Chapter 5: Spy for a Spy
Down in the underground Noodle Factory, the workers/prisoners were already working on the many meals for Chen's Noodle House as both Gaia and Landrush were whistling/humming happily as they worked. They along with Shelly, Soundwave, and Yah-Karlof were working on the fortune cookies before Yah-Karlof noticed the two were very cheerful today. "Why ponies whistle?" he asked them. "Yesterday, ponies sad. Not today. What change?"
"Things are looking up, Yah-Karlof," Landrush told him. "Us and the others came here to find a friend, and we found him."
"Now all we gotta do now is get Frost and bust him out," Gaia added. "After that, we'll find the others, and together, we'll take Chen down."
"Yeah, but you know it's not so easy," Shelly told them after overhearing them. "Chen's made it nearly impossible to escape this place." She pointed to nearly every guard in the room.
"We're still working out the details, but Frost's a Nindroid, a walking computer," Landrush told them. "If we can get to him, he'll solve anything Chen throws at us in no time."
Yah-Karlof let out a sad sigh as he looked down. "Yah-Karlof wish he have friend like that," He mentioned.
"But first order of business, we must let Lloyd and the rest of our friends know we found him," Gaia said as she held up a fortune cookie. She then took a small red piece of paper and put it into the fortune cookie before placing it onto the tray Yah-Karlof was holding.
"You put the message to your friends in the cookie?" Shelly asked her.
"I know, right?" Landrush spoke up. "That's why it's called a fortune cookie."
"Well, if ponies get out, no forget about Yah-Karlof and others," Yah-Karlof asked the two.
"Yeah, sure. Of course," Landrush said as he waved his hoof before taking the tray. "Special order for the banquet's ready!" He told one of the guards before a guard walked up and took the train.
"I hope you both have good fortune for it to end up in the right hooves," Shelly whispered to Gaia and Landrush.
"You and the rest of us, Shelly," Gaia said while Landrush nodded in agreement, hoping their message was sent to their friends.
"Now all we have to do is figure out how to get out of here," Landrush said as they watched the guard walk up to the front door.
But the lead guard from before saw the cookies, and he smiled, drooling at them as he was about to reach the ones with fortunes, which got the four to gasp in panic. But the guard holding the tray slapped his hoof away, making the other guard whimper as he rubbed his hoof while the first guard walked out of the room.
Landrush and Gaia sighed in relief that their message was not found out as they saw the guard having the keys, they smiled at one another as they had an idea of how to get out.
Outside the Palace's gates, the Kabuki all giggled as they entered the palace, but what they did not know was Starlight, Aqua, Spike, Smolder, Dareth, and the Washouts were watching from behind the bushes.
"Wow. Talk about one big palace," Spike commented.
"If this is where the others were all this time, it makes sense why they never contact us or send us a message," Starlight added, while seeing many guards.
"Alright, gang. Let's move in," Aqua said as they were about to enter.
Smolder then stopped Aqua before they could make a move. "Wait a minute, Aqua. We can't just walk in there. The place is guarded from top to bottom," she pointed out. "And no way of sneaking or flying in without being spotted."
Dareth then saw the Kabuki mares and got an idea. "Hey, I know! Aqua, Starlight, come with me!" he said before guiding the two mares back to the D.B. Express.
Short Fuse looked confused as he turned to Spike and Smolder. "What's Dareth gonna do to them? What's his plan?" he asked in confusion.
Spike and Smolder looked at each other with shrugs. "When it comes to Dareth, the guy is unpredictable," Spike commented.
"Yeah, he usually keeps things a surprise," Smolder added with a brow.
In the D.B. Express, the two mares are with Dareth as he brings out a makeup kit.
"Have I ever told either of you that I'm the Master of Disguise?" Dareth asked as he opened his kit up, revealing lots of colorful cosmetic appliances.
"Uh, Dareth, Is that…makeup?" Starlight asked in uneasiness.
"No, no, this is the Master of Disguise kit," Dareth said with a smile, which made the four girls even more uneasy.
"No!" Aqua cried out as Dareth brought out a brush.
"Uh, Dareth. You don't have to…" Starlight tried to reason.
"Get ready to go undercover!" Dareth declared as he brushed the two mares' faces with his brush as he got some makeup on them. "Oh, yeah. Oh, that- Oh, perfect. Oh…" He kept putting some makeup on them as the two mares started coughing before Dareth turned his back on them, brought out his comb, and opened the door for Spike, Smolder, and the Washouts to see.
"What did you do to them, Dareth?" Spike asked in curious while Dareth kept a smile.
"Presenting, Miss Kabukis! Yeah!" Dareth cheered as he moved aside to reveal Starlight and Aqua, who now looked like the Kabuki servants. Both mares' fur was white and their manes were dyed black and styled in buns, but Aqua's face paint was red while Starlight's was sea green. While the latter wore a purple and red kimono, the former wore a blue and silver one.
"What the-?" Starlight asked in surprise as the two looked at themselves.
"How did you manage to change our clothes?" Aqua asked Dareth, wondering how he put them in these dresses.
"And where did you even get these things?" Starlight asked in wonder how Dareth was carrying them.
"A true Ninja never reveals his secrets," Dareth said with a smirk. "You girls should know that. Hmm…"
"Wow… I gotta admit, that's impressive, Dareth," Smolder commented as she and the rest of them were surprised by what Dareth just pulled off.
"Thanks. Years of practice," Dareth said.
"Now you two can get into the palace without anycreature's suspicion," Spike said with a smile.
"Great. While we go inside, the rest of you hide in the D.B. Express in the waterfall close and stay hidden until then," Aqua instructed.
Rolling Thunder groaned. "So… we're just waiting? I hate waiting," She complained.
"Hey, you wanted to join us, so you gotta follow our lead," Starlight pointed out. "Just stay hidden until then. We'll let you know what we find," She and Aqua walked off but not before stopping by the two dragons. "Spike, Smolder, keep an eye on the four."
