Disclaimer: I do not own Sly Cooper or any of its characters, except my OC
A/N: Hello everyone, here is the 2nd half to Menace in the North chapter as promised: where Sly and his team make the necessary preparations for the Lumberjack Games and to sneak into the Northern Light battery.
Reviews and comments will be appreciated. Please sit back and enjoy.
Chapter 23: Menace in the North, eh? Pt. 2
Though morning had arrived, it was still partially dark as the sun was slowly rising. Sly and his friends also had a rough sleeping in their own personal quarters, due to the frigid weather being colder than Nunavut Bay and they struggled to stay warm during the night. Shortly after the raccoon his team were more awake and they gathered around the briefing table for a quick breakfast. While Bentley was setting up the slide show presentation, Sly had poured four mugs of freshly made hot chocolate and handed one to Murray and Neyla, which his hippo friend and tigress lover gladly accepted. He had also set the extra two mugs on the table: one for himself and one for Bentley.
As they waited for their turtle friend to begin the slideshow presentation, Neyla had asked Sly about the heist that he, Murray and Bentley had pulled off in Istanbul and her raccoon lover explained the story behind the Istanbul job: shortly after the defeat of Clockwerk back at the Krakarov Volcano back in Russia and reclaiming the final pages to the Thievius Raccoonus...along with leaving Carmelita handcuffed to a scaffolding in the crater of the volcano, Sly and his friends had laid low in Istanbul. After two days of laying low, Bentley found an article on the Internet about a high level criminal operating in Turkey, a Eurasian lynx named Serhan Bata whom dealt in stolen antiquities and jewelry, mainly from Egypt and India and how Bata had stolen an incredibly rare Indian treasure, a handheld treasure box forged out of pure gold decorated in the most beautiful gems: sapphires, rubies and amethyst.
After Sly planted a bug in the lynx's personal estate during a recon job, they learned that Bata would be hosting an annual underground RC combat club against other high level criminals operating in Istanbul and had even posted the Indian treasure box as the trophy, along with a large sum of $75,000 in Turkish currency. Not able to pass up the opportunity to rob a high level Turkish crime boss, along with scoring an incredibly rare Indian artifact and $75,000, the raccoon and his team had pieced together a foolproof plan to obtain the treasure box and 75 grand: Bentley had forged an authenticate RC combat ID for Murray, so he could participate as a new comer to the RC combat circuit hailing from Athens. While their hippo friend kept Bata and the audience busy, Sly had easily infiltrated the estate grounds/manor with Bentley hacking/deactivating the security cameras and systems so the raccoon could obtain the treasure box...along with sending an anonymous tip to the Turkish police to arrest Bata.
Neyla had been listening to the entire story and couldn't but smirk at learning how the Istanbul ended: with her raccoon lover and their teammates stealing the treasure box and money from Bata...and how Bentley no doubting tipped the Turkish police about the underground RC combat club at Bata's estate, which lead to his arrest. Once the story was finished, their turtle friend had began with the debriefing and presentation.
"After reading the log chopping guide, it's become painfully clear that in order for us to win in the Lumberjack Games...we'll have to cheat." The turtle began softly, informing his friends and teammates that their only means of winning the Clockwerk Talons was by cheating in the Lumberjack Games, while showing two slides: one of the log chopping guide and one of Murray practicing his log chopping skills.
"Now, I've constructed a plan that involves us acquiring an eagle's egg...which is more difficult than you think." Bentley continued, stating that he cooked up a plan that could help them during the Games that required an eagle's egg...which wouldn't be that easy as they thought while showing two slides: one of an eagle's nest resting on top of an iceberg and one of the raptor's swooping down to protect its home and unhatched egg.
"First, Murray will need to lure a bear into taking out the local oil mains. Once destroyed, the pressurized oil should ignite and create updrafts which Sly will use to paraglide over to the eagle's nest. Grab the egg and then bring it back to the safe house." He continued, explaining that Murray would lure the grizzly bear patrolling the main field into destroying the oil mains, which would ignite and create updrafts that Sly could use to paraglide over to the eagle nest and obtain an egg for them to use in the Lumberjack Games.
