I figured since most of you were asking about the same thing, I would just do this. The main event of this chapter may be one of the most hated video game moments in history:

Penelope's betrayal.

I remember seeing people saying that Sly 4 would have been their favorite game in the series if not for this plot twist and the cliffhanger ending. While I was one of the people that was able to look past those moments to call Sly 4 my favorite game, I really disliked both moments as well. So, what am I doing about it? Why don't we get into that? Let's begin...

Once the gang was able to reconnect with Mz. Ruby, she pointed them towards Medieval England. The Grizz's crown was the perfect object to get there with, so there was no delay. Upon arrival, Sly and Duncan had headed out to find Sir Galleth Cooper, who was both a gallant knight and a master thief. But instead of that, they found he was reduced to performing as a jester in a circus. This time, however, it was clear that the main guards weren't even trying to fit in. They were clearly robots. Seeing this only increased Bentley's worries about Penelope, even if he was trying his best not to show it. Duncan wasn't saying anything, but he also worried. He had grown attached to Penelope in the seven year time gap.

Duncan sighed as he looked at one of the pictures in his wallet. It was of him and Penelope when he was fifteen. Sly, despite having started to remember some things, still remembered barely anything about Duncan. In order to help him get his mind off of things, Penelope had taken him, Buck, Hunter and Maverick sledding. Duncan was pretty sure that was one of the few times he had actually had a good time in two years. With yet another sigh, Duncan shut the wallet and walked into the main room of the safe house. Sly had gone out so Bentley could make him a costume to get into the circus. He must have finished as he was modeling said outfit for the rest of the gang. It was a Robin Hood style outfit, complete with matching bow.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Hunter laughed.

"Sorry about that, got a little lost in thought," Duncan lied.

"Well, you better not do that when you are in that circus tent. My readings have picked up on some energy readings that should not be in the circus of this era in time," Bentley said.

"I thought just dad was going," Duncan said.

"Nope, you're coming. I could use the backup in this place," Sly pointed out.

"Fair enough," Duncan conceded as he followed Sly out.

Job 1: Juggling Act

"WHAT KIND OF TWISTED TORTURE IS THIS?!" Duncan screamed as he narrowly avoided getting roasted by wall mounted flamethrowers. The whole circus was a combination of fire, cannonballs, tightropes, clown horns and walking across tightropes while flaming cannonballs were being shot at you from the clown horns. In between his fear of clowns and everything else, this was the first time in years that Duncan desperately wished that he wasn't on this mission.

"DON'T KNOW I!" Scruffy hollered back to him. (I DON'T KNOW!) Duncan could feel the little spider clinging to his head.

"Would both of you calm down?" Sly asked as he started to rub his son's back. "It's only a little farther from here. You can rest for a bit when you get back to the hideout,"

"I just want a mission that doesn't involve coming back here." Duncan pointed. Then he turned his head and saw a clown painting. "GAH!"

"Seriously, what is it with you and clowns?" Sly asked.

"A late night watching of that movie with the creepy clown when I was six," Duncan admitted. Sly face-palmed.

"How did I not figure that out?" Sly mused.

"Let's just keep going. I think I can see Galleth from here," Duncan noted. Sure enough, Galleth was seated at the top of a large tower. It didn't take very long to climb up it.

"Hey, Sir Galleth!" Sly said, getting his attention. "We're here to rescue you,"

"I am in no need of rescuing. In fact, I am a prisoner of this place no longer! I am...merely biding my time," Galleth replied.

"Well, alright then," Duncan said. "If you want to "bide your time" with all the cannonballs and fire, who are we to stop you?" He and Sly then faked turning around.

"Wait! You make a valid point. The time of waiting is over! We shall strike a fearsome blow against the tyrant who imprisoned me here!" Galleth declared.

"Whoa, let's just get out of here first," Duncan said.

Job Complete

Once they managed to Galleth back to the hideout(He kept trying to storm the castle), Duncan and Sly got him to explain things. As it turns out, the area was now held in the grip of a Black Knight that had technology that did not belong in the time period. After putting up an impressive fight, Galleth had gotten captured. Once they stopped Galleth from going after the Black Knight, Bentley searched every criminal database he could think of, but found nothing! This was going to be a long ride.

Job 2: Cane Swipe

"Okay, there is someone inside of that thing!" Duncan exclaimed as the Black Knight walked out of the castle, a tightly locked case and two guards behind it.

"Duncan! It appears the Black Knight has a patrol moving an object in a locked case through the town. From the level of security, I bet the farm it's Galleth's cane," Bentley said.

