The Anti Thieving Duo
"Hello" - (Normal talking)
"What happened?" - (Thoughts)
"What do I do?" - (Flashback)
{"Hey, can you hear me?"} - (Communication)
"\Prepare for departure\" - (Radio and speakers)
Hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 8 - The French Connection Caper
(At VILE Isle)
The Faculty were all sitting in their seats, as the giant screen lowered down.
"So, do tell us, Dr. Bellum, who in the world is this Chase Devineaux?" Maelstrom asked her, as the screen showed Chase's info, along with his image.
"Formerly an inspector of Interpol. Any current assignment is completely unknown" Saira said, before she showed a picture of him eating a mint next to his car, then one with him and Julia walking through an Interpol hallway. "Devineaux was quietly transferred from his department in Poitiers, France, nearly six months ago."
This caused Cleo to widen her eyes upon hearing this. "Poitiers? Where I keep a residence?" she asked.
"The very residence that was looted by Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki nearly six months ago. A coincidence?" Maelstrom asked with a raised eyebrow, while his fingers were pressed together.
Brunt then looked at everyone, as she said "Devineaux was there that night. Black Sheep and Dark Fox delivered Crackle to him on the train to Paris, wrapped up all pretty with a bow."
Cleo had a scowl appear on her face, as she said "This Devineaux had also barged into my Swiss chateau during a dinner party, distracting me long enough to allow Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki to make their escape with my precious stolen Vermeer paintings in tow. And to think, I'd suspected that charming duke of being their inside man" finishing with a cocked eyebrow.
Maelstrom had a raised eyebrow, as he said "Then it would seem that we've discerned a pattern, one which explains how Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki have repeatedly foiled our plans with such a high rate of success" finishing with a scowl, while his index fingers rested against his chin.
"Indeed. They aren't working alone" Bellum said with a frown.
Coach Brunt had a frown on her face. "It sounds to me like we have ourselves a plan B, as in 'bait' to capture those two" she said with a grin.
Cleo looked over at Brunt before facing the front. "Catch Chase Devineaux, and we finally catch the elusive Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki" she said with a frown, as she looked at Chase's smiling image.
Gunnar glanced over to Brunt, before looking at the screen himself. "We'll put Paper Star on the case. She led us to ACME, after all" he said with a smile, as he raised an eyebrow.
"This is not child's play" Shadowsan said with a scowl. "We do not know if Black Sheep and Dark Fox have partnered up with a rogue policeman or a high-level law enforcement agency" he said with a cocked eyebrow, as he looked towards Professor Maelstrom.
"Then whom would you suggest that we send, Shadowsan?" Maelstrom asked with interest.
"I will go" he said as he stood up, which caused the others to look shocked.
Shadowsan had a scowl on his face, to hide what he was really thinking. "Hopefully I can talk to them, and explain some things to them," he thought to himself privately.
0o0o0o0
(With Chase and Julia)
Chase and Julia stood before the hologram of Chief, with Chase wearing a different jacket, since his own was destroyed.
"Agent Devineaux, you are a walking disaster zone!" Chief said with a scowl. "First, you somehow managed to waterlog not one but two ACME-issue vehicles. Do you have any idea what fully loaded, custom Blanton-Webster's cost?" she asked him with a slightly raised eyebrow.
Chase had a look of puzzlement on his face, as he said "Uh…." not knowing how to answer.
"And when you're not turning our automobiles into submarines, you're losing keycards loaded with classified intel and proprietary technology" she finished, as she gave him a hard glare. "Please tell me you still have your communicator pen in your possession" she said, as she clenched her hands into fists.
"Uh, yes, Chief" Chase said, as he opened his jacket to show the Chief his pen in his shirt pocket, before closing the jacket up again.
Chief looked Chase up and down curiously. "Are you joining a K-pop band?" she asked him, with raised eyebrows.
Chase looked down at it, while shrugging his shoulders. "I was cold. It was on sale" he said with a slight smile, as he darted his eyes off to the side before looking slightly uneasy.
Chief then raised an eyebrow, while looking at the two of them. "Both of you stand still," she said to them, before the female agent behind her held up a remote and pressed a button on it. This caused a device to appear from the ceiling, which began to scan them and caused Devineaux to gasp in surprise, before it went back into the ceiling.
"ACME's virtual tailor. You've both been fitted for regulation suits" she said, as she held up a holographic screen in her hand, which showed images of them wearing ACME uniforms. "By the way, fine work securing the Magna Carta, Agent Argent. Saving the symbol of democracy. Now there's a career maker!" she said with a smile at Julia.
Julia returned the smile with one of her own, before she gained a look of slight concern. "I didn't do it alone" she said, as her eyes darted over to Chase, who she saw had a displeased frown on his face.
Chief just nodded her head at this, as she said "Regardless, thank you for getting them back" before her hologram disappeared. The female agent went and picked the pen up, while Chase stormed out of the room as he slammed the door open, with Julia opening the door after it closed to follow after him.
"You did not do it alone, eh?" Chase asked with a raised eyebrow, as Julia jogged over to catch up with him.
"Of course not. You are my partner" she said with a slight frown, as Chase looked off to the side with his own frown.
"Do not be coy with me, Ms. Argent! I know that you were referring to La Femme Rouge and L'homme blond, your silent partners" Chase said with a glare, as he glanced at her.
