Hello Fanfiction! Goodness it's been a while! Too long if you ask me! Well, now I'm back once more with the first part of the Moon Crash OP. That's right, Part One! The mission was so enormous, that I decided to split it into two parts (Maybe three depending on how I do it.) And I cannot stress enough how sorry I am for the wait. Welp, enough of my rambling. Let's get this party started!
Disclaimer: I only own this fic. Sly, Neyla, and the rest of the cast and source material belongs to Sanzaru.
Chapter 21: OP: Moon Crash Part 1
At her team's base camp, Inspector Fox was up bright and early. She got dressed in her uniform, and made sure her shock pistol was ready for action. She took a deep breath as she headed outside to join her troops for breakfast. Upon arrival she was greeted by the mercs with a formal salute.
"At ease men." Carmelita said, the Apes lowering their hands. Once everyone was situated she spoke up. "Alright boys, as you all know, we're here due to a report of Cooper Gang activity in the nearby area. Our job here is to find them, and capture them as quickly as possible." she said. "I brought you here as backup in case the locals get hostile." she continued. Then one of the mercenaries spoke up.
"With all due respect Inspector, we've seen you in action. Are you sure you need us?" the Ape asked.
"Perhaps… but it never hurts to be on the safe side. Now here's the plan. Later today I'll scout ahead into the mining camp to locate the Cooper Gang. Once I locate their safe house I'll call in for you to surround it cutting off their escape." she said. "I'll need you all at your best. So be ready for anything. Am I clear?" she asked them.
"Yes Ma'am!" They replied in unison. From there they quietly ate their breakfast so they could make preparations for their operation.
Meanwhile at the Cooper Hideout Bentley, Murray and Sly were finishing breakfast when Neyla entered.
"Morning Neyla-ah!" Bentley said causing the other two members to turn towards Neyls. Her fur was messy, her hair heavily disheveled, and her night clothes were heavily wrinkled. In a word, she was a hot mess.
"Morning guys…" Neyla said tiredly as she yawned.
"What happened?" Sly asked concerned.
"I didn't sleep well…" She says simply looking about to faint. Sly went up to her and steadied her. "Thanks Sly…" Neyla said weakly. He nodded as he guided her back to her room. Once there he laid the young tigress down on her bed.
"Nightmares again?" Sly asked. She shook her head in response. Pulling the covers over Neyla, he took her hand into his own. "Talk to me babe. What's wrong?" he asked, his thumb gliding over the top of her hand. She took a small breath as she interlocked their fingers with one another.
"I'm… worried Sly. I'm scared of that mask." she said her hand slightly increasing its grip. "Seeing what it does to guards it made me wonder… what would happen if the mask took me?" she said. It took him a few moments, but Sly saw what she was getting at. "I'm worried the mask won't only bring out the old me… but bring HIM out as well." She said of course referring to the ancient owl that currently resided in her Dreamscape.
"Don't worry, we won't let that happen. I won't let that happen." He said reassuring his lilac lover with a gentle kiss on her forehead. This made Neyla smile a bit, which was followed by a small yawn. "Now, get some sleep. We have a big night ahead of us." He said tucking her in with one last kiss. With a soft smile Neyla cozied up in her blankets and closed her eyes.
"How is she doing?" Bentley asked Sly as he returned to the table.
"She's resting. Hopefully she'll be ready by tonight." He said as he sat down. From there the trio proceeded to go over the plan once more. Guru would first take out the miners patrol chopper, while Bentley manned the crane carrying Murray. Sly and Neyla were to act as crowd control and as scouts to locate and deal with any problems that might jeopardize the operation.
"And if anyone runs into the Mask itself, do not engage. We've seen what that thing can do and I'm sure we don't want to have to take down one of our own." the turtle forewarned. They nodded in agreement and after they broke to make their personal preparations.
Neyla opened her eyes finding herself once more in the nightmare realm that served as Clockwerks home in her Dreamscape. She sighed as she adjusted to her surroundings, and taking a seat on a nearby rock awaiting her sadistic roommate. Minutes passed before she finally felt his presence.
"There you are, I was wondering if I had to go look for you." Neyla said calmly which threw the bird off.
"You're not afraid. Why?" he spoke appearing before Neyla.
"Cut the crap, I know who you are now… Clockwerk." Neyla said glaring at the owl. He was silent for a moment. After a few seconds his shadowy exterior seemed to melt away, fading to reveal a gleaming silver finish underneath.
