Hello my fine readers! This one took me a while with me busy with work and everything but I finally got it done.
I don't own Sly Cooper or any of the Known characters or game scenes. That honor goes to Sucker Punch and Sanzaru.
Read review Enjoy
(Sly POV)
I was happy that the gang was back together, but it still wasn't right. I still had that hole in my heart that was only reserved for Regina. But since Contessa was suppressing my bond with Regina, I couldn't sense where she was. While we were on break from hunting down the Klaww Gang, Bentley was tracking where The Contessa was hiding. Wherever she's headed, it has to be where she's hiding Regina. Either way, I was worried out of my mind. Who knows what The Contessa was doing to her! I tried to enjoy myself as the gang and I went camping, but I truly couldn't. Not until I knew Regina was safe and in my arms.
Bentley got word that Carmelita was working with Constable Neyla to hunt down The Contessa. Not only to take her down, but to also bring her own sister in. I was stunned at this news. I would've thought she would've cared more about Regina's safety than her job. Once I rescue Regina, I'm gonna have to keep her away from Carmelita or she'll get locked up. And I will not let that happen.
"SLY!" I heard Bentley shout out. I looked over from the lake I was sitting near, to see Bentley flagging me over with a massive smile on his face. I rushed over to him as Murray flanked me.
"Did you find The Contessa?" I asked, praying this was the case.
"You bet I did. The Contessa was smart and kept fighting me every step of the way, but her encryption was no match for my hacking skills! She's still in Prague, not far from here. If we get going now, we'll be there by nightfall."
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Murray exclaimed, then rushed over and climbed into the van. We all hopped in and got back on the road.
Time for a little payback! The Contessa, having escaped us in the Prison, is now hiding out in her Castle Estate. It's a well-fortified Gothic nightmare, that would make any thief run in terror. Terrible or not, that's where we are headed. For it's the only lead on finding where she's keeping my beloved Regina. With the Soulmate Bond blocked, I couldn't sense where she is or if she's even harmed, and that scared the living daylights out of me. Before Constable Neyla left after her failed attempt of seducing me, she whispered something to the Contessa. Knowing her, it wasn't good. I'll bet since she failed to win me over, Neyla ordered the Contessa to do her worst to Regina to make me suffer. There was no telling what the Contessa has planned for her, but I had no intention of finding out.
To sweeten the deal, Bentley found out that since The Contessa, until recently, was a secret member of the Klaww Gang; she was in possession of the Clockwerk Eyes! The Thievius Raccoonus and Thievieus Foxus describes the eyes, stopping enemies dead in their tracks, transfixed in their gaze. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what an accomplished hypnotist could do with such powerful artifacts.
News of the Contessa's corruption had spread to Interpol. Constable Neyla and Inspector Fox, being closest to the case, were granted a cash allowance to hire an army of local mercenaries. It looks like we're walking into a full-scale war. Carmelita suspects that The Contessa was holding Regina prisoner and had every intention to take her down. But since she was such an honest cop, once she finds her sister, she intends to arrest her own sister for being in league with me. That cannot happen! We have to act now, before things go from bad to worse!
Sly and the Gang in: A Tangled Web
(Sly POV)
As soon as we set up shop in a house not far from the Castle. Bentley sent me out to do some recon, in order to get a layout. I had to stay hidden as I saw Carmelita walking around before heading into a bank nearby. Taking a photo of that, Bentley confirmed that she and Constable Neyla were using it as their headquarters. He then said we needed to draw them out somehow. In the distance I took a picture of the blimp The Contessa used to escape us. Since Bentley was able to track her using it, he was sure he'd be able to hack into its' navigation system and use it to our advantage. Neyla and Carmelita had tanks patrolling everywhere but none of them went into the Castle. It looked like the Contessa had tanks patrolling on her side. The difference between the 2 sides is that Neyla and Carmelita's tanks had blue lights and the Contessa's tanks had red lights.
"It looks like Neyla, Carmelita, and the Contessa are all geared up for war! This is going to be dicey." Bentley exclaimed. In the canal, there was a boat that moved on the water under the bridge to the castle.
"That boat could be useful in getting around." Bentley said.
"Ok, so now what?" I asked. Bentley froze on the line a little bit.
