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 15 - The Stockholm Syndrome Caper
(At VILE Isle)
The four Faculty members were sitting at their big table.
"All in favour?" Maelstrom asked, as he and Bellum raised their hands, before putting them down.
"And all who oppose?" Maelstrom then asked, with Brunt and Cleo raising their hands, before lowering them.
This caused the professor to sigh, as he placed his hand on his forehead, while closing his eyes. "Esteemed fellow Faculty, we really must come to a consensus on this potentially grave matter" he said, as he opened his eyes before narrowing them.
Countess Cleo looked over at him, as she raised an eyebrow. "Gunnar, you are advising that we abandon the very paradise that we have built our empire" she said, as he glanced at her, causing the other two to look over at him as well.
"And this year's classes are our fiercest ever!" Brunt said, as she slammed her fist on the table. "Why quit now?" she asked, as she raised her hands in confusion.
"No one here is suggesting that VILE quits, Coach Brunt. Merely, relocate. The change of scenery could do us some good. Perhaps even reinvigorating our masterminding" Saira said with a grin, as she pointed at her head.
"I suppose that we don't really know how many of our secrets those traitors have shared with this ACME" Cleo said angrily, with a glare.
"If Carmen Sandiego, Naruto Uzumaki and Shadowsan really are working hand in hand with a secret law enforcement agency, it is only a matter of time before invading forces come rowing onto our shores" Professor Maelstrom said, as they all looked at a picture of Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan on the big screen.
0o0o0o0
(In Sweden)
The city of Stockholm was covered in ice and snow, as a cold wind blew through, while a person wearing a road hat and coat walked down a street….with ACME agents watching from various parts of the city.
Agent's Zari and Julia were watching the figure walking past a large building, as they were in an alleyway. "One of the targets is in our sights," Zari said into her pen.
{"Only one of them?"} Chief asked.
"Yes ma'am. No sign of the other" Zari said in confirmation.
{"I didn't have you follow Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki all the way to Sweden, just to watch them sightsee. Bring em in"} Chief said, as Zari hung up before continuing to follow Carmen.
One of the agent's watched Carmen through a pair of binoculars, as she walked down a street, with another poking her head round a corner as she stood in an alley.
Zari and Julia were walking along on the opposite side of the street as Carmen, when Julia walked down an alleyway with a frown and stopped in a little alcove. She then pulled out her spy pen while clicking it as she looked back for a moment, before letting the pen drop to the ground, where it stood before the hologram of Chief appeared before her.
{"Make it quick, Argent"} Chief said simply.
"After what transpired in Milan, you agreed to consider my recommendation that we recruit Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki" Julia said with a frown.
{"And I did. But we can't recruit them while they're on the run. We need to pin them down"} Chief said with a firm tone and look.
This made Julia look worried. "If we try to pin them, we could lose any trust that I've managed to earn from them. I suggest that we remain patient" she said with a slightly determined look.
{"Have you been chasing down VILE for 20 years, Agent Argent? I have, and our two super thieves may be the keys to finally leading me to them"} Chief said with a hard look and tone.
"I understand that, and I'm certain that I can get them to cooperate. I just need a face to face with them" Julia said, as she stared at Chief, unwavering in her decision.
Chief stared at her for a moment, before she gave a nod, making Julia smile at this.
Chief's hologram then disappeared, with Julia then picking up the pen before walking off.
Zari and another agent were following Carmen, as she walked down a street, when Zari's communication pen began beeping, causing them to stop. "Yes Chief?" Zari asked, as she answered her pen.
{"Stand down, until further notice. Agent Argent is running point on the op now"} Chief said, making Zari narrow her eyes at this.
"Understood," Zari replied with a sigh.
Julia was walking down a street, trying to psych herself up. "Okay Julia, you went and put yourself on the line. You can't let Chief, Carmen or Naruto down" she said with a slightly narrowed look.
Before she could walk any further, she felt two hands on her shoulders, causing her to gasp in surprise.
"Heya Jules" she heard someone say, causing her to smile, as she turned around and saw both Naruto and Carmen behind her, both wearing their civilian clothes, with the hoods up on the hoodies.
"We need to talk" they both said, as they both had a cocked eyebrow.
"I was going to suggest the same," Julia said happily, before she looked confused. "But if the real Carmen is here behind me, then who exactly have we been following?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
0o0o0o0
(Further down the street)
The person dressed as Carmen raised their head, revealing themselves to be Ivy.
"Yo Zack, are those suits still on my coattail?" Ivy asked with a grin, as she spoke into a comm in her ear.
Zack was in a white van slightly ahead of her, as he looked in the rearview mirror.
"Don't you mean Carmen's coattails?" Zack asked with a raised eyebrow with a smile. "You've played decoy before, but how does it feel to be wearing her actual coat?" he then asked excitedly.
Ivy looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment. "It's kinda tight in the shoulders….but powerful" she said with a wide smile.
