"Ah," Hachi mutters, staring up the sheer cliff face in front of him, "Miss Rose was right. Mister Shadow, you really do pick the hardest possible path on treasure hunts." There was no way he would be able to scale these heights, despite Shadow's claims that it's totally possible if you just give it a try.

Shadow pouts. "It's more fun this way!"

"What about this is fun?!" Hachi demands, incredulous.

"If you were going to complain," Shadow responds in lieu of an answer, "you should have just gone with the girls."

"I'm sorry!" Shadow almost grins in victory at Hachi's admission of defeat, until Hachi continues, "I'll listen properly to Miss Rose's warnings next time, but can we find another way up today?"

Shadow wilts slightly. "Fine. But for the record, this is going to be way more fun than that egg heist Rose and Queen are doing." With that, he huffs and stalks off to find the proper path up the cliff. Hachi breathes a sigh of relief and hurries to follow.

Hachi holds Shadow's cape as they walk. The path runs right along the cliff edge, and even glancing over the edge makes him dizzy. He's terrified of falling, but it's still better than trying to climb the face directly.

"Mister Shadow, what sort of treasure is there on this island?" he asks, trying to distract himself.

Shadow looks up at the sky, reciting what he remembers of the legend. "It's an ancient gem called the Scarlet Heart that once belonged to the king of the island." He glances back down at Hachi. "He buried it before he died, and nobody's ever found it. That's-"

His voice is cut off as a giant helicopter flies right over both of their heads. The wind picks Shadow's hat up and carries it away, and he chases after it as the helicopter disappears out of sight.

"Mister Shadow, what was that?" Hachi gasps.

Shadow snorts. "A shortcut for the cliff problem, if you don't mind announcing your presence to everyone in a five-kilometer radius." He puts his hat back on, staring in the direction the helicopter had gone. "Either they're friends with whatever people are living here, or they're confident that they can destroy anything in their path."

"Neither of those options sound good for us," Hachi says worriedly.

"Neither of them are," Shadow admits, then shrugs. "But we've dealt with worse. Besides, this is supposed to be fun! So don't worry about it too much, okay?"

Hachi nods, still worried, but the pair resume their hike.

A gunshot echoes from the clearing ahead, and Shadow shoves Hachi face-first into the bushes without thinking. Hachi makes a muffled sound of protest as Shadow ducks below the plants himself, peeking up just enough to inspect the scene in front of him.

There's a small village ahead, filled with soldiers in uniforms. Shadow grimaces as a foreboding sense of déjà vu washes over him. He knows he's seen these soldiers before, but...where? Before he can remember, however, Hachi whispers, "There's a village way up on a mountain like this?"

Shadow nods. "Something's wrong, though. Did you hear that gunshot from earlier?" Hachi nods, and he continues, "I think those soldiers came from that helicopter we saw. They're probably attacking the village, looking for something." His eyes narrow. "Willing to burn the entire place to the ground over some treasure? Come on, Hachi, let's get closer." He stands and slips off into the foliage, and Hachi hesitantly follows.

They come closer to the village center, hiding in the bushes again just as a few of the soldiers begin to move, roughly shoving an old man towards the helicopter. A child cries out, "Leave him alone!" and throws a rock at one of the men. The man whirls around, furious. He advances menacingly on the child, cowering among her friends, and roughly snatches her up, cursing. A few of the unoccupied soldiers join in, surrounding the children. Shadow shifts to stand, and Hachi looks up to see rage burning in the thief's face. However, at that moment, another figure exits the helicopter, and Hachi hurriedly pulls Shadow back down to prevent being caught.

The soldiers stand at attention as the man approaches them, but are nonetheless berated for being distracted. "You're wasting time, just catching brats! You should be looking for the Scarlet Heart!" the man barks, and the children are released, scattering immediately to join their huddled families in the center of the village. Shadow relaxes a fraction, but he's still clearly shaking with anger, and Hachi keeps a firm grip on his sleeve.

"But, General Manbou," one of the men protests, "no one in the village knows the location of the treasure!" The general's eyes widen, and he seems about to snap, but is interrupted.

"General Manbou!" a soldier shouts, running up to him. "We found this in the elder's house!"

Manbou turns around and impatiently snatches the stone tablet from the soldier's hands, then immediately gives it back, demanding that one of his men read the ancient text. A soldier nearby, standing at attention while presumably waiting for this specific task, rushes over and begins to translate.

"Dye the ground red and offer the tablet where the great evil god points. He who holds the evil god's heart shall be the hero of legend."

