Dawn. Espio wanted to move out to the Komori's base where he hoped to find Katsumi. Noon; they were finally awake.

"We were asleep for that long?!" Vector exclaimed as they finally traded the dark forest for open meadows. "I mean seriously – anyone heard of an alarm clock?"

They marched under the high noon sun. Not a single cloud in the sky.

Mariko lead them at the front, followed closely by Espio and Vector trailing at the back. Charmy buzzed all around the group – so many new sights and such wide open spaces. This was exactly what he wanted – it's why he ran away, why he wanted to become a NECTOR Collector and he was loving it!

"Charmy, quit foolin' around – we've got a job to do!"

"B-b-but look at all the flowers!" He whined. "Just a few more minutes?"

"Didn't you hear what Mariko said?" If she can even be trusted in the first place he muttered under his breath. "You've gotta keep close – it can be dangerous here."

"Aawwww…"

Mighty had almost fully recovered from the toxins. He was carrying a still very ill Ray on his shoulders. Ray's pelt was still quite pale and matted and he often gave way to sweat and light quivering.

Mariko didn't seem to be too hot either Espio was thinking. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"For the tenth time, I'm fine." She said. "I'm okay – I can do this."

"We can find a place for you and Ray to rest – we can find the Komori on our own. You shouldn't push yourself like this."

"I always push myself like this Espio."

"But remember what Master said; 'The only perfect score as a ninja, is coming home alive'."

"I don't think that's how he said it…" She smiled.

"Well – the point is, you shouldn't try to be perfect, because you can't be perfect, Mariko. You're just going to hurt yourself, or worse…"

"I have to do this, Espio. I want to avenge Master and clear your name as much as you do. Master Shen was special to me too."

"Look, I respect that, but in this condition; you won't even be much help towards that."

"Trust me. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think I could. Besides, we were trained by Master Shen Oyama – there's nothing we're not prepared for together." She gave a cheerful smile and walked further on.

Espio stood just out of hearing range and shrugged, saying "She forgets we were still nowhere near to completing our training. The three of us were beaten by a shamisen for goodness sake…"

Vector was still very suspicious of her, he scanned her appearance, her movement – anything about her, but he didn't know much about the customs of Dragon-Land inhabitants. She refuses any offer for her to rest or be left behind, despite her condition…I don't know all that much about Ninja honour, but something tells me she's leading us into a trap.

"Hey Espio!" He called over.

"What is it?" Espio replied, slowing down to meet with him.

"Now I know you like this girl and everything but, I don't think something's right with her, y'know?"

"What're you saying?" He replied somewhat sharply.

"She just strikes every suspicious sign; she shows up out of nowhere wearing full black, she instantly is on your side after you told us what you went through with her, and she also seems to know a little too much about these bat-ninjas."

"She's another Acrodon Ninja!" He said. "Of course she's going to do those things."

"Fine, I'll admit that I'm not all that familiar with your customs here. But have you noticed how shaky she seems to be? So nervous and is always fiddling with her arm and her tail – those are clear signs of guilt Espio."

"She's unwell, and she's obviously nervous around strangers who stare at her oddly."

"Open your eyes man! And keep them looking in the same direction too. Look, she's just denied twelve times, to be left behind when even she knows it's to her best benefit. This can only mean that she's leading us into a trap – she's in cahoots with those Bat-Ninjas Espio. She's a Bad-Guy."

"You are wrong." Espio snarled. "Mariko is the most honourable person I know. Leave her alone Vector. Do not touch her." And he stormed back off to the front of the pack.

"Oh yeah? Well don't I'll save you when she turns!" He yelled back. He then laid his hand over his snout in irritation. "Gargh! How can he not see what's in plain sight?!"

Mariko stopped them in a patch of tall grass on a hill overlooking a cave entrance.

"We're here." She announced softly.

"Well?! LET'S GO!" Charmy yelled.

Mariko gently stopped him from buzzing off. "Shhh. Whoa, whoa there dear – we can't just charge in like that."

"Why? What's going on?" Mighty enquired.

"The Komori clan infamous for being master assassins. You never know where they could be watching from and you should never, EVER, underestimate them." Mariko replied.

Espio rubbed his chin in puzzlement. "Hmm. It doesn't look like a Komori village. The photographs showed them on cliff-sides, yes, but they still had buildings and such structures – it was never an actual cave."

