Red and the group marched off of the wagon that carried them there. They proceeded to climb the street that would lead to the true Crystal Palace. The distant staircase led up the tallest mountain in the Crystal Peaks to a castle built into the side of a mountain.

"We have to climb that?" Robbie asked.

"By the looks of it." Red guessed. "Crys, is that the Crystal Palace up there?"

"That's it." Crys agreed. "That's my home up there."

"Shall we?" Clubbill asked.

"Yes, let's get up there." Red agreed, still staring up the staircase. "Are we sure the Crystal Star is in there?"

"Well, the Eternal Flame in the centre of the city would burn out if it left the city with one who has evil intentions with it." Dupaul explained. "If someone with good intentions took it, the flame would stay lit."

"The flame is still lit." Vivian pointed. "It has to be in the city. The Octarian-X-Nauts would have to reason to let this city thrive."

"That's just it!" Aimee complained. "Red, we haven't seen any Octarians or X-Nauts since the encounter with Erick!"

"What are you trying to say?" Gyanna asked, softly. "Are you saying the Octarian-X-Nauts may have deserted the city?"

"Of course!" Paul snapped his fingers. "It's a brilliant mind that concocted this genius plan!" He began. "By kidnapping Abbie, they could've used her to get the Crystal Star out of the city! While she gets it out for them without their actions being noticed, they desert the city!"

"They could've easily done that before." Crys recalled. "They kidnapped my sister, Crystyy not too long ago. They could've transported the Crystal Star with her awhile ago!"

"The plan has just become a lot more complicated." Paul stroked his chin. "They could've kidnapped Abbie to get us to follow, while they have already removed the star from the city with Crystyy!" He added. "That Grodus, what a beautiful mind filled with the vilest of plans sits atop that body."

"But!" Dupaul intended to add what he had heard. "The X-Nauts have the Squid Sisters kidnapped in their fortress! They have had them a lot longer than Crystyy, and may have transported the star then!"

"More and more facts present themselves." Paul paced forward and back. "They could've had the Crystal Star for a lot longer. The question is, what is their intentions that they have all four of them now?"

"Who cares, Ma'an!?" Robbie finally blurted out. "It does not matter when or how the Crystal Star left the city! What matters if it is here or not, Ma'an!"

"But, the time it left could be of importance!" Paul urged.

"Ma'an, please Ma'an, PLEASE!" Robbie smacked himself in the head deliberately.

"Clock out for the day, Rob." Gyanna patted him on the shoulder. "This is painfully boring to me, too, but we'd better let the geniuses work their magic."

"Shh!" Aimee shushed them all. "Do you hear something?"

"Voices!" Red assumed. "From where?"

"Do they suspect anything?" Two X-Nauts and an Octoling were hidden in an old wooden shack right beside Red's group.

"Naw, man!" The X-Naut laughed. "We're safe in here!"

"Quiet, you imbecil!" The Octoling smacked her hand onto the X-Naut's mask. "They can't hear a word!"

"They don't need to!" The X-Naut shuddered. "That Red Yoshi can get everything he needs to know with one look."

"What a load of rubbish!" The Octoling laughed. "They have no idea that we kidnapped Abbie to be the host for the Shadow Queen, and not the Squid Sisters or the Crystal King's daughter!"

"But why do even need her?"

"Easy!" The Octoling dismissed. "According to Sir Grodus, she's the Crystal Queen, and combining her power with that of the Shadow Queen will clinch the world for you guys, and will clinch Inkyland for the Octolings!"

"Quiet!" The X-Naut shuddered again. "They probably heard all of what we just said! The Red Yoshi and one of his allies can become invisible and listen in unnoticed!"

"That's just a silly superstition!"

"You hear all of that?" Red asked.

"Got it all." Vivian handed him his phone. "All recorded onto your phone."

"Let's have a listen!" Red put his ear to the phone. "This is useless!" He gave it a disgusted look. "They're talking about cooking squid! How repulsive!"

"That could be code for something." Paul offered.

"Ma'an, please Ma'an, PLEASE!" Robbie smacked himself again. "You're really grasping now, Ma'an!"

"Red," Gyanna cut in. "With all this great conversation, I think we've forgotten why we're standing at the bottom of a 1000-step staircase. Let's get up there!"

"Right!" Red remembered. "I'll lead the way." Red took a step onto the first step, and the ground's rumbling greeted him. A pedestal popped up, as if an object had to be placed.

"I've got this." Crys stepped up, and placed a small charm shaped like the Crystal Star on the pedestal. He picked it up after it finished rumbling, and the ground the group was standing on lifted out of the ground! "I just activated the platform lift. We use this when we get deliveries and stuff, for the sake of Red's energy, we can use this." The ride took a short minute, and the group was at the top of the staircase.

"Halt!" Two guards blocked the massive doors of the Crystal Palace.

"Crysto!" One of the guards realized, lifting his helmet. The face under the helmet looked like an Inkling, like Crys, but it was obviously different.

"You!" Clubbill readied his club. "You guys are the ones Grodus sent to steal the Crystal Star from us!"