"A hint to where the treasure is located?" the general muses, suddenly calm, then whirls angrily on the villagers. "So you've been keeping this from us the whole time?" he roars. "I'll show you what happens to those who disobey me!" His soldiers train their guns on the villagers, and Shadow launches himself forward, tearing himself free from Hachi's grip.

Someone beats him to the general, kicking him down from above and landing with a foot firmly planted in his face. The soldiers whirl and aim at the attacker, Shadow freezes where he stands, and the village falls deathly silent.

Joker turns to face the soldiers, digging his foot further into Manbou's face. "Try it," he challenges, face devoid of emotion, and after a moment of pause, the soldiers hesitantly lower their guns.

"Joker?" Manbou cries, slightly muffled by the dirt. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"Stopping you from attacking innocents," he answers simply. "You should know better than that, unless you're really that stupid."

The general struggles to stand, and Joker releases him. "Who do you think you are?" Manbou demands, brushing himself off indignantly. "Just because you're that man's prodigy child or something, you think you can just attack me? Making up your own rules because of a mission you failed-"

"On second thought," Joker muses, taking a step towards the general, "your voice is really annoying. Shut up for a while." Before Manbou can move, Joker kicks him again, knocking him flat onto the ground.

He bends down and picks up the stone tablet Manbou had been holding. "That should knock the wind out of him, at least." He brushes past the soldiers, most of whom are standing hesitantly, unsure of whether to aim at him. He turns and flashes a smile at them. "When the general wakes up, tell him I went on ahead," he chirps. "Now come on, Shadow, we're burning daylight!"

Shadow, still standing shocked and half-ready to attack, blinks. "Wait, what?"

Joker glances over his shoulder, strolling nonchalantly into the forest as if he hadn't just singlehandedly stopped a small military invasion, and calls, "You're after the Scarlet Heart, right?" He waves the tablet in the air. "You'll need this!"

"I mean, yeah, but... that's... wait a minute!" Shadow stutters, then turns and calls, "Let's go, Hachi!" Hachi jumps out of the bushes and the pair race to catch up with Joker.

Joker leads the silent trek down the forest path. He's in a rather good mood, especially considering the small spat with General Manbou earlier, and he's excited for the treasure hunt ahead even though he has absolutely no idea where he's going. He'd seen a big statue near the cliff edge when they were flying up, but as to whether he was going in the right direction...

"Can you stop staring at me?" he huffs, whirling to face Shadow. "It's giving me shivers."

Shadow glares at him. "I end up asking this a lot when you're around, but what in the hell just happened?"

Joker waves a hand dismissively. "Oh, General Manbou and I work for the same person. He's one of those irritating people that thinks he can look down on me because I'm younger than him, even though I'm in a higher position, so I have to cut him down to size every once in a while."

"Which involves commanding his soldiers at will," Shadow deadpans in complete disbelief, and Joker nods. "And not one of them attacked you. How do you get away with that?"

Joker shakes his head. "Oh, I get away with plenty of things," he responds dismissively. "It's all about the way you phrase it to Master. But the soldiers didn't attack me because..." He cuts himself off, looking suspiciously guilty. "Well, it's a bunch of complicated stuff I don't feel like explaining." Then, to subtly change the subject, he tacks on, "Hey, what do you think of the riddle?"

Shadow hesitates, "Why should I tell you? It's not like we're working together."

"Wait, we're not?" Joker seems genuinely surprised. "Seems like it'd help both of us, since we've got a mutual enemy and all. Wouldn't it be better to work together for now?"

"Oh, so you're willing to work with one of the phantom thieves you hate so much?" Shadow mocks, and Joker's eyes narrow. "Why would you even want this treasure?"

"For now," he repeats. "It's easier, since I don't feel like fighting both you and Manbou off at the same time, and if you have any sense at all you'll feel the same way. I wanted to return the treasure to the village, unless you can stop me. I'll promise not to turn on you until we've found it, so let's at least be civil for now."

The two hold eye contact for a moment, until Shadow huffs and mutters, "Fine."

Joker grins victoriously. "So, anyway, what's with the whole 'dye the ground red' thing? Feels like it's more than just dramatic effect, but it isn't actually asking for sacrifices, right?" He frowns down at the tablet. "That's too much for a treasure."

Shadow shakes his head. "Yeah, a jewel isn't worth someone else's life," he agrees. "It's probably a hint, but I think 'sacrifices' would be too obvious, given how unclear the rest of the riddle is. What do you think of the 'evil god' part?"