{"Hey, if you're playing as Carm, then I guess that makes me Player, right?"} Zack asked with a glee.
Zack then cleared his throat for a moment, before moving his hands in the air, as though typing on a keyboard. "Stockholm, a city in Sweden. Famous for stocks, homes and, um oh, those little meatballs! Who knew that meat could be so delicious in a ball!" he exclaimed happily.
This caused Ivy to laugh, while Player sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, an unamused look on his face. "Real funny" he said, with a roll of his eyes before smiling as he began typing on his keyboard. "There's more to Stockholm than just meatballs, guys. Located just 500 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Sweden's capital is built on 14 islands, with 57 bridges" he said.
{"Woah, that's a ton of bridges for trolls to hide underneath"} Zack said in surprise.
"Trolls are a big part of Swedish folklore, along with friendly creatures, like the tomte" Player said with a grin.
{"Uh, the what-tay?"} Zack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Tomte. They're often depicted as gnome-like beings who ride around on goats, delivering gifts at Christmas. Kinda like a Swedish Santa Claus" Player said with a smile. "And, speaking of Swedish winter traditions, every year the Swedes celebrate the end of the cold winter with Valborg, a festival that includes the ritual lighting of bonfires. Stockholm is also home to a number of historical buildings, like its own city hall with its iconic bell tower. Where Carmen and Naruto just arrived."
0o0o0o0
(At the city hall)
Naruto, Carmen and Julia ran over to the city hall, before they stopped at a locked door.
Naruto smirked at this, as he pulled out his lock picking kit and began picking the lock.
"The bell tower is closed for the winter," Carmen said, as she smiled at Julia.
"Making it the perfect place for us to talk," Naruto said with a grin, as they heard the door unlocking, before he opened the door as they went inside.
"And to come in from the cold" Julia said, as Naruto and Carmen lowered their hoods, before rubbing their arms for more warmth. "You're both a little underdressed for a Swedish winter."
Naruto chuckled slightly at this. "I had to leave my coat with one of our friends, so that they couldn't follow me," he said.
"While I had to loan my coat to another friend once we spotted your reinforcements" Carmen said with a smile.
"So, is the lady listening in?" Naruto asked with a grin, as he and Carmen looked at Julia with cocked eyebrows.
Julia raised an eyebrow at this, with a confused look.
"The lady who lives inside the pen" Carmen said, as Naruto held up Julia's ACME pen.
This took Julia by surprise, as she checked her pockets, before looking at them. "Chief can't hear us, or track us when the communicator is offline. We'll have complete privacy while we talk" she said.
"I'll just make sure that Chief stays offline," Naruto said, as he placed the pen in his jacket pocket, before he and Carmen walked off, with Julia following them.
0o0o0o0
(Meanwhile)
As this was going on, Zack was watching some agents from the van, as they followed Ivy down a street.
"Chief, the target is still in sight. But I can't say the same for Agent Argent" Zari said into her pen, as she looked around.
{"Do you think that she stumbled into some kinda trouble?"} Chief asked curiously.
Before Zari could reply, she and the agents with her saw 'Carmen' stumble over some ice before she straightened herself out, causing her hair to be shown.
This caused the three agents' eyes to widen in shocked surprise, as they stopped walking. "Someone just stumbled. We may be on a wild goose chase" Zari said with a frown.
{"Find Argent, now!"} Chief said firmly, making Zari narrow her eyes.
0o0o0o0
(Back in the city hall)
Naruto, Carmen and Julia were walking down a hallway, with Naruto and Carmen having their hands in their jacket pockets.
Julia was looking around the area as she walked. "So let's see, there's the Swedish crown jewels, or a few nobel prize medals and maybe a Strasbourg Manuscript. So many items of historic or artistic value one could steal here in Stockholm….or to prevent someone else from stealing" she said with a smile and a raised eyebrow at Naruto and Carmen.
"Not this time" Carmen said, as they both turned around and looked at Julia with serious looks on their faces.
"Our intel says that innocent lives might be at stake. Lots of them" Naruto said.
Carmen nodded in agreement with this, as she held her thumb and forefinger from almost touching each other. "We're this close to intercepting the VILE operatives that are involved" she said.
"But if they spot your fleet out there, you'll blow our plan," Naruto said firmly.
"Don't worry, as I've already requested that ACME back away. You won't see a single one of our agents. Trust me" Julia said with a small smile.
"Freeze!" an ACME agent yelled from the doorway while holding some type of gun, making Julia gasp in shock, as she turned around while Naruto and Carmen narrowed their eyes at this.
"Trust you, huh?" Naruto asked, as they glared at Julia, while backing away from her.
"No, it's not what you think," Julia said with a frown.
Naruto and Carmen turned to the windows on the right, when they saw two other ACME agents stepping out from behind a pillar.
"Shit" Naruto swore, before they both took off running with the three ACME agents following them, while Julia followed from the rear.
They went through a doorway into another hallway, before they spotted three more ACME agents, each holding the same gun.
