Chapter 7: Money in the Bank
Crook B sits at a desk, reading some papers on a clipboard. He picks up a pen and writes something on a page, then turns to the next.
Crook B: Okay, just a few more papers to fill out and then I can get back to working on everything.
Crook B sighs and stretches his legs, then gets back to writing when the door opens. In walks Goombella, causing Crook B to set down the clipboard and turn toward her.
Crook B: So, anything new?
Goombella: That's what I was coming about. I was looking on the Internet to get some information when I discovered a picture of that Toad. I now know his identity.
Crook B: Peh, I already knew who he was.
Goombella: Then why didn't you say anything?
Crook B: It didn't seem to be a top priority.
Goombella: Nonetheless, it seems as though his skills would be a valuable asset- or a deadly hindrance- to us, depending upon if Yaridovich's controlling him or not.
Crook B: Exactly. I do believe, however, that you can assume that he's not for Yaridovich; Kent C. discovered a small radar in the Toad's forehead, meaning that Yaridovich had complete control over him. We've already managed to remove the radar and are now undertaking a careful analysis of it.
Goombella: Keep that under close watch. I've got something for you that was discovered while one of our units infiltrated your former base, Joke's End.
Crook B: Go on.
Goombella: Here.
Goombella han- err, foots Crook B an old, weathered photograph. Crook B sighs happily after looking at it and puts it away.
Crook B: I thought this was lost for good. Is there any way I could repay this to you?
Goombella: There is one thing: could you get to work on a communications system to allow me to communicate with you, the other two Crooks, Kent C, and other higher-ups?
Crook B: Fair enough. Of course, for this photograph I'd do almost anything out of my gratitude.
Goombella: This is enough.
Goombella turns and leaves.
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Crook III sidles along a wall. He can hear sounds of battle behind the wall, but is not alarmed as the weapons Tatanga has assigned his trainees are likely fake for safety reasos. Crook III gets to the end of the wall, which has branches of a tall tree hanging over it freely. He pulls out a grappling hook and aims carefully. As he prepares to launch, he feels something grab his hat and pull him up by it over the wall. He fails to see his attacker but is carried into the building and up until Tatanga's throne room is reached. They go inside and the demon is thrown onto the floor. He turns and sees that it was Tatanga himself who discovered him.
Crook III: You! What kind of use could you get out of that broach?!
Tatanga: Now now, is that any way to greet an old friend?
Crook III: Old friend, huh? You are aware that we were just going to do to you what you did to us when the opportunity presented itself, right?
Tatanga: Oh, I knew that from the get-go.
Tatanga begins pacing around.
Tatanga: As for your question, I have my uses for the broach. Believe me, your so-called "Resistance" is doing me more favors than it is doing me harm. Sure you've managed to hit Yaridovich hard, but you have yet to do any major damage to my armies and you're helping to take care of that moron that people know as my partner.
Crook III: You still failed to answer the question.
Tatanga: Let me finish. That broach contains massive amounts of power, which refills itself daily; I wish to harness that power into electricity in order to do three things. First of all, I plan on developing a miracle chemical created from the new chemical discovered in Sub-con, but this requires na insane amount of electricity, enough to shut down every machine on the planet and electrocute all living beings if it were to be uncontained. Secondly, I will use it to electrocute Yaridovich and cause his sensors to malfunction into self-destruction. Last of all, I will use it to make many, many more of those wonderful radars we had put into that "champion". With these, you, the other two, Croco, and the big idiot will all find yourselves working for me without resistance!
Crook III: Somehow I don't believe that that will be the case.
Tatanga: Oh, and I suppose that you have plans to stop me? Bah! I could take you or any of your allies without even the smallest bit of persperation.
Crook III: Wanna bet on that one?
Tatanga: I won't just bet; I'll even go so far as to say that I'm money in the bank.
Crook III leaps at Tatanga and is met by a powerful kick, launching the Crook into the wall in a painful fashion. As the Crook stumbles up, Tatanga walks towards him. The alien's hands wrap around Crook III's arms as Tatanga slides behind him, lifting the Crook into the air in a hold capable of ripping the Crook apart. After a few seconds of the Crook's suffering, he is thrown to the floor by Tatanga, who laughs menacingly.
Tatanga: Let me tell ya something: in the real world, there is no good or evil. There is only the strong, and all others die. In other words, play your cards right before the deck runs out.
Tatanga walks over, lays his foot on the Crook's throat, and chokes him for a few seconds before raising his foot and pointing at the door.
Tatanga: Feel free to leave, but if you return then I will have your head mounted upon my wall!
Crook III pulls himself up and leaves angrily.
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Crook 1 arrives in town, spotting the hotel. He is wearing the outfit from earlier rather than his standard Crook uniform, but still has his face covered by the hood and mouth-cover.
Crook 1: After last night, it's amazing that it's still standing.
The Crook reaches into his sack and pulls out a small box, sticking it into his pocket. He walks to the hotel and goes inside, spotting a blue-hatted male Toad rather than Toadette.
Crook 1: Yes, excuse me, I was wondering where Toadette is.
