Chapter 5- phase two, feuds, a BIG test and other mysteries
This chapter has elements of 'Super-sized Gekko' and additional foreshadowing for the future.
Also I'll be referencing the PJ Masks and the Mummy of Apophis (book one) French book for special reasons ;)
The Chinchilla, Caracal and bandicoot spirit animals belong to Dapple-ishh. I'm just borrowing them because of foreshadowing and acknowledgement ;) (oh and they have alternative codenames).
Note: Valarina is another villain OC I made but for Final Space. I'm just mentioning her because of the connection to Masque Ombre. (Warning: I'm a sucker for connecting almost every story I write together)
Enjoy!
The man in the suit arrived at his family house as Horoki and his family were having dinner.
"Hello, brother" Horoki's dad said.
"Hello, everyone. I need to talk to Horoki once you're all finished" The man stated as he put his coat on the door hanger.
"Uncle Nigel, is something wrong?" Horoki asked.
"Come upstairs after dinner" Nigel replied before going to his room.
Nigel had been the one that had trained Horoki in the ways of the ninja and teaching him the history of the city and the mythology found there.
-An hour later-
Horoki went up to his room and found his uncle waiting for him.
"Horoki, how has your studies and scheming been doing?" Nigel asked.
"Great, Oji. I'm working on Egyptian Mythology lately and I had a small idea for my next plan: a chariot. I just need the Ninjalinos to help me find one…" Horoki began.
"Hmm… I heard there's another parade coming up." Nigel suggested.
"Already done a parade, I'd rather wait a year before doing another scheme related to one. Anything else?" Horoki questioned.
"Well, when I was about your age, I found a shadow amulet once. It could be still in the vault" Nigel added.
Horoki's eyes lit up.
"It's PERFECT! But… I don't know what to use it for…" The young boy trailed off before looking over at his suit.
Masque Ombre's bats overheard the conversation and relayed it to her.
One of the bats delivered a card through Horoki's window with the words 'Come to the 4th passage in the alley way in 4 days' time'.
"This could be my big break…." Horoki smiled.
As Nigel witnessed how happy Horoki was in that moment, he decided to wait a little bit long before telling the child about the Chou clan.
Horoki put on his suit to become Night Ninja!
"Night Ninja, I suggest working on smaller projects while you wait and keep that chariot search on hold" Nigel advised.
Night Ninja thought carefully.
Tim, the small Ninjalino came running from the window with some news.
"You saw a firefly figure go west? Find out if they're villain or foe, I can't engage just yet" Night Ninja stated.
Tim nodded before hurrying away.
The ferret and snowshoe Hare (the hare was brown because of the time of year) observed from afar in bewilderment.
As the days pasted, The Mooncrawlers improved their skills more with the Mascoundrels' and Robot PJ clones' help.
More posters for the upcoming parade were plastered around the city to get everyone's attention and Romeo worked hard on the Small-sizer during the training sessions.
On day 3, the small-sizer was finished, Robot was shrunk down and the Mooncrawlers were now at the fighting style stage with their powers.
During the daytime, the children and Patch went to the museum with their parents to see the preview of an upcoming exhibit that would be held next year.
There was a statue of a cat, a painting of a figure riding a golden chariot with horses, a Tsushima leopard cat for the Japanese exhibit, a necklace with the Eye of Ra and invisibility shuriken.
When they went back outside, they found most of the street and park area shrunk down to their horror.
"This is suspicious, guys. Be on your guard" Patch warned, cautiously.
"PJ Masks we're on our way!" Greg began.
"Into the Night to save the day!" they finished together.
That night….
Romeo was driving his lab around the city, using his small-sizer while Renard Rusé was stealing the items from the future exhibit.
The PJ Masks and Patch arrived in the Cat-car on cue about 20 minutes after he started his plan.
"Stop, Romeo!" Catboy cried.
"Your days are numbered!" Gekko added.
"So, the PJ Pests and their pet are back. I'm still going to figure out that collar, kitty-cat." Romeo said, slyly.
"My Small-sizer can shrink anything and soon I'll be able to take over the world!" he added with an evil laugh.
"How?" Gekko asked.
Romeo paused as Renard Rusé then arrived.
