The Anti Thieving Duo

by Power of Magic

Raised on an island and trained in the arts of thievery, 'Dark Fox' (Naruto) and 'Black Sheep' (Carmen) find out the truth of the school. They then leave, and decide to steal back what was stolen and return everything back to the people.

9. The Hot Rocks of Rio Caper

The Anti Thieving Duo

"Hello" - (Normal talking)

"What happened?" - (Thoughts)

"What do I do?" - (Flashback)

{"Hey, can you hear me?"} - (Communication)

":Now arriving at our destination:" - (Another Language)

"\Prepare for departure\" - (Radio and speakers)

Hope that you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 9 - The Hot Rocks of Rio Caper

(A field somewhere)

(Flashback starts)

It was a sunny cloudy day, as the wind blew through the long grass, as an eagle screeched while flying overhead.

A man with a pointy bamboo hat, while wearing a kimono along with a sword at his waist and a cloth bag tied to his back while wearing a pair of wooden geta, had his hand on the hat so that it wouldn't get blown off by the wind, was walking down a dirt path.

As he was walking along, he suddenly heard two babies crying. The man stopped walking, and used the back of his hand to lift the hat slightly, revealing it to be Shadowsan, who had some stubble on his chin and above his mouth.

He glanced off to the side where he heard the crying, and walked over while placing his hand on his sword's handle. As he approached where he heard the crying coming from, he came upon two babies; one a boy with blonde hair and whisker-like birth marks wrapped in an orange blanket, and the other a girl with red hair while wrapped in a red blanket. He also noticed two items next to them, a slightly burned matryoshka doll with the girl, and a ninja statue with the boy.

He looked at the two babies in slight concern as they continued to cry. He ran the back of his fingers across their faces, before stroking their hair as they calmed down. They both opened their eyes, and looked up at him as they smiled slightly, before closing their eyes again, to the sound of a bell tolling.

(Flashback over)

0o0o0o0

(At a cafe)

Naruto and Carmen opened their eyes at the sound of the tolling bell, and looked up at a clock across from the table they were sitting at, seeing a skeleton figure pulling a piece of rope, causing the bell to toll.

{"Guys, are you in position?"} they then heard Player asking on their comms.

They both frowned slightly at this. "What?" they asked together in slight confusion.

{"We have a VILE operative on the move. Are you in position?"} Player said.

"Prague's Old Town Square, by the clock tower" Carmen said with a frown, as she and Naruto looked off to the side, seeing Le Chèvre dressed as a tourist while looking at his phone, before he walked off.

"Le Chèvre. We're on him" Naruto said, as they both stood up and pulled their hoods up, before following after him.

Player was typing on his computer, as he watched them follow him. "Remember, target the buyer, not Goat Boy," he said with a frown.

As they followed him, they made sure to keep out of his sight, as they used pillars to hide behind at times.

{"And hit him after the handoff. As we don't want VILE to know…."} Player was saying, before he was interrupted.

"...that we're on to them, before we can find out what they're peddling?" Carmen said, as she and Naruto both smiled, and stepped back to avoid walking into a couple walking past them.

"Whose plan was this again?" Naruto asked teasingly, as he and Carmen walked off.

"Yours, sorry" Player said with a grin, looking up at the ceiling for a moment. "Just checking the boxes. Get it? Check? Cause you're in - " before he got interrupted.

"The Czech Republic," Carmen said with a grin.

"Yeah Player, I think we get it," Naruto said with his own grin.

{"Red Drone is on the lookout,"} Player said, as Red Drone flew overhead. The drone looked around at everyone, trying to find Le Chèvre, before zooming in.

"A potential buyer spotted, heading for Goat Boy" Player said, as he had Red Drone zoom in on the man, to get a better look at him. "Beefy guy in a bow tie, northeast side." He then had a Red Drone zoom in on his hand, and saw Le Chèvre pass a small green bag to him, which the guy soon placed in his pocket. "And we have a handoff. The package is in play guys" Player said.

Carmen and Naruto arrived to see the beefy man and Le Chèvre walking off, with frowns on their faces. They looked at each other with side glances, before Carmen followed the beefy guy, while Naruto walked off to make sure there would be no surprises, and to keep an extra eye on the buyer.

As Carmen followed the man, she lost sight of him in a crowd of people. She gave a gasp of worry, before she looked around for him, but she didn't see any sign of him.

Just as she was about to walk off, she then heard Player on her comms saying {"Red, kerbside."}

Carmen looked over, and saw the man waving down a taxi, which stopped next to him. Carmen started walking over, as he opened the door to climb in.

Carmen quickened her steps, while Naruto watched from leaning against a building with his phone out, looking like he was texting someone, while making sure that there were no other VILE operatives about.

As the man got into the car, Carmen was reaching for the bag, when she looked up and gasped, as she saw Shadowsan from her flashback/dream looking at her with a frown. This caused Carmen to look surprised, before someone walked in front of him, to show that it was really a woman wearing a hat, who soon walked off.

Naruto saw what happened, and frowned slightly wondering what she saw.

{"Red!"} Player yelled out, just as Carmen knocked into the man, causing them both to grunt, while sending her to the ground with a gasp, along with the green bag she'd just grabbed hold of, which spilled open, revealing purple gemstones.

The man turned around after fixing his hat, and gasped as he saw the gems spilled about. He quickly bent down to pick them up.

"I am so sorry. Er, here let me help you" Carmen said, as she picked up a few, while Naruto ran over to help. Naruto and Carmen both helped the man, while sneakily keeping a gemstone for themselves.

The man glared at them, as he placed all the stones in the bag, then looked around for a moment before getting in the taxi, which soon drove off.

After watching the taxi drive off, Naruto and Carmen then allowed the gem they each took, to slide down from their sleeves into their hands.

{"So what'd we get?"} Player asked curiously, as Carmen and Naruto looked at the rocks with a raised eyebrow each.

"Two rocks," Naruto said.

"Though we were lucky to even get anything" Carmen added with a frown.

{"What do you mean?"} Player asked.

Carmen gave a sigh at this. "I got sloppy. I'm off my game" she said.

Player gave a small frown at this. "You have been distracted lately," he said. He then gave a smile, as he added "You probably jumped back into action a little too soon."

Naruto gave a nod at this. "It's only been a week since Shadowsan vanished into the night" he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Carmen gave a sigh, as she and Naruto placed the rocks in their coat pockets. "And taking any hope of learning our past with him" she said.

Naruto nodded his head at this. "True, but I'm sure we'll meet him again sometime in the future" he said to her, as he gave a smile.

Carmen smiled back at him, as they walked off arm in arm.

0o0o0o0

(At VILE Isle)

The rest of the Faculty were having a meeting, to see what else Coach Brunt remembered about what happened in Paris.

"Like I've told you before, when I came to the federales were closing in, and there was no sign of him" Coach Brunt said, as she walked in front of the table, with Cleo and Bellum watching her, while Maelstrom looked outside the window.

"Or Black Sheep and Dark Fox" Brunt finished, as she turned around.

"We know that Shadowsan hasn't been detained, as no arrests near Poitiers, France, match his description" the Countess said, as she looked off to the side with a frown.

"Though, if this ACME is for real, Cleo, who knows where they would jail their prisoners" Gunnar said, as he looked over his shoulder at her, causing Cleo to glance over her with a raised eyebrow.

"If Shadowsan is sticking to the shadows, wouldn't he have phoned home by now?" Saira asked curiously with a raised eyebrow, while gesturing her hand.

Maelstrom turned around from the window, and walked over to the table with his arms folded behind his back. "And you are certain, Coach Brunt, that you did not, uh…." he asked her with a raised eyebrow, while leaning forward slightly.

Brunt looked surprised at this. "Wait, what?" she asked with wide eyes in shock. She soon narrowed them at him, saying "No. Why would you even -?" before she was interrupted.

"There was certainly no love lost between the two of you," Professor Maelstrom said, narrowing his eyes slightly at her, as he leaned back. He then smiled at her, as he lifted his hand while gesturing with it. "There you are, reluctant travel partners. You tell him that he's a bore, while he insults your tracksuit. This leads to a quibble, which turns into an altercation, and then…." he said, before glancing at her hand, as she clenched it into a shaking fist. "...you have been known to lose your temper."

Brunt stopped shaking her clenched fist, before opening back up again. "True, old stone face would never be my first choice of a cornhole partner," she said, while rolling her eyes. "But he's still family, and you don't betray family" she finished with narrowed eyes.

Before anyone else could say anything, their comm line chimed, causing them to look at the screen as it lowered down. "That's probably our dear ninja now," Professor Maelstrom said, as he and Brunt walked back to their seats.

Once they sat down, the screen turned on, to show Le Chevre. {"Salutations, Faculty. I am en route to shut down the mining operation as planned. All of the alexandrite has been extracted, and is ready to be shipped"} he said with a smug grin, along with narrowed eyes.

The four Faculty members had grins of their own, upon hearing this. "Then it looks like Prague came through," Dr. Bellum said happily.

"Yes, and it seems that we have some buyers for our gemstones" Cleo said with a raised eyebrow as she grinned, while she looked at the rest of the Faculty, who looked at her in return, with their own grins.

"This operation will go a long way towards repairing any of our losses inflicted by Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki" Gunnar said with a downwards frown, before he looked up. "And ACME," he added with narrowed eyes.

0o0o0o0

(In a hospital room)

A heart rate monitor was steadily beeping, with Chase laid in a hospital bed asleep, as Julia walked over.

"Agent Devineaux, it's me" Julia said, as she sat down in the chair next to his bed. "Julia. Agent Argent."

"How are you feeling today?" she then asked after a moment of silence as she gave a small smile, even though she knew he wouldn't be able to answer.

She gave a small frown, before rummaging about in her pocket. "I brought your favourite mints" she said, as she took them out of her pocket, and waved them under Chase's nose for a moment.

Seeing nothing happening, she took the mints away and placed them back in her pocket with a frown. She then perked up slightly, as she had an idea, and pointed off at the end of the bed. "There they are, La Femme Rouge and l'homme Blonde!" she exclaimed in fake surprise while standing up, as she glanced at Devineaux to see if he did anything. But he just continued to sleep.

Julia frowned at this, as she lowered her arm and sat back down. "Please wake up, Agent Devineaux" she said, as she looked at him with worry. "We need you. And we need you to tell us that they did not do this to you."

She glanced down with a slight frown for a moment, before looking back at him while placing her hand on the bed rail, as the heart rate monitor continued to steadily beep.

0o0o0o0

(In Player's room)

Player was clicking away at his computer, looking up info on the rocks that Naruto and Carmen had grabbed, before he got a hit.

