Master of Thieves
Chapter 18: A Misty Welcome
Back in Scotland, Sly and his Scottish ancestor Slaigh MacCooper returned to the hideout, though they both had ashen faces with a couple bags of batteries with their signature canes sheathed on their backs. When they are met with the warmth of the lit candles, both Sly and Slaigh slumped on the cot bed and wooden chair respectively, before letting out a sigh of relief at the same time.
There was a few moments of silence, before Slaigh said finally "Ach, that was quite a scuffle, laddie… All because of some 'batteries' ye need for yer weird contraption." Sly replied after exhaling again "I'm not even going to comment how difficult that was… I'm just glad we got the freaking batteries in one piece." Slaigh brushed it off, though knew that his descendant had the only equipment needed to call for help.
After a few minutes rest, Sly got off the cot and puts in fresh batteries in his Binocu-Com; when he turned it on, he was pleased that it was working after all. When he's about to call Bentley, Slaigh asked him "Are ye sure this is even going to work, laddie? The batteries we managed to grab probably won't even last for a minute." Sly then replied, acknowledging his Scottish Ancestor's skepticism "Slaigh, it's either this or going back out there and handling those drones and you're pretty aware on what just happened." Slaigh made a reluctant sigh, before he gestured Sly to proceed to contact his friends.
Back in the present, at the Cooper Hideout, Carmelita just parked her convertible near the front door, before turning off the engine and both her and Terry left the vehicle before knocking at the front door. A few footsteps later, Murray appeared at the front door and let them in, informing them "You two came just in time: Bentley had just gotten a signal from Sly's Binocu-Com."
They then rushed to the work area just as Bentley answered the call, where they heard Sly's voice rang "Bentley? Bentley, are you there?" Bentley replied, relieved that the signal was much clearer than the previous one "I'm here Sly and I read you loud and clear. What's going on; Where and When are you?" Sly told him in a clear tone "I'm in Scotland with my Ancestor, Slaigh MacCooper in his hideout in a cave!" They then heard a gruff Scottish voice said in the background "Hey there!"
Bentley, Murray, Carmelita and Terry were astonished to hear that, before Terry responded back "Hi there… Slaigh MacCooper. Sorry for being impatient, but what's going on your end?" Sly then replied "Hey Terry! Nice to hear your voice again, pal… There are some drones out here too, like the ones in Egypt, but they're just sticking to the village for some reason. Me and Slaigh 'procured' some batteries for my Binocu-Com, though we had to fight our way out of there after tripping a motion sensor." Bentley, Murray, Carmelita and Terry looked at each other in concerned looks, before Terry said "Don't worry, you guys. I'm on my way to you; just hold on and keep out of sight until I arrive." Sly then replied "You got it, cousin. Please hurry, though…"
The call then suddenly ended, much to their concern, before Terry reached in his pocket and grabbed out Muggshot's keepsake, which turns out to be a weathered Scottish Trinket for men's kilts. To be certain that it really was from Slaigh MacCooper's time, Bentley scanned it with Terry's Time Warp device and revealed its original date was from around 1300 A.D. Terry checked the original date and exclaimed in surprise "Holy Mackerel, this is quite a well-tended trinket Muggshot has in his family."
Both Bentley and Murray were surprised that Terry and Carmelita had confiscated this from Muggshot himself, considering that the former had fought him just a fortnight ago. After a detailed explanation on how they 'convinced' Muggshot to lend them his keepsake, Bentley and Murray understood, though they smirked at how Terry handled the interrogation.
After getting some equipment for the Time Trip to 14th century Scotland, Bentley told the others "Guys, I managed to made another Time Warp after the first one's successful trip and back in Ancient Egypt. Since it was a time consuming process, it'd be best if one of us uses it to join Terry to help Sly." Murray and Carmelita looked at each other, still unsure if they were ready to use such a device, before Bentley decided to use it for himself.
After scanning Muggshot's Scottish Trinket in the second Time Warp, both Bentley and Terry were ready to travel to 14th century Scotland. Due to his knowledge that Scotland is a wet and cold climate, Terry went upstairs and grabbed a fur coat for him and Bentley, before giving one about Bentley's size to the latter and putting the former fur coat on himself.
When Terry scrolled the screen onto 14th Century Scotland, Loch Ness, Murray tapped on his shoulder and told him "Would you please look after Bentley while you're in the 14th century? I don't… want him to drown in the lake." Terry raised a brow at Murray; he is completely aware that Bentley's legs are disabled, but he could at least float in the water and use his arms to swim back to shore.
He then asked "So, I take it that he doesn't know how to swim?" Murray, Bentley and Carmelita looked down uncomfortable, which the unfortunate truth dawned onto Terry that they can't swim either. He then heaved a sigh and said unenthusiastically "I'll look after Bentley… Don't worry, I know how to swim in case he falls into the water." Unsurprisingly, the others were surprised that Terry knew how to swim, before he and Bentley, who felt more assured with Terry at his side, glowed in a bright light and disappeared before them.
As Bentley and Terry were transported through time, Bentley was screaming since he used the Cooper Van to travel through time; Terry, however, quickly got over the fear and screamed in joy, when they felt some incoming fog flowing towards them and the temperature was slowly dropping until they both landed on some damp grass beside a large lake covered in dense fog. Terry then said amusedly "The first time is really unsettling, but I got to admit, it's really fun to travel in time; it's somewhat like using the Bifrost in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's primarily white instead of rainbow colours." Bentley was still cringing from time-traveling without the Cooper Van, but he sees Terry's point and reference.