"It is in motion" Renard Rusé said, cryptically.
Just then, Catboy's ears detected an alarm sound and got the others get follow him in his car.
Patch spied on the duo as he chose to stay behind.
"Where did you put the items?" Romeo asked.
"In a safe place for your next research project" Renard Rusé with a giant smile.
At the museum, the alarm was still ringing as Owlette spotted a figure running out from the entrance with a sack.
She flew after the figure and used Owl wing wind on them to knock them over.
When she landed near the figure and the boys caught up with her, the figure chuckled.
"I'm already halfway across the city" the figure said as they disappeared into orange smoke.
"That was orange like a…." Gekko began.
"Fox" Catboy finished as his eyes widened.
"Owlette" Gekko said as he nodded.
Owlette nodded back and flew above the city.
Using her owl eyes, she spotted Renard Rusé in the alleyway after hiding something.
"Renard Rusé is north-west of here!" she called out.
Then Gekko and Catboy followed her in the Cat-car to confront them.
Meanwhile…..
Patch quietly followed Renard Rusé and Romeo as they headed towards the factory that helps him with his inventions.
"So, what exactly do you want to do with this Egyptian stuff?" Renard Rusé asked.
"Apart from research" he added.
"I'm hoping it can help me figure out more secrets about this city and maybe one day lead me to figure out the source of the PJ Masks' power or vice versa" Romeo replied, with strong determination.
"If those pesky heroes don't figure out my plan, the items will be stored here for a later date and then the exhibit for next year will be cancelled." He added with conviction.
"How devious, I love it!" Renard Rusé exclaimed.
"Between you and me, I'm just keeping the necklace, the statue and painting. The shrunken can be thrown away" Romeo stated in a bossy tone.
"What about Night Ninja?" Renard Rusé asked.
Romeo groaned.
"Fine! Throw that ninja stuff at his buss for all I care but hurry before those heroes find us" he muttered.
I need to warn them, Patch thought.
As Patch began to leave, his fur glow for a brief second which caught Renard Rusé's attention.
"Did you see that?" The fox anti-hero asked.
"See what?" Romeo remarked.
Romeo's googles used x-ray vision to examine the direction his partner-in-crime was looking in.
Patch showed up in orange and red behind the bush as he ran away, not noticing his fur had glowed.
"How peculiar indeed" Romeo said in a fantasticated voice.
"Should we follow him?" Renard Rusé asked.
"It's alright. Let him go, you get the eye of Ra to my home lab for the Mascoundrels to guard. I'll handle the PJ Pests" Romeo stated as he called over his lab with a small remote to save him time before getting inside.
"Good luck, Romeo" Renard Rusé said in a sort-of hopeful voice.
Romeo just smirked before driving away.
Robot (who was still small) felt the cold feeling of sadness from what he overheard.
"Robot, is Romeo making progress with his new side project?" Firefly asked.
Robot sighed.
"Yes, master is doing well" he said, gloomily.
Firefly's glasses and face mask had a hidden communication device like the PJ Masks only it was synced up to Robot and other villians.
"Well, I'm on a stake out for the Chou Ninja. Let me know if Romeo needs me for a mission ok? Firefly, out" the pink haired villain replied before Robot got radio silence.
Robot began to walk back to Romeo's house when he spotted one of the posters for the next parade to his delight.
He used his extendable arms to grab the poster and rushed to Romeo's house.
Meanwhile…
The PJ Masks had their hands full fighting Renard Rusé's clone.
Gekko used his tail to deflect the clone's attacks.
Catboy ran around the clone to make him dizzy as Gekko used his strength on him.
Owlette grabbed the bag but it disappeared.
The clone laughed.
Patch ran as fast as he could to find the PJ Masks before Romeo did.
"You can have the leftovers in the factory" Renard Rusé's clone suggested with a smug smile.
Then Romeo's lab appeared.
Romeo used the small-sizer with the lab's controls to distract the heroes.
Patch arrived a few minutes late as Romeo proceeded with his plan.
"Catboy, it's a distraction! He stole the Egyptian exhibit items with help and used that weapon to keep you away" Patch revealed, quickly.
