The Battle: Part II
The Krak-Karov Volcano, Russia; Tuesday, June 14, 10:36 P.M…
Sly had his face against the cold, hard metal, temporarily shot with pain that prevented him from mustering enough strength to climb to his feet.
Vlotho's laughter slowly subsided, replaced with the sound of rapidly-approaching footsteps. Just as Sly got to his knees, he could feel the powerful grips on his back, yanking him up by his shirt and tossing him sideways across the room. He hit the wall before he hit the floor, slamming up against it and jolting his whole body as he sank to the floor, slumped over and spitting out blood.
He wiped most of the blood off his chin and stumbled to his feet. He turned around to face the badger, who didn't even have his fists raised. It was then that Sly felt a strange sense of isolation, exclusion, and desolation as he fully comprehended the situation as it was. It was just him and Vlotho, and this fight would not tend without someone being murdered. Sly suddenly felt a strange hot air surround him, instantly drawing sweat and making him feel uncomfortable in his own clothes. He wanted to tug at his short collar to let in some cold air, but feared making even the slightest move that would make him vulnerable to Vlotho. Sly could hear his own heartbeat in his chest…just like the nightmares.
Thump-thump…thump-thump…thump-thump…
Then Vlotho swung a left hook. Even before Sly's brain registered it, he dodged to the side and raised his own fists. Vlotho shot his other fist straight out, grabbing Sly's left wrist. Sly twisted his arm around and yanked Vlotho closer to him, doubling him over and swiftly raising his knee up into Vlotho's stomach repeatedly in several devastating blows. He then untwisted Vlotho's arm just as he swung another punch aimed at Vlotho's jaw, sending the badger stumbling freely backwards, lying on his back on the metal floor with an incredulous look on his wide-eyed face.
Sly stepped back a few feet, raising both of his fists. He briefly glanced over at where his Cane was, on the opposite side of the room, with Vlotho between him and his precious heirloom. He slowly started sidestepping around Vlotho, maintaining a safe distance from him as he got back up to his feet. However, just as Sly was halfway across, the Cane now more directly in front of him and Vlotho off to the side, Vlotho was standing up and facing Sly. He glanced to the right and saw the Cane, then looked back at Sly with an evil grin.
Before he knew it, Sly watched as Vlotho instantly bolted to the right, heading straight for the Cane. Sly sprinted after him, but Vlotho had already swept it up off the floor and spun around, brandishing it like an axe rather than the majestic weapon that it truly was. He started making wild swings at Sly, with Sly jumping backwards at each one. Through the swings, the swipes of yellow and brown as the item almost became a blur, Sly could see straight through to Vlotho's face.
His eyes were wide, wild with greed and anticipation as he moved closer and closer to his prey with each wide swing. He was grinning now, his teeth barred in a madman's smile, spreading ear to ear. His eyebrows were raised now, and his eyes started loosely rolling from the wild side-to-side movements of each back-and-forth swing, almost as if he no longer had any control over them.
Then Sly felt something press up behind him. He spun around to see that he was now against the control panel, with the wall on his left. He was backed up. He turned to see Vlotho take several more swings before seeing Sly's situation, in which he raised the Cane up high above his head, preparing to bring it down.
Sly simply waited for the hit before he leapt to the right as the Cane swung down. The tip clipped the edge of the control panel with its hook, but other than that, swung at air.
While the Cane was still coming down, Sly rushed at Vlotho and tackled him, throwing both of them into the wall beside him and quickly delivering several swift punches to his stomach. While Vlotho was dazed, Sly quickly reached for the wrist of Vlotho's left hand, and with all his might, twisted it backwards so far that he thought it would break. Vlotho yelped out briefly and dropped the Cane, which Sly quickly leaned over to grab. However, Vlotho took quick advantage of this and spun around with one leg up, delivering a swift spinning kick to Sly's side and sending him flying to the side. While Sly was still on the floor, Vlotho stooped down, grabbed him by the throat, then spun around and released him, sending him sliding right back to the same spot where he had reclaimed his Cane.
This time, Vlotho charged at him and leapt into the air, preparing to pounce right on top of Sly. However, Sly managed to regain his composure enough to roll off to the side, and Vlotho landed right on the metal floor. Sly jumped to his feet first and quickly grabbed Vlotho by the back of his neck, barely lifting him up as he ran forward and slammed him up against the control panel, his face smashing against a keypad and creating a dent in the middle of the pad, cracking several keys and sending one clattering to the floor. As Vlotho tried to spin around to face his attacker, Sly raised his Cane and struck at Vlotho's face repeatedly, slamming the back of his head onto the control panel, then lifting it up and striking him back down again.
Eventually, as Sly brought his Cane down again, Vlotho raised a fist to block it. Sly tried to bring his other hand down instead, only for Vlotho to grab it with his other hand. He then lifted both legs up and, with all his might, delivered two simultaneous kicks to Sly's stomach, sending him flying off of Vlotho and allowing him to straighten up, swiping the blood off his chin.
Sly got back to his feet as Vlotho charged with one fist reared back. Sly, once again, chose to dodge to the left. However, Vlotho anticipated this for the first time, and almost perfectly moved to the left in unison with Sly. Before Sly could register this, the fist had smacked into his chest, and Sly doubled over in pain. Vlotho swung his other fist from below and up into Sly's face as he faced the ground, bringing him back up in a jolt of pain. Before he could fall backwards, Vlotho grabbed Sly by the shoulders and flung him up and to the side, slamming him down on the metal floor.
Sly was now lying with his back facing up, and Vlotho once again kneeled down to pick him up once more. This time, just as both were on their feet and Vlotho was behind Sly, Sly let out a loud battle roar and threw his whole body backward, startling Vlotho and sending both sprawling backwards to the floor. Sly rolled over and didn't even get to his feet before he grabbed Vlotho's shirt collar and started swiping at him again and again with the Cane.
After about four blows, Vlotho tried to grab the Cane as it came down, grabbing onto the stem of the Cane just below the hook and thrusting it aside. Sly shot another punch with his bare fist down at Vlotho's chin, and as he raised another one, Vlotho took hold of that hand as well with his other hand. Both of Sly's hands now firmly in his grip, he jerked Sly closer and delivered a powerful head-butt, stunning Sly as he collapsed to the floor while Vlotho jumped to his feet.
Vlotho looked down at Sly, rolled over in pain and briefly immobile, and cracked a small grin. While not as devilish as his earlier grin, it still retained some of the psychotic characteristics of the previous one.
"So…this is how it ends, isn't it Cooper?" He chuckled; a brief sound that was a cross between a snort and a grunt, but with the clear undertone of satisfaction, if not amusement. "The great Sly Cooper, the last in the line of Cooper 'master thieves,' lying like a helpless baby on the floor, rolling around in his own blood and defeat. I expected more from you, Cooper."
Then, with all his might, Vlotho reared back and stepped forward with a devastating kick from his right foot. The tip of his boot slammed into the back of Sly's head, and the impact sent him rolling a few more feet. Now he was lying on his side, facing Vlotho and only able to see his boots and legs. He coughed again, followed by a rushed and ragged intake of breath, wincing as the searing pain completely blew out all other senses. It was just pain, pain, pain…
Thump-thump…thump-thump…
"The man who toppled entire criminal empires, put some of the world's most feared outlaws behind bars, looted billions in artifacts, valuables, and rarities…is now this broken, bruised, and bloody heap staining my beautiful floor with his inferiority. Yes, that is what you are, Cooper: Inferior. You can never be as powerful, as strong, or as brutal as me. You don't know how easy it is to take a man's life. You, if you were in my position, would actually look down on a helpless man with pity and remorse, and consider the idea of sparing his life."
He kneeled down next to Sly, grabbing his head and lifting it up so that his fluttering, barely-open eyes looked right up at him.
"But you're not in my position. I am in my position."
He then raised Sly's head up and slammed it down to the metal floor, resulting in a meaty smacking sound and a grunt from Sly. A trickle of blood flowed from his mouth and onto the metal floor. Vlotho stood up, now towering over Sly.
"I have killed many others before, with my bare hands. Fellow soldiers. Comrades. Minions. Men with wives and children. It is effortless. I don't see them as fellow living beings…I see them as my low and inferior subjects. You see, that's the trick to it all. Shut out your view of them as equal, as a fellow man, and you don't even think about it as you pull that trigger, or thrust that knife, or wrap that cord around their pitiful little necks. It's almost fun, really."
"You're sick…demented…"
"Am I, Cooper? AM I? You insolent fools could never understand! You never have, never do, and never will! That is why you must all be destroyed!"
He swung another fierce kick to Sly's side, impacting in his ribcage so hard that Sly was fairly certain that one of his ribs had just been broken.
"You stubborn, blind, senseless, stupid beasts always viewed my kind as 'demented.' All the great conquerors in history, Napoleon, Hitler…they were all viewed as 'sick' and 'demented.' They were all horribly misunderstood! What people see as different or unusual, they instantly label as negative and unpleasant! People who are trying to help others, trying to improve their lives and the world around them, are viewed as monsters and scum! They are lashed out against, criticized, labeled as murderers and psychopaths…when it is the very people who call them that who are the real fiends! Napoleon was exiled to die in misery…Hitler was surrounded and backed into a corner, and at least had the decency to take his own life rather than let the putrid scum touch him first. I will avenge them. ALL of them. They will not have died in vain. And your death shall be viewed as the first of many…the first of many disgusting pieces of slime that detested my kind who shall die by my wrath!"
As Vlotho pulled his fist back and prepared to deal another punishing blow, Sly sprang into action. He started kicking his legs wildly, spinning in a half-circle on the floor as he did so, his legs catching Vlotho's legs as he stood next to him and kicking his feet right out from under him. As Vlotho collapsed to the floor, Sly jumped up and swung his Cane down at him. Vlotho was fast, though, and grabbed it as it came down, latching his hand in under the hooked tip. As Sly quickly went on the defense and tried to pull it out of Vlotho's grasp, Vlotho rolled over and flung the Cane up over him, and Sly, still maintaining his firm grip on it, was flung up off the ground as well. Vlotho released his grip on the Cane, and both Sly and the Cane flew across the room and hit the floor.
