Grodus stared out the large window of the Crystal Palace he and his X-Nauts had annexed from the Crystal King's government. It was an icy blizzard, with next to visibility. "Sir Grodus?" An Octoling and an X-Naut walked in. "Lord Crump and the Octarians have an update for you."
"Yes." Grodus nodded. He continued to stare out the window, as if he was pondering his decisions and motives. He grabbed his staff, and knocked over a statue in the room, shattering it. "Yes. Get it up for me." Grodus proceeded to the throne room, where he had it set up like his room in the X-Naut Fortress. He sat down on the throne of the Crystal King. "Let's see it."
Lord Crump appeared on the large screen. Grodus read the report he and the Octarians had filed. "Crump, this is sickening." He issued. "Your objective was simple, and yet you and the Octarians equal to at least fifteen of you power-wise still manage to yield the Sapphire Star to the Red Yoshi!"
"I'm sorry, boss!" Lord Crump justified. "It's just…we thought we had them beat and…"
"I'll handle this." Crump walked off the screen. Will walked into view. "Hail, Sir Grodus."
"Will." Grodus was amused. "Pleasure to see you. What was it you wanted to add?"
"This is my fault, Sir Grodus." Will convinced. "I thought I had put an end to the Red Yoshi, and then one of his lackeys distracted me long enough for me to conceive the Sapphire Star. My apologies."
Grodus was unamused. "Will, this is troubling. If the Red Yoshi manages to collect the next Crystal Star, the map will lead him right to us. We must not let that happen. Tell Dr. Phun and Octowser to cancel all plans to pursue the Red Yoshi and set up a base at these coordinates." He motioned for an X-Naut to send out the coordinates.
Will glanced at the device that showed him the coordinates. "Understood."
"Let me speak to Crump." Grodus ordered. Will moved out of the way, and Crump awaited his order. "Lord Crump, stand by for my next order. Think of it as your last chance. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" Crump nodded. The screen shut off.
"You! X-Naut 2075!" Grodus called. "Send an order to HQ. The Shadow Sirens are to attack Red and his friends. They cannot fail."
"But, sir?" The X-Naut asked. "Wasn't that 2073 and 2074's designation?"
"They are spending some time…away." Grodus answered. "We have one star, while Red has five. Measures must be taken."
The roads of Crystal City were bustling as they always were on a Friday afternoon. The streets were packed with vendors, selling all sorts of goods you'd have to travel a long distance to buy. Near a vendor who sold mangoes imported from Keelhaul Key, there was a heavy banging heard from a window below street level.
"ARRGH!" Crysto was hitting the window as hard as he could. He and Crysycle had been imprisoned for treason, and stripped of their X-Naut uniforms. Chained to each of them were Callie and Marie, the Squid Sisters. "It's not budging!"
"It won't budge, Crysto." Crysycle sat on a wood bench, depressed. "We're stuck in here, no one can hear us."
"It's cold in here." Callie shivered. "They can't even put a fireplace down here or something?"
"Prisoners really suffer down here." Crysycle explained. "It's the cold that will kill you first. It is designed to kill off intruders to Crystal Valley, the Crystal people can survive the cold without getting frostbitten."
"But we have to get out!" Marie complained. "We have to notify Red what's happened!"
"How can we do that?" Callie asked. "TEC is back at HQ!"
"We need to figure something out." Crysto pounded the window one more time. "We need a way out of here. Check the walls!"
"Gotcha!" Crysycle ran a window on the opposite side of the room.
"OW!" Marie yelped. Crysycle realized they'd been chained together.
"Oh, gee!" Crysycle helped her up. "Are you okay?"
"I'll manage." Marie explained. "That's the first rush of heat I've had since we've been here."
"Hey, Marie?" Callie asked. "If there's a window on our side of the room, how can there another window on your side of the room?"
"Yeah!" Crysto agreed. "That one must be a fake! Yeah! I remember that this cell was notorious for the fake window!" Crysycle pulled the window towards him, and it collapsed, revealing an empty wall. A wall to the left of him collapsed, revealing a hidden fireplace.
"Jackpot!" Marie and Callie ran over to the fire. "Gosh, heat feels good!"
