"Alright, Paltio, choose who you're going to take with you," Golden asked. The answer was obvious: Mok. Still, Golden posed the question anyway.
"Mok," the young man replied without hesitation. Mok felt deeply grateful to accompany the prince. He knew this journey wouldn't be easy, but his loyalty to Paltio drove him beyond any fear.
"Before shrinking you, we'll need to deal with those cameras," Golden said, creating a mental image of all of them on the surveillance devices. "Now then, work your magic, Nakia."
Nakia extended one of her wings, which transformed into a tube filled with glowing green liquid.
"Take a sip, both of you, quickly," the tiny bird instructed urgently.
The butler Mok and Prince Paltio obeyed, bringing the liquid to their lips. In an instant, their bodies began to shrink until they were minuscule. Without wasting a moment, Nakia spread her feathers and gently picked them up onto her back.
"Wow, you're so tiny," Ron remarked in amazement, peering through some smudges on Nakia. He had used an empty bottle as a magnifying glass to get a better look.
"There's no time to waste," Golden interjected firmly. "Now, while they're gone, we need to cover for Paltio and Mok's absence. That's why I said I needed everyone's help. Toco-Toco, come out!"
The little feline emerged from the hologram. Golden continued, explaining:
"My illusion magic doesn't last long, so you need to hurry, Paltio and Mok."
Golden made Toco-Toco take on Paltio's appearance. Pax raised an eyebrow.
"And what about the butler? How are we going to simulate him?"
"Ah! That's easy," Golden responded quickly. "Place some items from each of you on that chair. Quickly."
Alita placed her cap, Ron added the vest he was wearing, and Pax contributed his shield. With a magical flash, the illusion of Mok formed.
"That was incredible," Alita and Ron murmured almost in unison.
"Hey!" Pax interrupted. "What do we do if they take too long and ask the fake Mok and Paltio to speak?"
"Well, that's where the problem lies," Golden replied, crossing his arms. "We need to be quick and try to buy time. Now that everyone knows their roles, it's time for Paltio to leave with Mok and Nakia. I'll stay in contact with you, Alita and the others, through the mental link. See you soon."
Once outside the room, Paltio looked around in awe. Even Nakia's feathers seemed enormous now that they were shrunk.
"I can't believe we've been shrunk, Mok," Paltio said, still marveling at everything he saw.
They exited through the window opening and found themselves outside, under the vast sky of Bacadolia.
"Hold on tight," Nakia instructed before spreading her wings. The tiny bird began to fly as fast as she could, receiving telepathic instructions from Golden since Paltio and Mok, now miniature-sized, couldn't be heard.
Nakia soared through the skies of Bacadolia, avoiding detection by Ruby's scanners. She flew as high as she could manage.
"Though I don't think they'd do anything to a simple bird…" Nakia murmured, trying to reassure herself. But her calm vanished when she saw a bat pass near one of the buildings and get obliterated by a laser weapon. A nearby monitor emitted an automated message: False alarm, but no one invaded my airspace.
Nakia swallowed hard.
"I'd better fly higher," she decided, adjusting her trajectory toward the clouds.
Nakia continued flying as high as possible, dodging any chance of being detected by the artificial intelligence Ruby. Finally, they reached the building, but a crucial question arose: how were they going to descend without being seen by Ruby?
Fortunately, they spotted two soldiers patrolling at the top of the building. Apparently, this area wasn't under Ruby's direct surveillance, as they observed a flock of sparrows pass near the soldiers without being detected. It was a perfect opportunity.
With precision, Nakia launched Paltio and Mok into the air, just behind the soldiers, before casting a spell that instantly restored their normal size. Both landed on the soldiers, though due to the soldiers' larger frames, they didn't knock them out immediately. Mok reacted quickly, summoning a large mound of earth with his rings that buried both soldiers, rendering them unconscious.
"Golden, we need you to use that magic you used with Toco-Toco and the chair," Mok said, inspecting the soldiers. They carried communicators similar to Yaco's. "Remember, this trick only makes us look like them. We're not solid; if they touch us, they'll realize it right away because they could pass through us. So be very careful."
Paltio and Mok nodded, understanding the delicacy of the situation. They opened the door leading to a staircase.
Before descending, Nakia offered an additional option: inducing a deep sleep in the soldiers. She stayed behind to keep watch, ready to act if anything went wrong.
As they descended the stairs, Golden activated the illusion that made them appear as Green Shadow soldiers. Each floor they passed was guarded by two sentries. Paltio, still disguised, raised his hand in a discreet greeting, but Mok stopped him with a subtle gesture. They couldn't draw too much attention.
On the third floor, one of the guards intercepted them.
"Hey! Where are you two going?" he asked, watching them as they headed downward.
Paltio and Mok exchanged a quick glance. It was Mok who spoke, mimicking a tone similar to Yaco's voice:
"We've been ordered to check for some malfunctions. Trebolg himself sent us."
The guard observed them for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright, go ahead, but don't take too long. You can't leave your post for very long."
Both moved forward, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads after the near scare of being discovered.
"Apparently, those guys we knocked out are also top engineers," Golden commented telepathically.
"Wow, what a great imitation, Mok," Paltio praised, trying to lighten the mood.
"Thank you, young master," Mok replied, a hint of pride in his voice.
They continued descending until they reached Sublevel 2. Upon entering, they inserted the access cards the soldiers had been carrying into the reader. The door slid open, and Ruby, the artificial intelligence, appeared on the central screen.
"Welcome, gentlemen. Today is maintenance day for my services," Ruby said in her characteristic metallic voice.
"Uh, yes!" Mok responded, altering his tone once again to conceal his identity.
"Good, then begin. Afterward, return to your posts," Ruby instructed before momentarily shutting off.
Upon entering, they saw several large copper-colored boxes lined up in the room. At the back, a golden box stood out among the rest, protected by what appeared to be laser beams. Suddenly, Paltio experienced the same vision he'd had on previous occasions.
"This is the place, Mok," he said with certainty. "The piece is under that box."
Mok frowned, assessing the situation.
"Oh no! This will be harder than I thought, young master. Fooling those guards was easy, though we almost got caught. But this…" He gestured toward the golden box and the laser beams. "This machine thinks more than any living being. If we make one wrong move, it'll destroy us."
Paltio, worried, tried to contact Golden.
"Golden, do you have anything that can help us?"
But Golden didn't respond. An unsettling silence filled the air.
"What's going on?" Paltio asked, alarmed by the lack of response.
At that exact moment, the illusory disguises both were wearing began to fade. Ruby's metallic voice echoed from the screen as the room was bathed in an ominous red light.
"You… What are you doing here? You're intruders. You will pay with your lives for entering a forbidden facility," Ruby declared coldly, plunging the room into full alert.