This caused Julia to walk in front of him, and glare back at him. "And? What if I was? Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki left the Magna Cartas on my train seat, presumably for me to find. They even returned stolen Vermeers to museums and ten-million-dollar postage stamps to children's charities" she said.
"Stealing things only to return them makes absolutely no sense" Chase said, as he looked off to the side with narrowed eyes.
"I agree, which is why I do not believe they're stealing these things to begin with," Julia said.
"So, would they be returning stolen things to show that they can do my job better than me? Simply to make me look like some sort of law enforcement imbecile?" Chase asked, as he clenched his hands into fists.
Julia had a look of anger on her face, as she said "Why must it always be about you?"
Chase leaned in close to her. "Maybe you should be the one to tell me since you are clearly Chief's favorite" he said to her, as he pointed at her then himself, before he waved his hand in the air while leaning back, as he crossed his arms and looked off to one side.
Julia gave a growl of frustration at this, as she clenched her fists. "You are impossible! Have you forgotten to factor VILE into any of your thinking?" she asked him, before she turned around and stormed off.
Chase watched her go with a frown. "You mean the non-existent entity that our chief has been trying to prove exists for 20 years? At least I have seen Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki with my own two eyes" he shouted after her. "And they're out there somewhere, no doubt planning something nefarious at this very moment" he said to himself, as he narrowed his eyes.
0o0o0o0
(At a beach)
Naruto and Carmen were sitting on beach chairs under an umbrella, with Carmen hugging her knees while Naruto was reading a book; which was about an ordinary boy who one day was suddenly thrust into the world of spies and espionage. He was only about halfway through the first book, where the boy was getting a driving lesson from his uncle (If you guess the book, you win a free cookie.)
Carmen was wearing a red and black one piece swimsuit with sunglasses with a black and red hat that had a white ribbon round it, while Naruto wore orange swimming trunks, with blue lines going down the sides, along with a white cap and sunglasses.
"Player, what have you got for us?" Carmen asked him, as she looked out at the sea.
{"Itching for a caper already, Red? After one-upping your ex-instructor, I figured you'd finally be ready to take that well-deserved vacay,"} Player said to her.
"Chilling makes me fidgety. And, trust me, Shadowsan's already plotting his next move" Carmen said with a frown.
{"What about you Naruto? You want to stop someone from stealing a valuable set of vases, or something?"} Player asked him.
"Naw, I'm good, thanks. Unlike my girlfriend here, I can relax when I need to" Naruto replied, as he turned a page in his book.
"Hey, Carm, Naru, check it out!" Ivy yelled out, causing them both to look over with raised eyebrows. "VILE Central. Wicked, wicked, right?" she waved at them, while poking her head round an impressive looking sandcastle that she'd built.
Before anything else could be said, they all heard Zack yelling out in joy, as they saw him riding a wave on a surfboard, which was approaching Ivy and her sandcastle, before it crashed down and destroyed it, while sending Zack crashing into Ivy and caused them both to spit out some sand and salt water, before Ivy shoved Zack off her as she stood up and scowled at him, before she walked off while Zack looked sheepish.
"You sure there's nothing else you can turn up on the hard drive?" Carmen asked, hoping there was something to do, as she played with a lock of her hair.
Player was typing on his computer, while the VILE harddrive was plugged in. "It's been a while since you snatched it from VILE. We've pretty much combed through every last bit of data on here, Red. You may need to sneak back to the Isle of VILE and bring the rain all over again" he said with a smile.
Carmen and Naruto both scowled at this. "No, Player. We are never going back to VILE Island" Carmen said.
"Agreed," Naruto added, before returning to his book.
0o0o0o0
(Isle of VILE)
Shadowsan was looking up at the helicopter, as the Cleaners were on board it as they started it up, with the rest of the Faculty standing behind him.
"Are you absolutely certain the field trip is necessary, Shadowsan?" Professor Maelstrom asked him. "We have an army of operatives to choose from," he added with a grin.
Shadowsan glanced back with a side glance at this. "Our Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki problem must be tied off decisively, once and for all. It is time that they contend with one of our own in the field" he said, as he climbed up the stairs, with his hand on his katana's handle.
Before he went too far, Coach Brunt spoke up. "I agree with Shadowsan 100 percent" she said, with her arms crossed. This caused the other three Faculty to gain looks of shock, as they looked at her. "That's right, for once. I'll go as well," she said with a smile.
Shadowsan looked over his shoulder upon hearing this, with a glare on his face. "Absolutely not. The coach is too soft towards her dear Black Sheep and Dark Fox" he said, with a raised eyebrow.
Brunt walked over to Shadowsan, bumping against Bellum as she did so, before she stood behind him. "At one time, that statement might have been accurate. But after they both went and betrayed the only family they knew, Black Sheep and Dark Fox are dead to me. And Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki must pay!" she said with a hard frown.
Professor Maelstrom looked at Cleo and Saira with a slight smile at this. "Well, all in favor of both Shadowsan and Coach Brunt attending to this matter?" he asked them, before raising his hand, with the other two following suit, along with Brunt who gave a grin at Shadowsan.