"Got it!" They saluted as Starlight and Aqua walked into the palace to begin their search.
Meanwhile, in the dining hall, the remaining competitors and spectators were all in the main room as the Kabuki were serving dinner for them, while some of them were a little reluctant at some of the weird food Chen was serving.
Some of the Kabuki either offered or placed the food down while Flash turned and saw a dish that made him cringe in disgust. "Try the horned wasp egg truffles," Chen insisted with a smile. "Delicious!"
Flash touched the truffles as they jiggled a bit as he cringed in disgust. "Uh, thanks. But I think I'll pass," he said in slight disgust.
Rarity cringed at the food Chen was serving. "Is this one of your tricks Chen? Because these questionable gourmet dishes are a new low," she said while pushing some of the weird food away.
"Oh, lighten up, Princess Rarity," Chen said as he picked one of the truffles next to him while Charm and Grimoire watched in amusement as a bowl of some kind of plant-like dish was placed on the table as some of them cringed. "This isn't a trick. This is a feast to celebrate the ten of you making it to the second round." The Kabuki started clapping and laughing. "And I must congratulate both the Master of Wind and Master of Shadow's victory over Master of Poison in the Battle Royale," he added as he gestured to Flash and Shade, while Shade was enjoying his weird food.
"She was a bit hard to swallow, am I right?" Chen joked as the Kabuki laughed and clapped again. "Laugh harder! Ha-ha-ha!" The Kabuki soon laughed harder with forced smiles.
Twilight frowned at this and turned to the Kabuki placing another plate down next to her. "If this is how Chen treats you, why do you insist on working for him still?" she asked the mare quietly.
The Kabuki frowned solemnly. "We don't serve him by choice," She whispered. "We were taken from our families by his goons and forced to work here. If we try to leave, we're forced to feed the twins' pet," She explained fearfully.
Twilight nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, we're gonna stop him," she promised. "And once we're done and get you home, maybe I can offer a better occupation at my castle," She offered.
The Kabuki nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Your Majesty," she said with a bow as she walked off.
"You can relax, guys," Trail said to his friends. "Even if there was a fight, now that we told the others about Chen's dirty plot to steal our powers, we're safe in our secret alliance." Chen played with his food as he poked Grimoire with a stick while gesturing to their friends.
"He's right, as long as we stay together, we'll overcome anything," Applejack said in agreement while sitting next to Max.
"Agreed," Max added.
"I tried to enlist Shade, but that dude's throwing some serious shades," Turner said while gesturing to Shade.
"Literally," Rainbow added with annoyance. "Seriously, all he thinks about is winning."
"Well, if you plan to stop Chen, you'll need everyone on board," Garmadon said.
"Each fighter that loses, gives him strength." Luna continued as the Kabuki were forced to smile and laugh. "Soon he'll be too powerful for even all of you combined to overcome."
Lloyd turned and gave Shade a suspicious look as Shade kept eating his food, feeling off about him.
The guard holding the tray of fortune cookies went up to the door of the main room as a Kabuki opened the door, the guard gave her the tray as she entered the room.
"Oh, fortune cookies!" Chen cheered excitedly when they saw the cookies. "Bring them to me,"
"But they are for your captured-" Grimoire tried to say before Charm elbowed him in the gut. "I mean 'honored' guests," he corrected as the Kabuki brought Chen the cookies.
"I'm not gonna eat them, Grimy Grimoire, just read the fortunes," Chen said as he held the cookie that Landrush and Gaia put their message in. "They're my favorite part," he added before Charm took the cookie from him.
"Might we warn you, our guests are fond of whispering, and we don't think it's about your food," Charm said as they looked at the remaining fighters.
"She's right. We heard word they have allied themselves," Grimoire continued. "The Ninja have told them about our secret ceremony."
"Do they know about the spell?" Chen asked.
"Not yet, but we must get ahead of this," Grimoire said as Charm gave Chen back the cookie and he put it back in the tray as the Kabuki walked up to the competitors.
Chen then spoke to the competitors. "It has come to my attention that there are rumors floating about that I am stealing everycreature's power and magic." The Kabuki offered the cookies. Lloyd grabbed one, but not the one with Gaia's message. "Well… I am." he admitted to them. All the fighters gasped in shock and whispered frighteningly at Chen's confession as they spoke. "But it's all for this Staff!" He clapped his hooves as the Kabuki all waved their fans as Chen sighed. "No, no. Not you, staff." he corrected them as the Kabuki stopped waving their fans. "I mean my real Staff."
The doors opened to reveal Chen's Staff and the competitors all gasped at it as one of the Kabuki gave the staff to Chen. "The Magic Staff of Elements." Chen raised his Staff as Trail, Thunder, and Flash got their cookies but none held Gaia's message. "It holds the power and magic of your fallen foes, and soon it'll hold all but one. For the last standing in my tournament will win this prize and be the greatest Elemental Master ever in the history of Equestria!" he declared as the fighters whispered to themselves in interest from that.
"You lie!" Lloyd called out as he looked at Chen. "What about the spell?"
"Spell? What spell?" Grimoire asked with a small smirk, as did Charm.
"Don't believe them, it's just another trick," Lloyd said to the others. "Dr. Gear told me about the transformation spell during the Thunderblade contest!"
"And Grey read Charm's mind and saw it," Applejack said as they all turned to Grey, who felt nervous. "Tell them what you saw, Grey."
Grey grew more nervous as Charm glared at him. "I- I don't remember." He lied as the Ninja and Mane Six looked shocked at him. "Truthfully, I'm a bit more interested in knowing more about that staff," he said with a smile.
Turner and Topaz then grabbed their cookies while Topaz got the one with Gaia's message. "And why should we be so quick to believe everything you say?" Turner questioned them while pointing to Applejack. "How do we know you're not lying to get the Staff for yourself?"
