"It's been weeks since we saved Earth and stopped the Black Hole Generator." Leo summarized. "Things have finally been cooling down. No more Triceratons. No more Kraang. And best of all, no more Shredder, Lady Shade, and their goons. They've completely disappeared from the city. So tonight, the night of the full moon, Master Splinter is performing a very special night."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the lair, the Turtles knelt their knees in a horizontal line in front of Vee, April, and Macey, who were kneeling on their knees in front of Splinter. Vee wore a black long sleeved shirt with a turquoise line that was on both sides of her sleeves, a turquoise hoodie, black pants with a turquoise line on each side, black shoes, and a fake pink flower clipping on the left side of her mask. April wore a black jumpsuit with a yellow stripe down the sides of the arms, torso, and legs. She also wore a black headband on her head. Macey wore a black jumpsuit with pink and blue lines on the side of her arms, black combat boots, and black fingerless gloves. Casey, the K-5, and Norbit stood in front of the dojo exit with smiles on their faces. Vee, April, and Macey noticed them and smiled back before turning their attention to Splinter.
"Venus De Milo, April O'Neil, Macey O'Neil." Splinter spoke.
Splinter began speaking Japanese language and handed a black and turquoise sheathed weapon to Vee. It was a long black staff to reveal a shiny silver blade with a turquoise cord wrap and a white symbol of the Hamato Clan. The weapon was revealed to be a Shikomizue with a turquoise flower symbol engraved on it.
"This Shikomizue represents the hidden flower: Courageous, Patient, Kindhearted. A flower that is rare to bloom but has the most strength in the heart." Splinter explained.
Vee understood Master Splinter's meaning of the flower in Japanese language.
"Be the bravest in your heart. Be like the flower." Splinter continued.
"Hai, Sensei." Vee answered as she bowed her head.
Splinter handed a black sheathed weapon to April. It was a black lacquered scabbard with a yellow cotton cord wrap and a white symbol of the Hamato Clan. She lifted out the weapon that revealed to be a long tanto sword with a Chinese dragon symbol engraved on it.
"This tanto represents the dragon: Strong, fierce, intelligent. A dragon not only relies on its physical strength, but its keen intellect as well." Splinter explained.
April understood Master Splinter's meaning of the dragon in Japanese language.
"Be at one in spirit and body. Be like the dragon." Splinter continued.
"Hai, Sensei." April answered as she bowed her head.
Splinter handed a small black sheathed weapon to Macey. The weapon was revealed to be a Kusarigama. It was black with a shiny silver blade at the end with pink and blue small lines at both ends and a white symbol of the Hamato Clan. She lifted it in her hands and also found a hawk symbol on the blade.
"This Kusarigama represents the hawk; Fearless, Quickness, Steadiness. A hawk is always wise to it's surroundings." Splinter explained.
Macey understood Master Splinter's meaning of the hawk in Japanese language.
"Be at one with the world around you. Be like the hawk." Splinter continued.
"Hai Sensei." Macey answered as she bowed her head.
"Venus De Milo, April O'Neil, Macey O'Neil, you are now kunoichis of the Hamato Clan." Splinter concluded.
Vee, April, and Macey smiled at Splinter, who smiled back for their new promotion. The Turtles, the K-5, Casey, and Norbit had gathered around Vee, April, and Macey.
"We knew you could do it!" Kirana cheered.
"You go, girls!" Camilla and Talia applauded.
"All right! Oh, yeah, celebration time!" Mikey cheered.
"Congrats, girls." Raph smiled.
"You three deserve it." Leo grinned.
"You three did great." Donnie praised.
"You three did awesome." Ezra smiled.
"Thanks, guys!" April said. She hugged Donnie with a happy smile that left him in a brief daze. "You're the best!"
"Thanks, you guys!" Vee said. She hugged Ezra and gave him a kiss on the cheek with a happy smile that made Ezra blush with a happy smile.
"You guys are the best!" Macey said with a happy smile.
"We're so proud of you, girls!" Ariana grinned excitedly as she hugged her mutant turtle friend, her half wolf mutant friend, and her redheaded friend. "You're now one of us!"
"Thanks, Ariana. I would never have gotten to be a kunoichi without you and your sisters' help." April said as she hugged Ariana back.
"Thank you, Ariana." Vee smiled as she hugged Ariana back.
"Thanks, Ariana." Macey added as she hugged Ariana back as well.
