Chapter 21: "Consequences"
The plane touched down several minutes early, due to luck. Good tailwind was the explanation; conversely, both Carmelita and Bentley knew that snow would be blowing into the area very soon. Carmelita went into the woman's bathroom and found a ventilation register. Low and behold, her Shock Pistol was there. She pulled it from the vent and checked the charge cell. Full power.
Holstering the sidearm, Carmelita approached a mirror and took a moment to wash her face. She'd been on the run for days now and a long shower would have been better but she had to take what she could get. Her eyes lifted back to the mirror and she gazed upon herself as if she was looking at a stranger.
"You know you're not doing this to save the world or even your job," the vixen whispered softly. She drew in a slow breath then released it as a sigh. "Why do you love him? He left you last year. He'll do it again. I'm not some," She paused, thinking of a derogatory term, "I'm not some… Mary Sue," She added, muttering the name at the end. "Am I?"
"Let's take a look at you, Carmelita," She told herself, still staring into the mirror. "Are you a Mary Sue because you love him or is it because you're constantly pushing him away in an attempt to be professional? Is it because you've run out of tears? Stop being a chump," She said scornfully. This moment to scold herself may have been something she truly needed all along.
Her paws were lifted back to either side of her face, gently rubbing at the temples of her skull. She was at the verge of having a headache from everything that was happening. It was over the top and plainly unbelievable. If someone else told her about this entire situation she wouldn't have believed it.
"I love him but we just don't see eye to eye sometimes," She explained in an almost defensive demeanor. "I wish I was back in my tub a few days ago. Calgon, take me away," She added as bit of personal humor. It was the catchphrase for a bath commercial often aired on television a few years ago. The advertisement was almost always directed at women who just wanted to soak in the bathtub and forget their troubles for a while. The thought of soaking in a tub sounded pretty good right about now.
"You're tough," She said, directing her attention back to the mirror again, "But you're just bottling every little thing. When the lid eventually flies off, it's probably going to be accompanied by the entire 'bottle' breaking. Don't destroy yourself by being so callous and emotionless. That's what caused him to die the first time. You've got to think outside the box if you're going to do things differently and save him."
Another deep breath and a sigh. She covered her face in water again then dried off with paper towels. Feeling marginally rejuvenated, Carmelita turned back towards the door, stepping out into the Prague Airport, once more. She approached Bentley and offered him an awkward smile. Before he could ask what took her so long, she simply confessed, "I love him and that's why I'm doing this, all right?"
Bentley blinked. It wasn't the Carmelita he was used to. He nodded slowly, as if cautiously, then said, "I love him too, like a brother. We argue, we fight, we get a long, and we trust and rely on one another. Does he know you love him?"
"Yeah and that's what always got under my fur," Carmelita surmised. "He knew I've been in love with him but I never knew if he loved me enough. I can't help who I love, even if I can't stand criminals to begin with. Maybe that's why I chase him with obsessive passion and such a deep seeded anger. It pisses me off. I've chased him long before I fell in love and I don't even remember exactly when it happened. I don't think it was when he saved me from the gas chamber, or kissed me at the top of Clockwerk's Volcano fortress. It began shortly after that, though. I don't think that it was just one thing but our entire history."
Bentley remained silent, listening to her drawn out explanation. It was rare that she opened up her feelings and he never thought he'd be the one she'd open up to. It didn't matter, she was spilling her guts and he was the one who was around to hear it. He simply assumed that she was exhausted and emotionally drained due to their dramatic and stressful situation.
"Was your gun in the bathroom like we planned?" He finally asked.
"Did you even hear a word I said about Sly?" She snapped, glaring at the tortoise. "And yes it was in the damn vent; I was trying to confess my feelings so I do things differently to better ensure that these events don't turn out the same way as well! Who is to say we didn't try to save ourselves the whole time we experienced this mess the first time around?"
"Do you think it's possible?" Bentley asked, tilting his head, recovering from the wince that was offered in reply to Carmelita's temper.
Carmelita's shoulders slumped. "Maybe I was too shallow to do anything but act without emotion or impulse and it caused our failure. This time, I'm going to try to be a woman fighting for a man instead of a cop fighting the good fight for everyone but myself. I've got to learn to fight with my heart instead of my badge; Lord knows I'm not much of a cop right now."
