The next morning was bright and clear. Ryu and the others got up and prepared to leave. They wished in their hearts that they could have spent more time in this sacred place but they knew that they didn't have much time. So after packing and making sure that they had covered their trail, they summoned their dragon partners and continued their journey to the Fire Kingdom.
"I wonder if we'll make it in time" Atlanta said worriedly.
"We will" Ryu assured her.
At noon, they finally saw the Fire Kingdom from a distance. Smoke was rising from the Kingdom and the clash of blades could be heard from afar. Luckily, it didn't seem like any Dark mongerers were close. The Fire Kingdom was besieged by dark ninja. The fire ninja seemed to be doing a good job at keeping them at bay but it seemed like they were on the losing side.
"I don't see Nemesis anywhere!" Ken yelled.
"Oh no, it's too late! We're too late!" Atlanta exclaimed as her heart fell from dismay.
"Don't worry Atlanta, we'll stop Nemesis" Ryu assured her.
The dragons reduced their altitude and the companions leapt off their backs, assaulting the Dark ninja they could see while still in mid-air. Tanya twisted her staff and it expanded and bared its scythes. The two opposite edges opened revealing that the wood was hollow. Tanya spun her scythe; throwing kunai in all directions and taking down multiple targets in one go.
"It's so nice to see you again you ugly stinking pelicans. Did you miss me?" Ryu said as he landed in the midst of the Dark ninja.
"Oh no! It's Ryu!" they screamed in terror.
"You've got that right! Fire Element! Dragon Fire Jutsu!" Ryu roared as he released intense flames that burnt a lot of the Dark ninja.
Shadow ninja came out of hiding and suddenly surrounded the companions.
"Rokkan, ready?" Atlanta called.
"Definitely! Let's show them the present 'us'" Rokkan said as he formed a combination seal with Atlanta.
"Earth Element!" Rokkan called.
"Crystal Element!" Atlanta called.
"DUAL ELEMENT! GAEIAN TIDAL WAVE JUTSU!!!" Atlanta and Rokkan called in unison as the earth began to tremble.
Suddenly, a fleet of crystal and earth blades fused together flew out from the ground all over the Fire Kingdom and assaulted the Dark and Shadow ninja. When the Shadow ninja realized that they were being overwhelmed, they ordered the Dark ninja to retreat. They also retreated as well to prevent more casualties among their ranks.
"You're not getting away that easily!" Nadia called as she formed a combination seal with Michael.
"DUAL COMBO JUTSU! DOUBLE HEADED WATER DRAGON JUTSU!!!" Michael and Nadia called in unison as an extremely powerful water dragon appeared and swept the Shadow ninja away.
In confusion, the Dark ninja tried to attack the saints. In anger, Atlanta sent them flying with a flurry of quick taijutsu(hand to hand combat) attacks.
She grabbed one of them by the collar.
"WHERE IS NEMESIS?!" she demanded.
"Th-the castle" the dazed Dark ninja confessed as he lost consciousness.
Atlanta let him drop to the ground.
The rest of the Dark ninja wasted no time in fleeing.
"Ryu, Nemesis is in the castle! We have to find my father!" Atlanta cried.
"Wow, you sure handled the Shadow ninja there didn't you, Atlanta?" an unfamiliar voice said.
To Atlanta, though, the voice was very familiar. Atlanta looked in the direction of the voice.
"JAY?!" she exclaimed in surprise.
A teenage boy, almost in his twenties emerged from the shadows.
"I'm glad you still remember me" the boy said with a smile.
Atlanta ran to him and hugged him.
"Jay, I've missed you so much!" she exclaimed in joy.
"Sheesh, why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?" Ryu said with a frown of jealousy.
"I missed you too Atlanta" Jay said.
"I smell an interesting story" Nadia said as she smirked at Ryu.
"Come on, it's not like they were childhood sweethearts or anything like that" Ryu said, and then he flinched at the very thought.
"You just stated the near obvious" Nadia said.
"Jay, these are my friends" Atlanta said as she introduced all of them.
