*Sly POV*
We arrived in the Wild West looking for my ancestor: "Tennessee Kid" Cooper. The inventor of the Rail Walk and Rail Slide as well as a legendary outlaw whose bank robberies were some of the most daring in Cooper lore. When we arrived, it took some time to locate him, but we eventually found him... in prison.
His arrest was the handiwork of the new local sheriff who had celebrated by posting his own picture all over town. Talk about an ego.
We needed to bust Tennessee out of jail, but after some furious calculation, Bentley and Penelope determined that the best way to do that...was from the inside. For the first time in my career, I was gonna have to let the law catch me. This could be a real challenge.
Well, Carmelita certainly found amusement in the whole situation. Then again, she had constantly been trying to catch me so I guess I couldn't really blame her for finding such amusing irony.
Sly, Carmelita, Ben, and Neyla were walking around town. Sly remained inconspicuous since it would be clear people would point at him having relations to Tennessee. As for Ben, he was wearing a black cowboy hat, sunglasses, and a handkerchief around his mouth and nose to look like a wandering dark vigilante.
Heading to a bar in the town, Ben took a seat with Neyla straddled next to him. The bartender poured them a pair of glasses of cola as Sly and Carmelita sat down with some guys who were no doubt guards.
"Hehe, boy am Ah glad that the new sheriff got Tennessee locked up! Serves that outlaw right, tyrin' to rob a bank in this town!" A Bull Beastkin guffawed out loud.
"That does not sound good...the bank in this town was supposed to be Tennessee's biggest heist ever according to the Thievius Raccoonus." Sly thought with a frown.
"Peh, I'm gonna have a front-row seat when they noose him tomorrow mornin'! I wanna see that boy squirm. " A Coyote Beastkin smirked.
"I dunno, fellas. Shouldn't there be a more humane way to put 'im down?" A Human guard asked as he smoked a cigarette.
"Awww, don't be goin' soft on us, Jonny!" The Bull Beastkin said, slapping his smaller compatriot on the back.
"Well, I think we heard enough from these townies. Come on, we gotta get back to the gang." Ben said to Neyla as he finished his drink, paid the bartender, and headed out. Sly and Carmelita following after the two, but not before swiping a few valuables from the three chatting guards.
After making it back to the hideout, the rest of the gang were all informed of the situation at hand.
"Well, this new Sheriff Toothpick is certainly a character," Bentley said as he rubbed his chin. "From what you guys have heard, he's already rigging a noose for Tennessee, so we don't have time for a complicated plan."
"And we have a bigger problem," Penelope said. "I've been doing some microphone sweeps with my RC Chopper in the skies, and from what I've heard, they're holding Tennessee in the maximum-security wing. Only outlaws are put in that place."
"So what must we do in order to save Tennessee from such a grim and unjust fate?" Jing King asked worriedly."
"Simple, we're going to need one of us to build a rep and get thrown in there. If it were anyone else of our gang and we only did one wrong thing, we'd just be put in with the goat thieves and cattle rustlers." Bentley explained.
"Well Sly, one of us is gonna have to bite the bullet on this," Ben said as Sly smirked.
"Better me than you, brother."
Sly and Ben left the hideout and headed around town, deciding that the first order of business was defacing Toothpick's posters of himself. Luckily, Ben's bionic arm had been given a small upgrade by Bentley that produced a special ink pen from the fingers that could change colors and automatically refill from the water in the air.
"Alright, Toothpick, time to deface some portraits to show your true nature!"
Ben and Sly found a poster of Toothpick holding up a giant weight and went to work on it, making him look like he was holding a stick with two flowers on the ends.
"I call this piece: The Dainty Lightweight!"
Sly laughed as he went to another one and di his own piece on it, changing 'wise' to 'why?' instead and making it look like Toothpick was about to eat a cactus.
"And this one I dub: Outlaws Will Laugh!"
"Good one, brother!" Ben laughed as he admired Sly's handiwork before both decided to work together on the last poster, which showed Toothpick riding a bucking bronco and it saying 'agile'.
