Part V

"What do you mean I can't see the Queen?" Mogul the Space Sorcerer snapped. "Do you have any idea who I am? I am Mogul the Great! Space Sorcerer Supreme!"

"Yeah! He's the Supreme Mogul!" Larry, his apprentice shouted.

"Listen Lizard I don't care who you are," The Crown Officer snapped as he stood in front of the Queen's throne room. "No one is to see the Queen until further notice! Her orders! So scram!"

"No one tells Mogul who he can or can not see!" Mogul yelled.

"Yeah!" Larry protested.

"Well I'm telling you sorcerer," The Crown Officer pointed his finger at him. "You and your stooge better hit the road or else I'll throw you in the dungeon!"

"Stooge! STOOGE!" Larry bellowed. "I AM AN APPRENTICE! ONLY MOGUL GETS TO CALL ME A STOOGE!"

"Yeah! That's right!" Mogul shouted.

"They giving you a hard time too eh?" Lazarus Slade remarked from the side of the room. He was leaning against the wall casually.

"Slade I thought I told you to shove off too," The Crown Officer snapped. "Now get out of here all of you before you end up on the wrong end of a neuron whip."

"Why you…?" Mogul fumed.

"Mogul I believe it would be prudent for the three of us to mosey on to where we can talk more privately," Slade suggested.

"Hmph! Lucky for you that I have more important business!" Mogul pointed to the Crown Officer. "Otherwise I would have turned you into a Denubian Toad!"

"A really big fat ugly toad!" Larry stuck out his tongue and they went off with Slade.

"Off all the nerve!" Mogul snapped. "When I talk to her majesty I will make sure that Crown Officer gets demoted to scrap metal!"

Yeah, scrap metal!" Larry huffed as they walked away. "Some people are so rude!"

"Hmph! That Crown Agent should aspire to rudeness!" Mogul snorted. "He was downright deliberately obstinate!"

"Yes, those Crown troopers have been rather uncooperative lately," Slade stroked his chin. "Especially since that last attack on the palace by the Galaxy Rangers."

"So what? We've all had stuff blown up by those blasted Rangers!" Mogul snapped. "You don't see me getting into a snit over it!"

"What about that time they got you so mad you threw your Tri-D into the lake?" Larry asked.

"We needed an upgrade anyway!" Mogul snapped. "And now we get the Magician's Cooking Channel with our new set."

"We also haven't seen the Queen ever since that little incident a few weeks ago," Slade thought aloud. "Mogul why didn't you just use your magic to teleport into the throne room to see the Queen?"

"Well I uh…" Mogul realized that he had forgotten he could do that.

"He didn't want to be rude!" Larry came to his rescue.

"That's right! I didn't want to be rude!" Mogul agreed. "I am the Supreme Sorcerer you know? I have a reputation to uphold. I may be evil beyond compare but I still have some manners!"

"Move it you Zanguil slime!" Crown Agent bellowed. Several Zanguil Slavers were being moved along the hallways. They were shackled and collared and led by several Crown Agents guarding them.

"It's the dungeons for you!" Another Crown Agent snapped. "You Zanguils have had it too easy for too long!"

"I knew Crown Agents distrusted Zanguils but I've never seen so many of them arrested at one time before," Slade said. "I mean they catch slaves for the Queen so they don't get sent to the psychocrypt."

"Why aren't they taking them to the psychocrypt chamber?" Mogul thought aloud. "That many Zanguils could make a slaver lord that would last a few months. This does not smell right."

"You know what else is weird?" Larry scratched his head. "I haven't seen a single slaver lord since we got here. I mean I know the Queen's running short but usually the place is crawling with them."

"You know something he's right," Slade looked around. "There is something fishy in Tortuna and I think we should find out what it is."

Just then a high pitched scream was heard. A colorfully dressed white alien in gaudy fool's costume ran for his life screaming. "That's the Queen's Fool!" Larry gasped. "What's going on?"

Just then two more Crown Agents appeared and fired lasers point blank at the Fool. The Fool screamed and dropped dead on the floor. "They killed him!" Even Mogul was shocked. "They just killed the Queen's Fool!"

"They didn't even bother to stun him!" Larry gasped.

"Gentlemen I believe it might be wise to adjourn to someplace a bit safer for our hides," Slade gulped.

"Good idea," Mogul nodded and in a puff of smoke transported the three of them to his palace on Beusuit. "Something is very wrong! The Queen I know would never have her fool gunned down like that!"

"Yeah especially when there are a lot of other ways to torture him to death," Larry nodded.

"Larry you are on a roll today. Must be the new vitamins," Mogul frowned. "Something is definitely wrong. Those Crown Agent's brains are even more scrambled than usual!"

"Then perhaps we should use your powers of prestidigitation to discover the cause?" Slade suggested.

"Good idea," Mogul agreed and made his way to his crystal ball. "Crystal Ball! Show me the Queen of the Crown!"

Noting happened. "Oh don't tell me this stupid thing is on the fritz again!" Mogul hit it with his hand. "Larry I though you said you called the guy!"

"I did!" Larry said. "He came yesterday and said it was fine!"

"Obviously it's not fine if all I'm getting is snow here!" Mogul snapped. "Oh wait a minute I see the problem. This thing is stuck on record mode. It's on frequency 3. Okay now I fixed it. Let's try this again."

An image of the Queen of the Crown lying in some kind of stasis chamber was shown. "Is that a stasis chamber?" Slade's jaw dropped. "What happened?"

"It looks like her Majesty was badly injured when she fought the Galaxy Rangers," Larry said. "Not only does she have severe burns to her chest and neck, she was hit with some kind of psychic backlash. She's in a coma."

"How did you know about that?" Mogul yelled.

"You can see it on the medical chart in the corner," Larry pointed. "Right there."

"Oh yes," Mogul nodded. "Now I see."

"Yes I see why the Crown Agents are so jumpy lately," Slade said. "They are obviously keeping the Queen's condition a secret and are attempting a takeover of their own."

"Of course," Mogul hit two of his hands together. "Without the Queen to guide them the slaver lords are directionless crystals. Mere lifeless husks almost unable to move autonomously. That's why the Crown Agents aren't using the psychocrypt on their prisoners. It would be pointless to do so because they don't have the psychic energy and skills necessary to control them."

"No Queen, no slaver lords," Larry said. "Makes sense."

"You realize gentlemen what this means?" Slade asked. "With the Queen incapacitated, now is a perfect opportunity to strike and grab power for ourselves!"

"You propose an alliance?" Mogul folded his four arms. "And pray tell why should I ally myself with you?"

"Because I want to conquer the Earth and you want to restore the glory and power of the days when the Space Sorcerers ruled the galaxy," Slade said. "And uh, your staff isn't exactly what I would call a tactical strike force."

Mogul looked behind him at Larry who was scratching his backside. "You have a point. All right Slade, it's a deal! Together we will wrestle control of the Crown Empire away from the Queen and rule it all!"

"We need to work quickly and carefully if we are going to take over the Crown Empire," Slade thought. "We're going to need star stones. Lots of star stones. And an army."

"Leave the star stones to me," Mogul told him. "I trust you can take care of the army?"

"Yes I believe I can," Slade smiled. "Supplemented of course with your demon minions."

"Eh between you and me and Einstein over here I wouldn't put too much faith in them," Mogul pointed at Larry. "However I believe my magic can conjure up even more powerful demons."

"And I might be able to get more cash and other weapons to assist in our takeover, partner," Slade grinned.

Like I said. Things are not going to get easier folks! Stay tuned to the final chapter!