Finale: Part II – The End of All Things
Even though he had an idea of what to expect, Bentley was still completely blown away when the massive tower finally came smashing through the castle roof. He used the first moment of impact to slip away from the nearby guards unheard, and put some considerable distance between himself and the base of the tower. But now, as it began hitting the ground, he was hugging one of the opposite walls, clinging to a suit of armor from behind as if it would come alive and protect him.
The thousands of bricks came down first like rain, smashing to the floor, damaging objects and tearing across walls, leaving holes in the floor or obliterating themselves upon impact like balls of hail. Dust and fine powder also began filling the air from the smashed pieces. A vast majority of the sources of light, mostly chandeliers, instantly exploded into showers of glass and sparks, with tremendous final bursts of bright light before the entire area began plunging into darkness.
And the tower itself – the long, massive structure tipped by the chamber at the very top – came down through the roof like a foot through soft snow, but only at first. The stem of the tower itself was mostly destroyed on impact, even though it did enough damage to leave a long, gaping hole in the castle's roof, leaving behind a clear footprint before it disintegrated to pieces. One of the larger and stronger pieces of the tower itself managed to fall straight down onto the hideous reversed statue at the center of the fountain, mostly hitting the Minotaur and pulling it off the man that it was standing over. The marble replication of Theseus was also damaged as his waist and right leg were completely torn off, resulting in his severed torso falling backwards into the fountain and creating the first of many large splashes as debris fell into the large body of water.
The tower chamber itself, being larger and denser, mostly survived falling through the castle roof, leaving an even wider hole than the rest of the tower. But even the chamber could not withstand the devastating impact as it finally slammed into the ground. The beautiful, ornate tiled floor was completely obliterated as the cold, ugly, heavy stone of the tower chamber intruded and wiped it out. It started to form a noticeable crater in the castle floor, but even then the chamber's structural integrity began failing as it started to break apart and collapse in on itself with another series of tremendous booms and crashes.
And then, just as quickly as it had happened, it was over. The tower had fully collapsed, leaving a skeleton trail of bricks and conical fragments of conjoined stone bricks in a line from the base all the way to the half-smashed tower chamber, perfectly aligned with the footprint of the exact same shape and size in the roof above it.
The bricks and dust continued falling. A few sparks continued shooting out from damaged electrical light sources. And now the rain was pouring in freely through the new gaping hole that stretched across most of the castle roof, soaking what remained of the tiled floor and the ornate decorations around that general area. Several larger pieces of debris shifted here and there as they were still not perfectly settled on the ground. The water in the disturbed fountain continued rippling wildly, but slowly subsided. Even over against the opposite wall, Bentley could feel several pieces of the ceiling fall down around, and even on top of him.
And just like that, the scene had returned to a strange setting of semi-silence. The castle's PA system had been thoroughly destroyed by the collapse of the roof, and thus the alarm ceased blaring throughout the castle. Only faintly could the blaring be heard in the facilities across the island, and even then they could only be heard because of the new hole in the roof. Now, the most audible noise was the rain pattering down through the roof, the wind that accompanied it, and the occasional burst of thunder, with the lightning being the brightest source of light in the newly-darkened castle as it was plunged into complete chaos.
The guards who had been inspecting the tower base, having been blown off their feet by the impact, crawled to their feet and began shouting orders as they tried to work their way around the destruction. One guard was completely unconscious, and the other was crushed by a larger piece of debris, with one arm and one leg protruding from underneath the stone slab.
And then, quite suddenly, the suit of armor toppled over and smashed to pieces on the floor in front of Bentley.
Panicked and shocked by this sudden incident, Bentley scrambled out from behind its pedestal and began wheeling towards the destruction.
Without even thinking, he screamed at the top of his lungs: "SLY!"
The two guards were across the fountain when he yelled, and they both looked in his direction.
"THERE! THE INTRUDER!"
Bentley gasped and looked straight at the two guards just as they raised their guns.
"YIKES!"
Bentley threw himself sideways, taking cover behind another large slab as there was a burst of bullets in his direction.
