Written by: dxganronpa

The next morning, the ninja walked into the kitchen to make their breakfast. However, when they saw the redhead with her head in her arms and holding an empty glass of water, they began to get concerned.

"Mia?" Lloyd asked, walking over to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, concern taking over. "Are you alright?"

Mia awoke from her short slumber, looking up at the green ninja with puffy eyes. "No..."

Seeing this, Lloyd was quick to bring her into a tight hug. "Mia, what happened?"

"My s- sister..." She began to cry into his chest, tightly wrapping her arms around him. "They have my sister!"

"If they have your sister..." Kai paused before looking to the door and running out of it.

"Kai, where are you going?" Jay asked.

"Scarlett has a brother, if I remember correctly!"

"When was she gonna tell us that?" Cole whispered to the white ninja.

"Oh, I already knew. It's in my database when I first scanned her."

Kai ran to the girls' shared room and opened the door, finding Scarlett in her attire from the other day. "Scarlett, are you—?"

She turned around, her eyes with tears in them but still haven't fallen. "Kai?"

"Mia said the shadows took her sister... did they...?" He didn't want to finish the sentence.

"Yeah. They did." But Scarlett had a hint of a smile, which scared Kai just a little, comparing how concerned Mia was to how Scarlett didn't look the least bit worried.

"Uh, did you not have a good relationship with your brother?" he asked her, a bit hesitant.

"After all these years... I couldn't find him. But they did... whether you're coming with me or not, I'm gonna go get him back," Scarlett said to him.

Kai kind of got the gist of why she was smiling, but couldn't exactly put all the pieces together—it was just another one of the mysteries about her that made her all the more attractive to him.

"I'm going with you, no doubt. But why don't you put on your gi and we can all go as a team? Like old times?" He hoped she would agree and things would go back to the way they used to be.

Scarlett shook her head at him, keeping the knife in her sleeve and twirling the spear she had brought into the room. "I'm not ready for that yet. I... I don't wanna be part of the shadows anymore."

"Scarlett, you can say that all you want, but they'll never stop coming for you. You're a part of this whether you like it or not," Kai told her, stepping closer. "As your boyfriend, I swear—"

"Slow down, there Since when were you my boyfriend?"

Now he was amused, and he leaned against her bed frame with a smirk. "Yesterday, after we all made up. Apparently I was the best boyfriend you've ever had."

Scarlett blushed a bit at this, turning her head away. "Did I say that?"

"You did. But hey, I'm not complaining. You seemed pretty happy, too."

"Well... we haven't gotten to that point, yet. Guess with all that went on, you made me believe that."

"Who says we can't start now?"

"I do. You're gonna have to do a lot more than that to win me over, considering past relationships. But not now, we have some siblings to save." Scarlett didn't let him say another word as she was already out the door with her weapons.

"Again with the mysteries..." Kai sighed, shaking his head and following her. He knew he'd win her over—he'd just have to keep trying.

* * *

"Scarlett, you said you had a plan?" Lloyd asked, walking into the Bridge with Mia, who was silent on the way in.

The raven-haired teen, still not wearing her gi, nodded to him. "Yeah. I'm confident we'll be able to get them back."

"Then please, do tell," Cole said as he walked in with the rest of the team. "Also, Scarlett, babe. Mind letting us know next time you wanna run off?"

"In my defense, I thought you all hated me." Scarlett crossed her arms, not even fazed by the nickname—to be fair, she liked it. "But enough of that. Okay, you've all had your fair share of that base. But I don't mean to sound cocky when I say I know it better than all of you."

"Hmm... I have to agree. Although you were only in there for a bit longer than Mia was, you were able to escape your cage and, in a way, explore the cave." Zane nodded to her in agreement.

"Guess it's a good thing we left you in there, huh?" Jay joked, patting her shoulder—although he only received a small glare in return. "Right. Just kidding."

"Scar..." Mia walked up to her friend, taking her hands in hers. "Do you think you'll be able to find my sister...?"

"And my brother, yeah." She gave the redhead a nod with a small smile. "I doubt I'll be going in there alone... but I'll be able to lead you to where they are."

