This is the second chapter in my last double post before Christmas. Alright, its time for Sly and the team to meet up with Kanog! What will happen? Let's find out! Oh, and Merry Christmas to all my reviewers!
Sly Cooper and the Space Thieves
Chapter 33- The Final Plans
After Sly, his teammates, and Ariel have removed their Mantian armor, they all sat down. Without her armor, Ariel wore a fine, ocean blue colored dress. Jacor thought it looked perfect on her. She then began to explain her story. "It all started the day that Kanog's forces invaded our home world. I was just an ordinary young woman trying to get to her emergency shelter. However, a Mantian soldier popped out of nowhere and tried to kill me. I would have been dead if it weren't for my older sister, Reina. She tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. She was a soldier doing her duty to not only to the rest of her people, but to her family as well.
"That Mantian scumbag knocked her blaster away, and then…he killed her," she said as her voice broke. Sly and his friends felt very sorry towards her, especially Jacor, who knew exactly what it felt like to lose a member of his family. She continued. "After I saw her get killed, I wanted to kill that murderer right there and then. While that chump wasn't looking, I picked up Reina's blaster and swiss-cheesed the creep. I was supposed to head into the shelter, but I wanted to kill as many Mantians as possible, so I ran into the war zone. I then saw the big battle with Jacor and Zarus fighting off Kanog.
"When Kanog vanished with Zarus and all his remaining soldiers began to retreat, I followed. I managed to sneak aboard Kanog's flagship before it closed its doors. I then hid myself in a crate full of explosives. I have been up here ever since." When she had finished her story, all went quiet for a while. Jacor then broke the silence. "I am so sorry about your sister, Ariel. I know how you feel. Zarus was practically my brother, and that tyrant took him away from me. You have my sympathies." Ariel smiled. "Thanks, Chancellor." He waved his hand. "Just call me Jacor."
Sly spoke up next. "But that was months ago, wasn't it? How did you stay hidden for so long?" Ariel turned to Sly. "It wasn't easy. I moved out of the crate when no one was looking, and hid myself in the ventilation duct nearby. It was big enough for me, and it allowed me instant access to the whole ship. For the next several months, I stole some food from the kitchens onboard and kept out of sight. It tasted like rotten seaweed, but it was all that was available. During my "down time", I came up with a plan to get back at Kanog for what he did…"
Rovax interrupted. "The Main Reactor sabotage attempt! The escaped prisoner #23 story! All of that was your doing!" She nodded with a smile. "Yeah, yeah that was me. I took some explosives from that crate I hid in and tried to blow up this ship with them while everyone was busy with the battle outside. Unfortunately, I got busted and was thrown in the slammer. After I "persuaded" a guard to come in, I knocked him out, used his blaster to kill the other guard, and took his armor to disguise myself.
"I was going to Security Control to shut down all security monitors to the main reactor room and try to blow it up again. That is until I ran into you guys, sorry about the trash talk." she finished with a smirk. Sly shook his head. "You were trying to keep your cover, just like we were. Sure you could have used some manners, but you weren't suspected of being an imposter. Well done in my book." "Thanks Sly." Beowulf decided to talk now. "I am impressed that you have survived on this enemy vessel for so long, but you are going to need help."
"Yeah," said Sly. "We came in here to find Kanog, and you came in here to get a clean shot at the main reactor. We can help each other out. After all, we have the same goal: Defeat Emperor Kanog once and for all." Ariel thought about it, and then she nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'm in. What's the plan?" Everyone then turned to Sly. "Let's see…First, we need to get Ariel into the Main Reactor core without being spotted. And then the rest of us will deal with Kanog, giving her enough time to set up the explosives. We just need to get off this bucket before the big bang. Any questions?" Sly asked.
Ariel was first. "My explosives have been confiscated, and I am sure they have disposed of the rest in that crate. Where am I going to get more from?" Sly smiled. "Simple…we brought some explosives with us." He took some black devices from his left pocket. "I borrowed a few from our pal, Bentley. These are Takhar bombs. A few of these bad boys in well placed locations should be enough for the job." He handed them to Ariel, telling her she had to push the red button to arm them and voice out how much time the bombs have before they blow.
"I think you should set them for 10 minutes, that'll be enough time for us to get back to our fighters once Kanog is beaten. I recommend not arming them until you get the OK from me, alright?" Ariel nodded. Sly looked around the others, thinking that they might have questions too. Rovax had one. "Is Ariel going to use her armor disguise again to get to the Main Reactor?" Sly shook his head. "I have another idea. I'll disguise my voice to sound like Kanog and use the com system in here to alert all the troops on the ship to not go check the reactor room for a few hours. That will give us a clear way for Ariel to set up the bombs. Any other questions?"