Max turned to him with a raised brow. "Really? You're accusing the Element of 'Honesty' of lying?" he questioned with a look.
"Yeah, Applejack is a terrible liar!" Rainbow Dash added in defense. "She couldn't lie her way out of a paper bag, no offense AJ."
"None taken," Applejack said with a small smile, knowing that is true about herself.
Just then, the fighters started arguing about each other while Charm, Grimoire, and Chen looked at each other, seeing that their plan was not working as well as they had hoped. Topaz broke her cookie open, reading Gaia's message in it gasped in shock at what it said.
"Well, it semi-worked," Charm said with a frown.
"But their alliance will crumble, eventually," Grimoire added.
"So much for the alliance," Garmadon commented, seeing that their alliance was already on the brink of falling apart.
"They believe him over us?" Flash questioned in annoyance.
"Even over us royals?" Twilight asked in the offense as she brushed off a Kabuki fan in her face. "Well, it looks like if we're going to fully convince anyone, especially since Grey chickened out on us, we need more proof," she said as the fan kept fluttering in her face and getting on her nerves. "We need to… find a way… to get our hooves… on that spell." She turned to the Kabuki bothering her, starting to lose her patience. "And would you knock it off already?!"
Thunder had another fan waving at him as he pushed aside. "Argh! Yeah, please! It's a little annoying!" he called out.
The fans move away to reveal Starlight and Aqua behind them. "Twilight, Thunder, it's us." Aqua whispered.
"Starlight? Aqua?" The group all asked in surprise at seeing their two friends here.
"Lower your voices. We're undercover," Starlight whispered while looking around to make sure they were not noticed. "And to be completely honest, a bit out of our element," she remarked, gesturing to the disguises she and Aqua were wearing.
"Yeah, being a Kabuki pony is not one of my best disguises," Aqua added with a little bit of annoyance. Aqua then gave a small smile at Thunder as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. "And we heard what happened to Landrush. That was big of you both," she told them, having heard about Landrush and Thunder's fight while looking around.
"Love is like war, Aqua," Thunder said in a serious tone. "Everycreature gets hurt."
"Is it just you two, girls?" Rarity asked.
"Not just us," Starlight said as she and Aqua held up their communication bracelets. "Spike, Smolder, Dareth, and the Washouts are also on the island." She lifted her bracelet up to them as the jewel beeped a little.
"What up, Ninja?" Dareth spoke through the communicator.
"Nice to know you all are okay," Spike spoke next.
"And to see you're still kicking." Smolder joked.
"Wait, the Washouts are here too?" Rainbow asked in surprise and slight annoyance. "Oh, why are Lighting Dust and her two reckless flunkies here?"
"I heard that, Crash," Lightning Dust spoke through the communicator.
"Don't worry about them," Aqua said to them. "They're in contact with Wu and the others back home via a mobile base."
"Mobile base? That's pretty clever," Flash complimented.
"If you two are undercover, that means you both can get close to Charm and Clouse's spellbook," Trail said, seeing a plan in this.
"All we know is that it's a transformation spell and that it's on page 149," Twilight instructed. "We think they might have it in their quarters."
"We'll look into it," Aqua said while Starlight nodded before they grew concerned.
"And by the looks of things, it sounds like you have your work cut out for you too," Starlight said in worried.
"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked in confusion.
"How do you think they found out about your little alliance?" Starlight questioned.
"We heard that somecreature in your circle of trust is a traitor," Aqua revealed.
"A traitor?" they all asked in unison and shock.
Grimoire and Charm noticed the reactions as they looked at them before Starlight and Aqua flinched as they waved their fans in front of their faces and moved away from the others as Topaz walked up to Trail.
"Do you know those servant mares?" she asked him.
"Uh… know those two?" Trail asked with a nervous chuckle. "Of course not. Why, jealous?"
"My fortune tells me that Gaia found your friend Frost and she, him and Landrush be breaking out," Topaz whispered as she gave the message to Trail. "You're lucky this didn't end up in the wrong hooves," she said as Trail read the message, and was surprised by this.
"They found Frost. I can't believe it." Trail said in shock, as did the others that their friends found Frost. "Thanks, Topaz." Topaz smiled at him as she returned to her seat. "It's good to know there are some creatures here we can trust."
"A traitor in our midst? Who do you think it is?" Fluttershy asked in concern. "It could be anycreature in this room,"
"I have my suspicions," Lloyd said as he gave a suspicious look at Shade.
Rainbow however looked at Gaia's message and noted something. "Hey, Frost's name isn't on here," she said to herself before eying Topaz suspiciously. "How would she know his name?"
Outside of the palace and behind the waterfall, Dareth was listening to a classic rock song with Short Fuse as Lightning Dust, Spike, Rolling Thunder, and Smolder were covering their ears from it.
The two stallions were playing air guitar as they listened to classic rock. "Yeah! Heh, heh," Dareth exclaimed as he did a knee slide.
"ROCK 'N' ROLL!" Short Fuse called loudly.
"Guys. Guys, are you there?" Aqua's voice spoke through the comms.
Spike heard her as he turned to the two stallions. "Hey, hey! Turn it off! Aqua is talking!" He called loudly. Short Fuse and Dareth quickly turned off the music as Spike went up to the console. "We hear you loud and proud, Aqua. Talk to us," Spike said through the speaker.
"Tell Sensei and the others our objective is set: We're gonna find the spell and get proof Chen's up to no good, while our friends sniff out the mole in their alliance," Starlight explains.
"Aye, aye, Samurai X and Headmare," Spike said through the speaker. "B Team out." As he ended the comms, he turned to the rest of the group. "Well, you heard them, let's get started on contacting the others."
"One question. Do you know how to work this thing?" Lightning Dust asked while gesturing to the D.B. Express.
Spike then looked at the controls while feeling a little nervous about which one was the contact for Wu and the others back in Equestria. "Yeah, now's a good time to find the instruction manual," he said sheepishly.