Panicked and rapidly babbling to himself, Bentley loaded up his dart gun.
Once the rapid fire ceased, Bentley poked the gun out from behind his hiding place and took quick aim, firing both shots as quickly after each other as he could.
Both darts hit their targets while they were still reloading in crouched positions. There were grunts and gasps as both guards collapsed to the floor.
Withdrawing his gun, Bentley smacked his forehead.
"How could they…see?"
Bentley looked at his own, perfectly visible, gloved hand.
"WHAT?"
Bentley wheeled around to the edge of the fountain and leaned over.
Sure enough, there was his reflection in the water's surface.
"The device…it must have…"
Bentley flipped open the latch on his right armrest that concealed the motherboard of the installed cloaking device.
The emergency red light was flashing, and three small sparks emitted from it.
"Oh, no, no, no…NO! SLY!" He screamed frantically, thoroughly disoriented, panicked, and no longer caring about his own safety at this point. "SLY! WHERE ARE YOU?! SLY!"
Bentley began wheeling faster than ever before towards the collapsed tower chamber.
But even now, during the brief time that he had before he reached the chamber where he was hoping to find his friend, Bentley had a brief moment of logic and sense as he thought about the possibility of more guards converging on the castle now, calculating the likely time to arrival and not daring to think of the number of guards themselves, much less his chances of escaping should they arrive.
Bentley pulled out the radio control device that controlled all 12 of the remaining explosives planted all over the island. One had already been detonated manually for the tower, and Bentley ran the numbers through his mind once more.
Units 1, 2, 3, and 4…Castle. Units 5, 6, 7, and 8…Aviary. Units 9 and 10…Aquatics. Unit 11…Terrestrial. And unit 12…
Bentley gulped again, turning the dial and very carefully typing in the numbers on the device's keypad. He even double-checked twice to make sure that he did not include the number 12 in his list.
And then the instructions were set, displayed on the device's screen.
Single/Multiple/All units? – Multiple
How many units? – 7
Which units? – 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Remote/Timed Detonation? – Remote
DETONATE? – 1 for Yes/2 for No
With no hesitation, Bentley pressed the "1" key.
Even now, even this far away, Bentley could faintly hear the booms in the distance, which were most likely the explosions of the Aviary. Although he knew that the underground explosions would not be audible, he could feel the entire earth shaking below him, forcing him to stop his forward movement and cling to the armrests tightly as the shaking island threw his chair around a few inches. Just as he expected, the high payload of the explosives in such contained states as underground caves would not only maximize the power of each blast, but also devastate the structure of the island, which was clearly full of those below-ground caves.
Setting the radio device aside, Bentley grunted briefly. "THAT should keep them preoccupied."
And then he was at the tower chamber. The back half of it was still somewhat intact, but the front half – the half with the massive window, and the half that had fallen through the roof and into the ground first – was completely annihilated. There were numerous large holes throughout the chamber, showing the equally destroyed interior and providing several ways to get inside.
Bentley found the largest hole that would fit both him and his chair, and fumbled his way through it.
The entire chamber, now sideways, seemed more intact from inside. Above him, with the opposite wall now in the air, was the entrance to the elevator shaft, as well as a few other doors leading into other chambers within the tower. There was no light within the chamber, and only the sounds of a few loose pieces of debris clattering out of place.
"SLY! SLY!" Bentley called out repeatedly. He still heard no response, but refused to give up.
"SLY!"
Just then, Bentley heard a sound that was definitely from a living being. It sounded like an attempted scream of response that only came out as a gargle and sputter, followed by a wet sloshing sound.
"SLY?!"
Bentley wheeled over towards the inverted ceiling of the tower chamber, where there was a noticeable pile of stone debris.
Just as Bentley arrived and began pulling away the first piece, two metallic prongs shot out of the wreckage.
Bentley screamed and leapt backward, as the metal prongs began swiping away pieces of debris to reveal the broken, barely-alive figure of Dr. M. His clothes were torn, bloody, and tattered to pieces. Many of the old wounds that dominated the disfigured and burned right side of his body were reopened, and he was soaked in blood. Even the left side of his body, also bloody and damaged, still appeared cleaner than the other side. His prosthetic arm was noticeably bent out of shape at an awkward angle. And there was a clear, and very large, pool of blood in the middle of his chest.