"Got it. It's called 'alexandrite' apparently" Player said, as an image of the rock appeared on his screen, along with some info about it.

{"It sounds like something that you'd take for foot pain"} Carmen said.

Naruto snorted at this in agreement.

"Well, it's definitely a gemstone," Player said with a quirked eyebrow. "Though not as well known as diamonds, but WAY more rare. And they can fetch just as much per carat."

Naruto gave an impressive whistle at this. {"Now that's what I call big money"} he said.

Both Naruto and Carmen were on a road that was high enough to allow them to look over Prague.

"Enough of these gemstones could bring in a load of cash for VILE's operations" Carmen said, as she and Naruto walked off.

"Well, according to the data on the VILE harddrive that Shadowsan left behind for ya, VILE has a presence in a region that's known for its alexandrite" Player told them, as he typed on his computer, while pulling up some images.

{"It could be a mining operation"} Naruto said, as Player leaned back into his chair.

{"Where is it?"} Carmen asked him.

"It doesn't specify any details or exact coordinates, but it's somewhere in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil," Player said.

Naruto and Carmen were walking on a bridge when Player said this, causing them to stop.

"South America" they both said together. They briefly closed their eyes with a sigh, before opening them again.

"A small world," Naruto said, as he and Carmen walked to the edge of the bridge.

Carmen nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's right close to home" she said, as they looked down at the water.

{"You're up for this, right guys? We need you both at the top of your game. Ya know, in case…."} Player said, as he stopped himself.

Naruto and Carmen raised an eyebrow at this. "In case what?" they asked at the same time, while looking slightly worried.

Player was typing on his computer, before he stopped then leaned forward, with his arms folded. "Well, either the harddrive is the best present ever from a supposed former VILE mastermind, or it's loaded with an elaborate trail of breadcrumbs," Player said with a frown. "What if Shadowsan's trying to lure the both of you into some sort of trap?"

Both Naruto and Carmen raised an eyebrow at this. "Everything that he said about our time on VILE Island made perfect sense," Carmen said with a slight smile.

Naruto nodded in agreement, as he gave his own smile. "Yeah, I agree," he said.

{"Sure, but what about Argentina? The part that you two were too young to remember. Did he really just happen to find the two of you?"} Player asked.

Carmen and Naruto looked slightly concerned at this.

"He's a thief. For all that you guys know, he stole you both for ransom. You could be the son of famous movie stars and the daughter of billionaire diplomats or something" Player said with a frown.

Naruto and Carmen frowned at this. "Well, hanging out here in Prague won't change that," Naruto said.

"And if it's a trap, then we'll have to take extra care that no one gets hurt this time," Carmen added, as they turned and walked off with determined looks.

0o0o0o0

(Chase's hospital room, nighttime)

The heart rate monitor was still beeping steadily, as Chase slept.

He soon frowned in his sleep, as he groaned slightly. "No. No, no, no" he then said, as he shook his head, and twitched slightly. "No, no, no, no" he said some more, just as his eyes opened.

"La Femme Rouge! l'homme Blonde!" he yelled out with clenched fists, as he sat up.

{"Guess again"} a familiar voice said.

"Huh?" Chase said cluelessly with a raised eyebrow, before seeing the hologram of Chief at the end of his bed with her arms crossed, while an ACME agent stood next to her, with his arms folded behind his back.

{"Welcome back, Agent Devineaux"} Chief said to him.

"Oh, Chief," Chase said, before he shuddered slightly and sat back. "Ugh, my head" he groaned, as he placed his hand on his forehead. "It feels like a pack of wild boars stampeded through it, while shoving their snouts into the folds of my brain, searching for truffles."

Chief and the ACME agent briefly looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

{"You recognized me. That's a good sign,"} Chief said, before she raised her eyebrow at him. {"What else do you remember?"} she asked him

Chase gave a hum of thought at this, as he raised his eyebrow. "I was brushing my teeth, then….nothing" he said with a frown, as he looked off to the side.

Chief had a frown of her own appear.

Chase then gave a start, as he remembered something. "Until…." he said, as he remembered seeing both Naruto and Carmen walking towards him. "They were both there!" he said, with a deep scowl.

{"Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki,"} Chief said with her own scowl. {"I saw them both too."}

Chase then glanced off to the side, with a deep frown. "But they had help. Two others" he said, with a look of concern.

Chief and the ACME agent looked at each, upon hearing this. {"Tell me everything"} Chief said, as her hologram walked forward.

0o0o0o0

(In the sky)

The jet owned by Naruto and Carmen was flying along, with Carmen leaning against Naruto, while looking out of the window in thought.

"Ooh-ooh! Palm trees and sandy beaches here we come!" Ivy said with a grin as she relaxed in her chair, while Naruto and Carmen looked over slightly.

{"There's more to Rio than just beaches, Ivy"} Player said on the laptop. {"Especially since Carnival is just a few days away."}

"Oh, spinning rides and funnel cakes? Score!" Zack said with a large smile, as the jet began landing.

Player gave a smile at this, as he typed on his computer. "Not a carnival, Zack. 'Carnivaal' as people travel from all over the world to check it out" he said with a smile, as he pulled up some info about it.

{"The city wide festival has its roots in both Portuguese and African traditions, and it features colourful masks and costumes"} Carmen said, showing her and the others getting their luggage, before stepping off the plane.

{"Which means it's the one time of year that pretending to be someone or something else is socially accepted"} Naruto added, as he carried the laptop.

"I hope that you two packed your dancing shoes. Thousands of samba dancers will be strutting their stuff next to insanely elaborate parade floats" Player said with a grin.

{"But if it's a beach that you're after, Rio has one of the world's most famous - Copacabana"} Carmen said, as the four of them went through customs before walking to a nearby hotel.

{"Does that sound like enough to make you a Brazil nut?"} Naruto asked with a smile.

Player gave a slight laugh at this. "When you're done having fun in the sun, check out Rio's favelas" he said.

{"Ah, the favelas. Entire communities that are built into the steep hillsides of Rio"} Carmen said with a smile, as they paid for some rooms before heading for them.

{"But they say that you won't find a better view of any city, than from the top of Corcovado Mountain, beneath the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer"} Naruto added, as they unpacked before he and Carmen put their comms in their ears, and headed off out.

{"Well, I hope that you two brushed up on your Portuguese. As it's the primary language spoken in Brazil"} Player said in their comms, as they were walking through the streets.

A man at a fruit stand smiled, as he offered Naruto and Carmen an apple each, while Zack and Ivy walked on. "Nao, obrigada" Carmen said with a smile, as she raised her hand, while shaking her head a little.

Naruto put his hand in his pocket, before pulling out a coin, which he flipped over to the man. "Sim por favor" he said with a smile, as the man smiled back and tossed one to Naruto, who grabbed it before taking a bite.

"Look out," they heard Zack saying in a loud whisper in worry, before they saw him standing in a doorway, as he pushed Ivy into the shadows. "It's Tigress!" he said, as he stood in front of the doorway, trying to look inconspicuous while Ivy looked worried as she hid herself in the shadows, while a lady walked past, dressed in an outfit that looked like Tigress's one.

Ivy then glared at Zack, as she stepped out of the shadows, and slapped him on the arm with the back of her hand. "Ow!" Zack said, as he rubbed his arm.

"Dude, a VILE operative wouldn't wear a costume of herself!" Ivy said with clenched hands. "Talk about the worst disguise ever" she said with a smile, as she rolled her eyes.

Naruto and Carmen walked over, as Naruto tossed the apple core in the bin. "You guys have the rock?" Carmen asked with a smile, as they approached them.

Ivy put her hand in her pocket, before pulling it out while holding one of the rocks. "Check" she said with a grin.

Zack looked slightly confused at this. "I thought that you guys had two of them," he said, as he looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto just smiled at him. "I thought that it would be a good idea to keep it," he said with a shrug.

Carmen then took over, before anything else could be said. "Okay, you two take the low ground" she said, pointing at them.

"While we take the high," Naruto added, as they all walked off, with Naruto and Carmen heading for Corcovado Mountain.

0o0o0o0

(Chase's hospital room)

The male ACME agent was sitting down with a pen and notepad, which he was sketching on.

He then held the sketch up to Chase, who looked at it with narrowed eyes. "Close, but more weathered, like the backside of a reptile" he said.

The ACME agent took the paper back, and sketched on it some more, before holding it up for Chase to see.

Chase leaned in close and looked with slightly narrowed eyes, before widening them. "Yes, that is him! Those are them!" he said with a grin, as he pointed at the sketches of Shadowsan and Coach Brunt.

Before anything else could be said, the ACME agent's pen started beeping and flashing, causing him to drop it on the floor, which allowed a hologram of Chief to appear.

{"Do we have our perps?"} Chief asked the ACME agent.

He just held up the sketches of them for the Chief to see.

"May I present to you Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki's partners in crime," Chase said with a grin, as he gestured to the sketches. "Find me my pants! I'm ready to track them down, and make them pay for what they did to me" he said with a determined look on his face, as he clenched his fists, as Chief and the ACME agent looked at him.

Chase was just about to get out of the bed, before Chief raised her hand to stop him. {"Actually, hold the pants"} she said, causing Chase to look surprised before he smiled.

"I'm finally getting my ACME suit?" Chase asked her with a hopeful look.

Chief lowered her head slightly, with her eyes closed. {"No, as I'm putting you on leave. Effective immediately"} she said with a look of slight concern.

Chase looked confused upon hearing this. "But, Chief, I've just handed you two faces that possibly belong to VILE" he said to her.

Chief then narrowed her eyes on him. {"You're also a loose cannon, Devineaux, a liability. ACME is needing agents that think with their brains, and not with their fists"} she told him with a glare.

"For how long?" Chase asked with a look of worry, as he folded his arms.

{"Indefinitely"} Chief replied immediately, causing Chase to look down sadly.

Chief gave a slight sigh, as she closed her eyes, before looking at him in apology. {"Look, you've been through a lot. Cool your heels back at Interpol and get your strength back"} she said, giving him a smile.

"And Agent Argent?" Chase asked her curiously.

{"She'll be staying on as an agent of ACME. And, any attempt to contact her could jeopardise her safety, so forget that you know her. And that I was never here"} Chief said with a frown as she looked at the ACME agent, before her hologram disappeared into the pen. The male ACME agent then bent down and picked the pen up, before walking off as he placed it in his jacket pocket.

Chase had a downcast look, as he placed his head in his hands.

0o0o0o0

(Inside a jewellery shop)

A man was looking at the alexandrite, through an eye scope as he turned it.