Raph and Donnie picked up April with their hands as they threw her up into the air while April smiled happily. Norbit and Ezra picked up Vee and Macey with their hands as they threw them up into the air while Vee and Macey smiled happily. Casey, Leo, Mikey, Kirana, Camilla, Ariana, and Talia cheered for the turquoise masked turtle, the red haired friend, and their half wolf mutant friend.
"Cowabunga!" Mikey shouted happily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My siblings and I are very proud of our friends; Venus, April, and Macey." Kirana summarized. "They have finally been promoted to kunoichis with a ceremonial Shikomizue, Tanto, and Kusarigama. But now, my mother Sage was ready to perform a very special initiation as well during the night of the full moon."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the Crete Fortress; Kirana, Camilla, Ariana, and Talia knelt their knees in a line in front of Sage. Ezra kneeled behind his sisters with a smile on his face. The mage siblings are now wearing different kunoichi and ninja outfits. Kirana wore a metallic black full-body armor beneath her blue midriff-bearing cropped top with long sleeves that formed a triangle-like shape across the back of her hand, blue armored mini-skirt with dark blue tights, and black knee-high boots. Camilla wore a metallic black full-body armor beneath her red midriff-bearing cropped top with long sleeves that formed a triangle-like shape across the back of her hand, red armored mini-skirt with dark red tights, and black knee-high boots. Ariana wore a metallic black full-body armor beneath her purple midriff-bearing cropped top with long sleeves that formed a triangle-like shape across the back of her hand, purple armored mini-skirt with dark purple tights, and black shin-high boots. Talia wore a metallic black full-body armor beneath her orange midriff-bearing cropped top with long sleeves that formed a triangle-like shape across the back of her hand, orange armored mini-skirt with dark orange tights, and black ankle-high boots. And Ezra wore a metallic black armor under a teal long sleeved shirt with a turquoise line at the bottom, teal knee pads with a turquoise circle in the middle of both pads, and black combat boots.
April, Casey, Macey, Norbit, and the Turtles were standing on the dojo exit with smiles on their faces.
"My daughters." Sage spoke.
Sage began speaking Japanese language and her white star-shaped birthmark began to glow bright white in the navel area with her eyes blazing white. Kirana's eyes went blazing blue and her spade-shaped birthmark began glowing brightly on her chest. Camilla's eyes went blazing red and her two heart-shaped birthmarks began glowing brightly on her palms. Ariana's eyes went blazing purple and her clover-shaped birthmark began glowing brightly on her forehead. And Talia's eyes went blazing orange and her heart-shaped birthmark began glowing brightly in her bellybutton. Unaware to everyone, Ezra's teardrop shaped birthmark was glowing slightly on his back.
"Your sense of balance between strength, speed, and defense earned your leadership." Sage said to Kirana. She looked at Camilla. "Your close-range combat with your strength earned your courage and determination." She turned to Ariana. "Your lines of defense and strategies with your intelligence earned your perseverance." She finally turned to Talia. "Your own unique way of fighting with enhanced creativity earned your energy."
Kirana, Camilla, Ariana, and Talia understood their mother's meaning of their magical martial arts in Japanese language.
"Be at one in spirit and body of your magic energies." Sage continued.
Kirana, Camilla, Ariana, and Talia understood their mother again in Japanese language.
"Kirana, Camilla, Ariana, Talia, you are now master kunoichis of the Magnolia Clan." Sage concluded.
Kirana, Camilla, Ariana, and Talia looked up to smile at Sage, who smiled back for their new promotion. The Turtles, Ezra, Casey, April, Macey, and Norbit had gathered around the K-5.
"All right!" April applauded.
"Congrats, girls." Casey smiled.
"Awesome, girls." Macey cheered.
"You four really earned it." Leo grinned.
"Definitely." Raph and Donnie agreed with smiles on their faces.
"Way to go, girls." Vee smiled.
"You four did great." Ezra smiled to his sisters.
"Thanks, everyone." Ariana smiled.
"I can't believe we are the first teenaged mages to ever become masters." Camilla said with a grin as she placed her hands on her hips.
"We're on the roll, baby!" Talia exclaimed excitedly.
Kirana didn't say a word and hugged Leo tightly with a small kiss on his cheek, causing the blue masked turtle to blush with a small grin. Mikey pulled Kirana, Camilla, Ariana, and Talia in a group hug.
"Booyakasha!" Mikey shouted happily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outside, the K-5 moved across the city rooftops on their patrol night. Casey was skating across the rooftops right between Ariana and Talia with excitement in a faster pace. Norbit was flying behind Ezra with his thrusters.