He coughed out some more blood, and slowly looked up at Bentley.
"You…Bentley…should…have known…"
Shaking off his shock, Bentley focused a glare on Dr. M, even as he lay helpless and broken on the ruined floor.
"It's over, Dr. M. It's no use fighting. You've lost. Your island is being destroyed as we speak. And your Death Ray's schematics have been handed over to the United States government for the fullest analysis possible. You won't get away with this. And even if any American attack on the Death Ray fails, you will certainly not live to see it."
"But…" He coughed again, with a deep, rough cough that sounded like he was about to start spitting up his own insides. "But I must live. I. MUST. Live."
"And why is that?"
Dr. M slowly lifted up his one good hand, which was missing several fingers and drenched in blood, and tapped it against the familiar device plugged into his head.
"This…it not only allows me to…to control them manually…but…tele…pathically. Telepathically." He repeated with another gasp of air. "I control…all of them with my mind. A single thought…is all it takes. I am the only person in history…who can command this…army without…speaking a word…without a board of generals…advisors…unquestionable loyalty…courtesy of…this…technology…"
"Then if you die, the army will have no leader." Bentley shot back firmly. Even now, one of his hands slid down to his bomb storage unit.
"WRONG." Dr. M spewed out. "If…I die…it will activate…a sort of psy…psychological…self-destruct feature. With the ceasing of…all my brain activity…they will be turned to…savage mode."
"Savage mode?"
"They shall revert…to instincts. Pure…animalistic…primeval…instincts. They shall know no order…organization…leader…They will only know killing. They will become…wild animals with insatiable…appetites. Still tireless…still fearless…still powerful…but lawless. You…NEED me…NEED me, to control them. If not…they shall be released upon the world…without mercy."
Bentley withdrew the single, small bomb.
"Bentley…" Dr. M muttered. "Please."
Bentley's eyebrows rose.
"…please…be reasonable…be logical…You are like me. You know this already…I have said this already…you are determined, but foolhardy. You cannot destroy them. You know what they are…are capable of. No explosions can destroy them, no collapsing the factories down on them…they will survive…"
"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention; do you think they can withstand a nuclear explosion?"
Dr. M froze, his eyebrows now raised as well, with nothing but pure shock in his eyes.
"Yes. I found your little arsenal. Strange that you are so confident in your own weapons, yet you still wished to employ conventional weaponry in your war against mankind. Only now, those will serve as your Achilles' Heel. Your failure to trust in your own creations. A true scientist, a true genius, a true innovator…does not put his faith in someone else's work. He relies solely on his own."
"…you…"
"And with one of my last remaining explosives planted down there…only after I managed to successfully arm one of them, of course. It should make all of my previous explosives look like firecrackers. And what do you know? Today is the Fourth of July."
"…YOU…"
"And that's how it will end, Dr. M. For you and your creations. Annihilated in a fiery nuclear blast because you didn't think your mutant army would be enough."
Bentley's thumb moved to the trigger on the bomb.
"YOU…FOOL! THINK OF-OF WHAT YOU'RE DESTROYING! THE GREATEST SCIENTIFIC-." Another gasp of blood. "SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES IN THE HISTORY OF MANK-KIND!"
"Technological advances are meant only for the betterment of mankind, not its destruction."
He raised his thumb.
"You'll NEVER escape! NEVER!" Now, even with clear rage in his eyes, there was still an omnipresent look of fear and pleading in his maniacal eyes, as if his expression alone was subtly begging for his life.
"I'll take my chances."
Bentley then pressed the button and threw the bomb straight at Dr. M. Bentley wheeled back to a safer distance.