"Ah, yes. Alexandrite" the man said with a large smile. "Word on the street is that a brand new supply has recently been unearthed" he said, as he looked at Zack and Ivy, before looking at the alexandrite through the eye scope again

The two of them looked at each other, upon hearing this. "Where exactly?" Ivy asked him.

The man gave them a neutral look. "My memory, it's not so good these days," he said with a raised eyebrow.

Zack and Ivy looked concerned at this. "Oh, that's a real bummer" Zack said in worry.

Ivy gave him a side glare, as she elbowed him in the chest. "Ow!" he exclaimed in pain, before she dragged him off to the side.

"He's looking for a bribe, you doofus" Ivy said with a frown.

Zack waved his hand in the air at this. "He's a successful business owner, Ivy. I'm sure that he'll meet the right girl someday" he said with a grin.

Ivy facepalmed at this, before dragging her hand down her face. "A 'bribe,' not a 'bride' you moron. He's wanting to get paid for information" she said with a frown, while raising an eyebrow at him.

"Oh!" Zack said in realisation, before he glanced over his shoulder at the man with a smirk.

"This specimen is muito bonita," the man said with a smile.

Zack was smirking, as he walked over to the counter. "Maybe my watch will help you jog your memory," he said with a smile, as he took a fancy watch off before handing it over.

The man took it with a grin. "No one knows where the new supply has been unearthed and no one wants to know. Some very sinister types are controlling it" he said with a raised eyebrow.

"What kind of sinister types?" Ivy asked in worry with narrowed eyes.

The man glanced off to the side, as he rolled the rock in his fingers. "My memory isn't so good these days," he said with a raised eyebrow, as he smiled.

"Would my other watch help jog your memory?" Zack asked with a raised eyebrow, as he leaned on the counter, holding another fancy watch for the man to take.

The man took it with a grin. "One of them is French, dresses like a goat," he said, causing Ivy and Zack to glance at each other with a glare, knowing who he was talking about.

Ivy stepped up to the counter, and placed her hands on the edge, as she leaned in. "Where can we find him?" she asked with a frown, as the man played with the gemstone.

The man looked off to the side with a grin, as he raised an eyebrow. "My memory isn't what it - Hey!" he was saying, before he saw that Zack was using his own watches to bribe him with.

"Could my sister's watch help you remember?" he asked with a sheepish smile.

Ivy gave a sigh at this. "Tell us where, and you get to keep the gem" she told him.

This caused the man to give a big smile.

0o0o0o0

(At the hospital)

Chase was being rolled out of the hospital in a wheelchair, while Julia watched this through a window from a different room in worry, with the hologram of Chief next to her.

{"He'll land on his feet, or the hood of his car"} Chief said with a roll of her eyes.

"My intuition tells me that Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki weren't responsible for his abduction," Julia told her, as she turned away from the window. "There must be another reason why they were both present," she said with a frown.

{"Look, Agent Argent, you've got a brilliant, deductive mind, one of the finest that I've ever seen. Learn to trust it, and not your gut"} Chief said with a frown.

Before anything else could be said, there was a knock at the door causing both of them to look over, as a female ACME agent entered the room, while carrying an ACME suit on a coat hanger.

{"Ah, it looks like your suit has arrived"} Chief said with a smile, as the agent handed the suit to Julia, along with a glasses case. {"And regulation eyewear. Your prescription, naturally. You're an ACME official now. Agent Zari will be your new partner."}

"Agent Argent" she said in greeting, with a slight nod.

{"I'm sending the both of you to Rio de Janeiro. Our CrimeNet analysts believe that Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki are there now. Find out why, and catch them if you can,"} Chief said with a raised eyebrow.

Julia looked shocked at this.

0o0o0o0

(At the top of Corcovado Mountain)

Naruto and Carmen walked to the edge of an overlook, as they looked out over Rio with their binoculars.

{"How's the view from up there, guys?"} Player asked them.

"Trippy," Carmen said.

"Yea, ain't that the truth," Naruto said in agreement.

{"With good reason. Your scanners have been calibrated to recognise any gem mined from the same place as your sample. Like, the molecular structure, soil traces, anything really"} Player said.

"Huh, that's really handy," Naruto said with a smile. "What do you think babe?" he asked Carmen, as he looked over at her.

Carmen kept looking through the binoculars, and pulled away for a moment before she looked through them again. She then pulled away for a second time, before shaking her head slightly with a small smile.

"Everything okay?" Naruto asked her.

"Huh?" she asked, as she looked over at him. "Oh yeah, everythings fine. I just thought that I saw something, that's all" Carmen said with a smile.

Naruto gave her a side hug, as he kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry sweetie, I'm sure that we'll see Shadowsan someday. And we can ask him what we want to know, when we do" he said to her.

Carmen nodded slightly at this. "Yeah, you're probably right," she said.

"Of course I am. Someone has to be" Naruto said with a grin.

Carmen gave him a slight nudge in the side with a smile, before they continued to look through their binoculars.

0o0o0o0

(With Zack and Ivy)

Zack and Ivy were climbing some stairs towards an alleyway, while panting for breath. "Dona Marta is wicked huge, 'donya' know?" Ivy asked, as she and Zack had their arms drooped down, as they swung back and forth while they walked. "This favela just keeps on going and going."

Zack gave a groan at this. "How are we ever gonna find him?" he asked.

Before Ivy could respond, they heard a kid yelling "Hey, give it back!"

This caused them to look surprised before they ran ahead, where they peaked round a corner at the end of the alleyway.

They saw two kids, arguing with a disguised Le Chevre, who was wearing a goat-like costume.

"That's our futebol!" one of the kids yelled angrily.

Le Chèvre moved the ball from under his right arm, to his left arm. "No. Since I nearly tripped over your football, it is now my football" he said to the kids, before he walked off, while the kids glared and stuck their tongues out at him, then walked off in the other direction.

Zack and Ivy both glared at this. "Okay, first, that's a soccer ball. And second of all, there is no way that I'm just gonna stand by and let him steal from little kids" Zack said angrily, and he was about to storm after Le Chèvre, before Ivy put her arm in his way to stop him, causing Zack to let out a gasp of surprise.

"First of all, they call them 'footballs' here, ya moron. So get over it. And second, you'll blow the mission. We'll buy them a new one later" Ivy said, before she followed Le Chèvre.

"VILE operatives don't wear costumes of themselves, huh, sis?" Zack said with a raised eyebrow, as he followed her while tilting his head slightly.

"Shut up Zack," Ivy said with a growl.

0o0o0o0

(Back with Naruto and Carmen)

Carmen and Naruto were looking through their binoculars, seeing what they could find, when their comms buzzed.

{"Ground crew to Carmen and Naruto, we've spotted Le Chèvre, in the lamest disguise ever"} Ivy said, with a small laugh.

Naruto and Carmen pulled their binoculars away in surprise at hearing this, before smiling slightly.

{"He's dressed….as a goat"} Zack added.

This caused both Naruto and Carmen to laugh at this.

"Oh man, that is the worst disguise ever. Le Chevre obviously is very poor at trying to blend in and remain inconspicuous" Naruto said, as he and Carmen looked at each other with wide grins.

"Keep a safe distance. We're on our way" Carmen said with a smile, as she and Naruto opened their bags, which had their outfits in them. They quickly made sure that no one else was there, before taking their clothes off and putting their outfits on, along with making sure they had their gadgets too.

They then looked at each other with a smile, before they ran to the edge and jumped off. They fell for a few seconds, before pulling on a cord, which allowed their gliders to deploy as they flew over Rio.

0o0o0o0

(With Ivy and Zack)

Zack and Ivy were following Le Chevre, occasionally ducking into alleyways, behind dumpsters, fruit stands or pressed up next to a house, to avoid being seen by him.

As Le Chevre was looking around to see if he was followed, Zack peaked over some boxes of fruit, causing one to get knocked over with a thud, which caused Le Chèvre to let out a gasp of surprise as he turned around.

Zack had wide eyes of shock for a moment, before he picked up a piece of fruit and looked at it, with his hand on his chin.

"You!" Le Chèvre said with narrowed eyes, as he threw the football at Zack, who looked worried as he ducked down to dodge the ball, which destroyed some of the boxes, while knocking others over.

Le Chèvre turned around and bolted, as Ivy came out of her hiding spot and ran after him with Zack not far behind her. Le Chèvre grabbed a pole, and used it to swing himself round the corner quickly. He then jumped up, and grabbed onto the edge of a balcony before swinging himself up, to grab the rails, so that he could stand on them, and jump to a canopy, which allowed him to parkour to the rooftop.

0o0o0o0

(In the air)

Naruto and Carmen were gliding through the air, when Ivy called them on their comms.

{"Guys, we lost our goat"} Ivy said with a huff.

They both looked down, and saw Le Chevre running along the rooftops.

"We see him. Just be on your guard" Carmen said, as she and Naruto both frowned.

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Cause where there's a goat, there's usually a mole not far behind" he said, as they both grinned slightly, before they followed Le Chevre.

Zack and Ivy walked along, with Ivy holding her phone. "He should be easy enough to see coming," she said, as they walked past an alley.

Zack laughed aloud at this. "Yeah, he's probably wearing a mole mask," he said with a grin.

They didn't notice someone exiting the alley, while wearing a bird mask, as they narrowed their eyes, before looking up to see Naruto and Carmen flying by.

After narrowing their eyes at this, they walked up behind Zack and Ivy.

"Those two are wicked awesome" Zack said with a laugh, as they watched them go.

Before anything else could be said, they noticed a shadow forming over them, which caused them to stop walking and turn around.

"Uh oh" they said together in worry.

0o0o0o0

(With Naruto and Carmen)

Naruto and Carmen were following Le Chèvre, as he ran along the rooftops. When he reached the end of the roof, he noticed the shadow of the gliders flying over him. He jumped from the edge of the rooftop, and landed on another one in a crouch before he rolled himself forward, and used his hands to throw himself in the air, and spin around so that he landed facing back the way he came from.

"Carmen? Naruto? Impossible!" he exclaimed in shock, before he turned around and continued to run. "How did you two know that I was here?" he asked them, as they began to fly lower to the rooftops.

"Next time, try disguising yourself as a giraffe," Carmen said with a smile.

Naruto gave a loud laugh at this. "Good one," he said with a grin.

"This is a costume, not a disguise!" he yelled, as he jumped along the rooftops.

Naruto and Carmen landed on a rooftop, and allowed their gliders to fold away before chasing after Le Chevre.

They ran across the rooftops, before Le Chèvre jumped off the rooftop and began hopping down from canopy to canopy, with Naruto and Carmen doing the same.