"Well, now you should make your way up to the 'Re-education Tower' on the far side of the castle. I just ask that you keep your head when you get up there." Bentley said before he hung up before I could respond. Shrugging in confusion, I pulled out my binocucom to find this tower and saw it marked. It took some doing but I eventually got up there. Once inside, I froze in my step and my heart just froze in my chest.
There she was! Regina was strapped down on some medieval table. She was struggling as her tail twitched behind her. And her eyes scared me the most, they were glowing a pale green. Her Interpol collar was no longer around her neck. In its' place was a glowing red collar. That must be what was blocking mine and Regina's bond. It wasn't easy, but I controlled my breathing as I saw The Contessa messing with some control panel only a few feet away from me. On the other side of the room, The ClockWerk Eyes were attached to some machine and they looked like they were emitting some beam at Regina as she continued to struggle.
"Struggling is pointless, my dear. There's nowhere to go anyway, except to jail." Contessa said. Regina growled as she struggled in her restraints.
"Shut up you evil witch! You think I don't know what you are up to?" She snapped.
"Whatever do you mean dear?"
"I know what you did, or tried to do to Sly! Brainwash him so Neyla could take my place! You are dumber than I thought! Nothing can break us apart!"
"Yet, he's not here. Perhaps he truly doesn't love you. Perhaps you should just move on." I growled lowly when the Contessa said that.
"You truly don't understand soulmates. Then again, I don't expect an evil 8-legged bitch to understand anything! This collar may stop Sly from sensing me, but he will come for me! Just like how I was able to break your spell over him!"
"I don't think so. Once I integrate the ClockWerk Eyes into this machine, I'll simply erase Sly from your mind and you'll belong to the Klaww Gang and serve your purpose."
"I won't be brainwashed so easily! And I'll never serve the Klaww Gang!"
"You're right, it won't be easy or painless. But I will reprogram your mind and you will then be whatever I want you to be. Now, just sit back and relax. Go to your happy place and stay there forever." Contessa growled out.
"Bentley, there's more than just the ClockWerk Eyes up here." I said just watching Regina as she started panicking and struggling harder.
"I was afraid of this. While you were out reconning the area, I hacked into the security footage and saw that Regina was being held here."
"So what do I do?"
"I'm sorry Sly, but you need to get photos of the Clockwerk eyes and get out of there before your spotted."
"NO! I can't leave Regina with that monster!"
"You can't do anything right now, but I promise we will save her. But maybe you can help her stall the Contessa long enough for us to rescue her."
"What do you mean?"
"The collar around her neck is filled with bad mojo. It's suppressing the existing abilities that are performed through the bond, like the ability to sense each other. Maybe if we can awaken your ability to talk to her telepathically, you'd be able to communicate with her and let her know you're here."
"Ok go on"
"It will be easier for the Contessa to brainwash Regina when she is either angry or panicking like she is now. If you can awaken your telepathic ability, you can communicate with her and keep her calm and focused. If she's calm and concentrating, it will make it more difficult for the Contessa to brainwash her." I nodded looking over at Regina as tears started falling down her face, my heart breaking at the sight of her looking so afraid.
"Let's do it"
"Sit as close to the window as you can; close your eyes; and focus your mind solely on Regina" Bentley instructed. Taking deep breaths, I did as I was told. Focusing solely on the struggling vixen, I felt something branch out in my mind and my heart. I opened my eyes to see I was glowing blue and tethers were coming out of my chest.
"It's working, keep it up!" Bentley said. I focused and watched as the tethers reached through the bars and attached to Regina's body causing her to glow red and tethers reached out and blended with mine, changing them to a purple color. She gasped and stopped struggling. I smiled at her and closed my eyes.
Regina, can you hear me?
Sly, is that you, where are you?
Don't look over, but I'm beside you in the back wall.
I'm so glad you're ok! I knew that The Contessa was full of garbage!
And don't ever doubt my love for you!
I won't. I hope you have a plan to get me out of here! I don't know what the Contessa has planned for me but I'm getting scared.
Don't worry, I will get you out. I promise, you just need to remain calm and focus on blocking out the Contessa from your mind.
Ok
Listen, I must go, but I will check in on you and keep you updated. I swear on my life, I will get you out of there.
I trust you Ringtail
I love you, Regina. I hope you know that.
I know Sly. I love you too.
