Shadow Joestar- You got that right
Gamelover41592- The reference was my way of showing love to the series and to show hype for Toy Story 4
Hey, I was wondering about something. Did anyone, when they were reading Gwen or Duncan's lines when they were younger, hear their Total Dramarama voices? Just wondering. Anyways, time to pick up the next recruit(and later on, most controversial), Penelope!
After returning from Australia, Bentley went right back to work on trying to figure out a way into the Cooper vault. However, he came to the conclusion that the gang needed a RC specialist, someone even better then him. After a while, he found this girl on a chat room, Penelope. She turned the gang down, but later made a counteroffer. If the gang could beat her boss, the Black Baron in his dogfighting contest, ACES, she would happily join. Sly had offered to be the first flyer and Carmelita had also offered to fly. However, the gang would be getting a third flyer in the form of Muggshot. He had been getting into dogfighting himself, but someone had poisoned or injured all of his normal team mates. As such, he had offered to join up and lend out his planes for the job. Bentley saying they would owe Muggshot and Mz. Ruby a favor probably helped getting them to agree. Speaking of Mz. Ruby, she would be watching from home because as it turns out, her and Muggshot had a baby! It was a boy and it looked more like Muggshot, but had Mz. Ruby's skin color(so green fur) and tail, along with her hair color. In Duncan's mind, it was his new cousin.
Job 1: Hidden Flight Roster
"So what's the plan and why am I here?" Duncan asked. They were all dressed in pilot outfits.
"Why is the little squirt here?" Muggshot added. "If anything, it gives the other teams an idea for sabotage!"
"Sabotage?" Carmelita asked.
"Ya don't know? Some real dirty stuff goes on after hours in order to keep the other teams away from challengin' the ol'Baron," Muggshot explained. "No team ever denies it,"
"Wait, so you are saying that some teams would be willing to kidnap a kid in order to give themselves an edge in the fights?" Sly asked.
"Yeah," Muggshot said.
"Lovely," Carmelita snarked.
"Focus guys!" Bentley ordered. "If we're going to succeed in this year's ACES Competition, we'll need to know who we're flying against,"
"They keep the flight roster a secret?" Sly asked.
"Correct. As Muggshot explained, in years past, competitors would go out at night and sabotage each other's planes, in preparation for the next day's dogfight," Bentley summarized.
"Oh, so now they don't know who to sabotage. That makes sense!" Duncan realized.
"Precisely. Look guys, you're all good pilots, but we've only got three plane, and you'll be up there against dozens of bogeys," Bentley said.
"You know, normally I'd make some sarcastic remark about how 'overwhelmed I am by your confidence in me,' but those are some grim odds... and well, you know, I'm always up for some sabotage," Sly admitted. Behind him, Carmelita rolled her eyes.
"Glad to hear it. Now the roster is kept secret from the pilots, but not from the event staff," Bentley said. "However, this doesn't really help us, seeing as we have no one on the inside. So just wander around and look for something," Everyone split up and walked off to do their own thing. Sly and Carmelita went together, seeing as now, they could barely spend ten minutes without the other. Muggshot made his way over to the bar, both in hopes of a drink and for a chance to get information. Duncan tried to play up the idea that he was just a bored teen who got dragged to the event by his pilot parents and was looking for something interesting. Finally, he did find something interesting. A computer terminal.
"Buddy, you think you can hack this?" Duncan asked. Hacking was one of Scruffy's less used upgrades. Bentley was on the team for a reason and so was Maverick, but it was good to have around.
"That is question even a?" Scruffy asked as he jumped onto the terminal and started hacking away.(Is that even a question). Duncan stood in front of the terminal in order to block anyone from seeing Scruffy.
"It found!" Scruffy cheered. (Found it!)
"Where?" Duncan asked.
"Art behind the in Baron Black's hanger air!" Scruffy revealed. (Behind art in the Black Baron's air hanger!)
"Nice work, now let's-" Duncan began to say, only for the Black Baron to walk in. Duncan quickly moved away from the terminal.
"I bid you all a most flamboyant welcome, my esteemed comrades of the skies. Welcome, WELCOME to another year of the ACES competition. We've got teams here from across the globe: Canada, Belgium, Ecuador, Iceland, Korea and many, many more! Not the least of which is last year's deadly runner-up, Team Sir Raleigh!" The Black Baron welcomed. Duncan turned around and sure enough, Sir Raleigh the frog was on the balcony, an aviator's hat in place of his top hat.