"Thanks to Murray's undercover work in the Moose guard's RC combat club, we've learned that the Northern Light battery is hidden in a silo not too far from here. The battery will need some serious modifications in order for us to sneak onto Arpeggio's blimp." Bentley stated while complimenting his hippo friend's excellent field work and getting the location of the battery while showing a slide of the said silo much to Sly's and Neyla surprise/disbelief!
"You've got to be kidding me..." The raccoon stated, not believing that the Northern Light battery was right in front of him and his tigress when they were taking the recon photos around the camp!
"It was right in front of us and we didn't even realize it?" Neyla asked with the same level bewilderment as her raccoon lover, as they were ran right past the silo concealing the battery while out in the field.
"I know, I couldn't believe it either after beating that idiot Moose guard you guys." Murray replied as he felt the same level of disbelief as his raccoon and tigress friend after obtaining the location of the battery from the Moose he challenged to an RC combat match.
"First, we'll short out the battery with grapple lines from three local boats. Then Neyla, Murray and I will break into the lighthouse and sever the power flow to the battery, that way it won't be able to recharge." Bentley stated while explaining how they would make very important changes to hide inside the device so sneak aboard Arpeggio's blimp in order to steal the Brain and remaining parts in the parrot's possession: breaking into the lighthouse to sabotage the charger to the Northern Light battery and short circuiting the device with grapple lines from three fishing boats out in the ocean.
"Given my electrical engineering background, this plan has a...97% chance of of success. Pretty good, huh?" The turtle stated, informing his friends/teammates that after they made the modifications, their plan to sneak on board Arpeggio's blimp by hiding inside the battery had a huge chance of success while concluding the presentation.
"...What about that other 3 percent?" Neyla hesitantly asked, while already not liking the answer to her question.
"Well...if we somehow screw up while sabotaging the charger or short circuiting the battery, the raw electricity already stored inside will no doubtingly stop our hearts and kill us in a matter of seconds." Her turtle friend answered truthfully, stating that if something went wrong as they short circuited the device...they raw electricity stored inside would no doubtingly stop their hearts, sending them into immediate arrest and killing them instantly.
"Sorry I asked." She stated softly as she, Sly and Murray stared shocked beyond words at what would happen if something went wrong as they made the modifications to the battery: how the raw electricity would kill them quickly in mere seconds!
"Well...let's just make sure none of us mess, especially since stowing away inside that thing is our only shot to sneaking aboard Arpeggio's blimp." Sly stated soft and firmly to his feline lover and friends, reminding them that if they do their parts right they'd be able to hide inside the battery safely, without getting killed in the process.
After being given their field job assignments, the raccoon and his team exited the safe house and headed out to search for their assigned RV points scattered throughout the lumber camp. It hadn't taken Neyla long to find her RV point...as it was directly above the silo containing the Northern Light battery! But sneaking past the brainless guards didn't turnout to be easy...as a Moose guard spotted the tigress as she crossed the bridge connected to the main field and immediately gave chase while shooting at her with his blunderbuss! But unfortunately for the idiot lackey, Neyla had the perfect plan to take of him...after drawing out her whip and a swift snap of her wrist, she easily sent the brainless guard freezing to his death as he fell right into the river running underneath the bridge. Once the useless thug was dealt with, she jumped onto a trampoline to land on top of the silo and pulled out her Binocucom to contact Bentley.
"That lighthouse is the prime conduit for collecting the Northern Lights. We need to shut it down...otherwise the silo battery will continue to charge on energy, making it impossible for us to stow away inside." Her turtle friend stated, while explaining that the lighthouse was the primary source for the Northern Light battery to charge up on energy as they both stared right at it through the tigress's Binocucom.
"So we simply need to sabotage the charger and any other piece of important equipment? That awfully sounds like Murray's department." Neyla asked as she understood how crippling the charger would stop charging the battery but was confused, due to tearing a computer or any other important machinery was more like their hippo friend's area of expertise.
