Misery in the mountains.

CH. 4: Secret of the statue.

Disclaimer: Ok, I do not own the show Martin Mystery, Totally Spies or anything from the shows. The only things I own are the story and the Catulinus twins. (Which includes all accessories, gadgets, abilities and associates.)

Please enjoy the story!

Clover gave an exasperated sigh as she and the other five teenagers looked at a map of the town, "Aw man, this town is huge! Where are we even going to begin?!"

Alex pointed to the middle of the map, "Why don't we start here, at the town square and work our way around?"

Sapphire nodded, "That sounds like our best bet, but we'd better hurry, it's getting dark." The group made their way to the town square, passing any empty and broken buildings along the way.

"This place spooky. Java no like." Java grunted as he stepped over a door that had been ripped off its hinges.

"You said it Jav." Diana agreed.

"Hey think of it this way, at least there's nothing around to sneak up on us and attack us … right?" Sam nervously chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. The group eventually reached the town square, which consisted of a church, two grocery stores, a clothing shop and a small library, all built to form a moderately sized square. In the middle of the square there was a bronze statue of a shepherd and two goats.

Sapphire turned to the group, "Ok, looks like we'll have to split up. Clover you take the church, Sam and Diana will cover the grocery stores, Java gets the clothing store and Alex will investigate library. I'll stay out here and search for clues."

Clover crossed her arms, "Why does Java get to investigate the clothing store?"

Sapphire arched an eyebrow at the red spy, "Do I really have to list my reasons for my choices?"

"Yes please!" The others shouted. Sapphire blinked a couple of times in surprise, she really couldn't understand why everyone else didn't see the obvious logic behind her decision.

"Very well then, if you insist." She took a deep breath, "I put Java in the clothing store because he's the least likely to look for clothes instead of clues, plus, that keeps him from eating all of the food in one of the grocery stores. Since Sam and Diana are in the grocery stores they won't be hitting the books in the library, and the reason I'm out here instead of Alex or Clover is because I can tell if something or someone is coming before any of you." She panted for breath as she finished, having said all of that in a single breath. She leaned against the statue and attempted to use one of the goat horns as a handle when it gave out from under her. She gave a startled yelp and fell to the ground as the statue moved to reveal a hidden staircase.

"A secret passage! Good girl Sapphire!" Diana giggled. The young werewolf simply gave a thumbs up from her position on the ground, still too winded, and a little shocked, from her explanation to speak at the moment. The group slowly made their way down the staircase, the passage went down for maybe fifteen feet and then opened up into a big, dark space.

Sapphire pushed to the front of the group, "Let me see if I can find a light switch down here ... aha! Here we are!" She flipped the switch and the lights began to flicker to life, though the scene they revealed looked better in the dark. It was quite obviously some kind of experimental lab, as there were many vials and test tubes filled with all kinds of different chemicals scattered across the lab. Broken machines and piles of knocked over paper lined the walls and at the very back of the lab there was a large capsule-like container, which had been shattered open from the inside.

Clover cringed, "Ew, the place seriously needs like, a total makeover."

Sam began to walk around, "It's some kind of lab." She stopped as she noticed a set of claw marks on one of the destroyed machines, "I have a feeling that whatever drove the people out of this town came from this lab."

"Hey guys come take a look at this!" Alex shouted from her place next to the broken capsule, "This safe seems to be the only thing in here that isn't totally trashed, but I can't seem to get it open."

"Java open for you." Java grunted, ripping off the top of the safe and throwing it into a machine.

"Thanks Jav, that was very ... effective." Diana chuckled softly.

Alex looked into the safe, "It looks like the only things in here are some videos and this big container of something. It's not labeled, and it doesn't have an order as far as I can tell."

Sapphire reached for the container, "Let me see, maybe it's too faint for you to notice." She took the container from the yellow spy and gave one, quick whiff, dropping the container after she did so. She fell to the ground in a coughing fit, sputtering and hacking as she began to rub at her face.

Sam and the other three spies took a step back while Diana and Java crouched beside the werewolf, "What's going on? Is that stuff poisonous?!" Sapphire could only shake her head in the negative as her body continued to be overtaken by a coughing fit.

"Then what's wrong?!" Clover demanded, completely freaked out.

"THAT STUFF REEKS!" Sapphire howled in between coughs, "UGH, HOW CAN YOU NOT SMELL IT BY NOW?! GAH! IT'S IN MY NOSE! IT BURNS!"

"I don't smell anything." Diana stated in confusion.

Java picked up the canister and gave a hesitant sniff, "Java no smell either, Sapphire sure?" The caveman turned to Sapphire, she had begun to get a hold on her coughing and was standing, with the help of a nearby table and Alex of course.

Sapphire nodded furiously, "I'm absolutely positive! That thing still stinks from over here, have you all lost your sense of smell or something?!"

Sam turned back to the safe and pulled out the three videos in it, "I don't think this is just any chemical we're dealing with, and something tells me these videos will hold the answers to a lot of our questions." The group jumped slightly as both Diana and Sapphire's U-watches went off.

"Diana? Sapphire? Can you guys hear me?" Martins voice filtered through the communications system on the watches, followed by a holographic image of his face.

"Yeah we can hear you, what's up? Did you guys get a good look at that thing you were so stupidly chasing?" Diana laughed with a smug look.

"You could say that, Ruby got a nice up close and personal look that's for sure. How about you? Did you find anything?" Martin shot back good naturedly.

Sapphire immediately snapped back to her senses as she joined the conversation, "We found some kind of research lab as well as a case of videos. What do you mean by 'up close and personal look' anyway?"

Martin scratched his cheek nervously, "Never mind you'll find out later, can you send us your coordinates so we can meet you there?"

The smile he gave Sapphire only added to her suspicions, but she gave in, "Fine fine be that way, here you go. See you in a few minutes." She typed in the coordinates and ended the transmission. She pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh, "M.O.M.'s gonna kill her if she got hurt again."

Chapter four is done and edited! Read and Review please!