Dareth then started getting to work to contact Equestria. "Breaker, breaker. Come in, Wu. The falcon has landed," he said as he pressed some buttons.
"I guess he got that handled," Lightning Dust mentioned before she turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Smolder asked her.
"To get some air and scout around the island." Lightning Dust replied. "Plus, I do not want to be here when they play that music again." The two dragons and Rolling Thunder looked at both Dareth and Short Fuse before they quickly joined Lightning Dust.
Back in the underground Noodle Factory, one of the guards was enjoying a platter of egg rolls as he tossed one up and it landed in his mouth. Gaia and Landrush were keeping their eyes on the keys around his belt before they nodded to each other. "It's time," they both said in unison.
"But shift not over for hours," Yah-Karlof reminded them.
"It is for us. Heh, heh," Gaia said as she turned to Landrush. "Landy, care for a lunch break?"
"Oh, I sure do, Gaia," Landrush said as they turned to the noodles. "I've been waiting to do this for a long time."
"Then let's eat!" Gaia declared as she and Landrush rushed to the noodle machine. Gaia grabbed the noodles, got them to Landrush and he started eating them as the losers and prisoners all cheered for them.
"Get them!" The guard ordered the others as they all rushed to the two Ninja.
"Time to go, Landy!" Gaia called as she and Landrush laughed and jumped away from a strike from the guards as Landrush pushed a wagon of flour at them, which knocked a guard down before the other kicked it back at them.
"Ooh. Aah! Unh." The two Ninja jumped and dodged the throws as they rolled across the floor to the fortune cookies, eating some before tossing the rest at the guards. They jumped on a rolling table and rolled across the room as they flipped over the noodle belt and dodged each strike before two guards grabbed them.
But Gaia and Landrush pushed them off before they were kicked to the ground as they stood up. "Let there be food!" Landrush called as he threw a crate at the guards, knocking them down as the prisoners cheered again.
Gaia and Landrush then jumped onto a crake as they dodged the weapons before they flipped to the roll's belt. "Ha! All you can eat. Eat it, guards!" Gaia quipped as she and Landrush kicked the rolls at the guards before they dodged their weapons again and ran to a table. Landrush and Gaia laughed as the former ate some more cookies on a tray and the latter used a broom on the floor to trip the guards down. "This is kinda fun!" she cheered before more guards showed up.
Landrush quickly threw the empty train at them before they ran to another conveyor belt with noodles. Gaia grabbed the noodles and used it like rope as she lassoed them and threw it towards the scaffolding above.
Gaia then grabbed Landrush as they started swinging. "Whoo-hoo!" they cheered.
"Go, Ninja, go!" Yah-Karlof and Shelly cheered to them.
But then, the noodle rope snapped, which caused the two Ninja to fall. "Whoa!" they shouted before the two of them landed in the guard with the keys in their clutches.
"Got you!" he declared before he started to squeeze them tight, only for Landrush to belch out a loud burp in his face.
"Okay, now I feel better." Landrush mentioned with a smile before looking at the guard. "You got any cake?" The Earth Pony only got a snarl in response from the guard.
It was not long before the two of them were thrown back into their cell. "Ha, it was all worth it!" Landrush called out.
"For these," Gaia said as she brought out the keys she managed to snatch from the guard. "Now let's get Frost and find a way out."
Frost managed to get the chains off his front hooves in an ice cave with an ice dragon that looked to be made of metal. Once he saw that the ice dragon was still asleep, he carefully started to make his way towards the exit and tried not to wake up the dragon. Just when he was about to start climbing up, the dragon snarled as it awoke and Frost heard its roar before he lost his grip and fell.
The large dragon then crawled over to him as Frost was frightened. "Frost!" two familiar voices called out to him as he awoke from a dream.
He looked around and saw that he was still in his cell before the door opened as Gaia and Landrush came through. "Landrush? Gaia?" Frost asked in surprise as they unlocked his chains to set his hooves free. "You've returned," he said to them with a smile as he rubbed his hooves.
"Of course, we did. We made a promise." Gaia said as Frost stood up, kissing his cheek. "It's so good to see you again."
"Now come here, you shiny new tin can," Landrush said with his hooves out as he and Gaia brought Frost into a hug. "Ah! Can you feel the love?" They soon broke the hug.
"No," Frost replied. "But the longer we stand here, the shorter time we have to find my mother and Rivet before we can escape."
"Wait, Dr. Gear's here too?!" Gaia was shocked by this news.
"Luckily, you don't have to worry about searching for us."
They turned to see both Rivet and Dr. Gear by the door.
"Frost!" Dr. Gear cheered in joy as she ran up to her son. "You're alright!" She added as she hugged Frost tightly. "And look at you! Brand new!" she laughed.
"You can thank me for that once we're out of here," Rivet told Dr. Gear. "We don't know how long before they realize we put holograms in our place."
"And it won't be long before they send a search party for us," Frost added. "Let's go."
"Ha! You know you were always the smart one." Landrush told Frost as they made their way out.
Gaia looked out the door and saw that the coast was clear. "Let's go!" She called as they ran out of the cell.
Back in the factory room, the guard scratched his side and gasped as he noticed that his keys were gone, realizing where they were as he pressed the button as the alarm went off.
Meanwhile, Aqua and Starlight had made it to the upper floors and into a library where Grimoire and Charm's spell book rest on a pedestal. They made their way over to it and opened it up as they searched for the spell. "Page 102, 122…" Aqua mumbled as they flipped through the pages.
"Aha, page 149." Starlight whispered as they found the page they were looking for. They carefully read the spell that was on it before they were completely shocked as to what transformation spell it was. "Oh, no."
"This spell will change everything," Aqua told her before they heard someone coming. "Hide!"
"Get close to me!" Starlight said as they stood close and she cast her invisibility spell.
Behind the door, Grimoire and Charm were about to enter before the guard ran up to them. "There's been a breach in the factory. Masters Landrush and Gaia have gone missing," he informed them.
