After a forty-five minute hover journey the crew had returned to Mr. Invent's secret garage quite tired. No.9 had several bruises on his arms and legs, not to mention the huge scrape that ran all the way up his right leg.
Mr. Invent wasn't interested in resting though. He was interested in examining the crystal. He took it to a back room in the garage which must have been his lab. After several minutes he came out of the lab and announced something very bad.
"The crystal is nuclear charged."
"So what?" L.G. yawned.
"So what?! That crystal is jeopardizing everyone's lives! If we try to destroy it an explosion bigger than the atom bomb will occur! It may blow the whole world to smithereens! And if we keep it eventually someone, somewhere, will try to get it back and use it. That weapon Jim made us retrieve needs this crystal to work. See?" Mr. Invent pushed the crystal into the large hole on the top of the Fulton. "And this slot here is a major part, too," he said, pointing at a thin slit on the side of the weapon. He walked over to the Shocklist and picked it up. "Do you get it now?"
He pushed the Shocklist into the slot and at that exact moment the screen of the Fulton turned on.
The words ENTER TARGET/LOCATION suddenly appeared in neon green letters.
L.G. walked over to the Fulton and typed "Washington D.C."
INCORRECT LOCATION
"Try your name," Mr. Invent said.
L.G. typed in his real name. Within an instant his photo and information from the agency records were on the screen. A set of numbers flashed underneath LAST KNOWN LOCATION below his picture.
"Should I try someone else?" L.G. gulped.
Everyone shook their heads.
"Okay," he said, sounding relieved as he placed the Fulton next to the laptop with the Infester's video feed.
"This weapon puts everyone here in danger," Mr Invent said. "It puts our families in danger. We shouldn't tamper with this, we better just give it to the main headquarters. The crystal too. Maybe they'll go easy on us for taking it."
"And have someone else steal it and use it?" said No.9. "What if Jim wasn't the only traitor? What if the whole agency is infiltrated?"
"But you heard what Mr. Invent said," Blonde Bomb piped in, "it can't be destroyed."
"But we can't handle this!" Genie Wiz said. "This is way too big for us."
No.9 started pacing back and forth in thought. He had no idea what to do next.
"Nice of you to join me again," said a very familiar voice.
Everyone looked over at L.G.'s laptop sitting on the desk next to the Fulton. Mr. Cobbledhead and the general had just walked in to Mr. Cobbledhead's office.
"Can I get you a glass of water?" Mr. Cobbledhead asked cheerfully as he closed the office door. The general said nothing. "Sit down, sit down."
"Well?" The general did not sound happy at all.
"Well what, General?"
"Do you have the crystal?"
"Unfortunately we do not have the crystal or the Fulton device in our possession at this time," said Mr. Cobbledhead smoothly.
At this the General stood up, his face red as blood.
"You said your agency would get it," he yelled, shaking with rage. "Don't worry you said! But now this mess about Cryton will be out and this entire planet will be destroyed! Do you know the seriousness of this situation, Cobbledhead?!"
"Now General, there is no reason to bring Cryton into this," Mr. Cobbledhead replied, still sitting calmly in his chair. "I doubt the persons in possession of the crystal or the Fulton will know how to actually use them, let alone what Cryton is. Or where Sacoy itself is even. This is merely a minor setback."
"A minor setback?!" The general's head looked like it could explode at any moment. "Do you have any idea how much time, how much energy and dollars and lives have been used to keep this from getting out?
"Calm down general," Mr. Cobbledhead replied tensely. "Of course I'm aware of all the measures we've taken to keep Cryton contained. I'm the one who makes sure it remains a secret. I'm the one who's sacrificed for that cause. Don't ever forget that."
"Be that as it may, we have to take severe measures now," the General replied angrily. "The only way to make up for this is to retrieve the Satar particle on Sacoy. I trust you'll remember to send your best this time."
"If you feel that that is necessary, then so be it," Mr. Cobbledhead replied. "As you know we've had...problems in the past concerning the Satar particle. Even my best men will have to deal with Setra."
"Just get it done," the General replied.
Mr. Cobbledhead pushed the button down on his desk's pager.
"Yes, sir?" came the secretary's dull voice.