"Atlanta, tell me what you've been doing all this while?" Jay asked.
"Let's find a safe place first" Atlanta suggested.
"Let's head to the Fire Temple. That's where the fire ryu is and it's safe there" Jay suggested.
So, the companions walked towards the Fire Temple. Atlanta and Jay talked excitedly. Atlanta seemed to be a lot happier than normal and Ryu was beginning to understand the meaning of the word 'jealousy'.
Soon, they were in the Fire Temple. The other students were surprised to see Atlanta.
"GET OUT OF HERE! WE DON'T NEED YOU HERE! WE KNOW YOU JOINED NEMESIS!" one girl yelled angrily.
"No, no, it's okay. We don't work for Nemesis. We're actually against him" Atlanta explained.
"Oh" the girl sighed.
"Yeah, that's true! You should have seen Atlanta's technique. It took out more than half of the Dark ninja!" Jay said excitedly.
"Atlanta's technique? Did you develop your fire powers finally Atlanta?" the girl asked.
Atlanta shook her head.
"I'm not a Fire ninja. My elemental affinity is Crystal" Atlanta explained.
"Really?! That's so cool!" the other students exclaimed in awe.
Atlanta began to feel more at home with them.
"Atlanta, you still haven't told me why you left and what you've been doing since then" Jay said.
Atlanta began to tell him everything about her journey. When she was done, everyone was very quiet.
"So you were really working for Nemesis huh?" Jay asked.
"I've stopped working for him. Why do you ask?" Atlanta asked.
"Hmm, considering the recent attacks on the ryu, I'd say it's really good you've stopped working for him" Jay said.
"Enough with the interrogation" Ryu suddenly muttered.
Atlanta looked around.
"Hey Jay, where's your sister Sarah" Atlanta asked.
"Well, could you mind asking that question once we rescue your father from Nemesis?" Jay said.
"Okay" Atlanta said.
Jay sighed in relief.
"We've got to start making plans to rescue my father" Atlanta said to the other saints.
"Let's do that tomorrow. Right now, the Shadow ninja surrounding the palace will be on high alert" Jay advised.
"Very well" Atlanta agreed.
"See you around then" Jay said as he left the Temple.
Atlanta waved dreamily.
Ryu stared at Atlanta, then at Jay, then at Atlanta again, and then he slapped his forehead in exasperation.
The following day, Jay returned to the Temple. Atlanta was talking with Nadia and Tanya when Jay entered.
"Hello Atlanta" Jay greeted.
"Jay, you're back!" Atlanta exclaimed excitedly.
"Atlanta, I've got something to ask you" Jay said.
"Okay" Atlanta said.
"Would you mind coming with me to the fountain at the town square?" Jay asked.
Atlanta blushed shyly.
"Are you asking me out on a date?" she asked.
"Something like that" Jay said.
"Sure" Atlanta agreed.
"Great, let's go" Jay said.
"See you later guys" Atlanta waved as she left the Temple.
In the next room, Nadia had tied Ryu's hands with a water jutsu in the nick of time to prevent him from assaulting Jay with a fire jutsu.
"Let go of me Nadia. I've got to make sure nothing funny happens between the both of them" Ryu growled angrily.
"Ryu, I don't think it's right for you to follow them. What will Atlanta say when she finds out?" Nadia asked.
"She'll hate me now but she'll probably thank me later. Besides, there's something odd about that guy. Where was he while we were fighting the Shadow ninja and why did he suddenly appear after we had defeated them?" Ryu said.
"Stop seeing webs where there is nothing! Just admit you're jealous" Nadia said as she bound him even tighter than before.
"Nadia, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, you decide" Ryu growled angrily.
"Let's see you try!" Nadia said.
"Fine, don't say I didn't warn you" Ryu said as he took in a deep breath.
His body began to heat up rapidly, causing Nadia's water binding jutsu to boil and then evaporate. Soon enough, he broke free of Nadia's jutsu and ran out of the Temple. Nadia sighed.
"He'll never grow up, will he?" she said.
Ryu successfully trailed Jay and Atlanta to the lake. He hid behind the trees and watched them closely.