"And this year, my esteemed team and I WON'T SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS THEN FIRST PLACE!" Raleigh vowed.
"This could cause problems," Muggshot said nervously.
"Now, we all know that in years past, some teams have engaged in a little 'good-natured' late night hi-jinx," The Black Baron said. Several pilots burst into laughter.
"Like when Team Canada stole Ecuador's parachutes!"
"Or when Team Iceland sawed the landing gear off Korea's planes!"
"Or when Portugal put rat poison in Team Sir Raleigh's coffee machine!"
"Yes, yes, that was all so VERY funny. But no more! You know the rules, no one, absolutely NO ONE is to leave the hotel after sunset. If my guards catch you outside, you will be beaten to within an inch of your life. No exceptions! This WILL BE a fair competition!" The Black Baron vowed.
"Same as last year and the year before... I've got the scars to prove it!" A pilot called out, causing more laughter.
"I bid you all an exuberant and exaggerated farewell, pilots. Tonight, sleep like geese... and tomorrow, soar like eagles, high! What-what? Ha-ha!" The Black Baron said before he left to cheers.
"Guys, I know where the roster is!" Duncan said over the binocucom. Everyone came over to him
"Where?" Sly asked.
"Behind art in the Baron's air hanger," Duncan revealed.
"Sounds like a mission for Bentley and I," Sly mumbled to himself.
"Fair enough," Muggshot said.
"Let's get back to the room," Carmelita said as she, Duncan and Muggshot walked off.
Job complete
Okay everyone, according to the ACES flight lineup, we'll be flying against Team Iceland and Team Belgium in tomorrow's semifinal round. As you're all aware, we've only got three planes, while our opponents will be flying 15 apiece. You got that guys? That's 30 to 3 odds against us. In order to give us a fighting chance, we'll need to pin these two teams against each other. First, Murray and Duncan will paddle through the sewers beneath town to get access to an air vent leading into Team Iceland's hotel room. Steal one of their trademark Viking helmets, then head over to Team Belgium's hangar. Vandalize one of their aircraft then plant the helmet in order to frame Team Iceland for the damage. Next, Muggshot and I will steal one of Team Belgium's monogrammed handkerchiefs. Meanwhile, the Guru will break into the Team Iceland supply truck carrying their lucky ice sculpture. Sly will steal the art, and then place the handkerchief insinuating Team Belgium for the crime. Get it? We frame both teams so they'll be gunning for each other and not us in the semifinals! All the while, Carmelita and I'll be setting up defenses around the Team Cooper air hangar. You never know when one of the other teams might come looking to do us some harm," Bentley explained, using yet another slideshow.
Job 2: Frame Team Iceland
Duncan groaned as he worked his way through the vents. He really wished he could just pick the lock, but that would prove the door was forced open and make Team Iceland look innocent. As such, he and Murray had to move through the sewers, which beyond smelling really bad, was riddled with traps.
"Are what stealing we?" Scruffy asked. (What are we stealing?)
"One of these nut's viking helmets," Duncan said as he climbed into the room.
"Nice work, you're almost there. Be careful not to wake these guys up. They're a paranoid group, and have probably set up some crude burglar alarms," Bentley warned. Sure enough, there were things like stacks of plates or playing card towers that would make a lot of noise if they fell over. Either way, for a master thief, it was no problem and Duncan quickly grabbed the viking helmet and made his way back to the vent.
"Nice work. Head back to Murray and the raft," Bentley said.
"Already on my way," Duncan said as he climbed in and quietly shut the vent behind him. Murray was waiting as soon as he reached the sewers,"
"Sorry pal, the valve gates changed position. We need to escape through another tunnel, but fear not, 'The Murray' has an unnatural sense of direction!" Murray declared as he made his way through the sewers. Sure enough, they quickly found the exit.
"Nice job. You really showed some skills with those oars," Duncan complimented his uncle.
"'The Murray' is, and always has been, SKILL!" Murray bragged as he flexed.
"Uh, yeah, you think you can plant this helmet on the Belgium plane? After you wreck it?" Duncan asked as he handed his uncle the viking helmet.