"Bring me group 114 right away," said Mr. Cobbledhead.
No.9 was confused. He had no idea what the words "Cryton" "Sacoy" and "Setra" referred to, but he knew that whatever or whoever these words described he would be dealing with them soon enough. He grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper off of the desk next to the laptop and started writing everything he had heard. When he finished he concentrated hard on the screen, making sure not to miss a word
A knocking sound came from the monitor.
"Come in," said Mr. Cobbledhead.
The door opened and six muscular men in camo pants and black t-shirts strolled into the office and stood in a straight line in front of Cobbledhead and the general. Senior agents. The best of the best.
"You wanted to see us, sir?" one of the agents replied as he stood in the line.
"Yes," said Mr. Cobbledhead. "I have a mission for you and your team. It is going to be the most difficult task you've ever faced, and it is going to be extremely dangerous. Everything I am about to tell you is above Top Secret. Any sharing of this information is treason, especially with any of the other agents."
The team looked around at each other and the man on the far right of the line nodded his head in understanding.
"You may ask no questions," said Mr. Cobbledhead. "Your transportation will be arranged ahead of time with the location. I am not able to tell you where. When you arrive you will be just outside of a large garden. Inside of this garden are four stone pillars. Each of them will have a unique inscription: Seti, Destri, Lorti, and Zeusi. The Zeusi pillar is your target. Once you have located it, push the stone symbol carved under the inscription into the pillar. A small bright orb will fall out of the carving's opening. Do not let this touch the ground. You must capture the orb in this," Mr. Cobbledhead held up a small round metallic ball. "As soon as it is safely inside you must return it here immediately. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir!" the six agents replied together.
"Very good," said Mr. Cobbledhead as he handed the metal orb to the soldier in the middle of the line. "However, I haven't mentioned the most dangerous part of this mission just yet."
The agents looked sideways at each other, not daring to let Mr. Cobbledhead see them worried.
"In the center of the Garden," Mr. Cobbledhead continued, "is a ferocious beast known as Setra. Describing him to you here would be a waste of time and energy. His appearance, by now, has most likely changed since our last encounter with him. It is unlike any creature you can imagine. As of now we don't know of any way of killing the thing either. All I can tell you is to avoid eye contact and stay away from his head, and teeth, if at all possible."
The six agents were all quietly sweating in their suits.
"You will leave in the morning, 6 a.m. on the dot" Mr. Cobbledhead finished. The six agents walked out of the room and No.9 walked over to a leather armchair across from the screen showing Mr. Cobbledhead's office. He laid the paper he had used to copy the meeting's information on his lap.
"I'm not so sure we should do this," he said, reading over the instructions Mr. Cobbledhead had said again. "This garden sounds pretty creepy, and I'm not too keen on meeting Setra whatever that is. But on the other hand, if we don't get this...this Satar particle," No.9 read from the paper, "who knows what will happen?"
The others stood around listening closely to No.9, though they all understood that he was really talking to himself. He was trying to decide how they would handle these strange instructions.
"What is this place they keep talking about anyway? Is it some kind of trap?"
No.9 sat in deep thought for a few moments before finally addressing everyone else in the room.
"Maybe we should examine the Fulton properly," he said, looking up at everyone else staring at him. "Yes, that's what we'll do."
No.9 looked over to L.G. and the Fulton laying on the desk next to him. He read through the conversation he had written down, trying to pick out anything that might help them.
"L.G., try entering 'Cryton' into the Fulton device," No.9 directed.
L.G. typed this into the Fulton, but all he received in return was another INCORRECT LOCATION message.
"No good," L.G. replied shaking his head.
"Alright," said No.9, moving his finger over to the next word that made no sense to him. "Try Sacoy."
The Fulton made tiny beeps as L.G. pressed each letter. There was a pause and suddenly the Fulton began to whir. The screen flickered slightly and the word SEARCHING blinked onto the screen. L.G. looked up at No.9 excitedly.
"It's working!" he exclaimed.
Everyone crowded around L.G. and No.9, looking at the Fulton's screen as it searched for...something.