"Atlanta, so much has happened since you left this kingdom" Jay said.
"I didn't have much of a choice Jay" Atlanta said.
They had finally arrived at the fountain. Ryu looked around, the square was an open place but it seemed like some hedges lined the corners of the street.
"Perfect chance!" Ryu said with a sinister sparkle in his eyes as he manoeuvred his way through the shadows and people using as many ninja concealment techniques as possible.
Soon, he was hiding behind a hedge, right behind Atlanta and Jay.
"I'm glad you're back. I missed you a lot" Jay said.
"I missed you too" Atlanta replied.
"You shouldn't have left like that" Jay reproached Atlanta.
"I know" Atlanta sighed.
"I don't like where this is going" Ryu muttered.
Then he looked around.
"I have to start preparing countermeasures" he said as he looked at the ground with an evil sparkle in his eyes.
"Jay…I…" Atlanta said silently.
Ryu picked up a stone and rubbed it.
"No, this one's too rough. It wouldn't have the impact I need" he said as he threw it to the ground.
He picked another stone.
"Nah, too small" he said as he threw it away.
He picked more.
"Nah, this is too big, this is just a lump of clay, and gravels could kill him without hurting him" Ryu said.
Then he noticed a sparkling pebble beside a tree behind him. He picked it up.
"Oh, thank you Ryuujinn. You've answered my prayers so perfectly, a stone not too soft but extremely hard and as smooth as a pebble shaped by a river over millennia. This is perfect and as smooth as a bald head. This will give him enough pain to allow him to think twice. And if it does kill him, at least he will suffer first" Ryu said with a sinister chuckle.
He snuck back to the hedge and continued to peek through it. Jay seemed to be drawing closer and closer to Atlanta.
"You jerk. At least I know now that I will have no regrets dealing with you" he said with an evil grin.
"You don't need to say anything Atlanta" Jay said as he drew even closer to her.
Ryu smiled.
"Ryuugan" he whispered as his eyes slowly assumed the likeness of a dragon's.
It seemed like Atlanta and Jay were about to kiss.
"Hedge resistance, check, wind resistance, check…" he looked around and saw a light pole a bit close to Jay. "…Angle of reflection, check, angles of deflection, check, all systems go!" he said as he hurled the stone through the hedge.
The hedge deflected the stone and it narrowly missed Jay's head.
Ryu smiled.
"Exactly according to plan" Ryu smirked.
The wind resistance bent the path of the stone a little and it struck the light pole, ricocheted and smacked Jay right in the occiput!
"OUCH!" Jay screamed in pain.
"Geheheheh!" Ryu chuckled from his hiding place.
Jay held the back of his head painfully.
"Jay, what's wrong?" Atlanta called in concern.
"Something hit my head. Ouch, it hurts!" Jay grunted in pain.
"Let me take a look at it" Atlanta said as she examined his head.
He was bleeding.
"You're hurt. Let me take you to Nadia. She's an excellent medical ninja" Atlanta said.
Behind the hedge, Ryu looked depressed.
"I had forgotten that Atlanta had a thing for injured animals" he said with an absolute look of disappointment in his face.
"I'm sorry Atlanta but I have to leave now. I'll see a medical ninja on my way but I have to see to a very important matter. I had forgotten about it" Jay said.
"Thanks be to the stone" Ryu said with a happy smile.
"I'll be at the Temple" Atlanta said.
"We'll rescue your father tonight" Jay said.
Atlanta nodded.
"I still don't trust that guy. I've got to find out what he is up to" Ryu said as he trailed Jay while staying out of Atlanta's field of vision.
"Now, this is ninja stealth!" he praised himself.
Eventually, they stood before the Fire Castle. A group of Shadow ninja met Jay.
"I hope you're taking good care of her" Jay said.
"Very" a Shadow ninja said.
"Fine, I'll deliver them tonight" Jay said.
"Lord Nemesis will be pleased" the Shadow ninja said.
