Yaco continued his relentless advance, striking and electrocuting anyone who tried to stop him. "No one can stop me!" he muttered with a crooked smile as he climbed the stairs. "I must reach that prince. And if what my boss says is true, they'll soon be part of our workforce… unpaid, of course."
One by one, his footsteps echoed through the building's hallways, bringing him closer to his target. Meanwhile, in the room where Alita, Ron, and Pax were trying to cover for Paltio and Mok, things weren't looking good.
"Hey," Alita whispered, struggling to stay calm. "Does anyone here know ventriloquism?"
Ron looked at her, confused. "Ventriloquism? Why?"
"Because the only thing I can think of is saying theirs in the bathroom and making voices," she replied urgently.
Ron lowered his gaze, shaking his head slowly. "Definitely not."
Alita then turned to Pax, who had a small device on his helmet. "Can you change your voice box?" she asked in a near-silent whisper. She knew he had a voice modulator, but he shook his head firmly.
"No, I can't," Pax said curtly.
"So, what do we do now?" Alita asked, carefully closing the bathroom door behind them. The tension was palpable, thick in the air. Yaco's footsteps were now just a few meters away. One of the guards tried to unlock the door with a key, but with Ruby deactivated, nothing worked. Frustrated, Yaco delivered a brutal kick to the door, sending it crashing down with a deafening roar.
As the door collapsed onto the floor, Yaco entered with a severe expression on his face. His eyes quickly scanned the room, stopping on Alita, Ron, and Pax. But he didn't see either the butler or the prince.
"Where are they?" he demanded coldly, his voice laced with menace.
"In the bathroom," Alita replied, striving to keep a neutral expression and avoid sounding nervous.
Yaco raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on Ron, who looked visibly shaken. "Both of them are in the bathroom?" The boy swallowed hard and nodded timidly.
"Yes, sir. They didn't eat because they were feeling sick too," interjected one of the guards who had brought food earlier. Apparently, Pax had knocked him out when he'd tried to enter.
"Break it open," Yaco ordered the guards accompanying him. "We'll see if they're telling the truth."
Alita and Ron exchanged nervous glances, while Pax maintained an unperturbed demeanor, though inside, tension was brewing. With swift movements, the guards shattered the bathroom lock with their swords. Inside, they found Paltio leaning over the sink, pretending to feel ill, while Mok simulated vomiting into the toilet.
"Well, well!" Yaco exclaimed, letting out a mocking laugh. "Let's see if this is true." He pulled out a communication shell and began speaking with Trebolg.
Meanwhile, Alita, Ron, and Pax glanced at each other, relieved that their friends had returned just in time. However, the mystery of how they had arrived so quickly still lingered in their minds.
"Great!" Yaco said after finishing his conversation with his boss. Something about the situation seemed off to him, but Trebolg had ordered that Paltio and the others could inspect Ruby's facilities due to a massive explosion at the site. "You may search for your famed piece," Yaco announced, offering a brief apology to those present before adding, "I'll return shortly to escort you while we conduct inspections in the area."
Meanwhile, Trebolg remained unconvinced that Paltio and his friends weren't responsible for the chaos. However, he knew it was impossible for them to be in two places at once. The leader of the Green Shadows tugged at his hair in frustration as he tried to unravel the mystery.
"Paltio! Mok! Thank goodness you're alright!" Alita and Ron exclaimed, though their faces betrayed their confusion. "How did you get here so fast?"
"I'm glad you asked," Golden interjected, emerging from Paltio's seed. Calmly, he began to explain how they had escaped the building and returned to the hotel so quickly.
"Paltio and Mok locked eyes," Golden narrated. "They knew there was no way to leave the place or reach the hotel without being seen. Moreover, all the doors and windows had begun to close automatically. That's when Nakia entered, informing us that she had already dealt with the guards using her sleeping potion."
Golden paused briefly before continuing. "The only way out was by shrinking ourselves so Nakia could carry us away. It was a good idea, but we were too far from the hotel, and Nakia couldn't fly that distance quickly enough."
"So, we came up with a plan," Golden went on. "First, we'd leave the place with Nakia, and then Toco-Toco would take us to the hotel as fast as possible. We all agreed—Paltio, Mok, and I."