No one asked anything else. Pleased about this, Sly turned to the voice com. "Alright, let's make things more interesting for our friends here," he said with a smirk. He turned on the com and made a perfect Kanog imitation. "Attention all security personnel! This is Emperor Kanog. I want to inform you all that for the next few hours, the Main Reactor is not to be disturbed. It is not safe to be around the reactor for that period of time. If any of you knuckle heads are stupid enough to go in there before it is safe again…then consider yourselves radioactive waste. Now with that out of the way, lets win this fight, shall we?"
Sly then turned the com off. They all looked at the security monitors. It had worked; anyone that was in or near the reactor room is moving away as far as they could. Ariel looked impressed. "You sounded exactly like Kanog! How did you do that?" Sly turned to her and smiled. "It is a trait of a master thief; to disguise your voice as well as your appearance." Jacor located the reactor room; 6 levels below them. Kanog was found in his private chamber at the top of the spire on the back of the ship. They needed to use the elevator to get there. Sly turned back to the team. "Alright team, we have our mission…now let's get it done!" They cheered as they left the security control room and headed toward the elevator.
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"It's done; all the bombs have been placed. They just need to be armed," said a very pleased Ariel. She and the rest of the team got to the reactor room without bumping into anyone. Now Ariel had just finished setting up all the Takhar bombs in specific places where they could do maximum damage. The Main Reactor was gigantic: It was one big, black sphere of energy being surrounded by three stabilizer rings. Sly smiled at this. "Good work, Ariel. You had better stay here to arm the bombs. You should be safe here; no one will come for another hour or two. We'll contact you when we are on our way to get you, alright?" Ariel got on her feet and nodded.
"I'll be waiting for your message." Sly then turned to the rest of his team. "Okay guys, time to pay Kanog a well overdue visit." The team moved out back to the elevator. Jacor was about to head out too, but Ariel grabbed his hand and he turned back to face her. She looked concerned. "Jacor, I hope that you will come back alive. I mean, I don't want to lose a tough, handsome dolphin like you before we got a chance to go on our first date," she said with a smirk. Jacor looked stunned. "A date…with me? You…are…serious?" She nodded.
"Look, I know that we had just met, but I can tell that we have a lot in common. If we start going out, who knows? Maybe we could become something more. That is, if you think you can handle a rough house girl like me." Jacor just stood there, lost in thought. 'Well, she's got a lot of spirit…and I would like to get to know her better…' He came out of his thoughts and smiled. "Sure, a date it is." Just then, he heard Rovax calling. "Hey Jacor, what's the holdup? We got a tyrant's butt to kick!" "I'm coming Rovax!" He then looked at Ariel. "Well, I better get going."
Before he turned away, Ariel gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "For good luck," she said with a smile. Smiling back, Jacor waved her goodbye and went to catch up with the rest of the team. They were just getting in the elevator when Jacor arrived. Beowulf turned to him. "What took you, Jacor?" The dolphin warrior just smiled and looked away. "Just making a promise, that's all." Beowulf and Rovax looked at each other, confused by that statement. Sly, however, wasn't confused at all…
They were riding in the elevator, just moments away from there final battle with Kanog. As there destination approached, they were lost in their thoughts. Rovax was thinking about Queen Wingdra waiting for him to return home. He couldn't wait to begin to spend his life with her. Jacor was thinking about his future date with Ariel. He was thinking of an amusement park back on Dolphus he would like to take her too. Beowulf thought about his wife Isis and his son, Little Sly. He longed to see them both again.
The white wolf also thought about the warning nightmare he had, prompting him to come with Sly. 'It looks like the battle in my dream is about to happen. I just hope that I can make a difference and save Sly…' Sly, meanwhile, was thinking about Carmelita. He hoped that she and the others were successful on Plaxis Prime and got back to the Dragon Thief safely. He also thought about how he and Carmelita are going to be together once they were back on Earth. 'Of course, there is still the Cooper Vault job and Dr. M to deal with. After that, maybe I could find a compromise that we could agree on…'
Before he could ponder on it, they had arrived on the floor of Kanog's private chamber. The doors opened, and the team exited, with weapons out and alert. It was very big, as big as a gym! Sly's team stood back-to-back, looking in all directions. There was no sign of him. Rovax turned to Sly and whispered. "You get the feeling that he's been expecting company?" Before Sly could answer, he heard footsteps on his right. They all turned to the direction of the footsteps and saw their enemy.
Kanog had his hands behind his back, and was smiling. "Welcome Sly Cooper. I have been expecting your return for some time, and now you are here. Excellent…" Sly then turned back to Rovax. "I think that pretty much answers your question, Captain."
Note: Larry Cimora, one of your previous reviews asked if I had a "twist in here somewhere". Well, I have such a twist planned for my next chapter. I hope you like it; it is a twist you never saw coming! It is sure to surprise anyone who reads it, that's all I'm saying! Later!