They glanced over their shoulders slightly at the agents behind them, before looking at each other and nodded, as they ran forward.
As they did, they pushed the first agent's arm up, with Carmen getting behind him and holding him in place so that he couldn't move, while Naruto grabbed hold of his arm holding the gun.
They glanced over their shoulders, when they noticed a second agent coming over. They quickly turned around, with Naruto pulling the trigger on the gun, releasing a gas into the agent's face, causing him to fall to the ground, knocked out.
"Huh, knockout gas. Not bad" Naruto said, as he and Carmen turned to the three agents chasing them and backed up, while releasing some gas over the area, keeping them from getting any closer.
This caused the agents to stop running, as they coughed into their arms from the gas, while Julia watched on in shock.
Naruto and Carmen looked over their shoulders, and saw a female agent running at them.
They pushed the captive agent forward, sending him into the cloud of gas, and ran towards the agent. They leaped from a bench on the side and then pushed off the wall to sail over the woman, as the agent released the gas from her gun, causing her to accidentally knock herself out instead. Naruto and Carmen smirked at each other at this, before they took off running again.
When the gas had cleared, the three agents ran after them, with Julia following them.
Naruto and Carmen ran up some stairs, and looked over their shoulders to see if anyone was following them, not noticing that Zari had stepped round a corner at the top of the stairs and aimed her gun at them, pulling the trigger as she did.
"Ah!" they both yelled out, as they tried covering their faces with their arms, as the gas covered them. They both pushed Zari out of the way, as they ran past her, who was soon hot on their heels.
As Naruto and Carmen ran up more stairs, they found it hard to keep their eyes open, knowing that the gas was affecting them. They kept opening and closing their eyes as they ran, first seeing a doorway, then their feet on the stairs, next was their feet on concrete, before finally the railing at the top of the tower, along with the ground at the bottom.
Naruto and Carmen both rested against the railing, as they tried to fight off the knockout gas, gasping for breath as they did.
"There! After them!" they heard someone yelling out behind them, as they looked and saw Zari with another agent coming up, before they ran over to them.
Naruto and Carmen climbed onto the rails, as they wobbled about for a moment, before they fell, just as the agents reached them and tried to grab them.
The two agents looked over the side, and saw the two of them falling for a while, before their gliders appeared and they flew off over the city, with Julia soon appearing and watching with a look of worry on her face.
As Naruto and Carmen flew, they tried to keep their eyes open.
Player watched in confusion, as he saw their icons moving over the city. "Guys, you do know that you're leaving city limits, right? Guy's, can you hear me?" he asked them.
Naruto and Carmen both were fighting against the knockout gas running though their systems, and they could barely make out Player's voice.
Naruto and Carmen's heads and eyes drooped, as they flew over the city, and when their eyes opened again, they noticed a forest and that they were lower.
{"Guy's, answer me!"} Player's voice said in worry.
Naruto and Carmen's eyes drooped again, and when they opened back up, the two of them were flying through the forest, where they could faintly hear the sounds of branches being pushed against.
{"Guys!"} Player's voice said, as Naruto and Carmen opened their eyes once more, seeing that they had crashed onto the ground, while hearing branches being broken before their eyes closed for the final time.
"Zack! Ivy! Naruto and Carmen are both grounded! ACME must have caught their scent, and doubled back" Player said in concern.
Ivy looked confused at this. "What? How'd they figure it out?" she asked. "I mean, look at me, I'm obviously Carmen Sandiego."
"Halla, Carmen Sandiego" Ivy heard someone say behind her, making Ivy grimace as she turned around and looked up. She saw it was a male, who was quite large, with an x shaped scar on his chin and dirty blonde hair.
"Who?" Ivy said with a nervous smile, before looking down and clenched her fists. "Oh, right, me" she said quietly to herself, before she looked up at him and backed away. "Uh, look fella, I -" Ivy was saying, before she got zapped from behind causing her to grunt in pain before falling over with a groan, and hit the ground unconscious, causing her phone to fall out of the coat pocket while her earphones fell out of her ears.
The one who shocked her looked down at her unconscious form with a smug look on their face. They were wearing glasses, and a green jacket with fur around the neck area.
{"Ivy? What's going on?"} Zack's voice could be heard from the phone, before the big guy stomped on it, breaking it. He then leaned down and grabbed Ivy by the back of the coat and picked her up, causing the hat to fall off as he placed her on his shoulder then walked off.
The one in the green coat picked up the red hat, and placed it on their head. "Carmen Sandiego, you don't look that impressive" he said with a smirk, as he followed his partner. "Perhaps Naruto Uzumaki will be."
Meanwhile, the real Carmen, along with Naruto, were knocked out in a snowdrift, with broken pieces of their gliders and branches laid out around them.
0o0o0o0
(Back at the city hall)
Julia and Zari were both still in the clock tower, with Julia glaring at Zari.
{"We lost their trail"} an ACME agent said to Zari over the phone.