Shadowsan grumbled in annoyance at this, while thinking "Looks like I'm gonna have to change my plan for meeting the two of them" he thought to himself, as he and Brunt walked up to the chopper and climbed in, before the Cleaners took off while the other three watched them go.
0o0o0o0
(Sometime later, in France)
Chase was in his apartment's bathroom, as he stared at himself in the mirror. "I cannot stand the sight of you! You are only good for wrecking cars and bullying your partner" he said to himself with a frown, while pointing a finger. He opened up his cabinet, and grabbed the toothpaste on the shelf, before closing the door.
He then had a look of worry appear on his face, as he continued saying "Ms. Argent is only trying to do her job. She cannot help it if she is misguided. Although, she may wind up running ACME someday. I should be nice and bring her Napoleons from the patisserie tomorrow" as he put some toothpaste on his toothbrush before putting it inside his mouth, as he brushed his teeth.
As he brushed, a lot of foam escaped from his mouth. "Wow. Foamy" he said in surprise, while speaking round the toothpaste foam.
He looked at the toothpaste container, and saw that it was green and had a 'V' on the side of it. And as he looked at it, he noticed that his vision was getting blurry. He garbled out some words, before he closed his eyes and fell over backwards, while dropping his toothbrush, and the toothpaste.
The door then opened to reveal the Cleaners, who entered the bathroom and dragged Chase out.
0o0o0o0
(With Naruto and Carmen)
Naruto and Carmen were watching the sunset, as they sat on the beach next to each other, just out of the waves reach.
As they were gazing out on the water, their comms beeped. {"Guys?"} they heard Player asking them.
"What is it Player?" Naruto asked him.
"Yeah, I'm just beginning to unwind," Carmen said with a smile, as she leaned against Naruto.
{"Uh, don't get too comfy"} he said to them, causing them both to frown slightly at this. {"I was poking around on the deep dark web to see what I could scrape up, and I stumbled on a message for you both"} he told them.
This caused them to look at each other, with raised eyebrows. "What does it say?" Naruto asked him.
"It says: 'If Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki want to see their partner Chase Devineaux again, they both need to surrender.' And the only other thing with it was Chase's picture" Player said with a look of worry.
Naruto and Carmen both looked slightly confused at this. "Partner?" Naruto stated, as both he and Carmen raised an eyebrow at this, before their eyes widened in realisation. "The keycard," Carmen said. They both quickly stood up, with clenched fists. "They'll never let Devineaux walk away," Carmen said with a frown.
"Agreed," Naruto said with a nod.
{"It smells like a trap"} Player said in warning.
This caused Naruto and Carmen to look at each other. "Of course it's a trap, which is why we'll need to be cautious," Carmen said with a confident smirk.
Naruto had his own smirk, as they walked off. "Now, where are they keeping him?" Naruto asked Player.
0o0o0o0
(With Chase, sometime later)
Chase had his eyes closed, as he gave a groan before he groggily opened his eyes with a "Huh?" before he gave another one with a raised eyebrow, as he became more aware and noticed where he was. He noticed that the place was full of some random pieces of furniture, with his hands handcuffed behind the chair, while his feet were tied to the chairs legs.
Before he could do or say anything else, he heard someone say "Bonjour" and looked to see two people hiding in the shadows, before they stepped into the light, to reveal it was Coach Brunt and Shadowsan (not that Chase knew what their names were.)
"The hard way or the easy way?" Brunt asked him with a glare, with her arms crossed, while Shadowsan had his folded inside his kimono with his own glare.
Chase looked slightly worried, but put on a brave front. "Uh, is this where you appear to issue my replacement keycard? Very funny!" he said, as he gave a small nervous laugh.
Brunt and Shadowsan didn't look amused, as they stood before him. "Spill it, sugar. ACME" Brunt said with a frown.
Chase gave her a look of confusion at this. "Uh, ask you what?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow.
Brunt rolled her eyes at him, as she gave a slight huff of annoyance. "Not ask me, ACME! I've seen your keycard" she said, leaning forward so that he could hear her better, before leaning back.
Shadowsan put one of his arms through the kimono sleeve, before he pulled his sword round from his back. "What can you tell us about Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki?" he asked Chase with a glare.
"Why ask me? You two thugs work for them, do you not?" Chase asked with a shrug, before frowning at them.
Coach Brunt gave Chase a smirk, before walking off to the side, where there was a box sitting on a table.
"Wait. Must we do this the hard way?" Chase asked in worry, as Brunt opened up the box and rummaged about in it.
Coach Brunt then stepped away from the table, before giving Chase a smirk. "Oh, no, handsome. The easy way with a little something we like to call 'the truth extractor' since the hard way isn't as fun" she said, as she held up some kind of helmet before walking over to him and placed it on his head.
Chase looked concerned, as he watched the helmet turn on and started to glow and hum. "No, no. No, no, no!" he said, as he squirmed in his seat.
What no one inside the room knew was that Red Drone was outside at the window, while Naruto, Carmen, Zack and Ivy were on a rooftop on the building opposite, with Naruto and Carmen at the edge of the roof as they looked over.
"Got a visual, guys" Ivy said, while Zack was rummaging about in a bag. They soon heard Chase singing in French, which caused everyone to frown. "And audio" Ivy added.
Chase raised and lowered his eyebrows, as he continued to sing in French.