"That's wicked, yo!" Casey grinned as he landed near his mage friends.
"I still can't believe you four are finally master kunoichis." Ezra said with a smile.
"Well, normally we have to be an adult to master your powers." Camilla explained.
"And with our powers growing stronger in different ways, we are able to take our title to the next level." Ariana added.
"Yup, we rule." Talia smiled casually.
The K-5, Norbit, and Casey stopped to take a look at the illuminating city.
"Hey, girls. Let's call it a night." Kirana said.
"Already? Why?" Talia asked.
"Because this city has been quiet lately." Kirana replied.
"Oh please. It won't last long." Camilla scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "There will always be more super villains to fill Lady Shade's spot now that she's gone."
"I'm just glad that we are back on Earth." Ezra said as he looked at the city. "Now that the Triceratons and Edson are no longer a threat, we can finally do teenage stuff."
Suddenly, Ariana gasped sharply and stomped her right foot on the ground to pick up any vibration activities with a firm face.
"Ariana, what's wrong?" Casey asked.
"Someone's watching us." Ariana said.
"I detect a live form over there." Norbit said as he pointed to the water tower.
Kirana, Camilla, Ariana, Talia, Ezra, Norbit, and Casey gathered together in a defensive huddle as they looked around and saw a mystical creature levitating itself down towards them out of nowhere. The creature was a pinkish pumpkin with golden yellow eyes and long black vine-like appendages tipped with spiky metal disks extending around it.
"What the heck is that?" Talia asked with a gasp.
"So awesome." Casey smiled. "I officially want one."
Suddenly, a young teenage boy appeared on top of the pumpkin creature. He was about half a head taller than Casey with tan skin, dark brown spiked hair, and chestnut eyes. He wore an orange collar skintight jacket with short sleeves and black cross emblems, black fingerless gloves, brown trouser with an orange belt, and dark brown boots with reddish soles.
"Um...hi?" Ezra greeted, slowly.
"Sorry, hockey boy, but this pumpkin is mine." The boy said with a grin as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Gumko. Let's have some fun, shall we?"
"Sorry, pumpkin boy, go find someone else to play with." Camilla snapped.
Camilla swiftly delivered a red psychic energized roundhouse kick at Gumko, who dodged it with a swift backflip. Gumko created a medium-sized pumpkin bomb in his hand and threw it to the ground as a bowling ball that hit Camilla in a huge explosion.
Kirana, Ariana, Talia, Ezra, Norbit, and Casey started to circle Gumko in offensive stances.
"Alright, that's more like it. Time to really rock and roll." Gumko grinned.
Gumko leapt forward and launched Ariana with a thrusting knee attack five times before landing back on the ground. Kirana charged forward to attack Gumko with her psychic energy magic, but Gumko somersaulted himself forward to attack the blue mage kunoichi while whipping his leg around that made her crash onto the skating Casey. Ezra summoned his shield and threw it towards Gumko, who caught it and threw it back towards the teal mage ninja that made him quickly jump down in the nick of time. Gumko jumped backwards in the air and shot down with his leg extended to strike Talia, who dodged out of the way with quick speed. Talia jumped slightly and swung her leg to attack Gumko in a wide-arced orange psychic energized kick, but Gumko moved out of the way and created five small sized pumpkin bombs in his hands to fire them at the orange mage kunoichi that hit her with small explosions. Norbit fired his missile at Gumko, who jumped out of the way and threw out a pumpkin bomb towards the robot companion that hit him hard enough to knock him out. Kirana moved forward and kicked Gumko while spinning repeatedly with her blue psychic energized legs, sending the pumpkin mage ninja to fall hard to the ground. Gumko looked up to see the K-5 talking off their own metallic masks from their faces, but he was quietly speechless as his eyes stared longingly at Talia as if he's beginning to feel a sense of love flowing in his mind.
"What a beautiful sight." Gumko said with a smile. "Let's dance, sweetheart. You and me."
"I'll admit you're cute and all, but you don't have the charm to attract me that easily." Talia commented with a smirk.
Gumko thrusted his hands forward and shot numerous pumpkin orbs towards the K-5 that surrounded them. After a short delay, the pumpkins exploded at the same time that knocked the mages down to the ground.
"It pains me to harm someone as beautiful as you." Gumko said, kneeling his knee in front of the downed Talia. He got up and turned to face Casey with a grin. "My friend told me a lot about your hockey skills. You're not bad, but not strong enough to match my level."