"Wait, you have a brother?" Lloyd asked, him and everyone else sharing the same confused look—except for Kai of course.

The fire ninja snickered to himself, seeing as he was the only one who knew. "See? I told you guys she's full of mysteries."

"And there's more to come, I bet. Can't wait to unravel it all," Cole joked.

"Good luck with that." Scarlett smiled a bit.

"Okay, can we please talk about what's really important here? We have to save my sister and Scarlett's brother!" Mia snapped, not wanting to waste another second.

Lloyd nodded, walking over to the screen. "Okay, Scarlett. Keep going... don't let any of us interrupt you again."

"Right." She nodded, typing away at the screen like she's known it forever and put in the location of the shadow cave. "We go in there, and I lead you to them. Hopefully they'll be within the same range... once we get them, we're out of there."

"Simple, and, I pray, easy—let's do it." Jay nodded, on board.

"But Scarlett... they would have both you and Mia in their reach," Zane told her with a slight frown. "How can we be sure this isn't a trap you are walking into?"

"Oh, I know it's a trap. But you think I'm just gonna stand here while they just... stay trapped or something? Besides, if we don't do something now, you know Mia's gonna run off by herself and get busted—sorry, love."

"To be honest, you're right." Mia sighed, crossing her arms. "So I'm really glad you're back Scarlett... and look at you. Taking action, too."

"Yeah, I guess so." The dark-haired teen smiled a bit, shrugging. "But if neither of us will, then when would these bozos?"

"Heh, you're right again."

"Uh, we're right here, you know," Jay mumbled, him and the others sharing looks.

"I like a new leader for a change. Sorry, Lloyd." Kai chuckled at the green ninja, who only slapped his shoulder.

Scarlett had a determined look on her face. "Alright, guys—we're walking right into a trap, but that won't stop us. I believed those shadows, believed you all were against me... now I know better. Stay with me, all of you."

"You can count on us all." Kai put a hand on her shoulder, grinning down at her. "We'll be here for you."

"Yeah." Mia was on the other side of her, holding her arm and smiling softly. "No matter what, those shadows have nothing on us."

"You guys are gonna make me cry." Scarlett gushed a bit, unable to help the wide grin that spread across her face. "Then let's go!"

The team ran out of the Bounty once arriving at the shadow cave. Once stopping, Nya called their attention.

"I'm gonna stay here, watch over the Bounty—maybe even find Sensei. Besides, it'll be too many people in there, anyway."

"Are you sure?" Jay asked her. "You're a part of this team—you won't make it too many people."

"Don't worry, I promise." Nya smiled at him, putting a hand on his cheek. "Just come back to me safe and sound, okay?"

The blue ninja nodded, resting his hand on hers. "Okay."

"Alright, you two. Let's move out," Cole ordered, although his voice wasn't nowhere near rude. "We have siblings to save."

They all exited the Bounty with the anchor, following Scarlett's lead. She walked ahead of the group, Mia just a bit behind her and the boys behind them.

"You sure you know what you're doing, Scar?" Kai asked.

"Positive," she answered, giving a nod of confirmation. "Just follow my lead. If need be, we'll have to split up to find them."

"You got it, Boss," Jay said, entering behind everyone else. "Let's just... hope we don't get caught... heh."

"I'm preparing for when we get caught."

"Great to know..."

The corridors were dark, but it was something Scarlett and even Mia had grown used to, as they were both taken captive here. She was just glad her powers weren't unlocked yet—if she even had any.

But even with their silence, she managed to hear a voice in the distance. It was a feminine voice, as if she was calling out to them.

"Mia... Mia, help me!"

Scarlett stopped, turning around to see if the others had heard it too. However, they all looked at her, confused.

"Scar, are you okay?" Mia asked, concerned. "Why'd you stop?"

"Am I... the only one that heard that?" she mumbled to herself, looking around.

Not that it hasn't happened, before. Voices have been speaking in her mind since the first time she was in the cave, and she really didn't appreciate it.

But she really, really wanted to know what it all meant, and why she was the only one who could hear them.

