Stories: Two Swords

Story written by: Redfork2000 & PeaVZ108

Plot
''Things take a dark turn, quite literally, as the gang finds themselves facing against a somewhat familiar but deadly threat hailing from the Shadow Dimension. On the other hand, Kyoji and the other ninjas are in the forest dealing with one of the more recently dangerous threats - the Grass Sword. With two swords flying around, what is about to come for Echo Creek and the Locked Room Gang? Will the gang and the ninjas be able to take these swords down?''

Cast

 * Shadow Kyoji (NEW!)
 * Hikari, the Light Spirit (NEW!)
 * Kage, the Dark Spirit (NEW!)
 * The Grass Sword
 * Green Shadow
 * Bonk Choy
 * Re-Peat Moss
 * Dark Green Shadow
 * Starcade
 * Test Subject Blue
 * Pink Angel
 * Kyoji
 * Takeshi
 * Sasuke
 * Akasha
 * Sakura
 * The Gemstones
 * Blizzard
 * Tsunami
 * Earthquake
 * Tornado
 * Wildfire
 * Thunderstorm
 * Shogo the Warlord
 * Re-Peat Boss
 * Boss Choy
 * Captain Blowhole
 * Doughleficent
 * Nutty the Squirrel
 * Mimic the Parrot
 * Hissy the Snake
 * Chimp the Monkey
 * Red Fork
 * Blue Ocean
 * Lemon Glass
 * Emily Green
 * Blast
 * Alice
 * Tommy
 * Boulder
 * Boom
 * Blade
 * Electra
 * Scorch
 * Ace
 * Captain Red Shell
 * Gary Guppy
 * Coconut Crab
 * Starry
 * Blowy
 * Night Cap
 * Spark
 * Sting
 * Toxico