"I'll show you just how strong I am, punk." Casey snapped, pulling out his hockey sticks in his hands.
Gumko and Casey charged forward to attack with different fighting skills for a short brief time. Gumko defeated Casey with a bunch of spinning kicks in the air, leaving his pumpkin creature to perform two hit flailing move with its tentacles in a lifting dance spin that sent Casey hard to the ground. Gumko jumped up on top of his mage pet with a victorious grin on his face.
"You fought well, I'll give you that." Gumko admitted. "But you now understand your own weakness. Our business is finished here."
Gumko spoke in a Japanese language and the pumpkin creature surrounded him with its tentacles before flying away with quick speed.
"I can't believe we got our butts kicked by some crazy mage and his pumpkin freak." Camilla complained as she slammed her fist onto the ground.
"New mages always threw us off with new tricks these days." Ezra said. "It definitely gets annoying every time."
"Well, he does know how to make a killer impression." Talia commented.
"Yeah, I've bet he was spectacular." Casey murmured angrily as he looked down to the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the Crete Fortress, Kirana waved her magic to heal Casey back to health on the couch in the living room. Sage levitated in the room with a cup of tea and handed it to Casey.
"I can't believe I just got my butt kicked by some pumpkin bombing ninja." Casey said angrily to Sage. "Maybe I'm not strong enough to fight anymore."
"Don't let the emotions of self-doubt get in your head, Casey." Sage said.
"Take this from me, Casey. I've been in that path many times." Kirana explained as she placed a comforting hand on Casey's shoulder. "The more I doubt everything, the more I let that poison send me to failure. You just have believe in yourself and your skills."
"Yeah, thanks, guys." Casey said with a smile.
"In the meantime, you must uncover the identity of this new mage." Sage said. "But we must be cautious. This new mage could be working for Lady Shade."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Ariana was looking for possible information about Gumko on her computer with rapid speed as Camilla, Talia, Ezra, and Norbit gathered around her inside the lab.
"Somehow, I've searched any international crime databases worldwide and I'm not picking up with anyone named Gumko on any sites." Ariana said to her siblings and robot friend.
"Have you search any related sources about him, Ariana?" Ezra asked as Kirana and Casey walked into the lab.
"For what I've got so far, Gumko was known as the mage prankster with the ability to generate pumpkin bombs at his will." Ariana explained. "His pet is named Kabocha. It was capable of respond any of Gumko's commands."
"And here I thought I'm always in the mode for some Halloween fun." Camilla said with a smirk.
"Halloween never disappoints teenagers." Norbit said.
"I like his pranking style, guys. I can learn a thing or two for him." Talia said. "But it's gonna take a lot more than that if he wants to impress me."
"Alright, let's split up and see if we can track him." Kirana ordered. "We gotta find him for some answers."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outside, the K-5, Norbit, and Casey began searching for Gumko all over the city. Kirana was using the Magnolia Cycle, Camilla had the Sonicruiser, Ariana stood on the Channel Six building rooftop, Talia sat on the edge of the building rooftop, and Casey was skating somewhere around the streets with Ezra and Norbit by his side.
"No sign of any mage activity." Kirana said through her K-Phone. "Got something, Ariana?"
"Nope, still searching." Ariana replied through her K-Phone. "Got anything, Camilla?"
"Nada." Camilla responded through her K-Phone. "What about you, Talia?"
"Nothing at all." Talia answered through her K-Phone. "What about you, boys? Ezra? Casey? Norbit?"
The boys didn't respond as they stood on the edge of the rooftop to see Gumko and Kabocha entering inside the door to Lady Shade's abandoned hideout.
"Well that's just great." Ezra muttered.
"We should call the K-5." Norbit said.
"Kirana, we just spotted Gumko." Casey reported as he pulled out his K-Phone. "He just went inside Lady Shade's old lair, but the place is abandoned."
"I've should have known Shade would be back. I'll contact the rest of the girls. Be careful, you three." Kirana ordered.
"We promise." Casey said.
Casey skated his way into the alleyway and hopped on the building fire escape all the way to the church roof ledge safely. Ezra got on Norbit's back and the robot flew to the rooftop and landed before Ezra hopped off him. Ezra, Norbit, and Casey quietly crawled through the stain glass window hole and peeked down to see Gumko and Kabocha walking toward the mage ninja wearing Lady Shade's silver metallic crowned mask on his face.
"Lady Shade." Casey growled.
The person stood up from Lady Shade's throne and took off the mask to reveal himself.
"Kuro." Casey said with a sharp gasp.
