Disclaimer: I do not own Sly Cooper or any of its characters, except my OC
A/N: Hello everyone, here is the Operation: Canada Games chapter, where Sly and his team participate in the Lumberjack Games to steal the Clockwerk Talons from Jean Bison, which will have...unfortunate results. Please sit back and enjoy.
Reviews and comments will be appreciated
Chapter 24: Operation: Canada Games
After morning had slowly arrived, Sly and his friends gathered around the briefing table for a healthy breakfast while Bentley was putting together a slide show presentation on how they would win the Clockwerk Talons from Bison. As their turtle friend was nearly finished setting up the slide show projector, Neyla had poured four mugs of freshly made hot chocolate and handed one to Murray and Sly, which her hippo friend and raccoon lover gladly accepted, due to it being more colder last night than the night before. She had also set two extra mugs on the briefing table: one for herself and one for the turtle.
"Today is the big day guys, the Lumberjack Games are upon us." Bentley started off, reminding his friends and teammates what today was while displaying a slide with the name of their operation written across the slide in yellow marker, Operation: Canada Games.
"Now, despite Murray's study of the log chopping, none of us are skilled enough to beat Bison in the games fairly. So...as much as it pains me to say this, we'll have to cheat." The turtle continued, explaining how none of them were exactly muscular or skilled enough to beat the red furred bison in the three main events in the games fairly and how their means of winning the Talons was by cheating.
"Murray, you'll participate in the power log chopping competition. Get us a good score and then let Bison for his turn. While's he chopping, I'll sneak up behind him and plant the egg into his trousers, which will no doubtingly cause the protective parents to swoop down and disrupt his ax swinging." He continued with the debriefing, explaining how the hippo would represent their team in the log chopping event and while Bison was taking his turn, he would sneak up behind the bovine and plant the eagle egg into his back pocket...which would cause the protective and aggressive raptors to attack him.
"Sly, given your ascension skills, I've already signed you up for the ice wall climb. We'll keep Bison from beating your score by pulling him off the wall with three nearby grapple lines." Bentley continued while bringing up his raccoon friend's athletic reflexes and climbing skills, which made him the perfect candidate to compete in the ice wall climb event and how they would prevent Bison from beating his score by using three grapple hooks to yank him off the wall during his turn.
"And finally, I'll represent our team in the log rolling competition. With my knowledge of rotational mechanics, we're guaranteed to obtain a stupendous score. Sly will be in charge of greasing Bison's logs, so he'll have no way of beating it." The turtle added, revealing that he would represent their team in the log rolling event and would guarantee them a perfect score and how the raccoon would be in charge of covering Bison's log in grease, in order to make them extra slippery and difficult for the red furred bovine to beat his score.
"So if you guys are ready, let's get this operation started and show these meathead lumberjacks what we're made of!" He stated while concluding the presentation, claiming that it was time to get their operation started and beat Bison at his own games in order to win the Talons!
"Whoa, wait a second Bentley. What about me?" Neyla asked as their turtle friend hadn't given her an assignment to help out during the heist while giving the presentation.
"Neyla, I do have a job for you and it's extremely important." Her friend and tech support answered, informing the tigress that he had a very important job for her to carry out.
"How can I help?" The tigress asked as she was interested in what her special assignment was.
"If something goes wrong during the operation...we need you to protect the Clockwerk Parts we have." Bentley answered honestly, explaining that if something went wrong while they competed in the Lumberjack Games to win the Talons...they needed someone to protect the safe house and Clockwerk Parts they had in their possession.
"I promise...I won't let anything happen to the Clockwerk Parts. I'll protect them with my life." Neyla answered plain and firmly, reassuring her friends/teammates and raccoon lover that she would protect their Clockwerk Parts from Bison and his men if they somehow found their hideout.
"We have no doubt of that Neyla. But...let's just hope that nothing goes wrong." Her turtle friend replied, showing he trusted her completely in protecting both the safe house and Clockwerk Parts...and deeply hoping that they wouldn't have a repeat of what happened back in India. Just like the rest of their team.
Before Sly, Murray and Bentley had stepped out of the safe house to confront Bison to gain entry to compete in the games, the tigress had placed a gentle hand on her raccoon lover's arm and they shared a silent look. As is understanding that their friends/teammates needed a moment alone, the turtle and hippo stepped outside to give them the time they needed before they got the operation started.
"Be careful out there Sly. Bison is a lot of things, but he isn't stupid." The tigress started off softly while begging her raccoon to be extra careful when he and the others faced off against Bison in the games, while pointing out that the red furred bovine wasn't an idiot...as he would surely catch on or suspect that they would be cheating to win the Talons.
"The guys and I will be careful out there Neyla. It's not just the Clockwerk Talons that are stake: it'll only be a matter of time before Arpeggio arrives to pick up the Northern Light battery...and we can't afford to miss our only chance to sneak aboard his blimp." Sly stated softly, assuring his tigress that he, Murray and Bentley would be extra cautious while facing against Bison in the games and pointing that today was also the day Arpeggio's blimp would arrive to pick up the battery...and they couldn't afford to miss their only opportunity to sneak aboard to get at the remaining parts of the ancient owl.
"I love you, my beautiful tigress. Hopefully...nothing goes wrong." The raccoon softly added before he and his feline lover shared a burning passionate kiss, conveying their love and wishing the other luck with their job assignments.
"I love you too, my handsome Ringtail. Good luck out there." Neyla answered back with sweet smile, before placing a sweet peck on her lover's lips: wishing him and their teammates luck in winning the Lumberjack Games before her raccoon stepped outside to join their turtle and hippo friends.
Once he stepped outside, Sly saw that Murray and Bentley had waited patiently for him to join them...and was shocked to see their mark: Jean Bison staring out to sea on the sea ice below the dirt path leading up to the safe house!
"Murray? Bentley? He didn't see you guys step out of the hide out...did he?" The raccoon asked softly as he could tell they were just surprised as he was that Bison was standing not too far from their hide out was located!
"No...we don't think so. I think he might've been there since just this morning." His turtle friend answered truthfully, informing his friend and leader that the red furred bovine hadn't seen them exit their safe house...but were just surprised as Sly when they first saw Bison after they stepped outside to give him and Neyla their moment alone.
