Ch3: Walking Through the Storm
Though the road trip was pretty rocky, we eventually made it to the entrance to Raleigh's hideout, right in front of us. "Ready, Sly?" I asked, opening the trunk doors and hopping out. I was immediately soaked from the rain, but didn't bother, despite being a cat. "Whoa! Let's take it one step at a time, hon," he smiled, following me out quickly. "Aren't you the one that nearly hit me across the head in Paris?" I smirked, reminding him about what could've happened back on those rooftops. "Just relax. I won't get in your way at all. Plus, I wanna help you restore that lil' book of yours."
"You know about the Thievius Raccoonus?" he asked, shocked as we ran into the tunnel ahead. "You were saying your thoughts in your sleep, bub," I smiled, actually truthful this time. "Oh... what'd you hear?" he asked. "I heard the words Fiendish Five, Thievius Raccoonus, stolen, Carmelita, and sexy." Now it was Sly's turn to be embarrassed, mostly because he DID have a crush on Carmelita. "Oh hey! The end of the tunnel!" I smiled, letting him snap out of his embarrassment.
"Guys? I've discovered something that's going to complicate the mission," said Bentley in Sly's and my binocucoms, which I knew what he'd say next. "If you're going to talk about the gate, Bentley, we already know it can be climbed around," I frowned. "Oh... um... okay then... just do me one favor, Sylvia?" he asked. "Yeah? What?" I asked back. "Could you let me actually finish what I have to say before cutting me off?!" he growled. "Haha... sorry. I just somehow knew that you were going to worry about us." "Okay... just go on and get to Raleigh's." "On our way," Sly smiled.
I didn't follow Sly immediately. Instead, I diverted to the right and attack the giant beavers with my pink cane and picked up the clue bottle. "Now this is very interesting," Bentley said. "The message you just found appears to be some sort of clue. I'll decipher it here in the van. In the meantime, see if you can find anymore. The more I have the easier it'll be to crack the code." I nodded and cracked the next beaver's skull, sending him into the water. I felt bad, but knew they were bad too. I continued on, not even bothering to crack the supports for the sails. I jumped up instead, swiping the clue bottles from the poles. Both of them.
I then made it back to the gate area where Sly had apparently heard the message as well, since he got the bottle from the trees and was climbing up the rope on the right side to get over. I beat him over, however, and jumped the fence in a single bound. "Girl, you GOT to teach me how to jump like that!" Sly smiled. "I already told you I don't know how I can do it so well!" I frowned, sadly telling the truth. "Guys, see those searchlights?" Bentley asked. "One careless step, and you'll be subjected to acute combustion."
I sighed and nodded my head, saying, "yeah, thanks for the tip, turtle boy," I smirked, actually bounding right over the lights and attacking the star-throwing beaver with a jump kick. I slapped the alarm with my cane as Sly ran forward, meeting up with me as the searchlights died. "Come on! Let's go on!" I smiled, running ahead, stopping at the top of the hill where the bees were flying by the lantern. I was in awe. It was exactly like the game, but the sight was still bewildering. It was Raleigh's hideout, the storm machine floating in the air, letting out a continuous stream of storm clouds.
"Sly..." I gulped, suddenly feeling unprepared. "Yeah... I got a feeling that Raleigh's up there." Sly said. "But why is that helicopter thing spewing out nonstop rain?" Sly said. "I think it's a storm machine..." I frowned, pointing to how the clouds that came out eventually spread out all over the triangle. "Looks like he's using that machine to do his piracy business. Case in point, all those wrecked ships near his giant boat." I then pointed out to the wreckage of the foolish ships that ventured here. Who knows how many people came here only to die from Raleigh intentionally sinking their ships?
"Well... no matter what, I'll do anything to get my family's book back. And if Raleigh gets in my way... it's on," Sly frowned as we ran towards the river ahead. We'd gotten all the bottles up to this point and I actually jumped from rock to rock, picking up the bottles that were so conveniently placed. "The water's a little strong, so you may want to jump on the rocks, Sly," I smiled. Sly did exactly that as I neared the end of the path. He took longer, but we both ended up over there at the same time.
"You're starting to make me a little jealous, Sylvia," Sly sighed as we neared the hook. "Well, I didn't mean to make you jealous," I smiled, bumping him in the shoulder. "If anyone should be jealous, it's this kitten. After all, you're part of one of the most famous thieving families in history... at least according to the police records." Sly smirked and nodded. "I may not be a Cooper, but I know I can do so much more than being a simple thief," I frowned. "I need to be on your team, Sly. If I can't get back to my world, the least I can do is help make this one a safer place. And to start, we'll take down this silly frog that is Raleigh. I mean, doing piracy because he's bored? That's just so sad."
I didn't wait for a response as I jumped up, strategically placed my cane in the hook and swung over the gate. "I learned that one while in Paris," I lied. "Can you do it?" I smirked. "Of course!" Sly grinned, doing the exact same thing I did. "Nice! Let's move out!"
We continued down the path, over the spinning wheels, all the while picking up the last of the clues. "I don't get it..." Sly said as I looked up at the searchlight tower. He'd already taken out the alarm, which allowed me to sneak my way over and jump up the expanse to get the final two bottles. "You found it Sylvia! Sly! Go to the vault and I'll tell you the code!"
Sly gave me a playful smirk as I went over and got the treasure key across the way. I tried to do it just as Sly would, but it only ended up hitting my head. "OW!" I groaned, picking up the key from the ground and growling. "Hmph!" That was when Sly ran over to me, a huge grin on his face. "Sylvia! Thanks so much!" he smiled, grabbing me into a bear hug. "Umm... what?" I asked. "That safe? The one you found most of the clues for? It had a page of the Thievius Raccoonus! Now I know how to do the dive move!"
"Dive move, eh?" I smiled, asking for the paper. "Um... I don't know if I should..." he frowned. He still gave me the paper though. I looked it over and was surprised to see that I could understand the mumbo jumbo of his ancestors' writing style. "Lemme try it out while you open the gate," I said, handing him the key and the paper back. I focused and then leaped, spinning the the cane for as long and as far as Sly could. "Oh my god! I can do this shit too!" I exclaimed, giggling like a two year old. "I... I can't believe it! You're definitely a family member now, Sylvia," he smiled, patting me on my back. I could only grin. "Sylvia and Sly Cooper. What a duo we'll make!" I exhaled in glee as we ran into the drain pipe that would lead to Raleigh's massive boat.