"I saw a statue on the way in," Joker offers. "It's pretty big, and I heard a few of the locals mention it when they were being interrogated."

Shadow nods. "I saw mentions of that while I was researching. Is that where you were heading?"

Joker shrugs. "Maybe."

"What do you mean, maybe?" Shadow narrows his eyes. "You do know where you're going, right?"

"Not really," Joker responds, as Shadow stares at him incredulously. "I just took a well-traveled path and figured I'd stumble upon it eventually. It's way taller than the trees, anyway, so if I have to I can just climb up there and look for it."

There's a moment of pause, before Shadow mutters, "Hachi, remind me not to follow him anywhere ever again."

"Hey!"

Shadow is leading now, having confirmed the proper direction, and Joker and Hachi trail behind him. The stormy silence makes it clear that Shadow is too irritated for polite conversation, so Joker turns to Hachi and asks, "So where's Rose? I thought she and Shadow normally did heists together."

Hachi nods. "They do, but this time Miss Rose and Miss Queen went to steal a different treasure." A shadow crosses Joker's face at the mention of Queen's name, but Hachi continues nonetheless. "Miss Rose says that Mister Shadow makes treasure hunts more difficult than they need to be, so she didn't want to come." Shadow turns to defend himself, but Hachi's next words silence him. "Mister Joker, what happened between you and Miss Queen?"

Joker huffs. "Queen's a liar and a traitor and she's more concerned with her own comfort than the people she's leaving behind. It's probably for the best that we're rid of her, to be honest."

"Queen's a good person," Shadow argues. "And that wasn't what he asked, anyway."

"I keep telling you, you don't know anything about Queen," Joker responds shortly. "If you're that desperate to know, she's clumsier than me and Spade and got in trouble with Master a lot, so she got mad, made up a bunch of lies about him, and ran away from home." He shakes his head. "We all grew up together, and she just disappeared and let us think she was dead. How someone could just abandon their family like that... I really don't get it at all."

"Oh, so you see her as family?" Shadow mutters. "Family doesn't threaten family with death."

Joker stops, and Shadow turns to face him. "Look," Joker says quietly, glaring. "Queen left us. If you're going to blame anyone for the way we treat each other, blame her."

Shadow shakes his head. "The way you and Spade talked to her at the temple... doesn't seem like the way family should talk to each other, betrayal or otherwise." He turns away. "There's a clearing up ahead, I'm pretty sure the statue's there. Let's just move on." Joker crosses his arms, but follows without further argument.

Hachi runs up to walk next to Shadow. Didn't mean to start all that, he thinks to himself regretfully.

"Oh, there it is! Come on, Hachi!" Shadow takes off in a full sprint the moment he steps out of the forest, with Hachi struggling to keep up. He stops at a set of steep stairs built into a large stone structure, and Hachi comes to a halt beside him.

"So this is the great evil god?" Joker muses, looking up at the enormous statue in front of them.

Hachi has to lean almost all the way back to see its face, but he manages to not fall over. "Its face is much kinder than I was expecting," he points out, and Shadow glances at him.

Joker hops up the stairs to the base of the statue, and the others rush to follow him. They find him peering over a large block, with an indent shaped like the tablet he's holding in his hands. "So I just put it in here?" he wonders. "Seems suspiciously easy."

"Well, one of the statue's hands is pointing there," Shadow responds. "The other one is pointing at the sky, but it's not like we can put it there. I still wonder about the 'dye the ground red' line though..."

A bullet whizzes past Shadow's ear. Shadow grabs Hachi by his hood and drags him behind the block. Joker joins them immediately, eyes wide. The gunfire continues for only a moment, until a triumphant call of "Cease fire! We need to capture those three!"

The look on Joker's face upon hearing Manbou's voice would be entertaining in any other situation- Shadow's not sure he's ever seen anyone look quite so inconvenienced while being held at gunpoint. "Run as soon as you can," he whispers to Shadow, pushing the tablet into his hands. "I'll make a distraction."

He rises, leaning on the block to watch Manbou. "Were you following us the whole way here?" he asks, feigning shock.

"Of course!" Manbou responds, still triumphant. "All the way down that treacherous path..." Shadow rolls his eyes as he and Hachi sneak out from behind the block and away from the statue.

Joker hums. "I remember it being a pretty simple walk," he ponders, confused. "Are you sure you followed us the whole way?"