"I'll do all the talking once we're down there guys and Sly? Make sure to keep a low profile when we get close...we don't want him to recognize you." Bentley added, stating that he would speak for the three of them when they approached Bison and instructed his raccoon friend to keep a low profile, as they didn't want to risk the red furred bovine to recognize him when he was disguised back in the ballroom at Rajan's palace.
"Alright then...let's do this guys. Time to win those Talons!" Sly stated as he could clearly see that his friends/teammates were ready to face off against Bison in the games.
Without wasting another second, the raccoon and his team casually strolled down the dirt path leading to the sea ice, where Jean Bison was peacefully admiring the beauty of the Northern Lights illuminating the Canadian skies...and also waiting for his colleague and boss's blimp. While he was distracted searching for any sign of the British parrot's blimp, Bentley had casually approached the old Western bison to seek entry to compete in the games.
"Excuse me sir? My fellow humble lumber jacks and I would like to compete in your Lumberjack Games." The turtle stated in a somewhat believable 'Old Western' accent while claiming that he and his friends were fellow 'lumber jacks' who wished to compete in the games.
"So you and your pals think ya'll got what it takes to win the Clockwerk Talons, eh?" Well, I'm sure enough gonna let ya play...so long as you pay the entry fee." Bison stated in an amused tone while slightly showing he bought Bentley's impersonation of a fellow Westerner and agreed to allow him and his friend to enter...as long as they paid the fee to compete as participants first.
"May I ask how much the entry fee costs?" Bentley calmly asked, while slightly surprised that he and his needed to pay a fee in order for them to compete in the games.
"600 gold coins apiece for a single participant or five gold bars." The red furred buffalo answered, stating that the entry fee was 600 gold coins from all three of them or five gold bars.
"Much obliged partner...we'll, uh, just take our positions for the competition." The turtle answered as he and his friends shared a brief nod, showing they were completely fine with paying 600 gold coins in order to compete in the Lumberjack Games...even though they were surprised that the secondary means of paying was with five gold bars!
"You fellas should enjoy the moment y'all think you've got a chance...it's as close to winning as you'll ever get!" Bison replied softly while informing Bentley and his friends they should enjoy the idea of thinking they could 'win the Talons' before the games actually started...and giving them an intimidating glare, as if saying he never loses!
Shortly after their 'friendly chat' with the red furred bovine, Sly and his friends had approached the judges table and presented three small wool sacks filled with 600 gold coins to three Goose guards that were no doubtingly the judges to observe and evaluate their performance during the three main events. Once the raccoon and his team were officially registered to compete, they witnessed their hippo friend took off to take his place in the first event in the Lumberjack Games.
"This years first event will be the Power Logging contest! Not like anyone's ever going to beat my record...but, let'em try!" The red furred bison shouted, showing he was also the announcer and declaring the games to begin with the Power Logging event while Murray had climbed over a large sturdy log with an axe in his hands!
Once all three judges gave the command to begin, the hippo simply nodded, showing he understood that it was time for his turn to begin as he raised his ax over his head. After taking in a deep breath, Murray had slammed the sharpened and bladed end of his ax down hard, hacking away into the center of the log. He had proceeded to land eight clean chops, hacking deep through the log until the center was completely cut through! Once the log was cut in half, the hippo casually placed the axe over his shoulders while turning to judges, waiting to see what his score was...and a huge smile spread across his face as he won a score of 30 points: 10 points each!
"Not a bad effort Hippo...but watch and learn as I destroy that log without even breaking a sweat." Jean Bison complimented, showing he was somewhat impressed with how the hippo handled an axe and sliced through the log as the judges gave him a score of perfect 10's!
After Murray's turn was over, he casually walked past Bison with four Moose Guards right behind him: wearing shoulder harnesses, lugging a second large sturdy log for their boss to chop as his turn was up. Once the Moose guards had swapped they chopped log that the hippo cut in half with the log they were dragging, they wished their boss the best of luck during his turn before crossing the ocean by riding on multiple floating pieces of ice. As soon as his men left with the log Murray chopped in half, Bison approached his log with a standard axe and waited patiently for the judges to signal the command to begin chopping. However...neither the red furred bovine or simpleminded judges noticed Bentley waiting for him to begin his turn.
"Okay Bentley...you're on. Plant that eagle egg on Bison and the very ticked off parents should swoop in and throw off his axe timing." Sly stated plain and simple, instructing his turtle friend to sneak up undetected behind Bison and plant the egg in his back pocket...which, if Bentley guessed right, would cause the angry raptors to attack the red furred buffalo after seeing their egg sticking out of trousers.
As soon as the judges gave Bison the command to begin chopping the log, Bentley carefully withdrew the fragile eagle egg out of a light red wool pouch that he used to keep the egg warm and incubated last night. However...crossing over the ice cap to reach the ledge in order to hitch a 'ride' on the floating pieces of ice: as the eagle parents were flying overhead...and swooped down at the turtle after seeing their egg in his right hand! Thankfully, he managed to evade being struck by the angry raptor's wings...but that didn't stop the mother or father from trying again, which the turtle continued to dodge...despite making sure he didn't hold onto his fragile cargo too tightly, otherwise the egg would crack and make it worthless to use against Bison!
After skillfully dodging the eagle mother's fourth and final attempt to strike him with her talons, the turtle had thankfully reached the ledge of the ice cap and climbed on board a passing floating piece of ice. Thankfully, not one of the judges noticed him crossing the ocean on the floating pieces of ice and Bison was easily distracted chopping through the log, that he was completely unaware of the small nerdy turtle creeping up behind him. After he quietly sneaked up the red furred buffalo and planted the egg in his back pocket, Bentley immediately moved away to avoid being spotted by the judges and smiled at what soon followed: as Bison attempted to land another chop to cleave the log in half...the eagle mother had caught a glimpse of its egg in his back pocket and swooped down to strike at the bovine with its talons and Bison instinctively ducked as the angry raptor dove down at him...while dropping his axe in the process!
Once the eagle mother flew back into the sky, Bison's turn in the Power Logging event ended and the judges had gave their boss a score of 0 points: as he failed to finish chopping the log and dropped his axe...which didn't suit well with the bovine.
