"It all makes sense now." Red realized, pacing back and forth through the light snow that was now falling. "The murder, the obvious tire treads, the actions guaranteed to attract attention!"
"So, the X-Nauts killed Abbie to draw us in?" Gyanna scratched her head.
"There's a reason either way!" Paul joined in. "They would've killed her for teaming up with us, and if she was a double-agent, she'd be a traitor to her people!" He spun to Red. "That makes sense!"
"All of this…" Robbie chimed in. "Just to lure us into the Crystal City."
"Well, it worked, that's for sure." Aimee agreed.
"Aimee's right." Red nodded. "We're here, we might as well get in there." He reached for the Crystal Key in his pocket. "Be prepared for anything in there, team."
The team ran through the narrow path, surrounded on both sides by the Shiver Mountains. They finally got to a man-made fixture on the side of the mountain.
"Is this the Crystal Palace?" Aimee asked.
"Nope," Paul was scanning through his binoculars. "Up there. See that mountain over there?"
"All the way over there?" Red asked. "Looks at least a kilometer away."
"Look how many mountains are surrounding it!" Gyanna pointed. "Must be Crystal City inside that valley there."
"Wait, Ma'an!" Robbie realized. "If the Crystal Palace is over there, where are we going?"
"Halt!" A couple of X-Nauts spotted Red and the Inklings. "Get them!"
"Watch out, team!" Red alerted. He drew his hammer, and triggered a Quake Hammer smash, dropping a large amount of ice from above on the X-Nauts.
"Well, least we know what to expect now, Ma'an." Robbie figured.
"Them and Octolings." Paul processed. "If we're not on our feet, we could be in for a lot of trouble."
Red's phone buzzed, surprising him. "Who could this be?" Red opened his phone, scanning over his messages. "Turn back. The Crystal Star is ours. If you value your friends lives, you'll turn back, now."
"Like that's supposed to scare us." Gyanna rolled her eyes. "What's the call, Red?"
"Obviously, we ignore it." Red dismissed. "Keep it moving."
Red and the Inklings continued to move up the icy staircase, closer and closer to the mountaintop. Octolings and X-Nauts continued to ambush them, but unsuccessfully, as every time Red and the Inklings were ready. After a long, hard climb, the team finally reached the top of the mountain.
"Is this the Crystal Palace?" Robbie scratched his head.
"Does that mean there's two of them?" Aimee asked.
"It must!" Gyanna figured. "How else can we explain that there's two of them?"
"Mirage?"
"Hologram?"
"This must be the entrance into the city, Red." Paul figured. "We'd better be alert for ambushes in here, too."
"Red!" Aimee called. "Did you guys notice that there's two Crystal Palaces?"
"What?" Red asked, shocked. "Can't be. We're walking into the real one right now."
"Look out there!" Aimee pulled Red back to lookout. "That looks exactly like this one!"
"What are you suggesting?" Red asked. "Is this Crystal Palace a fake trap, while the other is a real one?"
"Well, there's only one way to find out, Ma'an." Robbie gave Red a look.
"Robbie's right." Red agreed. "We'd better be on our-" Red was interrupted by his phone buzzing. "The message says, 'I'm serious. You will be killed if you keep going. Go back.' "
"…That's not gonna change your mind, is it?" Gyanna asked.
"Ha! No!" Red smirked, throwing the Crystal key into the lock on the door, forcing it to swing open. The Crystal Palace surely lived up to its name. The walls were made of pure crystal, while the purified crystal mirror decorated the wall.
"…I'm sure they finished them off!" An X-Naut walking on the opposite side of the mirror laughed, before looking through the mirror. "EEK! RED YOSHI!" The X-Naut pushed his friend back through a door out of sight.
"What a mirror." Gyanna stared at her reflection. "If we weren't in the Crystal Palace, I'd swear it's fake."
"What does this big button do?" Aimee jumped onto a button, activating it.
"AIMEE!" Red jumped on her, bringing her to the ground. The ground began to shake, but Red and Aimee remained unharmed.
"Guys!" Robbie laughed. "You're still alive!"
"What?" Red asked, embarrassed. "What was all of the rumbling then?"
"The ground shifted, and this green door appeared in the place of the red one." Paul explained. Robbie's phone rumbled on cue.
"Emilyra says that there's a red key hidden in one of the rooms beyond the green door." Robbie explained.
"Guess that explains what we're looking for." Gyanna shrugged.