"What's he crooning about?" Brunt slightly yelled over Chase's singing, with a raised eyebrow.
"It is the French national anthem. He is attempting to cloud his mind to keep from telling the truth" Shadowsan replied, while slightly yelling himself.
Coach Brunt gave a smug smile, while crossing her arms. "I'd spill the beans, sweet pea" she said, before leaning in close to him. "Prolonged use of this device is not recommended. The longer it clings to your brainpan, the more you risk it permanently scrambling your eggs."
Chase just screamed in her face, while still singing in French, which caused Brunt to frown at him before she gagged him, by stuffing a handkerchief in his mouth. Chase just frowned at this, while still singing with the kerchief in his mouth.
Coach Brunt stood back up, and said "Give it a minute. He'll be singing our tune soon enough," as she looked at Shadowsan with a smile and a raised eyebrow, who slightly raised his own at her.
Back on the rooftop across the street, the screen on the Red Drone controller showed their faces to the group of four. "Looks like a Faculty field trip. We'll need to even the odds" Carmen said with a frown, which caused Zack and Ivy to smile at each other while Naruto nodded in agreement.
0o0o0o0
(Sometime later)
Chase was slightly sweating, while his eyes were a little bloodshot. "ACME is a covert surveillance organization, dedicated to learning everything," he said.
"About what?" Shadowsan asked him curiously.
Chase gave a laugh, before saying "Something that probably doesn't even exist" while leaning his head to one side.
"Try us," Coach Brunt said, with narrowed eyes.
"Sounds like 'bile' or something like that," Chase said, as he looked at them with wide eyes.
Brunt and Shadowsan glanced at each other.
"And what exactly do they know about this 'bile'?" Coach Brunt asked him, as she crossed her arms, while giving him a frown.
Before Chase could answer, the two Faculty members heard tapping at the window in surprise, and saw Red Drone knocking itself against the window. After hitting the window a few times, it flew off to reveal Carmen standing on the rooftop across from the building.
Both Faculty members frowned at this. "I will attend to this" Shadowsan said with a glare, and headed for the door with Brunt watching him go. "Find out everything he knows" he yelled over to her, before opening the door, and ran off just as Carmen did on the rooftop.
"Who went and made him the boss of me?" Coach Brunt asked with a scowl. "Sit tight, sweetie," she said to Chase, before walking over to the door.
Chase just gave a slight groan at this.
0o0o0o0
(With Shadowsan)
Shadowsan ran along the rooftops, as he chased after Carmen, who jumped across from one rooftop to another, with Naruto looking up as he watched her go, before he ran off.
0o0o0o0
(Back with Coach Brunt)
Brunt had left the building, and was looking around while placing her hand on a piece of metal.
"Now where did old stoneface disappear to so fa...?" she was asking, before she stopped herself, as she spotted Naruto running down a street.
She gave a smirk at this, and crushed the metal. "You'll do" she said with an evil smirk , before following him.
But what she and Shadowsan didn't know was that Ivy was dressed as Carmen, while Zack was dressed as Naruto, as they led them away from Devineaux.
Zack was hiding behind a building, as he peeked round the corner, to see Brunt looking around, before dashing off in a random direction.
"Orange looks good on me," Zack said to himself with a smile, before he took off. He skidded to a stop, and ran into an alley while looking over his shoulder, in case Coach Brunt was following him, and when he looked in front he gave a gasp, as it was a dead end.
"Uh-oh" he said in worry, before glancing back. Brunt was just passing the alleyway, when she heard a thud, which peaked her interest.
She gave a smirk, before she entered the alley. She took a quick look around, before she turned and left.
Zack was hanging on a gutter pipe, and once he was sure Brunt had left he looked down and gave a sigh of relief. Before he could do anything else, the pipe was torn off the wall with Coach Brunt holding it, as she shook it slightly while Zack hung on for dear life. "Oh no" Zack said in worry.
Brunt then slammed the pipe down into the garbage at the end of the alleyway, before tossing it aside and strolled over. When she arrived, she was surprised when she saw that it wasn't Naruto at all, as Zack was mumbling nonsense with a banana stuck to his head and his wig off, before he fainted.
"Bait and switch," Brunt said with a frown, as she turned around and ran off.
0o0o0o0
(Back at the building)
Naruto and Carmen entered the room that Chase was in. "Player, we're in," Naruto said, touching his earpiece.
They walked over to Chase, who was groaning as he mumbled nonsense in French, while still sweating. He gave a grunt and looked up as he heard them approach, before he glared at their blurry forms. "So, you show your faces! I knew you were behind this" he said with a laugh, before giving a sigh.
Naruto and Carmen both stood in front of him, before Naruto removed the helmet off him, which also caused it to turn off. "Shh. Take it easy, Devineaux. You've got to save your strength. We need to get you out of here" Carmen said, as both her and Naruto looked at him in concern. She then went behind the chair, and pulled out her taser and used it to zap the handcuffs, while Naruto untied his feet.
Once the cuffs fell off, Carmen went back round the front, and placed her hand on his shoulder with a slight smile. But Chase held up his hand, revealing he was holding a pen, and pressed on the tip of it causing both Naruto and Carmen to gap at hearing a small beeping noise, before Devineaux fell out of the chair unconscious, while dropping the pen.