"You were suspended, not fired," Bentley reminded her. "They can't fire you, you're a good cop. But I'm not arguing; Sly fights with his heart every time he picks up his cane. It's kept him alive this long, now we've got to help him by joining him."
"Let's start by finding the Clockwerk Chip," Carmelita said, reciting their plan of action. "Donovan Loupe should be bringing it to the Bank, along with Sly's unconscious body, any moment now. That means I'm also likely to be in the area. Next, I think we should stop the Sly Cooper Clone."
Bentley couldn't beat around the bush on this topic. He bluntly told her, "While I still find it difficult to believe that Sly has a clone in a glass tube, I'm willing to at least investigate your claim, Inspector Fox."
"You'll see," She promised. "From a woman's perspective, he's gorgeous. From the perspective of a woman who loves Sly Cooper, this imposter is dreadfully repulsive. We have to stop him before they can wake him up. Something like that shouldn't be allowed to exist."
"Very well," Bentley agreed. "First the Hate Chip, then Slick Cooper, then we tackle Karla Chintzy. This gives our doppelgangers enough time to progress in their mission that, by the time we're finished with our tasks, Karla will have become unnecessary to our other halves, then you can turn your attention on what to do with her."
"If I kill her too early, we'll just have to personally save ourselves." Carmelita then shrugged and added, "And I'll do my best to keep my temper in check, I'm just really tired."
"We're both tired," Bentley suggested respectfully. "Let's go and get this chip from Donovan. We'll figure the rest out from there," He added. Carmelita nodded in agreement and the two left the airport, taking public transportation to Wenceslas Square. They were dropped off near the statue of the 10th century Bohemian Duke, from which the square obtained its name. The city's normally-lively hub was fairly quiet and the evening shoppers had not yet come out. Most everyone was still at work or home for dinner at this point. The day crowd had gone home and the evening crowd was about to arrive on the scene.
The bank had only just closed and from their vantage point, Bentley and Carmelita could see Donovan Loupe carrying Sly Cooper's motionless body over his shoulder, heading towards the bank. At this hour on this day, Donovan was bringing Sly from France, where Sly was rendered unconscious during his heist and initial confrontation with Loupe.
Carmelita glanced at Bentley, nodded and said, "It's now or never, let's go!" She then dashed off towards the bank, hurrying before Donovan could make it to the doors. She drew her shock pistol from beneath the hem of her jacket and quickly brought the sights down upon the shadow-endowed wolf.
Bentley fired his rocket booster on the wheelchair and followed her quickly. It was time to destroy this Hate Chip for good. Then they would only have to worry about the people capable of making another. As they approached, Donovan glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes.
Massive tendrils of shadow erupted from beneath nearby automobiles that were parked along the streets. One of the dark arms wrapped quickly about Sly Cooper, holding him up against the wall of the bank. His head was drooped forward, still unconscious. Carmelita was already upon the lupine creature, slugging him across the side of his muzzle with her shock pistol.
He reeled back, wrapping a shadowy tentacle around her waist at the same time. She was quick, however, and with the gun in her extended paw, she pulled the trigger, catching Donovan in his face at point blank range. Loupe was off balance and off guard from the ambush and struggled to maintain his coordination after taking such a high voltage shot to his face.
The attack caused him to strain for control of his powers concerning the black, tar-like arm about her waist. She was quick and had been planning this for the entire afternoon. The arm was loosened and she clicked the trigger again. Two consecutive blasts in his face caused the wolf to drop to his knees, slumping to the ground.
The shadow disappeared around her as well as Sly. The raccoon slid down the brick wall of the bank, collapsing to the sidewalk. Carmelita drew her foot back angrily and kicked the wolf across the snout so that he was laid out, flat upon his back. She then knelt over him, panting furiously, checking his pockets.
Once the Hate Chip was discovered, she threw it to the ground, shot it with her shock pistol then stomped the remnants into dust and ash. Bentley rolled up alongside of her, partially bemused at her brutality. "Now what? He still has to capture Sly and make everything else happen appropriately. What about the Chip he's supposed to give to his superiors so they don't catch on?" Bentley asked.