"So, you've regained your memories. How interesting." he said, his tone sounding quite neutral. Though Neyla wasn't amused.
"Now, you're going to answer a couple of questions that's been bothering me for a while." she said the bird looking down at her, his face expressionless. "Are you willing to answer?" she proceeded with a sense of caution remembering who the superior was in this realm. Clockwerk let out a dark chuckle amused.
"Very well, I'll play your game tigress. You get one question, now speak." He said folding his wings and stood in a roosting position keeping his eyes on her. With a deep breath Neyla spoke up.
"How are you here? I thought you died when Sly destroyed you the first time around." she said as she awaited her answer.
"He destroyed my body, though my mind was a different story. By severing my head from my body I couldn't move though my mind was quite active." he spoke as he adjusted his position slightly. "When they found my body I was helpless, doomed to rot as I was left out for the viewing public, to be sold to the highest bidder if it came down to that… then my salvation came." he spoke as he used one of his talons to draw the Klaww Gang insignia on the ground.
"The Klaww Gang." Neyla muttered to herself.
"Precisely. It pained me to have my parts divided even further, but I remained patient, and it was rewarded. With your efforts in assisting that fool Arpeggio I was whole once more." he continued. Neyla however was getting tired of waiting.
"Get to the point!" She spoke out, though it ended with her face being struck with one of Clockwerks wings.
"Interrupt me again and see what happens." he said as he retracted the wing to let her resituate herself.
"Grr… carry on then." Neyla said as she sat back down rubbing her face.
"I don't see why you need me to tell you, the answer should be quite obvious." he spoke up earning a puzzled look from the tigress. "By commandeering my body in the fashion you did, you made the proverbial 'Deal with the Devil'. When your mind connected to my mainframe, a fragment of my subconscious among a few other things were imprinted into your mind and body. This was done so that in the event my Hate Chip was destroyed that I may start anew." he spoke as the shutters that comprised his eyelids made a menacing glare.
"In layman's terms, you carry a part of me within you my dear." he said as he sat back up. "The issue that I didn't count on facing was you having such a strong mind. Even now, I'm only limited to this god forsaken realm of existence. A problem that will soon be remedied." he spoke up as he once again left the tigress puzzled.
"What do you mean?" Neyla asked which made Clockwerk chuckle. "What's so funny?" she demanded.
"Once again the obvious eludes you. I'm referring to the Mask you and your comrades have been "hunting these last few days." he said his words earning a look of shock from Neylas face.
"You… you don't know that… you can't know that!" she said losing her nerve.
"Heh. Foolish girl. Who do you think created it in the first place?" he spoke earning another shocked expression from Neyla. "I've existed for a very long time tigress, one tends to pick up a few things during that time. The mask was designed to draw out the wearers darkside and extract their raw hate for me to collect. Though it had some interesting effects on wearers other than me. Though you probably already know that." he said watching her fidget in her spot. "It was one of my more interesting methods of gathering hate to fuel my longevity. But that ended when the first tribe of Dreamtime Aboriginals locked it away under the power of the Moon Spirit." he said his tone sharp with an angered edge.
"B-but how will it help you now if you're here?" Neyla said getting ready to run if this turned south.
"Do you have any idea the amount of hate it's amassed by now? Once and when it finds you and attaches itself onto you, the collective hate will be more than enough for me to use your body as a chrysalis and be reborn." he said his tone taking a dark shift.
"A-and what would happen to my body?" She said nervously.
"Use your imagination." he spoke and took a sick form of delight as he watched her turn a sickly shade of green. "As for your subconscious, you'll be forever mine to torment as I please." he said touching a talon to her shoulder.
"No…" Neyla spoke out.
"Hmm?" he asked.
"I won't let that happen. I'll make sure you stay here no matter what!" She said earning a dark mechanical laugh from Clockwerk.
"You really do amuse me tigress, and that is very rare. And since you've amused me so much, I'll allow you a pass from our usual game for now. But heed my words, you will not stop the inevitable. Now, get out of my realm." he said his eyes flashing a solid red and the next thing Neyla knew, was darkness before waking up in her room in a cold sweat.
