-Ch. 21 A Darker Shade of Green-

"It's all my fault…They're gone…because…I couldn't stop Mr. Show…My friends…Yin…Yang…My…love…Yuki…gone…because…of me…I'm…too weak…"

"…Hey…I think he's waking up!" a voice said. "…ee…Lee…Lee? Lee?" another voice whispered softly, "Please, wake up, Lee…Please!" From the opening eyes of a young fox, light peeks through to reveal a familiar, sweet face. It was Yuki! "What…where am I...What is this…" Lee muttered, not recognizing Yuki with his blurry vision due to his sleep filled eyes and he was not wearing his glasses. "Lee! You're okay! Thank the heavens!" Yuki cried, tearing up, she hugs Lee, affectionately. "G-good morning, sleepy head! It's wonderful to see you up b-buddy!" she sobbed with joy. "Yeah! He is awake, Master Yo!" Yin called.

Lee's sight returns to him and he sees Yuki, Yang, and Yin, and his eyes fill with tear out of pure joy. "Y-you g-guys…are okay?" he stuttered, "B-b-but, I thought y-you w-were….No! You're all okay! I'm so…HAPPY! WAAAAAHHH!" Lee begins to cry loudly and hugs Yuki tightly. "Hey, don't sweat it! We're all fine! I mean we kinda took a beating, but you got the worst!" Yang responded. "Yeah, Lee, we were all worried about you!" Yin added. "You totally went nuts on that dork in the tux and top hat! You had this black aura and this crazy mask on! It was SO cool!" Yang continued. "Lee, where did you get that mask? Didn't Mr. Show say something about you summoning the Dark Stone's power or something?" Yin asked. "It's good to see you're alright, Lee!" Master Yo said with relief, "Now, Yin told me that Mr. Show person showed you some sort of vision. What was that vision of? Do you think it was related to you, that mask and the Dark Stone fragment?" "Oh! I'm SO happy you guys aren't gone! I don't know what I would've done if I lost you! I couldn't take it…I just couldn't…" Lee continued to whimper. "Come on now, Lee, don't ignore me. Can you please explain what that guy in the top hat showed you?" Master Yo said, a tad bit impatiently. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Master Yo . Showed me? Illusion? So none of it was real? What a relief!" Lee exhaled, "Well he…Shot this magic beam at Yin, Yang, and Yuki and…they…." "I see…" Master Yo pondered, "Well, just know that none of that was real, Lee." "I…hated him…so much…" Lee muttered. Yuki hugs him again and they both blush. Yin giggles and Yang sighs kindly at the two.

Master Yo began to think deeply and came to a conclusion. "The Dark Stone is an artifact of pure evil, right? So, maybe, it felt Lee's hatred for that "Mr. Show" guy and it possessed him. The stone piece must have been able to feed off of that negative emotion." Master Yo explained. "It…possessed him? That's so…scary!" Yuki shivered, hugging Lee tighter, "You're okay now, right?" "I'm fine. And I feel even better knowing you guys are all okay too!" Lee replied. "Hey, Master Yo. Mr. Show said that "no mere boy" would be able to summon that mask thingie. And he said a name…What was it?" Yin commented. "Uh…It was Dark…something…Dark…rus? Yeah, Darkrus!" Yang exclaimed, "Does that name ring any bells, Master Yo?" "Um, no, not really. But I'd say Darkrus' power or spirit must be inside the Dark Stone pieces." Master Yo declared. "Maybe Darkrus was some kind of evil villain or something. He must have been really strong, if Lord Ivex AND Mr. Show want the Dark Stone pieces so badly," Yin suggested. "Could be…We have to be really careful from now on. We need to be extremely careful when handling these Dark Stone pieces, so try to avoid contact with them for too long," Master Yo lectured, "We can't let them fall into the wrong hands. We'll need to find them all and keep them away from everyone. We'll have to wait until one of the stone pieces we have leads us to another one. I put the one you got from Mr. Show away. Alright, I want you three to go get some training done together. Lee, I want you to get some rest." "No…I have to train too! I…I need to get stronger! " Lee announced. "Lee, your body needs to get some more rest! Just take a nap!" Master Yo retorted. "No…I'm going to train with them! I can't just sit like a lump while my friends are working hard to stop that jerk Ivex and that monster Show!" Lee shouted with determination.

