Shadow Joestar- They aren't ready yet
You didn't think just because I had left out Dimitri, we wouldn't have this chapter did you? I have a plan to make this work. Keep in mind that the gang now owes Muggshot a favor and, well, he's cashing in.
The message came in one late Saturday night. Muggshot wanted the favor the gang owed him. Or rather, Mz. Ruby wanted it this time. She had booked a private cruise for the whole gang and Carmelita to Blood Bath Bay. It was a real-life pirate town. Admittedly, Duncan had been wanting to go for sometime, but the main reason was to help Mz. Ruby out. Her grandfather, known only as The Ruby, used a special stone allowing a voodoo user to find anything you needed under the water and stay under for as long as you needed. He used this to loot dozens of undersea wrecks. However, a young pirate called Black Spot Pete stole all of the loot, along with the stone, causing said grandfather to settle down and start a family. Mz. Ruby admitted that she had loved hearing the stories about the stone. She also offered her services to the gang if they could help her find the stone. The idea of an extra mystic and a frogwomen peaked everyone in the gang's interests and Bentley revealed that would make the Cooper Vault Job much easier.
After Sly had returned from his insult contest with Black Spot Pete, Bentley had taken the information and made yet another slideshow.
"Thanks to Black Spot Pete, we've got a lead on The Ruby's Treasure. It's buried somewhere on Dagger Island, a landmass many leagues from our current position. To make the voyage, we'll need to steal a pirate ship from the harbor. No easy feat given the cutthroat nature of these... cutthroats. First, Murray, Carmelita and Duncan will steal a jollyboat and blast the rudders off any ships that could chase us out into the open ocean. The action is sure to provoke the harbor patrol, so be prepared for a sea battle. With them out of the way, no one can stop us from leaving harbor. Meanwhile, Penelope and I will work together to break into Captain LeFwee's keep and steal the map to the buried treasure. Once both objectives are reached, we'll steal a ship and set sail for Dagger Island. Then, it'll be a simple matter of following the map and digging up the loot," Bentley explained.
"Do you actually need Penelope or do you just want to spend time with her?" Sly asked, causing both geniuses to start blushing.
"I think it's both," Duncan laughed.
"Shut up, both of you!" Bentley and Penelope snapped at the same time, causing everyone to start laughing.
Job 1: Jollyboat of Destruction
"So what's the plan here Uncle Bentley?" Duncan asked once Murray rowed the jollyboat he had just unlocked in the harbor.
"You'll need to take out the rudders on all the ships, along with any harbor patrol you run into. Murray rows, Duncan mans the cannon and Carmelita will give extra support with her shock pistol," Bentley explained.
"Let's do this!" Duncan cheered. He had always wanted to be a pirate.
"I could use the practice," Carmelita said as she twirled her shock pistol.
"There's the first rudder!" Murray said as he pointed at said rudder, Duncan quickly turned the cannon around and blasted it to bits.
"Nice work guys. You're really working as a team. That boat's not setting sail anytime soon," Bentley said.
"Alright!" Murray said as the group began to share high fives. They quickly took out the next three rudders, leaving only the ship the gang was planning to steal with a rudder.
"You guys are doing great, but it's time to bump it up a notch. The harbor patrol has arrived!" Bentley warned as several boats headed out.
"I don't think the cannon is gonna work," Duncan said.
"You're right Duncan, Murray needs to ram them with your jollyboat to knock off the armor," Bentley explained.
"Alright! I'm tired of dodging cannonballs, time to crack some skulls, jollyboat style!" Murray declared.
"Once Murray has knocked off the armor, you'll need to sink 'em with a well-placed cannonball or shock pistol blast," Bentley added.
"Run in fear, harbor patrol sissies! I'm gonna ram you into next week. Yarrgh!" Murray announced as he rammed into a boat, which Duncan quickly sank.
"Wouldn't it be row in fear?" Duncan asked.
"Stop confusing me!" Murray said, causing Duncan to laugh a little. The group was able to quickly take out the rest of the harbor patrol with ease.
"Alright! The team of excellence, Murray, his faithful gunner Duncan, and his….shock pistoler Carmelita kick butt yet again!" Murray bragged.
"Uhh, sorry guys... I wasn't aware the harbor patrol had a cutter. You're not done yet. Gads! That thing is massive!" Bentley said.
"Everything has a weak point. Look at that mast. They've been patching it up for a while now," Carmelita pointed out.