"We'll see about that Clockwerk." Neyla muttered before touching her cheek. "Heh, he hits hard for an old geezer." she said as she got up, and stretching. "How long was I out?" she muttered as she checked her clock. "Almost two PM. more than enough for a little R and R." She said with a grin. Though part of her was worried by the Owls words, a bigger part of her had faith in Bentley's plan. "You won't win this Clockwerk, I promise." she said as she walked on for a shower.
Hours later the designated time was upon them. The gang geared up and headed for their positions, while the Guru made his own personal preparations. Soon he was out and using a crystal telescope and the ear-com Bentley gave him, he radioed the turtle for his marching orders.
"Guru, I know you've yet to formally join the team, but we need your help to destroy the Mask of Dark Earth." Bentley said telling the Koala his part in the operation.
"What do I have to do?" he asked him.
"Your objective is to take out the gyrocopter while it's refueling." Bentley continued.
"Ah, I can do that." He said confidently.
"Glad to hear you're up to it. The bad news is, that the gyrocopter has a sensor that can detect your Moon Stone." He explained further. "I suspect that's how they found and trapped you earlier. Get too close and they'll detect you, then take off out of reach" from there he explained that Guru was going to have to take the chopper out with a few running guards. After Guru got his Staff and got to work.
Using his abilities he used his powers to ambush guards, taking over their minds making them ideal ramming fodder for the task at hand. The first time around he used a kangaroo and once he was in range he quickly lined up the shot then hopped off watching the guard crash into the chopper with a loud CRASH! Guru repeated this process with two other guards. All the while Bentley got Murray into position lifting the glowing hippo up onto the crane into the ideal Thunder Flop range.
"Behold, the Moon Spirit rises!...Woo-wooo!" Murray said for some added effect. A loud explosion nearby told them that the Guru's task was done.
"The skies are clear for Phase 2 Bentley." Guru told him via his earpiece.
"Alright, thanks Guru. Now, everyone keep an eye out for the Mask. It's sure to take the bait." Bentley said keeping a gloved hand on the release switch for Murray. But unfortunately for them, Neyla spotted the one monkey wrench in their operation entering the camp: Inspector Fox.
"Guys, we have a situation. Carmelita just showed up." Neyla reported in.
"Drat! We can't stop the operation now… Neyla, for now just keep an eye on her. Sly, back her up." Bentley said keeping his eyes peeled for their target.
"Copy that 'boss'" Sly said playfully assisting Neyla in keeping Carmelita in check.
"Quit horsing around and look out for the Mask… It's close, I can feel it!" he said now on full alert. Carmelita looking for a good vantage point jumped onto a good sized mound, and set her sights on one of the biggest guard she had ever seen wearing the mask in question… heading straight for the Guru.
"Murray now!" Guru called out.
"Here I come master!" Murray called out as Bentley hastily moved him into position and released him allowing Murray to do what he did best. His call was enough to distract the Inspector, which allowed Neyla to get behind her. Now that their presence was known, she had to be ready to pounce.
CRASH!
"Did you get it? Is the Mask gone?" Bentley asked via earpiece.
"Can't tell from here, I'll move in." Sly said heading for Murrays position. But little did they realize the Mask had left its current host… and began to make a beeline for Carmelita. Neyla spotted it at the last second and without thinking.
"Carmelita watch out!" She pounced knocking the Inspector out of the Masks pounce, putting herself in the crosshairs for its landing zone.
"Ahhhh!" The Inspector fell off, scuffing her uniform on landing. When Sly arrived he witnessed this act and out of panic.
"Neyla! What happened?!" He called out.
"Sly… Everyone…" They heard her speak over the intercom. When the dust cleared there she stood, with tears in her eyes, and the mask upon her face.
"Run!" She called out as she began to grow to a large size.
And as much as I hate doing this to you, I'm going to have to end it off here. Don't worry, I intend to have Part 2 out ASAP! Ideally, I want to get it out on the day of my stories 4 year anniversary. Holy heck, it's hard to believe it's going to be four years since I started this journey. There's so much I want to be thankful for right now. First and foremost for the support you, my viewers, have given me overtime. Whether it be through reviews or even a message it's kept me going through and through. And for those who stuck it out and have remained patient with me through my constant shift between active and inactive, seriously thank you so much! That said, I'm curious now. What's been your favorite chapter or moment from this story? I'd definitely like to know! And now I'm mostly rambling! Until next time readers! This is Sephiroth200 signing off!