Ezra widened his eyes in shock as he saw his older adoptive brother on Lady Shade's throne.
"Kuro, I have fought your allies and they have lost the challenge." Gumko reported, walking up to Kuro and kneeling his knee on the ground.
"Even the fearless Casey Jones?" Kuro said with a smirk. "Can't say I'm surprised. Now with Ezra and Norbit, that's a tough challenge."
"I know, but he's still got a lot to learn if he wants to take on me again." Gumko said.
Casey jumped down and landed himself to the ground.
"Casey!" Ezra whispered.
Kabocha was ready to strike, but Gumko stood up and raised his hand up to halt his pet.
"Well, that won't be much of a problem." Casey said. "What are you even doing, Kuro?"
"Casey, let me explain." Kuro said.
Ezra and Norbit jumped down by Casey and landed on their feet.
"We thought you left the city, Kuro." Ezra said. "Where have you been all this time?"
"Ezra, I can explain everything." Kuro replied.
"I believe he is telling the truth." Norbit said.
"Kuro, what's going on here?" Kirana asked as she and her sisters walked inside the throne room.
"Girls, I know what you're thinking, but it's not." Kuro explained as he stood up from the throne room. "With the mind collar gone, I'm not your enemy anymore."
"Is that so?" Camilla questioned. "They why did you send your crazy friend and his crazy pet to fight us?"
"Because he wanted to test your skills when I told him about all of you." Kuro replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Gumko is an old friend of mine from Japan. Kabocha has been by his side when he rescued her. They weren't going to hurt you."
"Well, not much." Gumko said as he leaned his left shoulder on Kabocha's head.
"My scanner can indicate the truth and it is telling me that Kuro is not lying to us." Norbit said.
"Well, he is telling the truth. That mind worm thing is no longer on his neck." Kirana said as she was waving her aura sense on Kuro in a circular motion. Her eyes widened wide when she sensed something else within Kuro. "He's really after..."
"Lady Shade." Ariana finished. "For all those years of lying on his past life."
"So, the real question is what are you doing with the mask, Kuro?" Camilla asked.
"I wanna rebuild the Shadow Clan and finally bring back honor the way just like the Magnolia Clan did." Kuro explained, staring down at Lady Shade's mask with anger in his eyes. "Then, I'll destroy Burakkurozu Rozu and her evil empire for good."
"Lady Shade is not here." Ezra said. "She and her goons have left after the Triceratons attacked. We haven't seen them again since then."
"You can't let revenge get to you, bro. Come back home with us." Talia said. "Mother really misses you."
"I'm sorry, Talia, but I can't." Kuro said. "I have to make my own destiny and this is it."
"Then, we're no longer needed." Ariana said. "We're out."
"Not without a rematch." Casey said, pointing his index finger to Gumko.
"Hmm, fine." Kuro said with a shrug. "I'll let you have a rematch with Gumko."
Gumko leaped down to the ground and walked up to Casey in his fighting stance without any use of his powers. The K-5 and Norbit took a step back as they watched the boys circle around each other. Casey charged forward on his skates and began swinging his hockey stick at Gumko, who dodged out of the way and jumped backwards to strike Casey down with his leg extended. Casey growled and ran towards Gumko to beat him fiercely with his hockey stick, but Gumko performed five elbow slashes at Casey that knocked him down to the ground. Casey took slow, heavy breaths and got an angry look on his face. He suddenly stood up and shot a large amount of explosive hockey pucks at Gumko, who dodged out of the way with a shock look on his face. Casey started hitting more explosive hockey pucks everywhere to get the pumpkin mage ninja. Gumko then performed a series of an extremely fast repeated uppercut with his right arm that knocked Casey to the ground again.
"Alright, that's enough, Gumko." Kuro said with a glare. "I said to fight him, not beat him senselessly."
Gumko rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh and walked away from Casey, who was panting heavily and clenched his hockey stick tightly. Before he was about to make his violent move, Ariana quickly stopped him from so.
"Casey, stop." Ariana said gently as she knelt next to Casey and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't let him get to you. Let's just go."
Kirana and Camilla started walking out of the throne room.
"Come on, let's head back to the fortress." Talia said.
"Don't feel bad, sweetheart. We'll start our fun real soon." Gumko said with a flirty smile.
Talia rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh and followed after her older sisters. Ariana and Casey followed the others out of the throne room.
"Ezra." Kuro called. "Can I talk to you?"
Ezra looked at Norbit and motioned him to go with the others, which the robot companion did. Ezra walked over to Kuro and they both sat on the stairs.