Both were now on the floor, about 12 feet separating them. Vlotho sat up, while Sly crawled to his knees. As he shook off the shock and the pain, he glanced to the left at the control panel nearby. At first, it was hard to focus…
…then he finally noticed the keypad that had been smashed by Vlotho earlier.
Even then, it took Sly a few moments to register the potential in this discovery that he had just made.
Suddenly, a tremendous force slammed into him from the side and knocked him to the ground, throwing the wind right out of him. He then felt a series of rapid punches to his stomach and back as Vlotho viciously attacked him again and again.
In an instant, Sly reached behind him, took hold of Vlotho's shirt collar, and flipped him right up over him and threw him forward, sending him flying straight into the control panel once again. This time, with the full impact of his body, much more of the panel was smashed and ruined, with a shower of sparks emitting from it and several looser pieces flying off.
At that moment, there was a horrific sound from deep within the bowels of the Clockwerk. It sounded like a prolonged guttural growl of pain, while still maintaining the metallic and mechanical quality. Then, suddenly, there was a violent jerk to the right, sending Sly flying to the left as the Clockwerk made a sharp turn. It dipped up and down once, then again, then managed to level out, but remaining at a tilted angle.
That's it! Sly thought as he stood back up. His exhilaration rapidly increased, finally breathing a sigh of relief as he discovered the one true weakness of this deadly machine.
For the first time since setting foot in this Volcano valley, Sly grinned as Vlotho slid off the control panel headfirst, hitting the floor and falling over.
"Well, Vlotho…this has been quite fine and all…but if you'll excuse me now, I have a machine to destroy."
He then ran up to the next area of the control panel with his Cane raised, unleashing a loud battle roar. When he approached, he swung his Cane down at an angle, swiping it both down and sideways so that it smashed into the control panel and then swiped sideways, tearing it up as it went along like a crevice forming from an earthquake.
There was another violent jerk, this one pulling up as the Clockwerk rose up into the air. Only by shoving the tip of the Cane deeper into the smashed panel did Sly maintain a good grip so that he stayed in place as the Clockwerk veered around madly. Vlotho, still on the floor, slid around with the movements, sliding away from the wall, then back against the metal wall with a light thump. He slowly got to his knees and rubbed his head.
Then a deep, metallic male voice sounded over the speaker systems. "Warning: Control panel has sustained damage. Control panel has sustained damage. Control panel has sustained damage. Damage level: light. Damage level: light. Damage level: light. Automatic damage control system: activated. Automatic damage control system: activated. Automatic damage control system: activated."
After tearing a long gash in the controls, Sly looked back at the weakened badger. "It's almost too perfect, Vlotho. I honestly expected controls that were bullet, fire, and waterproof."
He raised his Cane high and smashed it down again, tearing out two dials and a gauge. The Clockwerk veered again to the left, another groaning emitting from within.
"Damage level: medium. Damage level: medium. Damage level: medium. Automatic damage control system: running. Automatic damage control system: running. Automatic damage control system: running."
"But perhaps you didn't expect anyone to even get in here in the first place, hm?"
He swiped it sideways, uprooting seven small levers that scattered in all directions. This time, only the head of the Clockwerk moved around, the massive yellow eyes swiveling back and forth, craning sideways, then leering up and dipping back down.
"Damage level: medium…"
"You felt so confident that no one, or no weapon, would ever set foot in here, that you didn't find it necessary to make these extremely resilient to attack, didn't you?"
Sly then swung his Cane down back and forth three times, slicing three gashes in the control panel farther down to the left.
"…medium. Automatic damage control system: running…"
By now, Vlotho had staggered to his feet.
"That is your very own fault, Vlotho. Over-confidence in yourself is merely arrogance in disguise. Isn't that what led to the deaths of all your 'predecessors?'"
Sly turned back to where Vlotho was…
…just in time to see him leap at him, fists raised. Sly was yanked off his feet as both were briefly in the air and flew across the room until they hit the floor again. Vlotho absorbed the impact and did a quick back flip, leaping off of Sly and landing perfectly on his feet, spinning around and delivering a swift kick to the side of Sly's head, sending him sprawling to the side.
"You miserable little runt. Who do you think you are talking to? Once again, you assume that I am just the same as my predecessors. In many ways, yes. But not all ways."
He grabbed Sly by the throat and threw him aside, straightening out his own shirt collar before taking a rather casual stroll over to the control panel to inspect the damage.
"My predecessors did have their respective faults. But I, boy, have no faults. I am perfect."
He stroked a hand over the multiple gashes, with their loose wires, pieces of metal, and cascades of sparks.
"I think of everything. And this particular scenario is no exception."
The Clockwerk roared again, veering hard to the left as it dipped down and lost some altitude. Vlotho, however, remained firmly standing where he was, with only his left hand gripping a lever holding him in place. He barely even faltered.
"While these could be called 'The Master Controls,' this was mostly just for…show. Most of these are simple temperature, electricity, and nuclear readout devices. In case I need to lighten up on the beam every now and then, or maybe need to retreat from battle to reenergize. Most of these are things that, if they ever reach critical levels, would simply be reported via the systems check on the intercom here. So, in essence, I didn't even need most of this."
Sly, still recovering from the fierce blow to the side of his head, slowly sat up. Vlotho slowly turned away from the smashed panel and back towards the pilot's chair right in front of it.
"In the event of damage to the Master Controls, I could easily pull up the alternate controls from right here, in my comfortable leather chair."
Vlotho casually leaned over the left armrest of the pilot's chair and flipped open a small lid-like apparatus, revealing a much smaller group of buttons.
"Of course, it would be very foolish indeed to even think of bringing the controls out now while you are still alive. So I shall put an end to you first."
Vlotho turned…
…only to see that Sly had vanished.
His eyes widened, and he stepped back from the chair, fists raised as he instantly turned off his casual demeanor and went on the offensive.
"WHERE ARE YOU?" He screamed, echoing back to him again and again through the empty metal chamber.
"Show yourself, you coward! SHOW YOURSELF!"
Sly was perched right on top of the chair, using his Shadow Power to maintain invisibility as he looked straight down at the controls that Vlotho had just revealed in the armrest of the chair.
There were only five buttons, arranged with two on top, one in the middle, and two on the bottom. The one on the top left was blue, the one on the top right was green, the one in the middle was red, the one on the bottom left was yellow, and the one on the bottom right was white. Underneath each button was a small word printed in black. Under the blue one was "AUXILIARY." Under the green one was "MAIN." Under the center red one was "EJECT." Under the yellow one was "REBOOT." Under the white one was "SPEAKER."
Then, making sure to throw his voice, Sly softly spoke up.
"You said that these buttons bring out the alternate controls, right?"
"Yes." Vlotho replied, perking up as he tried to zero in on the source of the voice. "But only if the five buttons are pressed rapidly in a particular sequence that, as of several minutes ago, I am the last person on Earth who knows what it is! You can try, but you won't bring it out! And smashing the buttons won't do you any good either!"
"But as long as the alternate controls are still down, the Master Controls are still the controls in charge of the Clockwerk, right?"
"Y…yes?"
"Good to know."
Then, with the silence of a ninja, Sly leapt off the top of the chair, soaring right over Vlotho's head.
While Vlotho could not see or hear the invisible intruder soar over him, he felt the ever slight rush of wind as he passed over him, and instantly spun around. Now that he knew where Sly was and why, he eased up and tried to regain his calm behavior.
"Ah…your Shadow Power technique. By far your most effective method of stealth, is it not, Cooper?"
"You could say that."
Sly landed between Vlotho and the controls. He raised the Cane up and swung it down again. Vlotho watched as a large and rather deep gash suddenly appeared in the center of the control panel.
This time, however, Sly finally had some luck and struck a significant part of the controls. This was clearly evident when the subsequent jerking movement of the Clockwerk was much more severe, tilting to an angle of about 80 degrees to one side, lurching so far that both Sly and Vlotho tumbled through the air and slammed into the left wall of the chamber. Sly was so stunned that he lost his concentration and returned to visibility.
Then a red light directly above the control panel started flashing repeatedly. It was extremely fast, flashing almost like a strobe light rather than a typical alarm light.
The voice returned. "Damage level: high. Damage level: high. Damage level: high. Suggestion: Manual repair. Suggestion: Manual repair. Suggestion: Manual repair."
Once the voice repeated both messages three times each, the red strobe light vanished.
Just as the Clockwerk righted itself again, Sly was knocked aside by an unseen force from behind as Vlotho attacked, slamming him up against the damaged controls. Vlotho grabbed the back of Sly's head and yanked his head back, his blue cap fluttering off to the floor. Vlotho then started repeatedly slamming Sly's head into the smashed panel again and again, each hit delivering a crunch as more damage was dealt to both Sly and the panel.
After about six hits, Sly unleashed a guttural roar and, with all his strength, threw his body backwards up against Vlotho, sending both of them stumbling backwards and loosening Vlotho's grip. Sly spun around and smacked Vlotho in the chin with his elbow, following it a split second later with a punch from the hand on the same arm. The instant double hit sent Vlotho spinning to the floor.
Sly turned around and started back towards the control panel…
…only for the same force to slam into him again, this time knocking him straight to the floor. Vlotho stood over Sly with one foot on his back, pressing down slowly and firmly.
Just as Sly started to feel the boot digging into his back, he swung his Cane up and snagged the ankle of Vlotho's foot, giving it a solid yank and pulling his foot out from under him, sending him sprawling down on top of Sly. Sly climbed out from underneath the fallen Vlotho and grabbed him by the back of his neck, lifting him up and spinning around three times before he released Vlotho, sending him flying into the control panel with a powerful impact, hitting yet another undamaged area.