"Get that page!" Starlight whispered as Aqua ripped the spell page out of the book as they stayed invisible.
"Release our pet," Charm ordered.
"She'll make sure they don't escape," Grimoire added.
The two entered the room and went up to their spellbook before looking around if anyone else was in. They saw their book had a hoofprint on the side from the makeup Aqua had as he wiped it off before he looked at his sister, who nodded in understanding.
Grimoire and Charm walk out of the room with the spellbook while Aqua and Starlight are still invisible as the door closes as the two mares sigh in relief that they are gone.
In the underground labyrinth, the three Ninja, Rivet, and Dr. Gear are running through the tunnels. "Not that way. That will only take us back to where we started," Frost told them.
"Unh. Maybe you should be leading," Gaia told Frost. "After all, you are a walking computer."
They suddenly halted in their tracks as they heard rumbling and a loud roar coming through the tunnels.
"What was that?" Rivet asked when they heard it.
"I am not familiar with that sound," Frost said fearfully.
"We are," Landrush said as he and Gaia remembered that kind of sound before they ran the other way. "We need to move!"
"I thought Frost was leading!" Dr. Gear pointed out.
"Trust us, you'll wanna keep up!" Gaia shouted before the three turned to see something slithering towards them. They saw Grimoire and Charm's pet serpent coming towards them as it hissed.
"Whoa! Wait for us!" Rivet shouted as she, Dr. Gear, and Frost chased after Gaia and Landrush. "That's got to be the biggest snake I've ever seen in my life!"
"Second for us!" Frost yelled as they kept running before they hit a dead end as Frost touched the wall, feeling scales. "This isn't a wall. It's the body of a large serpent."
"And we know what that serpent is," Dr. Gear said frighteningly.
"Come on, we have to find another way," Landrush said as they all ran to another direction, not noticing that the serpent is circling around them as they hit another path blocked by the serpent. "Argh. Another dead end." They all ran to another direction. But they all stopped as they saw the serpent circling around on every path.
"What's going on?" Dr. Gear asked.
"The serpent's strategy appears to be to surround us and coil inward," Frost theorizes. "Very clever."
"Yeah, that's great, darling, but our strategy is not to be eaten alive!" Gaia called out in panic.
"Then we might want to move!" Rivet shouted as she saw the serpent slithering towards them. They quickly jumped out of the way as it snapped its jaws at them before they were backed up into a corner.
The serpent then advanced towards them as the group was trapped. "It was nice knowing you, guys. I think this really is our dead end," Landrush griped as they looked at the serpent. Before it tried to eat them, they dodged it, causing the snake to slam its head against the wall.
"That won't keep it disoriented for long," Gaia said as the Serpent shook its head.
"I don't suppose you can freeze him, son?" Dr. Gear asked Frost.
"Chen took my powers and magic like everycreature else," Frost answered as he stood up with a determined look. "Pixal, calculate escape scenarios."
"Wait, Pixal is here too!?" Gaia shouted.
"She's the one who told me about my son and him being still alive," Dr. Gear explained before she had a confused expression on her face. "But I thought she got scrapped when we were captured."
"She did, but I made her a part of me," Frost explained.
"You got a mare stuck in your head?!" Landrush asked him as Pixal finished the calculations.
"Calculating escape routes. Activating explosive shurikens," Pixal informed Frost. Frost then took aim at the ground as he fired a few shurikens around them.
The shurikens exploded as the group fell through a hole with a scream as they landed in another tunnel before they stood up. "Heh. We're gonna like the new you," Landrush commented.
"I knew those upgrades would come in handy," Rivet said with a smile.
"We must move quickly," Frost reminded them.
"You heard my son. We can't stay here forever," Dr. Gear said in agreement.
"Lead the way," Gaia said as Frost led on as the others followed.
In Trail's room, the remaining fighters, Garmadon, Luna, and the Mane Six are present. "Like I said, I ain't joining your little alliance," Shade said coldly. "I'm gunning for that staff."
"Hey, this isn't about the alliance," Lloyd said firmly.
"This is about finding out who the traitor is," Twilight added with a suspicious look. "No one leaves this room until we find out who is passing information to Chen," she said as Garmadon and Luna guarded the doors. Each of the fighters looked amongst each other before Shade noticed Lloyd was glaring at him.
"Why are you looking at me, Lightweight?" he questioned with a brow. "I'm not your traitor."
"Perhaps I can help," Grey spoke up before he used his power to look into everyone's mind. "I don't know who, but someone here isn't who they say they are."
"How do we know we can trust you?" Topaz questioned Grey suspiciously. "Maybe I should use your power and see inside your head."
"I'd like to see you try, power hoarder," Grey challenged with a glare.
Topaz growled as she and Grey glared at each other before Trail broke them up. "This is what Chen wants, for us to fight," he said to them. "But we don't have to."
"There has to be a more civilized way around this problem," Fluttershy said.
"There is. Everycreature who serves under Chen has their flesh marred by the mark of the Anacondrai," Luna explained as she showed them her own tattoo. "If we can find the mark, we will find the traitor."
"Anycreature object?" Applejack questioned as Grey went first and lowered his shirt to show part of his back to reveal no tattoo. "Grey is clean."
"Can I go now?" Grey questioned impatiently as he lifted his shirt back up.
Applejack stopped him from leaving. "Not until we check everycreature in here." She told him.
"Okay, so who's next?" Flash asked before Turner stepped up.
"Let's get it on!" Turner declared as he showed off his back and had no tattoo either. Soon they all lined up to be checked for a tattoo.
In the main room, Chen is watching the Kabuki dancing around as Grimoire and Charm come to him with the spellbook. "You're harshing my vibe, the both of you," Chen said to the two in annoyance as Starlight and Aqua sneaked through the door as Aqua hid the spell page. "You two better tell me they've caught the escaped prisoners."
