Chapter 14: Criminals Searching For A Mineral

The group reach Cotton Mouth Bluff, the town where the Cooper Gang met Tennessee Kid Cooper when they traveled back to 1884. Today, it is pretty much looking like your typical western Ghost Town with nobody in sight. No trains running on the elevated tracks like they used to. They make a quick stop at the abandoned Casino just to see if there's any money or gold somehow left over, and surprisingly there is. The Cooper Gang take what they can find, I mean it's technically not stealing if nobody is currently possessing it, right? They haul their loot into the Autobots and roll off.

Ironhide: I really dig this place.

Murray: Why? Is it because it's empty? No apparent life?

Ironhide: No, it just feels like a great place to fight a Decepticon at.

Bentley: Guys! I'm picking up a signal!

Sly: It must be in the nearby mine.

They get to the Mine entrance and the trio get out of the Autobots. Ironhide transforms, but Bumblebee stays in Car mode.

Bentley: Sly, how can you sense the Allspark locations? Is it like a bloodline ability or a Master Thief type one?

Sly: The Raccoonus keeps implying that those who possessed the fragments put them where no one would ever find them, but as the keeper of the Raccoonus and Master Thief that I am, I immediately thought places like a tomb and abandoned mine were pretty obvious places to hide something like that. They probably thought no one would ever read the book aside from any future Coopers and put the pieces together.

Bumblebee: I'm going with you guys. I'm small enough to fit in there, but I'll stay behind you.

Murray: Don't you ever feel a bit inferior to the others, being the small one?

Bumblebee: No, actually. What other Autobot could fit in this Mine? Despite my size, I have the feeling that if us Autobots were more out in public, the kids would love me. Also, not to brag, but I also have the feeling that I'm Optimus' favorite.

Ironhide: I'll be out here and stand guard. Have a feeling 'Cons may eventually show up. If that happens, I'll alert you.

Sly: Noted.

The four start to head into the mine. Bumblebee turns his headlights on.

Bumblebee: So, we've told you a lot about our group, can you tell me more about your's?

Sly: Well the three of us met when we were young at an orphanage.

Bumblebee: What's an orphanage?

Murray: It's a place where kids go when uummmmmm…. their parents have their sparks extinguished as I think you Cybertronians would put it.

Sly: The three of us became lifelong friends after we planned and succeeded at our first heist involving a cookie jar.

Bentley: When we got older, we traveled the globe in search of the stolen pages of the Thievius Raccoonus and retrieved them and then Sly fought Clockwerk, the guy who ummm….. "Unsparked" his parents.

Sly felt uncomfortable about anyone bringing up the subject of his arch-nemesis and just hoped they would stop talking about him.

Murray: And then, two years later, we found out his Klaww Gang were attempting to retrieve Clockwerk's parts to rebuild him and then this traitor inspector possessed-

Sly: (interrupts) Can we please skip a bit forward!

Bentley: Okay, then a former ally of Sly's father attempted to get into his family vault, so we assembled a bigger team to assist, including two previous adversaries, Murray's Guru master and…

Bumblebee: And who?

Bentley also started to feel uncomfortable whenever someone brought up a certain person. A woman who broke his heart.

Bentley: N-no one important!

Sly: (Whispers to Bumblebee) He once had a Conjunx Endura, but then she betrayed all of us in the worst way. Broke his heart.

Bumblebee: Poor guy.

The mine started to get more rocky, but they could still navigate.

Sly: You picking up a signal, Bentley?

Bentley: Yes. We're pretty close.

Bumblebee: Y'know these rocks would be easier to get through if I had my buddy, Brawn with me. He's about my size, but pretty strong and has a drill that can smash through rocks easily.

Murray notices something buried in the rocks. With his strength, he removes them to find pieces of an old stagecoach. Some of the wood pieces looked burnt.

Murray: Guys! Look at this! Does this mean the Legend of the Sparked Stagecoach is true?

Bentley: It probably does. (looks at detector) Oh my gosh! The Fragment readings are off the charts! Murray, start removing those rocks.

Murray: Got it!

Sly: When we find that shard, be careful. It may be in pieces, but the spark could maybe potentially pull that monster stagecoach back together and it starts reeking more havoc. Just a theory.

As the hippo picks up rocks, Bumblebee gets a call from Ironhide

Ironhide: (Over call) Bee! They haven't arrived yet, but I'm seeing aircrafts in the sky approaching from afar. It could be them. I advise you to come assist me.

Bumblebee: Right!

Sly: Are they about to attack?

Bumblebee: I think so. I'm heading out to assist Ironhide in case they come. Keep looking for the fragment. If you do, call us and we'll say when it's safe to come out.

Sly: Alright.

Bumblebee starts to back up through the mine as quickly as he can, but slows a bit down when he feels bumpy terrain due to the rocks. The trio have the feeling that the potential incoming Decepticon attack may be more brutal than yesterday.