ironed out the lack of pollution abilities, his frustrations only grew. Like many before him, he would abuse his position of power over the kids and staff. Even towards the person he called a friend. After all, it's not like the police could be called.

Jadeite's self induced misfortune only grew. One night after work, he came home to Alex still awake and waiting for him. In no uncertain terms, she wanted a divorce. He became unrecognizable from the person she loved, ever since his lapis died. Plus, it just wasn't fair to their kids to have a father who was never around. His attempts to convince her to stay fell flat. In the ensuing argument, he punched the wall hard enough to leave a dent. The next morning, he woke up to his wife and kids gone.

As much as he tried convincing himself this was a good thing, he was miserable. Regardless, he still went to work the next day. He spent most of the day with Weiss, considering him the only thing he had left aside from his research. The doctor urged him to go home and take the day off, since he was visibly a wreck. With plenty of PTO to spare, an idea crossed his mind: He always wanted to go to Las Vegas, so why not now? Not wanting to go alone, the project lead asked him to come with him.

A week later, the two arrived in Nevada. They would spend a week there, and then hopefully return feeling refreshed. While they tried to get their minds off things, they would fail to do so. The doctor was not the type of person to enjoy Vegas, while the project lead couldn't distract himself from his issues. Neither of them got much sleep. However, Jadeite came to a realization late one night during their stay: He could just create a host for The Original Lapis. An empty vessel who would listen to him and give him what he wants. The labs had given him ample resources, what was stopping him? He was already playing god, after all. Making god was the perfect next step

Waking Weiss up, he explained his plans. Once the doctor was caught up to speed, he wasn't nearly as happy about all of this. He tried reasoning with his boss, telling him that they were going too far.

Jadeite interpreted this not as a friend showing concern, but as his subordinate disrespecting him. Bad dogs need to be punished, or else they'll never know better. That's something he always believed in. And so, he grabbed Weiss by the neck and harshly berated him for "being foolish." Once the doctor choked out an apology, he held him and praised him for always being so smart. The next day, he denied that the altercation happened and told him it must have been a nightmare. He hadn't been sleeping well, after all.

Once they arrived back in Lapistoria, Jadeite had started on his new goals right away. Delving into theology, he based most of his attempts off the mythos of MZD. The lapises made during this period stopped following the conventional format, some in strange shapes like stars or some that were multiple colors. He had also begun trying to give lapises powers beyond purification, even if they would have to start small.

During this, he received horrible news: The organization had reduced funding since results weren't to their satisfaction. They had enough budget for one more clone. Knowing this was his last shot, he put his own DNA in the test tube. He became a father once more. By some miracle, his attempt at replicating MZD's lapis turned out perfectly. The second ever white heart lapis, right in his hands. Unlike the rest of the subjects, he loved Jade as his own child. He would prove this wasn't for nothing. This could save the project entirely, he was sure of it.

But, funding never returned to how it was. His research stagnanted, limited to just creating lapises with no wielder. No matter what he did, it never seemed to be enough. In a Sisyphean hell of his own making, his aggression towards the staff that remained worsened horribly. To his dismay, Jade had grown close with the worst failure of the entire project, Black. A horrible influence, in his eyes. If only there was a way to resolve this.

And a way there was. After one of the subjects disappeared, he got an idea. He would just get rid of the child. A road drenched in blood, but a road he would be willing to walk down. Unfortunately for him, he had no choice but to tell Weiss. Unsurprisingly, he vehemently refused this idea. The two got into a vicious argument. Unlike the Vegas trip, the doctor wouldn't back down this time.

The very next day, Jadeite watched everything crash and burn. A mutiny had taken place, led by Weiss and a woman who didn't even work there. As the kids began to escape, he saw Jade. The smile on his face made him feel sick. He was so happy to get away from his father, the person who gave him life. Determined to not lose the one success of this project, he dragged his child away from freedom.

Sunny Park Era

To say Jadeite was furious would be an understatement. He had never felt more betrayed in his life. Some complete stranger took his "friend" from him and they ruined everything he worked for. He made a single request of the organization: Kill Black, but keep Weiss alive. He wanted nothing more than for him to feel the loss he did that day. In the meantime, may as well put what he majored in college to use. He got a job as a school principal and had a small, soundproofed lab built into his office.

All he could do was continue his research with the one subject he had left. He would steal the lapises of those who forgot theirs at school, experimenting on them. Lapises without a wielder are essentially just rocks, after all. In the meantime, he'd do the thing he vow to stop so many years ago: lapis pollution.

Even as his child's health declined, he proceeded.

Lapistoria Era

During a morning in June, he went to his office like any other day. Checking his lab first thing, he saw his child curled up in the corner. A spiked halo hovered his head and lapis grew out of his body. At long last, he had become a host for The Original Lapis. Without thinking, he asked if the deity could revive his lapis. Any joy the principal had felt was soon replaced by shock as he approached, realizing it was shaking in anger. Facing the pain he subjected his child and many others to, the deity posssessing Jade tore into him.

While he survived the encounter, things wouldn't be the same between them. Jade was no longer his test subject and he never was his daughter. Lapis handled any interactions they had to have with him and regarded him with disgust. Now, his research was limited to just seeing how pollution works. There was one silver lining: Four of his students could purify lapises. With every lapis he polluted, they would return it back to how it used to be. If he could get them to assist him, then his research could continue.

The members of the Tsugidoka would not assist him. During his confrontation with them, he explained his goals. Like many before them, they did not follow his logic. But, they were mere children. Of course they wouldn't listen to him. That was simple to prepare for. He had decades of pop'n experience under his belt, he knew if push came to shove he could force them to. He'd take their lapises, like so many other students. They were right where he wanted them, and he wouldn't back down.

It was a hard fought battle for them both, but ultimately Retsu pulled through. To his horror, he heard a loud, cracking sound. Looking down at his hand, he watched as his lapis broke down to dust. It could no longer handle the strain he was putting on it. He remembered what brought him here, the the people he lost in his pursuit for power. Those decades he devoted to his research couldn't save his lapis. He stared up at the ceiling, as if to ask god why it had to be him.

Snapped out of his reminiscing, he found himself face to face with Weiss and Black. Just the people he was thinking about. When questioned by them, he refused to give them any information. His pride was all he had left. He simply told them to find the answers themselves. And find answers they did.

However, the principal realized Lapis and Jade had plans he did not know about. As lapis pollution continued without him, he was left with no choice. From there, he would share his research with the rest of the group. There was a way to free Jade of Lapis's influence. However, there was a piece of the puzzle seemingly missing: A black lapis. With his reduced to dust, the only person who had one there was Black. How ironic.

Once his son was freed and conscious again, Jadeite hoped things could return to the way they were. They could be a "family" again. He tried stroking his child's hair, the same kindness he'd show after he hurt someone. However, Jade flinched away from him and grabbed onto Weiss's lab coat. Things could not be repaired between them, he'd be a fool to not realize that.

After waking up in the Pop'n World, the kids were nowhere to be seen. Upon asking where Jade was, MZD claimed he didn't know. Maybe he was still in Lapistoria, but Lapis refused to make him a new lapis. From the corner of his eye, he saw Weiss scratch the back of his neck. A moment later, his life would be brought to an abrupt end. He was shot through the heart by a third party, someone the doctor knew well. He died, bewildered and afraid. The last thing he saw was Weiss's face.

Bonus HCs

Webmaster's Comments

I'll be honest, I do not like Jadeite. He has a page here because he's the main antagonist of my hc au thing. Despite that, writing his page helped me flesh out a lot of the backstory and how the labs worked so it was actually pretty fun to write.