It was another day at International Secret Service (ISS) when Chief turned on his intercom.
"Miss Penny, send in Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole right away please." He said
Secret Squirrel popped out of a drawer in the Chief's desk.
"Agent Triple-Zero, Secret Squirrel, reporting for duty."
A locked drawer on the other side of the desk rumbled. A hole broke open where the lock used to be and Morocco's head came out.
"Likewise me Morocco Mole." Morocco said, slightly dazed. "Why do I always get the worst entrances?"
"Well you haven't really been practicing your entrances, you should train with Secret Squirrel sometime." Chief pointed out.
"Right."
"So what's the trouble Chief?" Secret asked, leaping over so that he was now in front of the desk.
Morocco struggled to get out of the drawer, but only succeeded in coming out of the desk. He walked over to Secret, the broken drawer awkwardly around his neck so that the rest of it covered Morocco's front. Secret pulled the drawer off Morocco.
"Thanks Secret."
"No problem." Secret smiled.
"*Ahem*, reports of stolen gold nugget bubblegum has accumulated since yesterday." Chief explained. "Originally the thief was thought to be a high school dropout or juvenile delinquent but the more recent large amounts of stolen bubblegum has redirected the suspicion to Goldflipper."
"We're on it Chief." Secret said.
Secret and Morocco tracked the route of a more recent theft to a volcano in an uncharted island. They landed in the jungle near a beach.
"Goldflipper seems to have a strange liking for volcanoes." Morocco noted.
"I think he used to pick volcanoes because he thought that one of the last places we'd look for him would be near somewhere dangerous." Secret replied. "However, considering how often he has done it it's probably now a habit he can't break."
"Like how he always steals something gold or gold related." Morocco said in agreement.
"Exactly."
They cautiously walked through the jungle, keeping an eye out for attackers or traps. But nothing attacked them, not even when they reached the volcano.
"Maybe we landed on their blind side?" Morocco suggested as he and Secret looked for an entrance they could sneak through.
"No, Goldflipper would have kept the entire island tracked." Secret shook his head. "I don't like this."
Suddenly, two darts hit Secret and Morocco!
"What hit us Secret?" Morocco said, a little woozy.
"Poison darts." Secret explained, starting to lose consciousness himself. "Most jungle natives use them for hunting but I think these are only going to knock us..."
At that, Secret and Morocco both fell unconsciousness onto the ground. A fat ominous shadow covered them...
When Secret woke up, he found himself suspended high up in the air, tied up and hanging from a rope. He wasn't alone though.
"Morocco!" Secret said, seeing his best friend tied to his back. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, except my bottom hurts." Morocco said. "What about you?"
"I'm fine, just wondering where we are."
"Isn't it obvious? You are both prisoners inside my lair."
Secret and Morocco looked down towards the voice and saw Goldflipper there. Big surprise.
"Prisoners? I think not, Secret can get us out of any dire situation." Morocco said defiantly.
"Well I have gotten out of worse traps than this." Secret smiled humbly. "Just one cut from my handy Lasso-Lacerater..."
He concentrated on his device, but nothing happened.
"That's weird, my hat's never failed me before." Secret had never been so confused.
"Not your whole-hat, but what about your half-hat?" Goldflipper grinned viciously, holding up the top half of Secret's hat!
Secret and Morocco looked at the scene with shock and horror.
"You see I realized that practically all of your accomplishments had to do with the gadgets you keep in that topper of yours, so I broke it." Goldflipper explained. "I would have taken off your entire hat instead, but breaking it was more fun. Besides, I want to save seeing your real appearance for when you die. It'll be your last thought before my lava pit burns you into nonexistence: that I, Goldflipper, know what you really look like. Maybe I'll use that info to locate any family members you might have and let them know of your demise...before killing them. You won't die right away though, I want to complete my plan first so that you and your mole friend will be tortured with the realization that you can't stop me. You'll still be slowly lowered into the pit, just to torment you, but I'll come back for your last moments."
"You madman! You'll see Secret will find some way to beat you! Good always wins over evil!" Morocco glared.
Secret didn't say anything, he still had the look of horror on his face.
"Not this time mole." Goldflipper sneered. "Oh, and my plan: I'm going to steal all the candy in the world and sell it back to the people at ridiculously high prices. I just started with gold nugget bubblegum to lure you two here. Well, I must plan my next heist."
At that, Goldflipper lowered a lever and left the room. The rope Secret and Morocco were tied to very slowly lowered towards the lava pit below them.
"Come on Secret, you must have some plan." Morocco said.
"I-I..." Secret faltered. "I don't."
Morocco looked as if he couldn't believe his ears.
"WHAT?" He gasped.
"Goldflipper has won, at least against us." Secret said miserably, defeated. "The rest of ISS may be able to stop him later but we'll...we'll be gone."
"Secret this time you have gone more than 'crazy about catching criminals'!" Morocco scolded. "That's not the Secret I know, the Secret I know would never give up!"