"Me? Distract you? Guess the cat's out of the bag, PJ Party poopers!" Romeo remarked, smugly.
"Try and catch me!" He added as he began to drive away again towards the factory.
"Ok, we need to get that Small-sizer off his lab before catching him and getting the stolen items back" Catboy stated.
"Why don't you use your speed to catch up to him, I use camouflage while I'm with you to get close to the lab and Owlette helps with the distraction?" Gekko suggested.
"What about me?" Patch chimed in.
"Er…..we don't want Romeo finding out you can talk with your collar, Patch." Owlette admitted.
Then Patch's fur glowed again.
"I need to figure out what this spirit animal power can help me do" Patch confessed.
"Alright, Owlette, bring Patch to the Cat-car so you can both assist with the distraction. Now let's go!" Catboy replied in a calm manner.
So Owlette helped Patch to the Cat-car and drove it so he could be part of the action while Catboy sped off to reach Romeo's Lab with Gekko on his back in camouflage mode just as Romeo reached the factory.
"Romeo, give back the stolen Egyptian items!" Catboy cried.
Romeo braked his lab to screeching halt as Gekko managed to jump off Catboy and onto the side of the lab as it stopped.
"If you want to get them back, try and get my gadget" Romeo taunted as Gekko climbed the lab and was close enough to reach the Small-Sizer.
Catboy ran around the lab to prevent him from using the Small-Sizer again just as the Cat-Car arrived.
"So that cat Patch is trying to help? Does he even have powers?" Romeo remarked in a harsh tone.
Patch hissed in anger.
"Owlette, open the roof" Patch whispered.
"Wait, why?!" Owlette responded in a low voice.
"Because I think I know what to do, now do it!" he hissed.
Owlette opened the car roof and Patch jumped out onto the lab's front view screen.
"AH! Get off, you crazy cat!" Romeo yelled as he tried to shake him off.
Patch then used his claws to attack the window as his fur shone a blinding light in Romeo's face.
Gekko quickly removed the Small-Sizer and jumped back into the Cat-Car as Romeo crashed into the Factory.
Inside was a small vault that had most of the stolen goods.
Patch ran away from the lab to wait for the others, so Romeo wouldn't be able to piece together what just happened.
Romeo then rubbed his eyes.
"Wait, you pesky PJs, Robot needs his size back!" He complained.
"Robot used this?" Gekko asked, in shock.
Catboy sighed.
"Alright, you call him and we will return him to his regular size for you" he relented.
So, after Romeo got Renard Rusé to bring Robot to the Factory, the heroes restored Robot's size before Romeo retreated with his lab back to his house with Robot.
Then the PJ Masks returned the stolen items they had recovered to the museum.
Patch was a little confused as to why his fur kept glowing randomly.
"Do you think Romeo will figure out I have half of the Spirit animals' power?" Patch asked after they had finished their job.
"Hopefully not, that would be bad for all of us" Catboy said, worriedly.
Patch sighed.
"Well the light did blind him for a few seconds so maybe we're ok… for now" Patch said, while feeling unconvinced.
"Maybe you can ask one of our spirit animals to help figure this out?" Gekko suggested.
"Yeah, I'll try that" Patch said, with a small smile.
"PJ Masks all shout hurray!" Patch began.
"Because in the night we saved the day!" they all finished.
At Romeo's house…
Romeo went back to his basement lab after he returned from his retreat from battle and saw Batarina guarding a small safe.
"Is it in there?" He asked.
"Yes, the Eye of Ra is safe, Romeo" Batarina replied.
"Thank you for your help, everyone but the Robot PJs can take over guarding it for now" Romeo ordered.
The Mooncrawlers nodded as they went out to go home for the night.
"We did more combat training with the Robot PJs and Mascoundrels today, sir" Arachnigirl reported.
"Thank you for the update but your team and the Mascoundrels will be one full team once you're battle ready for a mission" Romeo revealed.
"Should I tell everyone else on the way home?" Arachingirl asked.
"No, I'll inform everyone when I'm ready. Goodnight, Alexis" Romeo said with a smile.
Arachnigirl smiled back faintly before leaving.
"Romeo!" Emily called.
"What is it, Mother? I am BUSY!" Romeo yelled.