"NOOOOOOOO-"
And then, just as the bomb landed inside the pile of debris, right next to the crippled Dr. M, the blast went off. The fiery blast sent more pieces of debris flying in all directions, with even some of the larger pieces being cracked or blown over. And the body in the center of it all was sent flying, his scream cut off abruptly, as he flew up at an angle, slamming into the destroyed wall, then flopping back down to the ground in a thoroughly burned, charred heap. Only his metal prongs still shone brightly and pristinely.
And then, Bentley noted, the tallest and largest stone slab, which had been slanted upright due to being propped up by the other, smaller pieces, was now loose. With that final prodding by the explosion, it toppled over quickly. Before Bentley even knew it, the massive slab had fallen on top of Dr. M's body and completely crushed it, removing it from sight. Only his right arm, with his remaining, ruined hand, protruded from underneath.
A few more chunks of the slab broke off and clattered away as the dust settled. One of Dr. M's remaining fingers twitched once…then twice…then a third time…
Then nothing.
Bentley breathed in and out, rather heavily, for a few seconds before he dared to approach the fallen slab. He ever so cautiously wheeled closer, just in front of the protruding limb.
He slowly, carefully reached down and slowly placed his fingers against Dr. M's wrist.
Nothing.
Bentley dropped the limp hand and wheeled back a bit.
For a few long moments, he just sat there in perfect isolation, the ruins of the tower chamber shielding him from the ruins of the castle, shielding him from the harsh weather and the threat just outside on the island.
But then, just barely, Bentley thought he could hear something.
Bentley slowly turned his head to one side, trying his hardest to block out all other sounds as he listened intently.
Then:
"…ntley…"
Bentley turned completely around, his body now facing the direction he thought he heard the sound.
"…entley!"
Bentley finally lost all self-control.
"SLY!"
Bentley raced back towards the same hole in the wall that he came through, bounded through it, and started wheeling back down the length of the fallen tower.
"Bentley!" He could faintly hear the voice calling.
Bentley looked ahead in the general direction, and what he saw astonished him.
At the edge of the fountain, under the hole in the ceiling and at the mercy of the pounding rain, there was a dark slab from the remains of the tower leaning out of the water. The end that was above water had crushed that barrier, and a majority of the slab was submerged. Just on top of that slab, Bentley could see a single hand, with a very familiar and very tattered blue and yellow glove, weakly waving.
"SLY!" Bentley screamed, with the tears finally beginning to flow down his face. He wheeled over as fast as his chair would allow, rushing right into the area where the rain was pouring down, and leapt up onto the ruined marble barrier of the fountain, finally getting a good look at his friend.
Sly was lying on the slanted slab, just on the surface of the water, both hands weakly holding onto the slab with their fingers slipped into several deep cracks as handholds.
"Sly, hang on! I'm getting you out!"
Bentley reached down to grab one of Sly's arms, only for his friend to quickly reply.
"Wait, NO! OW!"
Bentley released Sly's arm quickly, and then took another good look.
Sly's left leg was pinned to the slab by another large piece of stone, sandwiching his leg between the two slabs and keeping it just under the surface of the water, which was already beginning to plume with a dark red color.
"…don't…" Sly muttered weakly.
Bentley didn't reach down for Sly again, but this time he finally started to get a good look at his friend. He was now starting to see all of the injuries, nearly as devastating and hideous as Dr. M's. Both of Sly's hands were missing fingers, there were numerous wounds all over his body, from his crushed leg to one large wound in his back directly in the middle of his spine, and blood pouring from his nose and mouth. There were two long, deep cuts running vertically down Sly's left cheek, blood trickling from those as well. His was missing his hat, Cane, belt, and one of his gloves. His torn, bloody clothes were barely clinging to his body. His fur was wet and soaked, with blood or water, Bentley couldn't discern from which.
And the rain continued to pour down on both of them, the cold, unforgiving wind whipping at both of them, and the thunder rumbling overhead.
Another flash of lightning.
"Sly…"
"Bentley…did you…?"
"Did I what? Plant the bombs?"
Sly muttered some kind of grunting sound and made one quick, weak nod.
"Yes, yes I did, pal. I've detonated all the bombs planted at those monster-producing facilities. There's only five left."
"Where?"