"I'll inform Chief" Zari said, as she hung up before taking her pen out of her jacket pocket.
Which Julia grabbed from her, taking Zari by surprise. "I need to borrow your pen" she said to her firmly, before she walked away, with Zari watching her.
Julia clicked on the pen, before she dropped it on the ground, as Chief's hologram appeared.
{"Agent Zari, did we achieve our….objective?"} Chief was asking as she looked around, before she spotted Julia's glare at her.
"If that objective was to chase Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki away, and squander their trust, then, yes, we absolutely did" Julia said heatedly, as she briefly looked over at Zari, who looked away while clenching her hand, as Julia looked back at Chief.
{"I see"} Chief said with a sigh, as she closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them.
"We had an agreement," Julia said with a scowl.
{"Which had become null and void, once you'd dropped off the grid"} Chief said to her with a raised eyebrow, making Julia stop scowling at this. {"I assume that Mr Uzumaki and Ms Sandiego are currently in possession of your communicator?"} she then asked.
Julia just looked away at this, an upset look on her face.
{"Then we do damage control"} Chief said, as she looked out over the city.
0o0o0o0
(Meanwhile)
{"Player, Ivy ain't answering her comm"} Zack said in worry.
"Don't worry Zack, I have a track on her. She's just outside of Stockholm, heading north, fast. Shadowsan is on the Malaysia mission, which makes you the only local ground support" Player said with a scowl.
"Yea, but if both Carm and Ruto are MIA too, then who do I support?" Zack asked in concern.
Player frowned slightly at this, before he looked up with a determined look on his face. "Go get your sister. They both know how to fend for themselves in a pickle" he said.
Zack put his seatbelt on and started up the van, before putting it in gear as he drove off. "I'm coming for ya Ivy" he said with a determined tone.
0o0o0o0
(With Naruto and Carmen)
Naruto and Carmen both groaned as they woke up, and looked around, noticing where they were.
They then heard a beeping noise, as they sat up, causing them both to groan and wince in pain, as Naruto took Julia's ACME pen out of his jacket pocket, and saw that it was blinking in time with the beeping.
"So that you can triangulate our position and arrest us?" Naruto asked, before he and Carmen stood up. "Yeah right."
As they did, they held their sides in pain as they looked back, seeing their gliders were broken in the side of the snowdrift, as they gingerly walked over.
They looked up, with Naruto looking at the ACME pen before stabbing it into the snow. "Player, are you there?" he asked into his comm, and noticed that he didn't get a response.
"Player, can you hear us?" Carmen asked giving it a try, before she took her hand away and noticed that her comm was broken, with Naruto noticing that his was broken too.
"Okay, that's not good," Carmen said with a frown, before they both looked up at the trashed gliders. "Bumpy landing."
"Yup. Come on, it isn't getting any warmer" Naruto said, as he put his hood up before tucking his arms underneath his armpits as he walked closer to the side of the snowdrift, with Carmen doing the same as she followed him.
They soon began climbing the snowdrift up to their gliders, leaving the ACME pen in the snow, as it continued to blink and beep.
0o0o0o0
(With Ivy)
Ivy groaned as she woke up, and saw that she was inside what looked like a place made completely of ice. "What….what happened?" she asked, as she also noticed that she wasn't wearing Carmen's hat or coat.
She tried to stand up, then noticed that she was tied to a chair made out of ice.
"Hey" she said, as she strained against the rope, trying to break it, but it was no good.
She then looked up, and saw what looked like Carmen on the other side of a big piece of ice.
"Carmen?" Ivy asked happily.
But her hopes were dashed, when she saw that it wasn't Carmen, but the two men who captured her, with the one wearing glasses and a green coat having Carmen's hat and coat on.
"Ja, Carmen Sandiego. We know precisely who you are" he said with a smirk. "VILE's most wanted."
This made Ivy look worried. "VILE? No, guys. I'm not Carmen Sandiego" she said to them.
"You are not?" the big guy asked dumbly.
His partner scowled at this, before he slapped his arm with the back of his hand. "That's just what Carmen Sandiego would say to save herself. Use your noggin" he said, as he tapped his knuckles against the big guy's head.
The big guy gave a sigh at this, as he looked up. "Ah, for thinking, not for ramming. My apologies, Otter Man" he said with a smile at his partner.
Ivy snickered at this, before she laughed at the man's name. "Wait, your name is Otter Man? Do you ever get tired of people resting their feet on you?" she asked, before laughing some more.
Otter Man had a scowl on his face at this, clearly not amused, while his partner looked confused.
Ivy looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "Ottoman. Get it?" she said with a smile.
Otter Man growled angrily at this, while his partner smiled. "I am Moose Boy" he said, placing a hand on his chest, as he introduced himself.
Otter Man slapped Moose Boy on his arm again, with the back of his hand once again. "Moose, our identification, the scarlet super thief does not need to know it" he said with a glare.