"Well, it's not quite that simple Neyla: since this assignment will require you, me and Murray to work together on this one." Bentley countered while revealing that it would take the three of them to break inside the lighthouse and shutdown the charger.
"The front door is locked from the inside and the only other means of sneaking inside, is by climbing down the hatch at the top. Once inside, sneak down to the ground floor and unlock the door for me and Murray. We'll help you finish the job." He added while mentioning that the front door was locked from inside the lighthouse and the only other means of sneaking inside was by climbing down the hatch at the top.
"Alright, I'll you chaps on the ground floor." The tigress answered, as she understood that it was all up to her to unlock the doors for her turtle and hippo friends to enter the lighthouse so they could disable the battery charger together before they broke contact.
After putting her Binocucom away Neyla had jumped off the silo, deployed her paraglider and sailed over to the lighthouse. Once she landed safely outside on the opposite of the ocean, the tigress drew out her ice picks and began climbing the ice wall embedded into the lighthouse. The climb wasn't exactly easy or safe, as icicles dangling above underneath the hatch began to become loose and fall...which she luckily evaded thanks to watching Sly as they sidled along the ledges of Bison's cabins back in Nunavut Bay as the tigress continued scaling the ice wall. After reaching the top, she opened the hatch and jumped down to enter the lighthouse.
Once inside, Neyla simply ran down the stairs, which was a spiraling ramp and dealt with the idiot Goose guards stationed to watch the 'stairs' and protect the battery charger. The tigress had to occasionally sidle across insanely large gaps, as sections of the ramp were missing and witnessed energy fields produced from the charger had shot up from the main core of the device, which luckily didn't touch her...along with the security lights that were moving at an up/down motion as she sidled along the wall. After either knocking the idiot Geese out or sending them flying off the ramp with a swift strike from her whip, Neyla had reached the ground floor of the lighthouse and shattered the chair barricading the front doors which allowed Bentley and Murray to step inside.
"Thanks Neyla...just let me at that Northern Light attractor, it'll be slag in a few minutes!" The hippo stated, thanking his tigress friend and teammate for unlocking the doors for him and Bentley while pounding his fists together, showing he was ready to do some damage to the charger!
"It's not quite that simple Murray. I'll reverse the energy flow from the control computer, while you throw the main circuit breaker. That should give Neyla a small window of opportunity to climb up the power lines and overload the system from the top." Their turtle friend countered while explaining that disabling the battery charger wouldn't be that easy as he thought and explained their parts in the plan: he would disable the power flow from the main computer while the hippo threw the circuit breaker, which would provide Neyla a small period of time to climb up the power lines back to deactivate the control back at the top.
"Tssk, you'd think someone with an antique mind like Bison would bother to have an elevator built in this place." The tigress scoffed softly, showing she was annoyed that Bison never bothered to have an elevator built inside the lighthouse, with her friends and teammates sharing her feeling of annoyance.
Without any further discussion, Neyla had sprinted up the stairs/ramp while both Bentley and Murray immediately went behind the staircase, with the turtle getting to work hacking into the main terminal while the hippo lifted the circuit breaker: disabling the energy stored inside the charger to the Northern Battery! Once her friends had done their part, the tigress swiftly leaped across from the top of the stairs/ramp to the charger and began climbing the power lines...while skillfully switching from power line to another as the charger began to return to normal. After the tigress had reached the top floor, she approached the secondary circuit breaker, flipped the switch and smirked as she heard the excited tone in Bentley's voice.
"We did it! The collection mechanism is overloading!" Her turtle friend cried out in glee, as he and Murray witnessed the charger overloading with energy from the Northern Lights before they exited the lighthouse and headed for their own RV points!
Shortly after climbing the ladder and jumping out through the hatch, Neyla climbed up the pipe dangling over the side and rod on top of the roof, deployed her paraglider and sailed silently through the air over the lumber camp. Once she was over the main field, the tigress had used the trampoline to reach the cliff where their hideout was set up and stepped inside to wait for her raccoon lover and teammates to return from their field assignments.