"Come upstairs, we need to Talk!" Emily stated.
Romeo huffed before going back upstairs to face her alone.
"Romeo Mecano, why are you wasting so much money, your FATHER's money, on your gadgets and plans in the factory if you always fail?" Emily asked with a stern look.
"I…er….I need an outlet for my creativity, mother" Romeo said in an innocent voice.
"Romeo, I know you're following Theo's footsteps with your evil genius thing but honey…..your dad was a bit more careful than this. How about instead of the evil gadget stuff, I help you with your homework tonight?" Emily offered.
"I…er… Mother, are you implying that I should give up being evil?" Romeo questioned.
"No, I'm saying YOU need a break. Regardless of who's on duty as a villain each night, you deserve to have time to be a kid and have fun" Emily replied, gently.
"Master, your mother is right. She's not Flossy Flash for nothing" Robot agreed.
"Alright, but we can't let those heroes know about you, mother" Romeo stated.
"It's because of my secret and YOUR secret love for my comics, isn't it?" Emily teased.
"MOM!" Romeo exclaimed as Emily tickled him playfully causing him to laugh.
"Now then how about we play a game?" she asked, quickly.
"Master Fang sounds fun" Robot replied, gleefully.
Back outside, Marvin and Tim (Teeny-Weeny Ninjalino) were on a patrol for Night Ninja when they saw movement on the roofs.
It was only for a split second but the two Ninjalinos saw orange: orange and black Chou ninja to be exact.
"Should we tell Night Ninja?" Marvin asked his language.
"What if his uncle already knows?!" Tim cried in the Ninjalino language.
Regardless of how they felt, they both proceeded to look for Firefly before reporting to Night Ninja.
At Night Ninja's house…
"Horoki, I know you've been very patient with this waiting thing but maybe a story might help you sleep tonight" Nigel offered.
"That would help. Tomorrow is the 4th day after all so tomorrow night, I'll be meeting the messenger with a plan" Horoki said, excitedly.
Horoki sat up in bed with intrigue.
"Well, little ninja. This story is about two Ninja clans: Takeshi and Chou.
When there were still people on the moon with magic and items, the two clans were associated with the gentlemen thieves long before Arsène Lupin. You remember when I read you his story, right?" Nigel asked.
Horoki nodded.
Then his uncle continued:
"Takeshi and Chou used to see each other as family but when the world began to change the Chou clan found out that some of the Takeshi clan had helped to decrease the number of dragons and unique people in the world. One of them even witnessed the shadow amulet being forged when one of the Ninjalino clan members requested it to be made and convinced the Ninjalino clan to leave clues in Japanese for someone to figure out in case they were needed again.
The Chou betrayed us after the portal for Mystery mountain along with its scroll, the monkey statues and any books on sticky/mountain splat and Mystery Mountain itself was created.
It had been just before the totems, nagual etc had fallen into legend, a Chou Ninja had stolen a precious heirloom sword for unknown reasons, so the Takeshi Clan drove them away and they haven't been back since…. Or so I thought" Nigel concluded.
"Is that everything?" Horoki asked.
"There is more but there's history books to fill in those gaps but one of our past relatives found the Ninjalinos in Mystery Mountain. The museum just needs to find the scroll but the library already has the books on mountains" Nigel replied, in a mysterious voice.
"Ok, ok. Tomorrow, I'll research in the day before my meet-up" Horoki promised.
"Goodnight, Horoki" Nigel said, softly before closing his bedroom door.
In Masque Ombre's hideout…
She had just finished looking over Renard Rusé's footage and her plan notes for Night Ninja as her bats watched her through her work.
While grabbing a picture, she headed downstairs into another hidden room with low lighting.
Once Night Ninja has helped with phase one, the Mascoundrels can help with phase two as soon as I get more answers, she thought.
Half of her bats had followed her to the room for back-up in case of resistance.
Once she was mid-way in the room, Masque Ombre went over to turn on a small lamp which revealed a green and white wooden statuette with white dots on his brown arms with what appeared to be a traditional skirt of some form strapped to a table.
"Once you wake up, you're going to tell me how these animals are connected to Totem users, Rainbow Dreamer and the Nagual" she hissed as she held a picture of the four Chinese symbols: the azure dragon, black tortoise, Vermilion bird and white tiger.