Moose Boy nodded at this. "Oh, right, Otter. Zippy lippy" he said with a sheepish smile, as he moved his fingers across his mouth.
Otter Man gave a groan of annoyance at this, as he walked off to a coat stand nearby, placing Carmen's hat and coat on it.
"What is this place, anyway? Some sort of evil VILE ice lair?" Ivy asked with a cocked eyebrow, as she looked around.
"It's an ice lodge. They are quite popular here" Otter Man said, as he walked away from the coat stand.
"Let me guess. Sweden's coolest resorts?" Ivy asked with a dry tone.
This caused Moose Boy to laugh at this, before he realised that he wasn't to make a sound, as he made a zipping motion over his mouth again.
Ivy just gave him a slight glare, before she smiled a little. "Say uh, Moose kiddo, any chance that I could, uh, get my coat back? I'm goose bumping something wicked here" she said, as she shivered slightly.
"Oh. Uh, of course" Moose Boy said with a smile, as he walked over to the coat stand, and reached for the coat.
But before he could grab it, Otter Man slapped his hand away with a scowl. "Dumskalle!" he said, before he took the coat off the stand and opened it up, showing all the gadgets inside it.
"Ja. Right, Otter" Moose Boy said with a nod, while Ivy scowled at this.
0o0o0o0
(With Naruto and Carmen)
Meanwhile, Naruto and Carmen were both still trying to climb out of the snowdrift.
"Don't stop now" Carmen said, as they neared the top.
"Yeah, we're almost out," Naruto said with a determined look.
They reached for a piece of snow, and when they tried to climb higher, the snow gave way.
"No!" they both yelled, as they both began to roll down the snowdrift, getting wrapped up in their gliders as they did.
When they hit the bottom, they both grunted in pain, before they both sat up, and panted for breath.
0o0o0o0
(With Ivy)
Ivy was still tied up, with Moose Boy on an ice bed, while Otter Man had put an ice gnome on a small wooden sleigh, before looking at his watch.
"Woah, you Swedes really do love ya tomte's" Ivy said with an impassive look.
"You know about these? Most people just call gnomes" Moose Boy said, as he moved his fingers about on the bed.
Ivy smiled at this. "Oh, sure. They ride around on goats and deliver meatballs at Christmas. Or is it gifts?" she said, as she frowned slightly.
Moose Boy smiled as he sat up on the bed, before he stood up and walked towards the tomte. "Ja, gifts. But this tomte will be delivering a data crystal today" he said with a smirk, as he crouched down.
"Moose!" Otter Man yelled out in annoyance, before he put his finger to his lips and made a shushing noise.
Moose Boy sighed at this as he stood up and slapped his head a few times, as he walked back to the bed. "Nej, nej, nej!" he said as he did.
Ivy narrowed her eyes as she looked at the ice tomte, and spotted something inside it, before her eyes widened. "Whoa. Data crystal? Well, you two go do what you gotta do. I'll just wait here until you get back. Cool?" she said with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
Otter Man smirked at this, with his own eyebrow raised. "Oh, please do. So that we may deliver you to VILE when we are through. Oh, capturing the great Carmen Sandiego will certainly earn my seat in the Faculty lounge" he said with a smug look, before he grabbed the rope tied to the sleigh and began pulling it as he started to leave the room.
Moose Boy looked slightly upset at this, as he started to follow Otter Man, who quickly pointed a finger at Moose Boy as he shook his head. "Nuh-uh! You will remain here, and make sure that our surprise gift doesn't go anywhere" Otter Man said with a glare at Moose Boy, as he began to leave the room, before glancing over his shoulder. "And Moose, keep your mouth shut."
Moose Boy smiled at this, as he zipped his coat up to his mouth. "Zippy lippy" he said, with an okay sign and a raised eyebrow.
Ivy glared at this, while Otter Man merely nodded before he walked off, dragging the sleigh with the ice gnome on it.
0o0o0o0
(Back at the snowdrift)
Naruto and Carmen were both hugging each other, as they were wrapped up in their gliders while leaning against a tree.
"Ya know, this reminds me of that Castle episode, where Castle and Beckett are inside that freezer, as they hugged each other for warmth, then they get saved by Espo and Ryan right as they lose consciousness" Naruto said with a smile, trying to be cheerful.
"Yeah, but no one knows where we are," Carmen said, as she looked up at him.
"Well, there is someone who could help us," Naruto said, as he nodded at Julia's ACME pen in the snow, which was still blinking and beeping.
"Chief, huh? You do know that she left us with some really fun choices" Carmen said sarcastically, with a scowl at this.
Naruto nodded at this. "Yea, I do. If we ping her on the pen, she'll send her suits to haul us in, or we stay stuck in the hole" he said with a frown.
"Either way, VILE wins" Carmen said, as they both began shivering.
0o0o0o0
(Back at the ice lodge)
"Okay, so you transport data on a crystal. It looks like a snowflake, and it hides well in plain sight with all the ice around here. That's pretty smart" Ivy with a smile at Moose Boy, while trying to get her hands out of rope tying her to the chair.