After a few seconds the Fulton stopped searching. The screen was entirely blue with green lines spaced evenly apart going up and across the screen. In the center of the grid was a blinking red dot
"What does it mean?" Blonde Bomb asked what everyone was thinking.
No.9 didn't have a clue. He looked around at everyone discouraged. He was finding out that starting your very own agency was not as easy as he thought.
"Wait a minute," Genie Wiz said over L.G.'s shoulder. "I think-" she pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on, looking at the screen. "I think it's a map." She came around behind L.G. and pointed to the top of the Fulton's tiny screen. "Look here. Numbers!" She moved her finger down the side of the screen. "And here too. Latitude and longitude lines!"
No.9 looked closely where Genie Wiz's fingers had pointed and could just barely make out tiny numbers. "Is there a map around here?" he asked Mr. Invent standing on the other side of the desk.
"Come with me," said Mr. Invent. He lead everyone into a tiny library across from his lab. On the only wall without a bookcase was a huge map of the the world which he walked over to, grabbing a Sharpie marker out of his pocket on the way. "Alright," he said, "give me the coordinates."
L.G. squinted at the tiny numbers on the top of the Fulton. "Okay, it looks like for the one going up and down-"
"The latitude," Mr. Invent corrected.
"Yeah, that one," said L.G. "Looks like it's 33."
Mr. Invent scanned the top of his map until he reached 33 degrees going North and South. "And the second number?" He sounded a little confused.
"Negative 179?" L.G. replied, a little unsure of himself.
Mr. Invent ran his finger down the North and South line of 33 degrees, trying to find the point where it would cross negative 179.
"Wait, how can that be right?" L.G. questioned. "Wouldn't that mean it's like, below the Earth if it's a negative number?"
Everyone in the room looked at him instantly except Mr. Invent.
"What?"
"You should have really payed more attention in Geography class," Blonde Bomb replied.
Everyone laughed. L.G. shook his head, still confused by it all.
Mr. Invent popped the cap off of his Sharpie and made a small black circle on the map with a few squeaks. He turned around to everyone a little worried. The black dot was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
"It's in the middle of the sea?" Bombshell asked, staring at the black dot in disbelief and then looking at Mr. Invent.
"In the middle of the Pacific Ocean," said Mr. Invent.
Everyone stood there quietly. No.9 went back into deep thought. He wasn't so sure if all of this was such a good idea anymore. When they were younger their missions with the agency had been easy. Keep a lookout on the corner, secure such and such perimeter, stuff like that. It wasn't until they stole the Fulton and the crystal that any of them had faced real danger. And after what just happened at Area 51, would they be able to handle this? Were they prepared to outsmart six senior agent, all while avoiding some unknown beast named Setra in a mysterious garden in the middle of the ocean?
No one wasn't saying a word. Everyone was waiting for him to make a call. After the past few days it was clear who their leader had become. He sat there in silence for another few seconds before making a decision. This was too important. Not just for them, but for the fate of the entire world.
"Can the Alley Cat make it that far?" he finally said, looking over towards Mr. Invent.
"It should," Mr. Invent replied, turning back to the map and tracing a route with his finger. "She runs on a combination of gasoline and solar power so, as long as it's not too cloudy on the way, we should be just fine."
"Alright," No.9 said decidedly. "I'm going. I don't expect all of you to join me. Especially after tonight. This is going to be dangerous. The most dangerous mission any one of us have ever been on. If you want to back out, say so now. I won't look down on you or make you leave this group. I'll understand."
No.9 stood in the doorway of the library as he gave his small speech. He half expected most of the group to back out of the mission, but no one said a word.
"We're all with you, Nine," L.G. replied to his friend. "Let's go save the world."
L.G., Blonde Bomb, Genie Wiz, Bombshell, and Mr. Invent gathered together in a half circle in front of No.9. The team was ready to follow him anywhere.
"Alright then," No.9 said, smiling at his teammates. "Let's all go home for the night and get some rest. We all deserve it and we're definitely going to need it for tomorrow. We'll meet back here before sunrise."
Everyone nodded in agreement with excited faces. They left Mr. Invent's garage and headed off to their homes. The anticipation kept most of them wake for hours until they finally nodded off into a half-sleep.
