SLAM.
"Tord? Ivy? Is that you?" Called Edd.
"No, it's the King of France. Who do ya think?" That was Ivy's voice, overflowing with sarcasm.
"Don't lie, my dear. He ought to know the truth. It's Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson!" That was Tord, a hint of a laugh in his voice.
The gang went downstairs to find Tord and Ivy both standing in the living room in front of the fire, warming themselves up after being in the cold rain. Ivy's face still was tearstained, though she looked a bit better.
"I sort of…uh, drank all your cola while Matt stress ate all your pie. Sorry," Edd smiled apologetically.
Ivy's eyes widened. Pie…
"No, I don't mind it at all. I can—hey, um, Ivy, where are you going?"
"Nowhere, just to my room! I gotta get something!" Called Ivy as she ran upstairs.
She came back down, holding some papers and a pencil. Scribbling rapidly, she kept talking to herself:
"So if we multiply it by itself, then multiply the result by three, there are…then if I find the means…let me think….yes…yes…so that means….the square root of that divided by pi again, that would be ….so then…1/8 multiplied by…YES!" She shrieked, leaping into the air. "Tord, look! We have hope! There's a chance!" She shrieked, shoving the papers into his hands. He took them and read them in disbelief. All of them were filled with math problems. They were complicated, but he understood them. There was a chance. These said so, and to Tord, it seemed likely.
He looked up. "This could just work, kid. This could work!" He told her, grinning.
Ivy beamed with pride, looking at her feet and blushing madly. Red Leader had said it was good! Red Leader himself!
"Okay, so what do you think it might be?" He sat down in an armchair, as did the others, who didn't know what to think.
Ivy leapt onto a chair, standing on it to appear taller.
"So, there have been other evil dictators in history, right? And they all want one thing, they all have one thing in common! They want power, and if their power is taken away, they're nothing! Black Leader has all sorts of things, but above all, is his ability to control minds! If we find the source of that and eliminate it, it'll be easier to defeat him! And I think I know how!" She clapped her hands gleefully.
They all stared at her in disbelief, and Tord was grinning. "So all we need to do is find The Messenger and disable it then! I'm pretty sure I can find a way, if it really is some kind of machine."
Ivy held up her hand. "I don't think it's a normal machine. Mind control, remember? We need to fight fire with fire. Come on! I think I know what to do. I might need you guys' help though."