"Why thank you" Moose Boy said happily with a muffled reply, his coat still zipped up to cover his mouth, his arms crossed as he sat on the bed.
Ivy then frowned, as she looked off to the side slightly. "But then again, you hide a data crystal inside an ice sculpture. Can you say overkill?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Moose Boy shook his head at this. "No. Also pretty…." he was saying with a muffled voice, then he frowned slightly before unzipping his coat, freeing his mouth. "No. Also pretty smart. Every precaution must be taken when selling stolen launch codes" he said with a smirk, as he leaned forward.
This made Ivy widen her eyes in shock. "Uh, did you say launch codes, as in 'nuclear'? That's what is on that data crystal?" she asked in concern.
"Ja, we stole them from the -" Moose Boy was saying with a grin, before he frowned and slapped his knee. "Gah, you made me unzippy my lippy."
"I promise, I won't tell Otter Man" Ivy said with a nervous smile, as she leaned away from Moose Boy.
Moose Boy stood up with a furious look on his face, as he punched his fist into his hand. "I will make sure of that! Ragh!" he said, before he ran towards her with a yell.
Ivy gained a scared look on her face at this, before she leaned back on the chair and put her feet on the table and pushed off it, sending her sliding backwards, just as Moose Boy ran by.
The chair Ivy was tied to hit the wall behind her, and caused the back part to snap off, freeing her, while Moose Boy slammed into a wall, causing it to crack, as he slumped to the floor with a groan of pain.
Moose Boy stood back up and turned around, just as Ivy threw another ice chair at him with a yell….which simply broke against his chest, doing nothing.
Moose Boy scowled at this, as Ivy gained another look of concern, before she turned around and tried to run away….only she began slipping and sliding in one place because of the iced floor.
"Oh, come on!" Ivy yelled in annoyance.
Moose Boy grit his teeth before giving a yell, as he ran towards Ivy again, to grab her once more. As he reached her, Ivy slipped and fell on her back, causing Moose Boy to trip over her, which caused him to slide towards an ice pillar with a yell….and his tongue to get stuck on it.
Ivy slowly and carefully stood up and made her way over, seeing that Moose Boy had his tongue well and truly stuck to the ice pillar.
Ivy pulled a face upon seeing this, before she smiled at Moose Boy. "Your pasty pal was right, you really shoulda kept your mouth shut" she said, before walking away from him.
Moose Boy scowled at this. "I'm gonna get you!" he said, as he tried to free himself, while mumbling as he did.
"Adios!" Ivy said, as she gave him a three finger salute while heading for the door, before running back to grab Carmen's hat and coat. "Oopsy" she said sheepishly, before running off.
"Carmen Sandiego!" Moose Boy yelled, as he placed a foot on the ice pillar to help him try and get free, mumbling something else as he did.
As Ivy walked away, she looked down at the coat and hat with worry. "Carmen would never leave without taking her coat. Her or Naruto would never leave without stealing back those launch codes either. Lives could be in danger if they got into the wrong hands. It's on you Ivy, make Carmen and Naruto proud" she said with a hard look on her face, as she put the coat and hat back on.
She then ran for the door….before slipping on the ice again, landing on her back as the hat fell off. "Oh, come on!" she yelled in frustration, as she slammed her fists on the icy floor. She then carefully moved to grab the hat, and once it was back on, she made her way out of the room.
0o0o0o0
(Back with Naruto and Carmen)
Naruto and Carmen were both standing before the ACME pen, as Naruto picked it up.
"Are we really gonna do this?" Carmen asked, as they both shivered from the cold.
"It's the only option that we have if we want to get outta here" Naruto said with a nod, as he clicked the pen and tossed it to the ground, where it laid for a moment before standing up, and having a hologram of Chief appear, which was fitzing out every now and then.
Chief looked around for a moment, before spotting Naruto and Carmen as they leaned against a tree. {"Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki, I presume"} she said with a small smile at them.
"You must be Chief," Carmen said with a glare at her.
{"Ah, good"} Chief said with a look of relief, before she scowled. {"The reception is a bit….snowy. I'd like to apologise for earlier today. ACME may have been a bit tad….overeager"} she said with an apologetic look on her face.
"That's an understatement," Naruto said with a scowl.
{"Look, Naruto, Carmen….can I call you both that?"} Chief asked, as she stepped forward slightly. Upon seeing the two of them nodding, Chief walked towards them. {"I don't know your stories, but I do know that we share a common enemy. Bringing them down does not need to be your burden alone"} Chief said to them, with a look of concern as she held a hand out to them.
Naruto and Carmen both just glared at her.
{"ACME can provide you with resources. And all that we ask in return, is intel. I need to know what you know"} Chief said with a hard look.
"Well then, you better come get us," Naruto said with a hard stare of his own
"Have you tracked our location yet?" Carmen asked, as they were both shivering, even while hugging each other and their ripped gliders for warmth.