At Connor's house…
It was now about 8:30 pm and the children were in bed about to fall asleep.
"Do you think I'll be able to get the hang of this spirit power, so I can help you during difficult situations?" Patch asked.
"I hope so, Patch. Oh yeah, the next parade is almost here. Greg will want to see the lizard float, I'm sure" Connor said, sleepily.
"Maybe he'll marry it" Patch joked with a wide yawn.
Connor just chuckled.
"Goodnight, Patch" Connor said, softly.
"Goodnight" Patch replied, happily as he drifted to sleep.
In Patch's dream, he saw Oolgee, Chu'a and Yahto meeting a light orange bandicoot, silver Chinchilla and yellow Caracal.
"Has your chosen child been given a bracelet yet?" Yahto asked.
"Not yet, it's not their time" Lóng māo the chinchilla with her semi-code name being Cotton Tail in English replied.
"Actually, they're met to be WAY younger than your children, Yahto" Níng the caracal replied.
Her 'code name' was Cotton Tail.
"So, um, about these upcoming threats. How do we help the cat with his new power?" Hài shǔ the bandicoot asked.
His semi-code name was Crash Bandicoot (not be confused with the game character).
This code-name is only used when appropriate.
"We have to try to train him. Has anyone contacted Xuě? He could try to help him with his chosen hero too" Chu'a suggested.
"You make a good point, Chu'a. However, even the children need extra training given that Masque Ombre isn't the only new threat to the city we know about" Lóng māo pointed out.
Then they all paused.
"He's here, isn't he?" Ooglee realised.
"Sorry, Patch but even you can't know too much about the future" Yahto said, looking straight in his direction.
Then his vision began to get blurry as the dream sequence shifted from the spirit animals to Connor dressed as Catboy sinking in water.
Due to it being a dream, Patch had his white angel wings again but upon touching the dream, his body reacted to the water and he was instantly unable to speak.
Is this…Connor's dream?! Patch thought.
Maybe this really is one of the spirit animal powers? Why am I wondering, it's WATER! His mind yelled at him.
Catboy opened his eyes and was shocked at Patch's sudden appearance.
Patch? You're here? Am I still dreaming? Catboy wondered.
However, the shock and constant mind wondering caused Catboy to lose too much Oxygen and he woke up very sudden as a result.
Patch ended up in a blank void due to Connor being awake.
"Even if you do save him, it won't be enough cat warrior" A voice said.
-end of dream-
Patch finally woke up all flustered to see Connor no longer in bed.
He had gone downstairs to get milk to calm his nerves.
"What did that voice mean by 'he'? did they mean 'Connor', 'Greg', 'Green' or all of the above?" Patch pondered to himself.
The next day was filled with mostly silence and small talk before, during and after school.
Mr Shawn had told the class that the museum was very grateful that its exhibit items for next year had been recovered.
However, the museum had not disclosed that one item was missing.
-fast-forward to the 4th night (that night)-
The time had come for Night Ninja to go to the alleyway as the message from the bats had instructed him to.
Masque Ombre exited her lair, leaving her bats to guard her hidden captive.
The alley they were in was dimly lit so all Night Ninja could see was her red eyes.
"Who are you?" Night Ninja asked.
"I am Masque Ombre, a friend and your ticket to a piece of the past" Masque Ombre said in an alluring voice.
"You sent me the note. So, what's the plan?" Night Ninja asked.
"I know where the shadow Amulet is and I need you to steal it for Night Warrior" Masque Ombre revealed in a calm voice.
"You know my uncle?!" Night Ninja cried.
Masque Ombre chuckled.
"There's a lot that I know that you children aren't even aware of yet" she added in amusement which confused the young ninja.
"If I told you now, your young mind would not be able to handle it" She pointed out when she noticed his blank expression.
She then smiled.
"Now then, let's get to work" she stated.
At Connor's house, after finishing dinner, Connor and Patch was in his room.
Patch was on top of his bed while Connor, in his PJs, was reading an issue 1 flossy Flash comic from his secret stash that his friends were unaware of.