They then looked forward and saw a village further on, with the same drones above with spotlights and turrets attached and a large stone castle looming above the village and lake. Bentley then inquired "You don't think Drake is here too, do you?" Terry then replied through gritted teeth "If he is, I seriously doubt he's in or underneath the village, despite the heavy security lurking about." Bentley nodded, acknowledging Terry's heavy validated point, before they proceeded to finding the cave that Sly has mentioned.
As they drew neared to the village, Terry glanced at the waters of Loch Ness and wondered if the mythical sea monster referred as Nessie was really real, when something in front of Terry caught his attention and stopped Bentley to a complete halt. Bentley asked him on what's wrong, when he gestured his head to the garden gnome just next to the first house's front door. Bentley looked at Terry in an unsure look, before Terry rolled his eyes and went over to the garden gnome; when he pulled off the ceramic cap, it revealed to be a motion sensor hidden inside, with the highly transparent lasers coming through the gnomes eyes.
Bentley was surprised that Terry noticed the hidden motion sensor before he did, before Terry noted "Sometimes, the security devices would be in the least likely places you'd expect to be in. Believe me, lots of time with Splinter Cell gameplay can teach you some stuff; surprisingly, stealth games can help you with patience without you realising it." Bentley pursed his lips, nodding at Terry's surprising point, before they went around the edge of the seemingly empty village while avoiding the Drone's spotlights.
After avoiding the third spotlight, Terry briefly noticed a figure in a cave entrance above them behind the village opposite the lake, before it disappeared into the cave. Knowing how Slytunkhamen hid his hideout in some ruins back in Ancient Egypt, Terry led Bentley up a worn path to the cave and looked around for a suspicious bit of cave wall.
After assessing the wall on either side, Terry noticed a noticeably protruding rock on the right side and pressed it, to reveal a hidden room when a retractable rock wall slid out of view. Bentley let Terry in first, since he's more perspective than he is, before the latter went in Slaigh's Hideout and looked around to see, aside from a cot bed and the Thievius Raccoonus on the wooden table, some of Sly's wet clothes in a pile in the corner of the room.
When he took a step forward, his ears perked up instinctively and had an intuitional notion that someone is above him; in what seemed like a split second, Terry evaded when a large hulking figure fell above where Terry was standing just then, before a large bulky Raccoon with a stone-made cane in his right paws. Terry then realised almost immediately "Slaigh MacCooper?" Slaigh then almost immediately had a passive look on his face and replied "Yeah laddie, that'd be me. I take it you'd be Terry, then?" Terry nodded with a small smile, pleased to meet another ancestor of Sly's, when Slaigh suddenly pulled him into a tight hug, which Terry felt like he's being crushed in piles of concrete.
When Slaigh let go of Terry, he still wore a painful look on him by the incredible amount of strength in the hug, though Slaigh was still pleased to meet a fellow Cooper anyway. Slaigh then said enthusiastically "It's such a great pleasure ta' meet another Cooper! Sly told me that you're quick-witted an' can quickly learn Cooper moves flawlessly." Although still in pain, Terry made a small grin and gestured a thumbs up at Slaigh, before wincing in unbearable pain.
Terry then noted "Just so you know Slaigh, it's not just me that arrived… Bentley?" Right on cue, Bentley wheeled himself into the hideout, which Slaigh had made an enlightening chortle when he saw Sly's gang member. Slaigh then said in an enthusiastic tone "Ah, it's such a surprise to see a lil friend of Sly's in the fray too… though I must sympathise at how ye' in a wheelchair, though." Bentley knew how much a disadvantage he is, but at least felt comfortable at Slaigh's sympathy for his disability. Terry then made a sudden twist on his torso, which a loud bone cracking sound echoed in the hideout, before he sighed in relief when his bones had reset.
Terry then noted "Speaking of, where is Sly anyway? Is he doing some recon or collecting some materials, or… he's right under the COT BED!" As he shouted, he pulled Sly hiding underneath the Cot Bed by the arm, which both Raccoons laughed in amusement, before Slaigh slapped Terry in the back, which he hopped about in a painful noise with his teeth bared.
Sly then hugged Bentley in relief, which he hugged him back, before saying "I am SO glad to see you again, Bentley! I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you again…" Bentley adjusted his glasses, before replying "I'm just glad you're alright Sly. Terry's been a big help since he joined the team, even helping with repairing the Time Machine and making the second Time Warp." Bentley then showed Sly his Time Warp, much to his interest, before the latter thought of something with a concerned look.
Terry then answered before Sly could ask "Murray and Carmelita is fine, though they are still determined to get you back to the present even if me and Bentley are here." Sly then looked relieved that his other best friend and his girlfriend are fine, but he has other concerns at the moment. He then told Terry and Bentley "I'm glad you two are here. I have a feeling where Drake is, though we need some recon photos and a Topography Map in order to make a plan."
Terry, after straightening himself up and relieved that the slap on the back didn't dislocate his spine, twirled his cane and replied "Just tell me what you need to snap and I'll get it done." Sly then smiled at his cousin and shared a fist bump with him, grateful at his willingness to help him.