"At each of this castle's corners…and the last one…Oh, Sly! We have to get out of here!"
"Can…can you…destroy…?"
"That's what I'm saying!"
Bentley leaned in closer, carefully taking one of Sly's hands in his own.
"The last bomb is planted…in a nuclear arsenal, directly underneath this castle. Dozens, Sly, dozens of nuclear missiles all lined up and ready to go! I managed to arm one and plant the explosive next to it. When that blast goes off, it'll set off the nuclear missile, and this whole island will be gone…and everything, everyone, every monster on it! That's why we need to go!"
There was another rumbling around them; whether it was the castle's structure struggling to stay solid, or the whole island trying to do the same, they weren't sure. Several more chunks fell from the ceiling, and the slab that Sly was resting on suddenly slid just a few inches, moving further into the depths of the fountain.
It was now that Bentley realized, not only how deep the fountain was, but also the rate at which the slab would sink into those depths, taking Sly with it.
"Sly, please, we can still get out of here!"
"Is…Dr.…"
"Dr. M is dead, Sly. I know it."
"You…sure…?"
"I found him. He's dead."
Bentley paused, thought about it for a moment, then added: "We killed him."
Sly nodded weakly a few times, then slowly rested his bloody cheek against the cold stone.
For a few long moments, the two friends sat there, surrounded by pure chaos and destruction. Bits of stone continued to fall around them. The rain continued to pour down on them. The wind continued to blow on them. The thunder continued rumbling overhead.
Another flash of lightning, followed by another booming thunderclap.
And then, out of nowhere, Sly said only one simple, short word.
"Go."
It didn't register with Bentley at first. The word was so quick, so short, and its particular meaning in this context simply didn't make sense.
"What?"
"Go." Sly said, slightly louder and firmer.
He emphasized this by slowly lifting his hand out of the crack in the stone and wrapping his remaining fingers around Bentley's hand, leaving a few streaks of blood on the brown leather of his glove.
"Go." He repeated. "Get back…to the boat…leave."
Bentley finally began to understand, but refused to accept.
"Sure. With you. Let's just get you out of here…"
"No." Sly interrupted. "It ends here. Everything."
"You're right." Bentley replied, trying to turn it around in his favor. "It does end here, and you are going to live to see it."
"You will. You will live to see it, and…and the aftermath. Not me."
"But…But Sly…"
"I said this…I said this to Dr. M…not too long ago…This has…has taken everything from me. My family, my wife, most of our friends…So I…I have nothing. Nothing left. Nothing left…to lose. But it has…has also taken all that…and more…from so many others."
"Sly…" Bentley could only repeat that, unable to conjure up anymore words other than that one. He simply couldn't create a response to what his friend was slowly saying, even as a small stream of blood trickled from his mouth with each word.
"All this…because…because of me…and my family…This…has been going on and on for years…This is where it truly must end…for both sides."
Bentley couldn't say anything more at this point. As he continued to grip his friend's hand, he started sniffling. The rain continued pouring down around him and on him, masking his tears.
"Dr. M died here…I die here, too. Fight to the death…both sides pay the price…It's all my fault, and my father's fault…I'm paying for both of our sins. All the suffering…that the world faces now…It's a long way towards…recovering…rebuilding…but it starts here…with my sacrifice."
"But…but…" Bentley was starting to sound more and more like a fool at this point, and even he thought so of himself.
"I've put everyone I've ever known, and cared about, through this monstrosity. Carmelita, Penelope, Murray…"
Another gasp. In addition to the small bit of blood he coughed up, Bentley thought, for a moment, that he saw a tooth fall out as well.
"…Panda King…Dimitri…Guru…All my fault. Mine."
Bentley shook his head.
"No…"
"I'm not…letting anyone else go through it. Even if you're the only one left…you still must not go through the pain, and the torment, and the suffering…"
Bentley then sobbed out loud, gasping as he utterly failed to contain his pure grief and devastation at what Sly was saying.
Another rumbling, like a quick earthquake. Bentley could see and feel the slab slide just a little further. Now both of Sly's legs were submerged in the water of the fountain, and it was just up to his waist.
