Meanwhile, Taffyta and her group had made it into Limepool within a matter of hours and booked themselves into an inexpensive motel. They knew they would have to do their mission at night plus wouldn't have time to do some sightseeing so there was no point in paying more for a classier hotel.
Matlow had brought his laptop, and got to work researching the factory online. Taffyta, Jubileena, Citrusella, and Swizzle discussed tactics they were going to use.
"Hey...this might work to our advantage." Matlow smirked. "Looks like the factory hosts tours and there's another one this afternoon. We can use the tour to help figure out where the main computer is as well as what the security is like."
"Yeah but we can't all go, Thembara might be there and might recognize one of us." Swizzle pointed out.
"She'd definitely recognize me so count me out." Citrusella added.
"She'd recognize me too...darn it." Jubileena frowned. "For a second there I was hoping for a chance to sneak a stink bomb into her shoulder bag."
The others sniggered.
"I'll go. I was in the far back at the time and if I get some simple yet brighter clothes I doubt Thembara will see me as suspicious." Matlow offered.
"I'll go with you in a new outfit too, two preteens might stand out less than one." Swizzle added. "I know, we'll pose as sons of tourists who wanted to take the tour the same time our parents wanted to enjoy a play."
"Right, I'd better look up what plays are performing so you guys can make your alibi sound more legitimate." Taffyta looked through the newspaper, which she picked up not long after entering the city.
After deciding on the play for the alibi Swizzle and Matlow left to get some new outfits and take the tour. Taffyta, Jubileena, and Citrusella went on their own shopping trip: to get black clothing for later that night.
Then that night, everything was set. Swizzle and Matlow had gotten the location of the main computer and learned about the security system. They all put on their new black clothing, grabbed their equipment, and left.
They headed for the back, and Jubileena tossed a stink bomb around the back door. This caused the guards that were there to run away. There was a security camera pointing towards the doorway however, so they had to climb over the fence on the camera's blind side. They then broke into the ventilation and crawled through the vents. There was a close call though, another guard was coming with the two previous guards to investigate the sudden stink. Fortunately the last of the group managed to make in through the vent and shut it without getting caught.
Matlow had made a map of how to reach the main computer, so using that Taffyta and Citrusella managed to lead the group towards the room where the main computer was. Unfortunately there were a bunch of people there.
"Night owls." Jubileena muttered, annoyed. "This calls for another prank. Let's see...oo." She grinned.
She had brought her can of snakes. And there happened to be a snack table below them.
"Better find a lower vent so no one spots you." Taffyta suggested.
"Got it, be right back. Swizzle you're with me, I'll probably need your skills." Jubileena said.
"Right." Swizzle agreed.
They left and headed for a lower vent. Fortunately since the main computer needed to be kept cool there were quite a few vents in that room. Unfortunately the closest lower vent wasn't close enough.
"I'll stealth the can in." Swizzle whispered.
"Okay, but be careful." Jubileena whispered back.
They quietly opened the vent, which was fortunately under a different table, and Swizzle cautiously stepped out. Thank goodness for the black clothing, no one even noticed him. He then somersaulted towards the water cooler-
"What was that?" One guy said.
"What was what?" Another guy said.
"I thought I heard something over there."
A couple guys went over to the water cooler and looked around it...nothing. This was because Swizzle had squeezed himself under the small space between the cooler and floor. Again, thank goodness for black clothing.
"That's weird..." The first guy muttered. "Oh well, maybe I'm just tired. It has been a long day. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
He and the other guys said their goodbyes. Swizzle quickly ducked under the snack table while their backs were turned. He then snuck the can of snakes onto the table. Luckily a few minutes later another guy went to get a snack.
"Hey, who brought the nuts?" He asked.
Everyone else reacted with confusion. The guy at the snack table shrugged and opened the can...and snakes came out. That guy freaked out and ran away, same with a few other guys, but the rest caught on.
"Who's the jokester who set that old gag up?" A different guy frowned.
Again, confused reactions. Unfortunately Swizzle was now trapped. He didn't want to risk sneaking back into the vent. Luckily Jubileena had snuck him a stink bomb before he left just in case, so he rolled it out the door after the remaining guys drew their attentions back to the main computer. The resulting stink caused the people outside to scream and complain. This in turn caused most of the remaining guys to investigate, leaving only one to guard the computer.
