The Dark Roaches began surrounding them again but then…

"MIGHTY!"

The Dark Roaches were cut in half by a golden energy slash, shocking them.

What shocked them more was the newcomer who had just helped them…

He was clad in gold and black armor with long shoulder guards and a with an 'A' on his chest plate. His gauntlets and boots were black with golden trimmings. His helmet was elaborate, looking like a three pronged crown and there was a red diamond in the centre of his faceplate above the silver mouth guard. Around his waist was an Advent Buckle with a symbol resembling the one on his chest and with a card holster attached. He swung his sword again and slashed several Dark Roaches in half.

Mimic, who was closest to him, was the first to ask, "Who are you?"

The new Knight introduced himself as, "Cerberus Knight Grave…"

Cerberus…

Knight…

Grave…

Episode 36: Exposure

"Well, all the Dark Roaches are gone now," said Shinmei, "Good job, everyone." He was about to mount the Black Fang when Grave yelled.

"Stop!"

"What?" Shinmei asked, annoyed.

"The Dark Roaches maybe gone, but there is still a Beast Spirit here," Grave answered.

Mimic's eyes narrowed under her helmet as she asked, "Where?" She was suspicious of Grave but then Grave raised his hand and pointed at Shinmei.

"Him." Everyone turned their gazes towards Shinmei who began to laugh.

"Me? A Beast Spirit? Are you insane?" Shinmei marched up towards Grave. "Listen, you, I don't know who you are or even who you think you are, but don't be throwing around accusations without proof!"

"Proof?" Grave repeated, "You want proof?" Grave chuckled, "Then I'll give you one!" He quickly grabbed Shinmei by the throat and threw him against one of the hummers. Shinmei's men had their guns trained on him and the Titans looked ready to attack. Shadow and Mimic stood silently along with Draco.

"Don't move!" Robin shouted at Grave, gripping his Bo staff.

"You should be telling him that," Grave said, gesturing towards Shinmei, "He's a wolf in sheep's clothing if I ever saw one." Grave held a card, "And I'll show you!" With a flick of his wrist, he threw the card at Shinmei and it cut open his cheek. Shinmei hissed in pain and covered it with his hand.

"Bastard!" Shinmei growled.

Mimic then started looking around. 'What is this smell?' she thought and then she followed the scent towards…Shinmei. 'It's coming from him.'

"Men, take him down!" Shinmei ordered, still covering his cheek, but then Mimic stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. "What!? Let me go!" Mimic pulled his hand away to reveal his cut…that was oozing with green blood. The Titans all gasped as Shinmei gritted his teeth in anger.

"So, he was telling the truth," Mimic said before Shinmei pulled his hand away.

"You!" he roared at Grave, "Because of you, my plans are ruined!"

"Don't blame me if you can't hide your true nature," Grave mocked. Snarling, Shinmei's ears became pointed as his teeth turned sharp and his nails turned into claws. He lunged at Grave but was forced back by a black wall of energy.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!" Raven yelled at Shinmei. Shinmei smirked.

"And it was just so easy to fool you all. It would've been better for you if you were all left in the dark."

"Friend Shinmei," Starfire began with tears in her eyes.

"He's not your friend, Starfire," Mimic said. "He was just using us from the beginning."

"Yes," Shinmei nodded.

"But why?" Robin asked but then got his answer, "The data…you wanted data on our vehicles for the Black Fang!"

"Wow, you really are a detective," Shinmei retorted. "Yes, it was all for the Black Fang, and even though it only has data from the Knight of Byakko and Seiryu's machines…it's enough for me to use to bring you down!" Shinmei snapped his fingers and the Black Fang dashed to his side and he mounted it. "Well, time for me to shed this disguise!" He then shifted his form to reveal himself as the Wolf Beast Spirit. Not only that, his whole body, along with the Black Fang, were covered in a green aura. "Now it's time for me to go!"