Bentley gripped Sly's hand tighter for a moment, but at his friend's groan of pain, Bentley quickly relaxed his grip.
"You…have so much…left to live for…Your inventions…your aspirations…things I could never do. In the end…I'd be bound by the guilt…forever tormented by what my bloodline and I have caused. It's…too much…It's…over."
"Sly, you…can't…It can't be…"
"Can you…destroy this island?"
"Yes, yes Sly, yes! I can! I said that!" Bentley shouted, starting to lose control. Just to prove it to Sly, he pulled up the radio device with his other hand and began rapidly typing in a series of numbers. Even this brief action, this demonstration and affirmation of what he was saying, seemed to distract him only marginally from what was happening. When he was done, he held the screen close to Sly's face.
Single/Multiple/All units? – Multiple
How many units? – 5
Which units? – 1, 2, 3, 4, 12
Remote/Timed Detonation? – Timed
Simultaneous/Separate Time? – Separate
Time/Unit Input – 1, 2, 3, 4: 10:00
12: 45:00
SET TIMER – 1 for GO/2 for HALT
"There!" He cried. "You see? Units 1 through 4 are planted at the corners of this castle! Ten minutes should be just enough time for us to get out of this castle, and then, by the time we make it to the boat and activate the hydrofoil, we should have enough time to get out of the blast radius of the nuclear missile. It will be more than enough to completely wipe out everything on this island. Mutants, missiles, guards, laboratories, everything!"
"They're…"
Sly coughed and gasped again, with a deep, throaty cough. Another flash of lightning, followed by a tremendous thunderclap.
"…They're…all set?"
"Yes! I just push the 1 key, and the timers will start!"
Sly slowly lifted his head again and looked at the readout screen for a few long seconds.
Bentley continued to hold his friend's hand, waiting for any sign of Sly giving in to Bentley's pleas.
And then, suddenly, Sly's other hand rose quickly, faster than Bentley expected, and slammed down on the radio device's "1" key.
TIMERS ACTIVATED
10:00
45:00
The red, digital readouts began ticking down for each of the two respective readouts.
9:59
44:59
9:58
44:58
Bentley yanked the device back, staring at the moving numbers in horror.
Just then, there was another rumbling, significantly greater than the last two. Bentley was nearly thrown off-balance, struggling to avoid falling into the fountain. But in doing so, he leaned quickly to one side before jerking back to the other, and the radio device fell from his hand, bounced off his lap, and fell right into the water.
Both Bentley and Sly stared down after the device, which sank facing up towards them. Even as it was completely submerged in water, the waterproof device continued to loyally count down the seconds, even as it sank. As the dark device sank into the dark waters, the red numbers were the last things to disappear, still inevitably counting down towards the devastating moments.
Bentley's eyes shot back towards Sly, even as the slab continued sliding down into the fountain's water.
Sly lifted his head one final time and stared straight into Bentley's eyes. With the same hand that activated the bombs, he reached up and sloppily removed both of the artificial contact lenses, lazily scraping them off on the slab. One fell right off the side and lightly plunked into the water. Sly's unaltered brown eyes stared straight into Bentley's soul with their stare, one of determination accompanied by sadness.
And then, through his bloody teeth, one final time: "GO."
And then Sly yanked his hand away from Bentley's, resting it back on the slab as it continued to slide into the water.
Bentley leaned back, away from the water even as his friend continued to slide helplessly into the dark, intimidating waters.
At long last, Sly's persistence and determination broke Bentley's spirit. His resistance not only crumbled, not only shattered…it completely exploded and was incinerated.
Bentley spun his chair around, leapt off the fountain's wall, and began wheeling furiously down the hall, dodging pieces of debris on the floor and as they fell around him, and wheeled as fast as he could. He didn't dare look back, even as the tears continued flying from his eyes, blowing off his face from the speed at which he was moving. He tried to shut out the sounds around him, focused only on escaping the castle, reaching the boat, and getting off the island.
He made the mistake, however, of looking back once. Just once.
The fountain was already at a great distance. But he could still clearly tell that the slab was already long gone.