"Sadly Master, not yet," Charm answered as she and her brother gave a bow.
"But we have far worse news to report," Grimoire continued seriously. "Someone has stolen the page for the spell."
"Do you need the page to do the spell?" Chen questioned the twins.
"Of course not! We memorized it. The page is useless to us," Charm answered quickly. "But if it gets into the hooves of the Ninja and the Council, the fighters will know we've lied to them."
"Then they'll rise up against us," Grimoire added as Aqua and Starlight listened in on every word.
"Then we must find that page!" Chen demanded before he noticed a white stain on his clothes. "Argh! Kabuki paint, uh, it gets everywhere." His complaint somehow gave the twins an idea on finding the page. Grimoire and Charm gave one last look at the cover and noticed that the white Kabuki paint was still on it.
A Kabuki walked over to Starlight and Aqua, thinking that they were part of the staff, and pulled them over to dance for Chen.
"Master, we have a feeling our spy may well be in our midst," Grimoire said, gesturing to the Kabuki.
Chen looked at the Kabuki staff, getting what Grimoire was saying. "A Kabuki servant?" he asked in surprise before he gave a smirk. "Well, well."
"The spy may have the page still on them," Charm whispered to them as she turned to the guards. "Guards! Search every servant in this room!"
The guards then started searching every Kabuki staff for the spell as Starlight and Aqua looked worried as they stood back a bit.
Meanwhile outside, Dareth and Short Fuse were still in the D.B. Express as they were listening to classic rock yet again while doing air guitars. "They call me Dareth the Stallion, with the big bad guitar sound~" Dareth sang as they followed the music.
"Oh, I said spin. Spin like a record. Come on~" Short Fuse sang next as they both hopped around on one hoof.
"Yeah, spin. Spine like a record. Come on~" they both sang as Dareth accidentally hit a switch that turned on the speakers of the outside on, which played very loudly. "Dareth the Stallion and the big bad guitar band~" Dareth sang as the music was played very loud all over the island as he and Short Fuse gave a yell.
The song was so loud that they could hear it from inside the palace as the guards stopped from searching the disguised Aqua and Starlight.
"Uh-oh," Starlight muttered in worry.
"What is that racket!?" Chen demanded as the music kept playing as they looked out the open window.
"It's coming from the jungle," Grimoire said.
"It's coming from the spy," Chen corrected. "Find the music, find the spy."
"You heard him. Search the jungle!" Charm ordered the guards as they ran off as Starlight and Aqua were about to follow but Grimoire stopped them.
"As for you two, stay put," Grimoire ordered as Starlight and Aqua stopped before the twins walked away.
"Dareth, what have you done?" Aqua whispered into her communicator with concern. Grimoire with his head around when he heard her whisper, only to see both Aqua and Starlight dancing along with the other Kabuki.
Back in Trail's room, almost all the competitors had shown off their backs and they did not have the Anacondrai tattoo on them. The only three that have yet to be checked were Topaz, Max, and Shade.
"No mark yet, and we're down to the last three," Pinkie noted.
Max then stepped forward. "Just so you know, even after all this, I have nothing to hide," he said as he lowered his shirt and had no tattoo on him either.
"We know you ain't no snake, Max," Applejack said with a smile as Max got his shirt back up.
"Well, even though you might trust me, I still have to show trust," Max said with a smile as he moved aside.
"Well, only two left," Lloyd said, seeing that Topaz and Shade were the only ones left.
Trail walked up to Topaz. "Uh. I hate to do this, but it's your turn," he told her. "Can I see your back, please?"
"How could you not trust me?" Topaz questioned. "I came to you with the fortune cookie that had the message."
"Yeah, the message that didn't have Frost's name on it," Rainbow said suspiciously. "How did you know what our friend's name is? We never told you."
"I overheard you back on the docks of Manehattan," Topaz quickly explained. "You girls literally shouted his name."
"Look, I'm sorry, but we all have to know," Trail quickly told her.
"Yeah, so just take off your top and show us," Rainbow demanded with a glare. Topaz was about to reveal her back before Pinkie Pie spoke up.
"Wait, where'd Shade go?!" She called out as they all noticed Shade disappeared.
"He disappeared through his own shadow," Thunder said before Shade appeared behind Turner.
"There he is! Get him!" Turner called out.
"I ain't your traitor, and I ain't your friend either!" Shade snarled. "That staff will be mine!"
Max charged up his energy power before he fired it right at Shade. Shade however quickly dodged the attack as he dived into the shadow of the furniture on the floor. Max's blast hit the wall as the portrait of Trail fell off and landed on Thunder, who screamed in pain.
"My leg! Ugh. Get Trail off me!" He cried out.
Shade ran to the door before Luna and Garmadon managed to grab him. "You both cast a long shadow, old timers," Shade told them before he went into their shadows and opened the door as he left.
"It was Shade," Grey spoke up when Shade left. "He must be the traitor if he wouldn't let us see his back."
Fluttershy and Turner went over and got the portrait of Trail off Thunder. "Are you okay, Thunder?" she asked him.
Thunder then cried out in pain as he held his right back leg. "No… my leg. I think it's broken…" he groaned.
Trail then noticed Topaz about to leave before he stopped her. "Topaz, look, I'm sorry." Trail said sincerely.
"It's not you who should apologize to me." Topaz told him before she glared at Rainbow dash. "And if you still think I'm the traitor, watch me walk out that door." She continued to make her way out before she stopped and used her magic to reveal her back to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow then had a surprised look when she saw Topaz did not have the tattoo either but noticed something strange, the color of her back seemed a different shade of orange. Before Rainbow Dash could point that out, Topaz had already left the room.
The only ones left in the room were the Ninja, the council, Garmadon, Luna, and Max. "What happened to our alliance?" Rarity asked the others.
"It just went out the door, all thanks to Shade," Lloyd grunted as things had gone so wrong.
