The air was calm, the stars were soft in the sky, and the road to Shuriken City was quiet—almost too quiet. After days of traveling, brawling, and saving Crystal Monsters, Kouchu and his team had finally found a spot beneath the whispering trees to rest. A soft crackle of a campfire filled the forest clearing.
Kouchu (laying back on his backpack):
“Finally! No chaos. No traps. No Menace Five. Just… peace.”
Roaracryst (roasting a marshmallow):
“Can you not say their name? That’s how you summon them!”
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[Scene: Nearby, in the shadows…]
Kathern Honika (peering from the bushes):
“They’re resting… perfect.”
Julia Denoku (smirking, with a huge trap remote):
“We’ve been waiting for this moment since Episode 2!”
Genuan George (holding a oversized net):
“Should’ve done this three cities ago!”
Katie Moshika (unrolling a rope):
“This time… they’re toast.”
Hiyon Morki (holding a blueprint upside-down):
“Wait… is this trap diagram in Spanish?”
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[Scene: Trap Laid, Trouble Starts]
As the brawlers sleep, the trap-laden ground beneath their tent clicks. With a cartoonish WHOOSH, the entire crew—including Kouchu, Shauna, Sakuro, and all their Crystal Monsters—plummets into a pit.
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Kouchu (in mid-fall):
“YOU JINXED US, ROARACRYST!”
Roaracryst:
“Gravity’s mean today!”
They land with a cushioned thud, surrounded by rubber chickens, glitter bombs, and banana peels.
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[Scene: Menace Five’s Tower – Feeling Victorious… Briefly]
Julia (cheering):
“We finally caught them! Victory tastes like…confetti!”
Katie (looking proud):
“Maybe now we’ll get a raise from Hunter Grai!”
Genuan:
“I want mine in tacos!”
[Cut to: Pit Trap]
But then… vines snake up. Mouselette and Plantmore use teamwork to flip the situation. Plantmore tosses a vine upward—snags the lever to the Menace Five’s own back-up trap system.
Shauna (dusting herself off):
“Idiots forgot to make the floor one-way.”
Sakuro (dryly):
“Classic.”
Narration:
A RUMBLE. A CLANK. A SPROING.
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[Scene: Menace Five’s Comeuppance]
Suddenly—WHUMP! WHOOSH! KERPLONK!—the Menace Five fall into their own traps, bouncing through nets, glue puddles, springboards, and right into a dunk tank filled with pickle juice.
Julia (soaked, blinking):
“…We’re not good at this.”
Katie:
“This wasn’t in the plan!”
Genuan (trying to swim in pickles):
“I regret nothing!”
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[Scene: Deep in the Mountains – Serious Tone Shift]
Far away, atop a dark cliff bathed in blood-red moonlight, a shadow looms.
Narration:
While the Menace Five floundered in their own foolishness, something more sinister stirred. Watching. Calculating.
Hunter Grai—silent, muscular, his long coat whipping in the wind—stood with his arms crossed. Behind him, a cage. Inside it, sleeping peacefully… Dragiono, the legendary fire-dragon Crystal Monster.
Hunter Grai (coldly):
“The Menace Five were supposed to trap the boy, not themselves.”
[Cut to: Julia on a hologram call]
Julia (drenched in pickles, trying to smile):
“It was a tactical error! A fluke! We’ll fix it! Maybe…”
Hunter Grai (voice dark):
“No. I’ll handle it from here.”
Narration:
And as his eyes glowed faint red, the dark tale of Dragiono’s kidnapping began…
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[Scene: Campfire, Aftermath]
Kouchu (yawning):
“Well, that was weird. But, hey—we didn’t get exploded this time.”
Roaracryst (handing him a toasted marshmallow):
“Progress.”
Sakuro (pulling out the map):
“North is clear now. Next medal awaits.”
Shauna (suspicious):
“Still feels like the Menace Five will come back with… worse plans.”
Mouselette:
“Like gluing our socks together?”
Ninecoat (grinning):
“I kinda liked the dunk tank.”
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[Narration – Final Scene]
And so, with a few bumps, some bruises, and the scent of pickles still lingering in the air, Kouchu and his friends continue their journey north—unaware that a true threat now stalks them from the shadows.
To be continued…
