Fifth Intermission

Part 2: Seeing Right Through Me

In the X-Naut stronghold, Grodus's frustration at the gross incompetence of his minions had only multiplied. If he was frustrated, though, he was awfully calm about it, which only made him that much more menacing. Lord Crump had reported his recent failures during a video conference.

"Once again, Lord Crump, I gave you a job to do, and once again, you blew it," Grodus reminded him. "You sicken me."

"Look, I'm sorry, Sir Grodus. Seriously. I thought da plan was foolproof," said Crump apologetically. "I thought that by dressin' up as a pirate 'n mixin' among 'em, that we had 'em all cornered… but…"

"Stop talking, Lord Crump," demanded Grodus in the same calm and menacing voice. "You just stand by and wait for my next order. Oh, and, Lord Crump? Think of this as your absolute last chance. Do I make myself clear?"

"Roger dat, Sir Grodus. Over 'n out," said Crump.

"You are dismissed," said Grodus. Crump logged off of the video conference, leaving Grodus to himself. The X-Naut commander then called down the hallway:

"X-Naut Mercer!"

The X-Naut known as Mercer approached his commander as beckoned.

"Yes, sir? What is it, sir?" he asked.

"Tell the Shadow Sirens to attack that band of so-called heroes again," Grodus ordered him. "And tell them not to fail this time."

"It seems unlikely that they'll comply with that request, Sir Grodus," said Mercer. "They reported back saying they're busy training their newest apprentice."

"Do you think that matters to me?" growled Grodus impatiently. "You tell them that they are to do as ordered if they ever want to see their precious little demon again."

"…You got it, sir," said Mercer. He delivered his X-Naut salute before leaving the room, leaving Grodus once more to his thoughts.

"So," he mused to himself. "Mario, the one called 'Double-D,' and their precious little friends now have five crystal stars, and we X-Nauts have only the one locked away in this fortress. I suppose it's time to take some measures… perhaps alter our strategy. One Crystal Star remains on that little world of theirs… and yet, I still haven't uncovered the identity of the hero of legend, and I require his presence to open that wretched Thousand-Year Door! …Hmm, then again, by now, I do suspect a certain someone in that group of holding the 'legendary hero' mantle. When I find this person, and this final Crystal Star, I can finally reawaken the millennium-old cataclysm and unleash it upon that pathetic world once more! We shall safely watch from our fortress as the world is brought to ruin once more, and from those ashes, I shall build and rule my new empire! Gaaack-ack-ack-ack-ack!"

XXX000XXX000XXX

The atmosphere in the holding room had come rather close to critical mass, the tension having elevated during captivity. By now, Princess Peach was worried to death for her dear Mario, to the point where she had spent each 'night' crying herself to sleep. She had also taken every opportunity possible to avoid Lee Kanker, whose anger had reached a boiling point as the result of a rather lurid and derogatory email that her "boyfriend" Eddy had sent her. Since May's daring escape only a few days ago, the security in the fortress had increased tenfold. A new electronic lock was placed on the teleporter room door, which could only be opened by TEC with the authorization of Grodus, and since May was gone and Peach was going out of her way to avoid Lee, this left Marie to bear the brunt of her older sister's hotheadedness.

Currently, Marie was sulking miserably at the table after yet another argument with Lee, who was sulking near the bathroom, waiting for Peach to finish up whatever she was thought to be doing in there; though Lee suspected by now that the gentle and timid Peach was just going out of her way to avoid her.

This is just great, Marie thought to herself. Lee's gripin' 'cuz Eddy told her off, now she's takin' it out on me. Peach won't even go near herC'mon, Oven Mitt, am I ever gonna hear from ya again?

As if on cue, Marie had barely finished her thoughts when the holding room door opened once more.

"Well, it's about time!" Lee fumed, storming out of the room.

Peach exited the bathroom and proceeded wordlessly out of the room, moving cautiously in the hope that her presence wouldn't set off Lee's anger. Marie sighed exasperatedly and followed her sister and the princess down the hallway to TEC's room. When they entered, Peach was the first to approach TEC's monitor.