I smiled sadly as she relaxed herself, queuing my exit.
"Great job Sly, that will hold off the Contessa for a while. Now come back to the safehouse with those photos and we'll come up with a plan of attack." Bentley instructed. I sighed sadly while glancing over at my girl one last time before heading back. Using the photos I sent to Bentley, he was able to get a presentation built up quickly.
"The war between Neyla, Carmelita, and the Contessa has put the castle on high alert. To rescue Regina and get at the Clockwerk Eyes, we'll need to subtly manipulate the conflict to our advantage. Here's the plan: Murray, sneak into the castle and kidnap the Head of Security, I want to ask him a few questions. Meanwhile, Sly and I will be getting a little paranormal. I'll slip into the crypts beneath the castle and put together a bad mojo bomb; it should be enough to destroy the mind shuffler. While researching the properties of bad mojo, I discovered that it can be absorbed and converted to good mojo by using a special crystal. While I'm building the bomb, I'll keep a lookout for this crystal. It should be able to absorb the bad mojo from Regina's collar so we can get it off her. Sly, you capture a few ghosts and drop them into Carmelita and Neyla's headquarters; hopefully the near-death experience will inspire them to purchase more fire power. We've all got our assignments, good luck." Bentley presented. We all headed out at the same time to get our jobs done. Avoiding the guards I arrived at the rooftop close to the tomb by the castle, then called Bentley for instructions.
"Alright Sly, that mausoleum is your new objective. Sneak in there and smash open the coffin of the evil wolf priestess."
"Sounds pretty harsh, does the old girl really deserve that kind of treatment?" I asked.
"Weren't you listening? She was an evil wolf priestess! Once you smash the coffin, it will release all the ghosts trapped in there with her."
"Ok, I don't know where you're going with this, but freeing trapped ghosts sounds vaguely heroic." I said before sneaking past the patrolling coyote and into the crypt. It was full of floor spikes and swinging axes, which I was able to avoid and get past easily. The coffin was down the stairs and in the center of the room. I crept up to the coffin when all of a sudden, coyote guards bursted from statues and started attacking me. Smacking the coffin enough times caused it to burst, killing all the guards. A depressing moan filled the room as all the ghosts floated out of the coffin and then out of the tomb.
"Nice work now head outside and I'll fill you in on phase 2" Bentley instructed. I nodded and headed out and climbed to the roof of the Mausoleum.
"I've modified the imager in your binocucom to catch ghosts."
"Hold up, didn't I just set these guys free? Why would I want to catch them again?"
"Don't worry, it's only a temporary confinement. Gather all the ghosts, and set them free down the chimney of Carmelita and Neyla's headquarters."
"I get you, they'll think it's a sneak attack from the Contessa"
"Correct. If I did my math right, and I always do my math right, they should respond to the assault by purchasing more fire power."
"Anything bad for the Contessa is good for us. Plus, I get payback for both myself and Regina by really freaking out Neyla and Carmelita." I said. Looking around I totaled up 9 ghosts to capture. This was definitely tricky and required a lot of climbing. These ghosts were everywhere and it's not easy to catch a moving target, but I managed to capture all the ghosts. I headed over to the bank and before I dropped the ghosts down there, I decided to get an audience.
Regina? You doing ok?
Considering that I'm strapped to a medieval table with an 8-legged cow trying to brainwash me, I'm just peachy!
Haha! Hang in there sweetheart, we're working on getting you out of there! Anyway, link to my mind and watch through my eyes, I'm about to do something that will cheer you up!
In a few minutes, I could sense that Regina was linked into my head. I dropped the container full of ghosts down the chimney. The container shattered and all the ghosts swarmed all over the bank, inside and out.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Regina and I heard Neyla and Carmelita shriek.
Hahahaha! Sly, you sneaky devil! That was priceless and music to my ears!
I knew you'd enjoy that!
You know me all too well. Now how about you use your cleverness and get me the heck out of here!
Don't worry gorgeous, you'll be free and back in my arms before you know it!
Just as soon as the connection broke, Carmelita and Neyla bursted out of the bank. Both were really freaked out, then that scared look turned to fury.
"That eight-legged bitch has done it now!" Carmelita shrieked out.
"Perhaps it's time we purchase a little air power?" Neyla asked. Carmelita nodded and then glared at the castle.