Story
''Everything seems peaceful one night in Echo Creek. Everyone is asleep, and no villains are attacking at the moment. However, in the forest, we see Kyoji, Akasha, Takeshi and Sasuke having a campfire.'' Suddenly, the ninjas hear a rustling noise. ''Kyoji, Akasha, Takeshi and Sasuke chase after the source of the noise. The following morning, the rest of the gang are seen at Red Spoon's restaurant making plans in case disaster strikes.'' ''Suddenly, the gang hears screams of citizens from outside. They see no villain on the loose, nor any buildings being destroyed, but they do see citizens running around screaming for help.'' ''The gang goes outside to ask the citizens what's wrong. However, they see that the citizens are running in different directions.'' The citizens are too panicked to hear Boom and continue running. ''The gang splits up. First, Red Ruby, Toby Topaz, Amelia Amethyst, Captain Red Shell and his crew are at the east side of Echo Creek looking for villains.'' The gang eventually sees a family of citizens screaming, with panicked looks on their faces, while running towards a dark alley. ''The gang follows the family, who eventually get cornered in the dark alley. They manage to catch up, but as soon as Toby Topaz turns around, he realizes what they have been scared about.'' ''Toby Topaz points at what appears to be a glowing ghost floating around, before screaming in fear and hiding behind the family. The gang sees that the glowing ghost is looking everywhere as if he is searching for someone.'' Hikari keeps searching the alley, but is unable to find who he's looking for. Hikari quickly zips away from the scene, as the gang watches, confused. ''The gang moves on to the direction that Hikari took off to. Meanwhile, back in the forest, Kyoji and the other elemental ninjas are still tracking down the source of the ominous noise they heard earlier.'' ''Akasha, Takeshi and Sasuke follow Kyoji, as he leads the way. The four ninjas stop as they find the Grass Sword, who is strangely asleep while hanging upside down from a tree branch.'' Akasha approaches the Grass Sword and is about to attack him, only for Kyoji to stop her before she can do so. Akasha sets fire to the tree where the Grass Sword is sleeping, only for Sasuke to douse the fire quickly with a water attack before it spreads. Akasha is about to use her shadow powers on Sasuke, but Kyoji intervenes by freezing Akasha's hands to the ground with his ice powers. Takeshi swings his electric hammer, breaking the ice and freeing Akasha's hands. Akasha's Shadow Gauntlets begin glowing and Takeshi points his electric hammer towards Kyoji and Sasuke, who defend themselves with their respective weapons. Sasuke is about to attack Akasha with a water blast, but Takeshi interrupts everyone before Sasuke can even hit Akasha. Takeshi points to where the ninjas last saw the Grass Sword, only to find that he has disappeared. ''Akasha is about to attack Kyoji and Sasuke in rage, only to be pulled aside and get dragged into what appears to be a cloud of dust. As it clears away, Kyoji, Takeshi and Sasuke see the Grass Sword looking at them, with Akasha lying on the ground in pain.'' ''The Grass Sword charges towards Kyoji, Takeshi and Sasuke, as he begins fighting them. Meanwhile, Green Shadow, Bonk Choy, Alice, Boom and his team are at the north side, in a park located at Echo Creek that is strangely empty.'' The gang moves on, and to their surprise, they see Sakura wandering around the park. ''Meanwhile, Hikari is floating towards the park. However, no one notices him.'' Hikari then notices the gang interacting with Sakura. ''Hikari flies towards Sakura, while being unnoticed. Meanwhile, Sakura continues talking to the gang.'' Suddenly, Hikari is approaching towards Sakura's head, unbeknownst to anyone. ''Hikari enters Sakura's head, possessing her, as the gang sees that Sakura's eyes begin glowing and she starts looking dazed.  Sakura's face morphs into an angry expression, ignoring the gang, as she flies away from the scene rather quickly.'' From a distance, Green Shadow then sees Captain Red Shell's team, who have been searching for Hikari only to be rather unlucky so far. Green Shadow's team approaches Captain Red Shell's team. ''Both teams proceed to look for Sakura and Hikari together, unaware that both targets are at the same place. Meanwhile, back in the forest, the battle among Kyoji, Takeshi, Sasuke and the Grass Sword grows more intense. The Grass Sword deals a few sword slashes that hurt the three ninjas even after they dodge.'' The Grass Sword is about to land another sword slash on Takeshi, but Kyoji blocks it with his Sword of the Arctic Seas. ''The Grass Sword and Kyoji exchange sword slashes, but after a few minutes, the Grass Sword is then seen kicking Kyoji into a tree. Kyoji gets injured and falls on all fours.'' ''The Grass Sword raises his sword above Kyoji's neck, only to see huge waves of water moving towards him. The Grass Sword performs a trick that allows him to transform himself to look like the grass, before moving away from the waves undetected and reverting back to his original form. Kyoji, Takeshi and Sasuke turn around, as they see Tsunami approach them.'' ''Tsunami joins Kyoji's side, as they continue fighting the Grass Sword. Meanwhile, Re-Peat Moss, Dark Green Shadow, Gary Garnet, Blue Ocean, Blast, Tommy and Boulder are at the south side, approaching the docks in Echo Creek.'' As the gang continues searching, they eventually see Starcade sitting at the docks, sobbing while looking towards the ocean, while Test Subject Blue and Pink Angel are sitting beside Starcade, comforting her. Meanwhile, from a distance away, a familiar-looking figure with black hair and black ninja robes, with a familiar-looking sword in his hand, is investigating a trail of black crystals left behind by Captain Dark Shell. ??? continues to track down the trail of black crystals, but he is unaware that he soon gets spotted by Re-Peat Moss. ''Re-Peat Moss points at ???, who is still busy looking at the black crystals. Starcade takes a closer look at his face, and immediately brightens up.'' ''Starcade runs towards ??? but before she can hug him, ??? turns around and grabs Starcade by the arm, before judo-throwing her into a tree.'' ''Shadow Kyoji is about to leave, but he gets halted as he suffers a brief shock. An image of a dark spirit appears in his sword, which communicates to him telepathically.'' Shadow Kyoji turns to the gang and points his dark sword at them. ''Starcade charges towards Shadow Kyoji, who throws a smoke bomb which blocks her vision. Shadow Kyoji proceeds to rapidly kick and punch Starcade, before throwing her again into a tree.'' ''Dark Green Shadow and Test Subject Blue shoot peas and proton bullets at Shadow Kyoji. Shadow Kyoji skillfully dodges the projectiles, before unleashing an ice wave that freezes both Dark Green Shadow and Test Subject Blue instantly.'' ''Blast, Boulder and Tommy attack Shadow Kyoji at the same time. Boulder runs up to him and tries to punch him, while Blast shoots energy waves at him, and Tommy summons a yoyo to attack Shadow Kyoji with. Blue Ocean creates a forcefield to defend them from Shadow Kyoji's attacks. Shadow Kyoji dodges all the attacks, before throwing a smoke bomb and seemingly disappear.'' ''Shadow Kyoji then appears behind the gang. The gang turns around, as he calmly holds out a black crystal.'' ''Shadow Kyoji throws the black crystal and leaps high, before catching it and using its power to shoot several shadow blasts at once towards the gang. Blue Ocean uses his forcefield to protect the gang from the shadow blasts.'' ''Pink Angel takes aim and shoots bomb arrows towards Shadow Kyoji. Shadow Kyoji quickly dodges, but gets slightly damaged by the last bomb arrow.'' ''Gary Garnet activates his Garnetronic 6000 suit, before flying towards Shadow Kyoji and tries attacking him. Shadow Kyoji easily dodges the attacks, however.'' Shadow Kyoji levitates Gary Garnet, before tossing him back to the gang, dealing heavy damage to the forcefield. Pink Angel breaks Dark Green Shadow and Test Subject Blue out of the ice. ''Boulder runs up to Shadow Kyoji from the left, ready to toss a huge boulder at him, while Tommy flies up to him from the right, using the yoyos he summoned to attack, while Blast flies up to him from the front, shooting energy blasts at him. Shadow Kyoji dodges the yoyos, but gets hit by a few energy blasts. He proceeds to fly downwards, causing Boulder, Tommy and Blast to crash into one another. However, as he gets down, he gets ambushed by Dark Green Shadow and Re-Peat Moss from the nearest bush while Starcade appears from another and kicks him hard, causing Shadow Kyoji to fly towards a tree. Shadow Kyoji teleports to the ground before he crashes, but he has taken some damage from the attacks.'' ''Boulder tosses several boulders at Shadow Kyoji, while Blast shoots electric blasts, Tommy tosses boomerangs, Re-Peat Moss delivers some karate kicks, Dark Green Shadow shoots peas, Test Subject Blue shoots proton bullets and Pink Angel shoots bomb arrows. Shadow Kyoji dodges most of the attacks despite getting hit by some of them, before quickly teleporting from fighter to fighter and slashing his sword at them, barely giving them any chance to retaliate.'' Blast and Tommy use their superspeed to get out of the way and avoid most attacks, but Boulder and Blue Ocean aren't so lucky, and get slashed several times. Test Subject Blue, Pink Angel, Re-Peat Moss and Dark Green Shadow attack Shadow Kyoji simultaneously, who shoots a powerful shadow blast that sends all four of them flying into trees. ''Shadow Kyoji turns around and starts walking away from the scene. Starcade appears from behind and is about to punch Shadow Kyoji in the head. However, Shadow Kyoji turns around again, punching her in the stomach instead, sending her flying into another tree. Meanwhile, back in the fight against the Grass Sword, the Grass Sword is seen extending one of his grass arms which grabs onto Tsunami, who is sending out huge waves of water while floating in the air. The Grass Sword pulls himself to his arm, before dealing a sword slash on Tsunami that sends her falling.'' ''Takeshi rushes to catch Tsunami. Suddenly, Kyoji hears a loud thud and two familiar voices. It sounds faint, but Kyoji can hear his own voice and the voice of a girl he knows and cares for.'' ''Kyoji leaves the battle scene to search for Starcade. The Grass Sword chases after Kyoji, but Takeshi grabs him and holds him down before the Grass Sword can reach Kyoji. Meanwhile, back in the fight against Shadow Kyoji, Shadow Kyoji approaches Starcade, who has sustained quite a number of injuries.'' ''Shadow Kyoji raises his sword and is about to attack Starcade. The gang then sees Kyoji appear from a few trees, throwing a smoke bomb at Shadow Kyoji before attacking him. Shadow Kyoji takes some damage, but quickly teleports out of the smoke cloud, confused at what's happening.'' The gang then sees Kyoji step out of the smoke cloud, with the Sword of the Arctic Seas in his hand. ''Starcade stares at Kyoji, as her eyes open wide and her mouth opens. Tears start to build up as she slowly approaches Kyoji, with hesitation, as she reaches her hand out to Kyoji. As she touches him, she realizes that he is real and brightens up like she never had before, before hugging him tightly.  Suddenly, Starcade gets levitated high in the air. Kyoji immediately turns around, as he sees Shadow Kyoji using his shadow powers to levitate Starcade.'' Shadow Kyoji throws Starcade towards the forcefield, but Kyoji catches her before she crashes into the forcefield. ''Kyoji charges towards Shadow Kyoji, using his sword to shoot ice waves at him. Starcade, on the other hand, shoots energy beams from her hands at Shadow Kyoji. Shadow Kyoji teleports away from the projectiles, before shooting a barrage of shadow blasts at the forcefield, destroying it. Blast creates a new forcefield to protect the gang, while Blue Ocean uses his multi-elemental cannon to shoot different kinds of elemental blasts at Shadow Kyoji. Tommy summons two yoyos, and uses them to attack from a distance. Meanwhile, Boulder grabs a huge boulder, and tosses it at Shadow Kyoji. Starcade and Kyoji continue dishing out their respective attacks towards Shadow Kyoji. Re-Peat Moss delivers karate kicks to Shadow Kyoji, Dark Green Shadow shoots more peas from a distance, Test Subject Blue shoots more proton bullets and Pink Angel shoots more bomb arrows. Shadow Kyoji begins to take more damage, while continuing to retaliate with shadow blasts. Gary Garnet wakes up from his unconsciousness, confused at what's happening.'' ''Gary Garnet puts his Garnetronic 6000 suit back on, before flying towards Shadow Kyoji from behind at top speed. Shadow Kyoji notices him coming, as Gary Garnet punches him. Shadow Kyoji blocks the punch with his sword, but the impact of the punch is so hard that it causes him to drop the black crystal, causing him to fall back to the ground.'' Blue Ocean levitates the black crystal with his magic, and bring it towards him to have a closer look. ''Meanwhile, Shadow Kyoji is about to attack the gang again but he suffers another brief shock. Kage the Dark Spirit appears on his sword again, communicating telepathically to him.'' ''Shadow Kyoji proceeds to try and snatch the black crystal back from Blue Ocean. Blue Ocean moves it away with his magic.'' ''Shadow Kyoji uses his ice powers to freeze Blue Ocean, causing him to drop the crystal. He retrieves the crystal, before backing away.'' Shadow Kyoji teleports away. Kyoji uses his sword to break Blue Ocean out of the ice. ''The gang, with Kyoji, goes back to find the others. Unbeknownst to them, Sakura arrives at the same scene, with an angry look on her face.'' ''Sakura continues searching the docks. Meanwhile, Red Fork, Lemon Glass, Emily Green, Emma Emerald, Sean Sapphire and Diana Diamond are at the west side of Echo Creek, where hardly anyone seems to be around.'' As the gang continues walking, Sean Sapphire spots the Ace's Dojo ahead. ''The gang heads towards the Ace's Dojo. Meanwhile, somewhere else near the Ace's Dojo, Shadow Kyoji appears after having escaped from the docks.'' Shadow Kyoji continues his investigation on the black crystals, as he follows them, which leads him to the back of Ace's Dojo. Shadow Kyoji breaks into the Ace's Dojo, where he finds some more black crystals and other materials. Shadow Kyoji searches through the Ace's Dojo to find for clues, but as he searches, he accidentally drops his black crystal. Spark and Sting enter the room, and see Shadow Kyoji. ''Shadow Kyoji casts an ice wave towards Sting and Spark, freezing them. Night Cap comes into the room, and sees what happened.'' ''Shadow Kyoji casts several ice waves towards Night Cap. Night cap tosses a smoke bomb, causing Shadow Kyoji to be unable to see him. Out of nowhere, several shurikens are tossed at Shadow Kyoji from different angles. Shadow Kyoji quickly teleports out of the way before he gets hit. When the smoke clears up, Sting and Spark aren't in the room anymore, but Night Cap is still present.'' ''Shadow Kyoji tosses his own smoke bomb at Night Cap, causing Night Cap to be unable to see him. Night Cap exits the room before Shadow Kyoji tries to attack him, so when the smoke is cleared, Shadow Kyoji sees no one in the room.'' ''Night Cap takes Sting and Spark, and searches for a way to unfreeze them. Meanwhile, Shadow Kyoji notices that Night Cap isn't in the room anymore. However, Shadow Kyoji then hears a short flute melody, right before Ace teleports into the room.'' ''Shadow Kyoji slowly approaches Ace, before shooting a shadow blast directly towards him. Ace teleports to behind Shadow Kyoji, and punches him into the wall. Shadow Kyoji braces himself as he hits the wall and springs himself towards Ace, dealing several sword slashes at once. Ace blocks with his shield, and then shoots shadow blasts at Shadow Kyoji. Shadow Kyoji blocks the shadow blasts with his sword, before teleporting to behind Ace, throwing a smoke bomb so that Ace cannot see him and slashing him with his sword again, this time being successful.''
 * Akasha: Ugh, how long more do we have to stay in this forest?
 * Kyoji: Like I told you, until we capture the Grass Sword.
 * Akasha: But he could be anywhere!
 * Takeshi: I kinda agree. Maybe we should go home, we'll never find him.
 * Kyoji: No.
 * Akasha: But, don't you miss your girlfriend or anyone else in the gang?
 * Kyoji: I do, more than anything. But I can't risk getting out of this forest while the Grass Sword is still on the loose.
 * Akasha: Why not? We've been here for weeks now, he has probably given up!
 * Kyoji: Yes, Akasha, but it's for the best. Knowing Itachi, he would probably not give up in whatever he does until he achieves his goal.
 * Akasha: What?
 * Kyoji: Don't you see? We may be hunting for the Grass Sword, but he's out here hunting for me too. He won't stop until I'm assassinated.
 * Takeshi: How do you figure?
 * Kyoji: On our last encounter, he said something about wanting me dead, and I know he won't give up until he knows that I'm nothing more than a corpse. If he's hunting for me, then by all means I cannot leave this forest. Leading him out will bring danger to Starcade and the gang, and I cannot allow that.
 * Akasha: (scoffs) How dangerous can that be?
 * Takeshi: What was that?
 * Sasuke: That sounded onimous.
 * Akasha: It must be the Grass Sword!
 * Kyoji: Then we shall go after him. Follow me, ninjas!
 * Blue Ocean: Ok, we must make plans.
 * Blade: Yeah. Who knows which threat will be the first one to strike. The Grass Sword? Cosmos? Captain Dark Shell returning from the Shadow Dimension!?
 * Alice: Blade... I find that last one pretty unlikely. We sealed him away with both Amulets of the Dark Seas. He has no way to break out of there.
 * Electra: The other two threats are still very likely, though.
 * Blast: Cosmos said he'd report us to his superiors, and there's no way to know what the Grass Sword has in mind.
 * Dark Green Shadow: I've met Cosmos, but who's this Grass Sword you're talking about?
 * Bonk Choy: Basically Grass Knuckles but replace the "knuckles" with a "sword".
 * Green Shadow: (faceleafs) No, Dark Green Shadow, he's Kyoji's old friend. At least that's what Starcade told me. He was the one who stole the Infinity Cube which released an octopus monster which he used to try killing Kyoji.