"Looks like TEC-ky just called us in here again," Marie noted.

"Well, jeez, thanks for the breakin' news, Madam Obvious," Lee snapped.

"I wonder what it wants this time?" Peach mused.

"Who cares?!" Lee shouted.

"Ladies, please," said TEC in his usual emotionless automated voice. "There is no need to argue. Please calm yourself, Lee Kanker."

"…Urgh, fine, if it'll get you off our backs," grumbled Lee.

"Is something the matter, TEC?" Peach asked. "Why have you called us in here this time?"

"…I must request that you do something that is slightly more dangerous and risky this time," TEC explained.

"Dangerous?" Peach quavered.

"Ooh, dangerous? Okay, now ya got my attention," said Lee, perking up slightly.

"I would like you to sneak into Sir Grodus's personal quarters and search for a data disk," TEC explained.

"A… data disk?" inquired Peach.

"Yeah, whaddya need one of those for?" asked Marie.

"Although I can view all data on the network, I am unable to access the data of computers that are not linked to the network," TEC explained. "Sir Grodus has information on his computer that, for this reason, I am unable to view. But I must know this information. It troubles me that I do not know this information."

"So you think Grodus might be after more than just world domination?" inquired Peach.

"I can neither confirm nor deny this information without the required data, and it troubles me that Sir Grodus does not even trust me with this information. I must have this data disk in order to confirm anything."

"But… how will I get in there?" asked Peach.

"Wait just a sec!" chimed in Marie. "Why should she get to have all the fun?"

"Yeah! Why can't I go for once?" said Lee. "Besides, Marie, he sent you that time, so I should get to go next!"

"Ugh, don't remind me," grumbled Marie. "Those X-suits are just too small for me!"

"Maybe that's cuz o' all them sandwiches ya ate! Made ya fat!" retorted Lee.

"Yeah? How'd you like a fat lip to go with those hips, Lee?"

"Ladies, please!" implored Peach.

"Princess Peach is right. There is no need, let alone no reason to quarrel over who gets to carry out my request," said TEC. "All three of you will carry out this mission together."

"Huh?" asked Lee.

"What?" piped up Marie.

"All of us?" inquired Peach nervously. "But… how will all of us do this without being caught? Security will have undoubtedly increased since May's escape. Will we be in disguise like Marie was the last time?"

"No, not this time," said TEC. "No one other than Sir Grodus can enter his personal office. He has stationed guards outside his room that permit no entry when he is elsewhere… but there is, indeed, a way for you three to get in. You will be fine if you act according to my instructions. I must tell you, Princess Peach, I do not want to make you do such a dangerous thing, but now, I have no one to ask except for you, Lee Kanker, and Marie Kanker."

"Oh, um… I don't mind at all, TEC," said Peach. "Ask away."

"First, take these earpieces with you, and switch them on," said TEC, opening a hidden compartment that contained three earpieces. Peach, Lee, and Marie each took an earpiece, inserted them into their ears, and switched them on.

"I shall communicate with you discreetly through these earpieces," said TEC through the earpieces. "Now then, as Marie Kanker had done previously, leave this room and take the elevator up."

"O-okay," said Peach nervously.

Lee left the room first, followed by Peach and Marie. They boarded the elevator and rose two floors up before the elevator came to a stop.

"When you disembark the elevator, you will first go in the direction opposite to Sir Grodus's room," TEC informed them through their earpieces. The room you must enter is Laboratory M-230, marked with a green lamp lit above the door."

Lee exited the elevator first and made to turn left, but was stopped by Marie.

"What the heck, Marie?" demanded Lee, swatting Marie's hand away.

"That's where Gross-drip's office is," said Marie. "We ain't gettin' in there yet."

"Let's go this way," said Peach, turning right.