"...Have you farm a?" Scruffy asked. (You have a farm?)

"Just get over there! If what Galleth says is true, the Black Knight almost never leaves his castle. And when he does, it's only to briefly visit the Blacksmith Shop. This may be the one opportunity we have to steal the cane back!" Bentley ordered. "Actually, before you make a move, get some pictures of the Black Knight and that case. We need to figure out who and what we're dealing with,"

"Already on it," Duncan said as he pulled out his binocucom.

"This thing looks kinda like a mech suit," Duncan said as he snapped a picture of the Black Knight.

"Duncan, get a shot of that security case. I need to see that lock," Bentley noted.

"On it," Duncan said as he snapped a picture of the case.

"I can crack that thing with my eyes closed!" Bentley bragged. "But just get to that case before they reach the Blacksmith Shop, and I'll hack it remotely,"

It was Duncan's turn to brag. "I can do that in my sleep," He started following the guards, using a stealth takedown on the first, then crouching down and turning invisible when the other guard and the Black Knight would turn around. He then repeated that when taking on the second guard. He then made his way over to the case.

"Time to crack that case!" Bentley said as he started hacking. About a minute later, the case opened and Duncan grabbed the cane.

Job Complete!

"Okay everyone! Now that we got Galleth's cane back, we can begin to take down the Black Knight's operations! First things first, Galleth will need to destroy the Black Knight's surveillance balloons. Hunter, you and Buck will be investigating rumors of a dragon in the caves. I think it's crazy, but we should still take a look, just to make sure. As for myself, Sly, Murray, and Carmelita, we will be taking down each of the Black Knight's facilities. Finally, Duncan and Maverick will be seeing just what the Black Knight has been doing in the blacksmith's. I don't think it's crafting armor…" Bentley explained each member's roles with a very serious tone of voice. Duncan had a good feeling he knew why.

Job 3: Missing Links(aka Shell Shocked Heart)

"Man, it's been too long since we have done a job together!" Duncan said as Maverick finished hacking his way into the blacksmith's.

"I know, right?" Maverick replied.

"We really need to catch up," Duncan joked, causing both boys to laugh. They needed to go through the roof, but Maverick had just opened a hatch on top.

"After you," Maverick joked as he held the hatch open and gestured for Duncan to go in.

"Thank you kind sir," Duncan replied, causing more laughter.

"Shhh! He here comes!" Scruffy said. (Here he comes)

"I thought Le Paradox had promised me that I would be free of those blasted Coopers. Well I suppose even he could make a mistake," The Black Knight said. Duncan shuddered. It couldn't be!

"Duncan, w-w-what's wrong?" Maverick asked.

"The voice...sounds familiar," Duncan replied after a few seconds.

"Let's keep m-moving," Maverick said.

"Hey, that's my line!" Duncan joked. The boys followed the Knight farther in, with Maverick having used his drone to hit some switches at some points. Finally, they followed the Black Knight into what they could only guess was the final room. There were a bunch of unfinished robot guards, various machines, and a darked jail cell. Suddenly, a hatch in the Black Knight opened up and out came….

"Arpeggio!?" Duncan and Scruffy exclaimed. Sure enough, the former leader of the Klaww gang was the Black Knight. He looked a lot less refined and he was using what looked like a wheelchair with monster truck wheels to get around.

"I t-t-thought you said he was d-d-dead!" Maverick said.

"I thought he was! But mom did say they never found the body…" Duncan trailed off.

"Coopers...why do they still continue to haunt me? That...incident with Clockwerk was thirteen years ago! But no matter! I still hold my trump card," Arpeggio ranted as moved over to the jail cell and turned on the light revealing…

"PENELOPE!" Duncan nearly screamed. It was taking all of his self-control not to turn Arpeggio into chicken fingers right about now.

"Enjoying your stay?" Arpeggio asked as Penelope made her way over to the bars to face him. Duncan could see from here that one of her legs had a chain wrapped around it and she had a limp in the other.

"No, thanks for asking," Penelope said, her voice rough and hoarse. Maverick put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I still refuse to believe that a genius such as yourself would have any reason to continue to refuse to assist the other great minds. Yet you do, in favor of common thieves," Arpeggio said.

"I have my reasons, one of which is that I really don't like being kidnapped," Penelope replied. Duncan silently gasped. That was why Penelope went missing!