"I don't know." She said. "They are corrupt – some even use firearms."

"Yes, we saw that…"

"Maybe they've lost so much of their honour that they're reverting to some kind of primal instinct."

Vector sighed. "Now that's just ridiculous. If that were true, we'd be able to smell their guano -"

"Ew, no. Too much info." Mariko squirmed.

"Whether they've become primitive or not, we still need a plan." Mighty jumped in.

Mariko turned to the group and said "Well Espio and I can blend in with our surroundings – we can both infiltrate and-"

Vector quickly interrupted her. "No-way. If we're going in, we go in together – overwhelm their defences."

Mariko attempted to respond to Vector's comment. "Vector, I was trying to say-"

"It doesn't matter." He snapped, glaring harshly at her before turning back to the rest of the group. "We're going together as a group, no discussion. No-one gets left behind, and no-one gets left…" He directed his gaze back to Mariko "…unattended." Mariko was clearly not impressed and neither was Espio.

Vector relayed to them his strategy. "Look guys, we all know about our Primary objective right?"

"Oh! Oh!" Charmy said, raising his hand. "To catch the bad guys! Right?"

"Yes. Years of experience, however, has told me that the 'bad guys' ain't the only thing to worry about. Our secondary objectives are to collect evidence so that we can catch these guys, we need to scout for traps or potential 'hiccups' that could slow us down and finally anything related to a 'master plan' they appear to have."

"What would that be?" Mighty asked, also raising his hand.

"That would be anything out of the ordinary of the greatest proportions – y'know like giant death missiles, miniature bombs that and stuff; anything that could be used for global domination or something." He returned to his original speech. "Now, we have no idea how big this base is, (although according to my deductions, it is most likely spanning throughout most of the mountain's structure), therefore I feel that we should split into two groups. 'Group A' will pursue 'objective A' and group B to objective B. 'A' will, of course, include Espio, myself, and…the lady ninja here, whilst 'B' will consist of Mighty, Ray and Charmy. Any questions?" Just as Mariko was opening her mouth to say something, Vector swiftly cut her off "Good. Let's move team."

"Wait!" Mariko stopped them. "Vector, my initial idea was for Espio and myself to explore, whilst invisible, the different pathways through the base – that way we all know which way to go without being detected."

"Look, you don't need to do that. I can find our way through and 'Team B' is supposed to be exploring anyway."

Mariko still wasn't satisfied with Vector's plan. "I don't think-"

Again, Vector cut her off "What's your problem lady?"

"Mariko." She snarled.

"What?"

"My name is not Lady, it's Mariko."

"Are you the empress of the Dragon Lands?"

"N-no…"

"The president of the United Federation?"

"No, but -"

"Are you the Queen of Soleanna?"

"What has this got to do with -"

"It means, that you ain't no princess, doll. Now quit your arguing so we can solve this thing already!"

Mariko's scales blazed red. "How dare you!" She stomped over to him. Vector in turn stood up straight, with his stomach slightly inflated – looking as large as possible. "You think that scares me?" She snarled, unveiling her sais. "I'm an Acrodon Ninja. I've been trained to take foes far more dangerous than you."

Vector lowered his jaws down to her height. "And I'm a crocodile – born to eat things like you for lunch – so we're even. Let's go."

Mariko was speechless. How was Espio able to put up with THAT, all this time? she thought. "FINE." She said sternly and began walking towards the cave entrance. Mighty, Ray and Charmy were quick to get out of her way as she moved past.

"I don't think that was necessary, at all, Vector." Espio said to him; his skin was a slightly redder shade.

"Oh relax will ya?" Vector exclaimed as they followed Mariko into the cave. "You'll thank me for this later!"

cave was rooted within a mid-height cliff. It was a dark brown colour and the entrance to the cave was covered by a pair of dead trees. Nearby was a small, sulphurous, pond; fed in by the small stream coming from within the cave.

"Careful guys. This is volcanic land – it might still be active." Vector warned them.

"Of course it's volcanic!" Mariko snapped, still trying to keep her voice down despite her frustration. "There're volcanoes all over the Dragon Lands. I thought he was supposed to be this 'hot-shot detective'."