We shrank just in time; there was barely a minute left before the building's destruction. Paltio wanted to save the guards, but there wasn't enough time. They escaped just as everything collapsed, flying atop Nakia. However, the explosion caught up with them, sending shockwaves rippling around. Fortunately, I had called Toco-Toco, who was already aware of the plan. As we flew, he told us that you had informed him we were in the bathroom. He raced like the wind, carrying Nakia in his front paws, watching as the building collapsed floor by floor, like dominoes, until it exploded completely. Golden finished his story with a deep sigh.
Alita and Ron listened, captivated by the tale, marveling not only at how they had defeated Ruby but also at Toco-Toco's incredible speed. "I'm fast too!" Nakia protested from the side, puffing out her chest proudly.
"I know, little birdie," Alita replied with a smile, placing Nakia on her cap. "You're our tiny heroine."
Now everyone had to pretend they knew nothing as they accompanied the enemies to the place where Paltio was supposed to reinstall the key piece. Before leaving, Alita and Ron shared something troubling: the city had fallen into absolute chaos. They heard heart-wrenching screams and saw fire consuming various areas, but then everything mysteriously calmed down, as if an invisible hand had smothered the disorder. However, before they could continue talking, Yaco returned and brusquely ordered them to follow him.
They all left the hotel and climbed into Yaco's carriage—a futuristic vehicle that didn't need horses, very different from Paltio's. As they moved forward, they observed the devastation caused by Ruby's deactivation. Citizens chained together were being dragged toward enormous vehicles, their faces filled with desperation and fear.
"Damn it!" Paltio mentally exclaimed through the telepathic link Golden had established between them. "This is my fault."
The others quickly tried to console him. "It's not your fault," they assured him. "You couldn't have known the power these Green Shadows possessed."
Upon arriving at the site, they found a forensic team inspecting the disaster scene. The explosion had been devastating: two entire blocks were reduced to charred rubble. One of the investigators muttered something as he passed by Yaco: "Typical. This is to prevent Ruby's secrets from falling into enemy hands." He then nodded, indicating they had already collected all the necessary samples to determine whether the explosion was due to malfunction or deliberate action. "Some good guards died," he said, before walking away, leaving behind an air of sorrow.
Paltio and his group entered the devastated area. Everything was destroyed: twisted beams, cables hanging like exposed veins, and thick smoke still floating in the air. Paltio had a delicate task: he had to pretend to search for the lost piece while his friends distracted Yaco and the guards so he could place it without raising suspicion.
Before reaching the location, Paltio handed the piece to Toco-Toco, who had darted off to a strategic position. The little cat waited patiently for the signal while Paltio pretended to search through the debris. From a side alley, Paltio saw Toco-Toco discreetly wave his paw. He understood immediately and began moving rubble at the indicated spot. Lifting a twisted metal plate, he feigned surprise and announced, "It's here!"
His friends acted naturally, concealing the discovery, so the guards wouldn't suspect anything. One of the soldiers frowned, confused. "That's strange… The inspectors searched here and found nothing."
"Hey!" Pax interjected quickly, pointing at Paltio. "It's because he's the only one who can find and handle those things. Want to try it yourself?" he taunted Yaco with a mocking smile.
Yaco shook his head at Pax's suggestion, though inside he burned with curiosity to touch the shiny object Paltio held in his hand. However, something held him back. He thought that perhaps the thing could be dangerous or that touching it might trigger some invisible alarm. Deciding to change the subject, he said dryly, "Fine." Though not entirely convinced, he signaled to one of the guards to take them back to the hotel.
"But, Mr. Yaco," Paltio interjected with a carefree smile, "we're in a hurry. We need to find two more pieces."
Yaco stared at him intently, weighing his words. "We'll see about that," he replied coldly. "First, I need the inspectors' analysis. With the technology we have, the inspection would be quick if Ruby were operational. Without her, it would take an entire day."
"Remember, we have until the marine dawn," Pax tried to intervene, ever vigilant.
"I'm sorry, but you have no choice but to wait," Yaco responded. His tone was casual, but his eyes gleamed with cunning, knowing that any further objection would make them seem suspicious.
"Fine," Paltio accepted, guided by the mental link Golden had established with him. "Let's play along with the soldier," Golden had told him firmly.
Without further delay, they returned to the hotel room to rest and await the results. Once there, Paltio broke the silence with an anxious question: "What do we do? What if they find out what we did? Something we might've left at the crime scene?" His voice trembled slightly, and his hands moved nervously, almost as if he wanted to tear his nails off.
"Calm down, boy," Golden replied calmly. "They won't find anything."
"How so?" everyone asked in unison, looking at him in disbelief.
Golden smiled, his voice tinged with confidence. "You'll see."