"I know that I did some messed up stuff when I was in Shade's control." Kuro stated with a sigh. "There's no other way to fix my mistakes all that time ago. But if I can do this mission right, then it'll make up the lost times. What I'm really trying to say is: if there's any way that we can be brothers again and if you could forgive me, I'll do it."
"Look, we've both made mistakes." Ezra said as he put a hand on Kuro's shoulder. "But what's past is past. Maybe some good will come out of that. It's brought us all together."
Kuro looked at Ezra with a small smile, causing the teal mage ninja to smile back.
"Thanks." Kuro said.
"Anytime." Ezra replied, before he stood up and followed after his team.
Unknown to Kuro and Gumko, a Shadow Droid was climbing onto the outside glass to peer into the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the Crete Fortress, Kirana was pacing back and forth behind Sage as she reported the mission to her mother.
"I still can't believe this. He has taken over Shade's old lair and he's wearing a version of her mask." Kirana explained. "I really don't know what to do anymore."
"I deeply understand that feeling, but that's his choice whether we like it or not." Sage said.
Sage and Kirana turned to see Casey looking down at his hockey stick with frustration on the floor as they walked up behind him.
"What's wrong, Casey?" Sage asked.
"For once in my life, I'm not sure if I'm ready to take on the mages anymore, Sage." Casey replied with a sigh.
"Come with me. I will teach you a move that no human has ever done before. It will also help your fighting skills." Sage said.
"Let's do it." Casey said.
Casey got up from the floor and followed Sage to the dojo. Kirana sat between Ariana and Camilla on the couch as Talia sat on the floor in front of them with Pink Hallow in her arms while Ezra and Norbit sat on bean bag seats.
"Alright, time for Sarina Universe." Talia said with a cheerful smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Kuro and Gumko rode on top of Kabocha's head through the streets. They arrived in front of the martial arts store that stored all of Lady Shade's illegal magical artifacts in the back. Kuro and Gumko got off from Kabocha as they walked to the entrance door. But they were unaware that Tigress, Amora, Galva, and Masque are watching them from the nearby rooftop on the opposite side.
"Is Kuro still part of our crew, Tigress?" Masque asked.
"No. The mind collar is no longer on him." Tigress replied as she placed her hands on her hips.
"But what are they doing at the martial arts store?" Masque inquired.
"Because of the supply of many illegal mage artifacts we stored in the back from all over the world that Lady Shade has collected." Galva responded.
"Trust me, his life will be over...very soon." Amora grinned.
As Kuro was picking the lock with his magic, Kabocha growled as she sensed Tigress, Amora, Galva, and Masque on the rooftop. Kuro finally opened the doors and the female quartet entered the store, leaving three mage mutants and one normal mage kunoichi to follow after them inside.
As Tigress, Amora, Galva, and Masque followed Kuro and Gumko inside down the stairs into the main storage room, they quietly searched around the place not before Kuro quickly turned off the lights to block out their sight.
"Ha, even the dark can't stop me." Tigress said with a sinister laugh as she walked forward to the center of the room with her crew.
"You'll be seeing darkness by the time we're done with you, boy." Galva said.
"Yeah, time to knock you out permanently." Masque said.
"I'm taking the city back once and for all." Kuro spoke as he, Gumko, and Kabocha hid behind the large carters. "Starting with you freaks."
"Good luck with that, Kuro." Amora said sinisterly. "Because we'll be more than happy to take you apart."
Kabocha released her vine-like appendages to grapple Masque and Galva before dragging them into a darker hallway. Kuro released several dark energy tentacles from the darkness that wrapped around Amora in a form of a sphere and restrained her movement, moving the dark mage kunoichi to the other side of the room. Gumko jumped out from the crates to reveal himself in front of Tigress.
"I don't have time to play with meddling cats, but for you, I'll make an exception." Gumko said with a grin.
Gumko charged forward and fired several small pumpkin bombs from his hands at Tigress in different directions. Tigress had dodged each one with amazing speed and leaped herself to deliver swift burnt orange energized roundhouse kicks that knocked Gumko straight to the wall.
"You're feisty!" Gumko said as he extended his arms out and summoned pumpkin bomb glyphs around Tigress with his magic. "I like that!"
Gumko snapped his fingers with a smirk and all of the pumpkin bomb glyphs exploded on impact, but Tigress jumped high above the explosions and swung her leg to fire several burnt orange energy waves that slammed Gumko hard to the wall and knocked him out in the process.