"Dammit," she groused. There should have been a far more subtle way. This wasn't subtle and now she felt like she ruined everything. "What do we do now? What if we changed everything too much and their plans become more diabolical?"
"All right, don't worry," Bentley told her. "I built a fraud chip before, I can do it again."
"But we don't have all night!" Carmelita exclaimed, approaching Sly and sitting down on the concrete besides his body. She placed her paw on his chest, taking comfort in the fact that he was alive. It was a huge relief, regardless of their situation. She gently placed her arms around him, as it was the first time since she'd last seen him dead. Then, to Bentley's surprise, she took a moment to weep softly against his shirt, just to release a fraction of her pent up frustrations. The tears felt good. It was something she needed to do: she needed to take a moment and simply release a bit of tension for herself.
Bentley gave her a moment then leaned over his wheelchair's armrest and softly said, "We've been through this at the airport. I'll make a note to build a chip and make sure it is brought to this time and moment, at this exact location."
Bentley jotted something down in his organizer then tapped his chin pensively with a finger. He then glanced around the area and thought for a moment. "Ah hah!" He exclaimed, wheeling over to the potted plants out in front of the bank. He reached over the side of his armrest and pushed his fist into the soil that was held within the ceramic container.
A computer chip was recovered and a grin was offered to her. Bentley then wheeled over to the fallen form of Donovan Loupe. "What pocket did he put it in?"
"His front-right pocket. Your left," She said, lifting her head and rubbing her tear-filled gaze with the back of her paw. "I don't mean to be a baby about this, I've just got a lot of crap to sort out, it's been a pretty rough week," She explained, still using the backside of her paws to dry her eyes. She despised crying but considering the unbelievable week she'd been through, it was necessary.
"Check," Bentley replied softly, using a metallic hand-like extension from his wheelchair to replace the new chip. "Now we back off, I know just how to wake him."
"How?" Carmelita inquired as she stood up, casting one last glance back to Sly, on the ground. She didn't want to leave him and it pained her to know she had to do so. But if certain things didn't go according to plan, the pair of time travelers wouldn't be able to plan their course of actions around the knowledge of what would happen in what order.
"We get a water-balloon or something similar than find a good hiding place nearby and find a way to hit him with it," Bentley said, suddenly shaking his head, "No, that won't work. Maybe just a stone or something." Before they could finish deciding what to do, Donovan elicited a soft groan, reaching a paw to the side of his face. Bentley smirked, nodding at Carmelita. "Good enough for me, let's scram."
"Agreed," She replied, darting off towards the nearest alley. Bentley did the same, going in the opposite directly. They would have to meet up behind the bank. In the meantime, Donovan stood up, checked his pocket for the chip then shook off the effects of his numb muzzle. He then picked up Sly and took the raccoon into the bank. Plan one was accomplished, thus far.
Carmelita placed her paws against the brick wall at the back of the bank. She leaned forward, tucking her head between her elbows and opened her muzzle. Her stomach wanted to throw up but from lack of anything to eat or drink lately, she could only dry heave. Between the fruitless attempts of throwing up, she grumbled to herself about how she had to 'pull it together'.
"Carmelita," Bentley added with a soft sigh. "You've gone without food, drink or solid rest. When you have slept, you've reported nightmares. You can't run on adrenaline forever," the tortoise told her. "Pulling it together is fine and all but your health is going to deteriorate rapidly if you continue putting everything else before your body."
"I don't know what you're talking about," She wheezed, wiping the back of her muzzle with her paw. "I'm fine and I don't have an apatite. What's next on our list of things to accomplish?"
Bentley shook his head in disagreement. "I'm telling you, if you don't find a place to rest while I set some plans in motion; you'll be unable to work when I need you the most."
"I'm fine," She snapped, clinching her paw tightly. "I'm always able to do my job, turtle."
"Your body is crashing hard," Bentley reasoned. "You're trying to ignore it and everything that's happened lately is taking an incredible toll on you. If you were to face Sire right now, you'd not have the willpower to even try to stand up to him."