"What! I think you'd better rethink them scores boys. What you intended to give me was perfect 10's, RIGHT?!" The red furred bison growled with an intimidating glare after seeing the judges give him a score of 0's instead of 10's!
Not wanting to upset their boss further, the three Geese guards immediately swapped their score cards: giving him a score 30 points which made him and Murray tied in the Power Chop event. After Bison had used the floating pieces of ice to return to land, he led Sly and his team to the next area for the 2nd event: the Ice Wall Climb event...which to their deep shock was right near the cave where they parked and hid the team van!
"So your pink friend knows how to handle an axe. But let's see how you handle a vertical wall of ice!" The red furred buffalo stated, acknowledging Murray's skills with an axe and demanded to see how they could handle climbing up a towering wall embedded with wall hooks and glowing red security panels with Sly approaching the wall to begin his turn.
Before he approached the towering wall, the raccoon had naturally studied how the wall was formed and hooks were set apart: several rocks etched into the side had been set up in a parallel angle, like bumpers to a pinball machine and the number of wall hooks would prove difficult as well: several were scattered too far apart or set up too close that gaining altitude would be nearly impossible. However...Sly couldn't help but smirk as he appreciated a decent challenge, especially as he planned out his climbing route after studying the wall. Once he was mentally prepared, the raccoon had leaped off the ground, latched his cane onto the nearest wall hook and shot himself upward into the air!
Once he climbed up the bottom of the wall and lunged himself upward after latching onto another wall hook, Sly had separated his cane and began scaling the medium half of the wall, which was covered in sheer ice. After he reached the top of the sheet of ice, the raccoon had reformed his cane and latched onto another wall hook, beginning his climb up the upper half of the wall. However...climbing up to the top had proved to be tricky: due to the security panels glowing red and coming alive with electricity, which the crafty and wily raccoon easily evaded and leaped off after leaning back and shooting himself upward into the air. After latching his cane onto two final hooks, Sly had landed safely on the top of the wall and waved down to Murray and Bentley, to show them that he made it to the top safely and waved back in return as the judges gave him a grand total of 30 points!
"Pretty good for a scrawny raccoon. Now watch and learn as I demonstrate the art and true meaning of power climbing!" Bison stated, showing he was mightily impressed with Sly's athletic jumping and climbing skills as the judges gave him a score of perfect of 10's before he approached the wall for his turn in Power Climb event.
As soon as the red furred buffalo approached the wall, the three small outhouses that rested on their own separate dock had exploded and revealed three grapple launchers that were in perfect line with the ice wall! However...what Bison was holding in his right hand nearly made the raccoon and his friend's do a double take: his walking staff with the Clockwerk Talons! They could not believe that he was actually using the Talons to climb the wall...but kept quiet about it: as they were playing Bison's games and he could use whatever tool he saw fit to compete in the events, just like them.
"Murray, use those grapple lines to hook onto Bison. You'll need to tag him with all three in order to yank him off the wall." Bentley stated while instructing his hippo friend to man the three grapple hook launchers in order to pull the red furred bison off the wall before he could reach the top.
After waiting patiently for Bison to choose to decide how he would climb the wall, the hippo had manned the harpoon launcher in the center dock as the buffalo had latched the Talons onto a wall hook in the center of the lower half. As soon as the buffalo had began his turn and latched Talons onto the hook, Murray took precise aim with the grapple launcher and fired: connecting the first hook as it landed directly on the middle of Bison's back! Thankfully, the red furred buffalo didn't seem to notice or feel the hook latching onto his back and the idiot judges seemed to be completely oblivious, as not one of the moronic Geese guards didn't even react after seeing a grapple hook latching onto their boss as climbed the ice wall.
Once the first grapple line was set, it didn't take the hippo long to snag the red furred buffalo as he proceeded with his turn. However...latching the remaining two grapple lines onto Bison wasn't going to be that easy as Murray thought: as he was able to jump much higher than Sly when the raccoon took his turn. But luckily for him, the buffalo had to took a short break as he used up a lot of stamina while performing his jumps...which gave him the time he needed to switch from manning the launcher on the left or right dock. While Bison was catching his breath, Murray had manned the launcher on the right: as the red furred bovine had propelled himself and latched his staff onto a wall hock a few inches near the center of the wall and fired, latching the grapple hook onto his right shoulder!
Thankfully, Bison hadn't noticed or paid any attention after feeling the second grapple hook latching onto his shoulder: even with the sharp ends digging underneath his fur and cutting into his skin. To say that Murray was surprised how resilient the red furred buffalo was after firing two hooks onto his back and right shoulder was an understatement, as Sly and Bentley were just as surprised as their hippo friend.
"That's...impossible. How can he still be able to climb with two grapple lines attached to his back and shoulder?" The raccoon asked, while turning to his friend and tech support, whom shook his head in complete awe and disbelief!
"I...I honestly don't know Sly. Bison must've trained himself to endure any kind of pain or discomfort while perfecting his outdoorsman/climbing skills before he ever ended up being frozen alive." The turtle answered while fairly guessing that Bison must've trained himself to ignore any distractions while perfecting his climbing/outdoorsman skills before the mining accident that left him frozen alive for 120 years, since that was the most logical explanation to how he was able to continue to climb with two hooks latched onto his body!
As soon as the shock passed, Murray immediately sprinted to man the 3rd and final launcher on the pier to the left as Bison had propelled himself into the air and latched his staff onto a hook in the center of the wall. The moment the buffalo had stopped to regain his stamina, he took precise aim and fired: with the 3rd grapple hook latching onto the back of Bison's left shoulder! Sly and his friends smiled after the 3rd grapple line hooked onto the bovine's left shoulder and the cables started to rewind back into their own launchers...which strongly pulled Bison off the wall and landed with a heavy thud! After witnessing their boss fall off the ice wall, the judges had given him a score of 0: just like the Power Logging event...which didn't sit well with the buffalo.
"It seems you have pulled the wrong cards again. Did I ever tell any of you the story about the judge from last year's competition who unwisely gave me a score other than 10?" Bison started off slowly after seeing the score the judges gave him...and coldly asked if he ever told them what he did the previous judge from last year's competition whom mistakenly gave him a low score!
Not wanting to find out themselves or share the previous judge's fate...the three Geese guards immediately swapped the score cards and gave their boss a score of perfect 10's.