"But there has to be a way out!" Crysto thought. "If this is the cell with the hidden fireplace, it has to have the secret exit!" He snapped his fingers. "Of course! The fireplace!" He ran over, and pressed down on a candle on the mantle. The fireplace rumbled, the fire was put out, revealing an underground tunnel. "This is our way out. Let's move!"
The prisoners travelled down the cramped tunnel. They could here a large volume of footsteps above their heads, meaning they had to be under the streets. "This way." Crysycle directed. "This will take us to the 5th Street Café's storehouse." They popped out of the shaft, free from the cell.
"TEC!" Callie realized what she saw when they emerged from the tunnel. TEC had been installed in the least suspecting place in the Crystal City. "Is that you, TEC?"
"Yes, it is I." TEC agreed. "Good to see that you folks were able to escape. I hate to interrupt your freedom, but I need you to run out and gather some information for me. I require a data disk from Sir Grodus' room in the Crystal Palace."
"Is this because you just got reinstalled here and you are missing information from the move?" Marie asked.
"In addition to that." TEC clarified. "There are computers both here and in X-Naut HQ that I am not linked to, and anything I am not linked to, I do not hold in my database. In short, Sir Grodus has information that I do not have."
"That seems easy enough." Crysto figured. "We need our uniforms?"
"Not this time." TEC informed. "As you and Crysycle know, no one is permitted access into Sir Grodus' room. Follow my instructions and you will be fine." He printed off a paper with directions on them.
"Wow. That's a lot of directions." Crysycle admitted. "We can get there, we know our way around this city." He motioned for them to head out. "But first, we need to check in with someone of high authority."
The group walked upstairs, into the 5th Street Café. At a table in the corner sat the Crystal King. "Jackpot." Crysto approached him. "Hail, Crystal King!"
"Who are you?" He asked, as he stopped drinking his Koopa Tea. "Grodus has claimed leadership over the Crystal Valley. I am no king!"
"Your father will always be our king!" Crysto spoke up. "Grodus killed him, and took us away as his slaves!"
The Crystal King dropped his tea, splashing it all over the table. "Crysto and Crysycle?" He figured. "I haven't seen you guys since you were only eight! You were kidnapped by Grodus, correct?"
"Yes, and we come with an urgent task." Crysycle continued. "The X-Nauts have a master computer that they keep all their information on. Our friends, the Squid Sisters befriended the mechanical ally and keep them safe from the X-Nauts. We need to get into the Crystal Palace and get the data disk from his room. We require Protectors uniforms to get into the palace, though."
"Yes, the Protectors HQ is near the airfield." The Crystal King recalled. "Come! We must go there now!"
"I think we're all ready to go." Crysto had changed into his Protectors uniform. "Wow, these have a lot more pockets than before!"
"How do we look?" Callie asked. Her and Marie had their hair dyed faded pink to make them look like Crystal people, and were no longer chained up.
"You look like pure Crystalline!" The Crystal King nodded. "We should head off, now." He waved for a wagon. The driver pulled over.
"Where to, your highness?"
"Crystal Palace, son!" The Crystal King slipped a few coins. "Swiftly!"
"Well, we're here." Crysto exited the wagon. "Let's hope this goes well. You guys ready?"
"Yeah!" Callie and Marie cheered. "Let's do this!" The group marched up the stairs to the doors of the palace.
"Halt!" Two X-Nauts guarded the door. "State your business."
"State my business?" The Crystal King huffed. "I am the Third Crystal King, ruler of Crystal Valley! Sir Grodus may be in charge, but no one speaks for the people better than I!" The X-Nauts shrugged, and opened the door. Grodus happened to be strolling through the main atrium.
"Well, who do we have here?" Grodus approached The Crystal King. "The Crystal King and some of the Protectors of Crystal Valley. What brings you here?"
"I am here to voice the opinions of the people!" The Crystal King explained. He motioned for the Protectors to move.
"Where are they going?" Grodus asked, angrily.
"Monthly security check." The Crystal King responded. "Now, where were we?"
"Let's see…" Crysycle paused. "We need to head to the basement. TEC says the lab should be down there." The crew proceeded into the basement, and entered a small lab. "We need to mix a few potions to make ourselves invisible."