Carmen and Naruto stepped back at this, and looked at the pen with looks of surprise, as it rolled for a moment, before standing itself up and revealed a hologram of a black woman in a suit, who had her hand over her eyes.
{"What is it now, Agent Devin...?"} she was saying in slight irritation, before she stopped herself, when she saw the state Chase was in.
She then looked over her shoulder with narrowed eyes, where she saw Carmen and Naruto, who looked at her in slight worry.
She looked slightly surprised, as she turned around to face them fully, before she gave a smile. {"Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki, I presume"} she said, with a raised eyebrow.
They both looked at her in surprise, before Naruto quickly went and smashed the pen with his foot, which caused the hologram to disappear, just as they saw a brief look of shock on the woman's face.
Naruto stepped back, as he and Carmen looked at the pen's shattered remains. "Who the heck was that, and how'd she know our names?" Naruto asked in surprise.
Carmen shook her head at this, having no idea.
0o0o0o0
(At Julia's apartment)
Julia was fast asleep in her bed, with her bedside radio showing the time to be 4:28 in the morning, when her ACME pen suddenly started beeping. She sleepily reached for it with a sigh, then picked it up and pressed on the clicker to activate it, before placing it back on the bedside table so that she could put her glasses on, while sitting up with bleary eyes.
The hologram of the Chief appeared before her. {"Agent Argent, we have a man down. Your partner"} she said with a frown.
"What?" Julia exclaimed in shock, as she sat up more straight at hearing this.
{"I was able to triangulate Devineaux's exact location moments before I lost contact. I've already called in the local gendarme"} Chief said with narrowed eyes.
0o0o0o0
(Back with Naruto and Carmen)
Naruto and Carmen were trying to carry Chase out, but he was quite heavy to lift.
"Come on, Devineaux. We need to get you out before it's…" Carmen was saying, as she and Naruto tried to lift him, before they heard Coach Brunt's voice saying "Too late."
They both looked at the doorway, and saw her shadowed form before she stepped into the room, with a frown on her face. She then closed the door behind her, and turned around to bend the metal bar so that it couldn't be opened again, before she turned back around and started walking towards them.
Naruto and Carmen watched her do this, while glaring at her. "Coach Brunt. Long way from campus, aren't you?" Carmen said, with sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Yeah. Shouldn't you be teaching someone how to defend themselves or something?" Naruto added, with sarcasm in his voice too.
"The two of you didn't expect to move away from home without a visit from mama bear, did you?" Brunt asked rhetorically, as she cracked her neck with narrowed eyes. "And I'm not sure I approve of the law-abiding company you're both keeping these days."
They both shrugged their shoulders at this. "Rebound relationship actually. As we needed a change after all the criminals and psychopaths" Carmen said, as they both glared at Brunt, as they both held onto Chase.
They both glanced at the window off to the side, thinking of using it to escape, before Coach Brunt stood in front of it. "Now, you know I can't let you leave again, Lambkins and Whiskers" she said with her arms crossed, while looking at them with a smirk.
"Yeah, that's what we figured," Naruto said with a scowl, before he and Carmen slid their grappling hooks into their hands, and fired them at Brunt, who dodged by leaning to the side, with a look of shock as she gave a small gasp.
The hooks went around a pipe over the window a few times, before latching onto it. Naruto and Carmen then pressed a button on the guns, which pulled them towards the window, with Naruto hanging onto Chase as they did.
As they went past Brunt, she was quick enough to grab onto their legs with Naruto and Carmen giving gasps of surprise. Coach Brunt then pulled them both down, and spun them around, with Naruto forced to let go of Chase who tumbled on the ground, as she threw them over to the chair as they both yelled out, before they slammed into the chair causing it to break, and making them grunt in pain as they bounced slightly on the ground.
Player looked worried, as he exclaimed "Guys, are you okay in there?"
Carmen and Naruto looked up at Coach Brunt, as she walked over to them and saw she was about to grab them. They quickly rolled onto their backs in opposite directions to avoid her, and flipped over her.
Brunt walked over to them as they backed up slightly, before Carmen gave a yell and kicked at her, which Coach Brunt blocked with her arm, before she hit Carmen into a storage shelf, causing Carmen to yell out in pain, as she fell to the floor, while holding her stomach.
Naruto then attacked her, by trying to kick the back of her legs. But Brunt was able to stop his kick, by quickly turning around and grabbing his leg. She then threw him over to the storage shelf, where he hit the middle shelves before he slid to the ground next to Carmen, as he groaned out in pain.
"Did you two learn nothing in school?" Coach Brunt said sarcastically, with a smirk on her face as she walked over. "You always protect the face, and never enter a room without an exit plan" she said with a frown.
Carmen looked around for a moment, before she spotted a wrench on the floor that must have fallen from one of the shelves.
She quickly picked it up, before she got to her feet and tried to hit Brunt with it, who avoided every swing with a look of indifference. Naruto soon climbed to his feet, and pulled his batons out with a frown, before he joined Carmen in trying to hit Coach Brunt.
Brunt dodged their swings, and when Carmen tried to jab Brunt's head with the wrench, she just leaned her head to the side. But this was really a diversion, as Carmen jabbed her taser into her stomach, and zapped her with it while frowning up at her.