"I was right after all! Jay has a trap planned for us this evening! Now I wish I had a bigger and smoother stone!" Ryu muttered and retreated without being noticed.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The others were at the Fire Temple talking excitedly with Atlanta. Michael didn't seem very happy after hearing that Atlanta was interested in another guy instead of Ryu but he tried to keep his cool. As they were talking, Ryu walked into the Temple gallantly with a look of importance on his face.
"Hey Ryu, you're back" Atlanta greeted.
"Atlanta, I've got something to tell you about Jay" Ryu said but in his mind, he thought, "Just when I thought Atlanta and I had a chance together, I'm going to get into trouble with her again but this is something I must say, for her sake".
"Isn't he wonderful? At the lake Ryu, Jay nearly kissed me" Atlanta said.
Everyone was suddenly quiet. They turned to look at Ryu, expecting him to lose his cool.
"Yeah, thank Ryuujinn for the stone that bumped his head" Ryu murmured to himself.
"What?! Wait a minute, that was you wasn't it?! You threw the stone at Jay! Were you trying to kill him Ryu?! He's seriously hurt because of you!" Atlanta yelled angrily.
"And with good reason; I trailed Jay and guess what? He's not who you think he is. He is a traitor and he's going to turn us in to the Shadow ninja" Ryu said.
"What?! That's crazy! I've known Jay all my life and he'd never do something so low!" Atlanta defended Jay.
"Well he changed. Besides, you haven't been home in a long time" Ryu said.
"I really didn't think you'd be capable of framing him" Atlanta said.
"Frame him?! Listen to yourself Atlanta! Are you trying to tell me we've travelled so long together and you still don't know me?" Ryu argued.
"Maybe I never knew you" Atlanta said.
Ryu gasped in surprise. Nadia and the others were about to intervene but Atlanta silenced them.
"Jay isn't going to betray us. In fact, he's going to help me rescue my father. I don't want you interfering in that as well Ryu" Atlanta said.
"Are you even listening to me?!" Ryu asked.
"What you're doing is cowardly. That is not the Ryu I knew, so whoever you think you are…back off!" Atlanta growled angrily.
"You know I can't do that" Ryu said.
"You know Ryu, sometimes, I actually hate you" Atlanta said.
Ryu remained silent after that.
"Okay, that was a little too much don't you think Atlanta?" Nadia said.
"Hate me? Well it seems to me like you've always done a pretty good job of hating me. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother trying to get through to you but I could never hate you. Do whatever you want Atlanta but this time, I won't be there to pull you out of it" Ryu said as he walked away.
"Fine!" Atlanta yelled in response and walked out of the Temple.
"So she finally found out. I warned you didn't I?" Nadia tried to console Ryu but rather ended up rubbing it in.
"If you were paying attention, it was I that told her" Ryu said. "Can you imagine Atlanta saying that she hates me?" he asked Nadia.
"Well yeah, pretty easily" Nadia said.
"Not helping" Ryu said in a bored tone.
Michael approached Ryu.
"What was that about? I don't quite understand" he said.
"I trailed Atlanta and Jay and found out that Jay is working with the Shadow ninja to capture us" Ryu said.
"What? Are you sure you're not just making it all up? I thought you were joking back there!" Nadia exclaimed in shock.
"A convenient joke wasn't it? It ended up blowing up in my face" Ryu said.
"Are you sure you're not just jealous?" Nadia asked.
"That's what Atlanta thought. Well to tell you the truth, I am jealous. So jealous I could kill someone and I attempted to do so in fact but, I'd never frame anybody for such a petty reason" Ryu said.
"Well you did try to kill someone for such a petty reason" Rokkan's voice sounded from behind them.
"You creep! Where did you suddenly pop out from?!" Ryu yelled angrily.
"Well, I was doing a little research on the saying 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' and I found it to be a hundred and twenty per cent true" Rokkan said with an unpleasant smirk.
In an instant, kunai were flying towards him. He caught them all.
"See the result? Atlanta has made you psychotic" Rokkan said.
"She is so damn difficult!" Ryu growled angrily.
"So what are you going to do about it?" Nadia asked.