"I see we're tied with only one event to go. Unfortunately for you fella's, I've saved my best event for last: the Spinning Log competition." The red furred bovine stated more calmly, pointing out that he and the Cooper Gang were 'tied'...due to him threatening the judges after giving him a low score in the two previous events and revealing the final event: the Spinning Log competition was his personal favorite.
"Okay...looks simple enough. I've just got to stay out of the water." Bentley stated as the final event was set up back at the ice cap where the Power Chop event was set, with three large sized logs rolling in the freezing water and he leaped onto the middle barrel which began the event.
After the turtle had leaped onto the middle log, he moved his legs in complete sync with the log's rotating movement. However after walking on the log for what felt like two minutes, he noticed the logs to his left and right slowly began to sink into the freezing sea water. Bentley then soon realized that in order for him to win the log rolling event, that he needed to time and plan his jumps perfectly otherwise he would lose the final competition in the games. The turtle had skillfully walked along and jumped between the logs for what felt like ten minutes until the judges signaled for him to stop and gave him a perfect score of 30 points after evaluating his performance.
"You're one lucky turtle, I'll give you that. But now watch how a skilled log roller does it!" Bison stated, showing he was actually impressed that a small nerdy turtle was able to win a perfect score in his best event before stepping up to take his turn.
As soon as Bentley casually walked past the red furred buffalo, he and his friends knew they had to come up of a plan to make sure that Bison lost the log rolling event or they would never win the Talons.
"Guys, this is insane! Jean Bison has got those judges so intimidated there's no way he cane lose!" Murray exclaimed while pointing out the most obvious fact that they wouldn't be able to beat Bison as he threatened/scared the judges into giving him a perfect score!
"You're right Murray. Those guys need to go." Sly stated as he completely agreed with his hippo friend/teammate: how they would never win the Talons as long as Bison intimidated the judges...which meant they needed to get rid of the spineless birdbrains.
"Okay, I know this is a long shot...but, what if I were to lure the judges, one by one into that cave with my Alarm Clock gadget? Once inside, you guys will knock them out and take their clothes." The raccoon added while offering his team a plan that had a very small chance at success: how he would use his Alarm Clock gadget to lure the judges, one by one into a nearby cave and once inside, they would knock the idiot Geese guards out to get at their clothes.
"You're right Sly...it is a long shot, but it could work. When all three judges have been incapacitated, we'll be able to disguise ourselves and take their places at the judges table!" Bentley stated while nodding, showing he agreed with his raccoon friend that his plan was indeed a long shot...but could work, as they would disguise themselves as the judges and hopefully fool Bison after he finished his turn.
"That's a great plan Sly, but you gotta move fast. 'Cause once Bison finishes the log rolling event...our plan is busted." Murray stated, showing he agreed with his friend and leader's plan as well but pointed that he needed to work fast, because once the red furred bovine finished his turn in the log rolling event...their operation was exposed.
Without wasting any more valuable time, the raccoon had put his plan into action: jumping across three floating block of ice in the water to get close enough to the three judges. Once he got at a safe enough distance and landed on the 2nd ice block, Sly had winded up and tossed an alarm clock, which landed right on the 3rd ice block right behind the idiot Geese guards! Thankfully, the other two judges were too focused on watching their boss perform on the rolling logs and paid no mind when their fellow lackey heard the clock ringing right behind them and left his post! Once the idiot guard took the bait, the crafty raccoon kept his distance while winding two more alarm clocks that lured the judge right towards the cave and hid inside a wooden barrel to avoid being spotted.
After the moronic lackey had stepped inside the cave to search for the source of the alarm clocks...loud blows could be heard being landed and the judge had merely gave a single honk of surprise before realizing he walked into a trap! Once the blows had stopped...Sly had a crafty smirk on his face as he witnessed Bentley step out of the cave with a goose beak over his mouth and lumberjack hardhat over his pith helmet. After he and his friend gave each other a thumbs up, the turtle had immediately jumped across the ice blocks and took his place beside the remaining two actual judges, whom didn't even seem to notice the difference as they were completely focused on Bison as he was nearly halfway finished.
Once he saw Bentley take his place at the judges table, the raccoon swiftly repeated the process for Murray: luring the second judge away with his alarm clocks without the remaining idiot Goose guard noticing towards the cave. After ducking inside the barrel to avoid being spotted and tossing a clock near the cave entrance, the idiot judge stepped inside the cave...where Sly heard much louder blows landing and smiled after Murray stepped outside and joined their turtle friend at the judges table! After successfully getting his friends/teammates their disguises, the raccoon immediately went to work on getting his disguise: luring the remaining judge to the cave, knocking him out and stealing his clothes!
As soon as he stepped outside the cave in his judge disguise, Sly swiftly leaped across the ice blocks and joined his friends at the judges table...which was also the exact moment when Bison had finished his turn in the log rolling event. While silently hoping that the simpleminded bovine wouldn't see through their disguises, the disguised raccoon, hippo and turtle had gave Bison a sum score of 0 points.
"What?! I thought I warned you idiot judges about the consequences of 'incorrect' scores and...!" The red furred buffalo demanded, showing he was not happy about the 'judges' giving him a score 0 at the end of his favorite event..until he immediately saw something was off about his 'men'!
"Wait a second...You're not the judges I hired this morning! Why, it's the scrawny raccoon and his annoying friends Arpeggio told me about!" Bison added as he saw right through their pathetic disguises and recognized Sly and team...whom simply backed away from the table after seeing the extremely pissed look on his face!
"Well...if you dirty cheatin' vermin want the Talons so badly...why don't you JUST TAKE 'EM!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, stating that if the raccoon and his friends wanted the Talons so badly, they could 'have them'...but not before throwing his cane with Clockwerk Part right at them!
Sly and his team could only stare in complete shock...before they blacked out and lost consciousness right after the Talons struck them directly in their faces and bounced right off their heads! Right after the raccoon and his friends were knocked unconscious, Bison had reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a two-way walkie-talkie to radio his men.
"Men this is Jean Bison. I have knocked out and captured Cooper and his gang. Take them straight to the sawmill control room and lock 'em up so the four of us can have a 'pleasant conversation' once they wake up later on." The red furred buffalo stated, informing his men that he captured Sly and his team which more than enough to make every nearby Goose, Mountain Goat and Moose guard running towards their boss's current location.