Everyone except No.9, who lay awake until the wee hours of the morning, worrying that he might have just cost everyone their lives.
Mr. Invent wasn't interested in resting though. He was interested in examining the crystal. He took it to a back room in the garage which must have been his lab. After several minutes he came out of the lab and announced something very bad.
"The crystal is nuclear charged."
"So what?" L.G. yawned.
"So what?! That crystal is jeopardizing everyone's lives! If we try to destroy it an explosion bigger than the atom bomb will occur! It may blow the whole world to smithereens! And if we keep it eventually someone, somewhere, will try to get it back and use it. That weapon Jim made us retrieve needs this crystal to work. See?" Mr. Invent pushed the crystal into the large hole on the top of the Fulton. "And this slot here is a major part, too," he said, pointing at a thin slit on the side of the weapon. He walked over to the Shocklist and picked it up. "Do you get it now?"
He pushed the Shocklist into the slot and at that exact moment the screen of the Fulton turned on.
The words ENTER TARGET/LOCATION suddenly appeared in neon green letters.
L.G. walked over to the Fulton and typed "Washington D.C."
INCORRECT LOCATION
"Try your name," Mr. Invent said.
L.G. typed in his real name. Within an instant his photo and information from the agency records were on the screen. A set of numbers flashed underneath LAST KNOWN LOCATION below his picture.
"Should I try someone else?" L.G. gulped.
Everyone shook their heads.
"Okay," he said, sounding relieved as he placed the Fulton next to the laptop with the Infester's video feed.
"This weapon puts everyone here in danger," Mr Invent said. "It puts our families in danger. We shouldn't tamper with this, we better just give it to the main headquarters. The crystal too. Maybe they'll go easy on us for taking it."
"And have someone else steal it and use it?" said No.9. "What if Jim wasn't the only traitor? What if the whole agency is infiltrated?"
"But you heard what Mr. Invent said," Blonde Bomb piped in, "it can't be destroyed."
"But we can't handle this!" Genie Wiz said. "This is way too big for us."
No.9 started pacing back and forth in thought. He had no idea what to do next.
"Nice of you to join me again," said a very familiar voice.
Everyone looked over at L.G.'s laptop sitting on the desk next to the Fulton. Mr. Cobbledhead and the general had just walked in to Mr. Cobbledhead's office.
"Can I get you a glass of water?" Mr. Cobbledhead asked cheerfully as he closed the office door. The general said nothing. "Sit down, sit down."
"Well?" The general did not sound happy at all.
"Well what, General?"
"Do you have the crystal?"
"Unfortunately we do not have the crystal or the Fulton device in our possession at this time," said Mr. Cobbledhead smoothly.
At this the General stood up, his face red as blood.
"You said your agency would get it," he yelled, shaking with rage. "Don't worry you said! But now this mess about Cryton will be out and this entire planet will be destroyed! Do you know the seriousness of this situation, Cobbledhead?!"
"Now General, there is no reason to bring Cryton into this," Mr. Cobbledhead replied, still sitting calmly in his chair. "I doubt the persons in possession of the crystal or the Fulton will know how to actually use them, let alone what Cryton is. Or where Sacoy itself is even. This is merely a minor setback."
"A minor setback?!" The general's head looked like it could explode at any moment. "Do you have any idea how much time, how much energy and dollars and lives have been used to keep this from getting out?
"Calm down general," Mr. Cobbledhead replied tensely. "Of course I'm aware of all the measures we've taken to keep Cryton contained. I'm the one who makes sure it remains a secret. I'm the one who's sacrificed for that cause. Don't ever forget that."
"Be that as it may, we have to take severe measures now," the General replied angrily. "The only way to make up for this is to retrieve the Satar particle on Sacoy. I trust you'll remember to send your best this time."
"If you feel that that is necessary, then so be it," Mr. Cobbledhead replied. "As you know we've had...problems in the past concerning the Satar particle. Even my best men will have to deal with Setra."
"Just get it done," the General replied.
Mr. Cobbledhead pushed the button down on his desk's pager.
"Yes, sir?" came the secretary's dull voice.
"Bring me group 114 right away," said Mr. Cobbledhead.