Master Yo sighs and scratches his head. "Oh, boy...Are you sure you're up to this, Lee? I don't won't you hurting yourself more than you already are," he said with concern. "Yes, I'm sure! I'm fine!" Lee shouted, "It's not like I broke anything!" The fox leaps out of his bed and begins to stretch. "Alright then. I won't stop you. You're one stubborn kid, ya know that? Just don't strain yourself," Master Yo replied. Lee pulls a muscle while during his stretches and bends down in pain, whimpering. Yuki helps him stand up straight and he chuckles with embarrassment.

The students head outside to begin their training. Yin was about teach Yuki a new Woo Foo spell. "Okay, Yuki! Listen up, cause I'm going to teach you a fire spell!" Yin declared. "I don't like fire too much, but I'm listening! See?" Yuki replies. She twitches her ears and both girls start to laugh. "Haha, woo! Ok, all you have to do is imagine your target catching on fire and channel your Woo Foo energy as heat through your hands. Like this..." Yin explains. Yin faces a bulls-eye target and tightens her fists. "Yin-cinerate!" she cries. The target busts into flames! Yuki was very impressed and Yin was proud. "Whoa! That was AMAZING! It was all WHOOSH! And the target was all B-BANG B-BURN!" Yuki imitated excitedly, "Oooh, that was just sooo cool! Er hot! Heehee! I'm not sure I can do it...B-but I'll try!"

Over at the Axis Bandits' hideout; which was a run down abandon building, Red was plotting a sneaky theft. "...You got that Joe...er...I mean, Green?" Red just finished saying. "Um...Mind running that by me again, Red?" Green asked absent-mindly. "Gah! You dope! Learn how to listen! Sheesh!" Red snapped, "Alright, so I've heard from someone that there's this black rock hidden away in that nut-case Carl the Evil...whatever's castle. Rock must mean jewel, right? Jewel means cash, get me?" "Uh..." Green muttered feeling unsure. "Just listen, Dolt! I need you, Green, to sneak into that castle and nab that gem. We pawn it off, we get rich, see? Richness equals anything and everything we want! Got it this time, numbskull?" Red continued. "Yeah, but, what if it's not a jewel, and its just a rock?" Green questioned. "If it was just a rock, then why would it be sealed away in a loon's castle? Use your brain, Joe, sheesh!" Red retorted with fury. "Sure, bro...But, why don't you...go? I mean if you want the rock so bad?" Green asked. "Grrr! Because I told you to! I'm the oldest! And it's your punishment for losing to that wimpy girl puppy!" Red bellowed, "Me and Blue are going to watch the fort, while you brush up on your thieving skills. If you manage to pull it off, no more punishments, see? So bring home the gold! The black gold! Hehehe!" "Um, got ya, Red, I'm going to head out now. I'll do my best..." Green said as he exited the hideout. "Don't screw this up!" Red called to him. He turns to Blue, who was just sitting down. "You! George! Don't just sit there like a rock! You're in trouble too!" He growled at his younger brother, "For not pulling weight in that scrap we had a few days ago, you have to...Ah ha! You have to do 100 sit-ups AND 100 push-ups! Get to it, tubby!" George, or rather, Blue looked shocked. "B-but!...Yes, Red..." he sighed.