After his men arrived, three separate Moose guards took the unconscious turtle and raccoon right towards the main sawmill: one Moose simply picked Bentley up by his waist and carried him underneath his armpit while the other two lackeys lifted Sly up by his wrists and ankles, while confiscating their crossbow and cane! Unknown to Bison and his men, Neyla had been witnessing everything from outside the hideout through her Binocucoms and stared shocked/horrified after seeing her raccoon lover and teammates captured by the bovine and his lackey's!
"No!" The tigress cried out, saddened and horrified after witnessing Bison tossing the Talons directly at her lover and teammates, which was what knocked them unconscious and witnessed his men drag/carry Sly and Bentley away to the main sawmill for interrogation.
However...that was also when something else happened: one of Bison's Mountain Goat guards had spotted her glancing down at them through her Binocucoms and she stared just as shocked back before withdrawing them!
"Oi, Boss! Look! It's her, the traitor!" The Mountain Guard guard shouted while pointing towards the tigress's direction up the dirt path before she sprinted back to prevent the buffalo and his men from breaking inside the hideout!
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get her boys!" Bison replied while demanding to know what his men were standing around for before ordering them to chase after and capture Neyla...while smiling since he felt today was his lucky day!
~One hour and thirty minutes later, inside the sawmill control room~
"Oh...my head. Those Talons really pack a punch." Bentley stated softly after regaining his consciousness, as his eyes slowly opened and stared surprised to find that he and his friends/team were locked inside what appeared to be a small room filled with controls to a number of lumberjack equipment!
Before he attempted to wake his raccoon and hippo friends from their 'nap'...his eyes widened in shock as he spotted Neyla also locked in the small room with them! He stared stunned beyond words, as his feline friend had a fair number of bruises that were still fresh showing on her neck, face and chest/torso: suggesting that she must've been in a huge fight...a fight that she unfortunately lost.
'Neyla...oh, God. What happened after Bison knocked us out cold with the Talons?' The turtle mentally asked with a saddened frown, as he blamed himself for the beating his tigress friend endured after Bison saw through their sorry judge disguises and knocked them unconscious with his final Clockwerk part.
"Sly! Murray! Wake up!" Bentley shouted, which slowly woke his raccoon and hippo friends up, even though they're heads were still aching from the pain experience with the Talons!
"Yeah...I'm awake. But not so loud okay? I've got a splitting headache." The raccoon answered as he slowly opened his eyes and brought his left hand up to massage his head while standing up, showing his head was still aching after Bison tossed the Talons at them.
"Whuh?...Who? Where are we? What's going on!" The hippo asked shortly after slowly regaining conscious right after his friend/leader and demanded to know what had happened after waking up in the small room!
"Uh...Sly? Is...is that you?" Neyla muttered softly, as the sound of Bentley and Murray shouting slowly helped her awaken from the beating she took from Bison and his men and slowly opened her eyes to spot her team glancing at her direction...along with the distraught look on her raccoon lover's face.
"Oh, my God...Neyla!" Sly cried out before scurrying over to his tigress's side and scooped her up his arms, while Murray had a distraught look on his face as well after seeing the state his feline friend/teammate was in!
"Neyla...what happened? How did this to you?" The raccoon asked while holding his battered lover in his arms, while a strong and painful combination of guilt and anger had returned to plague him: the same feeling of guilt and anger he felt when he and tigress were captured in India and failing to save her from the Contessa's 'prison' before the corrupt spider moved Neyla to her castle estate.
"It...it was...Bison and his men. They saw me when I was outside watching you chaps competing against him in the games." The tigress answered softly, as the pain slowly faded away and she brought a hand to cup her raccoon's cheek, assuring him that the beating she took to protect their hide out and Clockwerk parts wasn't his fault, which helped anchor her lover's sense of distraught and guilt.
"Neyla...what exactly happened after Bison knocked me, Sly and Murray out with the Talons?" Her turtle friend asked softly, as he and Murray softly walked up behind their raccoon leader and placed comforting hands on his shoulders to help comfort him, which Sly deeply appreciated.
"He...he sent his lackeys to capture me and...they found the safe house." She answered somberly, as she remembered what had happened shortly after Bison and his captured her raccoon lover and teammates with perfect clarity...and deeply wished she hadn't.
~Flashback: One hour and thirty minutes ago, outside the team safe house~
Shortly after running up the path that led straight to their hideout, Neyla swiftly locked the door from the outside and with a swift powerful downward kick...broke the doorknob off, which would make it difficult for Bison and his men to gain entry into their safe house. Once the door was firmly locked and now unable to open/close...the tigress turned her attention to multiple foot steps marching up the path and spotted at least three Goose, two Mountain Goat and four Moose guards approaching her with their boss right behind them.
"Well...ain't this a nice surprise? Fancy seein' you here Neyla." Jean Bison stated sarcastically after seeing Arpeggio's former protege here in his lumber camp and glared hatefully at the tigress as he mirrored the angry glare she sent his way.
"Feeling's mutual Bison...although you obviously didn't learn your lesson back in Nunavut Bay, after my friends and I took out your three precious trains." The tigress countered while drawing out her whip and preparing it for battle as the red furred buffalo and his men continued to advance closer towards the safe house.
"So...what my boys told me then was true: you and your friends actually had the nerve...to ROB AND DESTROY MY BEAUTIFUL IRON HORSE TRAINS!" Bison slowly stated...before bellowing out at the top of lungs as a number of his men told him that she helped Sly steal the 2nd Clockwerk Lung and Stomach that led to the destruction of Iron Horses 2 and 3!
"I'm going to make you and your friends pay for that Neyla! You and your team destroyed everything I built with my own two hands and took away MY babies!" He angrily shouted, swearing vengeance against the tigress and her team for destroying his precious Iron Horse locomotives, stealing the Lungs and Stomach and more importantly: dismantling the Klaww Gang's entire spice shipping operation!
"Oh, what a shame...since you, that backstabbing bitch Carmelita and more importantly, Arpeggio are finished. Once my team and I sneak aboard that pathetic excuse for a parrot's blimp, the Clockwerk Parts are history...and Clockwerk will never again harm by beloved's family." Neyla replied, feigning sympathy for putting an end to her former master's grand scheme...and also ensuring that the ancient robotic owl would never again return and plague her raccoon lover's future children.