"He's right!" Dupaul agreed. "Some loyalty to the Crystal King! Where'd you go when we were locked in that deranged Octo-doctor's box of death with the heir to the throne?"

"I'll handle this, Crysycle." The other guard explained. "We're not X-Nauts. We were enslaved by them, brainwashed and trained to forget who we were, but we're Crystal People, first and foremost." The guard going by the name Crysto scanned the group, stopping at Red. "You! You!"

"Uh-oh." Red pulled out his hammer. "What's your beef pal?"

"You're the Red Yoshi!" He exclaimed. "Crysycle, it's actually the Red Yoshi!"

"No way!" Crysycle realized. "It is! You're so cool! We've heard so much about you from our friends!"

"Let's move on, Red." Paul whispered. "They're stalling."

"Hold it." Red put a hand up, motioning for Paul to stop. "How do you know me?"

"Your friends, the Squid Sisters told us about you!" Crysto explained.

"You know where the Squid Sisters are?" Red asked.

"Of course we do!" Crysycle laughed. "We were assigned to guard them, but we ended kinda getting kicked out of the X-Nauts for helping them with everything. There on the Moon, at X-Naut Fortress!"

"The Moon!?" Aimee gasped. "How?"

"We'll explain later." Crysto fumbled with his keys. "The Crystal King is in there right now talking to Dr. Phun about the return of his daughter."

"Let's get in there!" Gyanna cheered. "There's no way Dr. Phun can take all of us, and add the Crystal King to us? He's gonna get his rear kicked." The door swung open. This Crystal Palace was much fancier than the other, with a high ceiling with a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There was a curved staircase to their left, a staircase going down to their right and front and centre was a large doorway, leading to the throne room. The Crystal King stood outside the massive doors, sitting peacefully.

"My king!" Crysto ran up to him. "We've found your son and his friends."

"Crystyynsyn!" The Crystal King realized. "Good to see you are alive, son. Dupaul, Clubbill, good to see you, too."

"Your highness," Dupaul and Clubbill bowed before Dupaul continued. "The more exciting news is that the Red Yoshi has come from far to help us, and according to the prophecy, he may be the next Crystal King!"

"Whoa, there!" Red laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. "I just can't sleep because the demon of the crown is fighting for my body."

"Red Yoshi." The Crystal King looked over Red's friends. "Grodus has spoken a lot about you. He is genuinely afraid of your power, Red. He fears what you are capable. The one in there, Dr. Phun, he's a lot more disrespectful. I could negotiate with Grodus; I can't negotiate at all with this villain. He has no respect for your power."

"That's because I kinda defeated his leader, who was trying to take over my home country, Inkyland." Red exchanged a handshake with the Crystal King. "At your service, sir."

"The doctor is in the courtroom." The Crystal King explained. "He won't listen to word I say. He is uncertain. Maybe, he has finally faced the truth that the Red Yoshi can defeat him."

"Can we get in there?" Red asked.

"Child's play." The Crystal King winked, and with a raise of his handless arm covered by his robe, the large door swung open, allowing the large group to enter the throne room. "There is the villain now! Hold, Dr. Phun!"

"Wɒt ɪz ði ˈmiːnɪŋ əv ðɪs?" He asked, spinning around to freeze the group with a blast of Octo-Ink from his hand. He had not noticed Gyanna pull up right beside him.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." She pressed her Aerospray right up to his head. "That is, if you treasure your life." Dr. Phun smirked, pulling out his microphone. "I'm dead serious! I'll blow you to bits!"

"Would you?" Dr. Phun disagreed, speaking a language everyone could understand. "Life is nothing to me. I just happen to have one, like you have a phone, and an urge to blow my head off. You're too late already. The Crystal Star is already at X-Naut Fortress as we speak, and you'll need a lot more than your Red Yoshi's wings to get you there."

"What of my daughter?" The Crystal King cut in. "What will you devils do with her?"

"Sir Grodus has his motives, which I cannot speak of." Dr. Phun taunted. "If you really want to get to the X-Naut Fortress, there is a map to the base in his office at the top of the mountain. For now, I bid you farewell, and if we meet again, I will not be so cooperative." He lit up with a bright magenta, and teleported away.

"Dammit!" Gyanna cursed. "He got away!"

"What do we do?" Aimee asked. "Do we go for the map?"

"Obviously a trap." Dupaul analyzed. "A mere effort to stall us while they add to their power on the Moon. We must get there immediately."

"Uh?" Crysto wondered. "The X-Nauts got there and back in spaceships! How can we get up there?"

"Fahr Outpost!" Vivian recalled. "There's a space station there! We can get up to the moon from there!"

"Excellent idea!" The Crystal King agreed. "We have no time to waste! Come, let us make haste!"

"Hold it!" Crys realized. "Father, you're coming with us? What about the city?"

"Now that the X-Nauts are out, I can leave the security of the city to the Protectors." The Crystal King explained. "You'll need all the help you can get up there on the Moon, and an Ice Spirit may be just what the doctor ordered. This way, there is a secret tunnel out of the city in the basement. Come!"