As for Kuro and Kabocha, they were fighting Amora with a team advantage while Galva and Masque was tied up in chains.
"Hey, Kuro!" Tigress shouted.
Kuro and Kabocha turned around to see Tigress holding the unconscious Gumko as hostage.
"Gumko, no!" Kuro shouted.
"Surrender now, Kuro." Amora said.
Amora snapped her fingers and Tigress engulfed her left hand in burnt orange energy power in a form of sharp claws to hold her hand near Gumko's neck.
"Or else death will come in his way." Amora added with a smirk.
Kuro stared at the unconscious Gumko for a minute and sighed in defeat, signaling his hands to order Kabocha to stand down.
"Fine, you win, Amora." Kuro said with a glare.
Kuro folded his arms over his chest as he secretly grabbed his cell phone and alerted Kirana with a text message.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the Crete Fortress, Kirana heard her K-Phone on the couch and picked it up to open it. Ariana, Camilla, Ezra, Talia, Norbit, and Pink Hallow looked at Kirana since they heard the sound of her cell phone.
"I got a text from Kuro." Kirana said to her sisters. "He's in trouble."
Ariana, Camilla, Talia, and Ezra gasped in shock.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the martial arts storage room, Kuro and Kabocha were struggling against the chains while Gumko was still knocked out. The trio became attached to the wall off the ground as hostages.
"So, what should we do with them now?" Masque asked.
"I say we finish them off and call it a night." Galva replied as she touched Gumko's face with one giant hand.
"Don't even bother, ladies." Tigress said as she walked up to Kuro. "Kuro called the K-5 after his surrender."
"You knew all along?" Kuro asked in shock.
"Don't act so surprised, Kuro." Amora grinned as she grabbed the cell phone from Kuro and crushed it with her dark magic. "No one can help you from your doom."
"Then, where's Shade?" Kuro growled. "I demand to know where she's hiding!"
"Like we're going to tell you." Masque snapped.
"Is that so?" Kuro asked.
Kuro sliced the chains with his dark energy claws to free himself and kicked Masque in the face with his dark energized leg.
"You're clever, Kuro." Tigress admitted. "But not clever enough."
Tigress fought Kuro briefly until she quickly pinned him down to the ground with her right foot as Kuro was struggling to break free.
"Enough of your petty determination, boy." Tigress said. "Time to shut you out and this time for good."
"Yo, Tigress!"
Norbit shot a powerful missile at Tigress and Kuro blasted the tiger mage mutant with his dark energy magic, causing Tigress to release him from her grasp. Kuro moved his way towards the K-5, Norbit, and Casey.
"About time you guys show up." Kuro smiled.
"What are you even doing here, Amora?" Kirana asked. "I thought you and Shade left town after we defeated you and your crew."
"You make me laugh." Amora said. "All of you and Sage will tremble before my mother's might."
"Team, take them down." Kirana ordered as she pointed her finger to the mage mutants.
Talia freed the conscious Gumko with an orange psychic energy blast and Gumko fell safely on the ground as they worked together to tie their magic around Galva's giant arms.
"Sorry, Galva, but your slime ends here." Talia said.
"You are one cool chick, Talia." Gumko said with a grin. "I will never lose my sight of your stunning beauty."
Talia rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. Galva dragged them to the floor with her giant fists. Ezra and Norbit came to their aid as they delivered blows to Galva.
Ariana and Casey worked together to take down Masque, who was blasting ghost white energy bolts at them. Masque kicked Ariana and Casey shot many explosive hockey pucks with his hockey stick at the ghost mage mutant.
"Back off, Masque!" Casey yelled.
"Oh, I love a guy who likes snapping bones and twisting scums." Masque grinned as she moved closer to Casey's face. "I definitely would hate to smash such a pretty face."
Ariana stared at Masque with an angry look and ran forward to kick Masque away from Casey.
Camilla charged forward to attack Tigress with red psychic energized fists, but the tiger mage mutant jumped into the air with Camilla's face in between her legs and performed a swift backflip that used Camilla to knock Kirana straight to the ground before sending the red mage kunoichi to the wall. Kuro and Kabocha ran to help Camilla as they saw Tigress punching Kirana with her fists. Kuro glared hard at the dark mage kunoichi as his anger transformed his arms into black fur with sharp claws. Kuro sprinted forward to Tigress and unleashed a rapid-fire combo of slashes at her. Tigress took several hits, but Amora swiftly kicked Kuro in the chest that sent him on the floor next to the blue mage kunoichi. Kirana looked up to see Amora lifting up her blazing black energized hand in the air.