This time, it really hit home.
The Clockwerk jerked once to the left, tilted to the right, then did a sudden barrel roar as it screeched horrifically. The red light flashed once again, only this time, it didn't stop. It continued flashing and flickering wildly, its nonstop flashing disorienting both men even more as they were thrown around the chamber during the roll.
"Damage level: severe. Damage level: severe. Damage level: severe. Suggestion: Immediate manual repair and switch to alternate controls. Suggestion: Immediate manual repair and switch to alternate controls. Suggestion: Immediate manual repair and switch to alternate controls."
It took a while for the Clockwerk to steady itself, and even then its flight was bumpy and jerky. The first to stand up again was Vlotho, who wobbled and stumbled over to the wall, placing one hand against it while Sly got to his hands and knees. With his other hand, Vlotho wiped away the trickle of blood from his mouth. The back of his hand caught a loose object in his mouth, dislodging it with a slightly painful tug. With a cough and a loud, fast spit, he shot the loosened tooth out of his mouth.
This time, it wasn't a fake.
He glanced down at the front tooth he had just lost, a bloody pulp still attached to one end and the few drops of blood it left on the clean metal floor. He could now feel a steady flow of blood constantly flowing into his mouth from the newly-opened wound. He glanced over at the spot on the control panel where he had hit, and saw the spot of blood.
He glared at the man responsible.
Just as Sly staggered to his feet, stumbling to the side like a drunken man, he heard a low, fierce growl coming from the opposite wall.
Sly turned around and saw Vlotho, wobbling on his feet, blood trickling from his mouth, teeth barred, and a look of pure hatred and fury in his flaming eyes. His fists were clenched, and his breath flared out his nostrils.
Then, ever so smoothly and steadily, his right hand unclenched and moved towards the left side of his hip, where Sly noticed a large sheath with a handle protruding from it. He watched as the fingers of Vlotho's right hand slid into each of the rings of the handle like a pair of brass knuckles. He re-clenched his fist and slowly drew his weapon. Sly watched in horror and astonishment as the 20-inch long gold blade was pulled out and waved threateningly in his direction, the lights from the control panel reflecting brilliantly off the gold surface. He instantly took note of three things: the ragged, steak knife-like edge on one side, the extremely thin edge of the other side, and the spikes on each of the handle's rings. He could already tell from a quick glance that this was a very deadly weapon.
"You have crossed the line, my boy. I didn't want to have to resort to my personal favorite weapon, as it is certain to deal a crippling, or even fatal, blow. But you have left me with no choice. Playtime is over. Prepare to die."
The blade raised high, Vlotho charged at Sly with a new energy. Unlike before, the wild and unbelievable amount of determination ever present in the psychotic badger showed itself in his terrifying battle roar and his wide, almost demonic eyes.
Sly instantly went on the defensive, throwing his body to the side as the blade came down, slicing the air where he had been standing. Vlotho didn't even pause, swinging the blade to the right after Sly as a direct continuation of his previous move. Sly leapt over the blade and jumped back, while Vlotho swung again, the movement flowing perfectly with his previous moves as if his rampage was one long attack. Sly found himself desperate to avoid the blade, dodging left, right, ducking and jumping, backing up all over the chamber as the blade pursued him relentlessly. He feared leaping over Vlotho to land behind him, as he figured that the blade was easily long enough to catch him while he was in the air. Vlotho put all of his energy into each and every swing, showing no signs of tiring. With every wild swing, his eyes rolled like billiard balls, his whole body swinging in motion with the fierce blade. His repeated shouts intermittently sounded with each swing. Even with only one hand, the incredible amount of power and speed put into each swing was unbelievable. The flashing red light certainly didn't help either. With the constant flashing between red and pitch black, Vlotho's movements were repeatedly cut off like a film reel, his blade over his shoulder one moment and already straight out towards Sly the next, with the movement in between completely absent.
Now Sly was unknowingly thrust into a deadly dance, with Vlotho acting as the psychotic puppeteer who felt like throwing his puppet into a tornado. Every direction Vlotho moved, Sly moved opposite. It became clear that Vlotho was not going to get tired anytime soon, and all Sly could do was dodge and avoid him at any cost. As the one-sided fight continued, all that Sly could hear were three things: The rapid swinging of the blade through the air, Vlotho's grunts with each swing, and…
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump…
With each and every frantic movement, Sly could feel his body weakening, growing more and more tired, his limbs starting to ache, his heartbeat increasing rapidly, his lungs on the verge of collapsing…it burned…burned…
Only when Vlotho's back was to the control panel did Sly dare to steal a brief glance in the direction of the controls. He knew now that to try to smash the controls himself, even for a split second, would result in an instant hit from behind. The amount of time between each of Vlotho's swings was almost non-existent. The flashing lights disoriented Sly, making him exert even more energy as he feared that Vlotho might struck in the brief moments of darkness.
He knew that it would only be a matter of time before he finally lost the energy to continue dodging. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before Vlotho's blade finally connected with him. Whether it was the thin, precise end or the thick, ragged end, the blow would surely be devastating, if not immediately fatal.
As he continued dodging, he looked into Vlotho's wild eyes, still rolling around uncontrollably, his only goal to hit Sly…
Then it finally occurred to Sly what he must do, both to save himself and still damage the Clockwerk's master controls enough…
Still refusing to risk a complete jump over Vlotho by himself, Sly started weaving his dodges side-to-side and working to turn Vlotho around and put his own back to the control panel. He then started backing straight up, Vlotho following him relentlessly.
Then, before he knew it, he felt the cold, hard surface against his back, and reached behind himself to grab the edge of the panel and throw himself backwards, higher up on the metal slope, just as Vlotho's blade came down once more.
Just as Sly had planned, it sliced straight down through a series of buttons and two levers, shooting out more sparks and pieces of metal. He had struck the panel with the thinner edge of the blade, slicing clean through and deep into the inner workings of the panel. It was clear that this blow was far more severe than any others it had sustained thus far.
Now, in addition to the flashing light, a low alarm sounded, blaring for two seconds with a half-second pause in between. The voice returned for the fifth time:
"Damage level: critical. Damage level: critical. Damage level: critical. Master Controls irreparable. Master Controls irreparable. Master Controls irreparable. Suggestion: Immediate switch to alternate controls. Suggestion: Immediate switch to alternate controls. Suggestion: Immediate switch to alternate controls."
"NO!" Vlotho roared, realizing that he had been fooled. He yanked the blade out of the controls and raised his death glare to Sly, now more furious than ever.
"NO!" He repeated. "I have never known defeat, and I shall not know it today!"
With that, he spun around and sprinted towards the chair, pulling his fingers out of the ringed handle of the blade and placing it under his arm as he leaned over the small panel of five buttons on the armrest of the chair, rapidly pressing them in a specific order.
Yellow, White, Red, Yellow, Blue.
At this, a portion of the metal floor directly in front of the chair split in half, both halves of the rectangular lid sliding open to reveal a hole in the floor. After a second, a console on a metal pole rose up out of the hole. This console – the alternate controls panel – was only about three feet long and a foot and a half wide, with a smaller assortment of buttons, levers, dials, and readouts.
This was it.
Sly leapt up off the ruined master control panel and charged towards the alternate controls, his Cane raised high above his head. He knew that this was perhaps the only moment where Vlotho's blade was not an immediate threat, and Vlotho was not in the chair yet to man the controls himself.
However, Vlotho already anticipated this, and waited until Sly was just above the controls. He then leapt up himself and swung his fist as hard as he could, his body turning in midair as he put all his strength into the blow. Sly felt the powerful impact in his stomach and was sent flying straight back to where he came from, slamming against the damaged master controls. He laid flat and spread out across the controls, slowly sliding down the slanted panel towards the floor, his eyes fixated on the ceiling directly above him in shock. He registered not only the pain of the blow, but the pain of the impact, as well as several sharp fragments of metal from the damaged areas digging into his back. He could already feel the blood leaking out onto the panel beneath him…
Just as his torso was the only part of his body on top of the panel itself, he saw Vlotho rearing over him, the blade raised high in both hands and a look of bloodlust and hate in his eyes.
With what little energy Sly had, he tried to roll to the side.
It was too late.
His Cane instantly slid from his hand, sliding down the panel and clattering to the floor with a wooden clank.
All at once, Sly felt lightning, fire, a shotgun blast, and a jackhammer all bear down on his body in a heartbeat. It was that one moment of numbness, of stillness, of coldness as the horrible, hard, cold blade smashed through his flesh, tissue, and muscle with impeccable strength and precision, tearing through every layer of his body and piercing straight through to the control panel below, its bloodied tip penetrating the surface of the ruined panel and pinning his body to the metal surface.
And the sound. The horrible sound…
Then it slammed back at him with the force of flying into a brick wall 10 feet thick at 400 miles per hour. The pain was unimaginable in every way. He had never felt anything quite like it before in his life. Not even when he was struck by a bolt of lightning and sent flying over 50 feet in the African jungle, or knocked completely unconscious when a massive staff lined with sharp talons was thrown straight at his head, or when he was crushed in the fist of a massive mutated monster and dropped 20 feet to the ground right afterwards, or hit by a deadly fireball in a collapsing cave. This pain was the kind of pain that truly took over the mind, every single sense of the body, and dominated your very being with its horrible torment.
He threw his head back and unleashed the loudest, longest, most devastating scream he had ever given in his whole life. At the exact moment when it started, he could both feel and see the jet of blood shoot out of his mouth, whipping up into the air and falling back down, several drops staining his face on his cheeks, nose, and forehead. His eyes squeezed shut just as the tears started forming up, fighting against his eyelids to pour out in rivers down his face. His fists clenched so tightly that his gloves tore, his claws piercing through each and every one of the gloves' fingertips and puncturing the fur and flesh of his palms. Every other muscle except for the punctured ones tightened hard enough to snap, and his flesh ran cold. His heartbeat now, more than ever, was like a locomotive's engine.