Manbou draws himself up to his full (short) height, offended. "Of course I did! I-" He notices Shadow and Hachi out in the open, and immediately cuts himself off. "Get those two!" he shrieks, and the gunfire resumes, backing them up to a cliff. Joker runs to join them, facing Manbou.

The general grins maliciously. "I see you've chosen to ally yourself with a thief," he calls, and Joker's eyes narrow. "Now, hand over the tablet or I'll kill you with them!"

Shadow glances behind him, looking for a way out, and notices something he hadn't realized before. His eyes widen and he points his umbrella at the enemy. "Stay back!" he yells. Joker glances at him...

...and presses a card to his throat. Shadow freezes and Joker smiles sharply. "These cards can hold their own against Queen's sword, so I wouldn't take them lightly. Now, give me the tablet."

Hachi gasps. "You're betraying us?" he cries.

"There's no betrayal here," Joker responds simply. "I said I'd work with you two until we found the treasure. We already decided to put the tablet into place up there, so there's no point in cooperating further."

Shadow opens his mouth to contradict him, but the card digs in a little deeper as Joker gives him a warning glance. "The tablet," he repeats, and Shadow begrudgingly hands it over. Joker tosses it to Manbou, who grins widely.

"I'm glad you've come to your senses." He turns and races back up the steps, soldiers following just as excitedly. "You're welcome to come up here if you want to watch," he calls down, but Joker shakes his head.

"I'd better stay down here and make sure the thieves don't try anything," he answers, and Shadow shoots him a glare. Joker responds with a sugar-sweet smile and looks back up at the statue as Manbou sets the tablet in the indent.

The statue starts to move, loud grinding noises echoing across the island as the stone rebels against moving for the first time in centuries. The face on the statue begins to flip from the serene expression it had been wearing to a much angrier one, and Manbou barely has time to react before the hand, which had been pointing at the sky, suddenly drops and crushes down on top of him and his men.

Silence washes across the area for a mere moment until Joker bursts out into hysterical laughter. Shadow and Hachi stare at him, concerned and extremely confused. "He...he fell for it!" Joker gasps. "That was perfect! Hold on, I'm gonna go tease him."

Joker takes off towards the statue, and Shadow heaves a beleaguered sigh before turning back over the side of the cliff. "I definitely don't want to work with him again."

Hachi looks up at him and asks, "Did you know it was a trick?"

Shadow nods. "Not at first," he admits, "but when he said we'd agreed to put the tablet there, I figured it out. By the way, I think I figured out what the riddle means."

Hachi gasps. "What is it? What is it?"

Shadow pauses. "Actually, we should probably go get Joker first. I'm afraid of what he'll do when I can't see him."

They run up the steps just in time to hear Manbou yell, "Silver Heart will hear about this!"

Joker is sitting cross-legged in front of the statue, just out of Manbou's reach. "Sure, go ahead and tell Master!" he chirps. "But when you do, make sure to mention that you tried to kill civilians, made enemies that you couldn't handle, and ended up getting crushed because of your own overconfidence!" He turns his head to see Shadow waiting at the top of the steps, and stands. "Hey, Shadow!" He's grinning now, full of energy. "Guess we're back to square one on the treasure hunt, huh?"

Shadow steps forward and plucks the tablet out of the block, and the mechanisms holding Manbou down slowly begin to release. "Actually, I've figured most of it out."

Joker's eyes widen, without even sparing a glance at the retreating soldiers. "Wait, what? Tell me!"

"So, the shadow of the statue is the real evil god, and we're just going where it points?" Hachi questions. "Why did we have to wait so long, then?"

Shadow grins. "Look at the sky. See how red it is?"

Hachi looks up, confused, and nods. "It is sunset, after all! But what does that have to do with it?"

"It's making everything else look red as well, right?" Shadow points out. "Even the ground."

"Oh! So by painting the ground red..."

"It meant waiting until sunset, when shadows are longest, and finding where the god points then," Shadow finishes, triumphant. He turns to Joker, who has been silent since he first explained the riddle, and grins smugly. "Pretty neat, huh?"

Joker doesn't respond, instead continuing to pout silently. "What are you upset about?" Hachi asks, confused. "Isn't it good that Mister Shadow managed to figure out the riddle?"

"It's irritating that he figured it out before me," Joker mutters. "I feel like I lost. Plus, we had to wait all the way until sunset, so I'm hungry!" He sighs, then suddenly stops dead in his tracks. "Wait, did Manbou leave?"

"Uh, yeah?" Shadow turns. "You ran him off, remember?"