"Humph! Atlanta can do whatever she likes, I don't care! I don't care one bit!" Ryu said as he folded his arms.
"As if" Nadia laughed.
"Watch me!" Ryu said.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Later that evening, Jay and Atlanta met at the Temple.
"Are you ready Atlanta?" Jay asked her.
Atlanta nodded, and they headed towards the castle, in the darkness. Ryu followed from a distance.
"Nadia's right. I care too much for Atlanta to let some jerk trap her. I'll just prove her wrong by saving her" Ryu thought as he followed them closely by using the rooftops.
Soon, Atlanta and Jay arrived at an area behind the castle wall, covered in thick bushes. Ryu hid and watched them closely. Atlanta stretched her hand into the bushes and pulled on something. Ryu heard the sound of wood dropping and watched Atlanta and Jay disappear into the walls. He made note of the place and approached it quickly.
"Heh! Looks like there are secret passages in every ryu" he said as he reached into the bushes.
He felt a rope and pulled on it. He felt something slide within the bushes and stretched his hand towards it. He felt a wooden panel lying on the ground. Where the wall was supposed to be, there was a wide hole. Ryu crept into the hole cautiously but ended up falling into lower ground. He grunted in pain and stood up. He was in a tunnel under the castle. He shut the panel to make sure that no one else would find it and followed the tunnel cautiously. He could hear Atlanta and Jay's footsteps growing fainter ahead. He pursued them as quickly as he could till he came to a wide area within the tunnels. There seemed to be stairs leading up to different areas of the castle.
"Damn! I lost them. Well I guess I've got to choose one of these stairs. Let me see, Fire Kingdom architecture concentrates the important areas on the left side of the building. The right side usually leads to less important areas but castle architects are aware of this so…if they reverse the logic, the left side might lead to the guards quarters. I can't decide rashly so it's safer to take the middle stairs since those are neutral both ways" Ryu thought carefully.
Then he decided to take the middle stairs and climbed them carefully. They led to a wooden panel at the top which could be opened. Ryu pushed it lightly and looked around. It didn't seem like any Dark ninja were around so he opened it and climbed into the next area. He looked around. It seemed to be a huge dungeon of some sort. It looked familiar to him. There were civilians in the dungeons but they seemed scared of him because they believed he was a Dark ninja. Ryu saw an empty cell and looked inside it. Then he remembered why the place seemed so familiar. That cell was the very one, he had first met Atlanta in. He smiled.
"I didn't know then what kind of trouble I'd be getting myself into when I freed that stubborn girl" he said with a nostalgic smile.
Then he turned to look at the people in the other cells. He wasn't sure of whether to free them or not since he wasn't sure whether they were criminals or not but then, he saw a little girl in one of the cells.
"What are you doing in this place?" he asked her.
"The bad men kidnapped my brother and I. Then they forced my brother to work for them" the girl said.
"Wait a minute, could your brother be a certain someone called Jay?" Ryu asked.
The girl nodded.
"I see, so that was his reason" Ryu said.
Then, he heard footsteps approaching.
"Crap! Someone's coming. None of you saw me, you got that?" Ryu said as he climbed to the ceiling using chakra control.
A Shadow ninja descended into the dungeon. He had keys attached to his belt. He walked over to the girl's cell.
"You'll be free soon, little girl" the Shadow ninja said.
Suddenly, Ryu released his hands from the ceiling and let himself hang upside down.
"Peekaboo!" he said as he poked the Shadow ninja in the eyes, clutched him around the neck, and somersaulted thus throwing the Shadow ninja against the wall. The Shadow ninja hit his head and lost consciousness.
"Lemme borrow these for a while" Ryu said as he picked up the keys and freed the prisoners.
"Now I understand why there were no civilians on the streets during our battle with the Shadow ninja. Instead of hurting them, Nemesis imprisoned them. That guy, I wonder what he is thinking. He doesn't seem so bad though…Nah!" Ryu said as he continued to release more prisoners and eventually, he had released the king himself.
"Who are you?" the king asked.