"Lost the strength to fight?" Amora said. "Now, gaze into the face of your doom."
"Not on my watch!" Casey exclaimed.
Casey threw an explosive hockey puck in Amora's face and performed several hockey stick swings through the dark mage kunoichi while skating in different directions before finishing her with one final, powerful swing to Amora's face hard that sent her crashing to the wall with great force.
"Yeah, Casey!" Ezra cheered. "You're the bomb!"
"Way to go, Casey." Norbit said.
"Bam, that's gotta hurt." Ariana said in awe.
"Oh yeah, we out!" Talia exclaimed.
Talia took a black smoke bomb and dropped it to the ground that made seven mages, one human, one robot, and one mage creature disappear from the mage mutants as their escape.
"I really hate it when they do that." Galva snarled.
Galva, Masque, Amora and Tigress heard the sound of beeping as they looked around the room and found that the Gumko have rigged the entire warehouse with timing pumpkin bomb glyphs.
"Uh no. We're in deep trouble." Masque said with a fearful look.
"Run!" Tigress shouted.
Masque, Tigress, Amora, and Galva started to make a run for it, but they found themselves being locked in the room as they were trying to break down the door with their strengths.
"Oh." Amora and Tigress said.
"Crud." Galva and Masque said together.
As the pumpkin bomb glyphs ticked their last seconds, the entire martial arts store was wiped out in a huge explosion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the Crete Fortress, the K-5 sat on the couch. Kabocha was purring on Talia, who was hugging her in delight. Kuro and Gumko stood in front of Casey and Ezra as they bowed in a honorable way.
"Gumko and I want to apologize about the fight earlier. We hope you can forgive us, Casey." Kuro apologized.
"Don't worry, Kuro. It's cool." Casey said with a smile as he watched Kuro and Gumko stood up from their bow. "Your friend really put up quite a fight. I'm looking forward for a rematch anytime."
Casey and Kuro grinned as they shook hands and finally made amends with each other. Ezra smiled proudly for Casey's friendship with Kuro.
"Shori." Sage said as she levitated herself in the living room.
"Mother." Kuro said.
"You can't carry on this burden of fighting Lady Shade alone." Sage said, putting her hand on Kuro's shoulder. "Let us help you."
"I know, mother." Kuro said determinedly. "But I'm ready to walk my own path. I must cleanse everything Lady Shade have done in this city."
"Your anger allows you to seek vengeance that was inherited from Burakkurozu Rozu, not from me." Sage explained.
"I know, mother." Kuro said, looking down to the floor. "But I'll make you proud of me. I promise you."
"I am already proud of you, my son." Sage voiced.
Kuro became speechless with wide eyes and hugged Sage, who smiled softly and hugged him back. Gumko turned to Kabocha and signaled her with his fingers that they had to leave. Kabocha licked Talia's cheek and followed the mage ninjas out of the fortress.
"Casey, you really have proven yourself a true capable fighter." Sage said with a smile as she walked up to Casey. "I always knew you had great confidence and surprisingly the Maximum Dragon as well."
"Well, I have you to thank for that, Sage." Casey smiled back.
"I guess people need help to find their spirits." Ezra said, with a small smile.
"And guidance was the key to help Casey find his." Norbit said.
"So what do we do now? We know Shade is hiding out there, but we don't know where." Camilla said.
"I have a bad feeling that things are about to take a turn for the worse." Kirana said firmly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elsewhere, a dark grey two-level fortress home that looked like a big concrete cube was overlooking the city with Crystalia and Jinx as guards. Tigress returned back into the fortress cube and entered inside the dark room to speak Lady Shade, who was being cared for by Viral. Due to the injuries she sustained from losing his fight with Sage, she has been confined in the hospital bed while being hooked up to several life-support machines with her bandaged face.
"I don't know if you can hear me, but Kuro is trying to take control of the city, mistress." Tigress reported. "Without the mind collar on him, he's doing everything in his power to undo all of the things we have successfully accomplished. With our artifact cache destroyed, he's now going to stop us as main targets."
"If he wants war, he's got one." Lady Shade uttered with weak breaths. "After my recovery, get me Shredder. We got a lot of things to prepare."
Viral then hooked up an I.V. loaded with glowing mutagen. As the substance flowed smoothly into Shade's body, the machines began beeping faster while the mutagen took effect on Shade.
Then, Lady Shade's eyes opened wide with a hint of vengeance.