Lee and Marie turned to follow Peach down the same direction of the hallway, moving cautiously and hoping not to be caught by X-Naut soldiers waiting in ambush or by surveillance cameras. After passing two doors with red lights above them, the ladies finally arrived at Laboratory M-230, marked by the aforementioned green light. The girls entered and found themselves face-to-face with what appeared to be a chemistry lab, complete with flasks and beakers containing different solutions.

"What is this place?" asked Lee.

"This is Laboratory M-230, the chemistry lab," said TEC through the earpieces.

"Whoa. Double-D would be in heaven in a lab like this!" said Marie, hugging herself and showing hearts in her eyes. "All my little Oven Mitt needs is me as his lovely lab assistant."

"Marie, please, focus," implored Peach. "TEC, what do you need us to do in here?"

"Now I will have you concoct a potion that will make you transparent," replied TEC.

"Transparent? Like what, a potion that turns us into frogs or somethin'?" laughed Lee.

"No, Lee Kanker," said TEC.

"You mean… a potion that makes us invisible?" inquired Peach.

"Yes, that is correct, Princess Peach," affirmed TEC. "You will enter Sir Grodus's quarters by becoming completely invisible.

"And how do we make this invisi-potion-thing?" asked Marie.

"Before you proceed, I must ask that the three of you concoct potions that are different from one another," said TEC.

"How come?" asked Marie.

"Well, because, if you all use the same potion and it turns out to be incorrect, there will be no way to return you to normal," TEC clarified, eliciting a rare nervous gulp from Lee. "I shall lock the door so that you may proceed uninterrupted. Listen carefully."

Outside the lab, the sound of an electronic lock clicking shut green lamp above the door suddenly switched red with a split-second beep. This did not go unnoticed by the X-Naut Farron, who had just walked past this door not a second ago. Farron turned to face the door, staring at it for a few seconds.

"Huh, that ain't right," he mused to himself. "I thought this door was open… maybe someone's hacking the system… those dang hostages better not be tryin' anything. We ain't gonna let 'em escape like that beaver-toothed blonde girl did." With one last glance at the door, Farron left the area to continue his patrol.

XXX000XXX000XXX

"Okay, mine's ready," said Lee, holding up her potion.

"As is mine," said Peach, holding up hers as well.

"Make that three," said Marie, nodding while holding up hers.

As the three ladies set down the flasks, Lee examined her potion, as well as those that Peach and Marie had concocted. While Peach and Marie each had green-colored potions, Lee was holding a blue-colored potion, which made her nervous.

"Excellent," said TEC. "In order to determine the effects of your potions, you must consume them."

"You mean we gotta drink these?" said Marie in disgust.

"That is correct. Are you ready to try them?" said TEC.

"I suppose so," said Peach.

"Yeah, yeah, okay," grumbled Marie.

Lee, who was still uneasy about the difference in her potion, decided to discreetly and quickly switch her potion with Marie's potion, hoping she wouldn't notice. "Uh-yeah, r-ready!"

"Very well," said TEC. "Which of the three of you would like to try theirs first?"

Neither of the ladies responded with words, instead electing to continue exchanging quizzical looks with each other in a form of nonverbal communication.

"…I see from your hesitance to answer that you have reached an impasse of indecision once more," said TEC. "I suppose we will need a method of determination to choose who will sample their potion first."

"Well, fine. Let's draw straws!" said Lee.

"Uh-uh, no way, Lee! Last time we did straws, I lost!" grumbled Marie.

"My goodness, Marie, ya still sore about that?" groaned Lee. "Quit complainin'."

"Let's try rock-paper-scissors instead!" suggested Marie, turning to face Peach. "Hey, Pink Dress! You know how to play rock-paper-scissors?"

"Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the games of your world. I'm still struggling to understand the game you girls played with those strange-looking cards," said Peach.

"I am familiar with the game of rock-paper-scissors, Princess Peach. Do not worry," said TEC. "Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes scissors. It is quite simple. Try it."

"Very well, then, I'll give it a try," said Peach.