"The Secret you know also always had gadgets on hand." Secret sighed. "But...my hat is of no use and I'm tied up too tightly to reach into my coat. We're too high up to swing to safety, and if we waited until we were lower to the ground it wouldn't work because the pit is too big...I'm only sorry you had to get tied up with me. I chose to be a secret agent so that I could save others and stop crime but you didn't have to repay me for saving your life by joining me."
"It wasn't just that, I chose to be a secret agent for the same reasons you did. I was impressed by your abilities and wanted to learn them, so I could stop evil like my twin brother Sirocco." Morocco softened. "I don't regret sharing this fate with you Secret. We are more than partners we're best friends, and...I think of you as a brother. You do make a better brother than Sirocco ever did."
"That goes without saying." Secret chuckled slightly; then, to Morocco's huge surprise, Secret actually started to cry!
"What's wrong Secret?" Morocco asked, concerned.
"I-I never got the chance to reveal one of my deepest secrets ever." Secret sobbed.
"Which is?"
"I-I'm in love with Penny." Secret admitted.
Morocco was surprised at first, but then smiled.
"That's wonderful Secret, you two would make a good couple." He said. "But why didn't you say anything earlier."
"Because I didn't want any criminals to find out." Secret explained. "If they did they might kidnap Penny and use her for bait, putting her in danger. I just couldn't let that happen, if Penny ever got hurt it would break my heart."
"That's ridiculous Secret." Morocco shook his head. "I mean your reason makes sense and is selfless but I doubt Penny cares about that. If she really loves you, and I believe she does, then she would want to be with you even if it leads to her death. A short time with someone you love, romantically or otherwise, is better than a long life not being with the person."
Secret stopped crying.
"That was strangely insightful of you." He noted.
"Eh, I may not be a genius and I may be a bungler but I do understand ways of the heart." Morocco shrugged the best he could, since he was tightly tied up as well.
"And a wise heart is more important than a smart brain." Secret smiled.
Morocco smiled back.
"So...since we're being open and all that do you think Goldflipper will find your family?" Morocco changed the subject.
"No...my parents died years ago." Secret shook his head.
"Really?"
"Yes, back when I was a kid. I'm an orphan and an only child." Secret admitted. "My parents and I were innocent bystanders during a bank robbery, and could've lived through it like the other bystanders. Unfortunately, a robber noticed the necklace mom was wearing and snatched it, only to discover that the gems were fake. Out of vexation, he shot her. Dad, furious, attacked the robber but another robber shot him. I had ducked underneath a couch during the incident, so they didn't notice me, and they escaped without getting caught. I felt so guilty for not trying to help my parents that I decided to lead a life of crime-fighting. I grew up building up my intelligence, agility, and endurance, and became a cop. I ended up so good at crime-busting that ISS noticed me and hired me, and you know mostly the rest. Unfortunately, I never found those robbers, and I don't think they've ever been caught."
Morocco started to shed a few tears.
"A-and I thought I had a rough family life." Morocco almost sobbed.
"At least you had family, I had no one to turn to after my parents were killed." Secret sighed again. "I hope they're not ashamed of me for giving up so soon, especially since I haven't settled the score yet."
"No, not even you are omni-omni..." Morocco stumbled. "Uh, invincible. *Ahem*, anyway, I'm sure your parents are very proud of you for doing all that you did in the past, and know that you were eventually going to avenge them once you got the chance. If anything they just really hate Goldflipper for taking away any chances you had in the future."
"Thanks, I needed to hear that." Secret smiled.
A short time passed, when Secret and Morocco suddenly heard gunshots and shouts coming from outside the room they were in.
"What the...?" Secret was confused again.
Suddenly, the doors opened and Penny flipped inside!
"Hi guys." She smiled. "When the Chief didn't get a report from you we got a bad feeling something was wrong, so he sent me after you. I knew something had gone wrong when I saw the top half of your hat in Goldflipper's fat flipper. Fortunately, it's not there anymore." She grinned as she held up the top half. "Hang on."
She went over to a control panel near the lever and pulled a few switches. Secret and Morocco were moved so that they were dangling over the floor instead of the lava pit. She then lowered the lever a little more, gently but quickly setting them back onto the ground.
"There you go, now hold still while I reattach your hat." Penny, who knew a little about electronics due to training herself after that one time she became an agent, fixed Secret' hat.
"Penny...you're amazing!" Secret smiled admiringly.
Penny blushed, smiling happily.
"Now..."
This time Secret's Lasso-Lacerater worked and freed him and Morocco.
"Excellent! Let's go stop Goldflipper!" Secret was back to his old self.
"Now there's the Secret I know." Morocco smiled proudly.
Secret, Morocco, and Penny defeated Goldflipper by burying him in the gold nugget gum. They did so by Penny fighting Goldflipper's henchman, distracting Goldflipper in the process. Secret was then able to find the giant container full of the gum, and Morocco, through tripping, found the release lever.