CHAPTER 5; THE CAVERN OF THE WATER SAINT

When morning finally arrived, Ryu had already made breakfast.

"Ryu you didn't have to" Michael said.

"We can't let the lady starve now can we?" Ryu said as he served them.

After serving, he sat near Atlanta and began to eat.

"Tell me how your quest began" Atlanta requested.

Ryu narrated the story to Atlanta.

"Wow that's amazing" Atlanta listened with rapt attention.

"And that's about where we met you" Ryu concluded.

"We've got to find a source of water, I need to take a bath" Atlanta said.

Ryu showed her to a source of water.

"Tell me Ryu, why are you acting so responsible and weird?" Michael asked.

"You think I'm weird?" Ryu asked.

"Tell me the truth, do you like Atlanta?" Michael asked.

"She's kinda pretty" Ryu said.

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After Ryu left Michael, he found a spot in the ground, created a lava pool and entered into it.

"Ah, after a long day of work, it's good to relax. Heh! I never thought bathing with lava would actually be more refreshing than bathing with water" he said as he relaxed.

He created whirlpools and dived into them, having a nice time.

"Whoo-hoo!" he laughed as he swirled around the pool. "Fire is definitely the main element"

Ryu laughed as he dived into the lava pool.

"Who'd have thought that I'd ever wield the powers of a dragon, I'm only seventeen" Ryu thought out loud.

Atlanta was walking around at the time. She heard the noise that Ryu was making and came to the clearing. She saw Ryu as he played around in the pool. She blushed shyly.

"Uh-um, Ryu!" she called.

"Whoa! What the heck!" Ryu screamed as he dived into the lava.

He stuck his head above the lava.

"Atlanta, what are you doing here?" Ryu asked with a frown.

"I…uh…um" Atlanta stammered.

"Yes?" Ryu asked.

"I want to know more about Gaiden and Shekan" Atlanta said.

"Hey, wait a minute, is this the ideal time to be asking about something like that?" Ryu wondered suspiciously. "Well, I guess you can't refuse a lady" Ryu smiled to himself. Finally Atlanta needed him for information.

"Okey-dokey, just a sec. Turn around" Ryu said as he motioned to Atlanta to turn around with his forefinger.

Atlanta turned around, smiling at Ryu's shyness. Ryu meanwhile clothed himself with the lava.

"Okay, I'm done" Ryu said coming out of the pool. Atlanta turned and saw him clothed in the lava. She burst out laughing.

"You're one funny guy. You look like a fire demon" Atlanta said.

"RRRAAARR!!!" Ryu roared teasingly. Atlanta laughed at him.

"Seriously, you want to know about Shekan and Gaiden?" Ryu asked.

Atlanta nodded.

"Okay, now where do I begin? Uh-um, yeah!" Ryu exclaimed. "I'm sure you know that the dragon saints created the world in dragon zone, the sacred floor that generates the energy that sustains the ryu" Ryu explained.

Atlanta listened with rapt attention.

"Gaiden was a warrior from the Crystal ryu. Legend tells that, after finding all the saints, he developed a new ryu, the Lightning ryu, and forged the Sword Of Rai from a lightning bolt that he had cut with his special technique" Ryu narrated.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Atlanta exclaimed.

"Yeah, but that's not all, he faced the evil Shekan and bound him in stone. It seems that Gaiden somehow sealed himself too, waiting to pass his power to the nineteenth century's generation of ninja saints" Ryu narrated.

"Thanks Ryu, I'm sorry for being so stubborn earlier" Atlanta apologized.

"No problemo. Just ask Mikey how stubborn I can be" Ryu said.

Atlanta laughed.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. Ryu's lava began to sink through a huge hole in the ground.

"Oh man! It took me half an hour to make that bath" Ryu complained.

"RYU! ATLANTA!" Michael called as he ran towards the clearing.

"What's up bro?" Ryu asked.

"Thank goodness you're safe but…hey wait a minute. What are you two doing here alone and…WHY THE HELL ARE YOU NAKED RYU?!" Michael screamed.

Atlanta screamed and shielded her eyes.

"HOLY COW!" Ryu called as he super-sped to the camp and clothed himself.

Then he returned to Michael and Atlanta.

"I'm waiting" Michael said suspiciously.

"Uh-um…Come on! Nothing weird happened between us! I was just narrating the legend of Gaiden and Shekan to Atlanta" Ryu defended himself.

"Naked?" Michael questioned.

"Yeah, about that, the explosion took my lava away" Ryu said.

"Speaking about the explosion, what was it anyway?" Michael asked.

Suddenly, the floor beneath them split open and they fell through the ground. They slid through tunnels and finally landed underground.

"Talk about a fall. Where's this place? It smells like old ladies" Ryu complained.

"Look ahead, there's a tunnel" Michael pointed.

"Way to go Mike!" Ryu said as he rubbed Michael's hair.

Michael glared at him.

"Let's go!" Ryu called as he ran towards the tunnel.

"Why doesn't he ever listen to me" Michael seemed bored with Ryu's overly adventurous nature.

"That's what I call the flames of stubbornness" Ryu laughed.

They moved through the tunnels and came to a huge gate. It had sacred inscriptions all over it. It had two dragon pipes running across it. The mouths of the dragons were open and at the centre where their bodies touched, there was a hole.

"Stand back, Mikey's in the zone!" Michael called as he placed his hand over the hole.

Water flowed out of the mouths of the dragons. The companions could hear water racing through the door. Bright blue lights began to appear all over the door and the door slowly opened. The three companions walked into a temple decorated with symbols of water. There were statues of ancient water ninja masters standing opposite each other in a line, forming a path from the gate to a smaller stone door at the farthest end of the temple.

"Amazing, the Water ryu was underground?! What a clan!" Ryu admired.

"Actually, this looks more like some kind of ancient underground Temple. Maybe it's the home of the Water Saint" Michael said.

Michael walked to the stone door and touched it. The door slid open. Inside the next room, they found mist all over, just like Crystal's lair.

"DISPEL!" the brothers called as the mist was blown away.

Before them lay a huge blue dragon, it was the water dragon. The huge blue beast awakened and spread its wings magnificently. There was a brilliant flash of light. The dragon stared at them with fierce, yet calm eyes.

"Michael and Ryu, brave Atlanta, well done. I feel the strength of the elements within you" the dragon said as it breathed a breath of power over them. "From here, you must seek out the water ninja, then move on to find the Earth Saint and its ryu" the dragon spoke.

"Take this Michael. Summon me when you need help. Our power will forever live in you" the dragon said as it handed a ring to Michael. Almost immediately after that, a flash of light teleported the companions to the camp.