Toad: Why do you ask? Relative or something?
Crook 1: No, no, pure business. I work with a particular group that needs to talk to her about some critical information that she must not share with anyone.
Toad: She should be here in an hour or two. Her shift begins at 1, but she usually comes in early.
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Axem Black sits at his new desk in his new office, contentedly watching over the work being done by all of Yaridovich's workers. As he enjoys life with his promotion to factory manager from head of engineering, he hears the door open behind him. He turns around to see Axem Pink.
Black: Pink, what're you doing up here in my office? Shouldn't you be working?
Pink: I'm up here because I want to know how you managed to completely skip over Red and everyone else in such a short time. I know something's up, and so does everyone else.
Black: I merely did some work that Yaridovich really wanted done. So now, here I am.
Pink: Whatever. I'm beginning to wonder if we can trust that you're still on our side.
Black: Look, I am against Yaridovich
still, okay? However, unlike all of you I could care less about the Resistance
movement. Way I see it, I might as well get as close to Yaridovich as I
can. Now then, please remove yourself from my office and return to working
on the Security System.
Chapter 8: Pride
Croco sits at his desk a few hours later. His feet are propped up on his desk, and he's tapping a pencil on a notebook. The page the notebook is open to contains some scribbles of Tatanga and Yaridovich being attacked by him and his Crooks with Kent C, Axem Red, and Goombella watching.
Croco: I wonder what's taking Crook 1 so long with getting those two here to go over this. Well, I suppose that things don't tend to go smoothly when you tell someone to help you overthrow the world's leaders.
Suddenly the door opens and Crook III comes into the room, dragging himself along with a pack of ice over his head, where a huge knot is located.
Crook III: (slowly and angrily) I want... my hands... on Tatanga.
Croco: Don't worry. You'll get a few hits in while I'm busy with him.
Crook III: No. I want him to myself.
Croco: I thought we had this understood, I would kill both Yaridovich and Tatanga and you all could pick up the scraps of their armies.
Crook III: Too bad. I want to kill that pitiful alien myself, and I don't care if you try to stop me.
Croco: Oh, I'm not going to TRY to stop you. I WILL stop you!
Crook III angrily punches Croco, knocking him out of his chair and to the ground. Crook III, realizing that he's just nailed his best friend, walks up to help Croco. Upon grabbing the alligator's arm, he is tackled by his victim, into the wall next to the door. Crook III, already in severe pain due to the beating from Tatanga, manages to get a hand around Croco's throat, choking him to the ground. The Crook stands up and turns to leave when Croco grabs him from behind and thrusts him through the door, knocking it off its hinges and sending Crook III to the ground outside it. The alligator walks out of the office for the first time since going in and puts his foot onto the Crook's throat, much to the confusion of the members of the Resistance in the lobby, having never seen Croco before anyway.
Croco: Get out of here and don't return, you no good traitor.
Croco raises his foot, goes back in the room, and picks up the door, covering the doorframe with it. A few members of the Resistance run and help up Crook III, who immediatly walks out the door furiously without a word.
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Axem Black sits at his desk, skimming through a thick folder of information on all of the technology in use by the New Smithy Gang, looking for the file on a certain something: the G-Vort.
Black: Come on... it's gotta be here... Aha!
The Axem finds a thick stack of papers stapled together and pulls it out, then begins leafing through it hoping to find what he wants.
Black: Excellent!
Black begins reading through the list of items and technology needed to create the powerful ship, then, upon reading all the way through, he comes to a conclusion.
Black: A lot of these don't-
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Kent C: -even make sense!
Kent C. sighs and lays down the blueprints of the ship.
Kent C: *sigh* This has just been too tedius. The Toad still hasn't woken up, and now it turns out that these plans are obviously either fake or in some type of code.
The door to the lab opens, and Kent C. looks at it to see Goombella, who looks pale.
Kent C: You don't look too good. What's wrong?
Goombella: I'll tell you: we just lost our field-trainer, that's what's wrong.
Kent C: What?! Was Crook III injured? Or worse?
Goombella: No, he's just fine besides a few cuts and bruises. The problem is that, well, he walked out. Or rather, Croco kicked him out.
Kent C: Why would Croco do that?!
Goombella: Apparently Crook III came to him and demanded to get Tatanga to himself, and when Croco refused Laklogus hit him. It turned into a fight and after it was over Croco got rid of him.
Kent C: Ugh, Croco's letting his foolish pride get in the way of business again. Croco said it himself that he doesn't hold a grudge against Tatanga, so what's he care anyway?
Goombella: Indeed. And, if anything, you should be the one to get your hands on Tatanga; after all, he framed you to pass the blame off of himself, and seems to always make a point of taking shots at you whenever he says anything on TV about the Resistance.
Kent C: And you don't think Crook III has his reasons as well? Tatanga has basically embarrassed him repeatedly recently, and even stole the broach, so I don't blame him for standing up to Croco over the matter.
Goombella opens her mouth to reply, but closes it when she sees something from the corner of her eye. She turns, and is shocked to find that the Toad is stirring.
To Be Continued...
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