Green makes his way to Carl's castle and sneaks inside, surprisingly unnoticed. He enters a room with a pedestal. Sitting on top was the black rock, which was actually a Dark Stone fragment! "This has got to be it. You know, it's not much to look at. Not really a jewel at all. Is it worth anything?" Green wondered quietly, "It's got...almost...an creepy glow to it. I've got a bad feeling about this rock...But if it will make us rich...It would be nice to be rich...I'm sick of stealing stuff...Hopefully this will be the last thing I have to steal." He carefully grabs the stone and it begins to emit a dark energy. "Uh-oh! I feel weird...My body...hurts..." he panicked. A voice began echo from the stone. "Uh, hello? Hey, what do you know! I made it work! I just channeled my evil energy through this black rock I found and bam, I can, you know, um... wait, what did I do?" the voice said. "Who said that? And why can't I move? Everything's getting...dark..." Green worried. "Oh, hey you! Hmm...Since I'm going to be evil for today, I decided that you're going to be my, uh, minion! Yeah that's it, minion!" The voice replied. "M-minion? I don't want to be... your minion!" Green struggled. "Come on, you're, uh, ruining my evil plan!" The voice complained. Green began to stomp his feet. "I'm not doing that!" He said. "Wait a minute...I am...and you, uh, are too! You don't have to be my minion, because you're going to be my, uh, puppet! Today is going to be a good, er should I say evil day! Eh he he he!" The voice snickered. "Ugh...Y-yes, Master..." Green replied against his will. "Let's go make some mischieve! I love this black rock!" The voice cried. Green, being controled by the mysterious villian, exits the castle and begins to rampage through town.

Back with the Woo Foo girls; Yuki was about to try out the spell Yin was teaching her. She takes a deep breath and faces a target. "Ooookay...I can do this..." she exhaled. She holds her hands out and takes aim at the target. "Yin-cin...wait no...Yuki-cinerate?" she cried, feeling unsure. Instead of a fire blast, the target is covered in an icy fog and it begins to freeze. "Awu, well that's not right...I was thinking about fire, honest," Yuki sighed disappointedly. "Maybe you can't use fire attacks...Master Yo did say your element was ice," Yin said. "Awu...Does that mean...I'll...never be a true Woo Foo warrior?" Yuki whimpers. "What? Don't say that! All that means is that ice is more your style! Its a good thing actually! Neither Yang or I know any ice attacks, so that move can really help our team stay balanced. Know that I think about it, I don't think any of our friends know any ice moves," Yin responded to raise Yuki's spirit. "R-really?" she giddily exclaimed, her tail wagging. "Yay! I'm contributing to the team! Neat!" she cheered, "Ooh, ooh! And, I thought of a name for it! Yukice!" "That's nice! I like it! Well, it's the one I taught you, but you did learn a new move!" Yin replied happily. "Thank you, Yin! Heehee, I'm so happy! Can we practice some more?" Yuki giggled sweetly. "Sure! I'll set up some more targets," Yin replied.

Over with Lee and Yang, who were doing some physical exercises. "Come on, Yang, we've been punching these dummies for like ten minutes! When are you going to teach me one of those cool Woo Foo moves that you know?" Lee asked, a tad impatiently. "Hang on, dude, I'm thinking..." Yang replied, "Hmm...Aw pellets! I can't think of any moves! Come on, stupid brain!" Yang began to knock on his head, but suddenly loud screaming and yelling are heard in the distance. Lee's ears perk up, and then droop. "Did you hear that?" Lee asked worryingly. "Yeah, someone must be terrorizing the towns-people...AGAIN," Yang responded, "Let's go check it out." "Grr! Man, some jerk's ruining my training! And causing chaos in town..." Lee growled. "Chill, Lee, you'll get a good work out whooping the bad guy! Maybe it's Show or Ivex!" "I hope so, cause I'm ready to stomp both of those clowns!" The boys head in to town and the girls were right with them.

"This is where I heard the scream, I'm positive! There's nobody here though, but there sure is A LOT damage here," Yuki said, curiously surveying the area, "Looks like a tornado rolled through here! You guys don't get tornados, do you?" "No, it must've have been one of our enemies!" Yin answered. "Seriously, who isn't your enemy?" Lee said sarcastically. Suddenly, the Woo Foo's here a loud explosion and Yuki jumps. "Eeek! I-it came f-from over t-there!" she stuttered meekly. The four charge over to see Green of the Axis Bandits running amuck around town. "Man, I'm totally loving that I can use my really cool powers through this punk's body!" Green said. "Hey! I know you! You're one of those creeps, the Axis Bandits!" Yuki growled, tightening her fists.