No.9 was confused. He had no idea what the words "Cryton" "Sacoy" and "Setra" referred to, but he knew that whatever or whoever these words described he would be dealing with them soon enough. He grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper off of the desk next to the laptop and started writing everything he had heard. When he finished he concentrated hard on the screen, making sure not to miss a word
A knocking sound came from the monitor.
"Come in," said Mr. Cobbledhead.
The door opened and six muscular men in camo pants and black t-shirts strolled into the office and stood in a straight line in front of Cobbledhead and the general. Senior agents. The best of the best.
"You wanted to see us, sir?" one of the agents replied as he stood in the line.
"Yes," said Mr. Cobbledhead. "I have a mission for you and your team. It is going to be the most difficult task you've ever faced, and it is going to be extremely dangerous. Everything I am about to tell you is above Top Secret. Any sharing of this information is treason, especially with any of the other agents."
The team looked around at each other and the man on the far right of the line nodded his head in understanding.
"You may ask no questions," said Mr. Cobbledhead. "Your transportation will be arranged ahead of time with the location. I am not able to tell you where. When you arrive you will be just outside of a large garden. Inside of this garden are four stone pillars. Each of them will have a unique inscription: Seti, Destri, Lorti, and Zeusi. The Zeusi pillar is your target. Once you have located it, push the stone symbol carved under the inscription into the pillar. A small bright orb will fall out of the carving's opening. Do not let this touch the ground. You must capture the orb in this," Mr. Cobbledhead held up a small round metallic ball. "As soon as it is safely inside you must return it here immediately. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir!" the six agents replied together.
"Very good," said Mr. Cobbledhead as he handed the metal orb to the soldier in the middle of the line. "However, I haven't mentioned the most dangerous part of this mission just yet."
The agents looked sideways at each other, not daring to let Mr. Cobbledhead see them worried.
"In the center of the Garden," Mr. Cobbledhead continued, "is a ferocious beast known as Setra. Describing him to you here would be a waste of time and energy. His appearance, by now, has most likely changed since our last encounter with him. It is unlike any creature you can imagine. As of now we don't know of any way of killing the thing either. All I can tell you is to avoid eye contact and stay away from his head, and teeth, if at all possible."
The six agents were all quietly sweating in their suits.
"You will leave in the morning, 6 a.m. on the dot" Mr. Cobbledhead finished. The six agents walked out of the room and No.9 walked over to a leather armchair across from the screen showing Mr. Cobbledhead's office. He laid the paper he had used to copy the meeting's information on his lap.
"I'm not so sure we should do this," he said, reading over the instructions Mr. Cobbledhead had said again. "This garden sounds pretty creepy, and I'm not too keen on meeting Setra whatever that is. But on the other hand, if we don't get this...this Satar particle," No.9 read from the paper, "who knows what will happen?"
The others stood around listening closely to No.9, though they all understood that he was really talking to himself. He was trying to decide how they would handle these strange instructions.
"What is this place they keep talking about anyway? Is it some kind of trap?"
No.9 sat in deep thought for a few moments before finally addressing everyone else in the room.
"Maybe we should examine the Fulton properly," he said, looking up at everyone else staring at him. "Yes, that's what we'll do."
No.9 looked over to L.G. and the Fulton laying on the desk next to him. He read through the conversation he had written down, trying to pick out anything that might help them.
"L.G., try entering 'Cryton' into the Fulton device," No.9 directed.
L.G. typed this into the Fulton, but all he received in return was another INCORRECT LOCATION message.
"No good," L.G. replied shaking his head.
"Alright," said No.9, moving his finger over to the next word that made no sense to him. "Try Sacoy."
The Fulton made tiny beeps as L.G. pressed each letter. There was a pause and suddenly the Fulton began to whir. The screen flickered slightly and the word SEARCHING blinked onto the screen. L.G. looked up at No.9 excitedly.
"It's working!" he exclaimed.
Everyone crowded around L.G. and No.9, looking at the Fulton's screen as it searched for...something.
After a few seconds the Fulton stopped searching. The screen was entirely blue with green lines spaced evenly apart going up and across the screen. In the center of the grid was a blinking red dot
"What does it mean?" Blonde Bomb asked what everyone was thinking.