"Carmelita's right. That mast will fall before our combined mightatude! No matter how many cannons they bring to bear, we will bear it!" Murray bragged.
"Not to sound like a wimp, but I vote we dodge their cannonballs," Duncan hastily added.
"Or we can dodge. That works too," Murray replied. With the combined strengths of Duncan's cannonballs and Carmelita's shock pistol, the cutter was quickly sunk.
"Team Excellence does it again! Nice shooting, sidekicks," Murray said.
"You're our sidekick, uncle Murray, but nice rowing job!" Duncan responded.
"Let's get back before more of these pirates come for us," Carmelita said. Duncan then spotted a pirate hat floating in the water, He grabbed it with his cane, ringed it out, then put it on.
"How do I look?" Duncan asked.
"Like a real seadog!" Murray said, causing Duncan to smile.
Job Complete
Job 2: X Marks the Spot
"OK, time for the main event," Bentley said to Sly and Duncan once they had reached the waypoint.
"I've been looking forward to this. Every thief dreams of one day stealing a pirate ship. I don't know what it is, but it's like a total rite of passage. This is gonna be great!" Sly said excitedly. Duncan was practically foaming at the mouth at the idea. He hadn't taken off his new hat yet either.
"As you'll be the first on board, you might want to keep your enthusiasm quiet. If the night watch detects you, this whole place is going to get lit up with guards. The rest of the team won't stand a chance," Bentley said.
"Come on, pal! This is us you're talking to. We're like fourth-degree black belts at this kind of stuff," Sly said.
"Murray'll meet you at the jollyboat, but remember: keep it quiet," Bentley ordered.
"O...K...!" Duncan whisper-yelled. At the boat, the first thing the group noticed was that there were mines in the water.
"Looks like they mined the harbor after your last boat trip. Must've really spooked these guys," Sly noticed. Even with the mines, it didn't take Murray too long to reach the boat the group was going to steal. Duncan and Sly climbed up the anchor chain. There were a few flashlight guards on board.
"Take these guys out, and keep it quiet," Bentley ordered. This wasn't too hard. Both Sly and Duncan knew Silent Obliteration very well and Duncan would pull out his invisibility trick if the guard turned around at the wrong time. Soon all the guards were down.
"All clear!" Duncan called down to Murray.
"Roger! I'll start rowing people over," Murray replied.
"You may also want to bring the guards back to sure, let them think they got a bit too drunk," Sly added.
"Got it!" Murray replied. The three boys set up a system, whenever Murray brought someone over, Duncan and Sly would help them up and send down an unconscious guard which Murray brought back to shore.
"That everyone is?" Scruffy asked when Penelope came aboard and headed below deck. (Is that everyone?)
"Yeah, the rest of the gang is below deck. Let's fire this puppy up!" Murray announced as he came aboard.
"Once we raise the sails and get underway, it won't be long before someone on shore raises an alarm," Bentley warned.
"We wasted that harbor patrol. The coast is clear!" Duncan pointed out.
"You guys did a great job, but they still have cannons mounted up in Skull Keep. I figure it's long odds they get gun crews into position before we're out of range, but it's worth mentioning," Bentley revealed.
"You and until waited to now us tell that?!" Scruffy asked. (And you waited until now to tell us that!?)
"Then let's make full sail for the mouth of the harbor. If you guys are ready, I say we do it now. Every second we dilly-dally just puts us at more risk," Sly ordered.
"Agreed," Bentley said.
"Murray, take up the anchor. Bentley, get down below deck and adjust the ballast. Duncan and I'll hoist the sails and get this thing moving," Sly ordered. Duncan instantly started scaling up the mast to let the flags fly before heading below deck.
"Is this rum?" Carmelita asked as she pulled out what looked like a bottle of the stuff.
"Now we are real pirates!" Duncan declared as he raced his cane into the sky.
"Okay, then Mr. real pirate! You still don't get any," Carmelita replied bluntly. She knew exactly what her son was up to.
"Oh come on!" Duncan replied, grumply crossing his arms. He decided to just wander around the bottom of the ship to see if he found anything cool. Some gold, jewelry, a case of root beer(which Duncan was not only shocked to find, but he also downed one. He knew it was as close to real liquor as he was getting), a compass, a gold rimmed telescope and a few jewels. While searching a chest to put everything in, Duncan found Penelope looking over one of the framed maps. When he tapped her on the shoulder, she jumped, but calmed down when she saw it was just him.