Once they were on the streets, Le Chèvre quickly ran through an open doorway, as he ran past a family watching something on their TV.

"Nossa!" the father exclaimed in surprise, while the mother gasped in shock, as Naruto and Carmen followed him.

Le Chèvre then reached the kitchen window, and grabbed the top as he jumped through feet first.

Naruto and Carmen were about to follow him, when Carmen looked back at the little girl for a moment, with a look of surprise.

"Carm, you okay?" Naruto asked her, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Carmen shook her head slightly, as the girl raised an eyebrow at her curiously.

"Sorry" she said, before she went and threw herself out the window feet first, where she landed in a crouch and stood up.

Naruto then came out, and landed next to her before he stood up. They looked both ways on the street, before seeing a door being shut at one end of the road.

They both quickly ran over to the house, as they pressed themselves against the wall on either side of the door.

Carmen carefully reached for the door handle, and opened the door wide, before she and Naruto peeked inside, where they saw a door open onto a balcony. They quickly ran over to it, and looked around for Le Chevre, but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Ugh!" Carmen growled in frustration, as she stamped her foot in annoyance with gritted teeth, before turning around to head back inside.

Naruto gave a frown, as he followed her.

{"Red, are you feeling alright?"} Player asked her.

"No, Player. I'm the opposite of alright. I fumbled all over again. I had Le Chèvre within my reach, and I choked" she said, as she walked over to a couch and sat down, while placing her head in her hands, before she looked up with clenched hands.

{"Choked?"} Player asked curiously.

"My heads not in the game," Carmen said with her eyes closed, as she placed her fingers against the sides of her forehead, and rubbed them slightly.

Naruto nodded in agreement at this. "Yea, she's been pretty out of it" he said, as he leaned against the wall.

Carmen ignored him at this. "When I'm not seeing imaginary Shadowsan's, I'm seeing families with me in them everywhere that I look" she said with a look of concern.

Naruto pushed himself off the wall, and walked over before he sat himself on the armrest of the couch. "Don't worry babe, I'm sure everything will be fine" he said, as he gave her a one armed hug.

{"What about you Naruto? Do you see Shadowsan and families with yourself in them wherever you look?"} Player asked him.

Naruto shook his head at this. "No, not really," he said.

{"Why not?"} Player asked curiously.

"Cause I know that Shadowsan will explain everything to us, when he believes that we're ready" Naruto said.

Before anything else could be said, the man from the house they ran through earlier was at the door. "Com licença, are you alright?" he asked, with a look of concern.

Carmen and Naruto both gave him a small smile. "Yes, thank you," Naruto said.

"I'm just having a bad day," Carmen said, as she looked off to the side with a frown.

"Well, maybe we can help," the man said with a smile, as his wife and daughter appeared in the doorway. "We're just about to eat. Why don't the two of you join us?" he asked.

Carmen and Naruto looked surprised at this, before smiling at them. "We'd love to," Naruto said, as he and Carmen stood up and followed the family back to their house.

"By the way, I'm Mark. This is my wife Samantha, and our daughter Isabel" the man said, as he introduced himself and his family.

"My friends call me Sam," Samantha said with a smile.

"Hi!" Isabel said with a wide grin.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Naruto, and this is my girlfriend Carmen" Naruto said to them.

"Hello," Carmen said with a wave.

"Do you two kiss, as much as my parents do?" Isabel asked curiously.

Naruto and Carmen smiled at each other, before they lightly kissed.

"Blegh!" Isabel said, as she gave a look of disgust.

Everyone laughed at this, as they headed for the house, while Naruto and Carmen told Isabel of the pranks and everything they did at her age.

0o0o0o0

(Meanwhile)

The man wearing the bird mask was holding the lid of an empty water container up, which had Zack and Ivy inside it, tied up and gagged.

They both gave muffled shouting at him, with Zack looking worried while Ivy was glaring.

The man said nothing, as he closed the lid on them.

0o0o0o0

(Back with Naruto and Carmen)

Carmen was sitting on the couch, while Naruto leaned against the wall, as they ate some food.

"Mmm! The fejidora is delicious!" Carmen said with a smile.

Naruto nodded in agreement, before he took a sip of juice from his glass. "Yeah, what she said."

"Brazil's national dish, my grandma's recipe" Sam said with a grin, as she stirred something in a pan on the stove.

A football was then kicked in the air, which caused her to gasp in surprise, before Mark caught it. "Ay!" Sam said with a laugh.

"Isabel, no futebol in the house" Mark said with a scowl, as he walked over to his daughter, who was wearing Naruto's hat on her head.

"Aw!" she said with a pout, as she lifted the hat up to look at her father. "Can I go throw some water balloons at the samba dancers?" she asked with a smirk.

"No, it is rude," Mark said with a frown, as he handed the ball back, before Isabel turned around and ran off with it.

Naruto waved her over, where she stood next to him. "As much as my hat looks good on you, let's see how you look with this one" he said, as he took his hat back and placed it on his head, while he placed Carmen's hat on Isabel's head.

Isabel giggled at this, before she started running around the room.

Carmen got up off the couch and stood next to Mark, with a slight smile. "She's spunky" she said, with her hand on her hip.

Mark gave a shrug at this, while closing his eyes as he raised an eyebrow. "Ay, she is a terror" he said with a fond smile, as he walked over to Sam, with Carmen and Naruto following after him.

Sam had taken a plate of food out of the fridge, which she gave to Mark, who walked over to sit down on the couch with it. "And speaking of terror, are you certain that you do not wish for us to call the policia?" Sam asked, as she closed the fridge door, before taking Carmen's hands in her own.

"Yeah, we're fine. Don't worry about it" Naruto said.

"Plus, he didn't steal anything. At least, not from us" Carmen said with a frown.

"That's a relief to hear," Mark said with a grin. "Our community might not be wealthy, but it is safe. We all look out for each other, and look for ways to improve our quality of life" he said, as Isabel and Sam sat next to him, with Isabel grabbing some food off the plate to eat.

"So, why were you both chasing him?" Sam asked curiously.

"That's a long story," Carmen said.

Naruto nodded in agreement. "So, you're sure that you've never seen him before?" he asked them with a frown.

Mark and Sam looked thoughtful at this. "We are certain. Although, he may be a tenant of the corner house" Sam said.

Naruto and Carmen looked surprised at this. "The one that we thought we lost him in?" Carmen asked with wide eyes.

"They are new to our streets. A group of friends, we think" Mark said with a shrug.

"Although, we wouldn't know," Sam said with a frown. "They keep to themselves, and we never hear a peep from them."

Naruto and Carmen looked at each other, before Naruto walked to the door, while Carmen headed for Isabel.

"While it's a good look for you, I need to borrow that back" Carmen said with a smile, as she took her hat off Isabel and placed it back on her head.

"Hey!" Isabel said with a laugh.

"Thanks for your hospitality," Carmen said with a sigh, as she smiled at them.

Naruto nodded with a grin, as he leaned against the doorway. "Yeah, it was just what we needed," he said, as Carmen walked over.

"But we have bolo de rolos for dessert," Sam said with a grin, as she stood up with a plate of food.

Naruto opened the door, before he and Carmen looked back with smirks on their faces. "Thanks," Naruto said.

"But we need to catch up with a group of friends," Carmen added, before they walked out with Naruto shutting the door.

"Player, that little time out of ours did us some good," Naruto said, as they walked along with smiles on their faces.

"We can't change the past, but we can affect the present, by helping people like this family," Carmen said.

"Now that sounds like the friends that I know," Player said with a smile.

Once Naruto and Carmen arrived back at the house they lost Le Chevre in, they opened the door and began looking around.

"Now then, how was Le Chevre able to leave here, without us noticing?" Naruto asked himself, as he and Carmen walked around the room, while they looked for anything out of place.

As they were looking around, Carmen walked past the couch, before she stopped and noticed that there were scrape marks on the floor, and that a piece of wood was a lighter shade of colour, than the rest of the floor.

"Hello. What do we have here?" she thought to herself, as she pressed her foot on it, which allowed her and Naruto to hear gears moving about.

Carmen stepped back, and saw the couch move forward, revealing a metal trapdoor underneath it.

"Well well, lookie what we have here" Naruto said, as he walked over and opened it up, as he and Carmen looked down the hole, where it was dark enough that they couldn't see the bottom.

"How deep do ya think it goes?" Naruto asked.

"Let's find out," Carmen said, as she took off her jacket and hat. "Player, we're heading below ground" she said, as she placed them in a large bin.

Naruto took off his own jacket and hat, and placed them in a cupboard. "Yeah, so don't be surprised if you lose us" he said, as he and Carmen headed down the ladder.

"Shouldn't you guys wait for…." Player was saying, before he watched their icons disappear on the screen. "...backup?" he finished lamely.

After climbing down the ladder, they soon reached the bottom, before walking down the tunnel.

They'd only walked for a few minutes, when they heard voices.

"Can we wrap things up?" they heard Le Chevre's voice saying in irritation. They looked at each other for a moment, before they ran towards where they heard it.

"Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki are onto us" Le Chevre could be heard saying, as they peaked round a doorway. What they saw made their eyes widen in shock, as they saw a giant underground mining operation going on, with several VILE henchmen placed around the area, while Le Chevre and Tigress stood next to a conveyor belt machine, with Tigress' mask resting on the top of her head.

Tigress scoffed at this, with her arms crossed. "You disguise yourself as a goat, what did you expect?" she said, as she frowned at him.

"It is a costume, not a disguise!" Le Chèvre said with a scowl, as he took the mask off, where he tossed it to the side, before he crossed his arms with a huff of annoyance.

Tigress scoffed at this with a raised eyebrow, before looking at the conveyor belt. "Oh, come to Tigress" she said with a smile, as she picked up a piece of alexandrite. She then lowered her mask over her eyes, where the lenses lit up as she looked at it. "High grade."

Tigress lifted the gem up, as she twisted it in her fingertips with a smirk. "Who needs fun in the sun? It shines plenty bright down here" she said with a cocked eyebrow, before walking off.

Carmen and Naruto pulled back from the doorway, as they hid themselves. "The Cat, and the Goat" Carmen said with a frown.

Naruto nodded at this with his own frown. "Which means that the Mole can't be far behi -" he was saying, before he was interrupted by someone talking.

"Who likes delicious bolinhos?" they heard El Topo yelling out, as they frowned when they saw him walking over, while carrying two bags of food.

"I've brought some for -" he was saying happily, before he dropped the bags in shock upon seeing Naruto and Carmen.

The two of them glared at him, as El Topo advanced towards them, causing them to back up.

"- everyone," El Topo said with a smirk, as they entered the room.

"This doesn't look good," Naruto said.