Espio walked alongside her. "Just calm yourself Mariko – you know you lose your focus when you let your anger blind you."

Mariko's colours turned back to normal as she smiled. "Heheh – are you still quoting master?" She giggled.

"Well, I got you smiling again didn't I?"

They soon approached a two-way break in their tunnel.

"Where now, Vector?" Mighty asked.

Vector studied the environment around them, despite their only light being a single lit torch. C'mon Vecs…dig deep – you can do it! His face scrunched up in thought.

It was all coming back to him now; he had to use all of his senses.

The path on the right lead downhill – deeper into the mountain; it would be warmer due to the closer proximity to the underground molten rock. The path on the left appeared to spiral uphill; he saw imprints in the floor that suggested infrequent, heavy-lifting activity occurred there.

Faint voices coming from up the left path as well as the sounds of something dripping, then backed up in the of smell of; not sulphur, but water – fresh water within a mountain can often lead to a hidden aquifer. He also recognised the smell of some familiar Komori members down that path too.

The signs pointed to the fact that the right path lead to a sort of 'meeting' room where fresh water and warmth was plentiful, whilst the left path lead to a sort of holding facility where they kept their supplies. I've done better, but for what we've been through, it'll have to do He concluded his thoughts. "The path to the right will take us to the heart of their base." He finally said to his companions.

"Huh?" They reacted. Espio stepped forward "How can you possibly be so sure?"

"I was once a detective, remember? It's all about simple observations that others seem to miss…although crocodile senses help a lot too."

"Well? Let's G-!" Charmy attempted to yell, before having his mouth covered by Espio.

"Are you insane?!" Espio said to him. "You're going to get us caught!"

"So I take it nobody else has had a strange feeling about the 'guards' then." Vector said calmly.

"What do you mean?" Mighty asked.

"I'd of thought that you would know Mighty, given your…oh, I'm sorry, I…"

Mighty smiled. "No, no worries. You were saying?"

"Well, with what these guys have been trying to pull off, as well as their ninja background, one would think that the entrance would be swarming with guards. Heck – we'd probably all have been shot hundreds of times with arrows before we would be able to reach the cave's entrance!"

"Sooooo…they're not here?" Charmy said.

"What are you alluding to?" Espio added.

"Something's not right – it's not normal. All I'm saying is watch your backs."

"See? This is why my plan would've worked if you had listened to me!" Mariko growled.

Vector ignored her, turning instead to Mighty and Ray. "Mighty, how's Ray doing?"

Mighty was no longer having to carry Ray, however the young squirrel was still in poor condition. "He's better than before, but he can barely stand and his eyes are still bloodshot."

Vector scratched his head. "Hmmm. I would've liked to have you in our team; it seems like we may have a fight on our hands, but you need to watch over Ray and Charmy. I want you guys to investigate the left pathway."

"Y…Y-Y-Y-Yes sir!" Ray said, mustering a smile on his face and a salute.

"Me too!" Charmy buzzed in. "Wait, what are we talking about?"

Mighty, Charmy and Ray then began ascending the left path. "You two are with me." Vector said to the two chameleons.

"Wait, shouldn't one of the chameleons go with them?" Mariko said.

"Why?"

"That way both teams have their own invisible scout?"

"Oh-no, I'm keeping a close eye on you – think of me as your probation officer."

Mariko groaned and reluctantly lead ahead. "Fine, but I'll lead at the front. At least I can detect the guards for this group. I wish I could say the same for the others…"

"Perfect. That makes my job a lot easier."

She gritted her teeth and snarled at him.

Mariko went on to lead the way – her anger not only showing in her blushing colours, but in the way she moved; her fists clenched, her head held up high with her eyes closed, and her tail curled up closely to her body. She walked fairly stiffly, with her tail barely swaying as she did walk. Vector and Espio followed closely behind – Espio with his hand on his face and Vector with his arms still folded.

The tunnels were dark, lit only by the occasional flame-torch through the tunnel. It did not need to be well lit, for the Komori clan were well adapted to dark environments; having sharper vision and hearing than other mobians as well as a sonar-like ability making these caves their domain. There seemed to be, however, a surprising lack of Komori Ninjas in these tunnels – of anyone at all in fact.

"This is really strange…" Espio said. "Where are the guards?"

"Shhh. Listen." Mariko said. "Can you hear it?"