Another voice then rang through her ears, sounding like it was just down the hall—but once again, no one else heard the now deeper, male voice.

"If you are there... please, do not come closer. It... it is a trap, Scarlett!"

Recognizing the voice, Scarlett dashed forward, earning cries and shouts from her friends.

"Scarlett, come back!"

"Where are you going?"

"Wait up!"

She stopped, hearing the feminine voice once more. "Can anyone... please, anyone just help us!"

But as soon as she was about to go back, the same male voice then repeated itself. "You will all be killed... I promise, I will find a way out of here! Leave at once!"

Scarlett suddenly found herself on her knees, holding her head. She couldn't pick which way to go, as both sides seemed to be calling for her. Luckily, her friends had arrived before, she felt, she went completely insane.

"Scarlett, hey..." Kai put a hand on her shoulder, another on her head. "Scarlett, are you alright? What happened?"

"I... agh, it's killing me!" she shouted, almost squeezing her head. She then jumped to her feet, making Kai flinch. "Okay, we're splitting up. I- I can't deal with it anymore!"

"What are you talking about?" Zane asked, taking a step closer.

"Mia, you take Lloyd, Cole, and Zane to find your sister. You might have to turn back... and make a right all the way down. Kai, Jay, you stick with me." Without another word, Scarlett had begun to walk in the direction she heard the voice of her brother.

Lloyd was a bit shocked at her actions and he felt concern washing over him. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know... we'll ask her about it later. She still seems determined, and so am I!" Mia grabbed his hand and practically dragged him down the hall, Cole and Zane hesitantly following them.

Once arriving, Mia was finally able to hear a voice. A feminine one, all too familiar to her.

"Mia... please, anyone...!"

"E- Ellie!" the redhead cried, running ahead with the three following right behind her. "Ellie, hang on!"

She didn't know where she was running to—but her sister was somewhere, really there and calling for her.

Mia eventually found the hallway much darkened the further she went, finding a girl just a bit older than her chained against the cave wall. A pretty brunette who looked very similar to her sister was trapped by the wrists and ankles, bruised and barely able to move.

The purple ninja didn't hesitate to step toward her. "Oh my god... Ellie, is that really you?"

"M- Mia...?" The girl, Ellie, widened her eyes at the sight of her younger sister. "Mia, it's you!"

"We have to get you out of these chains, before those shadows come back! Look what they did to you..."

"Don't worry, I got you." Cole stepped forward, putting his hand on the chain and using his super strength to pull it off with some effort. "Huh, this is kind of tough."

He then did the same with all of the chains, gently lifting her up by the arm, Mia doing the same with her other one. Cole gave Ellie a small smile, "You alright, little lady?"

Ellie looked up at the earth ninja, unable to stop the blush that dusted her cheeks. "I- I am now... thank you."

"We have to regroup with the others. How's Scarlett faring?" Lloyd asked.

"I will track her location now—fortunately, she's not too far from us," Zane told him.

"Good. Hopefully she's found her brother by now..." Mia frowned a bit. "Cole, do you think—?"

"Yeah, I got her." He smiled at the purple ninja, soon taking Ellie into his arms. "You seem a little weak... we'll heal you up when we get you back to our place. It's roomier, trust me."

Now she was really nervous, but she smiled back at him. "I'd like that... thank you, again. But wait... your friend's brother? If you're talking about Red... I don't know what they've done with him by now."

"What are you talking about?" Mia asked.

"He's a really nice guy. Tried getting me out of this situation the first time even when he didn't know me... I'm sure we would've been good friends. But they separated us... I don't know if they've hurt him worse than me, or... god, if I was just a bit stronger," Ellie explained with a small frown.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back. His sister and the rest of our friends are finding him," Lloyd assured her.

"But for now, we must return to the Bounty. We'll keep in contact with the others," Zane said, turning around to rush back. "Before the shadows wish to attack."

"I hope they're okay..." Mia mumbled to herself as they all ran off, Ellie in Cole's arms.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave, Kai and Jay almost had a bad time keeping up with Scarlett. She was running way too fast for their liking

"Scarlett... wait up!" Jay called out.