After some hard teamwork, the two made the poster look like Toothpick was riding a super-fat pig with a dorky expression on him. And instead of 'agile', it now said 'pedophile'.
"And as for this one, I think I'll call it: The Creepy Fatso!"
The two brothers quickly took a vantage point as some of the guards saw the defaced posters and couldn't help but laugh. However, Sheriff Toothpick, an Armadillo Beastkin, was not so amused.
"Now this really chaps my hide! I'm going to find this "artiste" and bust his thumbs!" He then grinned evilly. "And maybe his pinkie."
As Ben and Sly went to do their next order of business in order to achieve 'Outlaw' status, a sweet southern feminine voice spoke up.
"Well, ain't you two a couple o' heartbreakers~."
Turning around, the blood brothers noticed a Human woman with messy auburn hair, emerald green eyes, a stetson hat, a red and blue cowgirl-esque outfit, white and yellow cuffs, brown boots, a brown belt with a gold star buckle, a pair of pouches with revolvers holstered in them, and a knuckleduster on her left hand with 'Yeehaw' engraved on it.
"And you are?" Ben asked as the woman smiled and tipped her hat.
"Annie Shigura, don't mind the last name, my grandpappy came from the East."
"Shigura...my name is Shigura too!" Ben said as Annie looked at him quizzically. "Yeah, I think I may be your great-great-great-many time's great-grandson."
"Ain't that a bootlick in a cow pie factory!" Annie laughed. "I can see the resemblance, especially for someone as adorable as you!"
Ben blushed as he looked at Sly helplessly, only to see his brother smirking at him deviously. "Sly, help me!"
"Sorry, I'm enjoying this way too much."
"So, you two are puttin' the stink on ol' Toothpick, eh? That two-timin' runt pinched my buddy Tennessee and is plannin' on hangin' him tomorrow on the sunrise! I ain't lettin' that happen for the life o' me!"
"Don't worry, Annie. We're busting Tennessee out. You see, we're trying to achieve Outlaw status so Toothpick can throw us in the Maximum Security wing."
"That's just plain suicidal!" Annie said before smirking. "However, you fellers look like you got a plan. Whatever it is, I want part of it."
"Well, I think it's best if you check out our hideout. The rest of our gang will fill you in on all the details." Ben said. "And be warned. What you might learn will come as a bit of a shock."
"I'll see to it that I mosey on over and meet 'em!" Annie then turned but stopped when she remembered something. "Oh, one more thing, honey buns. Ol' Toothpick loves those foul lollipops shipped from Cuba. Word of advice; don't lick 'em. They taste like rice and beans."
"Gross!" Sly cringed as Annie giggled before heading off to the Cooper Gang's hideout. Ben and Sly moved to find where Toothpick had the lollipops and found an entire cache. Ben held up a hand and ejected a small ball from the palm of his bionic hand which then began blinking with a red light. He then threw the ball into the cache and the whole thing blew up in a sea of napalm.
"Exploding Sticky Bombs!" Ben laughed as he and Sly hid to have Toothpick see the destruction of his treats.
"RRRGAAARGH! That no-good criminal is getting on my nerves! He trashed me favorite lollies!"
"Time for one more task. That big banner looks like the final straw," Ben smiled as he and Sly went over to the ropes and walked on them to the top of the bridge, smacking off the clothespins until the banner flew off into the wind.
Toothpick arrived at the cliff with three bull guards and five human guards. He scowled as his henchmen were about to shoot Sly and Ben before he stopped them.
"Hold yer fires, boys! That there is the scribblin', Lollie-thievin' outlaw I've been lookin' for! And whaddya know! THere's TWO of 'em!"
"You got us, Ol' Toothpick! We'll come quietly!" Ben said as he and Sly jumped down, Toothpick sneering evilly at them.
"Ah. Well, amigos, you just booked yourselves a permanent room in the stony lonesome!"
Ben and Sly were hoisted up by the guards and hauled off to the prison, where they would soon come into contact with Tennessee Kid Cooper.
Next Time: Busting Out!
And so, we introduce the second Shigura Ancestor, Annie Shigura! She's kinda like Jessie from Toy Story with the whole fearless and excitable asthetic.