Back down on the main floor, Chen had laid back as a few Kabuki were pampering Chen as he relaxed on his chair. "Kabuki are always pleased to serve me. Isn't that right, Kabuki?" he asked while Starlight and Aqua are fanning him as the Kabuki laughed at them while Aqua and Starlight did not at first as they glared but they chuckled next. "Now harder! Really get into it!" he ordered the two mares, who glared at him as they fan harder.
Grimoire and Charm then came to Chen. "Our spy tells us the Master of Lightning is hurt," Charm informed, which made Aqua gasp as her leaf fan accidentally hit Chen.
"Ow! Too hard!" Chen called out to her.
"The Ninja are weakening, master," Grimoire said.
"What about their spy?" Chen asked them. "Have you found where the music is coming from?"
"We haven't found anything in the jungle yet, but we will," Grimoire assured him as Aqua and Starlight let out a small gulp.
Back outside, two guards were banging their heads to the music before their boss walked up to them. "What are you doing?" he asked the two.
"I was, uh… I was headbanging," one of them answered sheepishly.
"Taking a break," the other told him.
"Have you checked out the waterfall?" their boss asked with a brow.
"Uh, yeah, it's beautiful," the first guard said with a smile as they turned to the waterfall.
"Yeah. So serene," the second guard added.
"I meant for spies, you idiots!" the boss yelled at them, which startled them.
"Yes, sir!/Right away, sir!" the guards cried out in panic as they ran to the waterfall with their boss chasing them.
"Now come on!" the boss ordered.
Over in the skies above Spike, Smolder, Lightning Dust, and Rolling Thunder heard them. "Uh-oh," they said before flying in the direction of the waterfall.
"Whoo! Yeah!" Short Fuse shouted as he and Dareth were too into the music.
"The Brown Ninja!" Dareth called out as he lay on his back and moved on it, not hearing the comms speaking.
"Guys! Do you read us?" Aqua spoke.
"Hello? They're coming! Do you read us?" Starlight spoke next.
"They're coming for you!" Both mares cried, which got the two stallions' attention as they gasped in shock.
"SAVAGES!" Short Fuse cried out as he and Dareth looked through the console.
"Uh, where is that cloak button?" Dareth asked, forgetting where the cloak button was as Cultists came into the waterfall with two buggies. Dareth and Short Fuse then pressed as many buttons as they could, which activated the cloaking tech, but the D.B. Express turned into a noodle truck, a circus wagon, a boulder, and then a bus.
The cultists saw this as they gave amusing looks. "Check it out," The boss said as they all laughed at the two stallions as they walked up towards them as the bus turned back into the D.P. Express as the engine turned on.
Dareth and Short Fuse smirked at that as they turned to the cultists. "Now let's test what's under the hood!" Dareth called as he revved up the vehicle before the two drove off in it. Chen's men quickly jumped out of the way as it started to drive away from them. Spike, Smolder, and the other two Washouts saw them drive off before they caught eye of two snake-like jets taking off after the D.B. Express.
With Dareth and Short Fuse, the two stallions screamed in panic as they drove the vehicle to the side of the mountain and pressed more buttons to try and control it.
"Somepony get us out of here!" They both cried out as Dareth pressed a red button, which caused the back seats to eject and moved Short Fuse and Dareth to the back as a robot appeared at the controls.
"Autopilot initiated." the autopilot bot stated.
Dareth and Short Fuse smiled from this. "Ha! About time you showed up, little dude," Dareth said as he put on his Ninja mask.
"Now get us away from these creeps!" Short Fuse shouted as he saw the jets flying in, as well as a few choppers and bikes chasing them down. A rocket launcher was then set up on top of the D.B. Express as it aimed at the enemy.
"All right, boneheads! I got a bone to pick with-" Dareth was cut off as the vehicle hit a rock, which caused it to get bumped. "Ow! Ooh, aah!" He cried out while accidentally firing lasers at a huge rock on the wall.
The cultists laughed at this, but then the rock fell and caused the buggies on the back to serve and fall over the ledge as the boss growled at this. "Nice shot!" Short Fuse complimented Dareth.
"Score one for the Brown Ninja and his partner!" Dareth cheered. But that victory was short-lived as they were coming to a dead end of the cliff. This had scared even the autopilot as it covered its eyes.
"Bad autopilot. Bad autopilot!" They both shouted at it as Dareth quickly slammed the brakes and the vehicle tipped over and landed on its side before it could go over the cliff.
The two stallions panted as they opened their eyes and saw that the D.P. Express is tilting over the edge as they screamed before they got surrounded by the Cultists.
"Shorty!" Rolling Thunder and Lightning Dust yelled in worry before they were surrounded by jets.
"Oh, this is bad," Spike said in worried.
"Spike, there's too many of them!" Smolder cried out as some of the jets are coming towards them. "We can't save them or fight all of them! We have to get out of here!" she called as the jets then fired at them as they dodged the fire.
"You're right, Smolder. We need to go!" Spike said in agreement as he took out his communicator. "
"Go! We'll cover you two!" Lightning Dust said as she and Rolling Thunder drew the fire away from the two dragons.
"We'll buy you some time!" Rolling Thunder added as they drew the jets away.
Spike took the chance as he steers his jet as he and Smolder flew off into the jungle as Dareth spoke through the communicator.
"We've been taken hostage by savages!" Dareth called out as Lightning Dust and Rolling Blade's jet was then surrounded with nowhere to go.
"You two are on your own!" Short Fuse called next through Aqua and Starlight's communicators so loud that it brought the two mare's attention, including Chen while the mares fanning him.
"Go on without us!" both stallions called out.
Chen then grabbed both Aqua and Starlight's hooves when he heard it. "So, you're the spies. Ha!" He chuckled before noticing the spell on Aqua's pocket. "The spell!" he called out.
But before he could grab them the other Kabuki jumped on and pinned him down. "Run! Both of you!" one of the Kabuki told them.
"You're helping us?" Starlight asked in surprise.