"Can do, pal... can do with a vengeance!" Murray said as he headed off. A few minutes later, the Belgium plane was in ruins and the viking helmet was in the cockpit.
Job Complete
"Whoa! What happened here!?" Duncan asked as he walked into the Cooper Gang's hanger. Dozens of unconscious pilots littered the floor and some of the Black Baron's guards were dragging them out. Penelope was also there, talking to Carmelita and Bentley. She looked nothing like her profile picture. Granted, Duncan had already guessed that, seeing how badly Bentley and Penelope had photoshopped them. How Bentley bought it was beyond him.
"Raleigh sent some of his goons to destroy the planes as revenge for what happened in the Isle of Wrath," Carmelita explained.
"Makes sense," Duncan said before turning to Bentley and Penelope with a classic Cooper grin. "Isn't this an awkward first meeting?" Penelope was a shorter girl, wearing dirty overalls, gloves and boots and a red bandana. Her and Bentley just stared at each other for a few seconds before turning away, blushing.
"I...I like you better in real life," Penelope said.
"Same," Bentley agreed.
"I think I should go, the Black Baron will kill me if I'm not back to fix the planes for tomorrow," Penelope said hastily as she walked out with the last of the guards.
"Nice work dad!" Duncan cheered as Sly took down yet another plane. With the sabotages made, Belgium and Iceland were at each other's throats, but Sly, Carmelita and Muggshot still were not having an easy time. Due to the small size of the team, a few pilots had tried to off them all in one quick swoop, only to be taken out. Carmelita had just shot down another plane and Sly found himself swooning at her in her pilot's outfit.
"Thanks to our flight team's flying, we're officially in the ACES finals! Our opponents: Team Sir Raleigh and Team Black Baron. The rules in the finals are a bit different than normal. Whoever takes out the defending champ gets the title. Hear that everyone? It's all about taking down the Baron! Our only real competition will be Raleigh himself. We need to remove him from the competition. Here's the plan: I'll challenge him to a fist fight out in the town square. Carmelita, get your mericaneres into the same spot. When the two meet, the sparks are sure to fly! With some luck, the frog'll get carted off to jail and we'll have clear skies for the finals. However the Baron won't be so easy to deal with. He commands an enormous team of fliers and has been known to bring in a squad of blimp gunships when things look grim. The answer to our problem isn't obvious, although it is potent. Behold: Lupus Gigantormus. I'll drug the beast so that the Guru will be able to ride it and take out some of the local guards, who also serve as the Baron's pilots. Obviously, the fewer enemy pilots you guys have to deal with in the finals, the better. Next, I'll hack into the aircraft control tower. If successful, I'll be able to intercept any messages the Baron might send to his gunships. Alright team, we've got all night to prepare. If we take this thing it'll be more than a trophy, Penelope is sure to join our gang. After her stellar work defending our hangar, I'm sure we'd all agree that she's a prime recruit," Bentley said with yet another slideshow.
"Uh, I guess now would be the best time ta ask. I was wondering if I could maybe help ya guys out when ya get to that vault? Can't come with ya to find more members, I gotta get home, but I figured getting a little air power could help ya guys out," Muggshot said. Bentley pulled out the Cooper Vault blueprints.
"Hmmm, yes I do think we could use quite a bit of air support. You're in!" Bentley said.
"Alright!" Muggshot cheered.
So because none of the jobs left could have Duncan, I only left the slideshow so you guys could see what happens. Moving on to the final job
"Thanks to our combined efforts, we're now ready for the final round of the ACES Dogfighting competition. Put on your helmets, cause it's time for Operation: Turbo Dominant Eagle! In just a few hours, Team Iceland and Team Belgium will begin fighting it out in the B-Champs round. This'll provide the perfect cover for step one of my plan. Duncan, use the catapult and your Paraglider to get access to the local gunships. Plant some tracking devices, then head back to the team hangar and get ready to get out of here. Murray, you're up next. Use your rowboat to pull down the aircraft communication antenna. With it out of commission, the Baron will have to use an unscrambled radio frequency to call in the gunships for backup. If that happens, I'll be ready with our secret weapon. And with the tracking devices installed, I'm guaranteed not to miss. In the end though, it'll be up to Sly, Carmelita and Muggshot. This is a sudden death competition. The first team to take out last year's champ wins! That's if the Black Baron doesn't take out all the competition first," Bentley explained as everyone gave some form of conformation.