Naruto was quick to get next to Coach Brunt, and activated the electrical tips on his batons, before jabbing them into her side, giving her even more electrical pain.
Brunt grunted from the pain she was receiving, while clenching her eyes shut as electricity danced across her body, as Naruto and Carmen glared at her.
Brunt glared back at them, and fought through the pain as she grabbed hold of them both, which caused them to get electrocuted, making them both let out a yell of pain as they reeled back, while making Carmen drop her taser with Naruto keeping hold of his batons. They both glared at Coach Brunt, before Carmen swung the wrench to try and hit Brunt with it, but she backhanded it out of Carmen's hand, where it landed next to a sewer grate.
Brunt tried to grab them, but they both slid underneath her, before standing back up with Carmen running towards the door, while Naruto connected the bottom parts of his batons together to make a staff, which he used to hit the back of Brunt's legs, causing her to stumble forward slightly before she righted herself.
Coach Brunt turned around, and grabbed his staff before she swung him into the wall, making him yell in pain, before sliding to the ground.
Brunt then walked over to Carmen, who was trying to get the door open but it wasn't budging one bit. Brunt grabbed Carmen by her coat, who was briefly surprised, before Brunt turned around as she threw her out of the coat, where Carmen gave a yell before hitting the ground next to Naruto. All of her gadgets fell out of the coat, before Brunt ripped it in half as she advanced over to them.
They both stood up with an eye closed in pain, with Naruto leaning on his staff while Carmen held her side, before Carmen threw a punch at Coach Brunt, who grabbed her fist with a frown. Carmen looked worried, before she got gut punched by Coach Brunt, causing Carmen to cry out in pain, as she flew through the air, before skidding on the ground for a moment, and when she stopped she gasped for air while in pain.
"Carmen!" Naruto yelled out in worry. He glared at Brunt, before he ran forwards and used the staff as a way to vault himself towards her, while extending his leg to kick her in the stomach.
Brunt grabbed him by the leg before he could, and spun around before throwing him back the way he came, where he rolled on the ground, before he ended up next to Carmen.
The two of them noticed that they'd ended up next to the sewer grate. They tried to rattle it open, but saw that it was padlocked shut.
Coach Brunt was stalking towards them, with a stern look on her face, as she said "I know how much you both wanted to get out and see the world, pumpkins, but trust me, it's a world of hurt."
0o0o0o0
(Meanwhile)
Shadowsan was still chasing after Carmen, not knowing it was actually Ivy in disguise. He stopped on a rooftop, and placed his hand on his sword's grip. Ivy was hiding behind a piece of wall on another rooftop, when she heard police sirens.
"Oh, man, oh, man" she said in worry, as she peaked over the roof, watching the police cars go driving by.
Shadowsan looked down himself, and frowned slightly before he turned around and ran off.
As the police cars drove along the streets, they passed the alley where Zack was laid in the garbage, as he moaned before he quickly sat up. "Huh? Huh?" he said, as he looked around, before seeing the police cars driving past the alleyway.
Player was looking at his screen, which showed him a sign for police heading towards where Naruto and Carmen were. "Come on, guys, you just need to buy yourself a little more time. Backup's on the way" he said in concern.
0o0o0o0
(Back with Naruto and Carmen)
Naruto and Carmen used their arms to keep themselves up, while slightly sweating. "You rescued us from the side of a road, only to lure us here so you could pound us into dust?" Carmen said, as they looked up at Brunt with a glare.
Coach Brunt laughed at this. "Believe you me, Lambkins, that is one stone you and Whiskers don't want to turn" she said with a slight frown, as she folded her arms. "But I promise to let bygones be bygones, if you both promise to be good, and return back to the island" Coach Brunt said, as she knelt down in front of them.
Both Naruto and Carmen glared up at her, upon hearing this. "Then you better pound harder, because we're never going back to VILE Island" Carmen said with a hard glare at Brunt.
"Yeah, especially with how creepy and everything it is there" Naruto said in agreement, giving Brunt his own hard glare.
Coach Brunt gave a sigh at this, as she rubbed her fingers on their cheeks. "After every little thing we've ever done for you" she said, as she grabbed their chins and made them look at her, after they turned away before she pulled them into a hug. "Come here, little cubs. Let mama bear give you one great, big last hug goodbye" she said with a glare, as she squeezed her arms around them, causing their bones to crack as they both gasped for air with their eyes widening.
Before Brunt could suffocate them, she gave a grunt of surprise as she widened her eyes. Naruto and Carmen panted for breath, before their own eyes widened in surprise, upon seeing that Shadowsan had pinched Brunt's neck.
Both Naruto and Carmen backed away to the sewer grate in surprise, causing Coach Brunt's body to slump forward slightly as they did, with Shadowsan's hand still on her neck before he let go of her, causing her to fall over while closing her eyes.
Naruto and Carmen watched this in shock, before frowning at him "Still infighting, huh? Well, we weren't going back with Coach and we're definitely not going back with you" Carmen said.
Naruto gave a nod of agreement at this, as he said "So if you wanna fight, we'll give you one" he said in determination.
Shadowsan stepped over Brunt's fallen form, and walked over to them. As he did they both looked worried, with Carmen looking at the wrench next to her while Naruto turned his staff back into two batons.