No.9 didn't have a clue. He looked around at everyone discouraged. He was finding out that starting your very own agency was not as easy as he thought.
"Wait a minute," Genie Wiz said over L.G.'s shoulder. "I think-" she pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on, looking at the screen. "I think it's a map." She came around behind L.G. and pointed to the top of the Fulton's tiny screen. "Look here. Numbers!" She moved her finger down the side of the screen. "And here too. Latitude and longitude lines!"
No.9 looked closely where Genie Wiz's fingers had pointed and could just barely make out tiny numbers. "Is there a map around here?" he asked Mr. Invent standing on the other side of the desk.
"Come with me," said Mr. Invent. He lead everyone into a tiny library across from his lab. On the only wall without a bookcase was a huge map of the the world which he walked over to, grabbing a Sharpie marker out of his pocket on the way. "Alright," he said, "give me the coordinates."
L.G. squinted at the tiny numbers on the top of the Fulton. "Okay, it looks like for the one going up and down-"
"The latitude," Mr. Invent corrected.
"Yeah, that one," said L.G. "Looks like it's 33."
Mr. Invent scanned the top of his map until he reached 33 degrees going North and South. "And the second number?" He sounded a little confused.
"Negative 179?" L.G. replied, a little unsure of himself.
Mr. Invent ran his finger down the North and South line of 33 degrees, trying to find the point where it would cross negative 179.
"Wait, how can that be right?" L.G. questioned. "Wouldn't that mean it's like, below the Earth if it's a negative number?"
Everyone in the room looked at him instantly except Mr. Invent.
"What?"
"You should have really payed more attention in Geography class," Blonde Bomb replied.
Everyone laughed. L.G. shook his head, still confused by it all.
Mr. Invent popped the cap off of his Sharpie and made a small black circle on the map with a few squeaks. He turned around to everyone a little worried. The black dot was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
"It's in the middle of the sea?" Bombshell asked, staring at the black dot in disbelief and then looking at Mr. Invent.
"In the middle of the Pacific Ocean," said Mr. Invent.
Everyone stood there quietly. No.9 went back into deep thought. He wasn't so sure if all of this was such a good idea anymore. When they were younger their missions with the agency had been easy. Keep a lookout on the corner, secure such and such perimeter, stuff like that. It wasn't until they stole the Fulton and the crystal that any of them had faced real danger. And after what just happened at Area 51, would they be able to handle this? Were they prepared to outsmart six senior agent, all while avoiding some unknown beast named Setra in a mysterious garden in the middle of the ocean?
No one wasn't saying a word. Everyone was waiting for him to make a call. After the past few days it was clear who their leader had become. He sat there in silence for another few seconds before making a decision. This was too important. Not just for them, but for the fate of the entire world.
"Can the Alley Cat make it that far?" he finally said, looking over towards Mr. Invent.
"It should," Mr. Invent replied, turning back to the map and tracing a route with his finger. "She runs on a combination of gasoline and solar power so, as long as it's not too cloudy on the way, we should be just fine."
"Alright," No.9 said decidedly. "I'm going. I don't expect all of you to join me. Especially after tonight. This is going to be dangerous. The most dangerous mission any one of us have ever been on. If you want to back out, say so now. I won't look down on you or make you leave this group. I'll understand."
No.9 stood in the doorway of the library as he gave his small speech. He half expected most of the group to back out of the mission, but no one said a word.
"We're all with you, Nine," L.G. replied to his friend. "Let's go save the world."
L.G., Blonde Bomb, Genie Wiz, Bombshell, and Mr. Invent gathered together in a half circle in front of No.9. The team was ready to follow him anywhere.
"Alright then," No.9 said, smiling at his teammates. "Let's all go home for the night and get some rest. We all deserve it and we're definitely going to need it for tomorrow. We'll meet back here before sunrise."
Everyone nodded in agreement with excited faces. They left Mr. Invent's garage and headed off to their homes. The anticipation kept most of them wake for hours until they finally nodded off into a half-sleep.
Everyone except No.9, who lay awake until the wee hours of the morning, worrying that he might have just cost everyone their lives.
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