"So...you and the scrawny raccoon are together, eh? Well...if its any consolation for ya, you can join him and your pathetic friends in the sawmill control room after my men and I beat you senseless! Get her boys!" Bison stated with an angry scowl after learning that she and Sly were a couple and offered the feline a 'consolation prize': tossing her inside the sawmill control room alongside her raccoon boyfriend and teammates before sending his men to attack her!
After their boss gave them the order to attack, his brainless goons had charged in: with the Mountains Goats first followed by the Canadian Geese guards! Once his men blindfully charged in, the tigress had swiftly made the first move: wrapping her whip around the first Mountain Goat's waist and with a sharp twist of her wrist, sent him spinning like a top, crashing into a Goose and fellow Goat guard...while Bison merely shook his head in disgust. After the first three goons were defeated, Neyla naturally and swiftly evaded a left and right hook that another Mountain Goat guard attempted to land on her face, only to miss and accidentally slug a Goose guard across his bill/face!
As Neyla continued to hold her own against the idiot guards, she swiftly realized a rather important fact a little too late: while she was focused battling the Goat and Goose guards...she completely forgot all about the Moose guards! Once she easily dodged a Goose guard attempting to strike her in the chest with a frozen solid snowball..the tigress was too slow to evade a Moose guard landing a powerful blow across her face with his blunderbuss! The force of the last minute sneak attack was so strong, that it sent the feline falling to her knees and she groaned softly, as the barrel of the shotgun struck her right against her right eye. Before she even had the chance to recover, a Goose had struck the tigress directly in her chest with his shovel and a Goat had landed a powerful fist to her face!
'I-I can't them get past me! Sly, Bentley, Murray and I worked so obtain the parts we stole from Dimitri, Rajan, Contessa and this dimwit! We can't lose them now, not when we're so close!' Neyla mentally screamed to herself, refusing to give up and lose to Bison especially since she and her team were so close to accomplishing their goal: putting an end to Clockwerk and making sure he never returned to harm Sly's family line.
But unfortunately for the tigress, she never had the opportunity to fight back...as two Moose guards had crept up behind her and gotten a strong hold of her arms, which left her wide open for a relentless number of blows! Neyla had groaned in great pain, as the Goose guards struck her multiple times in her chest/stomach with their shovels while the Goats continued to land a number of punches: jabs and hooks...with the last punch being an insanely powerful uppercut! The power that was thrown into that uppercut was so strong, that the two Moose guards had gladly released their hold of her arms and smiled as she fell flat on her back, onto the freezing snow covered ground...before slamming their hoof covered feet down hard on her chest and stomach, while their boss watched in amusement!
"Alright, that's enough!" Bison commanded with a dark grin on his face, as he enjoyed every second of witnessing his men beating the overpowered feline, as her face was covered in her own blood from the punches the Goats landed before turning his attention to the safe house.
"Now...what do you and your friends have stashed away inside that little hide out of yours?" He asked, while gesturing to the safe house and Neyla's eyes widened as the rest of his men also turned their attention to the barricaded safe house!
"Oh, by that look on your face...I'd say wager something important. Maybe say: the Clockwerk Parts you, your little friends and scrawny boyfriend stole from me, Dimitri, Rajan and the Contessa." The red furred buffalo stated, as he fairly guessed that all the Clockwerk Parts that the tigress and her team had stolen from him and rest of the Klaww Gang were stashed away hidden in their hideout!
"Where are the Parts you thieving rats stole from me and my associates?" He demanded, while walking up to the battered feline...who simply spat a small mouthful of blood mixed in with saliva onto the bison's face.
"As if I would ever tell you!" Neyla defiantly countered after she spat on Bison's face and was met with an angry glare from the bovine...before he knocked her unconscious with a powerful punch to her face!
"Throw her in the sawmill control room with her friends. The rest of you, break this door down and start looking for the Clockwerk Parts." Bison commanded pure and simple, ordering two of his men to toss the unconscious tigress in the sawmill control room with the rest of her team and ordering the rest of his lackeys to search for the Clockwerk Parts after they broke down the door!
"Oh, Arpeggio is gonna love this!" He added while laughing, since he would be paid handsomely for handing his parrot boss/leader the rest of the Parts while witnessing the two Moose Guards whom held the tigress down for the beating she took, lifted her up by her wrists and ankles and carried her away.
~End of flashback~
"...I'm sorry Sly. I couldn't stop them from getting inside the hideout." Neyla stated while sobbing softly, as she felt that she failed her raccoon lover and friends: as Bison and his idiot goons had without a doubt must've broken down the door and ransacked the safe house...looking for their Clockwerk Parts.
"Neyla? Look me." Sly asked softly as he, Murray and Bentley had listened to every word that his tigress said and stared with shocked looks on their faces: how Bison and his men spotted his feline lover outside the hideout and how she bravely attempted to protect their Clockwerk Parts from the red furred bovine and his lackeys, but failed.
"Please look at me Neyla." He raccoon repeated softly, as his tigress refused to look at him as she couldn't bring herself to a look of disappointment on his face...but finally did as her lover asked and was met with comforting eyes.
"It wasn't your fault, you did the best you could. Murray, Bentley and I aren't mad or upset at you, my beautiful tigress. If anything...its our fault that this happened." The raccoon softly stated, assuring his feline lover that he and their friends/teammates weren't angry or upset at her...but at themselves, for getting captured and not being there to help her protect the safe house and their Clockwerk Parts.
"Sly's right Neyla. You did the best you could at the time: Bison had his men gang up on you, but you still held your own as long as you could to protect the Clockwerk Parts. We're just so sorry we weren't there to help you." Their turtle friend stated after his raccoon friend and leader, comforting the tigress by reminding her that she did the best she could to protect their Parts from Bison all on her own, even though she was outnumbered and surrounded by his men.
"I'm going to make them pay for what they did to you Neyla, I promise you that. Nobody gangs up on my friends and gets away with it! When we get out of this room, I'm going to rip Bison apart!" Their hippo friend stated, promising the tigress that he would get payback on Jean Bison and his idiot goons for ganging up on and leaving his feline friend in the battered state she was currently in!