~Meanwhile with Bentley and Murray~
After they exited the lighthouse to help Neyla cripple the battery charger to the Northern Light battery and crossed the frigid ocean water back to the camp. Once they sprinted up the ledge leading to the cabin where the Moose guards held their RC combat club, the turtle and hippo sprinted across the bridge over to the main field, jumped across a log floating in the river and skillfully crossed over to the area where the 2nd water tower was located. Unfortunately, they were spotted by a Mountain Goat patrolling nearby and immediately reached for his bugle horn: blowing into it and alerting any other guards nearby, which only attracted a Goose guard hiding in a small outhouse wielding a pick ax and garbage can lid as a shield!
But thankfully, the fight between Murray and the two idiot lackeys hadn't lasted long: as the hippo had knocked the Goat out with a single punch to the face as he foolishly attempted to tackle him with a headbutt! Once the Goat was unconscious, the Goose attempted to strike Murray with his pick ax...which he easily evaded by sidestepping to the left, landed a swift uppercut underneath his bill and followed it with a roundhouse punch, knocking him out as well! However, the Goat had eventually regained consciousness and landed in a last minute sneak attack: a right hook followed by a left to his face! But before the flunky could land another blow...Murray easily caught his fist in the palm of his right hand...and the Goat quivered in fear by the grin on his face before he knocked him out with another fist to his face!
Once the Goat guard was dealt with, the Canadian Goose swiftly followed his fellow lackey's fate after he came to...as he merely had one second to give a 'honk' in surprise after Murray stomped his right foot down hard, which sent him upward into the air and the hippo lifted him over his head! He then simply turned his direction towards the river and tossed the Goose, throwing the pathetic thug into the raging body of freezing water which fed right towards the ocean! After the two guards were dealt with, Bentley had approached his RV point and drew out his Binocucom to contact Sly while Murray stood right behind him.
"I just can't believe this Bent...Neyla and I sprinted past this silo multiple times while out in the field and the battery was in front of us the whole time." The raccoon stated, showing he still couldn't believe that the Northern Light battery was right in front of them and they never realized it until now.
"Believe me Sly, I was just as surprised as you and Neyla when Murray first told me after getting the information from that idiot guard." His turtle friend answered, stating he was just as surprised as him and Neyla when Murray returned to the hide out after his field mission as they were glancing directly at the silo through Bentley's Binocucom.
"In order to prepare it for transport, we'll have to drain off the Northern Light energy already stored inside. By attaching a boat's grappling hook to the top of the silo, we should be able to deplete power from the battery." Bentley added, explaining to his raccoon and hippo friends by attaching the boats grapple hooks onto the silo that the battery would be drained of energy and making it safe for them to sneak onto Arpeggio's blimp.
"I'm assuming Murray will be tossing over to the boats?" Sly asked, as he knew how his friend and teammate intended to board the three fishing boats.
"That is correct. Once on board, I'll hack into its steering controls and move the vessel close enough to fire its grappling hooks." The turtle stated while nodding, confirming his friend's hunch and explaining how he would hack into the boats computer and pilot all three charters at a close enough distance to fire their grapple hooks.
"Alright, I'll climb on top of the silo and attach the hooks. How many grappling lines will it to take to drain the battery?" The raccoon replied, informing his friend that he'd climb up the silo to secure the grapple lines and asked how many hooks it would take to drain the Northern Light battery.
"Three should be more than enough. Once the first line's attached, Murray and I will commandeer another boat...you should stay in position." Bentley answered, stating that three grapple lines would suffice and asked his raccoon friend to remain on the silo while he and Murray commandeered the other two boats.
"Finally...I get the easy gig." Sly stated, showing he had no problem with staying on the silo to catch the grapple lines while his turtle and hippo friends hijacked all three fishing charters.
As soon as Bentley broke contact with his raccoon friend, he and Murray had leaped down to a path that lead up to the cliff that wasn't too far from the first fishing charter. Once they were in a perfect position, the turtle had jumped and tucked himself into his shell after jumping in the hippo's muscular hands. After carefully judging the distance between the boat and spot he was standing in, Murray had spun around, doing an 180 degree spin before tossing his turtle friend/teammate across the freezing ocean...and smirked as Bentley landed safely onto the vessel!