"…But seriously, it's a good thing Doc Phun gave us this key to guard." An X-Naut and his friend conversed. "I was getting-" The X-Naut came face-to-face with Red. "Pal, tell me that's not the Red Yoshi staring down my mask. TELL ME!"
"No, bro. That's him."
"Should we run?"
"Probably." The X-Naut turned to Red. "How much time to we get to run?"
"How about none?"
"That's good!" The X-Naut grabbed his buddy. "RUUUUUUUN!"
"I dropped the key!"
"Screw it! It's not important!" The X-Nauts dashed away.
"That was easy." Aimee sighed.
"Uh, Red?" Paul pointed out. "This key isn't red."
"What?" Red grabbed the key, rubbing the red paint off of it. "What's it for then?"
"Red!" Gyanna poked him. "Listen!" The Inklings went dead silent for a long moment. "Voices! Coming from the wall!"
"There's people in there!" Aimee gasped.
"No way!" Robbie slammed his ear into the wall to hear. "She's right!" He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hello in there!"
"Hello!" The wall called back. "We're stuck in here! The X-Nauts trapped us in here!"
"Hang on, we'll get you out!" Robbie responded. "Red! Can you break this wall down?"
"How about a real challenge!" Red laughed. "Stand back, Inklings!" Red backed up, before running forward, hammer-first into the wall, breaking a hole in it. Robbie was right, there were all sorts of people imprisoned in a large cage! "Paul, what are these guys?"
"Let's have a look…" Paul pulled out the Tattle Log that hadn't been used in forever. "These guys are the inhabitants and guards of Crystal Palace and Crystal City. They are Swoopulas, Clubbas and Duplighosts."
"Do you have the key?" A Duplighost asked.
"Right here." Red began to turn the lock. "How'd you guys get locked up?"
"It was terrible!" A Swoopula added. "Some guy with a big hand drove us into this room with his terrible octo-creeps, and locked us up!"
"Wait!" Robbie stopped him. "A guy with a big hand?"
"Two, to be specific. "A Clubba interrupted. "His power was immense. He locked another handful of us in some sort of chest. Didn't look to dangerous, but our buddies never came out!"
"Red, this could be the killer of Abbie's work!" Paul notified.
"Here, you guys can come out now." Red opened the door.
"What about you?" The Swoopula asked. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We're trying to save the world!" Aimee chimed in.
"The X-Nauts have the Crystal Star, something needed to seal the door of an ancient demon." Gyanna explained.
"The Crystal Star!" The Duplighost remembered. "That's being held in the Crystal Palace!"
"So it should be here then!" Robbie added.
"What? No!" The Clubba dismissed. "This is the former Crystal Palace. The new one can be seen coming in from the door of this one!"
"I told you!" Gyanna gloated. "I was right!"
"The Crystal Star is the birthright of our people!" The Swoopula explained. If the X-Nauts truly have it, we should help you get it back for us!"
"That's a great idea!" Paul agreed. "Safety in numbers. We can take down any troops still left in here!"
"Sounds good to me." Red nodded. "You guys are in. You know the way?"
"Follow me." The Duplighost called. "I know this place better than my own house! Follow me!"
The Duplighost and the prisoners led Red and the Inklings through every nook and cranny of the former Crystal Palace. Defeating X-Nauts and Octolings left and right, they got as far as the Rhinos' puzzle.
"You can't pass until you solve our puzzle." The White Rhino explained.
"How do we solve it?" Paul asked.
"We gotta move the rhinos in the right places to open the door." The Clubba explained. "If I remember correctly, this guy goes by the door we came through, this guy goes in the middle, and that guy goes facing the wall where we need to go!"
"Correct." The Rhino congratulated. "Good luck. You'll need it."
As the rhino said this, Red's phone buzzed louder than before. "This is your last warning. Through this door lies the hallway of death."
"More threats?" Paul asked.
"Yeah." Red nodded.
"Didn't change your mind?"
"Nope." Red smiled. "With an army like the one we've assembled here, what double-agent can take us down?" He kicked the wall, giving way to a narrow, dark hallway.
"You ignored the warnings." Red phone spoke, ominously. "Now you get the truth. Red Yoshi, I give you your double-agent."
"Now!" Red rubbed his hands together. "Let's see if I guessed right."
A brutalized Inkling with many scars in handcuffs walked forward. Red recognized the inky blue eyes that he was looking into.
"Abbie?"