"I have more than determination, I still have this," She said, reaching her right paw up under her left sleeve. The Pendant of Willpower was pulled down her arm from its hiding place. "I'm ready for him." She'd taken it from Sly's body the night he died, when laying over his broken form. ...Just incase.
"As relieved as I am to see that," Bentley replied, "I doubt it will help with you being on the edge of extreme exhaustion. I need you to be at your best to fight so I'm going to find us a Safe House and you're going to get a meal and a nap and that's an order."
"I don't take orders from thieving criminals," Inspector Fox said, glowering at the man. "I'll kick your tiny little tail into the next century without a time machine. You'll be shell-shocked so fast, your head will spin."
"Stop stressing yourself," Bentley warned, frowning thoughtfully. "If I was a doctor, I'd have you sedated and placed on a weekend of sick leave. And I need you right now. Trust me: I am the last person to worry about a cop who wants nothing more than to put me and two of my friends in jail. But I need you to be sharp and on point. You're a zombie with a temper at best, right now."
"I liked you better when you were telling me how to get through the building, the first time I found myself here," She told him angrily. "Now you're falling apart on me, thinking I'm tired and hungry. You don't know my body, Bentley J. Turtle. I'm serious, I'm completely fine," She was trying to rationalize and reason when suddenly, her mind went blank and she reached to rub at her eyes again. "My stomach hurts, but other than that I'm… I'm fine."
"Inspector Fox," Bentley said, lifting a hand. She turned away from him, placing her right arm up against the wall, tucking her face into her elbow with labored breathing. "I just need to throw up, then I'll feel better. I know how to handle a headache, I'm a grown woman."
"Headaches too?" Bentley said, shaking his head. "And your joints?"
"Achy, but that's to be expected. I've been on my feet a lot," She reasoned.
"You're dehydrated," Bentley replied flatly. "I don't have an IV of water, so I suggest Gatorade or Pedialyte. Let's stop and get supplies, make a Safe House and plan our next move. Can you at least agree to that?"
Carmelita shook her head rapidly. The over-tired Latin Vixen was working herself to the bone. "We've got to find that crazy Clone of Sly Cooper. That will be their next move. Now that Clockwerk won't activate when they put that chip in him, they'll wake Slick Cooper and use him to buy them time. I'm a good Inspector, I can profile people like this and anticipate their next move; we have to target this Clone right away."
"Are we really going to argue about this again, right now?" Bentley asked. "I said you need to rest," he repeated. "Now where are they keeping this Clone?"
"It's in a castle on the edge of town," Carmelita said, shaking her head rapidly. "I want to personally shut it down. It's in the Castle of Vohzd Voorhemes, according to some Moose Lady that I had to rough up. This place is no joke; it's the Sire's personal secret lair."
"All right, if we go and break in, will you agree to rest?" Bentley glared at her. Finally, Carmelita nodded, conceding to such an arrangement. She backed away from the wall, turning to face Bentley directly. In the illumination of a light mounted to the wall above the back door, Bentley could plainly see that she had dark circles beneath her eyes. "Let's go, it's at the edge of town."
The castle was simply ridiculous. It was incredibly large and, located inside the courtyard within the front gates, was a solar field. The generators were in rows approximately three acres in size. It was designed in much the same manor as the United States Pentagon Solar Farm. It was obvious that this powered some fantastic machinery within the castle.
Bentley glanced around then announced, "There aren't any guards, what's up with that?"
"I didn't see any when I escaped from here before I saw Sly killed," Carmelita replied. "It's quite a structure to be left without guards. Might I also mention that Steven is alive and lives here, at the same time we saw him at the bank?"
"Pardon?" Bentley glanced over at her as they walked through the courtyard, heading towards the main entrance. "There are two Steven Skunks?"
"There are two Steven Skunks," She repeated. "The one at the bank is a crazy clone who dies when Clockwerk kills him. Now that Clockwerk won't activate, that clone of Steven will not die."
"Thus altering a great deal of events," Bentley mused thoughtfully. "We either have to kill him ourselves to keep certain events true to nature or certain changes like that will guarantee that we live. If one Steven doesn't finish building Clockwerk the other may very well do so."