Also fortunately he seemed to be into something, so Swizzle took the chance to sneak out from under the table and silently shut the door. The last guy really was into something, because he didn't even seem to notice the slight noise the door made. Taffyta, Citrusella, and Matlow then took a chance and slowly went down to the lower vent where Jubileena was. They all then snuck over to one side of the main computer where the last guy couldn't see them.
They paused for a moment to think of what to do, when Citrusella noticed that there was a container of computer parts by them. Apparently replacement parts or something. She picked up a heavy piece and tossed it at the last guy. Bulls-eye, it hit him on the head and knocked him out.
"Way to go!" Taffyta whispered.
Citrusella just nodded triumphantly before turning to Matlow.
"Matlow, your turn again." She said.
"Got it." Matlow whispered.
He went to the nearest computer screen. Fortunately it was still logged in so he looked up recipes on it. Yes! It turns out the Sluggums had been so proud about Thembara stealing the Lemonscan recipes that they actually titled one file 'Pre-Lemonscan Recipes'. Matlow opened it up to double-check. Interestingly, they all seemed to have the original titles of the recipes rather than modified versions. They could tell because all the titles had the word 'lemon' in them somewhere.
"I recognize that one, Sourward made it for me once." Citrusella whispered, pointing to a recipe.
Matlow nodded, inserted a floppy disc he had brought, and transferred the files onto it. It took a moment, so they took that moment to relax. Swizzle was keeping an eye on the knocked-out guy, who looked as if he wasn't going to stir anytime soon. Perhaps he had been really tired as well.
Then there was a rattling of the doorknob. Matlow, Jubileena, Citrusella, and Taffyta looked freaked out.
"Relax, I locked it." Swizzle whispered.
"But one of them may have their keys." Taffyta whispered back.
"I don't think so, their coats are still here and guys usually use their jacket and coat pockets most of the time." Matlow whispered.
Sure enough grumbling was heard on the other side of the door. Then banging.
"I hope it doesn't wake up him." Jubileena whispered nervously, glancing at the knocked-out guy.
"I'll knock him out again if it does." Swizzle whispered before going over to the knocked out guy.
"How much longer?" Taffyta said nervously.
"Almost there, luckily this is a fast computer." Citrusella whispered with relief. "It's already past eighty percent...no ninety percent..."
"And we're done." Matlow sighed with relief before ejecting the floppy disc.
"Not yet, move over." Citrusella whispered.
Matlow did and Citrusella moved onto the chair. She then permanently deleted the 'Pre-Lemonscan Recipes' file.
"Now we're done." She grinned.
"Good, we'd better go now." Taffyta whispered.
Everyone else agreed, and went back through the vents. Jubileena had already gathered up her snakes and can earlier so she was able to quickly follow them as well. They then shut the vent behind them and quietly headed the way they came in. The two guards at the back entrance were back again, so Jubileena quietly removed the vent and tossed another stink bomb at them. They complained about it happening again and ran off. Taffyta and her group then made a break for it, making sure to replace the vent before leaving.
They then quickly scrambled over the fence and removed their black outer clothing just before nearing the sidewalks. They quickly dawned their own more colorful outer clothing and entered the sidewalk. Their hearts were still pounding but they managed to maintain a causal air before heading back into their hotel room. That was when they collapsed.
"I hope we never have to go through that again." Matlow said with relief.
Everyone else agreed. Citrusella however was grinning.
"I did it...we did it..." She said happily. "I can't wait to see the look on Sourward's face."
"I just hope he doesn't get mad at you for putting yourself in danger like that." Swizzle wiped his forehead.
"Actually I think he'll be too surprised to be mad." Jubileena grinned.
They all got a good night's sleep, and the next day they headed back to Sugar Rush. After they got back Gloyd, Rancis, Candlehead, Minty, and Vanellope were more than relieved to see them alive and well. Sourward was glad to see Citrusella back as well, but not relieved since he didn't know about the real reason behind the trip. He just thought they all had come up with present ideas that could only be bought in the city. That's what Gloyd and Rancis said to him anyway. It's what the parents of those who had gone on the mission believed too, their kids had told them that was the reason and Gloyd and Rancis decided to continue using it.
Of course the theft had been noticed, but the Sluggums and police made one mistake that forever kept Sugar Rush safe from persecution: they believed an adult, most likely a cat burglar, had done the deed. They never once thought that a kid let alone a bunch of kids had pulled it off.