"Just go!" the Kabuki called out.
The two mares did not need to be spoken twice as they ran to the door before Aqua stopped and turned to Chen with a smirk. "Oh, and by the way, your hooves stink!" she called out as Charm and Grimoire tried to catch them, but they flipped away as they collided with each other.
Chen got the Kabuki servants off him as he grabbed his staff before he fired an ice blast at the mares, but they dodged the ice blast as they ran out the room. "Get them! And get that spell!" he ordered as Grimoire and Charm chased the two Unicorns.
In the underground catacombs, two guards were walking by as they were talking to each other. "They've ordered everyone after a pair of Kabuki mares." one guard told the other.
"What about the escaped factory workers?" The other guard asked.
"Forget them. Chen will make sure the other workers pay for their actions," The first guard said as Landrush, Gaia, Frost, Dr. Gear, and Rivet looked behind them.
"Argh. Poor saps," the second guard said.
"Poor saps?" Landrush repeated in worry.
"They're gonna be punished for something they didn't do?" Gaia added in shock.
"Hurry, the exit is just around the bend," Frost said as he gestured to the path behind them as he, his mother, and Rivet followed.
"Wait, we can't go," Gaia told them. "We can't just leave the other Elemental Masters behind to be punished because of us…"
"She's right," Landrush agreed. "A Ninja doesn't save himself. He protects those who can't protect themselves."
"We have to go back." Gaia said as she and Landrush turned back the way they came. "We have to go back and save them all," She and Landrush walked down the tunnel, but the others followed right behind them.
"And a Ninja never leaves another Ninja's side," Frost said with a smile as he, his mother, and Rivet stood beside them.
"And I'm not letting my son out of my sight again. So, wherever he goes, I go," Dr. Gear said while placing a hoof on her son's shoulder.
"And I'm willing to save all those that Chen and his goons have imprisoned and get them out," Rivet said with a determined smile.
Gaia and Landrush smiled at their support. "We'll all get off this island one day, guys." Landrush promised.
"But it's either all of us or none of us," Gaia finished as the group walked back the way they came to help the other Elemental Masters and the prisoners.
Outside of the palace at night, Charm and Grimoire are searching around for Aqua and Starlight as they hide behind the door, but as the twins are about to check beside the doors, they are kicked back by the mares as they try to attack. But Aqua swung over a lamp and knocked Grimoire down as Starlight blasted Charm down the stairs with the other guards.
Starlight and Aqua then jumped on the twins as they jumped up into the roof as they started throwing roof tyles on them, which caused the twins to get hit in the heads as Starlight and Aqua ran out of site.
"Don't just stand there! Find them!" Grimoire ordered the guards as the cultists then started searching the palace for any signs of Aqua and Starlight.
Grimoire and Charm then started climbing onto the roof as they chased after the two mares as they ran across the roof and they jumped to the next one as the twins kept chasing them. They soon followed the two to the top of the Temple and chased them down as they jumped across a large gap over the next Temple. Grimoire soon grabbed hold of Aqua before the two got into a fight while Charm started to chase down Starlight.
Aqua managed to break free as she and Grimoire started fighting briefly before she rolled down the roof and chase after Charm and Starlight while the two unicorns were caught in a struggle as they tried to match each other in magical strength. They made it to the wall of the Palace as the twins tried to throw punches at the twins before they caught the mares by their collars.
Starlight and Aqua struggled to break free before they noticed something below them, they smiled as they kicked the twins off them and fell over the walls. The twins got up and looked below them before seeing one of their jets below that caught Aqua and Starlight, but what shocked them even more that Spike and Smolder were driving it.
"Sorry, but these two aren't for dancing or serving," Smolder mocked with a chuckle.
"Sorry to pick up and run, but we gotta fly!" Spike joked as he drove the jet further into the jungle as they were out of eyesight from the twins.
Grimoire and Charm growled as they turned to the cultists that managed to catch up with them. "Get them! And get that spell!" they both ordered loudly while pointing out to the jungle.
On the jet, Aqua and Starlight went inside as they saw their dragon friends. "Thanks for the save, you two," Starlight said to them with a smile.
"What are friends for?" Smolder said with a smile.
"So did you two get that spell?" Spike asked.
"We did," Aqua said as she brought out the spell, with a look of worry on her face. "And it's not good."
"Tell us about it later," Smolder said. "We need to hide in the jungle and ditch the jet before those snake creeps ponies track us."
"Not to mention Dareth and the Washouts are captured," Spike added as he turned to them. "Maybe I should send that spell to Twilight to help-"
"Sorry, no can do, Spike," Starlight said with her hoof raised.
"Why not?" Spike asked in confusion.
"Because this spell is dark magic. There's no telling what a dark magic spell will do to you if you use your fire message magic," Aqua said, having the same thought as Starlight was thinking. "We're going to have to tell the others about this ourselves."
"Which is gonna be hard, now that we have the entire island on our backs," Starlight mentioned as they went deeper into the jungle.
Back inside the temple, Chen waited on his throne before a guard walked up to him. "My spy, have they found the mares?" he asked the guard.
"No, but you may have bigger problems to deal with." The stallion guard giving him the news soon shapeshifted into Topaz. "Landrush and Gaia found their Nindroid friend, grandfather. Not to mention, the Rivet and Dr. Gear were found in their workshop were holograms, so they escaped too."
"Thank you, my child," Chen told her as Topaz walked up to him and the two shared a hug. "The Master of Form's power and Princess Twilight's magic has proven to be useful to you. But the Ninja and their little friends' time here is done. Tomorrow, we will end this charade. Tomorrow, we will break up the Ninja forever." They both shared a maniacal laugh together as a big bad plan has been cooked up by him and will not end well for the Ninja or the council.
Though Topaz stopped laughing as a guilty look came to her as she remembered the hurt look on Trail's face, 'Trail, I'm sorry,' she thought, knowing Trail would not forgive her for what comes next.