Just then, Connor's bracelet flashed red.
"Something's wrong. Guys, are you getting it too?" Connor asked.
"Yeah, there might be a breakout somewhere. PJ Masks, we're on our way!" Amaya began.
"Into the night to save the day!" They all finished.
After the trio transformed, Catboy held on to Patch as they all got teleported to the HQ.
Owlette got the Picture player up to scan the cameras and spotted Night Ninja at the museum.
"Let's take the Owl-glider" Owlette suggested.
"Um…. You won't let me fall, will you?" Patch asked in a scared voice.
"Of course not, Patch. I'll make you're buckled in with my seatbelt" Catboy reassured him.
Patch nuzzled Catboy's left hand as he put his seatbelt round himself and Patch before take off.
Patch yelped as Owlette flew the Owl-glider above the city towards the museum.
The heroes didn't notice the Mascoundrels and Lilifée watched them fly past from a safe distance in awe.
A motorcycle in camouflage tailed the Owl-glider as Masque Ombre waited in shadows just as Night Ninja put on the shadow amulet.
"They're here, young Ninja. Test out the amulet's power and fight them in combat, this will see if my plan is ready to be tested on them" Masque Ombre marvelled.
Night Ninja nodded before going back towards the light in the lobby where the dinosaur skeletons are found.
Outside, the Owl-glider had landed and Patch's fur was on edge because of that flight.
"Is it safe to get out?" Patch asked while shivering.
"It's ok, buddy. We're on the ground now" Catboy said, softly.
Patch peeked through the window screen as Gekko and Owlette hopped out and ran inside the museum.
Patch shook his head to stop the dizziness in his eyes and stood up.
"We need to help" Patch stated while distracting himself from the idea of flying back.
Catboy nodded before scooping up the young cat in his arms and racing away into the museum at super speed.
"If it isn't the PJ Pests, I've been expecting you" Night Ninja stated in a serious voice.
"Return that amulet now, Night Ninja!" Catboy cried.
Night Ninja laughed.
"Make me" he goaded.
Catboy put Patch safely on the ground and ran towards him.
Night Ninja side-stepped gracefully out of the way as a shadow portal opened in Catboy's path which sent him downstairs.
Owlette flew towards him but Night Ninja instinctively activated the amulet to allow him to slip into the shadows to avoid the attack.
"Young Ninja, test the amulet on EVERYTHING" Masque Ombre advised.
So, Night Ninja tested the amulet's power on Gekko and caused him to turn towards Owlette to attack her against his will.
"What's happening?! I…can't move my body!" Gekko cried as a black aura surrounded his suit as he moved.
"Someone is using you as a puppet like Luna Girl did to Cameron!" Owlette realised in horror.
"Um Guys, how did I end up here?" Catboy asked in confusion while downstairs still.
"Ready to give up, PJ wannabes?" Night Ninja asked in a mocking voice.
"We'll keep on fighting until we get that amulet back!" Owlette declared.
"We can't do that if Gekko can control himself" Patch whispered.
"Say… if this thing can control lizard legs then maybe I can use all THREE!" Night Ninja wondered, eagerly.
Uh oh! Patch though as Owlette and Catboy glowed with dark aura before Masque Ombre assisted the young villians by sending all three heroes through different shadow portals to scatter them both inside and outside the museum.
Patch was the last one standing.
"So, the PJ Masks have a mascot, eh? I don't think we've met….." Night Ninja trailed off as he squinted at Patch's collar.
"Patch is it? You must be really special to be owned by heroes but they're not gonna stop me now. Ninjalinos!" he called.
The purple ninja group appeared on cue in a formulated line together.
"Take out the cat, he can't do anything to stop us" Night Ninja ordered.
The Ninjalinos got out their orange sticky splat and jumped towards Patch to attack.
However, an invisible 'force' caused the Ninjalinos to freeze them in place.
"Is that you?" Patch asked in bewilderment.
His fur began to glow again as Patch came back to his senses and used his claws to attack the Ninjalinos, giving them claw marks and scratches in the process.
"A single cat did all that?!" Night Ninja cried.
Catboy just managed to break free of the amulet's control while Night Ninja was distracted and ran back upstairs to see Patch staring back at Night Ninja.