 * Dark Green Shadow: But if this supposed Grass Sword is an old friend of Kyoji, why does he want to kill him?
 * Green Shadow: I'm not sure either, but I'm sure it's a long story to tell.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Now that you put it that way, I'm starting to regret even more about what I said to Starcade yesterday. She seemed pretty upset.
 * Red Ruby: (sarcastically) Yeah, way to go on that one.
 * Re-Peat Moss: That was real TRICKY.
 * Diana Diamond: I'm sure she'll forgive you once you apologize.
 * Dark Green Shadow: I hope so.
 * Green Shadow: Well then, let's get back to planning. Any ideas on how we should handle those threats in case they strike again?
 * Boom: I don't get what we're supposed to plan. We can take them out the same way we take out any other villain. We beat them up! We're the Locked Room Gang! We've taken on tougher villains than them! And with all the upgrades we've got, I'm pretty sure we can just beat them up like we always do.
 * Red Ruby: And to think, I'm the only "reckless" one.
 * Sean Sapphire: It's not that simple. We're talking about villains that can prove to be a threat even if we have our upgrades on.
 * Boom: Yeah, right. By now I'm sure we're strong enough to take even PHX-001 down if we had to. I don't think these villains are that big of a deal.
 * Red Ruby: Yeah, yeah, wait until some villain gives you the retribution you deserve.
 * Boom: You're just tired of most villains giving you that retribution, aren't you?
 * Blue Ocean: What's going on?
 * Red Fork: Something strange for sure.
 * Blast: But I don't see any villains!
 * Alice: How about we ask the citizens what's wrong?
 * Green Shadow: Good idea.
 * Amelia Amethyst: Wait, where's the villain? And why is everyone running left and right?
 * Lemon Glass: Excuse me, could someone tell us what's going on?
 * Boom: (annoyed) HEY, PEOPLE! What's going on here!?
 * Red Ruby: Maybe instead of raising your voice like some wild animal, why don't we actually find out ourselves?
 * Boom: Oh, come on! Can't we just grab one of these citizens and make him tell us? It would be a lot easier. Look, I could lift one of these people up, and tell him I'll only let him down if he tells me why on Earth everyone is so panicked. Easy.
 * Alice: I don't think that would be very nice, Boom.
 * Boom: But it's still the most effective way to figure out what's going on!
 * Red Ruby: Nah, I think it's stupid.
 * Boom: Oh yeah? I think you're stupid.
 * Alice: Guys! Stop it already!
 * Boom: (sighs) Yes, Alice...
 * Dark Green Shadow: And I'm not about to start more beef with the citizens after they found out about the ruse I played on everyone before I joined you guys.
 * Green Shadow: Why don't we split into teams? If we hurry, we can figure out what's going on before a villain makes his strike.
 * Blast: That's a good idea. How many teams should we split up into?
 * Green Shadow: Good question. How about four? One team shall follow me to the north side of Echo Creek, one south, another east and another west.
 * Bonk Choy: I'll follow you, Green Shadow!
 * Dark Green Shadow: I'll lead the team to the south.
 * Re-Peat Moss: I'll go with Dark Green Shadow this time, just to see how TRICKY she can be.
 * Red Ruby: Well, I suppose Toby and Amelia can follow me to the east.
 * Diana Diamond: Emma, Sean, follow me to the west side.
 * Emma Emerald: Understood.
 * Sean Sapphire: Will do.
 * Gary Garnet: I'm out of options so I'll follow Dark Green Shadow then.
 * Red Fork: Lemon Glass, Emily, you two will come with me to the west side. Blue Ocean, you take Blast, Tommy and Boulder to the south. Boom, you and your team will be heading north with Green Shadow.
 * Alice: I think I should go with them too. You know how Boom can get sometimes.
 * Boom: Fair.
 * Red Fork: And that leaves Captain Red Shell and his crew to go east.
 * Captain Red Shell: Understood.
 * Green Shadow: Look, things can be different this time so just let each other know if you come across anything that can be deemed a threat.
 * Everyone else: Got it.
 * Green Shadow: Good. Let's go.
 * Toby Topaz: I hope it's not some crazy guy who wants to rule the world...
 * Amelia Amethyst: I don't know, that might be most likely.
 * Red Ruby: Oh, come on, that's just ridiculous. It obviously must be another one of those try-hard villains behind this.
 * Coconut Crab: Whoever it is, we must get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.
 * Captain Red Shell: Even the smallest of foes mustn't be underestimated. Even the most unlikely foe can become the greatest threat we've ever faced if the circumstances make it possible. So remember my words... Do not underestimate anyone ever. One day the villain no one takes seriously could be the one villain to actually take over the multiverse, and no one will ever see it coming. So never let your guards down for nothing, and never underestimate a foe, ever.
 * Starry: Whoa...
 * Gary Guppy: If that ever really happens, it'll be CRAZY!
 * Red Ruby: Yeah, but I'm just annoyed of them appearing everywhere. You would understand if you were with us back when we had to deal with some other villain and his team of superpowered villains. And no, it wasn't Dr. Zack or any other scientist we've faced.
 * Amelia Amethyst: Wait, why are those citizens heading towards that dark alley?
 * Captain Red Shell: Considering that the citizens won't listen to us, I suggest we follow them.
 * Amelia Amethyst: Agreed.
 * Red Ruby: Time to teach villains some lessons!
 * Toby Topaz: Aah! A ghost!
 * ???: Hmm...can't find him. The dark one has to be around here somewhere.
 * Captain Red Shell: Who is "the dark one", may I ask?
 * Red Ruby: And why are you spooking everyone here?
 * ???: I don't mean to spook anyone, I'm just here looking for the dark one! I can't tell you who he is, if I do, this city will be in danger. But I can tell you this. I'm Hikari, the Light Spirit, sent by Elementia herself to neutralize this dark one I'm talking about.
 * Captain Red Shell: Well, Hikari, we're the Locked Room Gang, and we'd be glad to help you find this dark one. However, we can't help if you don't tell us who the dark one is.
 * Hikari: I'm sorry, Elementia knows about you but it is too risky to reveal his identity.
 * Amelia Amethyst: Well, can't you at least tell us who "Elementia" is?
 * Hikari: You don't know who Elementia is?
 * Amelia Amethyst: Sorry, no clue.
 * Hikari: Elementia is the goddess of elements, who aims to ensure the balance of elements throughout the multiverse. She created hundreds of swords and spread them across the multiverse, before sending elemental spirits to possess them and give them strength. I'm the same spirit who possessed the same sword that belonged to your friend, Kyoji. It is one of the many swords that Elementia has created, and ever since Captain Dark Shell broke it, I've been released and Elementia passed the task down to me to track down this dark one.
 * Red Ruby: So are you going to tell us who this dark one is?
 * Hikari: I'm afraid not. Elementia has given me strict instructions not to reveal his identity.
 * Captain Red Shell: In that case, can you lead us to Elementia? We can ask her and explain the situation to her.
 * Hikari: Sorry, captain, but I'm afraid Elementia is quite busy right now. She's busy trying to resolve the eternal war between light and darkness that has been going on for centuries now.
 * Hikari: The dark one isn't here. Perhaps he should be somewhere else. I apologize if I may have scared anyone earlier, but I have to get going. Time is running out. Farewell.
 * Toby Topaz: Phew...he wasn't as scary as I thought...
 * Coconut Crab: But who is this dark one?
 * Gary Guppy: Sounds pretty CRAZY to me.
 * Captain Red Shell: I believe it's this dark one we should be looking for. By what Hikari said, the dark one sounds dangerous.
 * Starry: But how are we going to find this "dark one" when we have no idea who he is or what he looks like!?
 * Amelia Amethyst: Well, if he said that the dark one is around here somewhere, perhaps the other members might have found him?
 * Toby Topaz: That's a possibility, but I'm not sure either.
 * Red Ruby: Oh, this dark one sounds like another villain we have to take down! I think we should follow that ghost or spirit, whatever his name was.
 * Coconut Crab: Hikari.
 * Captain Red Shell: I believe what Red says makes sense. Let's do it.
 * Amelia Amethyst: Let's go!
 * Toby Topaz: I don't know, I'll still try to stay far away in case he scares me again.
 * Akasha: Did anyone see him?
 * Takeshi: Not really, but I think we're close.
 * Kyoji: I'm not so sure. (hears more rustling noises) This way.
 * Takeshi: There he is!
 * Sasuke: And he's...asleep?!
 * Takeshi: Wait a minute, how is that possible? I thought we were chasing him!
 * Akasha: Doesn't matter, he's still asleep. (charges up fire blasts) Yes, the moment has finally come for me! That ninja is so dead!
 * Kyoji: No!
 * Akasha: Ugh, Kyoji, what are you doing?
 * Kyoji: We're here to capture him alive, not dead. He must not be killed.
 * Akasha: Well, maybe for you, but I'd like to see him burn!
 * Kyoji: Wait a minute, do you really?
 * Akasha: Yes, that's what I've always wanted, to see him burn! Ever since the last time I saw him.
 * Kyoji: No, he's my old friend. I know you may hate him, but I'm not letting you kill him either.
 * Akasha: I don't care, you may not be comfortable with murder but I am!
 * Akasha: Sasuke, you too?
 * Sasuke: Sorry, Akasha, but I'm with Kyoji here. I'm not letting you kill him!
 * Akasha: Why not? Don't you hate him too?
 * Sasuke: I don't. Well, even after he was the one who...who...
 * Akasha: Who what?
 * Sasuke: You don't have to know, I'm not letting you kill him. End of story.
 * Akasha: I don't care what you have to say, so get out of my way!
 * Kyoji: Stop this nonsense at once, Akasha. The Grass Sword will not be killed under our watch.
 * Akasha: But aren't you hunting him this whole time?
 * Kyoji: Yes, but not for the purpose of killing him. It seems to me that we have different motives with the Grass Sword, so if you ask me, I think you should stop acting like this right now so that we can work on a plan to capture the Grass Sword alive.
 * Akasha: Alive?! I want him dead! Come on, is no one on my side here?
 * Takeshi: I am.
 * Akasha: Takeshi?
 * Takeshi: Kyoji, you have a point, but I have to side with my sister on this one. The Grass Sword has traumatized me since young, and she was there by my side when we last faced him.
 * Akasha: See? This is why the Grass Sword must be dead, he's been a threat to me and my brother! So if you would get out of the way and let me kill him, I'd appreciate it.
 * Kyoji: He's my old friend, so I'm afraid that's not going to happen.
 * Sasuke: Yeah, he's my old friend too! Only I knew more about him than any of you.
 * Akasha: Then you leave us no choice. We'll just have to fight each other to determine the Grass Sword's fate.
 * Kyoji: Put your weapons down. Right now.
 * Akasha: No!
 * Kyoji: Put them down or there will be consequences.
 * Akasha: No way!
 * Sasuke: Then you leave me no choice but to do this.
 * Takeshi: Uh, guys?
 * Sasuke: Water you want now, Takeshi?
 * Kyoji: Where did he go?
 * Akasha: I told you, we should've just killed him! You...you idiots!
 * Akasha: Ow...
 * Takeshi: The Grass Sword!
 * Grass Sword: Indeed I am. I couldn't help but eavesdrop on your conversation while pretending to sleep. I knew you four weren't going to capture me immediately, and knowing that that girl is the one who wants to kill me the most, I thought it would be far easier if I take care of her first.
 * Kyoji: Grass Sword, please stop, we can talk about this.
 * Grass Sword: Talking time is over, my friend. The only way we can truly settle this...is a fight.
 * Bonk Choy: Woomy, this park is completely empty!
 * Green Shadow: Strange, isn't it?
 * Electra: Definitely.
 * Boom: With citizens running around like mindless animals, it doesn't surprise me.
 * Alice: Boom?
 * Boom: Sorry...
 * Blade: So, do you think we'll find something here?
 * Green Shadow: Perhaps. If there's no one in this park, chances are high that a villain might be around here.
 * Electra: That makes sense.
 * Scorch: We'll defeat them with the flames of justice! Fire!
 * Bonk Choy: And I'll defeat them with my fists of fury! Fists?
 * Green Shadow: Sakura? What's she doing there?
 * Blade: Let's ask her.
 * Electra: Hey, Sakura! (waves at her)
 * Sakura: Huh? Who's there? (turns around to see the gang) Oh, it's you, Locked Room Gang.
 * Bonk Choy: What are you doing here?
 * Sakura: Oh, nothing much. I'm just here looking for my brother. I think he might be around here somewhere.
 * Blade: Kyoji might be around here?
 * Electra: What makes you think so?
 * Sakura: I don't know, it's just a hunch I have. But have any of you seen him?
 * Bonk Choy: Kyoji? Nah.
 * Green Shadow: Sorry, we haven't seen him either for weeks. Nor any of the other ninjas - Akasha, Takeshi and Sasuke.
 * Sakura: Oh, that explains why I haven't been seeing them either. But how's the gang lately? We haven't really met for a while.
 * Electra: Pretty decent. We got a whole bunch of upgrades recently.
 * Boom: Yup.
 * Sakura: Wow, upgrades? That's pretty neat.
 * Hikari: (thinking to himself) If the dark one isn't in the alley, perhaps he must be in the park. There seems to be no one around.
 * Hikari: (thinking to himself) More members of the Locked Room Gang? How am I supposed to look for the dark one without anyone else knowing now? Wait, is that Sakura they're talking to? I know what to do, but it won't be long before the dark one strikes, so I have no choice but to do this.
 * Sakura: Pretty impressive. It's nice to know you guys have become stronger than I remember.
 * Green Shadow: Well, Dark Green Shadow has also recently joined the gang.
 * Sakura: Whoa, Dark Green Shadow? How did that happen?
 * Green Shadow: It's...a long story.
 * Alice: But the good thing is that it's a story with a happy ending.
 * Blade: Now she's part of the gang!
 * Boom: We also defeated an impostor who was pretending to be Blast's dad, we defeated one of Starcade's enemies called Cuboy, and Cosmos is gone from this planet.
 * Electra: For now, at least.
 * Sakura: I see.
 * Green Shadow: But there's still the Grass Sword on the loose, and we have yet to know when he will strike.
 * Sakura: Grass Sword? Who's...
 * Hikari: (thinking to himself) Sorry, Sakura, but I have no choice.
 * Green Shadow: Sakura? Are you okay?
 * Sakura: (dazed, not paying attention to Green Shadow)
 * Alice: Sakura? What's going on?
 * Blade: This is scary!
 * Electra: Sakura! Answer us!
 * Sakura: Argh!
 * Bonk Choy: Wait, come back!
 * Green Shadow: That was strange. What came over her?
 * Electra: I have no idea what got into her, but that wasn't nice.
 * Green Shadow: Wait, isn't that Captain Red Shell's team?
 * Bonk Choy: Maybe they found something?
 * Alice: Should we ask go them?
 * Green Shadow: That would be a good idea.
 * Green Shadow: (to Captain Red Shell's team) Hey, guys. Any luck?
 * Amelia Amethyst: Not ringing any bells.
 * Red Ruby: But we did meet some light spirit who's searching for the "dark one". No idea what that means or who this "dark one" is, but that dark one's going down, that's for sure.
 * Starry: If only that light spirit could simply tell us who this "dark one" is, we could help him.
 * Red Ruby: But he said it was "too dangerous" to tell us. Yeah, right.
 * Amelia Amethyst: Pretty weird.
 * Bonk Choy: You thought that was weird? We met Kyoji's little sister and halfway through our conversation, she just got angry and left. Just like that, and I couldn't think that any of us did anything to anger her.
 * Captain Red Shell: Hm... do you think both events might be related somehow?
 * Green Shadow: We don't know, but we're about to look for Sakura. Perhaps you'd like to join us? Maybe you might be able to find that light spirit too.
 * Coconut Crab: I think that's a good idea.
 * Starry: Let's go.
 * Takeshi: Ouch!
 * Sasuke: How did you...
 * Grass Sword: Not bad. I can see that you three have improved from the last time we've fought each other.
 * Sasuke: Wait, I didn't fight you...
 * Takeshi: It doesn't matter, because I don't fear you any more, Grass Sword! You hurt my sister, and no one shall dare to hurt her under my watch!
 * Grass Sword: She's not dead, young one. I just...paralyzed her. To keep her out of my way.
 * Takeshi: Well, you can't keep me out of your way!
 * Grass Sword: Bold words, but can you back them up with your skills?
 * Kyoji: I most certainly can. I can never kill you, but I won't let you bring harm to my friends either.
 * Grass Sword: Well, if it isn't the same ice ninja who lost to me in that duel weeks ago.
 * Kyoji: Yes, I admit I lost the last time. But times shall change.
 * Grass Sword: That's more like it. Killing a stronger adversary is certainly better than killing a weaker one. It's nice to see that you've grown stronger after all this time.
 * Grass Sword: Impressive. You've lasted even longer than I remembered.
 * Kyoji: Grass Sword, please, don't do this...
 * Grass Sword: You would've made a splendid ally, if only our fates weren't determined this way. Now that we've fought a real battle, I'm almost starting to feel bad about killing you. But I have to do this for my benefit, and find out who I really am. Words won't convince me more than finding out the truth, so I'm afraid this is the end for you.
 * Kyoji and Sasuke: Tsunami!
 * Takeshi: Mother!
 * Tsunami: Thank goodness I'm not too late. I was afraid you might have been killed.
 * Grass Sword: What are you doing here, Ancient Ninja of God-Water?
 * Tsunami: Unlike the other Ancient God-Element Ninjas, I'm not about to see a fight go down if my children and my friends are going to be harmed. I'm here to help Kyoji and his friends put you out of commission.
 * Grass Sword: I'm surprised you decided to return, even after I've defeated all six of you before in the past. I may have lost my previous identity, but I have recollections of my current identity, and hence I know how to deal with you. Now fight me so we can get this over with.
 * Tsunami: If you insist. You may be one of the more dangerous ninjas around here, but I'm not letting you bring harm to my children and friends any more. Prepare for the end, Grass Sword.
 * Grass Sword: We'll see about that.
 * Re-Peat Moss: What TRICKY villain could we possibly face?