"Whoever loses has to try theirs first," said Lee.

"All right, let's do this!" said Marie. She, Lee, and Peach each held out a hand balled into a fist. "Ready?"

"Rock, paper, scissors, go!" came the collective call of the three ladies, revealing their choices: Lee and Marie both tied with paper, but Peach displayed scissors, easily winning this round. The princess breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, one more go!" said Marie. "Just you and me, Lee, 'cuz Peachie won that first round."

"Sounds like a fair agreement," said Peach, grateful that she didn't have to play another hand.

"All right, Marie, ya ready?" said Lee, holding out a fist.

"Ready," Marie agreed, holding out her own fist.

"Rock, paper, scissors, go!" the sisters proclaimed.

Lee and Marie revealed their choices again, and once again, Lee emerged the victor, displaying paper to Marie's rock.

"Gah! Why do I always LOSE?" growled a frustrated Marie.

"It was a fair deal, a deal that brought you to another consensus," said TEC. "Marie Kanker, please drink your potion to determine its effects."

Seemingly unaware that Lee had swapped their potions, Marie held up the potion (apparently not noticing the blue of the solution) to head level nervously, hesitating.

"C'mon, Marie, what ya waitin' for? Chug it already!" Lee goaded.

"Oh, my, such unruly behavior," mused Peach.

"Comes wit' bein' a Kanker, Peachie," said Lee. "Ya gotta toughen yourself up to survive. That cotton-candy-frou-frou gentle junk ain't gonna get ya real far."

After a moment's hesitation, Marie steeled herself, closed her eyes, and chugged her potion in its entirety, letting out a gasp upon finishing. She placed the flask back down onto the table again, as it seemed nothing was happening.

"Oh, my. Perhaps the potion wasn't strong enough?" inquired Peach.

"The potion should take effect in a matter of seconds," said TEC.

Lee tried her best to hide her nervousness and guilt from swapping her and Marie's flasks of potions; however, this was nothing compared to Marie, who was now quivering very forcefully.

"W-w-w-w-what's gonna happen to me?" she asked, her voice shaking with fear.

Before Lee, Peach, or TEC could respond, Marie suddenly gasped and widened her eyes like saucers as the potion finally took effect.

"Is it working?" asked Lee.

As Marie looked her hands, she screamed in shock – her hands were turning green! The green hue was spreading quickly up her arms.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!" screamed Marie.

"Um, uh…" Peach stammered.

Green smoke enveloped Marie with a poof and a flash, causing Peach and Lee to close their eyes to avoid being blinded by the flash. When they opened their eyes and the smoke cleared, Marie seemed to be gone.

"Um… so… did it work?" asked Peach nervously.

"It would seem that the potion did not have the desired effect," said TEC. "Turn your gaze to the floor at your feet."

Peach and Lee turned their gaze down to the floor and got quite the surprise. Where Marie once stood, a green frog now hopped!

"Whoa! Huh, seems I wasn't too far off with that frog thing!" Lee laughed.

The frog that was Marie Kanker hopped up again and croaked repetitively and angrily. Lee found the situation hilarious, struggling to contain her laughter; by contrast, Peach was quite disheartened by this turn of events.

"Oh, dear! Is there an antidote we can concoct to change her back?" she asked nervously.

"Unfortunately, there is no antidote for transformation potions other than the passing of time," said TEC. "Give it a couple of minutes, and she should revert back to her original state."

Frog-Marie croaked again, as if to shout out something.

"Princess Peach and Lee Kanker, are you ready to sample your potions?" asked TEC.

"Look, while Marie looks funny as a frog, I ain't about that life!" Lee snapped. "Ya think I wanna be hoppin' around lily pads catchin' flies on my tongue?"

Peach happened to steal a glance at the security camera lowering its sight, and wrote this off as TEC's way of sighing exasperatedly.