Chief gave a sigh at this, as she shrugged her shoulders. {"Trying. Like I said, the signals weak. Where in the world are you?"} she asked them in worry, as she looked around the area.
Naruto and Carmen both shivered even more while their teeth chattered, as they hugged each other more tightly. "Really wish that we could tell you" Naruto said, as they both stepped forward, before falling over with their eyes closed.
{"Guys? Guys!"} Chief yelled out in worry, as her hologram ran over to them before she crouched down, and placed her holographic hands on their shoulders. {"Stay with me, you two. Stay with me."}
0o0o0o0
(Back with Ivy)
After Ivy had gotten out of the room she was in, she'd carefully gone down some stairs, and made her way over to what looked like a bar, being careful not to fall over as she did.
Once she'd steadied herself against the bar, she looked around the room with a raised eyebrow, before smiling as she spotted the ice tomte. "Aha!" she exclaimed happily.
She then watched as Otter Man looked off to the side before standing, then looked where he was looking, and saw an older man with glasses dressed in a suit, as he too stood up, before walking towards Otter Man, who walked to stand in the middle of the aisle. "And what have we here?" Ivy asked with a frown. "Something tells me that you're not at this five star fridge for a chillaxing vacation" she said, as she leaned against the bar.
Once the two of them stood before each other, they began talking. And since Ivy couldn't hear what they were saying, she guessed what they were saying, while changing her voice as she did.
"Hello there, I'm Shady McShade from some sleazy rogue nation. Check out my briefcase full of untraceable cash" Ivy said with a deep manly voice, mimicking the buyer.
"Wanna buy my icey gnome with a data crystal containing stolen launch codes hidden inside?" Ivy said, as she then mimicked Otter Man.
"Oh boy, do I?" Ivy then said as she mimicked the man again, before she walked away from the bar, with the barman watching her go with a raised eyebrow.
As Ivy walked across the ice, she slipped, causing her to grab the back of an icy chair before she fell over, which she used to pull herself to her feet. "Oh, come on, Ivy. What would Carmen and Naruto do?" she asked herself with worry.
She looked down at her hands, and turned one over, letting her see the claw of the grappling hook, which caused her to grin widely. "They'd reel in a gnome," she said.
Ivy made the grappling gun come out and aimed it at the ice gnome before pulling the trigger, making the grappling hook go flying….through the two men, taking them both by surprise, before it got stuck on the wall next to the door.
Ivy gave a groan at this, as the two men looked in her direction, with Otter Man scowling while the buyer looked shocked.
"You missed the tomte" Otter Man said with a smug look, as he raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, are you sure about that? I'll be right on over for a closer look" Ivy said with a smirk, as she pressed the trigger again, which caused the rope to reel in, pulling Ivy along as it did….and made her slide along the floor.
This caused both men to look at her in surprise. "We have been compromised" the buyer said with a scowl, before he ran off.
Otter Man watched him run off in shock, right before Ivy smacked into him, sending them both to the floor, and caused the tomte to fall off the sleigh and break into pieces.
"Ah! The crystal!" Otter Man yelled, as he and Ivy watched the pieces fall to the ground. They both quickly ran over to the broken pieces, and began looking for the piece with the data crystal in it.
"Aha, there you are," Ivy said with a grin, as she spotted the broken piece with the data crystal in it. "This doesn't look like it belongs," she said, as she picked it up.
Ivy then had to quickly duck, as Otter Man tried to grab her, before she took off running….then getting pulled back and sent to the floor, thanks to the grappling hook still being in the wall.
Otter Man backed up to the door, an unhappy look on his face. "Otter to Moose. Otter to Moose. I need you downstairs, now!" he said urgently into his wrist communicator.
"Uh - ja, coming Otter" Moose Boy said with a nod, his tongue still stuck to the ice pillar. He then wrapped his arms around it, and after a few moments he broke it off, before carefully making his way downstairs.
Meanwhile, Ivy got up and detached the rope from the grappling gun and put it back in her sleeve with a smile, before looking over at Otter Man.
"You're not going anywhere, Carmen Sandiego!" Otter Man said with a confident smirk, as he stood in front of the door.
Ivy scowled at this, as she looked around, trying to find a way out, before she looked at the sleigh and smiled as she had an idea. She then gave a yell as she ran for the sleigh, and jumped on it, causing the sleigh to move towards the door.
Ivy kept on yelling as she headed towards Otter Man, who had a look of surprise on his face, and had to jump to the side before he got knocked over, which allowed Ivy to push the doors open and escape.
"This isn't what Carmen or Naruto would do!" Ivy yelled out, as she went down a snowy slope, and crossed the road before she abruptly stopped, as she went into a bank of snow on the other side of the road, with a van stopping in front of her.
Ivy got herself out of the snow, and saw Zack getting out of the van.
"Ivy?" Zack asked with a smile.