-
Vlotho stood over his crippled foe, staring down at him as he was pinned to the very control panel that he had worked so hard to destroy, helpless before him like a lamb to the slaughter. His own blood ran down from the wound, his palms, and his mouth, staining the ruined metal and dripping down the crevices around him in the areas he had helped to damage in the first place. His deep, horrified, painful scream was music to his ears. For a few pleasant moments, the scream was the only sound Vlotho could hear, even drowning out the alarm and the roars of the erratic Clockwerk that they were both inside. He gained thorough satisfaction, even enjoyment, from seeing his opponent in so much pain and torture that, even despite his earlier bursts of pure rage and energy, he lightened up, his fists unclenching, his muscles relaxing, and he grinned.
Then he chuckled.
The chuckle grew into a steady laugh, barely audible even to himself. Then it slowly grew louder and louder, with more energy put into it, his eyes closing as he lost himself in his own laughter. He threw his head back and started laughing maniacally, unable to control himself as he immersed in his own pleasure at someone else's misery.
Eventually, both Vlotho's laugh and Sly's scream died down at the same time. Vlotho stared down at his victim while Sly continued staring up at the ceiling.
For a few long moments, Sly's breathing stopped immediately after the scream. Only one thought was still soaring through his otherwise empty mind.
I'm dead…I'm dead…I'm…dead…?
He managed to find enough energy in himself to roll his eyes down and stare down the length of his body, down at his own torso.
The blade was nowhere in sight.
Then, with twice the amount of energy it took to look down, he looked to the left.
The blade was lodged in his left arm, piercing through his upper arm just above the elbow.
Vlotho, still not done having fun with torturing Sly, casually leaned over, placing one elbow directly on the handle of the blade, tilting it over and pressing it in deeper. Another jolt of pain shook Sly's body, and he screamed again, though not nearly as loud as the previous scream.
Vlotho chuckled again, leaning in close to Sly's face while his elbow was still against the handle of the blade. He drew so close that he could smell the sweat and blood dripping off his opponent's face, and his raspy, fast breathing was loud enough to be heard amidst the mechanical chaos around them.
"You know what they say, Cooper…"
He laughed again.
"You can't have 'slaughter' without 'laughter'!"
He then reared back, taking his elbow off the blade's handle, and laughed loudly and triumphantly, his terrifying psychotic laugh echoing off the walls.
Suddenly, there was another jolt as the Clockwerk jerked to one side, ripping Vlotho out of his world of victory and amusement and back to reality.
He looked back down at his motionless victim with a serious face.
"I can see that you aren't going anywhere. I must waste no more time in transferring to the alternate controls now, so I'll take care of that first…then I'll rip your heart out. So be a good boy and just stay put."
He then spun around and walked back to the chair, sliding in between the chair and the newly-raised alternate control panel. He eased into the leather seat and leaned forward over the new controls.
Sly's eyes slowly fell from the ceiling back down towards Vlotho, staring widely at him as he sat in the chair and pondered over the controls.
Sly then slowly looked at the blade still lodged firmly in his arm. Just looking at it made it hurt even more. He could only stare in mute horror as the blood ran down his arm and onto the panel through the wound, both on top and below. The blade's gold surface glimmered eerily under the red spots on the areas higher up the blade, its ringed handle wavering slightly at the other end like a flag with every breathing movement Sly made.
Sly was repulsed at the very thought of it, but he knew what he had to do. He stole one final glance over at Vlotho, who appeared to have slight difficulty trying to figure out the alternative controls, clearly not expecting actually having to use them.
Sly then turned back to the blade, staring at its firm, hard presence in his left arm. Mustering up all the strength he had, but trying his hardest to keep quiet, he reached over with his spare hand for the blade. As his hand drew nearer, he repeatedly looked back and forth between Vlotho – to make sure he hadn't noticed – and the blade, fearing the moment he would have to move it, and the unbelievable amount of self-control it would take to avoid screaming.
Then his hand was on the blade.
He paused, biting his tongue furiously to avoid screaming as the blade moved ever so slightly from the touch. He slowly wrapped his fist around the blade at its halfway point, gripping it firmly. The handle was too high up, so he had to resort to grabbing the blade itself. He ever so slightly lifted, and already found himself opening his mouth. He slammed it shut, bit down on his tongue and the inside of his cheeks, and glanced over at Vlotho again. He still had not noticed him.
He glanced back at the blade, realizing how much further he had to go. He knew that, if he continued along like this, bit by bit, Vlotho would already have the controls transferred, and would come back to finish Sly off.
He had to remove it in one movement, fast and without hesitation.
Steeling up all the physical and mental strength that he had left in him, Sly tightened his grip on the blade, said a quick prayer in his mind, and then yanked up.
He slid off the control panel and to the floor, free of the blade's grip, all while unleashing another long, painful scream as the pain returned with a vengeance. He nearly dropped the blade, but quickly remembered the other occupant of the room.
Vlotho, although reluctant to leave the controls, was already out of the chair and moving swiftly towards Sly, a look in his eyes that resembled a blend of shock and anger. His fists were clenched.
As Sly sank to the floor, his left arm dangling limply, he let the blade fall in his other hand until he was gripping the handle. He raised it up over his head and, with all his might, threw it like a javelin directly at Vlotho. The badger, stunned at Sly's display of strength in the midst of such pain, dodged to the side as the blade flew past his chest, missing by mere inches. He looked back at Sly for a brief moment…
Then, suddenly, there was a sharp, loud sound behind him. The sound of crunching as metal split apart, along with the familiar crackle of a shower of sparks. Vlotho spun on his heels to look back at where the sound had come from.
His golden blade was lodged in the alternate control console, nearly halfway in and its protruding end still wobbling lightly, the cascade of sparks settling on the metal floor, pieces of metal still flying, and multiple lights flickering crazily at once as the controls were destroyed.
Vlotho's eyes widened.
"No…No…NO!"
Then there was another burst of sparks, significantly larger and more powerful, shooting out in a thin jet directly in the middle of the panel, splitting it wide open.
The voice returned for the final time.
"Alternate control panel has sustained damage. Alternate control panel has sustained damage. Alternate control panel has sustained damage. Damage level: fatal. Damage level: fatal. Damage level: fatal. Alternate controls: irreparable. Alternate controls: irreparable. Alternate controls: irreparable. System failure. System failure. System failure."
Vlotho spun around wildly, all at once consumed by disorientation from the flashing red light and monotone, repeating voice, shock from the reality of what was truly happening to him and his greatest creation, and pure anger and hatred for the man who caused this all.
He finally stopped spinning, clutching at both sides of his head so hard that he scratched his head and drew some slight drops of blood, about to fall to his knees in despair, when he managed to raise his head enough to stare down his rival.
"…You…"
He slowly lifted one finger and aimed it at Sly.
"…You…"
Sly, still tightly clutching his bleeding arm, wobbled to his feet. Despite all the horrible pain he was still reeling from, he managed to steel his courage and restore his wit, daring to taunt Vlotho with the power of the spoken word.
"You didn't count on ever having to use the alternate controls, Vlotho. Didn't you? And you felt that, even if the Master Controls were damaged and you had to use the alternate controls, you wouldn't have to worry about repeating the same mistake that allowed the original controls to be destroyed in the first place. Didn't you?"
Vlotho's finger slowly curled back down, his hand returning to a tightly clenched fist.
"…You…"
"You felt so overconfident in yourself, Vlotho. Didn't you? You never even had to worry about someone actually penetrating the Clockwerk's defenses and breaking into the control room. Didn't you? You see, Vlotho, you did have a fatal flaw, just like your predecessors. You didn't know it at the time, and probably still don't know it, but it is the exact same flaw that they all had. It takes many different names, but is the same general thing: Stubbornness. Arrogance. Pride. Overconfidence. The belief that you could accomplish more than you really could, and that no one could tell you otherwise, or prove otherwise, or defy you in any way. Even those who had the guts to try to tell you, if you didn't simply kill them, you just wouldn't listen to them. You were so enveloped in your own belief that it was your destiny to follow your predecessors' footsteps that you never realized how much you truly would be just like your predecessors. You have made the same mistake, and will die because of it. The only difference – the one and only thing that makes you different from the rest of them – is the fact that you will die nameless. No one will ever know who you were, or what you attempted to do."
"…I…will…kill…you."
Vlotho's voice was not even slightly raised, nor did it have any true signs of rage or insanity. But rather, it was so deep, so firm, and so slow that it was clear how much determination Vlotho had to destroy Sly, out of the slightest attempt to repay all the damage that had been done.
Vlotho turned around and dragged his feet over to the ruined alternate control panel, grabbing onto the handle of the blade moments before the Clockwerk veered hard to the right, tilting so much that Sly slid over and slammed against the far wall, landing on his damaged arm and sending a whole new wave of pain through his arm and body. He let out a yell and a groan of pain, fighting it off as best he could to look up in the direction of the alternate control panel. Vlotho was hanging as well, his feet dangling about 20 feet above the wall that was now almost the floor. He maintained a firm grip on the handle, which was lodged deep in the control panel. His eyes were still locked on Sly with a fiery hate like never before…
The Clockwerk righted itself for a few seconds, enough for Vlotho to yank the blade out amidst another shower of sparks, before tilting over again and sending Sly sliding towards the other wall. At that moment, Vlotho leapt out at him, blade raised high in both hands, aimed at Sly. Sly then turned and moved with the slant, moving faster towards the other wall just as Vlotho's blade swung down behind him. Vlotho hit the floor and slid as well, heading for the wall. Sly, now leaning back against the wall, threw himself to the side as Vlotho hit the wall next to him.