Carmelita stopped in front of the doors and turned to the wheelchair, facing Bentley. She took a long, slow breath then began her explanation. "No, the real Steven, who built Clockwerk's metal body ages ago, thinks that Clockwerk was a huge failure. The Sire, however, wants Clockwerk's body assembled so that the Demon who Karla Chintzy is working for can be brought from the metaphysical world and placed into Clockwerk's body. The Sire is playing both Stevens against one another and befriending them both. They think they're immune to his powers but, in reality, they're not immune to his manipulation. Do you really think Sire would allow someone as intelligent as Steven or his Clone to live if they were immune to his powers? Not if he needed them or was so easily able to manipulate them with a good old fashion silver tongue," She elucidated.
"Thank you for explicating the situation," Bentley said. "I take it that you had them explain everything to you in the cliché, stereotypical bad-guy fashion when they think they've already won?"
"They can be so predictable sometimes," She added, shaking her head. The main doors were opened and the lobby was laid out before them. The secretary was reading a book at the front desk, up against a wall on the far side. Carmelita flashed her wallet with a piece of metal inside of it, quickly faking a badge-flash.
They continued forward, taking a flight of stairs up to the second floor. The next room opened up into a massive forest of computers that caused Bentley to nearly drool. She led him through the aisles for several moments until they found their way back to the center, where the massive glass pillar was located. It was covered in cloudy condensation and she reached her paw out to wipe it away.
To her complete shock, the tube was empty. "It wasn't like this! Slick Cooper was in here, black furred with gray-stripe markings! I saw him with my own eyes!"
"He's not here, though," Bentley said.
"What could have changed?" She demanded, balling her paws into fists. The chamber was filled with fluid but otherwise empty. Carmelita was beyond frustrated. "How long does it normally take to grow an adult clone?"
"Quite some time," Bentley said. "I've never tried it but from the research I've read, on the internet, it would take more than a few hours or a day, that's for sure."
"This is impossible, he was right here," barked the Inspector. "Dammit!" She drew her fists back and struck the glass tube, bruising her knuckles. She brought her other paw down on the glass, punching it repeatedly. "You damned scoundrels!" She shouted at the empty chamber. "Let's get the hell out of here, something is wrong. Either we're in one of those Alternative skewed time lines like in that damn movie about going back to the future, or we're missing some sort of bigger picture. Maybe he was made elsewhere and they bring him here sometime in the near future to finish being made, I don't know!"
"Carmelita," Bentley said, "let's find a Safe House and start getting plans together. Everything will happen differently now that Clockwerk won't function. At least we've accomplished the chip switch. It might be easiest to rest up, find and defeat Karla Chintzy without killing her then rescuing ourselves. Maybe things will be easier from here on out."
"Fine," She grumbled. "I've got a headache anyhow. Let's go," She replied, obviously angry that she couldn't fight the clone of Sly Cooper.
They left the castle, facing the rest of Prague. A taxi came up to the front gates and stopped. "Did you call for that taxi?" Carmelita asked.
"No," Bentley said. The back door opened and out stepped Steven Skunk. He didn't yet recognize Carmelita and Bentley, since he'd never crossed paths with them at this point of time yet. In his paw was a manila envelope. He passed Carmelita and Bentley, stopping to look them over. The pair couldn't be sure if this was the real Steven or his clone at this point.
"Can I help you two?" He asked the Inspector and turtle. She flashed her wallet at him, not letting him see anything more than a glint of metal where the fake badge was placed. The skunk smirked then continued to pass them, heading inside the castle's main entrance.
Carmelita began to head towards the taxi again, rubbing her head with one paw and using the other to replace her wallet into her pocket. Bentley wheeled himself towards the Taxi Cab. The driver stepped out of the car, came around to help Bentley fold up his chair and put it into the trunk. Bentley, however, had built his impressive chair to fold up at the touch of a button and slid out of the chair. With Carmelita's help, he was eased into the back of the taxi cab while the chair began to automatically fold down.
The taxi cab driver put it into the trunk while Carmelita slid into the back seat and buckled herself in. "What do you think he was doing at the castle?" she asked, rubbing her head with both paws now.
"I'm not sure. Are you all right?" Bentley asked. "You look pale."