"I recognize you, you're Atlanta's father. I'm her friend" Ryu said happily.
"Atlanta? How is she?" the king asked.
"Right now, she's foolishly allowing herself to be led into a trap. Now listen everyone! Follow me, I'll show you the way out!" Ryu said as he led the prisoners through the tunnels to the hidden panel leading outside. "Go through there and you'll be safe. Sarah, your majesty, the two of you should come with me. We need to put an end to this nonsense once and for all" Ryu said as he led them back to the dungeon.
"Will you excuse me one moment?" Ryu said as he dragged the Shadow ninja away and changed into his clothes.
He approached the king and Sarah.
"Now, let's proceed" Ryu said as he led them out of the dungeons into the main castle.
The Shadow ninja in charge of the prisoners approached him.
"Hey, you there! What do you think you're doing with the prisoners?!" the Shadow ninja asked him.
Ryu disguised his voice.
"Lord Nemesis has ordered me to bring them to the throne room. Have you got a problem with that?!" Ryu growled angrily.
"How dare you speak to your superior with disrespect?!" the Shadow ninja roared.
"When it comes to punishment, Lord Nemesis shows no mercy regardless of rank so would you just shut up and do your work or would you rather have me report that you disobeyed a direct order?!" Ryu growled angrily.
The Shadow ninja began to shiver at the thought.
"Didn't think so!" Ryu said as he pushed his way past the Shadow ninja.
"Wait a minute. I'll still have to verify your identity. Who is the Dragon Saint of the Dark Ryu?" the Shadow ninja asked.
"Tristran, the symbol of hate!" Ryu replied.
The Shadow ninja sighed.
"Proceed" the Shadow ninja gave permission.
Ryu grabbed the king and Sarah firmly and proceeded towards the throne room with guidance from the king.
"Ninjas are scary" Sarah said.
The King smiled.
"Atlanta has got herself one fine friend this time" the king praised Ryu.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Meanwhile, Atlanta and Jay had made it to the throne room. It was dark inside.
"Something's wrong" Atlanta said.
Suddenly, the lights came on and they saw Nemesis sitting patiently on the throne.
"I see you've made it, as expected of you Atlanta but I'm a little disappointed. You fell for my trap far too easily" Nemesis said with a sly smile.
"Nemesis!" Atlanta growled.
"Well done Jay" Nemesis said.
"Jay, what's going on?" Atlanta asked.
"I'm sorry Atlanta, I had no choice" Jay said regretfully as he walked to Nemesis' side.
Atlanta stared at him in horror.
"I see. So Ryu was right after all. I'm so naïve!" Atlanta said angrily.
"Yes you are" Nemesis said.
"I should have trusted Ryu. What have I done?" Atlanta said as she covered her face with her hands.
"Nemesis has my sister Atlanta" Jay said.
"I really wonder about that" Ryu's voice sounded from behind Atlanta.
Nemesis didn't seem surprised but Atlanta was.
Ryu emerged from the Shadows with Sarah and the king.
"I guess you still need me to watch your back, don't you Atlanta?" Ryu said seriously.
"Ryu!" Nemesis growled.
"Nemesis! You've gone too far this time!" Ryu yelled angrily. "I was wrong about Jay after all. He only wanted to protect his sister" Ryu said.
"Ryu" Atlanta seemed ashamed.
She didn't know what to say anymore.
"I guess I don't have time for this family reunion. Ryu, have you learnt to block kunai more effectively?" Nemesis suddenly asked.
"What the heck do you mean by that?!" Ryu growled angrily.
"I'm asking because…my parting gift to you is this!" Nemesis said as he hurled a kunai towards Atlanta.
Ryu ran towards Atlanta and pulled her out of the way only to end up being pierced in the chest, a second time. He collapsed to the ground, angry at himself for falling for Nemesis' trick a second time. Then he blacked out.
"Ryu!" Atlanta screamed.
"After all this time, you're still so predictable! If the saints are here, taking this ryu will be difficult and I need my army for other purposes. I guess I'll let you have your ryu this time" Nemesis said as he disappeared into the shadows.