"Sounds like…cheering?" Vector said.

"Cheering?" Espio muttered. "What do you think it's for?"

They continued towards what was a great crowd at the centre of the cave. Hundreds of Bat-Ninjas were cheering as if there was some sort of show going on in there.

"Oh…" The three of them said, somewhat surprised as to how many there were.

"What do we do now?" Espio asked Mariko as they continued to stare at the hundreds of potential enemies.

"I…I don't really know…" She replied.

"We should be looking for those three bat-men." Vector said.

"Well how do you suppose we do that?" Espio said. "They all look the same!"

"Would ya quiet down?"

"HEY YOU! HALT!" A voice called out behind them.

"Oh great, now what?" Vector grumbled.

"Uh-oh…" Mariko gasped. "It's a guard."

The guard ran towards them with a large spear, but went soaring over them as Vector swatted out his hand at him. The guard laid out cold in the dirt.

Mariko was quite impressed. "Woah…" She said. "You sure made short work of him!" She smiled at him in hopes that he would maybe move past his suspicions. She just wanted to let go of this feud they seemed to have started – she hated having to fight with an ally.

Vector was left unswayed by her cheerful smile. "I know what you're doing lady, and it won't work." He snorted.

Mariko sadly, and in irritation, just dropped her head down and shrugged.

Espio was too busy looking towards the unconscious guard and alternating his gaze between him and Vector.

"What is it?" Mariko asked him.

Espio simply turned to her and smiled.

She smiled back. "I never thought I'd see you smile like that again."

"What? What is it? What's the Plan?" Vector asked. "I don't have to do anything stupid do I?"

"Do you remember the airport?" Espio smirked.

Vector took one glance at the guard before his pupils shrunk. "Ah snap…"

"I hate you guys so much…" Vector grumbled. He was fully dressed in the ninja costume of the guard – his scales covered in dark mud to conceal the exposed places. Espio and Mariko clung, invisible, onto his back as he walked down the aisle.

"This is so ridiculous..." He whispered to them as he joined the line of Ninja-guards approaching the centre.

"Shhhh!" Mariko said softly. "Don't speak to us! You'll give us away!"

"It's not like it was MY idea…"

"Seriously?! You're complaining about this?!"

Espio attempted to save their cover. "Really guys?! Can you stop? You're both going to give us away!"

"Well SO-RRY!" Vector replied in a huff.

A head guard overheard Vector's voice. "Hey! Who the heck are you talking to?" He shouted.

"Err…" Vector responded.

"Shimatta!" Espio and Mariko whispered in sync, quivering in terror.

"Oh – Sorry there sir. I was just practising my lines." Vector quickly stepped in. "Don't wanna get 'em messed up in front of everybody eh?" He chuckled.

"You….You don't have lines." The guard captain replied. "Just walk over there and light the wooden poles with this TORCH." He handed Vector the torch.

Vector laughed. "Oh thanks man – what a relief. I thought I was gonna mess up in front of everybody!"

"Just get in line…."

"Will do sir!" Vector then whispered out to himself "Phew! THAT was close…"

They soon came to the podium. There, they saw Atsushi Takehashi approach the stand.

"GREETINGS ALL!" He announced.

"It's like there's an entire Komori village in here." Espio muttered.

Takehashi continued "We stand here today, on the verge of a NEW DAWN. A DAWN, where we will reap the GREATEST RICHES and RISE in POWER across ALL of MOBIUS!" The audience cheered and clapped.

"Guys, I'm in my suit anyway – I can sneak on without them noticing me." Mariko said, sliding down from Vector's back.

"What're you doing?!" Espio said.

Vector, clearly not having noticed that Mariko had left, asked "Those sound like fighting words – do we attack now?"

Takehashi continued "AND NOW, I bring to you ALL, the one who made it possible..."

"NOW!" Mariko yelled, leaping up onto the podium.

He was right! Mariko was leading them into a trap! "ESPIO! IT'S A TRAP!" Vector yelled as he grabbed Espio to move him out of the aim of any incoming bombardment.

"Enough of this Vector!" He yelled before turning back and pointing his katana to the podium. "Bring out Chancellor Katsumi! Bring out your TRAITOROUS LEADER!"

"ESPIO – LOOK OUT!"