"Not so fast! Titans! Go!" Robin ordered and the Wolf Beast Spirit howled. All of Shinmei's men then turned into werewolves and began attacking the Titans.

"Goodbye!" the Wolf Beast Spirit waved, laughing, before he sped away on the Black Fang.

"Come back here!" Mimic shouted.

"Onee-chan, we need to go after him," Draco said as he got on his bike. "Hayaku!"

"Hai," Mimic nodded in agreement and got on her own bike. The twins sped after the Wolf Beast Spirit and the Black Fang.

"Robin!" Shadow shouted as he slammed his staff into a werewolf and threw it aside, "Help Mimic and Draco. Cyborg, you too."

"But why?" Robin asked as he kicked a werewolf away.

"They might need your help to catch up with Shinmei!" Shadow explained. "Now, go, we can handle things here!"

"Alright!" Cyborg nodded as he got into the T-Car after throwing two werewolves into a nearby wall. He started up the engine and went after the twins and Shinmei.

"Be careful, Robin," Starfire said as Robin got on his bike.

"I will, Starfire," Robin promised before putting on his helmet and racing after Cyborg.

Grave watched silently and then walked away during the confusion as the remaining Titans and Shadow fought against the werewolves. They would be alright. The werewolves were just weak cannon fodder like the Dark Roaches anyway.

The twins raced after the Wolf Beast Spirit along the street and Cyborg and Robin had caught up with them. Cyborg activated the cannon on top of the T-Car and fired, only to have a green energy field block it.

"He's got some kind of force field," Cyborg reported.

"No duh," Mimic said as she fired arrows at the Wolf Beast Spirit, but they just shattered upon impact with the energy field. "It must be the Black Fang."

"Watch out!" Draco yelled as energy beams were fired from the back of the bike. Mimic, Draco and Robin swerved out of the way.

"We have to get him off that bike somehow," Robin said.

"We better make it quick because we're losing him," said Mimic.

Draco nodded, "Hai," and slashed one of his cards through the scanner on his bike.

"MACH!"

The speed of the Blue Spader increased and soon he was speeding alongside the Wolf Beast Spirit. The evil Jack of Hearts merely chuckled. He then rammed Draco in the side to throw him off the road. Draco nearly lost his balance but was able to recover. Shinmei also began to kick out at him but Draco was able to avoid the kick by slowing down, causing the Wolf Beast Spirit to lose his balance for a bit.

Draco rejoined the others and said, "I might be able to disable the force field," he added, "I think."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Robin said. "Do it!"

"Hai!" Draco concentrated and then he focused before sending a powerful lightning bolt at Shinmei. The Black Fang's defense system activated again and erected the force field. It held up against Draco's electrical attack but it didn't hold for long before it shattered, much to Shinmei's shock.

"WHAT!?" the Wolf Beast Spirit howled.

"Now! Hit him hard!" Mimic shouted. Robin and Cyborg fired missiles and Mimic fired an arrow at the back wheel. The arrow destroyed the back wheel, causing the Wolf Beast Spirit to lose control and when the missiles hit…

KA-BOOM!

It sent the Beast Spirit flying in the air and landing roughly on the ground. He landed in a construction site and at his appearance all the construction workers ran in panic. Mimic, Robin, Draco and Cyborg stopped and dismounted/exited from their vehicles.

"How dare you damage my Black Fang!" the Wolf Beast Spirit roared.

"You stole it!" Draco accused. "It was never yours to begin with." Shinmei growled, baring his fangs. He lunged but was sent flying back by a sonic cannon blast. Cyborg smirked.

"Booyah," Cyborg said.

"Titans! Go!" Robin commanded as he twirled his Bo-staff and charged before he swung it at the Wolf Beast Spirit and hit him in the head. Shinmei roared in pain and was caught in the side by an energy arrow. Shinmei tried to claw at Robin but Robin ducked and gave Shinmei an uppercut before kicking him back. The Wolf Beast Spirit snarled but was then slashed by Draco. He swiped at Draco but the Dragon Knight was faster and slashed a card through.