"A few bombers should put that cow in her place!" Carmelita growled before placing the call.
"My intel says that your sister is in there as well. You do realize that once we find her, she'll have to be arrested." Neyla said with a smirk. Carmelita hung up the phone and glared at Neyla.
"She's no sister of mine! Not anymore! She betrayed me, so I'm going to make sure she's put away for good!" Carmelita growled out. I clenched my teeth at this in rage. How dare Carmelita turn her back on Regina. Neyla nodded and once the ghosts left, they went back into the bank. Shaking my head in shame, I headed back to the safehouse and waited for the others to get back from completing their jobs.
(Murray POV)
After we all split up, I rushed over across the bridge to the castle, avoiding searchlights and smashing up any guard that got in my way. I had to climb up the castle to the back of it to reach my spot. Across the way from my position, was an old bat patrolling around mumbling to himself in a different language. I called Bentley to get further instructions.
"Hey Murray-can you see the General from there?"
"Nope, just an old man coming up the ramp." I said, watching as the old bat continued his way.
"Don't let his appearance fool you. That is General Clawfoot, and he's one of the toughest old soldiers you'll ever see… not to mention head of castle security."
"What if he doesn't want to come? I don't want to hurt him." I said. I truly respect the military as they fight for what is best for their countries.
"Oh, don't worry about that. He's only afraid of 2 things: fire and water. Other than that, you couldn't hurt him if you wanted to. He might even come in handy as a projectile to throw at guards that might get in your way." Bentley said, reassuring me.
"Wow, that is handy." I said before hanging up. I rushed up to the General, uppercut him and caught him. He began to struggle but could not escape my mighty grip. While along the way, he started yelling in his language.
"Uh Bentley, you have any idea what he's saying?" I asked.
"You really don't want to know, Murray. General Clawfoot is not only known for his toughness, but he's also known by his Sailor Mouth. He can come up with the most horrific insults and make tough guys run away crying. So, let's just say, he's not happy with what you're doing to him." Bentley said.
"Ok then, let's leave it at that."
"Good idea, just get him back to the safe house." Bentley instructed. I nodded and continued running with this old fart continuously struggling and throwing insults at me.
"Will you shut up old man! You ain't gonna make The Murray cry!" I shouted before slamming him down in front of Bentley as he came outside with a feather.
"Well, well… General Clawfoot, we've got a lot to talk about. You wouldn't by chance know the security codes to the Castle Gates, hmm?" He said before flourishing his feather and approached the General as he glared at my buddy, only causing him to smirk.
"Don't feel like talking huh? How about a little of this?" Bentley said before tickling the General, causing him to explode in laughter.
"Ha ha ha…Drack! Ho ho, ha ha HA!"
"TALK YOU SCOUNDREL!" Bentley growled out before tickling him harder.
"HA HA, OOOO HA HA FWAH! HO-HO-OH HO HO HO!" The General cackled before he finally relented and told Bentley what he wanted to know.
(Bentley POV)
After getting the codes from the General, Murray went inside the safe house. Now it was my turn. I had to sneak into the crypts beneath the castle and construct a bad mojo bomb. While keeping Regina calm, Sly took photos of a Mind Shuffler. I honestly thought those didn't exist. It looked like it was integrated with the Clockwerk eyes. If I could get a bad mojo bomb together, it should be powerful enough to destroy the mind shuffler and detach the eyes. I just have to work quickly before the Contessa can use that machine to brainwash Regina. Sly was too distracted with his worry over Regina, so he couldn't use my computer. I had to have Murray work with me on my system back at the safe house so I could get the job done. Using the codes, I got from General Clawfoot, I entered the first crypt and then contacted Murray to give him the rundown on what I needed to do.
"That's it! I knew the Contessa would have a bad mojo collector to transport the overflow."
"Huh?"
"It's a semi-magical device, that can suck up bad mojo. There's a crystal somewhere too, that can transform bad mojo into good mojo. I will need that crystal in order get the collar off Regina. Until I can find the crystal, I'll need the collector to gather the runoff from the spouts above me." I explained to Murray, looking up at the red-glowing bat statues holding the bad mojo.
"Wow, sounds easy."
"Not really… bad mojo is a powerfully dark force. Take any damage while carrying the collector and your done for."