XXX000XXX000XXX

Marie eventually returned to her original state, but ultimately, it took about half an hour before the ladies finally were able to concoct the correct potion. During their second attempt, Lee's nose briefly turned into a pig's snout; during a third attempt, Marie grew a horse's tail from her rear end; during a fourth attempt, Peach grew to twice her size and nearly destroyed the laboratory. Finally, though, the trio had the potion ready. Upon consumption, Peach, Lee, and Marie became completely transparent, clothing and all.

"Most excellent, ladies," said TEC. "You have finally achieved the correct results. Now, are you ready to fulfill my request?"

"Yes, I believe so," said Peach.

"Good. Once I unlock this door, you shall proceed to Sir Grodus's quarters on the opposite end of the hallway," said TEC.

The sound of the electronic lock clicking open was heard once more, followed by the familiar beep. The red light over the door turned green once again, showing that the doors were now unlocked.

"Let's go, then," said Peach.

"Maintain full silence as you proceed," TEC cautioned. "You may be invisible, but you are still tangible and can still be heard. Once you enter Sir Grodus's quarters, you must first locate the disk with the required data. Then, you must insert the disk into into Sir Grodus's personal computer and connect to the network. This should allow me to obtain the data that I require. Once you are finished with that, please return to Laboratory M-230, and I shall explain to you how to concoct the antidote that will restore you to visibility."

"Gee, this is kind of a complicated plan," whispered Peach.

"I suppose it is," said TEC. "Now proceed with caution and please maintain silence as you proceed to Sir Grodus's quarters."

Peach, Lee, and Marie approached the doors, and when they opened, the three had to cover their mouths to keep from emitting any noise. The X-Naut Farron was still outside the door, looking straight in their direction; however, as they were invisible, he did not see them.

"What the heck?" he wondered. "Who was in here? Was it a rat? This ain't right…"

The ladies quietly shifted to the side as Farron entered the laboratory. As he continued to puzzle the sight of flasks being where they shouldn't be and showing signs of potion residue, Lee seized the opportunity to knock him out with a swift karate chop before dragging his limp body out into the hall.

Peach led the way down the hallway with the Kankers in tow. The hallway now had about six more X-Nauts on patrol, and as neither of them appeared to be so much as glancing in their direction, Lee saw an opportunity that was too good to pass up: With each X-Naut soldier they passed, the invisible Lee would push, punch, or trip.

"Yeouch! Dude, what the heck?" growled Jeffries, rounding on Traynor.

"What are you dweebs-" began Drucker, before Lee punched him out.

"Lee, will you please cut that out?" whispered Peach.

"Jeez, sor-ry, can't an invisible girl have some fun?" Lee whispered back.

"We were given specific instructions, so please, stay focused on the task at hand," whispered Peach cautiously.

"Hey, no fair! I wanna have some fun, too!" whispered Marie.

"…Oh, fine," whispered Peach acquiescently. "But just one time, okay?"

Marie chuckled darkly and whispered, "All right, get a load o' this."

Marie took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and let out the loudest scream she could muster; with the timbre of Marie's voice, her scream sounded like that of a banshee. The patrolling X-Nauts all jumped in fright with a surprised yelp of terror.

"What the-YAH! HELP!" yelped Erixon as he was lifted off the ground by the invisible Lee.

"Oh my X, this place is haunted!" screamed Rawlings.

"EVERYBODY SCRAM!" yelled Mercer.

Drucker, Jeffries, Traynor, Rawlings, and Mercer all ran in opposite directions, screaming and bumping into each other all the way, while Lee continued to hold Erixon off the ground, creating the illusion of him floating. Farron had finally regained consciousness, having narrowly avoided being mowed down by Drucker. Before he could ask what happened, he caught the sight of Erixon apparently floating off the ground.

"OH MY X! Erixon?! What's happening?" he asked in horror.

"Hm, 'all-mighty army.' Yeah, right. Pathetic," whispered Lee.

"This almost makes up for being turned into a frog," laughed Marie quietly.