However, Sly soon realized that he was lying flat on the wall, then he was starting to move up the wall, towards the ceiling. The Clockwerk, out of its pure confusion and severe damage, was doing a barrel roll. The continuously flashing lights still didn't help, and it took Sly several seconds to get his bearing and flip over moments before he hit the ceiling, landing on his back instead of hitting head-first. He was now looking up at the control panel, the alternate control panel, and the chair above him.
Vlotho also turned himself over as he slid to the ceiling, quickly standing up as the ceiling now became the floor, and charged at Sly. Sly leapt up and dodged to the side as the blade came down. He ran around Vlotho and dashed towards his Cane, lying on the ceiling nearby, directly below the master control panel. He swiped it up and spun around just as Vlotho charged again, raising the hook to catch the blade as it came down. He then heaved up and sent Vlotho sprawling backwards. He ran forward and swung wildly, hitting Vlotho in the side of the ribcage and sending him stumbling to the side, crashing to the floor, and sliding a few feet, his blade clattering along the floor.
Then the Clockwerk started to right itself again, the ceiling slanting. Sly glanced up at the pilot's chair on the floor nearby, and got an idea. With the little level ground he had left, he dashed towards the spot directly below the chair just as the Clockwerk was halfway through the roll. He then leapt up as high as he could, raising the Cane up in his hands and hooking the underside of the alternate control panel just as he swung over so that his feet dangled over the opposite wall. He held on tightly as the Clockwerk leveled out, the floor now below him once again. He slammed to the metal floor just in front of the panel and, after a brief moment, pulled himself up to the control panel and slid in between the panel and the seat. He leaned over the small panel of five buttons, and focused on the red one in the middle.
"EJECT."
He pressed it, and through the blaring siren, the voice returned.
"Emergency eject sequence activated. Emergency eject sequence activated. Emergency eject sequence activated. Pilot is to fasten safety belt and prepare for immediate ejection. Pilot is to fasten safety belt and prepare for immediate ejection. Pilot is to fasten safety belt and prepare for immediate ejection."
Sly glanced over at Vlotho, still lying on the floor between the wall and the floor. He slowly crawled to his knees.
At that moment, there was a sudden jolt that shook the chair in its place. Sly grabbed the armrests to hold on for a moment. He then heard a metallic rumble behind him and turned around in the chair. He then saw a portion of the floor split open into two halves, similarly to how the alternate controls rose out of the floor, and the two halves slide open to reveal a long rectangular hole beneath the floor, about fifteen feet long and barely two feet wide. From the hole rose a flat rectangular platform that slid neatly into the vacant space, with a long track on it. The chair then began a slow, steady, and smooth sliding movement backwards, fitting perfectly on the track and slowly moving away from the ruined alternate control panel. It slid further away from the front of the room and more towards the center. Sly looked at the very end of the track, then straight up at the ceiling directly above it. He noticed now that the track ended directly below the same hatch that he had come in through earlier.
He turned around and looked again at Vlotho, who was just beginning to climb to his feet. Sly spun around once more and saw how much of the track remained. He realized that it was taking too long, and that Vlotho had more than enough time to approach him before the chair reached the end of the track.
With one last look at the end of the track and the hatch above it, Sly leapt out of the chair, Cane raised in one hand as he ran up behind Vlotho, still struggling to get to his feet.
Just as Vlotho turned around, the end of Sly's Cane struck him a devastating blow right in the nose, sending him spinning around and crashing right back down to the floor. This time, Sly would show no mercy. Just as Vlotho hit the floor, Sly raised his Cane and brought it down again, slamming his ribcage. He brought it down a third time, hitting his right shoulder. He hit Vlotho again and again, repeatedly, persistently, refusing to allow him even a brief second to retaliate. His blade was still clutched firmly in one hand, his fingers still wrapped in the rings.
Then, as Sly prepared to bring the Cane down on his neck, Vlotho finally managed to deliver a blow in the brief, split-second period between the two hits, swinging his blade out and slicing Sly's right shin. Sly roared in pain and stumbled backwards, his Cane lowered once more.
Vlotho wiped the blood off his face and sat up.
Sly, still reeling in pain, swung out wildly and delivered a sharp blow to Vlotho's forehead, sending the lunatic right back down to the floor, sprawled out on his back and staring up at the ceiling.
Sly was about to hit again when he remembered the chair. He spun around and saw it well over the halfway mark of the track, now with barely four feet left on the track before it was directly under the hatch. He glanced up at the hatch once more and saw that it was already beginning to open, sliding inward much more slowly than it had before, moving at the same pace as the chair on the track.
While Sly was distracted, Vlotho took the opportunity once more and sat up, swinging again. This swing connected with the back of Sly's left knee, drawing more blood and instantly causing his leg to fall, sending him crumbling to the floor with another yelp.
Vlotho stumbled to his feet and stood over Sly, sword raised high above him, prepared to finally bring it down on Sly.
Sly vanished once again.
Vlotho's eyes widened and the blade shook in his hands.
"NO!"
He swung the blade down, only for it to smash against the metal with a loud clink and a sharp scraping sound.
He raised the blade and looked up, glancing wildly in all directions once more. His eyes eventually fell on the chair, which was barely two feet from the end of the track.
"You may not be visible, Cooper, but you're not invincible! There's only one way out for you, and I know what it is!"
Vlotho dashed over to the chair, quickly sliding in.
"Even if my greatest weapon is destroyed, I shall survive! I will survive, and you will die! I will have my revenge on your friends and the world! It may take years, but I'll find another way…"
He reached for one half of the safety belt with one hand, but found himself unable to firmly grasp the other half with the blade in his hand. He quickly slid his fingers out of the rings and set it on the right armrest, but it easily fell off due to the chair's constant movement. It clattered to the floor. Vlotho was too distracted with fastening the seat belt to notice the blade as it was subtly picked up off the floor, seemingly lifted up by an invisible source.
Vlotho locked the two metal halves together and pulled the tightening strap, leaning back casually in the chair, his hands gripping the armrests firmly…
Then there was a blinding, deafening, heart-stopping moment of pain as Vlotho felt a cold, hard, and terrible presence suddenly emerge from his chest. His head snapped back and he screamed in agonizing pain, his voice significantly higher in pitch from the sheer shock of the moment. At the same time, he spit out a gobbet of blood, which jetted up into the air and fell back down, staining his face and the back of the chair he sat in.
His head dropped, and he managed to open his eyes to see the blade – his blade – penetrating his body, its ugly, blood-covered tip speared right through his chest from behind.
Then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone again, with a whole new feeling of pain accompanying the sudden absence that made the blade's presence more comfortable. He screamed again and threw his whole body forward, tugging against the safety belt and spewing more blood from his mouth. His hands left the safety and firmness of the armrests to clutch his pierced chest. He was nearly falling out of the chair…
Then an invisible force casually worked on the metal locking of the belt, pulling them apart and letting the badger's slumped form tumble out of the chair and roll across the metal floor. He stopped lying flat across the rail, on his back, looking up at the ceiling, the wide-open hatch in his field of vision, and the chair moving out of his line of sight.
Then, suddenly, a shape materialized moments later off to the left, obstructing his view of the hatch. It was Cooper, holding his own Cane in one hand and Vlotho's blade in the other – the hand at the end of his ruined arm.
After a long silence, Sly effortlessly tossed the blade down so that it clattered across Vlotho's chest, jolting him with another blast of pain that caused him to groan again. Even after the pain died down for a few moments, Vlotho's breathing was still fast, choppy, and strained. The cold, hard, heavy presence of the blade on his chest did little to drown out the warmth of the thick liquid now oozing down his chest on both sides, as well as a thin trickle from his mouth. He coughed, choked, and then slightly turned to face Cooper.
"How even more fitting." Sly sneered. "Like several other would-be conquerors in the past, you met your end by your very own weapon."
Without another word, Sly turned and walked back to the chair, sitting down and buckling himself in, tightening the strap even more to fit his smaller, slender frame as opposed to the badger's larger bulk. He gripped his Cane firmly in both hands, looking straight ahead at the Master Control panel now farther away, through the thick yellow eyes above them as the Clockwerk continued its unsteady flight.
Then the chair reached the end of the track, and was directly beneath the hatch.
"Pilot's seat is beneath the hatch. Emergency ejection in 5…4…3…2…1…zero. Eject."
With a sudden blast, the chair shot out from its place as the small propulsion system built into the underside of the chair activated. With a brief burst of fire and white smoke, it shot straight up and through the hatch.
With what little energy he had left, Vlotho slowly extended one hand up towards the open hatch that the white plume of smoke trailed through, as the hatch started to close. Even through the labored breathing and intense pain, he still managed to shout one final time.
"COOPER!"
Then the hatch was closed, severing the white smoke tower and silencing Vlotho's cry.
…
The Clockwerk roared horrifically once again, its head twisting around in a circle and even craning backwards, its mouth wide open as it shot out its cry. One wing flapped straight up, while the other one curled down closer to the body. Its bulk leaned to one side, moving in a slanted fall before righting itself. It then stopped and jerked back upwards, leaning back and nearly doing a mid-air somersault. It screeched again, its head shaking back and forth, its massive jaws opening and closing rapidly with loud clanks of metal. As it aimed down, the two eyes shot out beams of light that left two adjacent yellow circles on the ground, moving around wildly as it briefly aimed straight down before veering back up in its erratic flight. The talons repeatedly opened and close, the toes retracting in and out, slicing against each other and leaving scrapes on their metal exteriors. The tail wings flapped up and down just as regularly as the wings, their movement consistent throughout the entire flight. The lack of flight patterns, severity of the jerking movements, level of the screeches and howls, and repeated rising and falling all demonstrated a scene of pain, confusion, and intense disorientation.