"Oh." Joker looks up at the sky. "Well, darn. I came here on his helicopter. How am I going to get home now...?"

Shadow and Hachi stare at him in amazed silence. "You... you didn't think of that earlier?" Shadow asks.

"Nope." Joker shrugs. "Oh, well. I'll find a way back."

"You're not riding with us," Shadow tells him sharply, but Joker merely grins. "Hurry up, the sun's going to set soon."

"Oh, there's a clearing ahead," Hachi shouts, and the three take off towards it.

"So, what are we looking for again?" Joker asks, gesturing to the empty clearing, and Shadow pauses. "You figured that out too, right?" He's smirking, and Shadow huffs.

"I hadn't gotten this far!" he protests. "Like you're so good at planning ahead!"

Joker crosses his arms. "I'll find a way back!"

"Um..." Hachi interrupts. "There's something weird in the ground here..."

The boys race each other to inspect what Hachi has found. There's a small red jewel in the ground, nearly unnoticeable except for its bright sparkle.

Joker whistles appreciatively. "It's got a reflective backing, angled so light only hits at sunset. Almost feels like a waste to dig it up."

"Almost," Shadow agrees, and pulls it out. The ground shifts around them, and they all back away as another stone block comes crashing out of the dirt. After overcoming the initial shock, they notice the carvings match the ones on the block at the statue's base. Shadow hesitantly places the tablet in the indent on top, and the lid opens with a scraping sound, revealing the jewel inside.

"The Scarlet Heart!" Shadow lifts it out of the block, holding it up so the other two can see. "It's pretty, isn't it?" Hachi nods, eyes wide with admiration. Joker smiles as well, and begins to respond.

There's a rustling sound behind them, and they all whirl around, prepared to face yet another attack. The elder of the village appears from the bushes, reciting the riddle on the tablet. He emphasizes the last line, "He who holds the evil god's heart shall be the hero of legend," and Shadow freezes.

Joker elbows him in the side. "Isn't that great, Shadow?" he asks, grinning. "You're a hero for returning their treasure to them!"

"So, we're not taking it after all?" Hachi asks, following Shadow to the beach. Night had fallen, and although the villagers had wanted to throw a party in his honor, Shadow had excused himself. He needed to get back to Rose, after all.

"Couldn't do it in that kind of atmosphere," he mutters, blushing. Joker snickers beside him, and he whirls to face him. "Yeah, you won. Are you proud of yourself?" he demands.

"Absolutely," Joker responds cheerfully. "Is that your boat on the beach?"

Shadow glances at the two boats sitting on the shore. "Well, one of them is. I don't know about the other one."

Joker follows his gaze. "Huh, I don't either..."

A shadow appears behind Joker, and Shadow jumps to warn him, but the attacker merely smacks him lightly on the head.

"Ow!" Joker whirls around, face lighting up. "Oh! Hey, Mom! What are you doing here?"

The white-haired man in question glares down at him. "I came to get you. What were you thinking, letting the general leave without you? You're too smart for such a silly mistake."

Joker looks away with a purposefully exaggerated scowl lining his face. "Couldn't they have sent someone nicer to come get me? Why'd you come, Roko?"

"Spade's busy," Roko replies, unimpressed. "You need to go home, now, before Silver Heart really gets mad."

Joker actually flinches at that threat. "Yeah, that'd be really bad." He turns and waves to Shadow. "Bye! I'll definitely beat you next time, so be prepared!" He runs off towards the boat, and Roko follows him with a tired sigh.

Shadow stands on the beach for a moment, then jumps. "Oh, Rose is going to be so mad," he whispers fearfully. "This was not supposed to take all day, and we were supposed to come back with a treasure."

"I think she'll understand!" Hachi reassures him. "Miss Rose is really nice!"

Shadow stares off into the distance. "Rose is really scary when she's mad," he murmurs. "Let's hurry home, okay? The later we get back, the angrier she'll be." He grabs Hachi's hand and runs towards the boat. Hachi, deep in thought, follows without a word.

"Mister Shadow?" Hachi asks, once they're on the boat.

"Yeah?"

"What does Miss Rose do when she gets mad?"

Shadow stares off into the open ocean, silent. After a long pause, he opens his mouth and whispers, "Things fly that normally shouldn't."

"Like plates?" Hachi suggests.

"Try statues." Hachi is struck speechless, and Shadow laughs. "Yeah, she doesn't get mad easily, but she's terrifying when she is upset. Let's get a pie or something for her on the way home, okay?"

Hachi agrees quickly, and the boat speeds on.