"Why are you and Sly so good at sneaking up on people?" She asked.
"Master thief, kinda comes with the job description," Duncan replied. "You'll adjust,"
"I hope so…" Penelope trailed off. Duncan could tell something was wrong. Reading people was a rather underrated Cooper skill. He just needed to come up with a way to approach this.
"Something wrong is?" Scruffy asked. (Is something wrong)
Or Scruffy could blurt it out. That worked too.
Penelope seemed a little surprised at the rather blunt question, but answered with a sigh. "After seeing what Bentley could do over the past few weeks, I've just been thinking about what he could have done if he hadn't become a thief with your father," Duncan quickly knew what to say.
"Listen, I think you are thinking about this the wrong way. I don't know what plans you and him would have done beyond making out, but I think thief work actually gives uncle Bentley more things to do with his skills. As a thief, you aren't bound by things like laws. The sky's the limit," Duncan replied. Penelope thought about that before she smiled.
"I guess I never really looked at it like that and-" Penelope began before realizing exactly what Duncan had said. "Wait what do you mean 'making out'!?"
"Can everyone it see," Scruffy said. (Everyone can see it). Duncan just flicked him across the room again and gave the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster as Penelope blushed and glared him down.
"Whoa!" Duncan said as everyone finished digging up the treasure chest. Mz. Ruby gleefully opened it. Inside was a bunch of loot and strange looking stone.
"Grandpa's stone! I can feel the voodoo vibes coming off of it!" Mz. Ruby said as she grabbed the stone
"What else is in this chest?" Sly asked.
"Aye, let's get a good look!" A voice said from behind. It was Captain LeFwee! And he had his pistol aimed at Penelope's back! "Avast, lubbers! Didn't think ye could steal from the smartest man on the Seven Seas and not taste the repercussions?! Har, har, har! I might have been late for the opening of the chest, but I'm just on time for the stealing of the gold!"
"Let Penelope go. We can work out a deal," Carmelita said as she held up her own shock pistol.
"Penelope be the lass's name? Purdy as a sonnet, and what a rich, sweet scent from the wench's hair," LeFwee said as he sniffed Penelope's hair.
"Creep," Duncan said bluntly.
"Let's thump this chump!" Murray said as he, the Panda King, Sly, Duncan, and Carmelita got ready for a fight.
"No! He'll hurt her. This guy's a killer," Bentley said.
"Aye, ye summed me up with but a word... killer. Away with ye, back to your ship. This gold is mine now, or her death is yours... take yer choice," LeFwee warned.
"Guys, we don't have any options here. Everyone back to the ship," Sly ordered.
"You can't just abandon me! Help, please! I'm so scared," Penelope begged. Duncan felt his heart sink. It was the same feeling when Sly, Murray and Carmelita were captured by Neyla and the Contessa. Just the thought of the two of them hurt him more and made his blood. He was going to make LeFwee pay! If there wasn't a gun to Penelope's back, there would be darts in LeFwee and his men's skulls right now.
"Penelope, do what he says. Stay alive. We will save you," Bentley assured her.
"No Cooper Gang member is left behind," Duncan added. Penelope gave a small smile.
"I... I trust you," She said.
"And I trust ya still plan on luggin' back to yer ship. Away with ye, now!" LeFwee ordered.
"Clearly, the only goal at this point is saving our teammate and friend, Penelope," Bentley began another of his trademark slideshows, only for Duncan to jump in.
"You forgot your love interest," Duncan joked, causing laughter.
"Shut up, Duncan! Anyways, LeFwee's ship, the Death's Head, has sailed back to Blood Bath Bay with her on board as a captive. Things look grim. There's no way we'll be able to sneak into the harbor. Even the backside of the island is inaccessible due to reefs. To put it plainly: we're in for a fight. LeFwee is an intelligent opponent, and we'll need to do everything in our power to stack the odds in our favor. First, we'll put Mz. Ruby's new diving stone to use by salvaging some weapons from a nearby shipwreck. We'll need the extra firepower to deal any kind of damage to the armor-enforced Death's Head. It'll also come in handy for our second objective: destroying the Red Sail Sea Dog Clan. They're a fleet of mercenaries in LeFwee's books. We need to surprise them now while they hunt us in small groups. If they ever attacked in unison, there's no way we'd make it out alive. And finally, we'll set sail for the misty waters inhabited by a sea monster the pirates call "Crusher." Reports on Crusher are sketchy, but we might learn something by analyzing its technique. I know for a fact that all of LeFwee's men fear it. An impressive and useful trait given our current situation," Bentley explained.
