Ch52: A Game of Cat and Mouse
"Okay... we all know the person that is in charge here, so I don't think I need to go into any more detail than this," I said, doing the slideshow instead of Bentley just because I knew more this time. "The only real things we need to do are twofold: rescue Sir Galleth Cooper and free Penelope from her hypnosis. So, we're going to split apart into two different teams."
I pointed at the slideshow and revealed the first part of the two-part mission. "First, Murray, Opal, Bentley and I will go for an assault on the castle. There's no doubt in my mind that the most heavily fortified part of the area will be her base of operations, and the only real problem is the drawbridge. Which leads me to the first part. I'll carry Murray over the bridge with my wings and turn us invisible while inside the fortress. Before it wears off, Murray will hurry and lower the drawbridge for Bentley and Opal to come in from their side."
"If I'm right, just the act of lowering the drawbridge will get Penelope's attention. Opal, the moment you get over the bridge, I'll need you to use your Dreamtime powers to render Penelope's mech, the Black Knight suit, completely out of power and leave her a sitting duck. There's no doubt that she'll emerge from the mech after power is drained and that's when I'll move in. Neyla, you'll then be in charge of getting her out of her trance just as you did El Jefe... but there could be some twists that wait for us there so Bentley and Murray will be in charge of any twists that come our way."
"And now time for explaining Sly, Carmelita, and El Jefe's mission," I explained, pulling up a new slide. "If I'm right, Penelope has placed Sir Galleth Cooper in the circus as a jester. Your job is to infiltrate the circus via the hole in the top, find him, and bring him back. If our job hasn't been completed by the time you get him back, all of us will meet at the castle. Penelope is a smart girl, even when under hypnosis. Everyone better be on high alert if they plan to snap her free from Le Paradox's mind control! Okay! Let's move out!" Everyone got up and we immediately went to our assigned jobs.
When I got to the castle gates with Bentley, Murray, and Opal, we were all in amazement at how the castle looked. It was near-impenetrable for walking people... but for those that could fly? Too easy! "Get on big guy. Time we did some breaking and entering," I smiled as Murray grabbed wrapped his arms around my waist. I let out my wings and turned us both invisible, leaping over the castle walls and into the castle complex itself. There we immediately saw Penelope, who was making adjustments to her black knight mech suit.
I kept holding onto Murray as I had him go over to the drawbridge controls. With a few well placed turns, the drawbridge fell down and immediately alerted Penelope of something being up. "What? What's going on?! I told you bots to keep the bridge up at all times!" Penelope exclaimed as she went over to the controls herself, leaving her mech suit behind. It was probably the biggest mistake she could've ever made! Bentley and Opal crossed the bridge and made it into the castle right next to Penelope, who immediately gasped and stood frozen in place. "B-B-Bentley?" she said, her voice squeaking a bit.
"Penelope... where are your glasses?" Bentley asked, looking her straight in the eyes as Opal focused her powers on the Black Knight mech. It instantly drained of all power with Penelope none the wiser. "I-I'm wearing contacts! What do you care anyway?" Penelope frowned. "This isn't the real you, P," I frowned as Opal then focused her powers to keep the mouse girl still. "H-Hey! I can't... move... what's going on?!"
"We're snapping you out of this trance, P. You need to remember: didn't you like being with us? Snap out of it already!" These words were spoken by Neyla, who was already at work trying to find the real Penelope inside her mind. "Get out of my head cat! Get out, get out, get OUT!" Penelope cried out as if she were in pain. "JUST SNAP OUT OF IT! I CAN SEE THE REAL YOU ALREADY! LET HER FREE!" "NNNNNOOOOOOO!" when she exclaimed this, her voice sounded much more like it was possessed by Miss Decibel's voice rather than her own. It didn't take much longer as I felt Neyla pull Penelope free from the void in her mind and the mind control finally went away. The mouse then fainted right in front of us, her body completely limp with a small smile. "Penelope!" Bentley exclaimed as he wheeled over to her and picked her up, checking her pulse and for breath.
"She's breathing... what a relief... I thought I lost her..." "That skunk is going to pay dearly for trying to pit us against our friend," I frowned as I saw Sly, Galleth, Carmelita, and El Jefe appear from the drawbridge area. "Okay... now comes the hard part," I frowned. "We need to destroy every last bit of machinery that Penelope made in this timeline. It'd screw up the present if we don't. So... who volunteers?" "I shalt deal a heavy blow towards the mechanical soldiers!" Sir Galleth exclaimed in Ye Olde English. "You'll need someone to help ya cause you don't have your cane... Murray?" "Got it!" the big guy exclaimed as he headed over to Galleth's side.
"We'll also need someone to destroy the machines inside each of the town shops. AKA the blacksmiths, the shoemakers, the bakery, and the pub. And someone needs to watch over Penelope..." "I'll go to the pub," Carmelita smiled. "I'll destroy the shoemakers," El Jefe smirked. "I guess I'll go to the blacksmiths," Bentley said. "And I'll head to the bakers... you and Opal should stay with Penelope. We're counting on you," Sly said. "You can count on us!" I exclaimed softly. "Good luck you guys. This could get rough..." "No problem! I eat rough for breakfast!" Murray exclaimed as everyone went off to their assigned locations.