After that, he never looked back again.
And so Bentley raced as fast as he could. Never before in his entire life did he move this fast…not even when he could use his legs. He remembered, even though his grief, panic, and even anger, he still remembered the way Sly had come through the castle, courtesy of the artificial lenses. He remembered every direction, every doorway, and ran through them.
As he expected, there was barely any opposition throughout the entire castle. The entire scene was plunged into pure chaos from the explosions all around the island. Sure, he saw a few guards, but they seemed almost more focused on escaping this place than noticing him. Only once did he actually have to hide, behind a column, as a small squad of six guards raced past, towards the center of the castle where the tower had fallen.
Bentley soon reached the drawbridge, which was already wide open. He raced out across it, back out into the pouring rain and savage wind, across the drawbridge, and then, finally back out onto the rocky terrain.
Bentley couldn't even begin to tell how much time had passed, but he figured that he didn't have long before the castle went.
And then, halfway down the long, winding main path, halfway between the castle and the facilities around the docks, Bentley heard the explosions.
However, for once, he didn't stop to admire his handiwork. Even now, he figured, he was probably heading down the hill and would be unable to even see the castle from this elevation, especially with the tower gone.
And so he continued. There was a significantly higher amount of guards down in the area of the barracks and the destroyed Aviary, running around and screaming wildly.
It was here, at long last, Bentley finally got a glimpse of the horrible monsters that Dr. M had warned him about, in action.
He instantly recognized the replicas of the hideous monstrous bats from Kaine Island, swooping down on multiple guards, either catching them with their claws or ripping them apart from the impact. But staying to the air higher up, Bentley saw a group of smaller versions of the Whale-Fly, now much more maneuverable than the prototype from 11 years ago. Their mouths were moving, opening and closing repeatedly, revealing rows of terrifying, shark-like teeth that lined the gums. One of them swept down and completely crushed a guard with its sheer bulk and weight. Another one swept up a guard in its mouth and shredded the man's body with its powerful jaws and daggers for teeth.
And all throughout, the various screechings and roars of the monsters were some of the most unearthly sounds Bentley had ever heard in his life.
Bentley ducked and wheeled even faster when he finally reached the flat area just at the edge of the water. Straight ahead were the docks, including their captive boat.
Bentley had just reached the wooden dock when he heard a screech above.
Bentley didn't dare turn around, but feared the worst as he could just feel something approaching from behind.
Then, with a scream, Bentley covered his head and dodged to the side.
Then: "No, NO! BLAUGH!"
Bentley lifted his head up just in time to see a guard's legs lift up out of his field of vision, just a few feet ahead of where he had been.
Bentley, once again, didn't even bother to watch what was happening, and instead simply continued racing forward towards the boat. Only briefly, as he passed under where the guard had been lifted, did he feel several warm, heavy drops of a liquid that was clearly not rain spatter onto him from above.
He reached the boat and raced up the makeshift wooden ramp placed by the guards. He reached back to knock it out of place, then raced over to the wheel. He began furiously punching away at the controls, pressing the right buttons and flipping the exact levers.
Then, he leaned over and observed as the long fins emerged out of each side of the boat, extending slowly from the hull and slowly placing the curved ends against the surface of the water. He could also feel the boat itself rising slightly and moving up into a slightly upward angle as the extensions on the underside slowly drew out to their fullest extent, raising the body of the boat itself off the water by several feet or so.
The newly-prepared hydrofoil was ready to go.
Bentley wasted no time in backing the boat out of the dock, turning it around 180 degrees, and once the boat was facing the opposite direction, back towards where it had originally come from, Bentley thrust the throttle forward and sent the boat lurching forward. It took a little while, but the newly-modified boat quickly picked up speed, aided not only by the extensions but also by the lack of the abandoned submarine.
In no time, Bentley's yacht was tearing across the ocean's surface, already putting a great distance between itself and the island with every minute…
…all while the last bomb's timer continued counting down.