After he landed safely on the first boat, the turtle had given his friend a thumbs up, which the hippo gladly returned before he approached and hacked into the boat's on board terminal. However, hacking into the boat's autopilot system had proved much tougher than Bentley originally thought...as Bison had a newly upgraded security system installed into the terminal: as his digital avatar was having trouble combating mine-laying security 'tanks' which were more relentless than ordinary security nodes. But fortunately, he was able to fight his way through through the terminal, destroying the ordinary nodes and avoiding the mines placed by the tanks before finding and activating the boat's autopilot...and Bentley smiled as the boat piloted itself towards the silo!
"Sly, are you in position to catch the first grapple line?" The turtle asked through the team ear radio, wondering if his friend was on top of the silo to catch the first hook and got his answer as he spotted the raccoon kneeling down on the silo.
"Already here Bent. Get ready to fire that grapple hook, I'll make sure it connects to the battery." Sly casually answered, confirming he was in position and ready to catch the grapple lines once the 1st boat was within shooting range.
Once the boat was within range, Bentley had gotten behind the grapple hook launcher, took precise aim and fired. After he fired the grapple line, his raccoon friend and teammate easily caught the hook with his cane and latched it onto the silo. Once the first grapple hook was secured, Bentley and Murray had moved onto the next RV point, which was on the roof of the cabin where the Moose guards held their RC combat club. However...reaching the 2nd way point wasn't exactly easy, as they were spotted by a Moose guard patrolling around a smaller cabin and began chasing the turtle and hippo while shooting his blunderbuss, along with a Goose guard acting as a lookout on the roof of the cabin!
But fortunately for the two friends, the idiot thugs never managed to touch either of them...as Murray had used the latest gadget he purchased off ThiefNet: the Guttural Roar. As soon as he and Bentley were at a safe distance, the hippo swiftly turned around, took in a deep breath and emitted a terrifying bellow at the top of his lungs! Both the Moose and Goose guards had skidded to an unexpected stop, as the intimidating glare and roar he gave them caused them to turn around and run for their lives while both Murray and Bentley smiled and laughed at the sight.
"Now that was worth the price of admission!" The turtle stated while holding himself straight, as he found watching the two idiot lackeys run like little girls after his friend scared them off with his new gadget completely hilarious!
"You can say that again little buddy. Bison's 'men' are pathetic!" The hippo exclaimed, laughing alongside his friend/teammate after seeing the Moose and Goose guards running for their lives after using his Guttural Roar gadget!
After recovering from their laughing fit, Bentley and Murray had used the trampoline to land on top of the cabin and approached the ledge that overlooked down directly at the 2nd fishing boat. Once his hippo friend tossed him and landed safely on the boat, the turtle went straight to work in hacking into the terminal. However, the security system to the 2nd terminal was more complex and challenging than the first one, as the 'tanks' and drones were pushing his digital avatar into a corner. But thanks to Bentley's determination into draining the battery so he and his team could sneak aboard Arpeggio's blimp, he managed to bypass the security system and auto-piloted the fishing charter towards the silo, a few feet from the first vessel. After the 2nd boat was within shooting range, the turtle manned the harpoon launcher and fired the grapple hook, which Sly easily caught and secured to the silo.
Once the 2nd grapple line was attached and making it back to dry land, Bentley and Murray headed out to the third and final RV point, which was ironically on an ice shelf behind the cliff that Sly and Neyla used to test their newly ice climbing gear and between the dirt path that led right up to the safe house. Plus, the two friends spotted something truly unexpected: the woolly mammoth that Sly and Neyla freed from the ice wall to retrieve the log chopping guide!
"So that's where the mammoth ended up. Guess he just prefers being frozen." Their raccoon friend stated sarcastically through the team radio, as he and his tigress lover wondered where the prehistoric mammal ended up after they freed it.
"Oh, I'm guessing that thing was real intelligent during the Ice Age." Murray stated while scoffing, since he couldn't believe that modern day elephants were the direct descendants of an animal as stupid as a mammoth that preferred being frozen in ice.