Shadowsan placed his right hand on his katana's grip, while his left held the sheath. "I did not come here to take you back" he said, as his thumb pushed the guard of the sword. He then fully pulled the sword out with a grunt, and swung it before running over towards them with a yell. Carmen grabbed hold of the wrench, while Naruto held his batons at the ready.
Player heard the sound of the katana striking some metallic, before there was silence. "Carmen? Naruto?" he asked in worry, while holding onto the computer screen.
Shadowsan stood up, and slightly swung his sword before him, where he dragged it over the sheath before putting it away. Naruto and Carmen were surprised that they were still alive, and looked down at the sewer grate, seeing that the padlock was cut in half.
"I... I don't understand" Carmen said in confusion.
"Ditto," Naruto said.
Shadowsan took his sword out of his belt and placed it on the floor, before he kneeled down by the grate and opened it up. "Follow me now. No questions" he said to them both.
They looked at each other with raised eyebrows, before looking back at Shadowsan. "What?" they asked at the sametime.
"That is a question" Shadowsan said, with a slightly raised eyebrow.
The three of them then heard police sirens in the background. Naruto and Carmen then looked over at Chase in slight worry. Shadowsan followed their eyes, and looked over his shoulder at Chase's unconscious form, before looking towards where the sirens were coming from with a frown, as they were getting louder. "The police will attend to him, and they will lock us up if we are still here when they do," he told them.
"We'll take our chances with them, thank you" Naruto said, as he and Carmen gave Shadowsan there own glares, while holding their weapons tightly.
"The police are the least of my concerns," Shadowsan said with a frown. "Do you both really not realise that being trapped in a cell would far more easily allow VILE to reach us?" he asked them with a glare.
This took Carmen and Naruto by surprise, when they heard what he said. "Reach 'us'?" they asked curiously, with raised eyebrows.
"You're both stubborn as ever, Black Sheep and Dark Fox. Can you both not see that we are in this together now?" Shadowsan said, as he leaned forward slightly.
"We've always been in this together, haven't we?" Naruto said, as he and Carmen widened their eyes in realisation. Shadowsan gave a small growl, as he averted his eyes away from them. Carmen set the wrench down next to her, while Naruto put his batons away. "It was you. You were the one who found us" Carmen said, as they both gave him looks of gratitude.
Shadowsan shuffled himself over to them on his knees. "Neither of you are in no condition to leave here on your own. Please" he said to them urgently, as he held his hands out to them, which they looked at.
Meanwhile outside, the police cars had arrived at the building with police getting out and running inside, with Julia watching from an alleyway in worry.
A dog went barking past the basement window, with some police running after it. This caused Coach Brunt to give a small groan, as she slowly opened her eyes before pushing herself onto her hands and knees.
She saw Chase's unconscious form on the floor, before looking up in surprise while saying "Huh?" when she heard a noise from upstairs.
She gave a small frown, before seeing that the grate was open and the cut padlock next to it. She quickly went over to it, and shouted "Shadowsan?" down it, with a raised eyebrow. She looked around the room for a moment, before spotting the truth extractor on the floor.
She quickly got up and walked over to pick it up, placed it back inside its box, then headed back to the grate, and grabbed the edges of it. She pulled it off with a grunt, where she let it fall to the ground with a clatter, before soon following after it, causing her to land in a crouch.
She then pulled out her phone, and pressed a button on the screen, before placing it next to her ear. "Cleaners, is Shadowsan with you?" she asked them. She gave a frown upon hearing their answer. "I see. I'm gonna need a pickup" she said, as she walked off while hanging up the phone.
0o0o0o0
(On a rooftop, some distance away)
Shadowsan looked back at the building, where the police lights and sirens could still be seen and heard, while he had Carmen and Naruto's arms over his shoulders. The both of them winced slightly in pain with a small gasp, as they held their sides.
Shadowsan walked over to a pillar, and helped them sit down against it, as they looked at him with slight wonder. "Does it hurt when you breathe in?" he asked them, as he knelt down while looking at them in concern.
They both ignored his question, as they gave him a frown. "Argentina. Tell us everything, now" Naruto said firmly, with Carmen nodding in agreement.
Shadowsan looked away from them. "There is nothing more to tell. As strange as it may seem, even someone like me is incapable of turning his back on abandoned babies" he said, with a slight frown.
Naruto and Carmen glared at him slightly at this. "If you were such a sensitive guy, why have you been such a jerk to us?" Carmen demanded to know, with Naruto nodding in agreement.
Shadowsan closed his eyes, as he bowed his head slightly for a moment, before reopening them as he looked at Naruto and Carmen. "Unlike the other members of our faculty, I did not wish for either of you to succeed in crime school... because I could not bear the thought of you both being faced with having to choose a path of evil" he said to them.
Naruto and Carmen both lowered their eyes at this, before looking off to the side slightly. "You knew that we'd never accept," Naruto said, as they both looked at Shadowsan. Carmen then gave a sigh, as she added "And you also knew what they'd do to us when we said no."
They both closed their eyes in slight pain, as they stood back up and looked at Shadowsan with small smiles on their faces. "You failed us because you were trying to protect us," Naruto said, before he and Carmen glared at Shadowsan, while clenching their fists tightly. "And?" they both asked at the same time.