 * Gary Garnet: It might most likely be a pirate villain.
 * Dark Green Shadow: I don't think so.
 * Blue Ocean: Whatever it is, we have to keep searching.
 * Blast: Right.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Oh no...
 * Blue Ocean: Starcade? Are you ok?
 * Starcade: (continues sobbing)
 * Pink Angel: Locked Room Gang!
 * Test Subject Blue: Funny seeing you guys after hurting my leader's feelings.
 * Boulder: We didn't all do it, blue guy! It was mostly Dark Green Shadow.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Hey, I'm sorry about that. I didn't really mean what I said!
 * Starcade: It's fine, just leave me alone.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Oh, come on, I said I was sorry!
 * Starcade: And I said it's fine, I just need to be alone. I know you probably didn't mean what you said yesterday.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Yeah...I didn't...
 * Starcade: (sighs) I just wish...Kyoji will be back, you know? Sure, he came back to me before after many occasions when we were separated, but this is different...I'm talking about a separation that has lasted for weeks.
 * Re-Peat Moss: Don't worry, Starcade, I'm sure he'll be back. He might be busy with other duties, or he might be at another world fighting off some other TRICKY villain. Either way, he'll come back soon, I hope.
 * Starcade: Thanks. But it's been really a long time...
 * Blue Ocean: I'm sure he'll be back soon. Kyoji's a strong ninja, he'll be fine.
 * Blast: Captain Red Shell was away for a long while, and he came back. Kyoji's even stronger than Captain Red Shell, so I'm pretty sure he'll be ok too.
 * Blue Ocean: Besides, think of what Kyoji would like. Do you think he'd want you to be like this?
 * Starcade: I guess not...but I just can't help it but be upset about it.
 * Blast: I know it's tough to be away from someone you love. But it's important that you stand up and continue. You still have many friends here by your side. I know it's not the same, but you need to stay strong. I'm sure Kyoji misses you too. But just like him, you need to stay strong. You're a leader, your friends need you. Don't let his absence bring you down, Starcade. You're a strong girl, you can do this.
 * Blue Ocean: Let us see that pretty smile on your face again. Let us see the leader of the Retro Rebels who never gives up, and is always willing to continue, no matter how hard the situation gets.
 * Blast: Like my brother would say, you have the heart of a warrior. I know I overreacted when you attacked Metalshoe before, but to be honest, I can't blame you. You're a strong warrior, and you did that to protect us. I know it's been a long time since we last saw Kyoji, but you need to stay strong. Not only for your team, not only for him, but also for yourself.
 * Starcade: (blushes) I...I...uh...
 * ???: I saw how the battle against that dark crustacean take place. What do these black crystals he left behind mean? And what do they have anything to do with who I'm looking for?
 * Re-Peat Moss: Wait, who's that?
 * Gary Garnet: Who are you talking about?
 * Re-Peat Moss: Over there! The TRICKY figure by the shadows!
 * Starcade: It's Kyoji!
 * Blast: Really!?
 * Blue Ocean: Just on time!
 * Dark Green Shadow: But he looks...different.
 * Re-Peat Moss: And a little TRICKIER than usual.
 * Gary Garnet: That I have to agree on.
 * Starcade: Different looks doesn't matter, it's got to be him! It's been such a long time! Kyoji!
 * ???: You remind me of someone I know. Yes, I remember now, Duskcade. Always an annoying one.
 * Gary Garnet: Duskcade?!
 * Test Subject Blue: And how dare you throw our leader into a tree?
 * Blue Ocean: Wait, you can't be Kyoji! Kyoji would never do that to Starcade!
 * Blast: Who are you, and what are you doing here?
 * ???: Shadow Kyoji, a name I honestly had no idea how I obtained. I was here investigating these black crystals for clues until that girl ruined my thought of process.
 * Starcade: Hey, I didn't mean that! I'm sorry...wait, did you say you're Shadow Kyoji?!
 * Shadow Kyoji: Yes. You look like Duskcade, but I know you're not her.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Shadow Kyoji? Duskcade? What is all this?
 * Shadow Kyoji: I don't have to tell you. Get out of my way or you're dead meat.
 * Boulder: Hey! You mess with any of them, and you get a big ol' punch in the face from me, shadow guy!
 * Blast: We're not looking for trouble, Shadow Kyoji.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Good. Then stay out of my way.
 * ???: (telepathically) No, do not leave. You must destroy them.
 * Shadow Kyoji: (telepathically) Why should I, Kage? Those fools are wasting our time.
 * Kage: If you let them leave, they will cause trouble. Remember what we're here for, any trouble those fools cause can disrupt our mission. We can't trust anyone in this world.
 * Shadow Kyoji: But they do resemble the gang that I used to be a part of. The same gang back in the Shadow Dimension that I betrayed.
 * Kage: This mission is the reason why I asked you to betray them. Shadow Kyoji, we cannot waste any more time. We must stop anyone in our way, friend or foe. Hikari is also out here somewhere, so we have to be fast. We must find out the truth behind the death of the Shadow Sensei.
 * Shadow Kyoji: You're right. I shall get started right away.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Sorry, friends, but I'm afraid that you're getting too close to all of this. I must take you out.
 * Blast: What!?
 * Blue Ocean: Oh, really? It's a gang against one ninja! Do you really think you have a chance?
 * Boulder: Bring it on, shadow guy!
 * Starcade: I don't care what you have to say, Shadow Kyoji, but you're going down for trying to impersonate my friend!
 * Shadow Kyoji: I was never impersonating your friend to begin with. It's pointless and clearly you're not thinking straight.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Oh yeah? Try saying that to someone who has impersonated thrice!
 * Test Subject Blue: You're not getting away that easy either! You'll pay for hurting my leader!
 * Shadow Kyoji: That wasn't so hard. Step up if you're not afraid to fight me!
 * Blast: Charge!
 * Pink Angel: Where did he go?
 * Re-Peat Moss: I don't like how TRICKY this is.
 * Re-Peat Moss: Wha-?
 * Blast: A black crystal!?
 * Blue Ocean: Where'd you get that from!?
 * Gary Garnet: Wait a minute, we've seen these when Captain Dark Shell appeared the second time. How did he get his hands on one of those?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Just a little loot I obtained after I saw that old crustacean warrior was taken down.
 * Tommy: What do we do?
 * Re-Peat Moss: Maybe if we get that TRICKY crystal out of his hands, we might be able to stop him!
 * Pink Angel: Let's try it.
 * Pink Angel: Almost had it.
 * Gary Garnet: Let me try.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Not much of a fighter, are you, orange one?
 * Gary Garnet: Well, actually, I'm more of an intellectual if I do say so myself.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Interesting. But are you smart enough for this?
 * Blue Ocean: This isn't good.
 * Blast: We've got to do something!
 * Test Subject Blue: Man, that was cold.
 * Pink Angel: Okay, I got them out. What do we do?
 * Starcade: Let's try attacking him from different sides. Shadow Kyoji is going to be tough but after my experience against shadow ninjas, I think it's a good idea if we try that.
 * Blast: Let's do that. Boulder, Tommy, are you ready?
 * Tommy: Yup!
 * Boulder: Ready when you are!
 * Blast: Then let's show him to not mess with the Locked Room Gang!
 * Tommy & Boulder: Yeah!
 * Shadow Kyoji: You youngsters remind me of my former team. They resemble you, a team of young heroes, but most of them have succumbed and fallen to the hands of the darker side. I must say I'm surprised that you've managed to last this long against me.
 * Boulder: We pack many more surprises!
 * Test Subject Blue: Ack!
 * Pink Angel: Aah!
 * Dark Green Shadow: Hey!
 * Re-Peat Moss: Ow!
 * Blast: Look out!
 * Blue Ocean: Hey, no fair!
 * Blast: Come on guys, if we all work together, we might have a chance!
 * Pink Angel: I don't know, he's tough...
 * Test Subject Blue: We gotta focus, Pink!
 * Shadow Kyoji: Let this be a lesson for meddling with my business.
 * Grass Sword: Take that, Ancient Ninja of God-Water!
 * Takeshi: Mother!
 * Kyoji: Wait, what was that? Did I hear...(hears the voices again)...that's my voice...and Starcade?
 * Takeshi: (puts Tsunami down) Kyoji, what's wrong?
 * Kyoji: Starcade's in trouble. I need you to help hold the Grass Sword off for me. Stay safe.
 * Takeshi: You got it.
 * Grass Sword: Hey, come back here!
 * Takeshi: I don't think so, Grass Sword!
 * Shadow Kyoji: I don't know about the others, but you sure seem to be the most emotional out of them. I think I'm going to have to take care of you first so that my mission can remain a secret.
 * Starcade: You...you're not Kyoji, Kyoji will never do that!
 * Shadow Kyoji: Right. Because I'm Shadow Kyoji, not "Kyoji".
 * Shadow Kyoji: What is this?
 * Kyoji: Keep your sword away from Starcade, I warn you.
 * Starcade: K...K...Kyoji?!
 * Re-Peat Moss: Kyoji?!
 * Tommy: Kyoji!?
 * Blue Ocean: Is it really you?
 * Blast: You're back?
 * Kyoji: Yes. I wasn't sure at first, but I came as soon as I had the thought that you guys might be in trouble. (turns to Starcade) Starcade, are you okay?
 * Kyoji: Starcade...I...I'm...I'm sorry that I didn't come back as early as you wanted but...
 * Starcade: Nah, it's okay! It's all right! I'm just happy you're real and you're here again! It's been so long since we last saw each other! (starts crying with mixed feelings of joy and sadness)
 * Kyoji: (sighs) I'm just glad to see you're still doing well yourself. I'm worried you might have been too worried about me over the past few weeks, and you might have fallen into a depressed state.
 * Starcade: Oh, no, not at all! Not a single worry at all! I'm a-okay! I'm...
 * Starcade: Argh, put me down!
 * Shadow Kyoji: So, you're that "Kyoji" they've been going on about. And you decided to get involved as well? That's possibly the worst decision you'll ever make.
 * Kyoji: (points his sword at Shadow Kyoji) I don't know who you are despite our similar looks but you had better let her go, right now.
 * Blast: Yeah, stop it already, Shadow Kyoji!
 * Boulder: We're not done with you yet!
 * Blue Ocean: (protects the gang with a new forcefield) Can we just leave and pretend this didn't happen?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Sorry, that's not going to happen. Catch!
 * Starcade: Thanks, Kyoji.
 * Kyoji: No problem.
 * Starcade: But...where are your other friends?
 * Kyoji: They...uh...they're still busy. I'll explain later, but first, we must stop Shadow Kyoji. I think that's what his name is.
 * Starcade: You got that right. Let's take him down!
 * Gary Garnet: (thinking to himself) What is going on? Is it over? Oh, it's not, never mind. Wait a second, is that...Kyoji? As in, the real Kyoji? How the heck did he get here? Never mind that, I must help stop Shadow Kyoji!
 * Kyoji: A black crystal? Those things only come from the Shadow Dimension as far as I know. Could he be...?
 * Blue Ocean: Well, Captain Dark Shell did leave a few black crystals in this dimension before his defeat.
 * Blue Ocean: Yup, it's definitely one of Captain Dark Shell's black crystals.
 * Tommy: So did he find one like Emily did before?
 * Blast: Or... maybe he's from the Shadow Dimension!
 * Blue Ocean: Given his name, it does make sense.
 * Gary Garnet: That's true, considering he was going off talking about "Duskcade" and other gibberish I never heard of.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Well, one side of me is telling me to get rid of me but the other is telling me that it could be useful to us in the future.
 * Kyoji: Hold on, Dark Green Shadow? Please forgive me for not noticing you before. Did you join the gang too?
 * Dark Green Shadow: That's right!
 * Shadow Kyoji: Not now, Kage. I'm trying to get rid of these fools for us.
 * Kage: I'm sorry about that, but time's running out for us. I sense Hikari's presence within the vicinity, we must leave before he shows up!
 * Shadow Kyoji: I guess you're right.
 * Blue Ocean: Hey! No!
 * Blast: Blue Ocean, be careful!
 * Shadow Kyoji: Oh, be careful indeed.
 * Shadow Kyoji: You've won, for now. But don't you tell anyone else about this or else you might be in danger. Farewell now.
 * Starcade: I guess that won't be the last time we'll see him. (runs to hug Kyoji again) Oh, Kyoji, I missed you so much! It's great to see you again!
 * Kyoji: It's great to see you too, Starcade. And the rest of the gang as well. But I can't help but notice that the gang is more different than I remember. Did something...happen?
 * Blast: Oh, it's a long story.
 * Re-Peat Moss: Pretty TRICKY too.
 * Boulder: I think we should unfreeze Blue Ocean first, though.
 * Kyoji: I'll take care of it.
 * Blue Ocean: Thanks...
 * Blast: Well, where do we start? First of all, Emily Green is now part of the Locked Room Gang!
 * Tommy: Dark Green Shadow too!
 * Dark Green Shadow: Tommy, I just told him that.
 * Boulder: Cool, isn't it?
 * Kyoji: Yes, it is.
 * Gary Garnet: There's also a bunch of new people we've met - an ace pilot, someone who impersonated Blast's father, a cube boy, a pony who specializes in weapons and more.
 * Test Subject Blue: Well, besides that, there's also the same old villains we have to fight every now and then.
 * Starcade: And we got upgrades too! Oh boy, I've been so excited to show you these! (shows her new energy powers and wristbands)
 * Re-Peat Moss: I can fight now, and it's so TRICKY it's good! (points to his bandana)
 * Gary Garnet: Ever notice how different and better my suit looks? (puts on his Garnetronic 6000 suit again)
 * Pink Angel: My arrows are pretty "fly" now too!
 * Test Subject Blue: My armor is as good as new!
 * Tommy: And I've got new superpowers! Look at this! (flies around while summoning different toys)
 * Blue Ocean: I've got a multi-elemental cannon now!
 * Blast: And I got new powers as well. (shoots a powerful energy wave to show his powers)
 * Kyoji: Wow, you guys are much different from the last time I saw you. It's nice to see that you've grown stronger while I was away. I'm sorry that I've been away for so long, but I had to ensure that the Grass Sword isn't a threat outside the forest. The other ninjas are still taking care of him.
 * Blast: Do you guys need any help with him?
 * Kyoji: No thanks.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Well, what are we waiting for? We gotta go find the rest of the gang and tell them about this!
 * Blue Ocean: You're right. Let's go!
 * Sakura: I think I saw him come this way! Where did he go? He's got to be around here somewhere!
 * Emma Emerald: This is weird. Where is everyone?
 * Sean Sapphire: If it's almost empty, a villain should be around here, right?
 * Red Fork: That makes sense.
 * Emily Green: What kind of villain do you suspect it could be?
 * Red Fork: Well, it's definitely a sneaky one. Otherwise we'd have already seen him or her by now.
 * Diana Diamond: That's true.
 * Sean Sapphire: Well, if it's going to be a sneaky villain that we're dealing with, we should get help from someone who's experienced with sneaky villains.
 * Sean Sapphire: Of course, Ace!
 * Red Fork: That's a great idea! I'm sure he'll be able to help us!
 * Diana Diamond: Agreed.
 * Sean Sapphire: So let's go!
 * Shadow Kyoji: That was close.
 * Kage: (telepathically) Good, at least Hikari didn't see us. Now we should continue our mission before any more of those fools show up. We already have enough witnesses as it is.
 * Shadow Kyoji: (telepathically) Understood.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Where is this place? A dojo?
 * Kage: It appears that way, and it's abundant of black crystals! That must mean that our answers must be hidden inside somewhere. Let's go in.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Looks like this is a training dojo. Someone must be using it to train young students into ninjas. But I doubt that could be it.
 * Kage: Well, what are you waiting for? Search this place already!
 * Shadow Kyoji: Alright, have some patience!
 * Shadow Kyoji: (grabs the black crystal again) Oh no, I dropped it! Someone might be coming! We must leave now!
 * Kage: Who cares? If someone finds us, we know what to do!
 * Spark: Holy Guacamole! Who is this guy!?
 * Sting: He resembles Kyoji, one of the ninjas from the Locked Room Gang.
 * Spark: Do you think it's him?
 * Sting: It's possible. However...
 * Spark: Hi Kyoji!
 * Kage: (telepathically to Shadow Kyoji) Witnesses! You know what to do!
 * Shadow Kyoji: (nods) Sorry guys, but you're at the wrong place at the wrong time.
 * Night Cap: What happened here? (notices Sting and Spark frozen, and then notices Shadow Kyoji) Did you do this?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Yes, but don't worry, you'll join them too.
 * Night Cap: I don't know what you're up to, but you must leave now.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Not until I get what I came here for.
 * Night Cap: I must inform this to Ace.
 * Ace: Inform me about what?
 * Night Cap: There's a stranger in the dojo. He looks like Kyoji, but he's a bit different. He froze Sting and Spark, and also tried to attack me.
 * Ace: I'll take care of this. Go help Spark and Sting.
 * Night Cap: Understood.
 * Shadow Kyoji: (points his sword at Ace) Who is this now? And why do you look like someone I know?
 * Ace: You look like someone I know. But tell me, what is your purpose for breaking into this dojo and attacking everyone you come across?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Hmph, and why should I tell you that? The fate of the black crystals has brought me here, and I'm not leaving until I get what I came for.
 * Ace: So you came here for the black crystals? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you won't be getting anything else here.
 * Shadow Kyoji: I came for more than black crystals, so get out of the way or you're dead meat. Your friends have seen what I'm capable of, so I suggest that you leave me to my business here.
 * Ace: I think you don't know who you're up against. But if you won't leave, I guess I have no choice but to make you leave.
 * Shadow Kyoji: So be it.