"There's only one problem Murray: there's no obvious means of escaping this room!" Bentley countered, while pointing out that the sawmill control room was locked down tight and he couldn't find any alternative means of escaping!
"I wouldn't be too sure about that Bent. Think you can slide down that pipe over there?" Sly swiftly contradicted, as his keen eyes had spotted a way for his friend and tech support to escape the room: a medium sized pipe sticking out between a gap near one of the computer consoles in the far left corner of the room!
"Yeah...Yeah, I definitely think that I can squeeze through there!" The turtle answered, as he turned to look at the tight space and confirmed that he could slide down the pipe through the small gap.
"I'll drop down and try to free you guys from outside. If I run into any trouble, I'll contact you through this walkie-talkie: I'm positive that this computer console operates all the log chopping equipment inside the sawmill." Bentley added, stating that he would attempt to free his friends from outside the control room and if he ran into trouble, he'd call his raccoon friend for help through their walkie-talkies.
"While you guys do that, I'll try prying this steel door open. It'll take some time, but I should have us outta here in only a few minutes." Murray stated before approaching the cold steel security door that kept them locked up in the control room, claiming that he could pry it open and bust them out in a short moment.
"Alright, sounds like a plan big guy. Good luck down there Bentley, and remember to contact me so I can help you from up here." Sly stated as he nodded in agreement with Murray's plan into prying open the door on their side while wishing his turtle friend/teammate good luck once he was outside and reminded him to call him through their walkie-talkies so he could assist him through control room computer console.
Without wasting another second, Bentley had jumped and slid down the pipe, reaching the ground floor of the main sawmill. After he witnessed his friend/teammate slide down the pipe, the raccoon had helped Neyla onto her feet and sat her down on a crate to help her rest, before leaning in and locking lips in a loving passionate kiss. Once his tigress was resting to regain her strength so they could escape, Sly had approached the computer console and contacted his friend through their walkie-talkie after hearing a 'thump' from outside and underneath the control room.
"Bentley, are you alright?! I can't see you from up here, but I heard the fall!" The raccoon stated through the walkie-talkie, asking his friend if he was alright after hearing the 'thud' which clearly showed he landed on the ground ground floor.
"I'm alright. Just give me a sec to catch my...breath..." Bentley answered back from his end, claiming he was alright and simply needed a second to catch his breath...before staring wide-eyed after seeing none other than Jean Bison staring right at him!
"Well now Candy Britches...I shoulda figured a puny four-eyed turtle like you would find a rat-hole to squirm through!" Bison stated casually after seeing the nerdy turtle land on the ground floor and was disgusted at himself for not having the gaps in the control room patched up!
"Well, I, uh...just dropped my glasses and had to come pick them up." The turtle lamely countered, claiming he simply 'dropped' his glasses down the pipe and came down after them to pick them up...which was complete pathetic lie.
"I ain't like you boy: I ain't stupid! When y'all were unconscious, me and my boys paid a little visit to your hideout, which Neyla no doubtingly told ya about...and we found all them Clockwerk Parts. A lucky thing too: 'cause Arpeggio was willing to plunk down a king's ransom for the whole lot! I even through threw in the Talons to sweeten the deal." The red furred buffalo coldly countered, not believing his pathetic lie and revealed to Bentley what had happened after he, Sly, Murray and Neyla were captured and unconscious: after he and his men broke into their safe house and found all the Clockwerk Parts they stole from the previous Klaww Gang members...he contacted Arpeggio and made his boss an offer he couldn't resist: a huge sum of money for all the Parts, including the Talons!
"You sold ALL the Clockwerk Parts?! Arpeggio has them ALL?!" Bentley screamed in complete shock, after hearing what the red furred bison had done after he and his friends were knocked unconscious!
~Back in the control room~
Sly Neyla and Murray had heard their turtle friend's screams after hearing from Bison that he sold and gave all their Clockwerk Parts to Arpeggio...and the raccoon merely dropped his family cane in complete shock before collapsing to his knees. Neyla picked herself up from the crate and approached her lover, while their hippo friend simply frowned after seeing how distraught his friend and leader after hearing what Bison had done with the parts they stole from him and previous members of the Klaww Gang.
"Sly? My love...please look at me." The tigress requested softly, as she wrapped her arms around her devastated raccoon as he was taking in deep breathes to control the level of stress and despair that was coursing throughout his body while Murray continued to pry the steel door open.
"All the Clockwerk Parts we worked so hard to steal: the Tail Feathers, Wings, Heart, Eyes, Stomach and Lungs...they're all gone Neyla." Sly answered softly, with a tone of tiredness and despair clearly being heard in his voice after learning that Bison had sold all their Parts, along with the Talons to Arpeggio.
"And we'll get them back my love after we sneak on board Arpeggio blimp's. All we've got to do is reach the battery once we get out of this place." Neyla stated softly while comforting her distraught lover, reassuring him that they would steal all their Parts back from the British Parrot after they sneaked aboard his blimp...and that was all the inspiration that her raccoon needed as they both stood up together.
"Neyla...thank you. You're right...we can't give up: not when there's a chance we can steal all the Parts back." Sly stated while turning to his tigress, thanking her for helping overcome the despair that was taking over him and the two lovers shared a burning passionate kiss, with Murray softly smiling at the sight as he glanced over his shoulder while continuing to work on the locked and sturdy security door.
~Back on the ground floor with Bentley and Jean Bison~
"I wouldn't expect one of your kind to understand the finer points of commerce. You turtles are far too stupid to tell the difference between a wood cutter from a wood chuck!" The red furred bison coldly spat, stating that the turtle wouldn't understand the meaning of doing business and further insulting his species by claiming all turtle were just plain incompetent...which simply angered him further.
"That's it! Time I showed you just how 'stupid' we turtles really are!" Bentley angrily countered, showing he just had about enough of Bison's big mouth and annoying habit of belittling his species: claiming that he and all turtles were stupid and worthless!
"Sly, get ready on my command!" He ordered through the walkie-talkies, informing his friend that it was time to put the sawmill equipment to work!