Carmen gave a nod of agreement.

"Hey, look what I dug up," El Topo yelled out to the others.

This caused Le Chèvre to look over with a raised eyebrow, before he glared at Tigress. "See, what did I tell ya" he said, as he waved his arms at them.

Tigress looked over in surprise, before she glared as she took her mask off, and placed it on the conveyor belt's edge. "Get them!" she yelled, as she ran over.

Naruto and Carmen saw one of the VILE henchmen on the upper level looking down, before he ran for the stairs.

They then turned back to El Topo with a frown, before they ran at him, and tried to kick him over with a jumping scissor kick. But El Topo just smirked, as he grabbed their feet and pushed them back, sending them on their backs which caused them to grunt slightly in pain.

They sat up, and saw Tigress coming down on them with a yell, with her claws drawn out. They quickly rolled out of the way onto their feet, as her claws hit the ground.

"Looks like the cat needs to go to the vets, to get her claws clipped," Naruto said with a grin.

Carmen smiled at this, as she gave a quiet laugh. "Good one Naruto," she said.

"Sorry, but I hate the vets," Tigress said, as she ran towards them.

They saw a henchman running from the other direction, as he tried to hit them. They avoided his punches, before Naruto grabbed his arm and swung him round into Tigress, sending them both into a heap.

Upon seeing another henchman running towards them, they headed for the conveyor machine, and climbed up it, as the henchman landed on the conveyor belt with a grunt, from trying to grab them.

Once they got on top of the machine, they saw Le Chèvre climbing up the other side, which caused them to stop with a gasp.

Looking around, they noticed a conveyor belt carrying soil entering a hole next to them. They quickly ran onto it and held on, while Le Chevre dropped down to the top of another part of the machine, before he jumped to a large pile of rocks and climbed them.

Once he reached the top, he grabbed a pole and swung himself round it, as he kicked both Carmen and Naruto off the conveyor belt.

"Ugh!" they both grunted in pain, as they blocked him the best they could, while they fell to the ground.

They landed on their feet, and were about to try and run for it, before El Topo grabbed them both, and forced one of their arms behind their backs, before he forced them to the ground, where they struggled to escape his grip.

"Good catch, mon ami" Le Chevre said with a smile, as he landed next to them.

Tigress then walked forward with a smirk. "Well well, look who decided to drop in" she said, as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, don't worry. We don't plan on staying" Naruto said, as he and Carmen looked up at her.

"Yeah. It would be a real shame to travel all the way to Rio, and miss Carnivaal" Carmen said with a smirk, as she raised an eyebrow.

"Aw, they actually think they're gonna get out of this one. That's so fedorable!" Tigress said with a smirk, as Naruto and Carmen glared at her, while El Topo and Le Chevre tied them up.

"And while you're here whiskers, how's about giving me a kiss?" Tigress said, as she leaned down while puckering up her lips.

"Dream on," Naruto said.

"That's what I dream of every night, cutie," Tigress said with a grin.

"Get away from him!" Carmen growled out, as she tried to get loose.

Tigress just smirked at her, before she leaned back. "Maybe some other time, when we won't be so easily interrupted," she said with a smile, as she blew Naruto a kiss.

Naruto gave a groan at this while shaking his head, as Carmen glared at her.

"I'll inform the Faculty that we've finally captured both Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki" Le Chèvre said, as he and El Topo stood up.

"That won't be necessary" they heard a familiar voice saying, as everyone looked at the entrance to the tunnel in shock.

They saw a man wearing a bird mask enter the chamber. "We're already aware…." he was saying, as he removed the mask, to show that it was Shadowsan. "...and we thank you" as he glared at the two of them.

Carmen and Naruto both looked at him with worry, as they collectively thought "Oh crap."

"Trust me when I say, that each of you will be greatly rewarded for your part in capturing Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki" Shadowsan said, as he walked over.

"Cha-ching ba-ling!" Tigress said with a chuckle, as she pumped her fist.

Naruto and Carmen both grunted as they fought against their bonds, while glaring up at Shadowsan when he reached them.

"But Shadowsan, the other instructors had told us that you were missing" Le Chèvre said with a quirked eyebrow.

Shadowsan glanced over his shoulder at him slightly. "Keeping to the shadows was a necessary strategy, until earlier today when I could finally inform my colleagues at the island that I once again had Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki in my sights" he said, before looking back at the bound forms of Carmen and Naruto, who continued to glare up at him.

Shadowsan then looked over his shoulder at the VILE operatives. "Not knowing who might have leaked our whereabouts at Countess Cleo's chateau, I opted to keep my movements secret, for we would have captured our traitor that night had we not been suddenly surrounded by the police. Having no other recourse, I'd chosen to take extreme measures to keep up appearances in order to earn Carmen and Naruto's trust. I'd then left an elaborate trail of breadcrumbs to lure them back into our clutches all over again" he said with an evil grin, before turning to look at them again.

Naruto and Carmen were looking up at him with worry, as they wondered what he was planning.

"But Black Sheep and Dark Fox both despised you. How could you possibly win their trust so quickly?" Le Chèvre asked with a raised eyebrow, as he narrowed his eyes.

Shadowsan turned to him at this. "By knowing where they were most vulnerable, by concocting falsehoods about their past, by telling them exactly what they wanted to hear" Shadowsan said with a smirk.

The glares on Naruto and Carmen increased upon hearing this. "I'll make you eat those falsehoods" Carmen growled out angrily.

"And I'll help her," Naruto said with his own growl of anger.

Shadowsan then walked closer, before he crouched down before them. "Is it my fault that you were both foolish enough to believe that it was Coach Brunt who found you as babies?" he asked them with a smirk.

"What?" they both asked him with slightly wide eyes, as Carmen and Naruto raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, and in Moscow, of all places!" Shadowsan said with a smile, as he stood back up. "Coach Brunt has never even set foot in Russia" he said, as he turned around and began to laugh.

This caused Tigress, Le Chèvre and El Topo to laugh along with him, while Naruto and Carmen's eyes darted about in confusion.

Shadowsan then turned to face them, as he raised an eyebrow with a small smile.

They both smiled back at him, before looking at each other and slightly nodded.

"You….won't get away with this!" Carmen said, as she glared up at him, with Naruto nodding in agreement.

"Oh, I'm afraid that I already did" Shadowsan said, as he knelt down and slung them both over his shoulders.

"Ooh, snap! Good one, boss-a-nova" Tigress said with a grin, as she raised her hand for a high five.

Shadowsan ignored her, as he walked past, before looking over his shoulder. "I shall personally escort our prisoners back to VILE Island, where I shall ensure the appropriate punishment" he said, before he stopped as he gave a smirk. "Before I do, the gemstones?" he asked, as he turned around.

"Tonight, in the belly of the beast-Ooh!" El Topo was saying, before he got interrupted, when he was hit by Le Chèvre.

"If Shadowsan checked in with the others, then he no doubt already knows the plan-Oh!" Le Chèvre was saying, before he got interrupted when Shadowsan chopped him on the back of his neck, knocking him out and causing many to cringe.

"Enough of your insolence!" Shadowsan said with a frown.

Shadowsan glanced at Tigress and El Topo. "Tie him up. I'll return for him shortly" he said, before he turned around and walked off.

"Yes, Instructor Shadowsan"Tigress said with a smile. She then glared at El Topo, as she said "You heard him!" She then knelt down, and tied up Le Chèvre, with El Topo helping her.

0o0o0o0

(With Shadowsan, Naruto and Carmen)

Shadowsan was walking down the hallway in silence for a moment, before he gave a growl of annoyance.

"My efforts to remain invisible have been completely ruined. Of all the VILE operations to target, did you have to choose this one?" Shadowsan asked them with a scowl.

"What? You're the one who supplied the hard drive that was loaded with the intel" Carmen said, as she glared at him.

"Plus, we're working our way down the list, not going by random choice," Naruto added in.

"Oh, and maybe a note saying, 'Hey, please stay away from South America' would have been really helpful," Carmen said, before she began squirming. "And do you mind?"

"Yeah, I think that we've walked far enough," Naruto said with a nod.

Shadowsan gave a growl at this, as he placed them both down, before untying their hands and feet.

0o0o0o0

(Back in the cavern)

A gagged Le Chèvre was glaring up at Tigress, as she finished tying him up, when the computer screen came on, showing Maelstrom.

{"Tigress, report"} he said, with his fingers pressed together.

Tigress stood up with a smirk, as she placed her hands on her hips. "All of the gems have been packed, and are ready to be delivered. And you're about to receive a very special delivery of a whole other kind too" she said with her eyes narrowed, as she gave a cruel smirk.

Gunnar looked interested upon hearing this. {"Do tell"} he said with a smile, as he raised an eyebrow.

"Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki. We were able to nab them both, and Shadowsan's providing the return trip" she said with a grin and a raised eyebrow, as El Topo looked at her with a small smile, while Le Chèvre squirmed on the ground. Tigress then gave a sigh. "And I never got a chance to kiss that cutie before they left," she said with a pout.

The smile on Maelstrom's face quickly disappeared, only to be replaced with a frown. "Shadowsan?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tigress gave a hum at this, as she nodded her head. {"You should have seen Carmen's face. She looked like she was about to ugly-cry"} she said with a smirk, as she ran her finger down her cheek. {"Naruto though, he was glaring at him furiously."}

"You saw Shadowsan?" Professor Maelstrom asked her with a raised eyebrow, as he leaned forward slightly.

{"Yep, and he was wearing some freaky-beaky bird mask. He showed up right after speaking with you guys"} Tigress said with a grin, as she tilted her head slightly to the side.

The Faculty members glanced at each other with curiosity. "Spoke with us?" Cleo asked.

{"About how he was under deep cover, and why he had to help Carmen and Naruto escape, and…."} Tigress was saying, before she stopped as she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Countess Cleo and Dr Bellum looked at each with a raised eyebrow, while Maelstrom bowed his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose, as Coach Brunt had wide eyes of shocked surprise.

{"Did Shadowsan not call you today?"} Tigress asked them with a look of worry, while Coach Brunt's hands shook, as she clenched them into fists.

"RAH!" Brunt roared out in anger, as she stood up with her fists in the air, and slammed them onto the table as she sat down, which caused one of the lights to fall, and shatter on the ground.

Both Tigress and El Topo watched this with speechless looks on their faces.

Le Chèvre was able to get the gag off of his mouth, as he glared over his shoulder at them. "Untie me!" he demanded from them, which jolted them out of their shock.

"After them!" Tigress yelled at the henchmen, as she pointed at the tunnel. The henchmen raced down the tunnel, while El Topo untied Le Chèvre.