The teen finally stopped in front of a door, breathing heavily. She put her hand on the knob, hesitant in opening the door.

He said it was a trap... but I can't leave him here.

Kai, after finally catching up with Jay, put a hand on her shoulder, knocking her out of her thoughts. "If you're hesitant... we understand. No one's rushing in there."

"I know... it's just..." Scarlett sighed a bit, looking away from them.

"Hey, no matter what, we're here for you. We stick together," Jay assured her.

"... Yeah, you're right. Let's go!" With a determined nod at their words, Scarlett pushed open the door.

She saw a man just a few years older than her, trapped against the wall with chains that were different than Ellie's. They were darker and looked more magical, like the powers the shadows used.

He yanked his wrists multiple times in an attempt to escape, but it was useless. He couldn't get out of them no matter how hard he tried.

When his eyes landed on the three at the door, his eyes widened. "Scarlett... you should not have come here!"

"It's really you..." She took a few steps forward, ignoring his warning. She held her hand out, reaching out to him. "Red..."

"As much as I would like to catch up... those things are after you, and I am bait," Red told her. "The three of you must leave before they get to you!"

"Sorry pal, no can do. We came here just for you," Kai joked as the two boys walked over, grabbing the chains. "Okay, how do we break these?"

"I am afraid you cannot... they made these chains specifically for my powers so I cannot escape," Red explained with a small frown.

"Powers... you're an elemental too?" Jay asked with widened eyes.

"An... elemental...?"

"Once we get you out of these, we can explain it to you," Scarlett said as she stared at the chains. "Hmm..."

"These are... weird. Made for his powers, huh...?" Kai said to himself. "Well, maybe a little fire will do it!"

As he lit his hand up in flames, hoping to have it burn the chains, it only steamed Red's wrist. He winced, yanking his hand away—only to remember it was chained to the wall.

"Oops... sorry."

"How are we getting him out of here?" Jay sighed, pulling his hands away. "These chains won't budge!"

Red let his hands rest. "I told you, it was all a trap. I am not sure why they are looking for my sister... but they are."

"Use what's on the table, dear..."

Scarlett turned her head around, but saw no one. Once again, the voice in her head returned.

However, her eyes found the small table in the corner of the room, and on it was a knife that looked like it was made from the shadows. Almost like she was in a trance, she walked toward it, picking it up in her hands.

"Scarlett? What are you doing?" Kai asked her.

Instead of answering him, the teen returned to her brother and took his hand, holding it away from the knife as she brought it down, easily cutting the chains.

"It worked?" Red was just as confused as the other boys. He held his hand out, the dark magic swirling around his fingers. He made the chains on the rest of his body disappear and he smiled a bit. "Finally."

"Whoa... that's so cool," Kai and Jay said in unison, staring at the dark magic.

"How long have you been trapped here?" Scarlett questioned.

"Much longer than I would have liked," he answered.

"Then let's get you out of here. You look a bit bruised, anyway," Jay pointed out.

Scarlett tucked the knife into her belt holder, deciding to keep it. She then stepped over to her brother, looking up at him with a grin. "So..."

Kai and Jay walked behind the two, not wanting to interrupt their time together—they've been separated for a long time, but it's not like the two ninja knew that.

The fire ninja looked to his friend, "He seemed really worried. Do you think they made it easy for us?"

"I don't even know at this point. But if they did, why? It doesn't seem like they got anything out of it," Jay responded. "Unless Mia's side had an issue."

"I hope that's not the case. If we get the siblings back on the Bounty safely, they can explain to us what happened," Kai said with a nod. "But for some reason... I can't help but think those shadows got something out of this."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just... there's no way they'd let us waltz out of here without anything beneficial to them. What would be the point of bringing the siblings here? No, there's something else going on."

"Well... I guess we won't find out until later," Jay responded, and that was the last of that conversation.

And not too far behind them, two shadows and a woman stood. The first one scowled, looking up at the woman.

"My Queen... with all due respect, we didn't get Brooklyn or Dragonfire. What was the point of retrieving their siblings?"