…
The castle had long since almost completely crumbled to the ground. From where he was lying, he couldn't see any remaining portions of the castle's ceiling or wall around him. Perhaps because he was located under where the hole in the ceiling from the fallen tower had been, was the reason he hadn't been killed the complete, final collapse of the castle when the four corner bombs went off.
Now, it was just the elements. The wind and the rain, the clouds and the thunder and lightning.
He had no idea how he was still alive. Whether the slab had hit the bottom of the fountain, or if maybe the top end had caught on a protruding rock just beneath the surface of the water, he didn't know.
What he did know was that he was still alive, still above water. The water was loosely flowing around just on top of the slab, around his body, like a shower floor. The rain continued falling on him and around him, disturbing the water from its previously perfectly still, perfectly pristine state. The statue in the center was completely gone – only the round pedestal remained.
He had slowly rolled over and was now on his back, staring up at the cloudy sky. Even with the rough, howling weather above and around him…he felt strangely at peace.
Even now, he could feel his senses slowly fading away. He first could no longer hear the howling wind, or the pattering of the rain against the fountain water.
Then he could no longer feel the pain in his face, his hands, or his stomach.
Then he could no longer feel the cold stone that he was lying on.
Then he could no longer feel the chill of the wind, or the wetness of the rain, against his body.
Here he was, at the end of the road…in perfect solace, despite his injuries. At perfect peace, despite being alone. Perfectly satisfied, even as he could feel, hear, and see death approaching, slowly but surely.
And then there was a flash of lightning. And just like that, the darkness of the clouds vanished, transitioning into a blinding white brightness.
And then, for a moment, he regained his sense of hearing as a soft, heavenly voice fell onto his ears.
"Sly…"
His eyes fluttered weakly as he squinted at the bright light.
"Sly."
He couldn't see her, but he recognized the voice.
"…Car…"
"Sly."
"…Carmelita…"
"Yes, Sly?"
"…I'm…sorry."
"Don't be. Look at what you have accomplished. Through all your anger, pain, and sorrow…you have triumphed."
He thought about this for just a moment, and then realized that the voice was right.
"You…you're right."
"Of course she is." Another voice added.
Even through this state, a brief wave of shock came over him at the familiarity of this voice.
"…Dad…?"
"She's proud of you, son. As am I."
The voice that he hadn't heard for so long broke all of his senses, or lack thereof, and he could feel a single tear welling up.
"Dad…"
And then yet another voice.
"Yeah, it's OK, buddy. You've made all of us really proud."
"Murray…"
"You may have felt guilt over our deaths." The father continued. "But it was in our names that you fought and died. You did all of this for us."
"And even then, we have no reason to be sad or angry." The wife added. "This is how it always ends, Sly. One way or another…we all end up back together again."
He finally broke down and cried for the final time. But he knew that these were not tears of sadness.
"See? All we ever feel now is happiness…"
"…And it will always be that way…"
"…for all of eternity."
And then a fourth, larger, deeper, more powerful Voice.
"Welcome home, My son."
"It's good to be home." Sly Cooper finally spoke out, now free of all earthly feelings.
And so it was. Sly Cooper finally slipped into the next world, just seconds before the blast instantly enveloped the entire island – this Hell on Earth – in a raging inferno.
…
Bentley didn't dare look back at first, even as he could see the light reflected off the boat's surface around him as the nuclear blast went off in the distance. Even though he was safely out of range, the light still penetrated this far across the ocean. Only a few seconds afterward, when he knew it was safe to look back, did he slowly turn his head.
He just barely caught a glimpse of the orange plume just before it disappeared again, transitioning into a black cloud that was invisible from this distance, this late at night.
Bentley slowly turned his head to look back again, as the hydrofoil continued pounding through the rough waves, which were already subsiding as he drew closer and closer to the edge of the storm.
And then the waters were calmer, and the boat was soaring across a flat surface.
And then the clouds above him slowly disappeared, as the clear night sky became more visible with the clouds left behind. The stars were still glowing brightly, with the moon as the center of the entire picture, casting a calming white glow down upon the water, and the small boat that was sailing across it.
Bentley was leaving the storm behind at long last.