"You little pains!" Grodus yelled, throwing Crysto and Crysycle to the ground, having easily overpowered them. "Even if I did accept back into the Secret Society of X-Nauts, you'd be too weak to even take on the Red Yoshi!" He slammed his staff into the ground, firmly and turned to TEC and the Squid Sisters.
"Even in my most paranoid moments, I never thought for a second my own computer would betray me." Grodus told TEC. "There's only one thing we can do, now. X-Nauts, initiate the deletion initiative."
"Got it, boss!" Two X-Nauts agreed.
"You monster!" Marie yelled.
"What are we going to do to him?" Callie asked.
"What am I going to do to him?" Grodus repeated. "I am going to deal with this malfunctioning menace by deleting him!"
"NO!" The Squid Sisters cried. "TEC!"
"No." TEC began to say his last words. "It does not end here, Squid Sisters. You can still save the world form Sir Grodus' wrath. Good luck…" He finished.
"TEC!" The Squid Sisters cried his name out one last time.
"Don't be so distraught, Squid Sisters." Grodus ordered. "He was only a computer. Anyway, there's something very important we need you for."
"Wait!" Marie realized. "You don't mean…"
"No!" Callie urged. "Anything but that!"
"Graah haa haa!" Grodus cackled. "X-Nauts, escort these two to the launching pad. I have to deal with these traitors." The X-Nauts nodded and escorted the Squid Sisters out. "Now, for you two. You will be transported back to Crystal City promptly. May Dr. Phun have mercy on you."
"Got it." Dr. Phun finished on the phone. "Crystallpher!"
"What?" The Crystal King angrily asked.
"News from the moon." He explained. "The Red Yoshi and his friends have been terminated."
"What does that mean for the Crystal People and I?"
"That means that this city is the first of many to be taken by the soon-to-be powerful X-Naut-Octarian Empire."
"Yes. Affirmative." Grodus agreed. "Stand by for orders." He hung up and turned to an X-Naut. "That was our double-agent. They say that there is no evidence that the Red Yoshi and his friends survived the demolition of the mountain."
"That's good news, boss!" An X-Naut agreed.
"Shut up, I have to make a call." Grodus picked up the phone again. "This is Sir Grodus. Make plans to move into the wreckage of Octarian Mountain and find those Crystal Stars. With the Red Yoshi gone, now we can finally take the world over!"
Episode III
The Final Fight
"Some people want me to be heads or tails
I say no way, try again another day
I should be happy, not tipping the scales
I just won't play, letting my life get away
If you wanna train me, like an animal
Better keep your eye on my every move
There's no need to be so damn cruel
Baby, you got nothing to prove
I'm no fool, no, I'm not a follower
I don't take things as they come
If they bring me down
Life can be cruel, if you're a dreamer
I just wanna have some fun
Don't tell me what could be done
You know you like it but it drives you insane
You know you like it but it drives you insane
You know you like it but you're scared of the shame
What you want, what you gonna do?
You know you like it but it drives you insane
Follow me 'cause you know that you wanna feel the same
You know you like it but it drives you insane
What you want, what you gonna do?"
- DJ Snake and AlunaGeorge, You Know You Like It
It was 12:23 PM. Red and the other Inklings sat in silence aboard the Excess Express. Robbie and Paul sat across from Red while the girls slept it off. Red was listening to his music, staring into The Tyrant's Gem.
"Well, Ma'an?" Robbie asked.
"What song does he have on?" Paul asked.
Robbie tossed him Red's phone. "Take a wild guess."
"Wow." Robbie nodded. "I was right."
"Look at him!" Paul remarked. "Staring into that thing, sucking the very life out of him."
"He's been through a lot." Robbie admitted. "He blames himself for Erick's suicide."
"It's taken a lot out of all of us, especially Aimee." Paul agreed. "Poor little Aimee. She's the youngest out of all of us, and she's probably seen the most death." Aimee was sleeping soundly, before she began to rock back and forth wildly. At that point, Red threw his headphones off, causing his music to blare dully through the train car.
"Aimee!" Red ran to her side. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Aimee dismissed, embracing him.
"Another Erick nightmare?"
"…Yeah. That's all."
"You gonna be okay?"
"I'll sleep it off."
"Good." Red agreed. "Sleep well." He kissed her forehead, leaving her to herself. He reconnected his music, and continued to stare into the gem.
"Wow." Paul let a word slip.
"I know." Robbie agreed. His phone suddenly buzzed. He glanced at it, before a confused look rested on his face.
"What's up?"
"Just got a text."
"From who?"
"Emilyra."