"I found some potions!" Marie called. "How do we mix them?"
"We put them in order into the large machine back there." Crysto read. "When we are ready to mix them, we press the big red button on the left. Here's the order." The crew read the order, and placed the potions in that order. "Let's give a try." Callie pressed the big red button, and the potions began to mix. Four beakers emerged from a machine to the left, and the potions mixed.
"Says here that we must drink all of the contents." Crysycle read. "Well, bottom's up!" The crew chugged the potion, and they all became invisible.
"Callie!" Marie yelled. "We're invisible! Where are you?"
"I'm right beside you!" Callie joked.
"Wherever you guys are, follow this trail of leftover potion." Crysto called as they exited the lab. "Grodus' room is near the top of the tower. We keep going up the stairs." The invisible team began their long climb up the stairs, until they reached a room long hallway, with a red Yux guarding a door.
"Hey, buddy." Crysycle instructed. "We need in there."
"UH?" The Red Yux asked. "Where are you?"
"It's me." The invisible figure held up a paper. "The code phrase is 'the wet dog sighs in the dry fire.'"
"Oh, you guys!" The Red Yux realized. "TEC told me to meet you guys here. Shall we?"
"Yeah, lets." Crysto agreed. The Red Yux opened the door.
"We're in." The Red Yux inputted another code, locking the door behind him. "Wherever you are, find the disk!"
"Found it!" Callie exclaimed. "Now what?"
"Connect the computer to the network." Crysycle read.
"I'll do that!" Marie exclaimed. "There! It's online! We should get moving now."
"Mission accomplished." Crysto ripped up the paper. "Let's get back to the Crystal King."
"There! We're all back!" Crysycle announced as the potion wore off in the lab.
"There were four of you?" The Red Yux realized. "I guessed five."
"We'd better go see TEC now." Crysycle figured. "You coming?"
"Me?" The Red Yux asked. "Well I'm off duty now, so yeah! I guess I can come. It'll help that an X-Naut is escorting you guys out of the palace."
"Good." Crysto nodded. They returned to the atrium, to find the Crystal King still talking to Grodus. "We're all set. Everything is secure."
"Excellent." The Crystal King confirmed. "Sorry to occupy your time, Grodus. We shall be taking our leave."
"Just a minute!" Grodus ordered. "You! X-Yux 7! Accompany The Crystal King out of the palace, please."
"Gladly." The Red Yux nodded. "Let's move it, King!"
"TEC!" Marie announced. "We're back!"
"Yes, I can see." TEC agreed. "This must be the Crystal King. Nice to meet you, sir, I am TEC-XXX, the X-Naut main computer."
"Nice to meet you?" The Crystal King asked. "When are you tyrants pulling out of my city?"
"We shall know soon." TEC explained. "X-Yux 7, good to see you. Thanks for the assist."
"No prob, TEC." X nodded. "It wasn't a bother. Now, let's see what's on that disk!"
"Indeed." TEC agreed. "Most is still encrypted, but I can deliver the non-encrypted. As of a few minutes ago, Sir Grodus issued that all security sweeps be terminated. Also, he has ordered that all of the Protectors will work in cooperation with the X-Nauts. In other words, the military of Crystal Valley is now controlled by the X-Nauts."
"He can't do that!" The Crystal King realized. "Come, X! I need a trip to the palace!"
"Please, Crystallpher." TEC stopped. "If Grodus finds out that you know about this secret report, your people will spill their blood."
"Err." The Crystal King grunted. "I will not have my people slaughtered for this. You have my word." He turned to X. "Come, I need another tea. Let us head upstairs."
"Yeah." X nodded. "See you, TEC."
"Yes." TEC agreed. "Squid Sisters, you may use the communicator now."
"Sure." Callie began to type. "Dear, Red. We've got some good news! We have been moved to Crystal City, which sounds bad. However, we have met allies here who have helped us obtain information from the X-Nauts. TEC the computer cooperating with us is helping us analyze tha data and will soon know the depths of the X-Naut mission. We'll contact once we know more! – Squid Sisters."
"Good, it's sent." TEC informed. "You should get some rest."
"We will." Marie nodded. "Good night, TEC!"