With a chuckle, Lee dropped Erixon on the ground, and Farron, experiencing a fear-induced adrenaline rush, quickly dashed to his comrade's side.

"Farron, dude, this place is haunted!" said Erixon. "C'mon, let's get outta here!"

Farron and Erixon ran off together, blubbering in fear. Lee and Marie continued to chuckle at the soldiers' terror, and even Peach had started laughing.

"Well, I must say, they certainly had it coming," she chuckled. "Come now, we'd best refocus on the mission at hand.

The ladies proceeded down the hall, and found themselves at the door at the end of the hallway; upon entering, they found themselves inside the main throne room of the fortress, an octagonal chamber with a large X emblem on the floor, four purple orbs on four pillars (two on either side of the room), as well as a control panel on the raised platform near the back wall. On the back wall itself was a set of double doors that led to Grodus's personal quarters. Currently the door was guarded by a red X-shaped security robot. As the ladies were invisible, they could easily slip by the security robot, but they still had to exercise extreme caution and avoid bumping the bot as well as the objects in the room. Peach had to discourage Lee and Marie from attacking the security robot, as she feared it would sound the alarm and imperil their mission. The doors opened as the ladies approached, allowing them to pass through; this left the security robot confused as to why the doors opened seemingly without any input.

As the doors closed behind the ladies, they paused for a minute to size up the room they had just entered. Grodus's personal office consisted of a white shag carpet featuring a grey circular X emblem; the walls bosted large aquariums featuring large piranha fish with heads like Chain Chomps, complete with sharp, shark-like fangs; a single potted plant stood near the corner, to the left of the doors; a single desk stood near the opposite end of the room, upon which sat Grodus's personal computer and behind which stood a very tall chair, likely to accommodate Grodus's size; and a set of shelves stood at the corner opposite to the potted plant, upon which sat several supplies, including disks, firmware, and the like.

"This must be Grodus's office," mused Peach.

"Yeah, yeah, let's find that stupid disk thing and get outta here," grumbled Marie.

Lee and Marie decided to check the desk itself, while Peach opted to search the supply shelves. On the desk, Lee and Marie found nothing but two small black X-Naut flags in a small pencil holder, and a large red book with no title, but the disk wasn't there. Of course, this didn't stop Lee and Marie from deciding to take a peek. Peach, in the meantime, had moved to the third shelf, which contained smaller bins of firmware and software. Checking the leftmost bin, she discovered a small, yellow, three-and-a-half-inch floppy disk.

"A-ha! This has to be it!" she proclaimed.

Peach's proclamation interrupted Lee and Marie before they could open the red book.

"Well, don't just stand there, pop it into this thing!" grumbled Lee.

"Aw, man, just when we were about to find out Gross-drip's dirty little secrets," groaned Marie.

"Ladies, please, focus," chided Peach. "All right, so I insert the data disk into this drive here, and connect to the network…"

Peach inserted the disk into the floppy drive and connected to the network. On the computer, the 8-bit fanfare and loading screen of the Nintendo Famicom Disk System appeared on the screen, signifying that TEC had begun the process of analyzing and downloading the data from the disk as a result of Grodus's computer being connected to the network. The ladies watched as the data dump continued, as the loading screen showed an 8-bit image of Mario jumping to hit the large 8-bit sign, followed seconds later by an 8-bit image of Mario's brother Luigi performing the same action. The sign and the loading screen soon disappeared, signaling the ladies that TEC had finished downloading the data from the disk.

"Looks like it's all done," said Peach. "I'd better put this disk back right where I found it."

"Heh, Double-D's meticulous like that, too," piped up Marie.

"Can ya spell 'meticulous', Marie?" laughed Lee.

"M-E-T… ticulous. Can we go now?" groaned Marie.

"Yes, let's return to the chemistry lab as TEC instructed," said Peach, placing the data disk back exactly where she found it. "There, like I was never here."

XXX000XXX000XXX

The ladies managed to return to Laboratory M-230 without any problems.