"I told you I was fine," She said. But the façade was a poor portico pretense, and tears were welling up in her eyes again. Her veneer had failed. "I can't believe he wasn't in there. What'll we do now?"
"I wish I knew," Bentley said with a sigh of defeat. He hated seeing her hold back tears but worse, he hated to see her unable to hold back tears. That's exactly what was happening. As the taxi cab driver got back into the driver's seat and began to drive towards Prague, Carmelita Fox was choking back sobs of frustration. Where was the clone? Was she delirious about what she saw before? She didn't know the answers to any of her questions.
Steven stepped off the elevator to the 4th floor of the Castle. He walked down the hallway and opened a door at the far end. Stepping into the room, he shut the door behind himself and approached a figure by the window. The silhouette of a being turned around and Steven was looking directly at himself.
"I brought the blood sample of Sly Cooper. He is incapacitated at the bank. I also received the new Clockwerk hate chip, recently rebuilt and brought in from Paris, France," Said the first Steven to the second.
"You have done well to bring his blood," Said the second Steven who still stood before the window. "I will have Sire go and personally meet the raccoon upon waking. In the mean time, I have news for you. I was listening to the security audiotape of those two idiots who walked right into our cloning chamber. I don't know who they are yet but they know we plan to clone Sly Cooper. It gets worse," He continued, waiting for his doppelganger to finish gawking.
The true version of Steven sighed softly and continued to speak, saying, "They claim that the Hate Chip you currently possess is a fake. I overheard them say that it won't work. I say you scrap the project."
The clone skunk shook his head vehemently. "I've seen this in my dreams. It has to happen; something incredible will take place and the world will change, brother."
The real Steven suggested, "Then test the chip. Build a new one; start from scratch. We'll implicate a fresh new plan in the mean time. There is no rush to build that idiot bird; start from scratch, my creation. Haste makes waste."
"Build your backup-plan clone," said the faux skunk, handing over the envelope. "Here is Sly Cooper's blood. How long will it take you to finish this project?"
"I've developed a new method for which to implicate a new aging process," Said the true sentient being. "I can grow him in adult form and he'll be ready in 30 hours. I don't know if his body will degenerate after a certain amount of time, but it's worth the attempt. Continue to build Clockwerk's body if you must; let them think you don't know that you know about their fake chip. If you're really this obsessed with rebuilding that moron, I leave it to you to accomplish your task. I will release Slick Cooper tomorrow night. He'll recover these stupid artifacts that Sire desires so much. Do you trust Karla and Donovan?"
"They're loyal to me," said the copy skunk. "Donovan is a bit of an enigma, however. I don't know much about his past. Karla, on the other hand, she's quite the prize. I'll have her greet Sly Cooper upon waking, before the Sire can show up. It still boggles me how these two idiots I passed outside could know your plans to clone Sly Cooper."
"I don't know," Steven's real self mused thoughtfully, shaking his head. "I have no idea where they came from. But after reviewing the video footage, the vixen looks like the cop that caused us trouble over Clockwerk in the past. What bothers me is that she's here but the computer says that she's only just checked in through customs upon landing at the Prague International Airport, just minutes ago. Sire wanted me to keep an eye on her because she's proven to be trouble a few years ago. How can she be two places at once?"
"I know not, brother, unless she's a clone like me," Said the reproduction. "Perhaps someone else is capable of such an ersatz."
"No one else has the cloning technology or engineering abilities," Steven assured his cloned half. "We'd already know if she was a clone. No, this is no clone, this vixen may cause trouble. Tomorrow, when Slick Cooper is fully developed, I will send him out to dispatch her as his first job."
The clone version of Steven gave a nod and said, "Very good, my liege. I shall return to the bank. Tell Sire to come and visit Mister Cooper soon. In the mean time, I'll have Karla keep him company."
A/N: uh oh! Guess Carmelita never realized that Slick Cooper was made over night and the first time she saw him, he hadn't been in the stasis tube very long. How is that even possible? Maybe there's something we don't know about Steven's cloning technology. Maybe it's something we're going to find out... It should become intense and exciting from here on out but I invite you all to re-read the story so you know where all the characters are located in each scene the first time through, so you know what's happening when their future versions run through and shake things up.
Anyway, yAy!