All of the Ninjalinos present were on the ground, groaning in pain.
"You did that?" Catboy whispered.
Patch hissed at Night Ninja as the young ninja kept eye contact with the cat.
The invisible friend grabbed the shadow amulet and left it need the T-Rex statue.
Catboy noticed the amulet and sped after it.
It was only then that Night Ninja realised it was off his neck.
"Are you kidding me?! That was going to be a gift for my uncle!" Night Ninja cried.
"Which you stole" Gekko added as he and Owlette managed to get back in time.
"You'll get other chances next time. The test was successful" Masque Ombre said in a low voice to Night Ninja.
As the PJ Masks retrieved the shadow Amulet and Night Ninja retreated to his hideout in fury, feeling unable to face his uncle while Masque Ombre used her shadow portal to slip away to return to her hideout.
On the way home, the Mascoundrels returned to Masque Ombre to get more answers.
"So, about Lilifée being possessed the other day, you promised you would tell us" Tera stated.
"The person who possessed her is Valarina, someone I used to know at school. I…I'm guessing her abilities affected Lilifée in a possessed way to contact you but don't worry, I think you can help her and her associates someday. So, keep training, little ones" Masque Ombre reassured them.
Once the group had left, she used her shadow portal to allow her beats to travel to the museum and retrieve the shadow amulet for her without alerting the security system.
Then she placed the amulet in a metal safe in a different room beyond the wall of her office before heading downstairs.
Back outside, Patch left his hero friends to wait for his 'contact' Léopard des neiges away from the excitement of victory in the park.
"Snow leopard, I know you helped us retrieve that shadow amulet, but I need answers. I need help to figure out these spirit powers and what the children are meant to do next!" Patch called out in desperation.
Léopard des neiges came out of his camouflage with a warm smile.
"I'm glad you noticed my small amount of help today, Patch. I will help you get better with your power but first: You need to tell the PJ Masks that their next side-mission will be looking for some of the known lost totem bracelets: Dragon, Wolf, African Hunting Dog, rabbit, butterfly, Jackal, Panther, Spotted Hyena, Raccoon, Ladybug, Badger and White unicorn.
I have a team mate called Lumière Jaune who can also assist with this mission along with possibly others in the shadows. I promise I will help your friends in things get too difficult or complicated and need extra help." Léopard des neiges explained.
"I'm glad I'll get training but…is Masque Ombre the only big threat outside the Night villians they will face?" Patch asked.
"Well about that…. She's not the only one, I need you four to read up on Egyptian mythology to be well-prepared for the future. I'll explain a little more about the lost totems another night. Oh, and one more thing, Masque Ombre isn't exactly who you think she is but I think YOU would be able to understand it better compared to me" Léopard des neiges admitted.
"Ok, thank you. Um, would you be able to help me avoid slipping inti other people's dream in my training as well?" Patch asked, quickly.
"That will be covered as well. My spirit animal will make sure we're connected the next time you're asleep" Léopard des neiges reassured the young cat.
"Thanks again for your help" Patch said with a smile.
"See you soon" Léopard des neiges replied with a wave as Patch then ran about to his friends.
"I hope next year won't be too rough without you, Patch" the snow leopard hero said, sadly to himself before turning invisible again and returning to the mountains.
It took a while for the trio to take in what they had heard but Patch had managed to update the PJ Masks on what Léopard des neiges had said their new mission was and the mythology reading they had to do without mentioning him.
"Wow, looks like we have to multi-task" Owlette said in astonishment.
"Leaping Lizards! that was a lot, huh?" Gekko exclaimed, nervously.
"We can work this out with your help, right?" Catboy asked.
"Well….I can help you plan out when you can do small searches in between stopping villians. Don't forget, you don't have to search only at night" Patch suggested.
"That is true" Gekko noted.
"Although, you remember that book we read before mentioning ninja like the Chou. I can't help but wonder if there's any left since the Ninjalinos are here…" Patch trailed off.
"I'll guess we'll find out soon. PJ Masks all shout hooray!" Catboy began.
"Because in the night, we saved the day!" they all cried.
In the secret room of Masque Ombre's hideout…
Utupë woke up at long last to see the pictures of the Chinese elemental animals.