Then, at one moment, all of this finally collided together in a horrible cacophony of confusion as the Clockwerk's dying movements ceased. There was a split second of brief pause, in which not a single part of the Clockwerk's massive metal frame moved. Then, ever so suddenly, both wings folded up neatly along the length of the main body, encasing it between the two massive metal appendages like an impromptu metal cocoon. It then started spiraling wildly out of control, spinning around in rapid rotations like a propeller, and soaring like a missile. All the while, its mouth was still wide open as it screeched a horrible death rattle that echoed throughout the entire valley.
Then its spiral moved downwards. By now, it was in the air between the destroyed hangar and the destroyed tip of the facility. It started slanting down at an angle that was, at first, barely noticeable. Then its slope increased and it was heading further down and down, dropping out of the sky faster than a speeding locomotive. It was now aiming for about the midsection of the bulk of the facility, and the speed still increasing.
Then came the impact.
Almost perfectly, the Clockwerk was exactly upright when it collided with the building somewhere in the midsection, between the factory and the already-destroyed tip. Its head penetrated the ceiling first, the beak sharper and more precise than a surgical scalpel, slicing through the weaker, thinner metal of the ceiling like a laser. This was accompanied by a horrible ear-piercing sound of metal against metal, a loud, high-pitched screech like a steak knife on a metal chair or nails on a chalkboard as the beak slid along the roof for a few seconds before puncturing through it. As it penetrated the building, there was a shower of sparks as the collision severed all the electrical wires in the ceiling, destroying the lighting system all throughout the facility at once. There was a collective burst of sparks from each and every single light in the entire facility, both regular and emergency lights, at the exact same second before all light winked out completely. The facility was now enshrouded in complete, total darkness as the lights were destroyed and the stars were already blocked out by the rising smoke. The one and only light was the Clockwerk's two yellow eyes as they smashed through the roof and into the hallway below. The ceiling instantly started caving in, large chunks of the Karovanine crumbling in from the impact and slamming to the floor, crumbling into even smaller pieces. The massive Clockwerk was far too wide for the relatively narrower hallway, slamming right through the walls on both sides, knocking them down and spreading them aside, the walls falling flat to the ground either outside the building or into the adjoining areas like doors being kicked right in. As the Clockwerk hit the hallway's floor, it pulverized the floor and caused it to crumble under the pressure and impact as well, instantly destroying the flat surface, shifting the foundation, and leveling the floor. Multiple fissures instantly appeared, tainting the perfect metal surface, first appearing right at the impact zone and then spreading rapidly like an earthquake as the Clockwerk slid along. Sparks and chunks of Karovanine were flying in all directions, surrounding the Clockwerk itself like a hellish veil of chaos and destruction, following it as it slid along further and further through the facility. Despite the massive amount of obstacles in the Clockwerk's path, it was easily smashing through all of them without even showing signs of slowing down. All of the metal walls, doors, the floor, and larger, thicker walls separating sections of the facility; all were destroyed by the crashing beast.
It was barely a minute or so of the Clockwerk just smashing through the facility, scraping along and upsetting the entire central structure, bulldozing through the single long hallway right in the middle of the entire facility that acted as the spinal cord, thus delivering a deadly blow to the building's structural integrity. It blazed a trail straight through to the factory, crushing such landmarks from Bentley and Murray's trek such as the empty firing range, catwalk, and the Russian cat's body. It tore right through the fork in the hallway, heading more down the path to right, straight into the factory. It easily crushed the Colonel's body and blew down the ruined doorway. It was here that most of the floor gave out, as the bottom of the factory was far below the level of the ground itself that, up until now, had kept the Clockwerk just on the floor of the facility itself without falling right through. Here, the massive bulk of the factory dropped off into a massive pit that was nearly as large as the Clockwerk itself. Once it crossed that threshold and into the factory, it smashed through the metal platform directly in front of the door, as well as the staircase leading down from it and some of the main platform at the bottom of said staircase. As it fell straight through these suspended metal platforms like a rock through wet paper, it crushed the body of the late sentry Knox, as well as several of the nearest control consoles and other pieces of machinery. As it smashed through the tip of the long, wide main platform, it was like slamming a block of lead onto one end of a teeter-totter, with the other side containing a bunch of small pebbles. It flung straight up, casting looser pieces of equipment up into the air, colliding with each other in mid-air, smashing against the wall, falling to the floor below, and some even flying high enough to hit the ceiling high above.
Smashing through the metal platforms, the Clockwerk's frame fell straight to the floor of the factory below, smashing a crater in the floor once again and still moving forward. Only now, it didn't have very far to go. For, just a few hundred feet in front of the Clockwerk now, directly ahead of it on the factory floor, were the first of several massive steel silos containing hundreds of Mech Eggs, stacked up on top of each other, and all lined up in neat rows like giant dominoes. The Clockwerk continued sliding, noticeably losing its momentum from before but still steadily moving. It closed in on the first few silos in a matter of seconds. It slammed directly between two of the silos, uprooting them from their places and knocking both of them over. As they fell, they were pushed ahead slightly further as they fell by the metal behemoth between them, pushing them along. For this reason, they had barely fallen over halfway before they impacted into the next two silos in line, knocking them over as well. Just as this second pair of silos started to fall over, the Mech Eggs in the first two silos had tumbled around enough so that the collisions between several of them against each other, the walls of the silos, or against the floor as they spilled out were so great that it penetrated the Eggs' shells and ignited the Attack Robots within, inadvertently setting off the self-destruct features.
The ensuing explosions, about two or three at most occurring simultaneously, were more than enough to set off a chain reaction.
Within seconds, the amount of explosions, so fantastic from each one, had enough accumulated force to spread their powerful fireballs out to the next silos, and the next, and the next, and those that were farther away on either side, which had not been hit by the sliding Clockwerk. Thousands upon thousands of the explosions all combined together in one powerful explosion that easily engulfed the entire factory, rising up to the twisted, barely-surviving metal platforms higher up above the fallen silos, engulfing and igniting the remaining machinery and equipment, setting off even more explosions from the electrical equipment as they were also consumed.
Within 30 seconds, the entire factory was engulfed inside and out by the massive fireball, multiple explosions tearing apart the building as holes were blown into the walls, floor, and ceiling. Debris was flying all around inside the building like a tornado of fire, and the blast found one particular escape route amidst the chaos: The elevator shaft. The blast incinerated the elevator doors, shattered the elevator car, and instantly shot up the shaft, blasting out the glass portion of the shaft and still relentlessly traveling up the shaft. As it did, the force of the blast noticeably took a toll on the section of the Volcano wall that the shaft was attached to, blowing out chunks of rocks and sending deep, wide fissures writhing along the wall, up and down, and to the sides. The blast shot straight up to the top of the shaft, blowing out the doors at the top and unleashing the fireball into the elegant Commander's chamber, instantly incinerating everything in the room: The potted plants, both standing and fallen; the paintings, both hanging and broken; the carpet; the chandelier; the ruined desk; and whatever remained of the massive window. It was all burned to a crisp and then thrown out the opposite wall where the window had been, tumbling and fluttering down into the crater below. The fire shot out the ruined window frame, curling up into the sky directly above the Volcano crater as it slowly transitioned into black smoke, conglomerating with the smoke rising steadily from the lava in the crater and riding up into the sky as one smoke tower. The force of the explosion in the elevator shaft was enough to blow out the foundation of the Commander's chamber, which shook and rattled in its place upon the immediate blast. For a few seconds after the blast blew out the window and wisped away into the sky, the chamber was still. Then the cracks began racing around in the rock beneath the chamber, splitting into smaller pieces and breaking apart directly beneath the metal structure that depended on that very rock. The foundation ruined and falling apart, the chamber itself began to move around as if set on top of many logs, shifting back and forth slowly, moving further in each direction with each back-and-forth movement like a rocking chair. Then, as it moved forward towards the crater, some of the rock beneath it broke away and tumbled out, falling into the lava below. Its foundation now falling out beneath it, the chamber was now even more unstable. It moved back again, a quarter of the building hanging over the edge over where the elevator shaft had been, then rolled back forward again with noticeably increased speed. With this next forward movement, more rocks tumbled out in greater quantities, both in size and numbers. By now, nearly half of the foundation beneath the chamber had slid right out from under the chamber and into the Volcano. The building's stability bending like a wire and the foundation breaking away like clods of dirt or weathered rocks beaten constantly by the tide, the chamber finally gave in and slid too far forward. Breaking away from the root that was the ruined elevator shaft, it slid forward towards the crater, dipping down at a sharp angle as it finally left the Cliffside and tumbled freely off the edge, plunging straight down towards the lava in the crater. It slammed into the surface of the lava, kicking up a massive tidal wave of lava that spread out in all directions, reaching as high as halfway up the cliff wall, between the surface of the lava and the perch that the chamber had just left. After the initial impact, it stopped for a few moments, bobbing up and down like a cork in water, before it slowly continued sliding straight down into the molten liquid, steam rising from it furiously and in massive amounts, the tower of steam emanating from it as thick as a curtain. Then the building slipped straight down beneath the surface, disappearing with one last splash of lava in several large drops.
Meanwhile, around the same time that the chamber began its fateful drop from the perch straight down into the lava below, the integrity of the Volcano wall where the elevator shaft had been was giving in just as rapidly. The cracks were now much larger, spreading out much farther. Many large chunks of rocks had fallen out, tumbling down to the factory roof below, smashing to pieces and leaving dents in the metal. In some areas, drops of lava were squeezing their way through the cracks, as the stone wall that held back the tons of devastating lava, the one barrier between the lava and the facility below, began to finally die.
And then it happened.