Job 3: Crusher From the Depths
"What the-?!" Duncan screamed out as a giant tentacle slammed onto the ship, destroying the masts.
"Monster sea!" Scruffy panicked as he dove under Duncan's hat and poked his head out. (Sea monster)
"The sea monster is upon us! Go below deck and placate the others. I will confront this creature with my firework artistry!" The Panda King ordered.
"Give a shout if you need any back up. We'll stand ready," Sly said as he and Duncan headed below deck. Despite Crusher's best attempts, the Panda King was able to keep him at bay. However, he ran out of fireworks and called for Duncan and Sly.
"Protect the vessel while I go below and hurriedly craft more fireworks," The Panda King said.
"Getting hit with all those fireworks has gotta hurt! What more could Crusher do?" Duncan asked before flinching. He had just tempted fate. Sure enough, Crusher rose out of the sea, all tentacles at the ready.
"I'd say about another 100 feet and a dozen tentacles... just a rough guess," Bentley said from the binocucom.
"What can we do to hurt this guy?" Sly asked as he dodged a tentacle strike.
"The squid's eye is out of range. Draw him in close and then blast away! Got an idea. Whack the tentacles while they're attached to the ship. The suction cups on the bottom will get stuck, and maybe he'll have to come in and pull 'em off," Bentley explained.
"Got it!" Duncan said. Sure enough, after they got enough tentacles stuck to the ship, Crusher moved in closer, allowing Duncan and Sly to blast him with the cannons on the ship. Finally they had beaten him and the rest of the gang came out.
"A grand battle that was! Worthy of the names King and Cooper!" The Panda King said.
"Definitely," Duncan agreed.
"Say, Guru, could you get inside this creature's mind?" Bentley asked the Guru.
"I believe I could gain control of this magnificent creature and have him come to Blood Bath Bay to assist us in defeating the Captain," The Guru explained.
"That's a brilliant idea, but are you sure you can pull it off?" Bentley asked.
"I think I should be able to, but it will require me to spend some time bonding with the beast," The Guru said.
"Then let's do it. Just take any precautions you can," Bentley said.
"Everyone back up!" Carmelita warned.
"Creature of the depths! I call to you for your assistance," The Guru said. After a few minutes, Crusher roared and grabbed the Guru, returning to the depths
"I hope that was good," Duncan said.
Job Complete
Job 4: Battle on the High Seas
"We're closing in on one of the Red Sail Sea Dog Clan. Beat to quarters!" Bentley ordered. Everyone other then Duncan, Sly, Murray, and Carmelita headed below deck.
"Okay, so Murray steers and Duncan, Carmelita and I will defeat the pirates!" Sly ordered.
"You got it dad!" Duncan said. They fired before the pirates could notice them and quickly destroyed the mast.
"To arms! Their mast is down! Ram our ship into theirs and jump onto the enemy's vessel," Bentley ordered. Duncan jumped on board and battled the captain, while Carmelita and Sly took down any crewmates that tried to ambush Duncan. Within a few minutes, the captain was down, the loot was taken, and the ship was at the bottom of the sea. This pattern repeated as they found more members of the group. Soon all the Red Sail Sea Dog Clan ships were at the bottom of the ocean and Sly, Carmelita and Murray had pirate hats of their own.(It was Sly's idea)
"That's the last of the Red Sail Sea Dog Clan. With them out of the way we won't have to worry about a surprise attack or fight impossible odds when we raid Blood Bath Bay," Bentley said.
Job Complete
Operation: Reverse Double-Cross! Our goal, as we all know, is to save Penelope. Given her crafty nature, LeFwee has undoubtedly locked her up in one of his most secure locations. They are, one, the Skull Keep, and two, the brig of the Death's Head. Our team is too small to assault both simultaneously, so we'll have to fall back on a little sleight of hand. First, we sail in and exchange broadsides with the Death's Head. Armed with the element of surprise and our cannon upgrades, it should be a fair fight. But remember, Penelope might be on board, so we cannot sink this ship. Once the masts fall, Sly should jump onto the enemy vessel and then promptly surrender. A necessary step for two reasons. First, that boat is packed with pirates: way too many to fight hand to hand. And second, it's the best way to get an audience with LeFwee. Given his smug nature, he's sure to brag where she's hidden if we can get him angry enough. Got that, Sly? Irritate the daylights out of this guy. It's our best and only chance to rescue Penelope. Once he talks, we roll out plan A or B depending on the situation. This LeFwee is a smart man. Our only hope is to outsmart him at his own game," Bentley said. Duncan secretly had a plan of his own. Once, they had Penelope, he was going to make sure LeFwee went down, even if it wasn't him that fought him.