Shadowsan closed his eyes, and bowed his head slightly before he gave a sigh, as he moved his head while opening his eyes to look off to the side. "Yes, the coats were empty," he told them.
They both grinned happily at this, as they pumped their arms. "I knew it!" they both said together, both giving slight groans of pain as they held their sides.
Shadowsan stood back up, before looking at them. "And the two of you were never anything less than the very finest pickpockets in your class. I'd sent Tigress to San Francisco knowing that you'd both enjoy proving that to her all over again" he said, as he gave them both a smile for the first time.
They both smiled back at him, before they both looked at him curiously. "So, why now? Why tonight?" Carmen asked him, as Naruto nodded his head, while carefully leaning back against the stone pillar.
Shadowsan had a frown appear on his face, as he turned around and walked over to the other side of the roof. "I'd feared that VILE might finally succeed in stopping you both, so it once again seemed the right time to intervene" he said to them.
"Again?" they asked at the sametime, with raised eyebrows.
"I was not trying to harm either of you on the night of your escape from the island. I was trying to join you" he explained, as the three of them had a brief flashback to that moment when Shadowsan ran towards the dock with his sword drawn, as Naruto and Carmen pulled the boat away.
Both Naruto and Carmen grinned slightly at this, as they looked at each other. "I guess we scare easily when we see a drawn sword," Naruto said.
Shadowsan turned around to look at them, as he said "I felt it was a necessary ruse." He then raised an eyebrow at them, as he asked "Though, did you not wonder why the Cleaners never pursued you both in the helicopter?" as he remembered opening up the helicopter engine, so that he could cut the wires.
They both widened their eyes upon hearing this. "No way!" they both exclaimed in shock.
Shadowsan then looked back over the city, with his hand on his sword's grip. "A great burden was lifted from me the night both of you escaped, believing that you would both be beginning a new life somewhere. I never fathomed that either of you would dedicate your lives to destroying VILE, which complicated things for me, to say the least" he said, as he turned his head around to look at them, before looking off to the side.
Naruto and Carmen both looked amazed at this.
0o0o0o0
(Back at the building)
Devineaux was placed in an ambulance, while Julia and a hologram of Chief watched from an alleyway.
"Agent Devineaux is extremely disoriented. They won't know more until they run tests" Julia said to Chief, as her hologram walked forward.
Chief had a frown on her face, as she looked off into the distance. "The lug didn't deserve whatever Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki did to him," she said.
This caused Julia to raise an eyebrow. "But... how can you be certain they were behind this?" she asked.
Chief turned around, before she walked slightly forward. "The keycard. It all adds up. Devineaux didn't lose it. Either Carmen or Naruto picked his pocket and used it to bait him. Beyond that, I have to trust what I saw with my own two eyes. Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki were in that room with Devineaux tonight" she said, as she glanced over her shoulder at Julia, with narrowed eyes.
This caused Julia to look surprised upon hearing this.
0o0o0o0
(Back on the buildings rooftop)
"You went back to Poitiers to rescue a detective and left with an evil VILE mastermind? The worst one too, I might add! What makes you think you can trust him? And what exactly was he doing in Argentina 20 years ago anyway?" Player said, with a look of confusion on his face.
Both Naruto and Carmen were sitting on a ledge, while Shadowsan was behind them. "That's exactly what I want to know" Carmen said, as both she and Naruto frowned, while looking at Shadowsan over their shoulders. Naruto gave a nod, as they faced the front. "There's more to the story. There has to be. And our only chance of finding out will be to keep Shadowsan…." Naruto was saying, as they looked back only to see Shadowsan was gone.
"...close" Naruto finished.
{"Let me guess, ninja disappearing act?"} Player asked.
"Something like that," Carmen said.
{"I'm sorry, guys"} Player said in an apologetic tone.
The two of them spotted something on the floor, and smiled slightly. "Don't be," Naruto said, as they got up off the ledge while still holding their sides slightly, and walked over to a VILE harddrive. "Yeah, he left something behind for us" Carmen said, as she reached down and picked it up.
{"What?"} Player asked curiously.
"A present," Naruto said with a grin.
"Have Zack and Ivy meet us at the rendezvous. I have a feeling we're gonna have new capers to plot" Carmen said, as they looked out over Poitiers, with their hands on their hips.
0o0o0o0
Authors Note: To those who want me to lemon/sex scenes in every chapter or so, I can't as I need to find the right time/moment to do them. Such as, on their plane, in a hotel room or in a train's sleeping carriage. So please, stop asking me to keep adding them, as I'll do them when I please.
And those that guessed the book was called Silverfin, and the first book as part of the Young Bond books, you win a free cookie (and that's one of my favourite book series to read). I was also sad that the latest Bond movie was the final one, as I'd heard that it would be Daniel Craig's final movie as Bond, but I never expected them to kill Bond at the end of the film (sorry to spoil it for those that haven't seen the movie yet).
Hope that everyone enjoyed the chapter, and that you're doing what you can to avoid getting this COVID by following the rules, while any and all flames are no longer welcome. Also, for some reason, if I get a PM from anyone, it wouldn't show me the number(s) on fanfiction (so if you send me a PM, and I reply to it late, that's the reason why). Let's hope that now the vaccines are all done, we can rest a bit easier.
I have also posted a few story ideas on my home page, and if any of you want to use them please, PM me and let me know.