"METAL!"

The Wolf beast Spirit's attack was deflected and then Draco slashed through another card.

"BEAT!"

The Wolf Beast Spirit heard it and Draco punched him hard in the chest, sending him flying towards Cyborg who was winding up his arm and then swung it at the Beast Spirit as hard as he could, sending him flying into a brick wall. Shinmei picked himself up and looked to see Robin hurling his birdarangs at him, cutting into his armor. Shinmei roared in pain.

"You think you can beat me!? I'm the Jack of Hearts!" Shinmei declared. Mimic smirked.

"So, that means you're mine to seal then," Mimic said as she fired several more arrows at him. He jumped up to avoid them and was ready to pounce on Mimic. However, he did not count for Draco to interfere.

"ABSORB QUEEN! FUSION JACK!"

In a flash of gold light, Draco changed into Jack Form and flew up to intercept Shinmei, slashing him across the midsection. Green blood spilled from the wound as Shinmei fell. Mimic leaned back and fired a continuous volley of arrows at him. He fell on the ground, wounded but still ready to fight.

"I am the most powerful! I cannot be easily beaten!"

"Oh, really then," Mimic said. "Boys, let's bring him down! Fire!" Mimic fired ice and fire arrows.

Cyborg fired his sonic cannon.

Robin threw his explosive discs.

Finally, Draco threw a lightning bolt.

The 4 attacks connected and hit Shinmei. The Wolf Beast Spirit's body erupted as he fell back on the ground before morphing back into his human form. Mimic stepped over and pulled Shinmei up by his collar.

"Why?" she demanded.

"I thought that if I infiltrated your group, I'd be able to destroy you all from the inside," said Shinmei, coughing up green blood. "If it weren't for that meddling Grave, I would've gotten away with it too."

"And the Black Fang?" she prodded.

"And added bonus to add power to me," he answered. Mimic drew a Blank Seal card and tapped it to his head. Shinmei, powerless, could not resist as he was sucked into it and sealed.

"Jack of Hearts: Fusion Wolf," she read, admiring hew new card that depicted a golden wolf.

"Sugoi, onee-chan," Draco admired, "Now all you need is a Category Queen and an Advent Absorber and you can evolve to Jack Form."

"Jack Form?" Mimix responded. "Doesn't sound right to me." She then thought, 'And I won't need a Category Queen or an Advent Absorber to use this card's power anyway.'

Robin's communicator began to beep and he flipped it open, "Hey, what's up, Starfire?"

"Robin, we have found friend Pluto and my sister on the beach. They are both unconscious!" Starfire reported. The twins became alarmed.

"We're on our way, Starfire!" Robin said.

"We have to go!" Draco said before running over to his bike.

"Wait, what about the Black Fang?" Mimic asked.

"Guys," Cyborg began. "I hate to tell you this, but it's gone."

"Nani?" Mimic reacted as she looked at the spot where the Black Fang was supposed to be, only to realize it had disappeared. "Where is it!?"

"Someone took it," Robin observed, "While we were fighting Shinmei."

"Kinda obvious, Tweety!" Mimic snapped.

"Onee-chan, calm down," Draco coaxed her.

"How can I calm down?" Mimic asked. "Someone has a very dangerous bike with data from your bike!"

"Right now, that isn't important," Draco said as he revved his bike, "Pluto and Karmen-san need us." Mimic grumbled.

"Oh, fine!" she got on her bike too. Cyborg got into the T-Car as Robin got on his R-Cycle and the four vehicles sped away.

Takada and Karmen were in beds in the Tower infirmary. Karmen looked fine. She didn't have any visible wounds or injuries whatsoever. Takada, however, looked quite beat up.

Leo and Kat walked in, following after Robin and Cyborg. The twins walked over to the beds to check on their friends.

"Takada-san…" Leo said sympathetically, "Karmen-san…" He then asked, "What happened?"