0o0o0o0

(With Shadowsan, Carmen and Naruto)

The three of them ran down the tunnel, as they headed for the ladder.

"And hey, you're the one who'd taught Stealth 101 at VILE Academy," Carmen said with a smile.

Naruto nodded in agreement at this. "Yeah. If you want to stay invisible, you've got to keep your mask on" he said with his own smile.

Shadowsan just gave a grunt of annoyance at this.

"Sneaking you past three dozen operatives would have proven quite impossible" Shadowsan said, as they reached the ladder and looked up to make sure it was safe. "Showing my face was the only strategic option" he said, as he turned to face them.

They then heard a distant thudding noise, followed by shouting, as they looked down the tunnel.

"Cat's outta the bag" Carmen said with a grin, before she climbed up the ladder.

Naruto and Shadowsan briefly looked down the tunnel, before Naruto followed her, with Shadowsan right behind him.

Carmen pushed the trapdoor open as she climbed out, and headed for the bin her coat and jacket was in. And once Naruto had climbed out, he headed for the cupboard his own coat and hat were in, before they put them back on.

Shadowsan climbed out of the trapdoor, before he closed it shut.

In Player's room, Naruto and Carmen's icons reappeared, making him smile in relief.

"Guys, you're back online! What'd I miss?" he asked them.

"We'll fill you in later," Carmen said, as they exited the house.

"But let's just say….that we bumped into an acquaintance" Naruto said, as he and Carmen looked at Shadowsan with a grin each, which he returned with a small one of his own.

Player narrowed his eyes in thought at this, before they widened in realisation. "Ninja reappearing act!" he said with a cocked eyebrow, as he gave a smirk.

"Yup" they said together, before they ran down one of the streets.

A few minutes later, Tigress, Le Chèvre and El Topo exited the house, as they looked around for them.

Le Chèvre and El Topo looked at Tigress, to see if she had a plan. "Go!" she said, as she pointed in one direction, as the two of them ran down a street each, while Tigress went down another one.

She soon stopped for a moment, as she just missed Carmen, Naruto and Shadowsan heading down a street. She looked around with a glare, before she headed down the street, thinking that she'd find them.

She soon ended up at a crossroads as she looked around, not noticing that they'd taken to the rooftops.

She gave a growl of annoyance, before running off down one of the streets.

Carmen, Naruto and Shadowsan jumped across the rooftops, just as El Topo saw them leaping over the street he was looking down.

"Mi amigo, they've taken the high ground" El Topo said with a frown into his earpiece, before he ran off.

"Understood, mon ami" Le Chèvre said, before he parkoured himself to the rooftops, where he arrived just in time to see them running past him.

"I am in pursuit now" Le Chèvre said in his earpiece, before he ran after them with a frown.

Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan each leapt from different rooftops, with Le Chèvre hot on their heels.

They soon arrived at a dead end, with Carmen parkouring over it, while Naruto leapt onto the metal box before jumping onto the rooftop next to it, then grabbed the side and hopped over the edge, as Shadowsan just ran up the wall, before diving over the edge.

Le Chèvre followed after them, as he parkoured to the top before he grabbed the top and flipped himself over, where he landed in a crouch.

He was about to continue on, when he couldn't spot Naruto, Carmen or Shadowsan anywhere.

He looked everywhere in disbelief, wondering where they were. As he turned around, a bus drove by on the street, causing him to glance over at it slightly, as he grit his teeth in annoyance, before his eyes darted about as he frowned.

On the other side of the bus, Carmen, Naruto and Shadowsan hung onto it, as they glanced at each other with satisfied smirks, as the bus drove along.

0o0o0o0

(At Vile Isle)

The rest of the Faculty were walking about, as they talked.

"The mind reels at the possible layers of deception. But it would appear that the master of stealth has been playing us all for fools for quite some time now" Cleo said with a frown, as she raised an eyebrow.

"Since his recent field trip to Poitiers? Or since the day he brought those babies to our island?" Saira asked curiously, as she looked around.

"Nurturing our future nemesis's right under our noses for almost 20 years while continuing to operate as our equal?" Maelstrom asked with a deep frown, before glancing at her over his shoulder. "That would be quite the long game, Dr. Bellum."

"And what would he possibly have against us, after welcoming him into our fold the way we did?" Coach Brunt asked in concern.

"The fact remains, if Shadowsan is now allied with Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki and they are, in turn, allied with this ACME…." Countess Cleo said with a raised eyebrow.

"Then VILE may no longer be the world's best kept evil secret" Gunnar said with a glare, as they stood around the VILE logo on the floor, as the Cleaners took away the broken piece of light.

0o0o0o0

(Back in Rio)

Carmen, Naruto and Shadowsan were walking up some steps, after jumping off the bus a while ago.

"VILE is attempting to move a half billion dollars worth of uncut gemstones out of Rio tonight" Shadowsan said, as they stopped at the top of the stairs.

Naruto and Carmen both whistled upon hearing this. "That's probably more than enough to fund every future plan indicated on that hard drive you gave to us" Carmen said, as she and Naruto followed Shadowsan up a pile of bags to the roof.

"Yeah, and probably them some too" Naruto said with a nod of agreement.

"So, shouldn't we be trying to sneak back into the mine right now?" Carmen asked, with Naruto giving a nod of agreement.

"Could you not see that their operation has been thoroughly mined?" Shadowsan asked, as he looked over his shoulder at them with a raised eyebrow. "The gemstones have already been moved to a second location" he said, as he faced the front.

"Right, 'the belly of the beast' they said," Carmen said with a frown.

"So, you're taking us to that location?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Shadowsan gave a frown at this. "If I knew where it was, I would. I was tracking the operative Le Chevre, silently. When these children became an unnecessary and rather loud complication," he said with a frown, as they stopped next to a water container.

He grabbed hold of the lid and lifted it, showing Naruto and Carmen the tied up and gagged forms of Zack and Ivy, who squirmed and gave muffled shouts upon seeing them.

They reached in, and removed the gags from their mouths, as they panted.

"Carm, Naru, we found Goat Boy, but his buddy jumped us!" Zack said, as Naruto used a knife to cut the rope off them.

"Yeah, his disguise wasn't as obvious, a mole wearing a bird beak" Ivy said with a glare, as Zack looked slightly upset.

"We never saw him coming," Zack said with a sigh, while Ivy looked unhappy.

Naruto and Carmen both went and stood next to Shadowsan, as the three of them glanced knowingly with each other.

Zack and Ivy climbed out of the water container, with Ivy looking at Shadowsan curiously. "So, uh, who's your pal?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, as Zack fell to the ground from climbing out of the container.

Naruto and Carmen looked at each other awkwardly, before looking back at the others. "Um, crew, meet Shadowsan" Carmen said, as she gestured at him.

Zack stood up with a grin upon hearing this. "Oh, man, the ninja?" he asked excitedly, as he clenched his hands together, while biting his bottom lip.

"The mean teacher who'd cheated both Carmen and Naruto out of a passing grade and tried to stop them from leaving the island" Ivy said with a glare.

Both Naruto and Carmen looked at them in slight shock, as Shadowsan glanced at them with a raised eyebrow. "Um, we might have mentioned you on occasion," Naruto said, as he and Carmen looked at Shadowsan with a sheepish grin each, before they looked serious.

"But what's past is past. Shadowsan's on our side now" Carmen said with a smile, as she folded her arms.

"Oh, man, I can't believe that I'm gonna get to learn all the wicked ninja moves!" Zack said with a wide smile, before he raised his hands and made a chopping motion at Shadowsan. "Hiyah!" Zack yelled out, before he gasped as Shadowsan easily stopped him, by raising his hand.

Zack leaned in close, as he narrowed his eyes slightly. "I can see that my training has already begun, Sensei" he said, as he bowed his head slightly with closed eyes, before backing away while Shadowsan lowered his hand.

Ivy glared at him, as she made the 'I'm watching you' gesture.

Shadowsan just growled in annoyance, as he rolled his eyes slightly.

0o0o0o0

(At the top of Corcovado Mountain)

Julia and Zari were standing at the edge while leaning on the railing, at the base of the statue, as they looked out at the city of Rio, before Zari's phone beeped, causing her to pull it out.

"Security camera footage. Why would our perpetrators so openly flaunt their positions?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, as she showed Agent Argent the video.

"Well, if Carmen and Naruto have been here in Rio de Janeiro for three days and a major theft hasn't yet been committed, perhaps they were simply taking the quickest route from point A to point B" Julia said.

"Don't you mean point V?" Zari asked her with a cocked eyebrow, with Julia raising one questionably. "They might have been rushing off to meet their friends from VILE."

Julia narrowed her eyes at this. "We shouldn't assume that Ms. Sandiego and Mr. Uzumaki are actually in league with the enemy," she said, as Zari looked at her.

"By all accounts, Agent Devineaux was not in his right mind during his last encounter with them, which means that we shouldn't fully trust whatever it is that he told Chief that he thinks he saw," Julia said with a frown, as she lifted her glasses to rest on her nose.

0o0o0o0

(Paris, Interpol)

Chase was walking down the hallway, with another man known as Roger.

"Welcome back to Interpol, Monsieur Devineaux. We are delighted to see that you have fully recovered from your fall" Roger said with a smile.

Chase looked at him in confusion. "Fall?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The reason for your medical leave….'onto the hood of your car' I believe it was" Roger said, as he looked at his clipboard with a raised eyebrow.

Chase widened his eyes at this, as they both stopped walking, before Chase raised a hand. "Never mind that. I am anxious to dive back in" he said with a grin, as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Ah, bon!" Roger said with a smile, as he opened the door next to them. "We have quite a backlog of case files that need to be verified, recorded and logged" he said with a grin, as he gestured inside the room.

Chase looked round him with a quirked eyebrow, as he saw elderly men sitting behind desks, with a pile of paperwork on either side of them.

One was stamping a piece of paper, a second looked to have fallen asleep while a third was using a magnifying glass to look at a piece of paper.

Chase looked puzzled at this, as he turned back to Roger. "P-paperwork? But I'm an inspector, a field agent" he said with a determined look, as he stood tall.

Roger raised an eyebrow at this, as he looked at his clipboard. "Mm, no. It says so right here in your transfer papers: 'file clerk' Monsieur Devineaux" he said, as he showed it to him, by pointing at what was written.

Chase had a look of disbelief at seeing this. "Doing our part for a safer world" Roger said with a two finger salute, before he walked off, while leaving Chase with his mouth gawking open.

Chase tried to stop him, as he raised a hand, before he gave a sag as he groaned.

