And that catches up to where you joined our story, with us going after the ones who killed Grandpa and stole the book. Our mission was three fold. Recover the book, bring them to justice, and steal anything that won't make too much noise when we pry it up while making sure to leave enough evidence for Mom to put the bad guys away for a long time.
The first one we were going after was Sir Raleigh, a Frogman who started life as a spoiled noble and turned to piracy on a whim. I found even the idea of such a being severely distasteful. Born with everything he could ever want, and turning to a life of crime for the thrill of it? It made me sick, especially when I think about Dad's lot in life...and my own.
One thing was sure as we made our way to the Isle O'Wrath, his pirate base in Europe...I was going to enjoy watching him taken down. His machine skills wouldn't save him, and I looked forward to helping Uncle Bentley tear his creations apart.
The Isle O'Wrath was situated in the center of an area known as the Welsh Triangle, a part of the sea off the European Coast that was almost constantly barraged with bad storms. Once arriving, Sly leapt out of the van, Coco clinging to his back as they made their way onto the island itself, ready to explore and gather anything to assist them. Coco was only going to cling to Sly at first, until they reached a point where it made sense for them to split up. At that point, she'd be going her own way.
Her armaments were considered more than adequate. In addition to her own, smaller version of Sly's cane, she also had her sewing kit stocked with plenty of thread, needles, and fabric patches. In addition, there were bottles of dye for spot designs...as well as bottles that only looked like dye, which were actually filled with liquid to dip the needles in to give them various effects when thrown like darts. The largest contained a knock-out agent, which she considered the most useful.
As Sly walked, Coco took in her surroundings. The dark grey stone of the island was covered here and there with patches of green grass, showing where they'd need to be careful to keep from making noise or leaving traces. Her eyes moved to where most of the island was blocked off by a gate. "Think we can pick the lock?" she whispered.
"No," Sly countered as he stared through his binoculars. "I recognize the lock. It's hooked to an alarm. If anything that's not the right shape or material is put in - such as lock picks - it'll set off an alarm. We're going to have to go over."
"You mean you're going to throw me over the gate to open it for you from the other side?" Coco asked eagerly, her soft voice excited.
"We'll call that Plan B," Sly answered with a soft chuckle. "I was thinking we could climb up over there." He gestured to a structure near the gate, where a broken ladder hung carelessly. "That should give us a way up and over. Hold on tight."
Nodding, Coco clung tighter to Sly's back as he made his way across the open ground. Once up and over, they split to go to either side of a spotlight that swept over the path. As they approached a guard, Coco hurled one of her knockout needles before he caught sight of them. It penetrated his clothes and stuck in his back, sending him to la-la land. Coco retrieved the needle as they went by.
Not far beyond, they caught sight of a large boat with a strange device floating over it. "Gonna get a scan of that for Bentley?" Coco asked curiously.
"Already on it," Sly confirmed as he opened communications.
Bentley's voice came over the comm loud and clear. "Based on what I've been able to determine, that blimp is Raleigh's base of operations. But there's something off about it..."
"Looks more machiney than most blimps," Coco offered. "Almost looks like some sort of cloud sub, if that makes any sense-"
"No way!" Bentley interrupted, stunned. "Those are only theoretical!"
"What, cloud subs?" Sly asked jokingly.
"No!" Bentley corrected irritably. "That's a storm machine! It's what's generating the storms throughout the triangle, and those same storms are what's keeping it in the air!"
"Those storms explain all the wrecked ships," Sly murmured softly.
"But why would Raleigh want bad weather at his own hideout?" Bentley inquired.
"Probably because his pirate ships are designed for it," Coco suggested. "I mean, most ships are designed for peak function in normal weather but able to handle bad weather. Ships designed to function at their peak in bad weather, however, would be at a disadvantage - and possibly not even function - in good weather. That plus a machine that gives constant bad weather would be a huge advantage for a pirate."
Sly and Bentley were both silent for a time. Finally, Sly spoke up. "So which of us gets to wrench our shoulders over that one?" he asked teasingly.
"I think she gets to pick where we go for dinner once we take down Raleigh," Bentley offered warmly. "She's learned well."
"I can agree with both those points," Sly agreed, making Coco grin widely and clap her forehooves together.
"He's got the Book itself," Bentley mused. "Likely on that storm maker."
"Then we'll take it down...and down hard," Sly stated firmly.