"Thank you, Princess Peach," said TEC over the ladies' earpieces. "I was able to obtain the data I desired."

"Is that right? Well, I'm glad," said Peach.

"I will now teach you how to become visible again," said TEC. "It is quite simple, really."

XXX000XXX000XXX

After concocting and consuming a potion to restore their visibility, the ladies stealthily returned to TEC's room via the elevator.

"Say, by the way, TEC… what was that data you needed?" asked Peach.

"I am still analyzing it as we speak," noted TEC. "This data is very heavily encrypted. But if my prediction is correct…"

"If it's correct… then what?" asked Peach.

"I am sorry, but I cannot say," said TEC. "I cannot afford any mistakes or assumptions. Only when the analysis is complete will I then inform you."

"Ugh," groaned Lee.

"Well, can we at least use your communicator thingy?" griped Marie. "It's been forever since I heard back from my Oven Mitt."

"If you wish," said TEC.

Peach approached the keyboard and typed out her message to Mario; after she finished, Lee was next in line, storming over to the keyboard not one second after Peach had stepped backward.

"Good. I'm gonna give my short little dreamboat a piece o' my mind," she growled. "No one talks to Lee Kanker like that, not even my boyfriend!"

Lee finished her clapback email to Eddy, after which Marie finally took her turn to type her message to Edd. As she was typing, she suddenly rounded on Lee.

"By the way, Lee, don't think I didn't see you switching our potions," snapped the blue-haired Kanker sister.

"Uh… whaaaaat?" said Lee, feigning innocence. "She's kidding, right?" she whispered to Peach.

"I… wasn't paying attention to that," mused Peach.

"Okay, done," said Marie, stepping back from the keyboard.

"Now, TEC, if you would please send the messages," said Peach, pressing the SEND button.

As TEC prepared to send the emails, the trio of envelope icons appeared on the monitor and, from left to right, lit up one-by-one again, indicating this.

"The messages have been sent," said TEC.

"Well, all right then, I've had my fun for the day. Smell ya later," said Lee, exiting the room and returning to the holding room. Once Lee was in the room, Marie flashed a mischievous grin and took out a flask she had filched from the chemistry lab, filled with the same blue liquid that had transformed Marie into a frog moments earlier.

"Haha, well, Lee, let's see how you like it when you wake up tiny and green," she muttered under her breath as she, too, made her way back to the holding room.

"Well, then… Good night, TEC," said Peach. "Let me know when you've finished deciphering the data from that disk."

Peach had barely made two steps to the door when TEC spoke again.

"Princess Peach, may you please wait one moment?" asked the A.I.

"Um… sure, I suppose," said Peach. "What is it you want to say?"

"I must thank you for carrying out my requests, as strange as they have been thus far," said TEC. "In spite of your incarceration, you have expressed genuine kindness and friendliness to me."

"Well, you have assisted me and the Kanker Sisters thus far, and I feel that it is kind to return the favor," said Peach, smiling. "You know… for a friend."

"Friend?" inquired TEC. "…You consider me a friend, Princess Peach?"

"…I suppose, yes," replied Peach. "Who knows? Maybe we can be better friends after all this is over?"

"I suppose so, yes," said TEC. "Thank you, Princess Peach."

"Do you need anything else, then, TEC?" asked the princess.

"No, that is all for now. I shall inform you when I have finished deciphering the data you provided for me," said TEC.

"Okay. Well… good night, TEC," said Peach, smiling.

The princess left to rejoin Lee and Marie in the holding room; now that she was out of earshot, TEC made an affirmation.

"Princess Peach… I will protect you…"

The lights in the room dimmed once more, but this time TEC did not enter sleep mode, as "he" was still analyzing the data downloaded from the disk inserted into Grodus's computer. Suddenly, the monitor switched to a screen displaying a single file, along with a window displaying this message of caution:

"/!\ WARNING! This file is confidential. Do you have permission to open this file?"

Without replying, TEC closed the window and opened the file…

End of Part Two