"I read you, pal. Teach that son of a bitch redneck a lesson for all of us!" Sly answered, as he walked up behind the main computer console and turned it on, which activated the three main pieces of equipment that was used in the sawmill: a control to the four ground furnaces, a control to the large sized saw blades and a control to the logs that were hanging from the roof.
"Prepare yourself Bison. En garde!" The turtle stated while glaring with complete content at the old miner, as the buffalo had ruined everything he and his team worked so hard far and now he was going to pay for it!
"Okay Walnut...get ready for a smushen." The red furred bison growled with a glare of his own, as he was looking forward to smashing the nerdy turtle with his own two hands!
As soon as Bison had charged in to pummel Bentley with his staff, the turtle was able to outmaneuver the bovine due to his smaller status and called out to Sly through their walkie-talkies: telling him to either scorch Bison with the furnaces, flatten him with the logs or attack with the saw blades! The battle had started out going very well for the turtle, as Bison had never managed to land a single hit due to him being much faster than the old miner and was getting easily winded, from having to chase him around the battle field. Half way through the battle, Bison had called for several of his men to help even the odds for him...which disgusted Bentley since Bison was very similar to Rajan: they both preferred letting their pathetic excuse for 'hired help' do all the dirty work while they back and watched!
While battling the idiot lackeys, their boss had also lit and tossed multiple stick of dynamite...which had made the fight between them a bit more dangerous, but thanks to witnessing Sly evading explosives over the years, the turtle managed to avoid being caught in the blast radius...almost of Bison's men weren't that quick enough. The battle was soon over, as Bison heavily exhausted and wounded from the relentless blows dealt by the furnaces cooking/burning his fur covered body, the saw blades cutting into his skin and heavy logs painfully landing on top of him. The final blow that ended their fight, was Sly dropping one final log that fell and landed down hard on Bison: sending him sprawled out laying on his stomach on the cold and hard wooden floor with the leg over his back.
"Tarnation! I've been done in by some four-eyed turtle?! Times have changed..." The red furred buffalo cried out, not believing that he'd been defeated by the small nerdy amphibian...but accepted it along with how the world had changed while he was frozen alive for 120 years.
"Once again, brains triumph over brawn!" Bentley stated with a deep sense of satisfaction, as he had defeated Bison as retribution for the beating Neyla endured while trying to protect their safe house and Clockwerk Parts and selling them to Arpeggio, in order for him to accomplish his true and mysterious goal.
Shortly after the fight was over, Murray had finally opened the security door to the sawmill control room. Once the door was unlocked, Sly Murray and Neyla had jumped down to the ground floor and congratulated their turtle friend on job well done: with the hippo playfully lifting Bentley over hear and Neyla panting a soft kiss on his forehead, while thanking him for getting back at Bison for the beating he had his thugs give her...which caused the turtle to blush madly, as no one had ever given him a kiss on the forehead before. However, their celebration was short-lived...as one of Bison's men had just activated the main sawmill's intercom.
"Um, attention Jean Bison. Arpeggio's carrier blimp will to arrive to pick up the Northern Light battery in exactly one minute." The thug announced, informing his boss, whilst not knowing that he had been defeated, that Arpeggio's blimp would be arriving to pick up the battery in only one minute!
"Alright, enough patting ourselves on the backs. Our only chance to stealing back the Clockwerk Parts is by sneaking aboard Arpeggio blimp." Bentley stated, urgently reminding his friends that they didn't have the time to celebrate that Jean Bison was defeated and how their only shot at recovering their Clockwerk Parts was by infiltrating the British parrot's blimp.
"The silo battery isn't far. If we run, we can make it!" Sly replied in agreement while pointing out that the silo containing the Northern Light battery wasn't far from the main sawmill and if they ran, they could sneak inside before Arpeggio's blimp arrived.
"Enough talk, let's move!" Murray ordered, knowing they were wasting time talking and his friends nodded in agreement as they all broke into a fast run!
"Hurry you guys! That blimp will be here any moment now!" Neyla cried out as she, her raccoon lover and teammates sprinted out of the main sawmill and headed right towards the silo...with only a few second to spare before Arpeggio's arrived to pick up and fly away with the device.
Thankfully, Sly and his team had managed to reach the silo with only a few seconds to spare: Murray had tossed Bentley up onto the silo while he, Sly and Neyla used the trampoline to join their friend/teammate. The hippo had then opened the hatch and swiftly closed it after he and his friends jumped down into the silo and entered the Northern Light battery. The raccoon and his team had sat in the pitch black inside the device for in complete silence, not one of them daring to say a word in fear of Jean Bison's would hear and find them.
After sitting in silence for what felt like five-six minutes, Sly and his team had sat completely still and glanced around inside the battery..until they suddenly felt it! They all gasped in shock as they felt the silo battery being lifted off the ground and glanced out through the small grating inside the battery and they couldn't believe what they were seeing: they were being lifted into the sky by Arpeggio's blimp!
However...as the raccoon and his team sat inside the battery, they all felt the same feeling coursing deep inside them: failure. All their Clockwerk Parts were gone: stolen from Bison who sold them to Arpeggio for his grand scheme...which remained completely unknown to them. As they continued to sit in the battery, Sly had merely cradled Neyla's head on his lap, as she had laid down to rest so she was 100% when they came up with a plan to steal back their Parts from her former 'master'. Bentley had taken out pen and a notepad from his shell and began scribbling down a number of plans that could theoretically work while Murray...he simply weeped while glancing out the battery. What did the hippo that caused him to cry? The team van floating away on a block of ice out on the ocean.
Sly and Bentley merely looked at their friend with sympathetic eyes: that van was Murray's entire life the day he found it and they had made it their mobile home. The raccoon knew that once they had destroyed the Clockwerk Parts and put an end to the ancient owl...he would have to find a way to make it up to his hippo friend foster brother, even if it meant he'd have to search for the van personally.
A/N: There is it everyone, the Operation: Canada Games chapter! I would like to apologize for the huge delay: I know that I promised my fellow Fanfic authors and reviews that I'd have this chapter before Christmas or midnight tonight...but I was distracted with celebrating New Years and watching the countdown on TV with my folks. But what matters it that its finished and I hope you guys enjoy. The first chapter to the Anatomy for Disaster episode will be posted sometime this week or next weekend, until then have a good night and Happy New Years! Welcome to the year 2020!