"Tsk, tsk. You were merely letting your talents be wasted. A time machine! Incredible!" Arpeggio said before turning nasty again. "But, I'm sure you'll start seeing things our way very soon…" He trailed off and opened up the cell. All three eavesdroppers knew what was coming and turned away, shutting their eyes.

But it didn't help.

All three could hear the crack of the whip and Penelope's screams and pleads for it to stop. Finally, it ended and all that was left of the noise was Penelope's whimpers.

"I know this is a horrible idea, but we are all in agreement that we aren't leaving her here right?" Duncan asked.

"D-d-d-definitely not," Maverick said. Both boys jumped down and Duncan quickly started trying to pick the lock. Penelope perked up as soon as she saw who was trying to get the cell open.

"Duncan!" Penelope said. She practically ran up the bars to meet him once he got the door open.

"I missed you too," Duncan replied as he gave her a hug, doing his best to avoid the injuries. Penelope hugged back and Duncan could feel her tears on his shoulders.

"Was….was Bentley worried about me?" Penelope asked.

"Very," Duncan replied as they broke apart. "Scruffy, you think you could get rid of the ball and chain?"

"Think I could I," Scruffy replied as he got right to work. (I think I could). Once he was finished the chain fell to the floor.

"How are we getting out of here?" Penelope asked. She was leaning on Duncan for support.

"I don't care about being sneaky," Duncan replied. He gave Maverick a nod. The griffin smiled and used his drone to destroy a window.

Job Complete

"Sorry in advance if this stings," Duncan said as he started to disinfect and bandage Penelope's wounds, which looked like they had come from more then just a whip. After getting her back to the hideout, it was a flurry of emotions, mostly from Bentley. First happiness, then worry, then rage. Murray had to physically pick up the wheelchair to keep Bentley from going to turn Arpeggio into tomorrow night's dinner. Once everyone had finally settled down, Sly and Sir Galleth had gone out to make bombs in order to get into the castle and Duncan ended up on first aid duty.

"I'm just impressed with how good you are at this," Penelope noted. She flinched a little as Duncan worked on some of the deeper cuts.

"Buck is one of my best friends," Duncan pointed out. Penelope laughed, making Duncan smile. While true, the main point of that answer was to cheer her up a little. Being kidnapped, having to help the enemy of your boyfriend and his friends, getting a very important project stolen from you, and being tortured was pretty upsetting to say the least.

"Her ask you what too wanted this before mess," Scruffy whispered to him. (Ask her what you wanted too before this mess).

"Um, I think you're good," Duncan replied. "But before you go, I, uh, wanted to ask you something?"

"Which is?" Penelope asked.

"Um…..would be okay if I started calling you aunt now?" Duncan asked. He was going to guess the bone crushing hug he just got meant yes.

"Okay, so I'm pretty sure we all want Arpeggio done for at this point," Bentley began yet another Chalk Talk.

"Understatement of the millennium," Duncan replied.

"Anyways, those bombs that Sly and Galleth made should be able to blow the drawbridge open. With that open we should be able to storm the castle and take Arpeggio down!" Bentley said.

"That's…..a super simple plan," Hunter noted.

"It's really all we need," Bentley pointed out.

"Knock 'em down, Uncle Bentley and Aunt Penelope!" Duncan cheered. Galleth had decided to rush Arpeggio's Black Knight suit and got his suit stolen. He then trapped Sly in the castle courtyard where he tried to kill him with a giant mech suit. Sly was able to take it down with his new Archer costume, but ended up pinned. Before Arpeggio could finish him off, Bentley and Penelope showed up in the remains of the robot dragon that Buck and Hunter had finished off(well, Hunter did. Buck just got eaten by it.) and were using it to fight Arpeggio. Finally, Bentley and Penelope were able to finish Arpeggio off.

SURPRISE! Yep, Penelope isn't evil, her and Duncan get a very cute moment, and Arpeggio makes a surprise return. Anyways, seeing as I have already made my thoughts on the original villain of this chapter very clear, I'll just talk about the level itself and the ancestor and I love both. All of the missions were fun including the boss fight(only good part of that twist) but the best part of this chapter by far was SIR FREAKING GALLETH. Good lord was this guy funny as hell. So much ham! Easily my favorite ancestor. So why did I bring Arpeggio back? Well, I felt like he didn't get enough screen time in Sly 2 and I needed a genius villain so he was the best pick. Also no, the Cooper gang did not eat him. That would be wrong. Next time, we are off to Ancient Arabia to help the equally ancient Salim Al-Kupar. Peace out.