Tiffany signalled to the others to slowly sneak out of the room they were currently in. The less trouble, the better, she always believed.

They crawled under the machines bit by bit. Tiffany grabbed a guard and discretely knocked him out with the back of her sword while the others slowly crawled away.

Tiffany: (whispers) Go! Go! Go!

They were in a series of mining tunnels with crystal stalactites and stalagmites as well as several knights that appeared to be busy with the machines. They were digging with them.

Tiffany's orders led them to go through to the next tunnel.

Once they had all made it through, they all took a breather.

Tiffany: Alright, let's continue.

Ken: Yeah.

As they left into the next tunnel, Max used his speed to avoid detection. He simply ran behind the majority of them before they could see him.

He smirked at how smart he was before beholding what lay before him. The large drills and all the knights working.

Max: What the...

Shortly after saying that, he dashed out of there and hid as several soldiers turned and almost saw him.

Max: Phew. (thinking: Man, I can not let myself get seen over here. I've gotta be more careful.)

He decided that he needed a way to sneak around more easily.

Further ahead, the quartet was well on their way to their goal.

Tiffany: Rose? Anything?

Rose: Still a bit further, about two rooms away.

Tiffany: Alright.

Luke: Man, I'm glad this is almost over. I'm tired of this. I really need to get a good night's sleep. Otherwise, I'll just fall asleep tomorrow.

Ken: Yeah, this is a school night. But anyway....

They stopped by a mechanical door, and Ken scanned it before typing in the code to open it.

The door opened.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Ken: There. Easy as pie.

Tiffany: Let's move.

Luke: Yeah.

They ran towards their goal, and there were only a few guards to be found on the way.

Whenever one or a few soldiers were found on their way, they would sneak up on them and counter them easily as Rose would always alert them beforehand.

As they walked on, Tiffany suddenly halted them.

Tiffany: Hold it.

Luke: Hmm?

Tiffany: This is... this is too easy.

Rose: Wh.. what?

Ken: I agree. The statistical odds of us succeeding at this at this pace are about 3%

Rose: For real?

Ken: Yeah.

Tiffany: This doesn't make any sense. Rose, how many guards are at their crystal depots?

Rose put a finger on her forehead and focused really hard before finally stopping.

Rose: I... I can't tell.

Tiffany: I see.

Luke: So, what now?

Tiffany paused for a moment before continuing.

Tiffany: There's a chance that the enemy had the mind to use the energy radiating from the crystal they mined in the depots to mask their position and numbers.

Luke: What?

Rose: No way.

Ken: But that would mean...

Tiffany: Yeah. First off, given how complex of a strategy that is, that this is a trap.

Rose gulped.

Tiffany: And second of, given how specific it is to us, ...

Tiffany looked at Ken expectantly.

Ken: That one of them might be the one pulling the strings.

Rose: Wait, you don't mean...

Tiffany: Yeah. We need to...

No sooner had she said that than loud marching sounds were heard from both sides of the tunnel.

Several guards suddenly came out all at once from both sides of the tunnel. From the direction of the crystal depot and from the direction of the crystal mines that they'd just passed. Far more than before.

Luke: Mmmmm.

Rose: Oh no!

Tiffany: Darn it. Too late.

They got into their battle positions as the knights surrounded them.

One of the knights spoke.

Knight: Surrender!

His voice was deep and human, but emotionally, it was flat and robotic.

Rose: Tiff, what should we do?

Tiffany: Grrrr.

She weighed their options. A fight in a situation in which they were surrounded like this on enemy territory was dangerous, she thought.

Tiffany: Surrender for now.

Tiffany dropped her weapon, and the rest afterwards dropped their battle stances.

Ken: Awwww, man.

The knights led them through the tunnels, passing by their destination and instead leading them to another area.

The entire time, Tiffany asked herself. How exactly had they seen them? There were no cameras.

Their reflection was seen in a crystal stalactite. And that image was being seen by a very handsome blonde young man with glowing eyes, drinking from a challice in a large room.

Young man: Well, now, it seems those children have finally been dealt with.

Name: Aloysius Wolfram

Age: 19

Description: Calm and cunning

Occupation: Evil villain

Fact: Cheats on his diet all the time.

Aloysius: But of course, it was only a matter of time before I caught them.

He relaxedly took a sip from his challice, and a knight quickly ran to refill his challice.

Aloysius: Thank you kindly.

He took a look at another crystal to view them. Most specifically, Tiffany.

Aloysius: Now... what should I do with you?

Aloysius laughed to himself.