"We just found them like this," Raven told her. Kat then gave her a look.

"How did you find him anyway? Please, don't tell me it was because you're psychic," Kat said.

"Normally, I would, but no," Raven produced a note and gave it to Kat. "We found this and it told us where to look."

Kat read it and then at the end, "Signed…G." Who the heck was 'G'?

"We should thank this 'G' person," Starfire said, "If it was not for him or her, we would not have found my sister and Takada."

"By the way, how did it go with Shinmei?" Jinx asked.

"I always knew something was off with him," Kat said as she revealed the Jack of Hearts. "And now he's in here, all mine." She grinned.

"Well, funny thing about Jacks is well…we found this on him," Raven showed Kat the Jack of Diamonds. Kat and Leo blinked in response.

"So, he's sealed his Jack too, huh?" Kat admired. "Fusion Peacock, Category Jack of Diamonds. Well, with his Category Queen, he should be able to attain Jack Form like otouto-chan."

"That's right!" Leo realized. "And together, Takada-san and I will be an unstoppable force!"

"And what are we now?" Kat asked, eyes narrowed at her brother. "Aren't we already an unstoppable force?" Leo had the decency to look sheepish.

"Gomen nasai, onee-chan," Leo said, rubbing the back of his head. "I did not mean it like that." Kat grinned in response.

"I know you didn't," Kat replied, "And I guess that with him being able to go Jack, the Royals better think twice now before going after us."

"Hey, what about the Black Fang?" Jinx interrupted. Robin, Cyborg, Kat and Leo all looked upset. "What? What happened?"

"It got stolen," Robin answered, angrily.

"Right under our noses," Kat growled.

"But by who?" Leo asked.

Grave wheeled the Black Fang into the garage before closing it. He dusted off his hands and then reached for his buckle. He snapped it close and the golden energy field swept over his body, stripping off the armor. The darkness in the garage was shielding his face from view. He gazed down at the Cerberus Buckle and Change Cerberus card and grinned.

"Not bad," he said, "Not bad at all."

The next day…

"You already got a date!?" Melissa exclaimed as she stared at both Tara and Leo.

"Hai!" Leo nodded.

"Well, I already got a boyfriend, so why not?" Tara shrugged.

Melissa, Tara, Stephanie, Leo and Kat were all at the usual lunch table they all sat at, eating and chatting.

"It was Beast Boy, huh?" Stephanie said with a grin. Tara blushed and smiled

"So, Kat, what about you?" Melissa asked the black haired girl, "Gonna be asking Craig to the dance?" Kat glared at her and fumed. "What? What did I say?"

"I apologize if my onee-chan seems quite upset today," Leo said.

"What, did they have a fight or something?" Melissa prodded. Losing her patience, Kat snapped.

"Why don't you go and mind your own business!?" with a huff, she stomped away, pushing anyone blocking her path.

"Woah, what crawled up her butt?" Stephanie asked, whistling.

"It's complicated," Tara defended. She whispered to Leo, "What happened?" Leo shrugged.

"She won't tell me," he whispered back, sadly. Just what was making her so upset? All he knew it had something to do with Craig. He did seem oddly cold to her today.

Kat walked down the hallway. She noticed Craig at his locker and as she was ready to say something, a girl came and walked over to Craig before planting a kiss on his cheek. Kat stood there, stunned in disbelief as Craig began talking to Miyuki Yoshinaga, head cheerleader and one of the most popular girls in school.

The day Kat had met Miyuki, it had been loathe at first sight. They absolutely detested each other and Miyuki would always use her free time to either insult her, flirt with her brother or do both. Miyuki may seem sweet all over with her fair skin and beautifully permed dark hair, but Kat saw right through her. There was something about Miyuki she'd always hated. She just couldn't put her finger on it. Miyuki saw her and gave her a smirk before moving her lips without sound. But, the movement of her lips looked she was saying, 'I win.' Kat's face turned red and then she turned around and stormed away.