"Bro?" Ivy asked, as she stood up with her own smile, before she ran to him, where they gave each other a hug.
"Come on, let's get outta here" Zack said, as they let go of each other.
"Yeah, good idea" Ivy said with a nod, before they both got in the van, with Zack turning it around and driving off.
Otter Man ran to the door, and watched as the van drove off with a raised eyebrow.
Moose Boy then approached him, while still holding the broken piece of the ice pillar that his tongue was still stuck to, and mumbled something at him.
Otter Man nodded at this. "Indeed. We were wrong about her, Moose. Carmen Sandiego is just that good, with Naruto Uzumaki most likely the same" he said with a slight frown.
As Zack drove away, he looked in the rearview mirror at the building as it got smaller. "Who the heck were those bozos?" he asked Ivy with a cocked eyebrow.
"Well, I can certainly tell ya one thing bro; they ain't VILE's newest Faculty members" Ivy said with a smirk.
Zack chuckled at this, before he got serious. "Player, I've got Ivy. Now where can we find Carm and Ruto?" he asked, as he drove down the road.
{"Just head South, I'll upload coordinates"} Player said.
0o0o0o0
(At the snowdrift)
Carmen and Naruto shivered from the cold, as they heard a chopper approaching them. They barely opened their eyes, as they saw the chopper flying overhead, with a spotlight shining down on them.
Some agents rappelled down from the helicopter, with two of them being Zari and Julia, along with two medical tray beds. Two of the agents quickly wrapped Naruto and Carmen up in thermal blankets, then put them in the medical beds and strapped them in.
As this was happening, Zack drove the van to the edge of the road, before he and Ivy got out and watched.
"Oh no, ACME found them first," Ivy said with worry.
"They don't look so impressive now, do they?" Zari said, as Julia watched with a look of concern.
Naruto weakly opened his eyes, and glared up at Zari. "Once I'm all better, I'll show you how impressive I really am," he said.
Zari just raised an eyebrow at this.
Chief's hologram walked over, as Carmen opened her own eyes. "You win," she said, as she shivered slightly.
"Yeah, are you happy now?" Naruto asked, as he looked over.
{"No"} Chief said simply, taking Naruto and Carmen by surprise. {"Listen you two, you're both in serious need of medical attention. We can take you to a hospital, or you can ride with your friends. The choice is yours"} Chief said, as she slightly looked over her shoulder at Zack and Ivy's location with a cocked eyebrow.
Naruto and Carmen looked at Chief with looks of shock.
{"Consider it a gesture of goodwill….from a valuable ally"} Chief said with a smile.
Naruto and Carmen looked at each other for a moment, before looking back at Chief. "Friends" they both said, as Naruto held up the ACME pen they had.
{"Keep it. After all, you never know when you'll need to reach me"} Chief said, as she folded her arms behind her back.
Naruto and Carmen just nodded at this, as Naruto put his arm back under the blanket, before they both looked over at Julia, who had a worried frown on her face.
The ACME helicopter then lifted in the air and carried them over to where Zack and Ivy were, and lowered them down so that the siblings could get them out of the medical beds and into the back of the van, while the chopper flew off.
Zack got back in the driver's seat and drove off, while Ivy got in the back with them, holding on to their hands, with their jackets under their heads as makeshift pillows.
"Sweden has cracking health care, guys. We'll get you both fixed up in no time" Zack said, as he drove as fast and as carefully as possible. "Are they gonna make it?" he asked, as he glanced over his shoulder.
"Of course they are," Ivy said, her voice cracking slightly.
"N-no hospital" Carmen said, her eyes opening slightly.
Naruto nodded at this. "M-mission….VILE operatives" he said, as he tried to sit up.
"It's okay, guys. It's all taken care of" Ivy said with a small smile, as she held up the data crystal.
This took Naruto and Carmen by surprise. "What? By who?" they asked together.
Ivy chuckled at this. "By Carmen Sandiego, who else?" she said.
Naruto and Carmen's eyes widened in realisation at this, before they smiled back at Ivy and closed their eyes.
0o0o0o0
(VILE Isle)
It was raining at the island, as thunder crashed and lightning flashed, while inside the VILE building, the four Faculty members stood before the students of VILE in a large assembly hall.
"Student body most VILE. In my country, we have a tradition, that we call Valborg, when we bid farewell to winter and welcome the coming spring with the lighting of bonfires" Maelstrom said to all the students before him. "We must now light our own fire as it has come time to bid farewell to VILE Academy as we know it."
This caused all the students to gasp in shock, as they began murmuring amongst themselves at this news.
"This year's graduating class will be its last, but we cannot allow ourselves to forget the reason why we've been forced from our island home" Cleo said with a hard look and tone, as she clenched her fist tightly.
"Their names are Naruto Uzumaki and Carmen Sandiego. And upon graduating, it will be your prime directive to take them down!" Brunt yelled out.
All the VILE students cheered at this with their fists raised in the air, as lightning flashed and thunder boomed outside.
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.