"Why does something always go wrong!?" Duncan whined. LeFwee had tricked them by making them think Penelope was in Skull Keep. Instead, they found a bomb. Thankfully, Sly had managed to get clear. Bentley had managed to get close enough to the open water for the Guru and Crusher. Even with him being on the jollyboat with Murray, Duncan could hear Lefwee's fear through Bentley's binocucom.
"Music to my ears," Duncan said as he leaned back. He knew Bentley was probably freeing Penelope. Despite his teasing, Duncan was truly hoping Bentley and Penelope hooked up. They were perfect for each other. Murray had rowed them back to the Death's Head and Duncan had climbed back on deck, just in time to see Bentley free Penelope. The fact she was now wearing a different outfit was a little worrying. But Duncan had other things to care about, like that LeFwee wasn't done yet.
"Call off your squid, or the girl gets it!" He ordered Bentley as he held his sword to Penelope's neck
"Back off, Guru, I'll deal with this guy," Bentley said. Crusher stopped smashing pirates, but stayed in the background.
"Aye, that you have. Set me up ta think I'd outsmarted ya, then fooled me into the deep water with this beast. I tip me hat to ye. Yer the cleverest man I've ever had the pleasure of beatin'" LeFwee admitted as he gave a bow. Suddenly, Sly swooped in. He kicked LeFwee down, but fell into the water.
"Dad! Guru! Get dad! He can't swim!" Duncan said. The fact he couldn't swim while his son and girlfriend could was a major source of embarrassment for Sly.
"Aye, shipmate, but who'll be helpin' yer turtle?" LeFwee asked as he attacked Bentley, who screamed as LeFwee knocked him down. But before he could make the kill, Penelope blocked him with a sword of her own.
"Nobody touches that turtle... but me!" Penelope warned LeFwee.
"Get him Penelope!" Duncan cheered from the sidelines.
"Me pirate flower finally blooms! Yet ye'd favor this cripple over me? The Smartest Man on the Seven Seas?" LeFwee asked. Duncan wanted to vomit. This guy was crushing on Penelope?! Thankfully, she was interested in someone else.
"Oh I do like smart guys," Penelope admitted. "...and he beat you at your own game. You tell me who's more intelligent,"
"Be still my heart and quick me blade... 'tis time for a duel! You and I'll make the mating dance of death!" LeFwee challenged. The duo headed up to the top of the mast. Despite LeFwee having done this longer, Penelope had a stronger motive to win.
Love
"Smartest man on the Seven Seas!" LeFwee cried out as he was knocked off the mast. He landed right in the middle of some shark fins.
"Was that LeFwee?" Bentley asked. Duncan and Sly had been helping back into his wheelchair.
"Yep and it looks like you have a visitor," Duncan said as he and Sly stepped aside, revealing a blushing Penelope. Bentley started blushing as well.
Within seconds, the gap between them was closed. Their lips were locked.
"It's about time," Was all Duncan could say as he moved over to his parents, who shared a kiss of their own.
Aw! What a cute couple! Until Sly Four(still hate that twist). Anyways, favorite chapter in Sly 3! I LOVE pirates and most of the missions(with one exception! I think you all know it!) were a blast. So because I gave my thoughts on both, I thought I would explain why I went with Mz. Ruby over Dimitri. Don't get me wrong, I love both, but Dimitri as a diver was just something I can't picture. Also I kinda set something up for her and Muggshot and I wanted to take it. As for Captain LeFwee, what a creep! If there was one bad thing about the chapter(other then Dimitri's level), it was this guy. Him hitting on Penelope made me cringe and his boss fight was super annoying because they don't tell you the controls, but also super easy once you figure them out! Super glad he got turned down and eaten by sharks. Anyways, next time, we head for the Cooper vault and take down Dr. M, but there will be a sacrifice. And Duncan is going to change in a way he will never recover from….