"Well, it's not that really hard to blame the thing: it was frozen in a block of ice for over a 75 million years and soon woke up to a timeline it wasn't familiar with or adjust to." Bentley countered while explaining to his hippo friend why the mammoth ran into the ocean and froze itself again: how the mammoth was in suspended animation for over 75 million years and was released into a world that it could adjust and live in.
"After you toss me onto that boat, you should head on over to your RV point big guy." He added, instructing his friend to head on to his RV point to make the necessary arraignments to help Sly acquire an eagle egg for the Lumberjack Games.
"You got it Bentley." The hippo stated while giving his turtle friend a thumbs up, as he saw that Bentley indeed have everything under control before he tucked himself into his shell and landed in his muscular hands one last time.
After Murray tossed him and he landed on the ice block containing the frozen mammoth, the turtle boarded the third fishing charter and hacked into the final computer. However, the security system in the third computer was much more difficult than the previous two terminals: as the drones were replaced by the 'tanks' to protect the central node and the mines they dropped scattered around to protect the node made it nearly impossible for his digital avatar to avoid taking serious damage. But Bentley refused to give up, as this was the final boat his team needed to drain the battery and sneak on board Arpeggio's blimp to steal and destroy the remaining parts of the ancient owl who tormented Sly's family line.
After he managed to destroy the remaining tanks and broke through the security barrier, the turtle hacked into and activated the boat's autopilot system. Once the third fishing boat was in position, he manned the harpoon launcher and fired the grapple hook which his raccoon friend easily caught and hooked into the silo.
"That did it! With the battery chamber empty, we'll be all set to sneak aboard Arpeggio blimp!" The turtle cried out happily, as the battery immediately began losing power once the last grapple hook was attached to the silo, which proved it would be safe for them to sneak into the device when the British parrot arrived to pick up the battery before heading back to the safe house.
~Meanwhile with Murray~
Shortly after tossing Bentley across the ocean to board the 3rd and final fishing charter, the hippo ran up the dirt path to the right, leading to the cabin where the Moose guards held their RC combat club. After he crossed the bridge leading to the central field and avoiding the grizzly bear walking around, Murray had climbed up the same slope where his previous RV point...and was spotted by a Goose guard that was merely walking around. The fight didn't last long, as the hippo had knocked the idiot birdbrain out with a single hook to the face and the pathetic guard was rendered unconscious! Right after the thug was knocked out cold, the hippo had lifted the Goose over his head, walked towards the ledge of the slope and tossed the useless lackey into the river! Once the Goose guard was dealt with, he approached the RV point and contact Sly after pulling out his Binocucom.
"If we're going to get an eagle egg, you'll need to destroy the local oil mains firsts." The raccoon stated, informing his friend that in order for them to obtain an eagle egg to use against Bison during the Lumberjack Games that he needed to destroy the local mains scattered throughout the lumber camp grounds.
"It looks pretty sturdy..."the Murray" is strong, but his fists can't punch through thick metal." The hippo replied, showing he wanted to help but could also tell that the mains were too sturdy to be damaged by his fists.
"That's been covered big guy. You know that old grizzly that we avoid in the main field? His name is Grizzle Face and the guards usually ignore him because he's blind and practically nerve dead...except for his sense of smell. If that old guy smells fish, there's no stopping him." Sly casually stated as they glanced right at the grizzly bear they tried to avoid, informing his hippo friend that the grizzly went by the name Grizzle Face and how the guards didn't feel the slightest threatened by the old grizzly due to him being blind and deaf...but completely overlooked his sense of smell.
"Use Grizzle Face to take out the oil mains." He added, while instructing his friend and teammate to use the old bear to destroy the oil mains.
"But I don't smell like fish. How can I lure him around?" Murray asked, since he had no idea how he was supposed to lead Grizzle Face to the oil mains...especially since he didn't even smell anything like fish.
"Bentley's taken a post along the river. He'll keep tossing bombs into the water and the fish should get blown sky high...plenty should land near your position." His raccoon friend answered as they turned to see Bentley standing next a stretch of the river near the main sawmill and explained how the turtle would be planting bombs into the water to blast fish out of the river for him to use as bait to lure the old bear from place to place.