"Oh, but there was a point," the woman responded, her voice gentle but lacing with venom. "You see... I now know who the one is. And personally, I'm glad it's Miss Scarlett."

"... What is she, exactly? And how do you know?" the second asked.

"My dears..." The woman stepped out a bit, soon turning around to face her own and revealing herself as the Queen of the Shadows. "She is one of us. She hears the voice... my voice... and confirmed my suspicions once she picked up the knife. I placed the exact same one near Miss Mia, and she didn't even notice. And she doesn't hear my voice. Although... for my dear Scarlett, I must say it was inevitable."

"How so?" the first questioned. "I don't like the sound of this. She has one of the elements that can destroy us—does she really belong here?"

"She does! The poor girl hasn't even unlocked her element... however, that will change in due time," the queen told them. Her long, pitch-black curls bounced as she twirled, happiness overtaking her. "Oh, I can't wait for her to return to me!"

"My Queen... I do hope you'll be explaining this to us," the second one spoke, just as confused as the first.

The queen fixed her tiara before smiling wickedly at her shadows. "You'll understand... I promise."

She then walked away, her heels clicking under her gray and white lace dress. "Scarlett, my baby... I'll be waiting right here for you."

* * *

"You're back!" Nya smiled as Kai and Jay helped Red climb over the rail. He still felt a bit weak from the chains that bound him, but he was slowly able to recover. When she noticed him, she looked him up and down. "And who are you, handsome?"

"Ah, uh... Red, Scarlett's brother." He didn't mind the compliment and only extended his hand out, which she shook with a smile.

"Handsome and a gentleman? I like you already."

Jay's jaw dropped and he almost went for Red before Nya giggled. "Relax, Jay, I'm only teasing. Although handsome and tempting, you're the only one for me."

"Uh... thank you?" Red chuckled a bit.

"Hmph." Jay wrapped his arm around Nya, pulling her close to him.

"I see you still grab the attention of girls." Scarlett crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hey, you guys!" Mia called as she and the remaining ninja got on deck with Ellie. "Wow, who's that?"

"What? You too?" Jay's eyes widened in shock.

"Kinda jealous," Kai mumbled.

"Red, you're okay." Ellie smiled a bit, slightly limping toward him.

Red looked toward her, smiling too. "Isabella... you are alright. I am very glad to see it."

"You two... know each other?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, when you are trapped in a cave and there is only one other person... you tend to make friends," Red said with a small shrug.

"He was nice enough to try and... keep me out of the situation, until they separated us. I didn't know what they'd do to you." Ellie sighed, shaking her head. "You've been a great friend. I'm glad you're alright."

"Hey... I know you." Scarlett had been squinting at Ellie for the past few minutes until it finally hit her. "Aren't you the girl who...?"

"Oh!" When getting a good look at Scarlett, Ellie smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't even see you there. Yeah, I bumped into you on the streets just a few days ago. Sorry about that, again... I didn't know you were friends with the Ninja."

"Yeah, although not as good-looking as her brother, we still love her." Cole wrapped his arm around Scarlett's shoulder, ruffling her hair a bit.

"Thanks a lot..." She huffed, crossing her arms and just letting him ruffle her hair.

"But now I'm wondering... I'm sure Red was also waltzing around the same time you two met. How did the shadows get to you both so fast?" Lloyd asked, putting a finger to his chin. "And why?"

"It all happened so fast..." Red shook his head with a sigh. "I have a habit of getting into these types of problems..."

"Then before you both begin, let us fix those wounds, Red. You have a few bruises that look like they need tending," Zane offered. "Then you can tell us everything that happened."

"Thank you." Red smiled a bit, following the nindroid below deck.

Scarlett looked to Ellie, who gave her a smile and a wave. She did the same, but was thinking in her mind. She couldn't help but believe it was her fault they got to them—she was with Ellie before she was taken.

But then how would they have gotten to her brother? It didn't add up, and frankly, it hurt her brain just thinking about it.

She put her hands on her hips, feeling the knife that she had taken from cave. She stared down at it, at the shape and the purple color it had, before sighing and putting it back in her belt.

I'm just glad they're okay, she told herself.