Then Masque Ombre showed him a picture of the PJ Masks.
"They…remind me of the Nahualli(or Naguals) …..with their animal….motifs" the wooden shaman noted.
"Tell me how are the spirit animals and Naguals related to these children and their power source" Masque Ombre questioned in a stern voice.
Utupë did his best to remain calm in the interrogation.
"These children have to discover the source of their power for themselves, I can't tell you what it is. As for the spirit animals, they and the Nahualli are connected through the star. You see the naguals are not just people who turn into animals, they're also guardians just like the spirit animals. Any other questions you may have for me have to be directed to Rainbow Dreamer" Utupë explained in a steady voice.
Feeling enraged that she'd be forced to wait another year, she took out her anger on her captive with semi-violent waves of shadow energy wave attacks.
"Just because you've revealed all you can to me, doesn't mean it's over. You will only leave when I say so and you will not be allowed to meet those children and ruin MY plans, you hear? I caught you for a reason. The last thing I need you to tell me is how your staff works, then I might consider letting you go" Masque Ombre offered in a semi-playful but sly tone.
Utupë gulped in fear.
"Fine, I'll tell you but you must NOT tell anyone I revealed this" He stated in a cold voice.
Masque Ombre gave him a 'get on with it already' look in response.
So Utupë finally gave into her demands.
As this was happening, Firefly tracked the Chou Ninja to the entrance to Mystery Mountain.
"State your business, Ninja!" Firefly cried.
"We're only here to look for the lost totems. Are you a user too?" Mitsu Chou asked.
"Have you already found some of those totems?" Firefly questioned while ignoring the question.
"We know that the Ladybug in America, within Georgia while the Badger and butterfly are somewhere else" Akemi Chou added.
Firefly laughed.
"And here I thought that the PJ Masks were the only heroes in this city. Wait till Night Ninja hears about you, you'll be creamed in your sleep, butterflies!" Firefly taunted.
"Night Ninja? Is this 'Night Ninja' in the Takeshi clan?" Mitsu questioned.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Firefly suggested just as Marvin and Tim caught up to them a bit late.
The young firefly villain turned to the two Ninjalinos.
"Take these two to see Night Ninja and tell him 'I'm an accomplice' since I could tell you were following me" Firefly ordered.
After 10 minute walk, they arrived at Night Ninja's blue ninja bus hideout.
Two Ninjalinos were guarding the entrance as best as they could as Firefly approached them.
"I need to speak with Night Ninja. I have some 'special' guests for him" Firefly stated.
The two guards allowed them to pass after brief squabbling.
"So, You're the firefly villians right? My Ninjalinos told me you're an accomplice and I see you have guests" Night Ninja stated.
"Night Ninja, I, Firefly, have brought you two of the Chou Ninja that haven't been seen in this city for a really long time" Firefly revealed.
"Wait, you're THE Chou ninja?!" Night Ninja cried.
"Yes, we are. Are you from the Takeshi clan?" Mitsu asked.
"Yes, I am. State your mission here, Chou" Night Ninja requested.
"They're looking for the lost totems and already located three. Why don't we help them out, Night Ninja? We could ask Romeo's secret weapon and Renard Rusé to help with the search" Firefly suggested with a devious grin.
"Who's Romeo?" Akemi asked, innocently with a concerned expression on her face.
"You'll find tomorrow night, my butterfly companions" Night Ninja replied with a laugh.
-to be continued-
I hope you enjoyed this full version of chapter 5. I'm sorry it took so long, it's getting harder to balance my week as Christmas gets closer.
I will try to add context to Renard Rusé's anti-hero status in the Origins story (and this one) when I can.
I apologise it is getting confusing, there are times where I write and foreshadow something but I end up not knowing what I was actually foreshadowing….(It's only occurred once in this story).
Warning: Chapter 6 will be THE longest chapter I have ever done
Here's the latest list of translations regardless.
Glossary:
lumière jaune- Yellow light (The lion hero)
Oji is uncle in Japanese.
Nahualli- disguise in the Nahuatl language and sometimes it can mean personal guardian spirit.
Have a great Christmas/ holiday break.
See ya soon!