"So...you want me to throw a fish at the oil mains so old Grizzle Face will tear 'em apart?" The hippo asked, as he began to understand how he was to get the old grizzly bear to destroy the oil mains.
"That's the general idea. I'm already on my way to the lighthouse. I'll meet up with you and the others back at the safe house later." Sly replied with a nod, confirming that by tossing fish at the oil mains that Grizzle Face would tear the mains apart with his powerful claws.
"Alright, good luck Sly. I just hope that egg will be worth the trouble." Murray stated while wishing his raccoon friend the best of luck with obtaining the eagle egg and hoping that it would help them win the Clockwerk Wings from Jean Bison.
"You and me both big guy." The raccoon replied softly, hoping the same thing since the Lumberjack Games were tomorrow...which was also when Arpeggio's blimp was arriving to pick up the Northern Light battery before they broke contact.
Once he put his Binocucom away, the hippo waited patiently for his turtle friend to drop a bomb into the river and send a fish his way...and smiled as he heard an all too familiar explosion ring out and witnessed a large sized salmon land right next to his feet. He immediately picked the salmon up and jumped right into the main field where Grizzle Face was casually walking around and immediately came running towards Murray as he caught the salmon's scent in the air. After remembering Sly's words that the old grizzly was blind, which meant he couldn't see him, the hippo merely threw the salmon directly at the first oil main and smirked as Grizzle Face instinctively hacked away at it with his claws!
After the first oil main was destroyed, Murray had continued using fish that Bentley blasted out of the river as bait and lured Grizzle face to the remaining three mains. The hippo also didn't have to worry about any guards getting in his way...since they ran away like the cowards they truly were after seeing the old grizzly right behind him and salmon in his hands! Finding the 2nd oil main didn't take long, as it near a medium stacked pile of cut logs not to far from Jean Bison house. Once the 2nd oil main was destroyed, Murray had led Grizzle Face to the 3rd oil main, which was near the slope at the lower path, which was protected by bear traps and then to the 4th and final main, which was near an arch not to far from the truck carrying the cut logs falling down the chute connected to the main sawmill.
"Solid work Murray! Now that the oil lines are exposed, Sly's all set for a paragliding job off the lighthouse." Bentley stated through the team ear radio while congratulating his hippo friend on a job well for using Grizzle Face to destroy the oil mains, as Sly had everything he needed to acquire the eagle egg they needed for the Lumberjack Games!
~Meanwhile with Sly~
After he caught the 3rd and final grapple hook to drain the Northern Light battery of its stored energy, the raccoon had glided over and climbed up the lighthouse. Once he climbed up a pipe on the side to the roof of the lighthouse and approached his RV point, he pulled out his Binocucom and contacted Bentley.
"In order for us to overcome Jean Bison in the Lumberjack Games, we'll need to enlist the help of the giant Canadian eagles." His friend and tech support stated, explaining that if they wanted half a chance to beat Bison in the Lumberjack Games tomorrow, they would need the help of the giant raptors flying in the sky above them.
"Their nest is out on that iceberg. Steal one of the eggs and bring it safely back to the safe house. We'll use it direct eagle's aggressive and protective parental instincts against Bison." The turtle continued as he and the raccoon glanced directly at the eagle nest on the iceberg in the ocean, revealing how they would use the eagle's aggressive nature and protective instincts against the red furred bison during the games.
"Sure sounds easy enough...except for the part where I have to swim half a mile through freezing water." Sly stated sarcastically, showing he had no problem with stealing an eagle egg so they could trick the eagles into attacking Bison during the Lumberjack Games...even though he would have to kill himself by 'swimming' through the frigid freezing sea water.
"Why swim when you can paraglide? With the oil mains all destroyed, the pent up combustible materials have caught on fire." Bentley casually countered, stating that his raccoon friend didn't need to swim as he could merely paraglide over the eagle nest and steal the egg.