''Ace starts flying, and shoots shadow blasts at Shadow Kyoji from different angles. Shadow Kyoji dodges the shadow blasts, before levitating several objects in the room and tossing them towards Ace from different angles. Ace teleports to behind Shadow Kyoji, and levitates him, tossing him against the ceiling. Shadow Kyoji takes some damage, before teleporting back to the ground and using his ice powers to create ice pillars from the ground to attack Ace. Just then, Red Fork's team enters Ace's Dojo to see what is happening between both ninjas.'' ''Shadow Kyoji starts spinning around so fast that he becomes a spinning circle, before shooting shadow blasts everywhere. Red Fork's eyes move around quickly as he watches Shadow Kyoji fly, and in just the right moment, he punches into the circle, punching Shadow Kyoji into a wall. Shadow Kyoji quickly recovers though.'' ''Emma Emerald and Sean Sapphire simultaneously attack Shadow Kyoji with their swords, but Shadow Kyoji does a counter slash that sends them both flying into walls. Diana Diamond uses the Rainbow Orb to turn herself indigo, before throwing shurikens towards Shadow Kyoji. Shadow Kyoji teleports to behind Diana Diamond before kicking her into a wall as well.'' ''Red Fork charges straight into Shadow Kyoji, while Ace attacks from above with shadow blasts. Lemon Glass flies around, tossing explosive lemons at Shadow Kyoji. Shadow Kyoji dodges Red Fork, but gets hit by the shadow blasts and explosive lemons, getting himself severely injured.'' ''Shadow Kyoji dodges them quickly, before charging up and unleashing an ice shockwave around him, freezing everyone in place. He is about to continue but Kage gives him a brief shock and tells him that Hikari is nearby, causing him to stop and back away.'' Shadow Kyoji shoots an ice beam at an already frozen Red Fork, freezing him completely. ''Shadow Kyoji teleports away, seconds before Sakura shows up at Ace's Dojo to find the gang frozen. The gang immediately realizes that something is different with Sakura, as she still looks angry.'' Sakura emits a bright glow strong enough to melt the ice, unfreezing the gang. Sakura teleports away. Red Fork grabs his cellphone, and calls Blast, Captain Red Shell and Alice. '' As soon as the call ended, Blast, Alice and Captain Red Shell each told their team about what they had heard in the phone call, and told them to go to Ace's Dojo. Meanwhile, back in the forest, the Grass Sword is still going strong, while Takeshi, Sasuke and Tsunami are already growing exhausted.'' ''Sasuke leaps at the Grass Sword, ready to attack him. However, the Grass Sword takes out a poisoned grass blade and throws it at Sasuke, paralyzing him. Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, Emma Emerald's advisors are busy harvesting fruit in the forest when they see the fight going on.'' Emma Emerald's advisors continue watching the fight, as they see the Grass Sword throwing more poisoned grass blades at Takeshi and Tsunami, paralyzing them as well. ''The Grass Sword shapeshifts to blend in with the grass, as he departs from the scene.  Nutty, Mimic, Hissy and Chimp make their way to find the rest of the gang. Meanwhile, the first three teams have arrived at the Ace's Dojo after Red Fork's call.'' Before the gang can start planning, Emma Emerald's animal advisors enter the Ace's Dojo, looking rather panicked. Chimp takes out one of the Grass Sword's poisoned grass blades, and shows it to the gang. Boom, Electra, Blade and Scorch leave to find their ally. ''Red Fork, Kyoji, Emma Emerald and her advisors set out to the forest to look for the other ninjas.  Nutty leads the team to the area where they last saw the Grass Sword. However, when they arrive, the other ninjas are nowhere to be seen.'' ''The team begins to search around the area. After about five minutes, they are still unable to find any of the ninjas until suddenly, Chimp trips over something and falls into a bush.'' Chimp looks down at what he tripped over, which turns out to look like a rock with a red gem on it. Kyoji, upon realizing, pulls a paralyzed Akasha out of one of the larger bushes. Kyoji draws his sword, before chopping off the bushes, revealing paralyzed bodies of Takeshi, Sasuke and Tsunami on the ground. Suddenly, the see some bushes moving nearby. Out of the bushes come Electra, Boom, Blade, Scorch and Toxico! Boom lifts Takeshi, and places him on Red Fork's back, and then proceeds to do the same with Sasuke and finally, Tsunami. The gang carries the paralyzed ninjas back to the Ace's Dojo. ''Toxico analyzes the poisoned grass blade, and then proceeds to use a certain antidote on the ninjas. After a few minutes, they wake up healed from the poison.'' Kyoji clears his throat, as he begins telling the story about his relationship with the Grass Sword.
 * Red Fork: Whoa...
 * Emily Green: What's going on here?
 * Diana Diamond: That's Ace fighting...Kyoji?
 * Sean Sapphire: I don't know, that guy looks like Kyoji, but he's got black clothing and black hair. And why would he be fighting Ace?
 * Shadow Kyoji: (notices the gang) Great, there's more of you?
 * Emily Green: I don't think that's Kyoji...
 * Red Fork: Hey, what's going on here!
 * Ace: This ninja infiltrated the dojo, and attacked several of us. He says he's after the black crystals.
 * Lemon Glass: That sounds villainous to me.
 * Red Fork: Yup, it's official, we've gotta take this shadow man down!
 * Shadow Kyoji: Wait, you remind me of Shadow Fork. Leader of a resistance after most of my former team fell to the darker side, and a fool.
 * Emma Emerald: Shadow Fork?
 * Sean Sapphire: You're from the Shadow Dimension, aren't you?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Perhaps. Perhaps not. But regardless, you're involved in this mess and now you must die.
 * Ace: Glad you're here.
 * Emily Green: Wait, you're Blast's brother, right?
 * Ace: That's correct. My real name is Jason, but you can call me Ace.
 * Emily Green: I'm Emily Green. I saw you back when Mr. Simon showed up, but I never had the chance to meet you officially. I've heard many things about you.
 * Ace: My brother has mentioned you to me as well.
 * Emily Green: He did?
 * Ace: Yes, he did. He says you've become a nice friend to have in the gang, and that he's glad you decided to join them.
 * Emily Green: Oh, really?
 * Ace: Yes. Now let's focus on defeating that ninja. Because when we're all together, that makes us stronger.
 * Emily Green: (stops for a moment) Isn't that just another way to say "Togetherness is might"?
 * Ace: It may be, it may be not. It's a good phrase, specially now that you're in the gang, so don't fear to use it. (teleports to Shadow Kyoji to attack him)
 * Emily Green: I... I guess so...
 * Shadow Kyoji: I'm not done with you yet. More numbers won't make a difference for me.
 * Sean Sapphire: We'll see about that! Come on, Emma, let's slash him with our swords!
 * Emma Emerald: Let's do it.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Now you've seen what I'm capable of. Are you going to stop now?
 * Red Fork: Does this answer your question?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Yes, it does. And it's clear to me on what I should do next.
 * Shadow Kyoji: (wipes off some perspiration on his forehead) I must say, you've proven your point. If the Ace's Dojo isn't the place that bears what I'm looking for, I'll have to search somewhere else. But don't you tell anyone else about this, or you'll regret it.
 * Red Fork: Oh, you can be sure we will tell the others about this! You don't scare us!
 * Ace: You will be stopped. I can tell you that much.
 * Shadow Kyoji: I think that's enough of that. I hope all of you will take my advice, because if you don't, freezing you into an ice sculpture won't be the last thing I'll do to you. There, I hope I've made myself clear, farewell now.
 * Sakura: Where did he go? (gasps at the gang) Did he do this do you? Where is that dark one?
 * Sean Sapphire: Don't know, but he escaped.
 * Sakura: (sighs and facepalms) Okay...I'll go find him again, but first.
 * Red Fork: Whoa!
 * Ace: Sakura, is everything alright? Do you know that ninja?
 * Sakura: Well, I do...uh...don't. He's just important enough that I need to track him down.
 * Sean Sapphire: Well, I do have quite a lot of questions.
 * Sakura: Sorry, no time, blue gem! I gotta find him! Bye!
 * Sean Sapphire: That was weird.
 * Diana Diamond: Sakura seemed a little different, but I can't figure out why.
 * Sean Sapphire: Forget what Shadow Kyoji said to us, we got to tell the rest of the gang about this! Quick, someone gather the others here!
 * Red Fork: Got it.
 * Red Fork: Come here to Ace's Dojo as soon as you can. I think we found the villain!
 * Blast: You did!?
 * Red Fork: Yes. He's a ninja called Shadow Kyoji!
 * Alice: Really?
 * Captain Red Shell: Could that be the "dark one" Hikari is after?
 * Red Fork: Who's Hikari?
 * Captain Red Shell: A light spirit sent by Elementia.
 * Red Fork: Well, Sakura did call him "the dark one".
 * Alice: Wait... does that mean that Hikari is manipulating Sakura to search for Shadow Kyoji?
 * Red Fork: I guess.
 * Alice: No wonder she was acting so strange.
 * Blast: We found Shadow Kyoji not too long ago. And guess what? Kyoji is back!
 * Red Fork: Really!?
 * Blast: Yes! He helped us fight Shadow Kyoji!
 * Alice: That's great!
 * Captain Red Shell: We'll tell everyone to go to the dojo now.
 * Red Fork: Got it.
 * Grass Sword: Ready to concede yet? You can't keep up much longer, now can you?
 * Tsunami: We ninjas shall never concede!
 * Takeshi: Mother's right, you're not going to kill Kyoji no matter what!
 * Sasuke: Here's something for you to pay for!
 * Nutty: What is going on?
 * Mimic: What is going on?
 * Hissy: Hey, I recognize those guys.
 * Chimp: But who's the green guy? Is he human?
 * Hissy: I don't know, but he sure isn't a good one...
 * Grass Sword: You're strong, but not strong enough. And I'm afraid you can't stop me from going after that ice ninja. I'm not sure where he has gone now, but I will look for him, I will find him and I will kill him.
 * Nutty: We must tell Queen Emma! And the others!
 * Hissy: You're right, let's go!
 * Diana Diamond: Good, you guys are back.
 * Green Shadow: And after everything we heard from each other, it looks like this is only the beginning.
 * Amelia Amethyst: Yeah, things are weirder than usual around here.
 * Sean Sapphire: (looks at Kyoji) Well, look who's back after a few weeks!
 * Kyoji: I apologize, I must have missed out on a lot here. Blast and the others have been filling me in on the details on what has been going on while I was away.
 * Starcade: Whatever the case, he's back. And so am I.
 * Captain Red Shell: It's good to see you again.
 * Red Fork: Yup. The gang hasn't been the same since you left.
 * Kyoji: I can see that.
 * Sean Sapphire: Well, Kyoji, there was also someone who looked just like you that we attacked earlier. He was Shadow Kyoji.
 * Kyoji: Yes, straight from the Shadow Dimension. I've fought him earlier, but I believe he isn't the only threat right now. I still haven't heard news from the other ninjas regarding the Grass Sword after I left them to help me take care of him.
 * Starcade: Oh?
 * Green Shadow: In that case, we must come up with a plan to take down the Grass Sword before he strikes again.
 * Kyoji: Good idea, Green Shadow. Despite not wanting him to get killed, I'm not letting him hurt any of you at all costs. Let's get started.
 * Emma Emerald: My animal advisors, what are you doing here?
 * Nutty: Good thing we found you, my queen. There's some terrible news regarding the forest!
 * Alice: What is it? Is there someone destroying nature again?
 * Emma Emerald: My goodness, that would be terrible!
 * Nutty: It's not that, but I think your ninja friend should come with us.
 * Kyoji: What's wrong?
 * Nutty: We saw what happened to your friends...there was some green guy who fought them, and he defeated them. Mostly this was what he used to bring them down. Show them, Chimp.
 * Chimp: Okay.
 * Kyoji: He poisoned them?
 * Nutty: It appears that way, but we don't exactly know what happened to your friends. That's why we thought you should come with us to see.
 * Blue Ocean: Poison!?
 * Blast: That's not good.
 * Electra: You guys go ahead. I think Boom, Blade, Scorch and I should go over to get the help of an old friend.
 * Alice: Old friend?
 * Boom: He's a specialist in everything related to poison. He'll be very helpful to help cure the ninjas, and perhaps even play some role in facing this Grass Sword ninja.
 * Kyoji: In that case, go get him.
 * Nutty: You have a point.
 * Hissy: Now all we need is someone strong enough to carry Kyoji's friends back here. There's no way Kyoji or any of us can carry them all the way back here.
 * Red Fork: If what you need is someone strong to carry them, I think I'll do the job pretty nicely. Just load them on my back, and I'll carry them without any trouble.
 * Hissy: That sounds great!
 * Emma Emerald: I'll come along too. I may not be the best at curing poison but I'll see what I can do. Besides, I can undo the damage that has been done on the forest. Let's go.
 * Animal Advisors: Yes, my queen.
 * Kyoji: So, do you know where my friends are?
 * Nutty: Yes, this way.
 * Nutty: Looks like we're here. But where are they?
 * Kyoji: Are you sure they were here?
 * Nutty: Yes, Kyoji. This is where we last saw that green guy! I know because this is one of the bushiest areas of the forest.
 * Hissy: Strange.
 * Red Fork: If it's one of the bushiest areas, it's probably one of the hardest areas to search. We'll have to search carefully to find them.
 * Emma Emerald: You're right. Let's get searching.
 * Emma Emerald: Chimp, are you alright?
 * Chimp: Yes, my queen. But I'm not quite sure what I tripped over.
 * Chimp: Strange. Never seen rocks like that before...
 * Kyoji: Wait, that's not a rock. That's...that's a Shadow Gauntlet. And it belongs to Akasha!
 * Emma Emerald: But if she's inside that bush, where...
 * Kyoji: Emma, I'm sorry for doing this but...
 * Kyoji: Takeshi? Sasuke? Tsunami?
 * Nutty: Looks like we found them in the same bush!
 * Emma Emerald: (looks at the poisoned grass blades stuck on them) At least we know that they've been poisoned. Now we need to get them back to Ace's Dojo.
 * Red Fork: Wait, what's that?
 * Red Fork: Oh, it's just you guys.
 * Electra: Sorry if we startled you. But we brought Toxico!
 * Red Fork: Oh, hi Toxico! I remember you!
 * Toxico: (stands silently, staring at Red Fork)
 * Red Fork: Uh... ok?
 * Kyoji: Good. We're just about to head back to the others. I'll carry Akasha. (carries Akasha on his back)
 * Nutty: Wait, Red Fork, are you sure you can carry the other three?
 * Red Fork: Sure, no problem. Load them on.
 * Boom: If you say so.
 * Red Fork: Alright. Ready to go!
 * Electra: Toxico knows enough about poison to help cure the ninjas. Right Toxico?
 * Toxico: (nods)
 * Blade: Let's go back to Ace's Dojo first, though. I think this place is far too dangerous for us to stay, considering the Grass Sword could be anywhere.
 * Emma Emerald: Don't forget Shadow Kyoji.
 * Kyoji: That's right, let's go.
 * Green Shadow: You're back.
 * Kyoji: And we brought my friends back. I'm relieved that they're not dead.
 * Red Fork: Yup. Here they are!
 * Electra: And now Toxico can take care of them. Toxico, go ahead and do your thing.
 * Takeshi: What the? What's going on?
 * Sasuke: Is this...the Ace's Dojo?
 * Akasha: Where is he? Where's the Grass Sword at? (turns to Tsunami) Mother!
 * Tsunami: I'm fine, darling. What happened?
 * Kyoji: The Grass Sword paralyzed you with his poison. But it's good that you're awake now.
 * Takeshi: Yeah, I guess so. Thanks, Kyoji.
 * Kyoji: No problem.
 * Dark Green Shadow: I'm curious, why are you guys after this Grass Sword guy anyway?
 * Blast: Yeah, who is he?
 * Akasha: I don't know. But one thing's for sure, I hate that guy.
 * Sasuke: I don't really hate the Grass Sword, in fact I really admire him.
 * Dark Green Shadow: What are you talking about?
 * Takeshi: Well, you see, we had a conflict among the four of us. Akasha and I wanted the Grass Sword dead, but Kyoji and Sasuke wanted the opposite. We even nearly got into a fight.
 * Kyoji: Glad that didn't happen. I wasn't about to cause unnecessary casualties there.
 * Akasha: Kyoji was saying how this Grass Sword was his old friend, but for me, he isn't. In fact, we're enemies.
 * Kyoji: It would've been easier if you could just told me beforehand, you know.
 * Akasha: That's true. I guess I wasn't quite thinking straight for the past few weeks, my mind was just wanting that guy dead.
 * Kyoji: But the Grass Sword, he meant more than just an old friend to me. In fact, I think it's finally time I tell you guys more about him, so that you'll understand what's going on.
 * Green Shadow: Go ahead. This ought to be interesting.
 * Kyoji: Thank you. Now, how do I begin? Hmm...