She did not notice another student had been watching her. One with pale skin, sunglasses and blue, nearly black, hair.

"That bakayarou!" Kat cried out as she stood on the roof, gripping the guard railings. "Best friend my foot! He's nothing but an insensitive and selfish jerk!" She wiped her tears away with her hand. "Why the hell am I crying over him for!?"

Footsteps could be heard behind her and then she narrowed her eyes. She turned her head over her shoulder to see who it was before she turned all the way, shocked.

"Hello, Knight of Suzaku," Desmond said, smirking arrogantly.

"You," she hissed, "Kameyarou (Turtle jerk)! What are you doing here!?"

"I go to school here, or can't you see that for yourself?" Desmond responded cynically. Kat blinked and looked at Desmond closely. He was wearing the standard boys' uniform but with black slacks instead of blue and the shirt had long sleeves with gloves on his hands.

"How long?" she asked, glaring.

"As long as I had to until I learnt all about you. I was in a different classroom so you never saw me during lessons. Plus, I could stay hidden." He put his hands behind him and walked over to her, "I wouldn't be able live up to my name if I couldn't hide in the shadows, could I?"

"So, you've been spying on us the whole time?" Kat accused. Desmond smirked.

"Precisely, and how did you think Hikaru got here in the first place?" His expression turned serious, "So, what are you crying about? That boy? Craig?"

"Urusai (Shut up)!" Kat snapped. Desmond chuckled.

"Is that all you can say? You're usually wittier than that," he mocked her. She then reached over and grabbed him by the tie, pulling him over to her. She stared through his sunglasses with the most penetrating glare she could muster.

"Listen here, kameyarou," she said threateningly, "You know my secret so I better warn you not to go spilling the beans." Desmond rolled his eyes.

"Your secret? You mean your green blood?" he said. "Please, I don't really care about what you really are."

"Just, don't go along telling anyone or I'll make you wish you were dead," she threatened.

"I'm already dying, what can you do?" she let go and pushed him away in annoyance. He dusted himself off and straightened his clothes.

"Just, go away," she told him before turning away.

"CHANGE GENBU!"

Kat turned in surprise to see Shadow standing where Desmond was.

"You never got to beat me, did you?" Shadow said to her tauntingly, "And you never will." Kat growled. "I bet you're too scared to even accept this small challenge to pass the time."

"Don't assume anything," Kat said as she summoned her belt. Shadow noticed how it just appeared out of her waist, right from her own body. Her Category Ace was in her hand and she swiped it through the buckle. "Henshin!"

"CHANGE SUZAKU!"

Leo was walking down the hall towards the library. He could feel that his sister was upset but the only thing he could do for her was give her some space to cool off. As he walked past the janitor's closet, the door suddenly open and a hand shot out and grabbed him by his shirt before pulling him in. The door then slammed close and made a clicking sound, meaning it was locked.

"I know how to defend myself!" Leo warned. The light bulb above him turned on to reveal who his 'assailant' was. He blinked, in confusion and shock. "Jinx-san?"

Jinx purred and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Hey, Dragon-Boy."

"How-what-why-?" he stuttered before he began asking coherent questions, "How did you get here? What are you doing here? Why are you here?"

"Oh, I took a class on infiltration and I came to see you," she then smirked, "And, as for why…" She then leaned up and gave him a passionate kiss. Leo's eyes went wide before he relaxed, closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around her petite waist and kissed back before breaking apart.

"Sugoi…" he whispered, eyes glazed over and with a goofy smile on his face with cheeks flushed. Jinx giggled, liking how he reacted to her kisses. "Ano…but, in the janitor's closet?"

"It's cozy," she said, making excuses. "Besides, it lets us get close to one another."

"Jinx-san, I can't stay here too long," he told her. "There's only 10 minutes until lunch period is over." He showed her his watch. "And I don't want to be late for class."