"Huh, whazzat? Uh, sure, fluffy. Now what do you twerps want? Can't you see I'm, uh, reeking havoc?" "Whoa, dude, you're talking like somebody I know...But who? Hmm..." Yang pondered. "Looks like your little rampage is over! Why don't you just run along back to your little bandit hole so you don't get hurt!" Yin threatened. "Hehe, yeah, I don't think so! You're the ones who are, ya know, gonna get hurt!" Green begins to shoot red energy rays from his hands at the Woo Foos. Everyone dodges them, except Lee! "*Cough* Maybe I'm still a little sore...Stupid slow reaction time!" Lee choked from the smoke coming off his singed fur, "*Cough cough* Okay, but seriously, since when can he do that?" "Eeep! Lee are you alright?" Yuki worried, "I REALLY don't remember any of the Axis Bandits having ANY type of powers..." "Whatever! Doesn't matter to me! In fact, it makes this fight more interesting!" Yang snickered as he draws his sword and charges at Green. "Chi! Hoo! Wah!" Yang cries as he strikes the bandit with his bamboo blade. "Hey! Ow! Aw man! I can feel this punk's pain too? Eh, I guess that's the only downside," Green said, rubbing his head. "Why are talking like that? Now that I think about it, you like kinda different...Try shaving those bushy white eye brows dude!" Yang taunted, "Whatever, less talk more pain!" Yang lifts his sword and prepares to attack again, but Green zaps him, knocking him backwards.

"Ow, pellets! Hey, spectators, I could use a little help here!" Yang shouted. "Haha! Don't worry, I gotcha bro! Yin-cinerate!" Yin laughs. Green dodges the attack and keeps on dodging. "Hey! Sit still so I can burn you!" Yin growled. "That's kinda the point of dodging, you know, so I don't get hit?" Green said sarcastically, "I've got a better idea, how about I, uh, burn you!" He sends a large fire ball directly at Yin. Just in time, Yuki jumps in front of Yin and holds her hands out. "Foo-field!" she squeaked. The girls were both protected by the barrier. "Nice timing, Yuki!" Yin giggled. "Thank you! All your's, Lee!" Yuki called. "You bet, Yuki! Wahoo!" Lee cheered. He rushes at Green, with his hammer in his hands. "Hit! Haut! Ho! Here I go!" Lee cried.

He hits Green a few times before knocking him over to Yin. She grabs him with an energy lasso and hurls him into the floor. Green gets up and dusts himself off. "Phew! You guys are, uh, a handful! Should've figured from the other times we tangled that you'd be, ya know, tough!" he pants. "What are you blabbing about? We only fought you once, and the red guy did most of the fighting!" Yang replied. "You're, uh, not that bright, are ya, kid?" Green teased. "Oh, just shut up!" Yang bellows. Yang transforms his his sword into his Yang-arang and tosses at Green. He ducks and laughs. "Haha! Are you, uh, blind?" The boomerang turns around and hits him in the back of the head.

"Ow! Oh yeah, it's a boomerang..." Green mumbled, "Alright, that's enough! Time to, ya know, WASTE you!" He uses an energy beam to lift the Woo Foo students and shock them. "Haha! Not so tough now, are ya?" Green taunted, "Man this is fun! We should do this more often! Wait a minute...One, two, three...Hey...uh, there's one missing, isn't there? Yeah, uh, the, ya know, wide-eyed white one?" "Yoo hoo! Heehee! I'm over here!" Yuki giggled, "Yukice!" The frosty mist caused Green to become to so cold, he lost focus and dropped the Woo Foos. "I-I...c-can...e-even...f-feel...t-this...c-cold..." Green shivered, "N-nice t-trick, g-girly..." "You want me to warm you up?" Yin winked at Yang. "Fists of fire!" "Yin-cinerate!" The siblings yelled in unison. "Ow! Hot! Hot! Yeah, real nice...HOT!" Green exclaimed. Yang snapped and looks at Lee. "Got it! Hey, Lee! I figured out the move I want to teach you! Grab your hammer! Focus your energy and think about making a tasty mess of things!" Yang called out, "Yeah baby! The Jam-hammer!"