[Kyoji's Backstory]

Kyoji Narrating: ''It was about sixteen years ago, the same year when I first met Starcade as a toddler. Back then, I enrolled in a school where kids at my age would be trained to become ninjas. I wasn't even an ice ninja back then, so I had no idea what to expect. Our sensei split our class into groups on the first day of school. My group was taught under a senior student, who later became the Grass Sword we all know today. His name was Itachi Konsuke, and...''

[Pause Backstory] [Resume Backstory]
 * Dark Green Shadow: Hold up, that guy had a name?
 * Kyoji: Yes, just like every other human. However, with the difference that he's no longer human now.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Which reminds me, I never even had a real name. Dark Green Shadow was all I could stick to as an evil clone to Green Shadow. At least Opposite Blast goes by Boom now.
 * Green Shadow: Come on, Dark Green Shadow, let him finish.
 * Dark Green Shadow: You're right, sorry.
 * Kyoji: Alright, now where was I? Oh yes...

Kyoji Narrating: ''Anyway, our sensei split my class into groups and Itachi was assigned by my sensei to be the mentor of my group. All of us admired the way Itachi taught us various ninja skills, from simple martial arts to smoke bomb teleporting, swordfighting and so on. Itachi was an inspiring mentor, and back then, I was one of the weaker students of my group. Even so, he never gave up on me and kept training me just like how he trained the other classmates in my group. I may be young, but I admired Itachi as an idol, and one day I wanted to become a ninja hero just like him, ready to serve justice, protect the weak and destroy evil. I trained as hard as I could, hoping to impress him. However, that all changed on the day I last saw him. You see, after Shogo conquered Japan during the Japanese war and my parents were killed, I became an ice ninja and before I could try fighting Shogo myself, I realized that Itachi was trying to do the same, but instead, he was forming a resistance of ninjas from my old ninja school to help him. Itachi recognized me as one of his best students, and offered me to be an assistant leader of the resistance. I was honored and accepted the offer immediately, even promising him that I would be by his side. Together, we managed to defeat Shogo's army and soon enough, we were very close to winning as we came face to face with Shogo himself in some grassy plains. We discovered that the key to defeating Shogo is to destroy his Orb of Power, and hence, all of us went for it. However, none of us stood a chance as Shogo quickly retaliated, and the resistance numbers started dwindling. It wasn't long before I realized that it won't be easy destroying the Orb of Power, and so did Itachi. The last thing I ever heard from him was that he would distract Shogo and that all of us ninjas should destroy the Orb of Power quickly while that happens. We got to work, but when I was about to make my last few hits on the orb, I saw Shogo performing a weird trick on Itachi. I'm unsure of what Shogo did to Itachi, but all I saw is Shogo encapsulating my old friend with the grass around him, completely concealing him. We managed to defeat Shogo and put him out of commission, but as I went to check on Itachi and cut off the grass, he was gone. I wasn't proud, as I realized I've let down my friend and I failed to help him while I could. I wasn't even sure if he was dead, as there was nothing but a blade of grass left behind. And I never saw him nor spoke about him again, until today. ''

[End of Backstory] [Akasha's Backstory]
 * Starcade: Yikes. No wonder you sounded upset when you returned home from battle that day.
 * Kyoji: Sorry, Starcade, I was too upset to even talk about what happened in that battle against Shogo. The Grass Sword meant a lot to me.
 * Tommy: That's a really sad story! (crying)
 * Blast: Here, blow. (gives him a tissue)
 * Tommy: Thanks... (blows into the tissue)
 * Akasha: As sad as it is, that won't change how much I hate him.
 * Takeshi: Yeah, me too.
 * Lemon Glass: But why?
 * Red Ruby: I hate him too for some reason. I just forgot why.
 * Akasha: Well, I didn't. And I'm about to tell you why.
 * Red Ruby: Interesting...
 * Kyoji: About time, Akasha. I was wondering for so long why you hated him so much.
 * Blue Ocean: Yes. We want to understand this!
 * Akasha: Oh, you'll understand right now. Let me tell you.

Akasha Narrating: ''It happened when we were kids. It was lonely at home as our father was strangely not home for days, so I was out exploring a bamboo forest until I came across my younger brother. Confused, I asked him what he was doing out there alone and as an older sister, I asked him to come back home with me as it was dangerous outside.''

Takeshi Narrating: ''And I told Akasha back then that our father wanted me to join him and his army to conquer Japan and the entire world. Knowing that it was something evil to do, I refused and as soon as he tried to punish me for being a traitor, I was scared and I decided to run away from home, never to return. But she didn't believe a word I said, saying that our father would never be that evil.''

Akasha Narrating: ''Little did I realize he was telling the truth until after I resurrected our father. But anyway, our different views on our father started an argument between us, until the Grass Sword came and pointed his grass sword at us, well, I guess that's how he got his name. We stopped arguing immediately as the Grass Sword told us that he was here to kill my brother Takeshi.''

Takeshi Narrating: ''Basically because I became nothing but a traitor to my father's eyes, ever since I refused to help him in his evil plans. The Grass Sword proceeded to attack me, and I wasn't even trained to defend myself back then. I was scared, as he swung his sword at me without mercy.''

Akasha Narrating: ''I knew that the Grass Sword might have some issues with my brother back then, but I wouldn't stand for anyone to harm my brother. I was already a fire ninja back then, so I decided to help defend my brother, and I told him to run for his life while I took care of the situation. As he did, I began to set fire to the bamboo forest with my flames, wanting to burn the Grass Sword. But that's not what made me hate him, that comes next. After watching the forest burn for about five minutes, I put out the fire and searched the burnt-down bamboo forest. I couldn't find the Grass Sword anywhere, nor my brother Takeshi. All that was left was a blade of grass with a distinct green shade, and I never saw my brother again ever since.''

Takeshi Narrating: That is, until we reunited at the mountains years later back when my sister wanted revenge on Kyoji.

Akasha Narrating: And, ugh, I know it was partially on me for separating myself from my brother, but if only that Grass Sword never attacked us in the first place, I would never have needed to do that!

[End of Backstory] [Sasuke's Backstory]
 * Akasha: I hate him, I hate him, I HATE HIM!!! Can you imagine how much pain I felt when I never saw my brother for all these years?
 * Kyoji: I'm sorry about that, Akasha.
 * Akasha: (sighs) It's just...I might have been a little too impulsive earlier, back when we almost fought each other. I must have been thinking too much about my brother to the point that I wanted the Grass Sword dead.
 * Kyoji: I understand.
 * Boom: Ok, that's it. Now I hate him too.
 * Electra: Yeah. What kind of jerk tries to kill a kid that has no way to defend himself!? What kind of soulless being would do that?
 * Blast: Uh... you guys tried to kill me.
 * Electra: That's different! You have superpowers. Takeshi had no way to defend himself!
 * Scorch: Fire! I'll BURN that Grass Sword the next time I see him!
 * Boom: Yeah, that guy deserves exactly what Akasha was going to do to him.
 * Blue Ocean: Wait, wasn't the Grass Sword enemies with Shogo? Being that the case, why did he attack Takeshi, if he was betraying Shogo?
 * Red Fork: Did the Grass Sword think Takeshi was helping his father?
 * Emily Green: Most likely.
 * Takeshi: At least I wouldn't have to depend on my sister to help me fight anymore.
 * Sasuke: So it's my turn, right?
 * Sean Sapphire: You have a backstory too?
 * Sasuke: Precisely. Waterver it was, it certainly seared in my memory forever. Here, I'll tell ya.

Sasuke Narrating: ''Out of the four of us ninjas, I'm the closest to Itachi. In fact, he was even my older brother who took care of me ever since our parents were killed in the Japanese war. With nowhere left to go, we decided to seek shelter in a dark cave which we called home. I may not have enrolled in the same ninja school Kyoji did, but that didn't stop Itachi from giving some of his time to training me to become a better ninja. Just like Kyoji, Itachi inspired me to become a water ninja and I was particularly mesmerized by the way he fights with a sword. I wanted to do something to prove to Itachi that I have been learning well from his training, so I did some research of my own. I eventually came to learn about the Sword of Elementia that was in the Temple of the Elements somewhere around Japan. I wanted to earn that sword so badly to impress Itachi, but I wasn't cut out to overcome the obstacles the temple threw at me. I became jealous as soon as I saw that Kyoji had earned the Sword of Elementia, and I tried to bargain him into giving me the sword. Kyoji refused and after a long battle, he defeated me. I'm sure he might have told you that and if he did, he was right. But the story doesn't end here. I wanted that sword just to prove that I can impress Itachi, so I decided to turn to him for advice. I was shocked and devastated when I saw that Itachi was no longer the same older brother he was to me, but in his place was a grass demon with a grass sword. Not only did he look different, he acted way different from how I remember, as Itachi treated me like a complete stranger and told me to get out of his way. I didn't know what he was talking about, but before I can comprehend what was going on, Itachi attacked me. I didn't want to fight back, so I ended up sustaining major injuries and even lost one of my eyes. But the loss of that eye wasn't the biggest loss I had, the biggest loss was the loss of my older brother, Itachi. ''