0o0o0o0

(Back in Rio)

The fireworks were going off, as people danced on boats, with some watching from boats, while everyone watched the floats and dancers go by, with Naruto, Carmen, Shadowsan, Zack and Ivy standing on a rooftop overlooking everything.

{"Okay, so here's the half billion dollar question: why would VILE wait until tonight to move the gemstones right in the middle of Carnival?"} Player asked curiously on Naruto's phone, with a raised eyebrow.

"More children?" Shadowsan asked in surprise with his eyes wide, and eyebrows raised. He then narrowed his eyes on them. "Please, tell me that this is another one of your unruly pranks," he said.

"Nope, no joke," Carmen said with a smile.

Naruto gave a nod as he grinned. "Yeah, Player is our secret weapon" he said.

"You'd think it would be harder to get a ton of gems past all of the party people down there" Ivy said, as she leaned over while looking down.

Both Naruto and Carmen raised an eyebrow at this, before noticing something of interest, as they looked through their binoculars. "Unless they use a parade float to move then" Carmen said, as she and Naruto looked at all the different floats.

"The 'belly of the beast' is what they said, correct?" Naruto said with a grin, as he and Carmen glanced over at Shadowsan with a grin and a raised eyebrow each.

"The three of us know that hiding in plain sight is VILE's MO" Shadowsan said, as he looked over at them.

{"One thing isn't clicking through. The buyers are in Prague. VILE can't actually drive a parade float all the way to Eastern Europe, can they?"} Player asked curiously.

"I doubt that floats actually float on water," Ivy said.

Zack gave a gasp of realisation. "But duck boats do though! Quack, quack!" he said, before he acted like one.

"Are they making up words? What are they talking about" Shadowsan asked with a glare.

"VILE mined the gems way under there. If they need to get their booty across town and into the water, they'd need a float that can drive on both land and sea" Ivy said, as she looked out at the ocean.

{"I think that you guys might be onto something"} Player said, as Naruto and Carmen looked at the phone with smirks, while Zack and Ivy looked over with smirks of their own.

{"These so-called 'duck boats' were built during World War II, when they were being used to transport cargo and troops"} Player said with a grin. {"The Axis powers - Germany, Italy and Japan - seized a lot of European cities by force, so America and England needed a way to take back occupied Europe."}

"Yeah, and these duck boats were the perfect way to do it," Zack said with a smile.

"They had six wheel drive and could float" Ivy added with her own smile.

{"The allied troops used them to storm Europe from the water. And after the war, the army had a surplus of these floating tanks, so they sold them around the world. And now they're being used in city tours to haul visitors over land and water" Player said with a grin.

"Boston Harbour is full of 'em!" Zack said with a large smile.

Naruto and Carmen glanced over at Shadowsan. "If it quacks like a duck and floats like a duck…." Carmen said with a smile, as she shrugged her shoulders at him.

Shadowsan just continued to scowl, as he said nothing.

0o0o0o0

(A few minutes later)

Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan were alone on the rooftop, as Zack and Ivy had left.

They looked around for anything suspicious, when Naruto saw something that caused him to raise his eyebrow.

"See something?" Carmen asked him, seeing that something had caught his eye.

Naruto placed his binoculars to his eyes, and looked at the parade where the other floats were, before he moved the binoculars to a different street, where he saw a dragon float with a castle on its back moving along.

"We've got a stray," Naruto said, as Carmen looked through her own binoculars.

"And it's a beast too" Carmen said, as she took a photo with her binoculars, before sending it to Player.

"Okay, so VILE's gonna float or fly that thing all the way to Eastern Europe?" Player asked with a raised eyebrow.

{"They've got to have some kind of rendezvous point somewhere out on the water"} Carmen said.

Naruto gave a nod of agreement at this. "Did you send Zack and Ivy scavenging?" he asked.

{"The parade crew has their marching orders"} Player said.

Both Carmen and Naruto smiled at this, as they lowered their binoculars. "Then, Shadowsan, it's time for us and you to engage in a little stealth one oh -" Carmen was saying, as she and Naruto looked over at where he was standing, only to notice that he was gone.

"...one" Carmen finished with a deadpan.

"What did you expect babe?" Naruto said with a knowing look.

Carmen just shook her head at this, before she ran to the edge of the rooftop, and jumped off as she activated her glider, with Naruto not far behind her, as he did the same, as they headed for the VILE float.

0o0o0o0

(Meanwhile)

The VILE float moved along the beach, scaring a few people as it did, before ending up on the water.

El Topo was at the steering wheel, as he looked around nervously. "And what if Shadowsan should return for us? I don't want a karate chop" he said, as he and Le Chevre looked over at Tigress, who was leaning over at the back of the float.

Tigress glared at this. "He's gone from the dark side, to the reddish orange side. Which means that we have permission to teach 'Teach' a lesson" she said as she looked over her shoulder with a smirk, as she flexed her claws.

El Topo gave a nervous gulp upon hearing this.

"If you have any hesitation, mon ami, just remember all those painful origami lessons" Le Chèvre said, as he and Tigress went down some stairs.

El Topo gave a smile at this, as he retook the wheel.

What none of them realised though, was that Shadowsan was hanging onto the back of the float.

Once he could hear nothing after a while, he carefully and quietly climbed up. He then carefully looked over the edge, and saw El Topo still at the steering wheel as he drove the float.

Shadowsan then hopped over the edge, and quietly landed in a crouch. He then stood up and quietly tiptoed towards him, while hunched over.

He'd almost reached El Topo, when he heard the noise of some fabric rustling. He looked up in surprised shock, and saw Carmen and Naruto gliding over.

They pulled themselves up out of the dive, and folded their gliders away, as they lashed out a side kick each at El Topo, who was too shocked to see them, to say anything, as he gave a grunt frown being kicked.

As they kicked him over the edge, they flipped themselves backwards, so that they'd land near the steering wheel in a three point crouch.

Both Tigress and Le Chèvre looked over in shock, as El Topo landed on the dragon's head with a grunt, his eyes closed in pain, before sliding down it.

"Again with blowing my cover?" Shadowsan asked them with a frown. "I was invisible to them."

Tigress and Le Chèvre looked up at them with glares, before they growled as they ran for the stairs.

"Again with running off without a note?" Carmen asked with a frown with Naruto nodding in agreement, as they walked over to Shadowsan.

"I saw an opening. I thought that I could save you both the trouble" Shadowsan said.

"No more saving us anything, please?" Naruto said, as he shook his head.

"Yeah, we really need to talk," Carmen said.

Before anyone else could say anything, they heard Le Chèvre let out a yell, as they saw him hopping over the ledge before them, just as Tigress arrived from climbing the stairs, who flexed her claws with a yell, as they ran at them.

"We'll talk later!" the three of them said at the same time, as they rushed to meet them head on.

Le Chèvre tried to punch Shadowsan, who dodged it by spinning around, before he grabbed his arm over his shoulder, and threw Le Chèvre to the lower level of the float, causing Le Chèvre to let out a yell of surprise, before he crashed into a suit of armour with a grunt. This caused it to break into pieces, and Le Chèvre to slide to a stop crouched down, just as Shadowsan landed before him in a crouch.

Le Chèvre then noticed a sword stuck in the wood in front of him, which he grabbed with a smirk as he pulled it free.

"Ha ha!" Le Chèvre said triumphantly with a smirk.

Shadowsan then reached for the sword from the other piece of armour, but El Topo pulled it out before he could.

"Ha ha!" El Topo said with a smirk of his own.

The three of them just stood there for a moment, before Le Chèvre and El Topo swung their swords at Shadowsan, who easily weaved his way through their swings.

He then pushed El Topo forward, almost sending him barreling into Le Chèvre, who'd sidestepped in time to dodge, with El Topo slamming into the edge of the float.

Le Chèvre then jumped up, and swung the sword down at Shadowsan, who dodged by stepping backwards, and avoided the next few swings, as he danced around Le Chèvre, causing him to stumble.

El Topo looked over his shoulder with a glare, before shouting as he ran over. As he did, Shadowsan noticed a boat heading towards them, causing him to frown as he continued to dodge Le Chèvre and El Topo's sword swings.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Carmen both stood across from Tigress, ready for anything she might try.

"Teacher's pets!" Tigress said with a glare, as she extended her claws, before running towards them.

Tigress swung her claws at them, with Carmen and Naruto avoiding them as they each moved to one side.

"Really? Huh, and here we thought that you were Shadowsan's favourite during school" Naruto said with a smile, as he lashed out a side kick at Tigress, just as Carmen threw a brick at her, causing Tigress to get hit in the head, as she grunted in pain.

Carmen gave a laugh at this, as she kicked some more loose bricks in the air. "Good one Naruto" she said, as she kicked the bricks at Tigress, causing her to stumble back from the hits.

Tigress clenched her hands in anger as she growled, before she lunged at Carmen with a shriek, her claws extended.

She swiped at her a few times, with Carmen backpedalling to dodge. Naruto came to help, as he jumped in the air, and came down with a drop kick, which Tigress dodged just in time.

Tigress then swiped at the two of them, causing them to cartwheel on the edge of the roof to dodge.

Once they reached the front, they glanced over their shoulders in curiosity, as they noticed the boat approaching.

"Friends of yours?" Carmen asked with a grin.

"Stick around to find out!" Tigress said with a smirk, before she lunged at them with a swipe of her claw, giving a yell as she did.

"No thanks" Naruto said with his own grin, as he and Carmen jumped over her, causing Tigress to break a few bricks to pieces, which rained down on the fight with Shadowsan against El Topo and Le Chèvre, causing the three of them to run.

Shadowsan ran for a suit of armour, and grabbed its shield before jumping away, as El Topo swung his sword at him, destroying the suit.

Shadowsan put the shield on his arm, and used it to help block El Topo and Le Chèvre's attacks.

During one of El Topo's attacks, Shadowsan dodged by ducking underneath it, causing El Topo to jab the sword into the dragon's head. He tried to pull the sword free, but Shadowsan kicked him away before pulling the sword out himself. This caused some alexandrite rocks to fall out onto the deck, while Shadowsan blocked Le Chèvre's attack.

Le Chèvre looked back at the stones on the floor, which allowed Shadowsan to kick him in his chest, and for the sword he was holding to get thrown in the air.

Shadowsan caught the sword when it came down, and pointed one each at El Topo and Le Chèvre, who had looks of shock, as they raised their hands in surrender.

Meanwhile, Tigress had kicked Naruto towards the edge at the back, where he toppled over, as he grabbed the edge before he went too far down.

"It might be a nice night for a swim, but maybe later" Naruto said as he looked down, before pulling himself back up. As he did, he saw Tigress trying to hit Carmen with her claws as she growled at her, with Carmen grabbing hold of her forearms to stop her, before Tigress kicked her towards the steering wheel.