"Wow, sounds hard."
"Yes, it presents an interesting tactical challenge… perhaps I can use the death traps native to these crypts against any foe that might attempt to thwart my collection of the ectoplasm." I said while looking around the crypt to see switches all over the place that sets off traps.
"Huh? No way that'll work. I'd use that switch to smash up the guards before they ever got near me" Murray said. I chuckled internally when he recited exactly what I just said in his own words.
"Precisely. There are 5 cylinders in this collector. 1 cylinder should be enough for the Crystal to absorb for Regina's collar. The other 4 should be enough to blow up the Mind Shuffler." I said before hanging up and getting to work. I quickly grabbed the Collector and placed it on my shell. Once the bad mojo started to get absorbed, the guards came running. Luckily there were switches up front to stop them. All 3 switches did the same things, squashed the guards like the bugs they were. Thankfully there were enough switches since it took time for them to reset so I just used one switch after another. In no time at all, I took out all the guards and then the bat spout exploded.
"Looks like this spout's run out of bad Mojo. No matter, I'm 1/5 of the way to a full tank." I said to myself.
"Bentley you there, I've been doing research, but I still can't find any more data on that crystal you were talking about. But I have been collecting clue bottles in case they were important. Do you think the Contessa has the crystal locked away somewhere?" I heard Sly ask through my earpiece.
"That could be Sly, a good mojo crystal is extremely rare and very valuable. Keep ahold of the clues and keep a lookout for a vault. There's a good chance the crystal might be in there. While I'm out collecting the bad mojo for the bomb and Regina's collar, I'll keep a lookout for the crystal too." I said, trying to reassure him.
"Thanks Bentley, anyway Murray's pinpointed your next objective and sent it to your binocucom." he said. I nodded and brought up my binocucom. The next crypt was higher up in the towers of the castle. This one was a little more fun. The 4 switches set off different traps. The first one sent swords through the walls; the middle one sent swords up from the floor; the 3rd one sent a swinging axe. I calculated the space in between the 3 switches so I didn't need the 4th one. I used every switch in order to take out guards, laughing at them as they went down. They didn't even touch me as I finished collecting the bad mojo, causing the spout to explode.
"Excellent! Another chamber in my collector is full. Moving on to the 3rd crypt." I reported to Murray.
"Great! There should be another waypoint in your binocucom." Murray said. Pulling it out, I saw that the next target was back around the castle, next to the Mausoleum. This one was a little tricky though. The switches were all around the room and I had to run all over, while avoiding the guards as they attacked. The traps smashed guards, gassed them to sleep and fried them to a crisp, but they took longer to reset. It got a little dicey but I was able to collect all the bad mojo. Unfortunately, I have yet to find the crystal.
"That does it for this room. Looks like there's only one more crypt and I still have 2 chambers left. That meant this last crypt will be tricky since it will have more bad mojo to steal." I told Murray as I left the crypt.
"I'm really getting the hang of this. It looks like the last crypt is buried beneath the well. Watch yourself pal." Murray warned. Guards were patrolling around the well, so I had to be real careful. I alerted some before jumping in the well and got inside the crypt before they could get me. The crypt held 3 spouts and 4 switches. 2 of the traps set guards on fire; the middle trap dropped the platform so guards fell into the water and the switch in the back squashed guards. The switches reset faster this time, but the guards were faster as well. I had to use all of the switches to take out the guards before they could hurt me. Some guards managed to evade the traps so I knocked them into the water when they got near me. It was really dicey here but in no time at all, the 3 spouts exploded and both chambers were full.
"The deed is done! With a bad mojo collector at full capacity, the crystal should have enough to destroy Regina's collar and I should still have enough bad mojo to destroy the Mind Shuffler. This is going to be GREAT!" I reported to Sly and Murray.
"No sign of the Crystal, Bentley. And I can't find the vault either!" Sly said.
"Don't worry Sly, it's got to be around here somewhere. We'll find it." I reassured him.
"Ok, I told Regina the plan to get her out. She's still calm, but I don't know how much more she can take."
"I know Sly. I'm heading back to the safe house with the collector. I've already got a plan cooked up. Be ready with Murray by the time I get there." I said before hanging up and heading back to the Safe house.
There you have it! Stay tuned and turn for part 2 of A Tangled Web.