[End of Backstory] ''Sasuke brushes his messy hair aside, as he reveals an eye patch. He removes that eye patch, revealing an eyehole with dried blood all over.'' ''Blast punches Boom, which causes Boom to react and attack Blast. Alice shoots Boom with her plasma cannon, causing Electra to electrocute Alice. Tommy gets mad and punches Electra. Blade gets angry and shoots a cutting blade at Tommy. Boulder dives in and tosses a boulder at Blade. Scorch then shoots fire blasts at Boulder, and soon, Blast, Tommy, Alice, Boulder, Boom, Electra, Scorch and Blade are in a crazy battle between each other.'' The gang watches the conflict for a bit longer, until suddenly, Emily has enough of it and yells. Blast, Alice, Tommy, Boulder, Boom, Electra, Blade and Scorch stop at the same time, all of them looking at Emily Green, while still in the exact poses they were in before Emily yelled. ''The gang splits up and goes to search for their respective targets. First, Red Fork's team steps out to the city to look out for Shadow Kyoji and the Grass Sword. However, the city looks strangely empty.'' ''The gang starts looking around the city. Meanwhile, the Grass Sword is still in the forest, searching for Kyoji.'' The Grass Sword continues making his moves, until a smoke cloud appears, revealing Shadow Kyoji. Shadow Kyoji takes out his black crystal and shows it to the Grass Sword. Shadow Kyoji goes after Kyoji, while the Grass Sword seems to be heading towards a rather familiar cave. ''The Grass Sword enters the cave, which turns out to be the same cave where the five Ancient Ninjas of the God-Elements are living in. He sees a cluster of black shards lying on a rock, and before he can grab them, he gets blasted by ice shards. Out emerges Blizzard, who is ready to attack as soon as he saw the Grass Sword infiltrate the cave.'' Earthquake, Tornado, Wildfire and Thunderstorm stop whatever they are doing, before joining Blizzard. ''The five Ancient Ninjas of the God-Elements fight the Grass Sword, while trying to defend the shards. Meanwhile, Kyoji's team is also in the city looking for Sakura.'' The gang moves on, until they see Shadow Kyoji in another dark alley looking at a few black crystals lying around. ''Kyoji approaches Shadow Kyoji, who quickly turns around and starts attacking him with his sword. Kyoji blocks the attack with his Sword of the Arctic Seas, though.'' Shadow Kyoji teleports to in front of Kyoji and is about to attack him, but Starcade sees this coming and shoots two energy beams at Shadow Kyoji, blasting him into a wall. ''Shadow Kyoji punches Starcade out of the way, before teleporting towards Kyoji and attacking him with his sword. Both ninjas engage in a sword duel, though Kyoji fights rather defensively.'' ''Shadow Kyoji does a roundabout slash, which knocks Kyoji into a wall. He is about to attack Kyoji, but Akasha steps in and uses her own shadow arts to throw Shadow Kyoji into a wall as well.'' ''Shadow Kyoji casts an ice shockwave, freezing some members of the gang. As the shockwave clears, Starcade shows up right in front of Shadow Kyoji and punches him in the face. Shadow Kyoji gets angry and retaliates, by attacking her and pinning her to the ground.'' Shadow Kyoji raises his sword, only for Kyoji to tackle him and prevent him from attacking Starcade. ''Shadow Kyoji flies forward, pushing Kyoji through the city and into the forest again.  The gang tries to catch up with both ninjas, as Shadow Kyoji and Kyoji both fight each other. However, Shadow Kyoji is shocked when he realizes that he is about to fly into a rock. As Kyoji sees this, he realizes that Shadow Kyoji is in danger and proceeds to push him out of the way, while Kyoji himself hits the rock, taking the damage.'' Shadow Kyoji gets shocked repeatedly, before he looks at Kyoji as his eyes start glowing red. ''Before Shadow Kyoji can make his strike, Sakura emerges from behind Shadow Kyoji and starts showering light blasts all over him.  The rest of Kyoji's team shows up, as they see Sakura and Shadow Kyoji fight each other while under the influence of Hikari and Kage respectively.'' Boulder grabs one of the black crystals, and uses it to try and force both spirits out of Sakura and Shadow Kyoji. Boulder then sees Kage floating towards the black crystal he's holding. ''Boulder uses the black crystal to shoot powerful blasts towards Kage, trying to keep him away. Kage dodges the blasts, however.'' Kage flies towards Boulder at top speed, ready to possess him. ''Boulder tosses the black crystal at Emily Green. She grabs it, and begins to feel the power of the black crystal, very similar to how it felt the last time she had one. She was amazed by the feeling of power again, but she was also frightened. She really didn't want to mess up. Suddenly, many thoughts passed through her mind. Her childhood friend abandoning her, being overshadowed in the past by the Locked Room Gang, forming the Blocked Room Gang, fighting the Locked Room Gang, being exposed to her former teammates by Toby Topaz, finding the black crystals making the gang travel back in time, and so much more. ''
 * Sasuke: Until today, I never saw him again and as much as I felt betrayed by him, I'll never forget what he did before he became the Grass Sword he is today.
 * Toby Topaz: Wait, did you say that you lost an eye?
 * Sasuke: Yes, I did. The other ninjas already know about this, but no one else does. I think it's finally time I show you.
 * Starcade: Yeesh...
 * Bonk Choy: Ew...
 * Electra: Oh my...
 * Blast: Aagh! I wasn't mentally prepared for that! (looks away)
 * Tommy: Good-bye childhood...
 * Re-Peat Moss: That's really TRICKY!
 * Toby Topaz: Someone grab me a bucket, I'm gonna...(barfs)
 * Red Ruby: Eh, I've seen worse.
 * Boom: Try seeing PHX-001's insides when he accidentally swallows you. Now that's scarring.
 * Blade: What? Did he really do that?
 * Boom: Mm-hm. It wasn't pretty.
 * Sasuke: That's enough of that. (puts his eye patch back on)
 * Dark Green Shadow: Wow, these stories explain a lot. I mean, a whole lot.
 * Red Fork: So that's why you wanted the Sword of Elementia back then?
 * Sasuke: Yes.
 * Akasha: But you said you wanted to rule the world after you did get your hands on that sword. What was that all about?
 * Sasuke: I was still angry at how my older brother betrayed me. I might be exaggerating, but ruling the world was just a cover for my real reason on wanting that sword so badly. I didn't want anyone to know how I was truly feeling at that time.
 * Kyoji: I see. It would've been helpful if you told me that back then.
 * Sasuke: Yeah, looking back at the past, you have a point, Kyoji.
 * Blue Ocean: I agree with Dark Green Shadow, this explains a lot.
 * Emily Green: Huh?
 * Red Fork: Oh, we helped to fight Sasuke when he tried to steal the Sword of Elementia. That was long before you showed up.
 * Alice: Wait, so Itachi was suddenly acting very weird and hostile, even towards you?
 * Sasuke: Yes. I still have no idea why but after Kyoji said something about Shogo performing a weird trick on him, I'm starting to think it might make sense.
 * Emily Green: Do you think that could have something to do with whatever Shogo did to him in Kyoji's story?
 * Alice: Most likely.
 * Blast: Then we have to find him! We still might have a chance at returning him back to normal!
 * Boom: Say what now? That guy doesn't deserve it. He attacked a defenseless child, and almost killed his own brother, making him lose an eye! I say we end with that heartless jerk once and for all!
 * Electra: I agree!
 * Blast: Come on, I'm sure we can reason with him.
 * Boom: That won't work here, Blast. From what I've learned, this guy has no soul now. Otherwise he wouldn't have been such a jerk to Takeshi, Sasuke and Akasha.
 * Alice: That's most likely not his fault. He's probably just under the effect of some weird shadow art by Shogo.
 * Electra: Shadow art my boots! We're ending that guy before he attacks another helpess victim like the heartless jerk he is!
 * Blast: Hey, you can't talk to Alice like that!
 * Scorch: Fire! If you're really as stupid to defend a guy like that, then we'll just have to burn ya! Fire!
 * Tommy: Don't do that, Scorch! I have two water guns, and I'm not afraid of using them!
 * Boom: Then use them against me, kid! I dare you!
 * Blue Ocean: Guys, calm down now... (is almost hit by an electric bolt) Fighting won't solve anything... (almost hit by a plasma bolt)
 * Lemon Glass: Please! I don't like to see my friends fighting! (almost gets hit by a fire blast)
 * Emily Green: All of you, STOP FIGHTING!
 * Red Fork: Whoa.
 * Red Ruby: Wow.
 * Toby Topaz: Yikes! That was loud...
 * Emily Green: Look, I get that you don't agree on what to do about the Grass Sword, but fighting against each other isn't going to solve anything! So please, let's all just calm down, and try to consider this peacefully. We're a team, and we shouldn't be fighting like this! We're the Locked Room Gang, and we should solve our conflicts in a civilized manner. So stop fighting. We need to stay together!
 * Blast: I... I'm sorry...
 * Alice: Yeah, I'm sorry too...
 * Blade: I shouldn't have fought either...
 * Scorch: Fire...
 * Electra: I regret this too...
 * Tommy: Yeah, sorry everyone...
 * Boulder: Sorry...
 * Boom: (everyone looks at him) Fine, I'm sorry too...
 * Emily Green: Look, we're all a team, so let's work through this as a team, ok? We're the Locked Room Gang, we'll find a solution. We just have to work together.
 * Ace: (looks at her)
 * Emily Green: (sees Ace looking at her, and remembers what he said) Because togetherness is might!
 * Blast: You're right.
 * Alice: Let's work through this together.
 * Green Shadow: Now if we're all calmed down, we can start planning at once. We need a strategy on how we can take down the Grass Sword.
 * Starcade: Let's start off by saying that bringing Toxico here to help us is a great idea. The ninjas wouldn't be awake if he wasn't here right now.
 * Akasha: Wait, he was the one who cured us?
 * Starcade: That's right.
 * Akasha: Wow, who would've thought I would be cured by a mushroom?
 * Sean Sapphire: But Shadow Kyoji is still a threat out there. Just because we fought him twice doesn't mean he's completely out of the picture.
 * Kyoji: Once we capture the Grass Sword, we can try returning him back to normal.
 * Akasha: No, we kill him!
 * Kyoji: No, we won't, and that's final. Do you want to start another unnecessary fight again?
 * Akasha: Uh, no?
 * Kyoji: Good, I think all of us had enough of bickering with each other today. Let's start thinking of what we should do next now.
 * Blue Ocean: Yeah.
 * Boom: Oh, and don't forget, Sakura was possessed be a light spirit, I think.
 * Electra: Yeah, that.
 * Captain Red Shell: Hikari is searching for Shadow Kyoji, who he calls "the dark one".
 * Starry: And for some reason he thought possessing Sakura was the right way to do it.
 * Amelia Amethyst: Wait, did he really possess her?
 * Red Ruby: Duh, of course he did! He's a spirit!
 * Kyoji: Hikari, you say? And he's looking for the "dark one"? So I see that he's been sent here by Elementia to track down Kage, ever since my previous sword broke.
 * Toby Topaz: Wait what?
 * Amelia Amethyst: Who's "Kage"?
 * Kyoji: Shadow Kyoji isn't who Hikari is after. It's Kage. Kage is a dark spirit created by Elementia, sent to possess one of Elementia's swords. He's been causing trouble ever since he found out that the Shadow Sensei is dead, and has been looking for the one who killed him.
 * Akasha: Wait, me?
 * Kyoji: Yes. Fortunately, Kage doesn't know this yet. If he does, you're done for.
 * Akasha: And why should I be scared? The Shadow Sensei deserved what he got, and I have zero regrets killing him.
 * Kyoji: It's not that. It's just the fact that being possessed by a spirit is not something to take lightly, especially a dark one. That's why Elementia sent Hikari to neutralize Kage before he becomes too much of a liability.
 * Dark Green Shadow: How do you know all of this?
 * Kyoji: Hikari was in my sword before Captain Dark Shell broke it. He told me about it telepathically. And if you say that Hikari possessed Sakura, we had better find her quickly.
 * Blue Ocean: How do we do that?
 * Sasuke: She's possessed by a spirit?!
 * Kyoji: I'm not sure. If Hikari really did possess my sister, she would be looking for Shadow Kyoji right now. Kage is in his sword, according to what Hikari told me.
 * Sean Sapphire: Well, that explains why she showed up right after Shadow Kyoji attacked us.
 * Amelia Amethyst: But now we have no idea where she is.
 * Kyoji: We must search all over town for her before she finds Shadow Kyoji. I can't let him hurt her.
 * Sean Sapphire: What about the Grass Sword?
 * Kyoji: Yes, that is indeed a problem. In that case, we must split into teams.
 * Dark Green Shadow: Again?
 * Kyoji: Yes. Time is running out, we have none to lose. Let's split into two teams. One team shall follow me to find Sakura. The other team shall help look out for Shadow Kyoji or the Grass Sword in case either of them strikes.
 * Red Fork: Got it! I'll lead the team that'll be searching for the two dangerous ninjas.
 * Blue Ocean: I'm going with you, pal!
 * Lemon Glass: I'll follow you too.
 * Captain Red Shell: Me and my team will go with Kyoji.
 * Blast: Alice, take Boom and his team with Red Fork. I'll take Tommy and Boulder and follow Kyoji.
 * Alice: Got it.
 * Electra: Don't forget to bring Toxico with us as well! He could be very helpful!
 * Toxico: (nods)
 * Emily Green: I guess I'll go on Kyoji's team, then.
 * Red Fork: Sounds good, Emily. Oh, and by the way, great job with that speech. I didn't know you were such a good leader.
 * Emily Green: Me? (embarrassed) Oh, I'm not a good leader. I just thought I should say that to make them stop fighting.
 * Ace: And you did well. Don't be afraid to take a leadership role when necessary.
 * Emily Green: It's just that... I don't want to mess up like I did with the Blocked Room Gang.
 * Blue Ocean: You're a lot different than you were back then.
 * Red Fork: Yeah, you've grown and become much better.
 * Ace: Don't let your mistakes from the past hurt your spirit.
 * Emily Green: Thanks guys.
 * Kyoji: I know we haven't really talked to each other a lot, Emily, but I must say that you've come a long way ever since you moved on from being a villain to being the hero you are today. I remembered when we last met and I saw you with the face of a villain, taking advantage of the philosophy of teamwork for your own benefit. Now look at you, you're a strong and dedicated fighter who can actually make use of that same philosophy to help not only yourself, but others as well. You have leadership potential, I can see that, and don't let your past mistakes affect the person you are today. I know this is coming from someone who has recently been affected by his past as well, but I hope you don't stop being who you are now. Red Fork is right, you're a good leader and taking up the courage to display your leadership to your team is impressive. You're doing well right now, Emily, keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to seeing you grow even stronger.
 * Emily Green: Thanks Kyoji. I really appreciate it.
 * Starcade: Wow...anyway, I'll join Kyoji. I'm not about to lose him again after all these weeks. Blue, Pink, come with me too.
 * Test Subject Blue and Pink Angel: Yes, Starcade.
 * Sasuke: (blushes) Ah, Sakura. Been a long time since I last met her, I miss her so much...
 * Takeshi: Uh, Sasuke, are you okay?
 * Sasuke: What? Of course, I am. I was just saying that we ninjas should follow Kyoji's team as well!
 * Takeshi: Right...let's do that.
 * Akasha: That's fair. I'm curious on how that girl's doing anyway.
 * Green Shadow: I'll join Red Fork's team, and take Bonk Choy, Re-Peat Moss and Dark Green Shadow along with me.
 * Diana Diamond: Emma, Sean, join Kyoji's team. The rest of us will follow Red Fork.
 * Kyoji: That sounds good. My team, let's go look for Sakura. Those on the other team, go look out for those other two ninjas.
 * Red Fork: Got it!
 * Boom: Let's get going!
 * Bonk Choy: What's going on out there?
 * Green Shadow: Nothing, apparently.
 * Sean Sapphire: Well, this is strange, considering Shadow Kyoji just attacked us twice and the Grass Sword took down Kyoji's friends with just poison.
 * Blade: Maybe everyone left?
 * Electra: But where to?
 * Blade: Uh... I don't know.
 * Boom: It's very silent here. Too silent.
 * Red Fork: Let's look around, and see what we can find.
 * Green Shadow: Let's get to work.
 * Grass Sword: That sneaky ice ninja, where did he go? How dare he leave in the middle of battle? I'm not sure where he went but I sure hope that his friends won't try to stop me again.
 * Grass Sword: What the?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Phew...it's a relief I got away from those...(turns around to see the Grass Sword)...what the? Who are you?
 * Grass Sword: Why are you asking me this? You know very well who I am! Now come here so we can get this over with. (draws his sword)
 * Shadow Kyoji: Get this over with? What are you talking about?
 * Grass Sword: You don't know after all this time? I thought you knew better than that! Do you really have no idea?
 * Shadow Kyoji: As a matter of fact, I don't.
 * Grass Sword: Wow, that's real stupid of you, Kyoji. I thought you recognized me.
 * Shadow Kyoji: No, and clearly you don't know who I am. I'm nothing like that other ninja who has my name. I'm Shadow Kyoji.
 * Grass Sword: Shadow Kyoji? Well, you clearly look different from how you usually wear but how do I know you're not Kyoji?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Perhaps this would convince you.
 * Grass Sword: A black crystal? Really?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Oh no, this isn't some random black crystal that Captain Dark Shell created. This one comes straight from the Shadow Dimension.
 * Grass Sword: I'm sorry, but that doesn't prove anything to me. You're going to have to do better than that.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Oh really? I don't have to convince a grass demon like you about such nonsense so get lost or I'll start attacking.
 * Grass Sword: Do you think I'm scared?
 * Shadow Kyoji: I don't care what you think. (draws his sword and points it at the Grass Sword) I'm here looking for the truth that will tell me who killed the Shadow Sensei, so get lost or I'll use this sword on you. I'll even kill you if I have to.
 * Grass Sword: Well, you've really proven your point. The real Kyoji would never act like that, and you're clearly not him.
 * Shadow Kyoji: So, are you ready to get out of my way?
 * Grass Sword: Not yet. You see, I've lost my memory and my sense of identity, and I've been trying to track down this ice ninja named Kyoji as part of a deal I had with another shadow so I can find out who I really am.
 * Shadow Kyoji: So I see you're looking for a truth too? Interesting...
 * Grass Sword: Indeed it is. I have an idea, why don't we work together?
 * Shadow Kyoji: And why exactly should we work together?
 * Grass Sword: Look, we're on common ground and I think it's best if we help each other out. I'm trying to make the both of us happy. So here's the deal, we swap targets. You go after Kyoji for me, and I'll go after the answer you're looking for regarding the death of the Shadow Sensei. How does that sound?
 * Shadow Kyoji: (to Kage, telepathically) What should I do?
 * Kage: (telepathically) I have an idea. Accept the deal for now, and once we're done with what we gotta do, we can betray that old fool.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Hmm, okay, I'll try that. (to the Grass Sword) Sounds good. Let's do it.
 * Grass Sword: Then an alliance we shall be. No one has any idea what we're about to do.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get to work at once.
 * Grass Sword: (thinking to himself) Hmph, that should keep the gang busy. Shadow Kyoji's going to do my job, but I'm not about to help that fool find whatever he's looking for. I have more important things to attend to right now. Time to get the shards.
 * Blizzard: It's you! What are you doing here?
 * Grass Sword: I'm here just to claim something I should've claimed a long time ago.
 * Blizzard: Oh, we'll see about that. Guys!
 * Grass Sword: Well, well, well, if it isn't the other five Ancient Ninjas of the God-Elements.
 * Tornado: So you defeated Tsunami? Well, thanks a lot for doing that.
 * Thunderstorm: Shut up, Tornado.
 * Tornado: Sorry.
 * Earthquake: Oh, you're not going anywhere this time!
 * Wildfire: You may have defeated us, but we'll make you burn this time!
 * Thunderstorm: Yes, Tsunami was always a weak one, but you'll never defeat all of us!
 * Blizzard: And you're certainly not getting the shards from us.
 * Earthquake: Five against one? This is going to be pound cake! (clenches his fists)
 * Thunderstorm: Oh, you'll pay for coming back here big time!
 * Grass Sword: Numbers won't make a difference for me. How about we get this done and over with?
 * Blizzard: Gladly. Ancient Ninjas, attack!
 * Starcade: Hey Kyoji, I'm just glad you're with us now. I'm not sure if even we may have made it this far without your help.
 * Kyoji: Me too. But I believe we'll be able to pull this through together. Let's focus on finding Sakura for now.
 * Starcade: Got it!
 * Akasha: Does anyone see that light ninja anywhere?
 * Blast: Not yet.
 * Tommy: Where did she go?
 * Boulder: Why did Hikari possess her anyway? What's that spirit's plan? Did he realize he's messing with one of our friends?
 * Kyoji: He's after Kage. I just told you.
 * Boulder: I know that! I just don't know why he had to possess Sakura to do that!
 * Starcade: Could it be that Hikari was trying to use Sakura to hide his identity so that he can find that dark spirit?
 * Kyoji: Maybe?
 * Blast: Look!
 * Captain Red Shell: Isn't that Shadow Kyoji?
 * Sean Sapphire: But...why aren't the rest of the gang here?
 * Emma Emerald: I don't know either.
 * Pink Angel: He's investigating those black crystals, just like before!
 * Starcade: But all this while, he says he's looking for something. What is it exactly?
 * Kyoji: I'll go talk to him. He might need our help.
 * Kyoji: That was close.
 * Shadow Kyoji: About time you showed up.
 * Akasha: What's wrong with you? Kyoji was only trying to ask if you needed help!
 * Shadow Kyoji: I do, I need him dead. That's the only way I can get what I'm looking for.
 * Kyoji: What?
 * Starcade: What's going on with you? Why are you suddenly after Kyoji?
 * Shadow Kyoji: I don't have to explain that to you, miss, so get out of my way.
 * Captain Red Shell: (draws his sword) I believe you should explain. Threatening Kyoji like that won't end good for you.
 * Gary Guppy: Yeah, what's with this CRAZYness?
 * Shadow Kyoji: (to Captain Red Shell, while pointing his sword at him) Do you think I'm scared? You remind me of Captain Dark Shell, only less intimidating. Hence, I believe you should get lost.
 * Kyoji: Look, Shadow Kyoji, I don't want to start another fight so what is it you would like to know? We can help you.
 * Shadow Kyoji: I appreciate the effort, but it's useless. I don't need your help, I only need your death.
 * Starcade: No, you get lost! I'm not losing Kyoji again!
 * Shadow Kyoji: (recovers) So that's how it's going to be? You fools are going to step into my business again? If you're not going to stop getting in my way, I'll make you stop and I mean it.
 * Boulder: You're messing with us, dude! So stop saying that we're "stepping into your business". If you mess with our friend, you step in OUR business!
 * Starry: Yeah, get rekt, dude.
 * Blast: You may be powerful, but together, we're stronger than you!
 * Shadow Kyoji: No doubt, but that won't stop me either.
 * Kyoji: Hey, I just want to talk.
 * Shadow Kyoji: That won't do, my friend.
 * Kyoji: Why not? Aren't you looking for something? Come on, you don't have to fight this out.
 * Shadow Kyoji: I do. If that's the only way I can find out the truth I'm looking for, I'll do whatever I have to do. Words aren't going to do it for me.
 * Kyoji: Who told you to kill me? Kage?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Well...(suffers a brief shock from Kage)...of course not. It was the Grass Sword.
 * Kyoji: Grass Sword? Itachi told you to do this? When and how?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Sorry, but I'm not going to answer any more of your questions. Prepare to meet the end, my friend.
 * Akasha: So, you and the Grass Sword formed an alliance? Now all this finally makes sense!
 * Takeshi: Yeah, I was wondering why you were trying to kill Kyoji when that was what the Grass Sword was doing the whole time.
 * Shadow Kyoji: So what if I told you? You can't defeat me anyway, now can you?
 * Blast: Oh, we sure can!
 * Emily Green: You underestimate the power of teamwork, Shadow Kyoji. Togetherness is might! Come on gang, if we all fight together, we can take him down!
 * Boulder: Yeah!
 * Blast: Let's do this!
 * Starcade: Yeah, you're going down now!
 * Akasha: Oh, it's over for you, Shadow Kyoji!
 * Shadow Kyoji: We'll see.
 * Shadow Kyoji: You're not done being such a pest yet, are you?
 * Starcade: No.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Wow, you're such an annoying one, do you know that?
 * Kyoji: I want to help you, but no one shall hurt my friends. Ever.
 * Shadow Kyoji: I don't care. Now let's settle this privately, shall we?
 * Sean Sapphire: Hey, where did those two ninjas go?
 * Tommy: (shrugs)
 * Blast: I think they're in the forest again! We've got to go after them!
 * Starcade: Then let's go!
 * Shadow Kyoji: You...you saved me?
 * Kyoji: (struggles to stand up) Indeed. I'm a ninja, not a murderer.
 * Shadow Kyoji: I don't even know what I can say to thank you. I mean, this is the first time someone has actually saved me.
 * Kyoji: Really?
 * Shadow Kyoji: I'm no liar, Kyoji. Things were dreadful back in the Shadow Dimension, and all this while I've been poss...(gets shocked by Kage again)
 * Kyoji: Shadow Kyoji?
 * Shadow Kyoji: (telepathically to Kage) Ugh, what now?
 * Kage: (telepathically) Shadow Kyoji, now's the chance. Kill that ninja and we can move on!
 * Shadow Kyoji: But...he saved me. I'm not sure if I should do that.
 * Kage: Do it! NOW!
 * Shadow Kyoji: (looks at Kyoji, who is already injured) No.
 * Kage: What a shame. And I thought you were worthy of my trust as a friend. Clearly you're not, and therefore, you leave me no choice but to take over of your body. Completely.
 * Kyoji: Shadow Kyoji? Are you okay?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Must...destroy...you!
 * ???: Not today, Kage!
 * Sakura: Kage, your days of chaos are over. Surrender yourself or else!
 * Shadow Kyoji: No way, Hikari! Darkness shall never wave a white flag to the light!
 * Sakura: Fine, I guess I'll have to take you out then. Elementia's orders.
 * Boulder: What the?
 * Blast: Hikari is using Sakura to fight Kage, who is using Shadow Kyoji.
 * Tommy: But why do they have to use people as their puppets?
 * Boulder: (sees a black crystal on the ground) Let me try something.
 * Hikari: Argh!
 * Kage: Make it stop!
 * Boulder: Alright you two, stop using people's bodies as your puppets! It's just not right!
 * Blast: Hikari, now we know you're after Kage, so let us help you defeat him so we can end this mess.
 * Starry: Yeah, no point in keeping it a secret now.
 * Kage: What was that all about?
 * Hikari: Who told you about this? Kyoji?
 * Takeshi: As a matter of fact, yes.
 * Starcade: Now let us help.
 * Hikari: (sighs) You're right. I had to possess Sakura earlier because time was running out and I didn't have any choice. As an elemental spirit, we can only influence through spiritual possession. Our bodies go through all objects that are matter.
 * Sean Sapphire: I guess that makes sense.
 * Akasha: So how do we defeat Kage?
 * Hikari: One thing we know, we can't let him find out that you killed the Shadow Sensei. If he does, it's game over. But he's been interested in those black crystals as far as I know. Find him one and...
 * Kage: A black crystal! Give it to me!
 * Boulder: Nuh-uh!
 * Kage: Give it to me or I'll take it myself!
 * Emily Green: Boulder, over here!
 * Boulder: Emily?
 * Emily Green: Give me the crystal, trust me!
 * Boulder: Wait... say what now!?
 * Emily Green: Trust me! I know what to do!
 * Kage: Okay then, I'll take it myself! Don't say I didn't warn you!
 * Boulder: Fine, catch it!