"Got it!" Lee replied. He readies his hammer and prepares to leap in the air but stops. "Wait, jam? That stuff you spread on toast?" The fox questions, tilting his head. "Just do it already, newbie!" Yang snaps. "Alright, alright, alright, shut up!" Lee grumbles. He lifts his hammer and charges at Green. Yang does as well. "Watch this! Jam hammer!" he shouted into the air. Yang changes his sword into his trusty Jam hammer and swings at Green. "Uh, what he said!" Lee cries. Lee swings his hammer at the same time. SMACK! Green is knocked back and is covered in two different substances. "Ugh...My, uh, head..." he whines. He takes a finger, slathers some of the jam on, and tastes it. "Mmm! Grape! Funny I can taste it from ALL the way over here!" he said. He also tastes the other substance. "...Maple...Syrup? Now I want pancakes!" he laughs.

"What the? Syrup? I said jam dude! Eh, syrup is pretty good," Yang chuckled. "What? I LOVE syrup!" Lee exclaims. "Heehee! Oh, Lee, you're so silly!" Yuki giggled, "Let's finish this, okay?" "Not so, uh fast! I'm not done yet!" Green warns. He readies an attack, but stops. "H-hey! W-what gives? W-why can't I move this kid's body anymore?" Green stuttered. His body began to glow with a dark aura. "Hit! Haut! Ho!" Lee cries as he leaps at Green, wielding his hammer. "Maple Mallet!" he yells. He hits Green with the hammer, knocking him out, and causing him to drop something. "Hey, wait, that's a...Dark Stone piece!" Yin called. "Do you think...He was using it to get those powers?" Yuki asked. "Wait...I think, it was controlling him, like it did with Lee!" Yin suggested. "Didn't Show say only evil-hearted people could use its power?" Yang questioned. "What if someone evil is controlling him with it? Hey, it might be possible!" Lee adds. Green moves slightly, but Lee quickly hits him with his hammer. "Maple Mallet!" he says swiftly. Green is sent over the horizon. "Lee! If he was being controlled, he might have been innocent! Why did you hit him?" Yin demanded. "Cool your jets, Yin! He's a thief anyway..." Lee retorted, rolling his eyes. Yin levitates the Dark Stone piece and places it in a Foo Field. Town citizens come out of hiding and praise the Woo Foo warriors by throwing them a small party.

Yin, Yang, Lee, and Yuki return to the dojo with their prize, a newly found Dark Stone fragment. "Really nice job bringing home another one of these things, so that's three that we have now," Master Yo declared proudly, "You guys must have had a full day! Yin and Yang, you two are really maturing as teachers! You taught these two a new move today and they seem to be progressing well! Why don't you take the rest of the day off?" "Neat! Thanks, Master Yo!" the students cheer in unison. "I just wonder...Who was controlling the bandit kid with the Dark Stone piece...I'm think they must have had one two. Because they are all of a single object, they must be able to have a connection of power, even from great distances," Master Yo lectured, deep in thought, "Could it have been Lord Ivex, or that Mr. Show guy? Hmm..."

Back at the Axis Bandit's hideout, Red was getting some serious scolding in. "Where were you? And why don't you have the black rock?" Red screamed. "Ugh...All I remember is I grabbed it and then...well that's all...Everything went...black...And my body hurts...A lot...Inside and out...Ugh..." Green explained. "Oh man, Joe, you're useless! We could've have been rich, man! It's not like it's the first time you messed up, so I'll let you off easy. You can take 'her easy for the rest of today...BUT! You have clean the ENTIRE hide out by YOURSELF tomorrow! Enjoy! Ha haha!" Red snickered deviously. "Aw, b-but...Come on, Red!...Er, I mean, Yes, Red..." Green sighs, exhaustedly. He began to pick up the mountains of trash in the messy lair, as his bossy older brother laughed.

Somewhere, at the same time, a a familiar, sarcastic voice was complaining. " Come on! Work you stupid rock! You're, uh, useless!" the figure said, shaking a black object, "Aw man, this, you know, blows! Well it was fun while it lasted...I just might keep this black rock though...I get a bad feeling about it...But at the same time, I, uh, like it! Yeah! I feel like it makes me, uh, even stronger! Well, for now, it looks like ol' Fr-ped will be wondering around, bored out of his mind, figuring out whether to good or, uh, evil..."