One particularly large fragment of rock shot out from its place, approximately 30 feet wide and 50 feet tall, breaking away and plunging straight down to the factory below, breaking into three fragments and leaving a large indent in the roof. One of the three fragments tumbled off the edge of the roof and into the rocky terrain behind the facility, while the other two remained on the roof. After this piece fell out, a steady stream of lava started pouring out from the newly-vacated space like a fountain from Hell. This allowed the penetration to quickly spread to all other fissures and areas where rock had broken from, and the wall collectively collapsed. Dozens upon dozens of pieces fell out or shot out, fissures breaking wide open, and many smaller streams of lava all combined into one as a massive waterfall of lava. This massive waterfall poured out for all of about four seconds before the rest of the wall gave way. The entire height of the rock wall, from the roof of the factory to the very top of the overhanging rocks dangling above the crater, completely gave way and allowed all of the lava in the Volcano to pour down unmercifully, unloading its deadly inferno payload onto the factory at once. Almost instantly, the lava splattered on top of the factory, covering the roof and spreading along the entire top of the building. Although some of it managed to reach holes in the roof from the earlier explosions and pour in through those, it took only a few minutes for the heat to take its toll on the metal, making it bend inward like a blanket, becoming so shockingly flexible in its final moments before breaking away completely and allowing the lava to flow in steadily. The lava poured down into the factory, engulfing whatever platforms and equipment still remained, as well as the remains of the silos that had previously contained the explosive cargo of hundreds of Mech Eggs and Attack Robots. It collected in a pool at the bottom of the factory, as the earth floor was the limit of the lava's destructive power, and it steadily built up in a few more minutes, finally rising high enough to the point where the lava rose up and spilled over the level of the doorway leading into the factory, pouring down through the destroyed hallway just outside the factory. Despite all that had pooled up in the factory, the Volcano still had a startlingly abundant amount of lava that was ready to pour out onto the facility below it. This steady supply of lava flowed down through the ruined corridors, consuming structures destroyed and still-standing alike, chewing up and dissolving foundations, swallowing up pieces of loose debris, and tumbling the highest remaining fragments of the building still standing. It continued on relentlessly, endlessly, raining down upon the doomed facility almost as if sent by God Himself, like the modern day version of Sodom and Gomorrah. It flooded like a river of death through the wreckage, consuming all and sparing none. Even after spreading thoroughly through the facility itself, it continued to spread out and expand its destruction, flooding the grassy area beyond the facility, burning all of the little vegetation in the valley and consuming the remains of the hangar.
Within about 10 minutes, all of the lava had completely surrounded the facility, the hangar, and a majority of the valley floor. The more resilient buildings managed to stay intact for a while, but were slowly and gradually sinking into the lava. A massive veil of steam collectively rose up from every structure, every piece of Karovanine, in the entire area, easily overtaking the plain black smoke from earlier with a shroud of white and gray, as the deadly toxin released by the decomposition of Karovanine slowly took hold of the entire valley like a massive gas chamber.
…
Sly was rather fortunate, as the Clockwerk was tilted to the side at the moment of ejection. Thus, he shot up through the air at an angle, aimed towards the valley wall, which was farther below him. Right when the chair reached its peak in height, and was briefly suspended for a second, the top of the headrest blew off, and the white parachute deployed instantly. As the chair began falling, the parachute opened up to its full size, halting the chair's rapid descent and slowing it down to a steady drop. As it fell, it was already directly over the raised area overlooking the valley. As he drifted down further, he quickly placed his Cane in his mouth and reached up with both hands to grab some of the strings connecting the parachute to the chair, attempting to control the direction the parachute drifted so that he would avoid the trees on one side and the edge of the cliff on the other.
Eventually, with some tricky maneuvering, the chair came to a relatively soft landing on a small clearing of grass, scraping along for a couple feet before finally stopping. The parachute continued moving to one side, fluttering down to the ground away from the chair and its occupant. Before the chair even stopped moving, Sly was already unfastening the safety belt and leaping out. The moment he touched the ground, however, there was a massive, earth-shaking rumble that threw him off his feet and to the grass below. He slid to the right, stopping just a few feet from the edge of the cliff. He lifted his head up and, seeing the edge nearby, crawled a little further to look down over the edge at the facility below. He saw the Clockwerk smashing through the facility, tearing up the metal structures and charging through with no sign of slowing down, like a massive drill through a line of boulders.
After watching this for a few more seconds, he pushed himself back up to his feet and dashed off along the edge of the cliff, searching for the metal stake and rope that marked where they had started their approach from. Ironically, it was not far off, only about 20 or 30 yards away. He found the stake, with the rope still attached and draped down over the edge of the cliff, and the small black box next to it.
Just as he bent down to pick up the box, there was another, even larger, louder, and more powerful jolt that sent him flying backwards, away from the edge of the cliff, and the black box flying out of his hand and clattering off into some nearby bushes. He found himself lying on the ground, his Cane under his arm next to him, and staring up at the starry sky with the plumes of smoke contaminating its pure beauty. He quickly sat up and looked towards the valley. This time, he didn't even have to move closer to the cliff edge to see what was happening. A massive orange fireball was pluming up out of the valley, undoubtedly from the factory due to its close proximity to the Volcano, billowing up into a massive mushroom cloud that slowly transitioned into a tower of thick black smoke. Even then, multiple smaller explosions continued erupting out from below it, fueling the fiery beast.
Sly stared at it, completely dumbfounded, before his senses came back to him. Shaking it off, he turned to the side in the direction that the box had flown. He crawled along furiously towards the nearest bush and frantically reached around inside and underneath it. Eventually, his fingers wrapped around the small box and he yanked it out. He quickly pressed the red button.
…
Down in the valley, Bentley and Murray watched the entire scene with the Clockwerk unfold in mute amazement. Even as they kept moving, running along the outer perimeter of the facility towards the wall where their rope had been dropped, they constantly looked back at the Clockwerk's jerky, wild flight the entire time. Just as they reached the tip of the ruined building, they saw the Clockwerk began its clear downward spiral.
"Bentley, look!"
Murray gestured at the Clockwerk, and the first thing Bentley noticed was how low Murray's finger was aimed. It was not high up in the sky above them like he thought, but much lower, even below the tip of the Volcano. This could only mean one thing. Bentley followed the direction Murray was pointing and saw the mighty machine, curled up with its wings encasing it, soaring straight down towards the facility. The moment of impact shook the entire valley floor, the earthquake-like hit sending both of them crashing to the ground, Bentley tumbling out of his chair and Murray's feet kicking out from under him as he slammed onto his back. The entire ground was shaking, rattling both of their bodies. Even as they were lying on the ground in shock, they could still only stare in amazement as entire buildings were sent flying into the air, and the unmistakable tremor rippling down the line of buildings, tearing up more structures and sending more debris into the air, continued its deadly path straight towards the factory.
Murray was the first to scramble to his feet. Transfixed on the spectacle for a few more seconds, he spun around and quickly picked up Bentley with one hand and the wheelchair with the other, carefully placing his friend back in and tightening his safety belt for him.
"Thanks, pa-."
Before Bentley could finish his sentence, both were thrown off their feet, flying several feet, before hitting the ground once more when another explosion went off. This one was far more devastating, and it erupted out of the factory. The fireball seemed to grow larger and larger, fueled by more and more explosions that just kept piling up into the chaos.
Murray groaned and winced as he sat up, quickly reaching behind his back as he felt a searing pain from the impact and the speed. It took him a few more moments to recover from the pain and the shock to get up once more, turn around, and pick Bentley up and put him back into his wheelchair for the second time.
"Thanks again, now let's-."
Bentley's sentence was, once again, cut off. This time, however, it was a far lesser disturbance. Both felt a sharp ringing in their ears, beeping two rapid notes over and over like an alarm clock. Bentley quickly pressed his communicator and shut the alarm off.
"That's the signal, Murray!"
Murray quickly did the same, then both of them turned and looked up the cliff wall where their rope was, following it up to the very top. They could barely see anything, and the still-rumbling earth didn't help.
Bentley quickly pressed a button on his left armrest that brought out his bino-cu-com, and peered through it. He followed it up the rope to the top of the cliff.
At first, there was nothing…
Then he saw the all-too familiar figure slowly walk up to the edge of the cliff, standing above the rope, looking down frantically into the valley. In his hand was the black box.
"It's Sly!" Bentley called out. "He's up there! He made it!"
Murray, too desperate and frantic to waste time seeing for himself, simply cupped both hands on both sides of his mouth and, with all his might, shouted.
"SLY! DOWN HERE! SLYYYY!"
Through his bino-cu-com, Bentley saw Sly look down towards the spot where they were standing. He leaned forward slightly, then apparently noticed them. He dropped the box, pulled his Cane out from under his arm, then raised it high and started waving it back and forth, gesturing for them to come up. Bentley took note of Sly's left arm, hanging limply at his side with that ominous shade of dark red gleaming on it…
"Sly wants us up there now." Bentley reported to Murray.
"No kidding. I want us up there, too! We have to go!"
"But Murray, wait! Penelope…"
Murray's eyes widened in realization, and he looked back towards the facility. At that moment, the series of explosions up the elevator shaft had already taken its toll, having destroyed the late Commander's chamber and severely damaged the Volcano wall. Even with the tower of black smoke pluming out of the ruined factory, the few spitting trails of lava could be seen pouring down onto the facility.
Murray froze in horror.
"Oh…no."
"What? What is it?" Bentley asked frantically, turning around and looking in the same direction as Murray with his bino-cu-com.
Soon, he eventually found one of the small streams of lava, its bright orange color a strong juxtaposition against the dark rock wall and the black smoke tower.
"Oh, no…"
Then, through his bino-cu-com, Bentley suddenly saw a massive flash of bright orange completely overtake his view of the small stream, and he jerked his head up.
"What in the worl-."
Both jaws dropped simultaneously.
They could only watch as the Volcano wall finally gave in, collapsing and allowing the Volcano's fiery, destructive contents to pour out at once onto the doomed facility below. The bright, fiery lava instantly severed a portion of the black tower, its brightness overpowering it as if melting through it the way it would melt through metal.
Almost instantly, the moment was a wakeup call to both of them.