''Her emotions started to overwhelm her. She then remembered when the gang decided to give her another chance, to forgive her for her mistakes, and accepted her into the gang. She remembered all the adventures she's had with them so far. All of her experiences flashed through her mind as if they were a movie set to fast forward. Could it be the side effects of the black crystal's power? She wasn't sure, but there was one thing she was sure of. She had to act. She grabbed the black crystal, and used it to prevent Kage from possessing Boulder.'' ''So many thoughts were going through her mind at that moment. She didn't even know why. Was she relating this moment to her previous experience with the black crystals? Was the dark power of the black crystal messing with her mind? Had that happened to her the first time she used it? She had no idea. What she did realize was that she was feeling everything in slow-motion. She was scared, she was confused, but most importantly, she was determined to play her part. She continued to use the black crystal against Kage.'' ''Hikari steps in, and beats up Kage as the latter gets hurt by the power of the black crystal. He manages to defeat Kage after a while, knocking him out unconscious.'' ''Emily looks at the black crystal in her hands. Something inside her didn't want to give back the black crystal. She was still wondering if it was really her, or if the black crystal was somehow messing with her mind. She struggled against herself for a moment, until finally, she extended her hand and gave Hikari the black crystal.'' ''Hikari takes Kage with him, as both spirits possess the black crystal. The black crystal starts glowing and floating in the air, as Hikari is about to use its power to teleport both him and Kage to Elementia's dimension.'' ''Hikari uses the power of the black crystal to teleport himself, Kage and the black crystal itself away. The gang sees Sakura and Kyoji show up, along with Shadow Kyoji as well.'' Shadow Kyoji teleports away, just before Red Fork's team shows up.
 * Emily Green: Stop right there!
 * Kage: No!
 * Kage: NO!!!
 * Hikari: (takes Kage with him) There, all done. The dark one has been neutralized, now I must be on my way to tell Elementia the good news. She'll be able to figure out what to do with him. (to Emily) I'm going to need that crystal to get back to Elementia's dimension.
 * Emily Green: Here you go.
 * Hikari: Thank you.
 * Hikari: (as the black crystal) Thank you. I'm not sure when and how, but I'll repay you for your kindness someday. Farewell now.
 * Blast: Are you guys ok?
 * Sakura: Sure we are.
 * Shadow Kyoji: I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm grateful of what Kyoji did to me. Well, even though it was mostly Kage doing the dirty work under my name, Kyoji still saved me from danger and that's what matters.
 * Kyoji: No problem.
 * Shadow Kyoji: Now that I'm free of Kage's control, I'm going to have to explore this dimension on my own. It's about time I put my past life in the Shadow Dimension behind me. It was...depressing.
 * Boulder: Yeah, we know.
 * Blast: We were there ourselves once.
 * Tommy: Living there must be horrible.
 * Shadow Kyoji: It certainly is. And I'm not going to go back there again, especially after Captain Dark Shell took over everything.
 * Starcade: Why not?
 * Shadow Kyoji: Kage made me betray them, although I never got along with any of them to begin with. Besides, there's no hope left for my team, nothing but evil and darkness dwells at the Shadow Dimension. I'll just have to stay in this world and adapt to the changes in store, and maybe one day I'll repay that ninja for what he has done.
 * Starcade: So, are you still going to look for what you're after?
 * Shadow Kyoji: No, I'm not. I'm not even interested in anything that has to do with what Kage is after, which was who killed the Shadow Sensei.
 * Akasha: Okay, good. Perfect.
 * Shadow Kyoji: I'll see you again soon. Farewell.
 * Red Fork: Hey guys! How'd it go?
 * Blast: Oh, it sure was something, alright.

(W.I.P.)