"Excellent! The B-Champs dogfight is beginning! With these guys going at it, no one will notice as you slip onto the gunships and plant a tracking device," Bentley explained once Duncan had reached the top of the Black Baron's hanger/castle.
"Where'd you get these? They look really funny," Duncan said as he looked at the trackers.
"Best I could do on short notice. They're sensitive to extreme changes in altitude. You'll have to pull this job off at high elevation or it's a bust," Bentley said.
"No problem," Duncan said as he used the catapult on the roof to launch himself into the air. Just as he had said, getting onto the blimps was no problem and he quickly planted all four trackers.
"Great work, Flyboy junior, the gunships' GPS data is flowing in," Bentley congratulated.
"Um, are how getting down we?" Scruffy asked. (Um, how are we getting down?)
"The same way we got onto the blimps," Duncan said as he jumped off with an excited shout and used the paraglider to glide back down.
"What? Who is this? How did you find this frequency? What!? No! Huh? Desist, halt! I COMMAND IT!" The Black Baron ordered as Bentley destroyed his gunships. Thanks to the teamwork between Sly, Carmelita and Muggshot, he had been shot down and, sure enough, had called for backup.
"We've got him!" Muggshot said.
"Gah! This plane's come unfixed... high time for an upgrade, I say," The Black Baron said as he jumped onto the wing of an airliner he had.
"Oh, no you don't, you weasel!" Sly said as he paraglided out of his plane. "Carmelita! Muggshot! Keep all the other fighters off of us!"
"Roger that, Sly!" Carmelita said as her and Muggshot flew off. The Black Baron and Sly faced each other down.
"'Weasel,' am I?" The Black Baron asked.
"We beat you! Your biplane is in pieces," Sly pointed out.
"Bah-hah, but we're both still airborne, aren't we? Not to mention, we both have pilots still in the air. The victor has yet to be decided," The Black Baron argued.
"Then, let's settle it," Sly challenged.
"Beware, my boy. I've trained ten years at fisticuffs. Pugilism is my passion," The Black Baron threatened.
"If you fight as well as you fly, this shouldn't take long," Sly taunted.
"En garde!" The Black Baron said. Despite his skills, the Black Baron just couldn't keep up with Sly's own fighting skills. Smoke started coming out of his face, and when it cleared, Penelope was there!
"That's enough... you win, Cooper," She said between coughs. Sly couldn't believe his eyes.
"Wait, you? You're Penelope, the Baron's mechanic. No...no you ARE the Black Baron!" Sly realized once he could get his dreams together.
"Suppose someone was bound to find out sooner or later... I guess I'm kind of relieved," Penelope admitted.
"But why?" Sly asked.
"Look, let's talk on the ground... where it's safe," Penelope offered as the plane started to land.
After the Cooper Gang had received the trophy for winning, Penelope had taken them to a local restaurant to explain things.
"So explain," Carmelita said.
"I've always wanted to be a dogfighter, but the age requirements are really strict. You can only be a flyer at thirty and I just turned twenty five. I made up the Black Baron in order to compete. But I kept winning and putting on the costume as the Baron grew in popularity," Penelope explained. "And-what's up with that spider?"
"Oh Scruffy?" Duncan said as he swallowed a bite of a hamburger he was eating. The spider in question was eating the things he had pulled out of his food. "He was created by the worst enemy of dad's family but he got thrown out for being too nice. Now he's my pet,"
"Happier and!" Scruffy said as he climbed onto Duncan's shoulder. (And happier!)
"Anyways, do you think you are ready to join the gang?" Sly asked Penelope. She grinned.
"Definitely!"
And that's another member down! Seeing as she is a completely different character in the next game, I'll just give my thoughts on Penelope in this game. I really liked her. She had a cute personality and design and her romance with Bentley was really sweet. Also, the subplot of her crushing on Sly was dumb(and basically got retconed anyways), so I took it out. As for Flight of Fancy itself, I liked it. Not as fun as Rumble Down Under, but still fun. The dogfighting missions, while challenging, were a lot of fun. And seeing Muggshot again was a true treat! Next time, we are off to China to recruit the Panda King and defeat General Tsao!