She then gave him a mischievous smirk along with twinkling eyes. "Well…" she purred, "I better use all the time I have." She then pulled him down by his neck tie and kissed him repeatedly on the face and lips. She also kissed him on the neck and bit down to suck on the tender spot. He moaned in response.

Sparks flew as Mimic and Shadow's weapons clashed with one another, clanging and crashing as the two fought. They circled each other, eyes trained on one another. Mimic gripped her Suzaku Arrow while Shadow had a firm grasp on his Genbu Staff.

Shadow swung his weapon to the side to but she was able to flip back and then aim, firing ice arrows at him. He deflected them with his staff before he charged at her. Changing tactics, she sprayed frost on the floor under him and he began slipping towards her. She winded up her fist and threw it, expecting to get him in the face but then he blocked it with his shield. He swept her off her feet with his leg and she came down tumbling. The tip of his weapon came down on her throat but she retaliated by shooting at his chest, sending him staggering back and ripping off sparks. She flipped back to her feet and then slashed him in the chest repeatedly. He jabbed at her stomach with his staff, knocking the wind out of her before he got up and performed a reverse roundhouse, hitting her in the midsection and sending her stumbling away.

"This is getting tiresome," Shadow said in a bored tone. He drew two cards: Bite Cobra and Poison Scorpion. "I better end this fight now." He swiped both cards through his scanner.

"BITE! POISON! VENOM CRASH!" announced his staff before he leapt up to execute the attack. He came down on Mimic but she was ready for him.

"REFLECT!" A reflective shield erected itself around her, causing him to bounce back from the force of his own attack. He went tumbling over the floor and then was met with a hail of ice and fire arrows. Mimic continued to fire, not giving him a chance to recover.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it, Kameyarou?" she said as she walked over him. She didn't stop shooting when she came over and stomped her foot on his chest, standing over him victoriously. She grinned under her helmet, "I win."

"This time, maybe," he responded, coughing, "But there's always next time." He began coughing heavily. Mimic reached down and he took her hand as she pulled him up.

"Hey, you okay?" Mimic asked in concern. Sure she hated Shadow's guts but even she couldn't just leave a sick person without helping. Call it a weakness since she began spending time with her brother.

"Just need a little air," he told her, "and my pills." He reached down to snap his belt close when Mimic's head snapped up.

"We're going to be attacked!" she shouted.

"What are you talking about?" Shadow asked but then he became surprised to see rose petals falling down like the rain. "What's going on?"

"I can think of one answer," Mimic replied, gesturing towards a direction with her thumb. "And it's standing right there." Shadow followed where she was pointing and his red eyes narrowed under his blue eyepieces.

Standing there on the guardrail was a slim and slender figure with curves that were obviously female. She was dressed in a long black robe that hid her body from view and black gloves. Over her head was a black hood, hiding her face from view. Her human face at least. Mimic doubt that her true face could be easily hidden like that.

It was one of the Royals.

She raised up a hand to her face and produced a red rose. She brought it to her hidden face and sniffed it. "Ah…the fragrance of roses," she said with a smile in her voice, "So beautiful…but, even beautiful roses have thorns."

"Who are you?" Shadow demanded, pointing directly at the Royal Beast Spirit with his staff. He still hadn't forgotten how they had used him like a puppet.

"Where are my manners?" she said in mock politeness. "You may call me Rose." With that her appearance began to change into her true form and both Mimic and Shadow got ready for battle.

A/N: Well the sealing of one Beast Spirit and now the appearance of another the next day. Who is this 'Rose' really? What does she want? Well, read the next chapter to find out. Oh, and don't worry about the werewolves, people. After Shinmei was sealed they all turned back to normal and were freed.

Preview to the next chap: It would appear that all the men had suddenly disappeared. Why? Well, they are being held captive by Rose, that's what. Rose has taken all the men in the city, so it's up to the girls to stop her.

Card Sealed:

Jack of Hearts: Fusion Wolf.