"I see: the updraft created from the flames should give me some extra altitude to reach the nest!" The raccoon stated, as he immediately caught on to what his turtle friend and teammate meant: thanks to Murray using the old grizzly bear to destroy the oil mains, the oil stored underneath the camp had caught on fire and the updrafts created by the flames would provide him extra altitude to reach the eagle nest out on the iceberg!
"Just make sure to avoid the fire...descend too low or get too close and old Grizzle Face will be having barbecued raccoon for dinner." The turtle replied while advising that he avoided losing too much altitude or getting too close to the fire...and jokingly bringing up the scenario that Grizzle Face would be eating 'barbecued raccoon' for his latest meal.
"That's a charming image Bentley. Care to guess what I can imagine?" Sly stated sarcastically and countered with a likely scenario of his own.
"...What?" His friend and tech support hesitantly asked while already knowing and dreading the answer.
"What Neyla will do to you if I don't make it back to the safe house alive." He answered honestly, while bringing up that his tigress lover would no doubtingly kill the turtle if he did end up being roasted by the fire and eaten by the old grizzly bear.
"...You just had to bring that up, didn't you?" Bentley stated plain and simple, while somewhat annoyed that the raccoon had to mention that his tigress would indeed kill him if he didn't make it back to the hide out with the eagle egg alive before they broke contact.
After he placed his Binocucom back in his leg pouch, Sly had climbed up the antenna on the roof of the lighthouse, jumped and deployed his paraglider, sailing towards and over the lumber camp. Thankfully, the raccoon managed to remain at high altitude even though he was descending at a slow and steady rate, he gained an extra lift from the updrafts as he sailed over the camp and towards the sea. However...once he began approaching the iceberg, he spotted four adult eagles, no doubtingly the parents, aunt and uncle flying right towards him! But thanks to his swift reflexes, Sly managed to avoid being struck by the eagles as he steered his paraglider left/right and landed safely on the bottom of the iceberg.
Once he landed on the small island, the raccoon latched his cane onto a single wall hook etched into the iceberg and separated his cane to scale the ice: climbing up to the nest and smiled as the eagles only had a single egg. After he swiftly snatched the egg and gently placed it in his leg pouch for safe keeping, Sly had used three buoys floating the water to return to the lumber camp: latching his cane into the hooks, leaning back and shooting him skyward while deploying his paraglider. Once he made it back to dry land, the raccoon ran up the dirt path leading to the safe house and stepped inside, where his friends and lover were waiting for him.
"Sly, do you have the egg?" Neyla asked as she and her raccoon shared a loving hug, showing she was glad her lover made it back from the eagle nest without being burned alive by the flames to create the updrafts.
"I've got it right here, babe. It was a piece of cake." Sly answered as he reached into his leg pouch and took out the eagle egg, showing his tigress girlfriend and teammates that he indeed acquire an egg for the Lumberjack Games.
"That's great work Sly! Thanks to all our hard work, we're more than ready for the games tomorrow and sneak aboard Arpeggio's blimp." Bentley stated, complimenting his friends/teammates and congratulating them for terrific field work, as they were more than prepared to steal the Clockwerk Talons from Jean Bison after winning the Lumberjack Games.
"We should catch up on some sleep, since tomorrow is the big day." The turtle added while recommending that they rest up and his friends nodded in agreement, as tomorrow was their one and only shot at stealing both the Talons and sneaking aboard Arpeggio's blimp, which meant they couldn't afford any mistakes
Without any further discussion, Sly and his team turned in for bed as tomorrow was when they would obtain Bison's fourth and final Clockwerk Part and getting access to Arpeggio's blimp and more importantly: the remaining parts that the parrot had in his possession. However...what the raccoon and his friends didn't know...was that fate was going to throw them a curve ball that would cost them everything.
A/N: There it is everyone, the 2nd half to the Menace in the North episode! I would like to apologize to my reviewers and fellow Fanfic authors for the slight delay. I know that I promised to have the 2nd half posted before Thanksgiving, but I was so wrapped up in work and spending time with my folks that time flew by so fast. The Operation: Lumberjack Games chapter should be posted sometime before Christmas or New Years. Until next time, please be sure to read and review. Bye.