Carmen then watched with wide eyes, as Tigress then leapt into the air, and came down with her arm thrust forward and claws extended. Carmen glared up at Tigress, and ducked underneath her, just as her claws got stuck in the wheel.

Tigress glared and grunted as she tried to free her clawed hand.

"I think we can help with that," Naruto said, making Tigress look over in surprise, as she saw Carmen and Naruto standing together next to her.

The two of them smiled at each other, before they high fived their hands together and grabbed them, before they spun around and kicked Tigress off the float who gave a grunt of pain, sending her through the dragon's left wing and into the water with a splash with a yell, before she came up with a gasp, as she coughed up some water, and glared up at them.

"Aw, kittycats and water don't mix" Carmen said, as the two of them leaned on the edge, while smiling down at her.

They then turned to the front, and saw Shadowsan leading El Topo and Le Chèvre towards the edge of the float, while still at sword point and their hands in the air.

Carmen took hold of the wheel, and quickly spun it, which caused them both to fall off with a yell and splash into the water.

As the float turned around to head back towards Rio, Naruto was leaning on the edge while Carmen steered.

"What is it with you, us and nighttime boat rides?" Naruto asked, as Shadowsan walked over.

"This is far from over. We must find a way to transport a half billion dollars worth of uncut gemstones without any detection" Shadowsan said with a frown, as he stood next to Carmen.

"Player?" Carmen asked, putting a finger to her earpiece.

{"All of the arrangements have been made, Red. You've got clearance to rendezvous with the harbour crew"} Player told them.

"Then off to the harbour we go," Naruto said.

Meanwhile, the VILE boat was still moving along, as a group of speedboats came from behind, and headed towards the VILE operatives in the water.

"Hey! Over here!" Tigress yelled, as she waved her arm over her head.

"Hello!" Le Chèvre yelled out, waving both arms about.

"Help!" El Topo shouted, as he flailed his arms about, while trying to keep himself afloat.

As Carmen pulled the dragon float into an abandoned harbour, they looked around.

"Carm! Naru! Over here!" they heard someone yelling, and looked up to see Zack hanging out of the window of a crane cabin, waving an arm at them, with Ivy sitting at the controls.

Ivy gave a smirk, as she moved some levers, which allowed her to lift something up from a warehouse, making Shadowsan raise an eyebrow while Naruto and Carmen grinned.

"Last year's parade stock. They've got whole warehouses full of this stuff here!" Zack said with a smile, as Ivy lowered a giant duck float down.

"Bait and switch" Shadowsan said with a smile, as Naruto and Carmen looked at him with raised eyebrows, as they grinned.

The duck float knocked the wings off the dragon float, and into the water as it settled into place.

"Come on you two, let's get outta here" Naruto yelled at, as he waved Zack and Ivy over.

They both nodded in agreement at this, as they climbed down from the cabin. They both ran over to the warehouse and grabbed a costume each from the doorway, before running along the right side of the jetty, and hopped on.

Carmen then carefully turned the float around, and left the harbour, while Zack and Ivy put the costumes on.

0o0o0o0

(With the VILE operatives)

The group of speedboats drove to the harbour, with Tigress, El Topo and Le Chèvre riding on the middle one.

"They can't have gotten far! Spread out, and find them!" Tigress yelled into a radio, as the boats split up.

She then pressed a button on the console, which turned a screen on and connected her with the VILE Faculty.

{"Tigress, is it true? Has Shadowsan joined with Carmen and Naruto?"} Maelstrom asked her, with his fingers interlocked.

Tigress gave a nod at this. "Yes, Professor, we can now definitely confirm that Carmen and Naruto are now working together with Shadowsan" she said with a frown.

Gunnar gave a sigh at this, while closing his eyes, before reopening them. {"Most unfortunate"} he said, as Brunt picked up her chair and threw it in the background with a roar, before stomping off.

{"Now, would you care to explain to us how you can so quickly lose sight of a giant dragon?"} Professor Maelstrom yelled out in anger, making the three operatives back up slightly in worry.

0o0o0o0

(With Carmen and the others)

As the duck disguised dragon floated along, Zack and Ivy were dancing and singing in some duck costumes.

" Samba, samba, samba, quack, quack. Samba, samba, samba, quack, quack. Samba, samba, samba, quack, quack " Zack was singing while Ivy hummed, as they danced. "I've got two left feet, hey!"

"Oh, yeah, check me out!" Ivy said with a laugh, as they bumped hips together, while Carmen, Naruto and Shadowsan grinned at this, as Naruto and Carmen rolled their eyes.

"So, what do you suggest that we do with a duck boat full of uncut gemstones?" Shadowsan asked Naruto and Carmen, as he looked at them with a smile.

Naruto and Carmen smiled back at him, before looking over at Rio. "What this team usually does," Naruto said.

"We give back to the community" Carmen said, as she steered the boat towards the city.

0o0o0o0

(The next day)

Mark, Sam and Isabel looked at a red box on the side dresser curiously.

"I found it by the door," Sam said.

"Oh, what do you suppose it is?" Isabel asked excitedly, as she pulled the lid off and put her hand inside.

"Isabel, no! We don't know where it came from" Mark said in concern, as he and Sam walked over.

Isabel then pulled her hand out, showing that she was holding a purple coloured rock.

"It's a rock," she said with a puzzled look, and a raised eyebrow.

Sam then reached into the box, and pulled something out, which was a card of some kind.

She opened it up, and saw a piece of paper was inside it. "A bank account has been opened for a community fund" she said, after reading what was on the card, as she and Mark had a raised eyebrow at this.

She then opened up the piece of paper, and gave a gasp of surprise, causing her to drop the card, while Mark widened his eyes.

"That is a lot of money. Who is this from anyway?" he asked.

"A charitable foundation: Black Sheep and Dark Fox Incorporated" Sam said.

Isabel turned the rock over curiously, before smiling when she found some gems inside it.

0o0o0o0

(Meanwhile)

Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan were sitting at a table along a beach front.

The two of them were drinking from a mug each, while glancing at Shadowsan, waiting for him to say something.

"So, here we are," Carmen said, placing her cup down, as she looked at Shadowsan.

"I suppose you're wondering what is next, as am I" Shadowsan said to them.

They both nodded at this.

"Well, it's a small world for thieves like us," Naruto said with a slight grin.

"Yeah, it's just a matter of time before we cross paths again, causing us to trip each other up, blow our cover" Carmen said with a shrug.

"And the next thing you know, the bad guys are making a getaway and we're at each other's throats all over again" Naruto said with a shrug.

"So, you're suggesting that we coordinate our efforts?" Shadowsan asked with a cocked eyebrow.

They both nodded at him, while closing their eyes as they did, before opening them back up.

"Your knowledge of VILE runs way deeper than ours" Naruto said.

Carmen nodded in agreement at this. "Yeah, and we'd welcome your strategy" she said, as she grinned at him.

Before Shadowsan could say anything, he raised his hand to grab a piece of food thrown at him from behind, before he looked at Zack and Ivy with a small glare, as they were sitting at an outside bar.

"She/he did it!" they both said at the same time, while pointing at each other.

Shadowsan looked at Carmen and Naruto, as he gave a growl of annoyance. "I thought -" he was saying, before they held up a hand each to stop him.

"Our crew, our rules," Naruto said with a frown.

"And no more disappearing acts" Carmen said with her own frown, before smiling as she lowered her hand. "We learn to communicate."

Naruto nodded in agreement at this, as he leaned back in his chair, with his arms crossed.

Shadowsan looked worried for a moment, before he sat up slightly more straight, as he looked off into the distance.

Naruto and Carmen frowned slightly at Shadowsan, as they waited for him to talk. "I was on the island living a lie, while you, both children, achieved the unthinkable, by forging your own paths. You both paved the way for me to follow in your footsteps. Without any question, it is now I who am the student and you the masters" Shadowsan said with a slight smile, as he bowed a little at them.

Naruto and Carmen looked slightly surprised upon hearing this, as they looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Communication also means no more secrets," Naruto said firmly, with Carmen nodding in agreement.

Shadowsan gave a sigh at this. "I was a young operative for VILE, sent to Argentina on a mission" he said to them with a sad frown, making their eyes widen upon hearing this. "Bringing back two abandoned babies was not that mission. I wish that I had more to tell you, but I don't."

Naruto and Carmen leaned back into their chairs, with slightly upset looks, before giving him a small smile each.

"You do see them?" Carmen asked with a raised eyebrow, and a slight smirk.

"Of course" Shadowsan said with his own cocked eyebrow, while Naruto nodded with a smirk of his own.

Naruto then pulled some notes out of his shirt pocket, before placing them on the table. "The cafezinhos are on me," he said with a smile.

Across the street, Zari and Julia were walking through a crowd of people, before they stopped. "Are you certain that it's them?" Zari asked Julia, as they both leaned forward slightly.

"Yes, absolutely," Julia replied with a frown.

"Then we take them," Zari said, before they ran across the street, while avoiding vehicles.

Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan were smiling at each other, as though unaware of the two agents running towards them.

Julia was huffing and panting for breath as they got closer.

Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan then stood up, and looked at the two agents, with Naruto and Carmen smiling with a cocked eyebrow, while Shadowsan was stone faced.

A few vehicles passed in front of them, and once they did the three of them had vanished without a trace, which caused Julia to let out a gasp of shock, while Zari gave a growl of annoyance just as they arrived at the table they were sitting at.

Zari then pulled out her phone, and began touching the screen, which made Julia raise an eyebrow curiously.

Zari touched Shadowsan's face on her phone, and made the sketch of him appear alongside it, before the phone scanned them both, which then confirmed them to be identical.

"You still think that they aren't working with VILE?" Zari asked Julia, before she held her phone up to her. "Well, that face belongs to one of the two operatives who your former partner ID'ed. And if you ask me, he seemed pretty darn chummy with both Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki."

This caused Julia to have a look of shock on her face, upon hearing this.

0o0o0o0

(With Interpol)

Chase had just stamped the final piece of paper, and put onto a large tower of papers. He then leaned back to relax, before another load of papers were placed next to him, causing him to sigh, as he took one off the tower.

He then picked up his pen, and looked at it curiously with a raised eyebrow, before looking around at everyone working. He then clicked it once, before moving it towards his mouth. "Hello? Hello, hello?" he said.

He gave a frown, before looking at Roger, who was looking at him curiously.

"Er, I thought that it was my other pen" Chase said, as he gave a weak laugh, before he gave another sigh, as he clicked it once again.

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.

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.