"That's it, we're going NOW!" Murray declared.
"But…but…"
"NOW!"
Murray turned and dashed like a madman towards the Volcano wall, leaving Bentley behind for a brief moment before the turtle finally gave up, turning and wheeling furiously after him.
Murray reached the rope first, tugging on it twice to ensure its strength, then gestured for Bentley to hurry.
"Hurry it up! Get over here!"
Bentley finally reached the rope and grabbed it firmly with both hands.
Murray stepped back from the wall a few feet, then cupped his hands again and shouted up to Sly, "Bentley goes up first! Pull him up!"
Sly, despite the loud noise resonating from the valley below, heard the message clearly enough and grabbed the rope with both hands, despite the blinding pain still resounding in one hand. He grunted with each pull, but refused to stop for even a second, pulling more and more rope, slowly bringing his disabled friend up the wall in a painstakingly slow process.
From below, Murray watched as Bentley continued up the wall, constantly looking back and forth between his ascending friend and the scene of destruction and chaos behind him. Every time he looked back, the river of lava was advancing further and further, enveloping more of the facility and creating more and more towers of thick white steam.
After what felt like an eternity to all three of them, Bentley finally reached the top of the cliff. Sly furiously pulled his wheelchair up onto the firm ground and took the rope from his hands, grabbing as much of the bundled rope as he could and heaving it over the edge of the cliff once more.
Bentley, after wheeling far away enough from the edge of the cliff, spun around to Sly.
"Sly, what happened? Where's Penelope? We can't leave her!"
But Sly ignored him as he watched the rope unfurl and tumble down the edge of the cliff, miraculously remaining untangled and stretching out to its fullest length as its other end reached Murray. Murray wasted no time in grabbing the rope and furiously climbing up on his own strength. Sly attempted to help by pulling the rope up once more, but Murray scaled much more of the rope than Sly managed to pull, and practically threw himself onto the higher ground once he reached the top of the cliff.
"Thank God…" Murray muttered.
"OK, we have no time. We must get out of here NOW!" Sly ordered.
"But SLY!" Bentley protested. "What about Penelope? I refuse to just leave her! Isn't she down there?"
Sly, for the first time since he jumped into the metal chute, remembered their fallen comrade somewhere down in the ruins of the facility. His dread returned, briefly overpowering his rush of adrenaline as he contemplated a decent response. Before he even thought about it, he responded.
"Yeah, she's down there alright-."
"SO LET'S GO GET HER." Bentley shouted at the top of his lungs, his passion and energy startling both of his friends.
Murray briefly retracted, then turned to Sly with a worried look. Sly returned a very solemn look, the heaviness of his stare instantly communicating the message to Murray. Murray seemed to understand, as his look went from one of uncertainty and worry to sudden heaviness and defeat, with hints of sorrow.
Sly turned back to Bentley.
"You didn't let me finish my sentence."
Then, soundlessly, he bent down and grabbed the metal stake, yanking it up out of the ground. Several small clods of dirt and grass flew as he did so, and he effortlessly turned around and tossed it over the edge of the cliff, taking the rope down with it.
"SLY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU CRAZY!"
Still as calm and somber as ever, Sly turned back to his distraught friend.
"As I was saying: She's down there alright…Dead."
For a few moments, there was pure silence between the three. There were only the occasional rumblings from further explosions in the valley below.
"…Are you sure?" Bentley asked after the silence in a weak, trembling voice.
Sly didn't even nod. "I saw it."
Bentley's next sound – a mix of a moan, a shout, and crying – was lost to the wind, drifting off towards the towers of black smoke and white steam emitting from the valley, the vocalization dissipating with the smoke, even as the memory of the sound rang hard and painfully in the ears of his two friends.
To be continued…
It was several long, agonizing hours before the trio finally reached the edge of the forest, with the mountain road that they had taken up before now stretching out before them. Along the way, after an awkward period of time where Sly and Murray kept their distance from the sniveling, sobbing, devastated Bentley, Sly finally got around to retelling the entire story: His capture, his conversation with Vlotho and the revelations of ORNWOR, its past, and its intentions, as well as the pre-prepared army of Mech Eggs, Attack Robots, and Robo-Falcons, the revelations about the nature of Karovanine (including how it released a deadly chemical gas upon complete dissolving in lava, hence why they had to get as far away from the valley as possible), Penelope's death (which he awkwardly tried to keep as clean and non-graphic as possible), his first fight with Hans, his escape, his second and final fight with Hans, and finally, his fight with Vlotho that eventually led to the destruction of the Second Clockwerk. He wrapped it all up just as they arrived at the edge of the woods.
"Un…believable." Murray stuttered, shaking his head.
"It was that close." Sly said, pinching his index finger and thumb together. "That close to all of those monsters being unleashed onto the whole world. Who knows? He just might have…"
"Well, the point is, it's over now, right?" Murray asked, the slightest hint of worry still present in his voice.
"Yes, pal. It's over. But it's not like before. This victory came at a price."
At this, Bentley finally spoke for the first time since he learned of Penelope's death.
"Victory…always does."
They stopped. Both turned to Bentley, and Sly slowly walked up and put a hand on his shoulder. If Bentley noticed the gesture, he certainly didn't acknowledge it.
With a long sigh, Sly finally responded. "Bentley…I'm sorry."
"It's not like you…could've done anything…to save her…"
"No, not that. I'm sorry for how I've been acting. Ever since Carmelita's death, I've been so enveloped by my pain and anger that all I could think about was revenge. I treated both of you and Penelope like dirt, I was pushing all four of us beyond our limits, risking all of your lives…It was horrible. I've never been like that before, and I promise I never will again."
"Sly…It's OK…" Bentley started to reply.
"Not just that, but when I openly told you that you would never understand my pain…it was almost as if I was damning you and Penelope then and there. Like I was silently hoping that you would experience it…and now you have."
"I know you would never wish that on me or any of us, Sly. It was the heat of the moment. And you were right. It was wrong of me to assume that I knew what it felt like before. Because now I know. But only now. Before, I had no idea what it was like."
"Bentley…"
Bentley finally turned completely around and faced his friend, slumped shoulders and somber mood reflected in his eyes.
"It's alright, pal. I forgive you."
After a pause, they both embraced once more, just as they had the first time they met since Carmelita's death. Only this time, the feeling of comfort was mutual on both sides. A single tear escaped Sly's eye. It was in that moment that Sly finally felt it. It was a feeling of relief. Of liberation. All the weight, depression, and stormy fury that had been tugging at his mind and his heart for the last eight days was finally gone. Evaporated. Dissipated. Swirling up into the winds of time and blowing away into eternity just as the smoke from the valley had dissipated over time. In embarking on a personal quest, he had inadvertently stumbled upon a catastrophe waiting to happen, and had managed to defeat all odds to put an end to it with only his wits, determination, and the aid of his friends. At long last, through all of the physical and metal pain, he was finally free.
After they slowly pulled away, Sly turned around to Murray.
"And I'm sorry to you, too, Murray. This whole crazy scheme cost you your house, all your possessions, and, of course, your van…"
"Ah…" Murray started, shrugging it off. "It's just stuff. It's not like I lost someone as special to me as Carmelita was to you, or Penelope was to Bentley."
"True…but that van. You loved that van so much it wasn't even funny."
"Are you kidding me? Yeah, it was a sweet van, and we had it for a long time…but I would've blown it up myself if I had to choose between keeping it or you guys."
For the first time, a look of genuine shock appeared in Sly's and Bentley's eyes.
"It was just a pile of metal, gasoline, rubber, and the necessary cylinders and air conditioning and heating systems." Murray said with a smile and another shrug.
Sly, for the first time in a long time, grinned the slightest of grins. Turning away from Murray to look back out at the mountain road, he shook his head.
"Well…it's gonna be a long trip back down."
"But I think we can manage it." Murray said, walking up to stand right next to Sly and Bentley.
Sly paused for a moment, then looked down at his watch.
1:43 A.M.
"My official leave of absence ends today. It would take us half a day to get down that mountain trail, assuming we can't hitch a ride from any passerby. And then trying to find a way to…acquire the money for a plane ticket, as well as finding the nearest airport and flights that even begin to head in Paris's direction, all make it impossible for me to make it back on time. And that's just the beginning. Explaining my leave of absence, what I did, and why I did it is going to be nearly impossible. I'll never come up with a good enough alibi."
Bentley looked back up at Sly, the look of mixed relief and forgiveness now replaced by one of worry.
"What are you gonna do? If you choose not to return at all, it'll be just like before. They'll offer rewards, they'll spread the news all over the world that you're missing again…"
"You're right, Bentley. It will be just like old times." Sly said to his friend with a smile.
Bentley's look vanished as the realization dawned on him.
"I have no reason to return. No motivation. Carmelita's gone. She was the one and only reason I ever chose to become a cop. As if that's not enough, she was my only true ally while I was on the force. The one who truly and repeatedly defended me when I was under suspicion. To return now, even if not long after my time expired, would still be just like walking into the cell door and closing it behind me."
After another pause, in which Sly looked once at Bentley, then at Murray, then back down towards the road again, he continued. "I'm done with being a cop. It's back to what I do best."
Almost instantly, he was rushed from both sides as Murray and Bentley joined in for a group hug; the first one in a long time.
"It's good to have you back, buddy." Murray choked.
"It's good to be back." Sly gasped, partially choked under Murray's tight grip.
And so the three friends stood, in a mutual embrace. They had left behind the crowded, dense, and dark woods of the past, shielding the chaos, death, and destruction that they had just overcome, and were now overlooking a long, winding trail, leading back down through the mountains and towards civilization, towards freedom, and towards a promising future.
The End
Author's Note: Well, this is the end of the story, but tune in tomorrow for one more final chapter. It is not a continuation of the story in any way, but if you still have the time or interest to read it, I encourage you to check it out.