//------------------------------// // Gathering: Take 21 // Story: Dressed to Steal // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// With everyone we needed to complete the job gathered, we made our way to Kaine Island in a boat of living wood Mrs. Ruby was able to provide us with, with a little help from the Staff of Moonfire. Unfortunately, as I gave that boost I learned that drawing the rage out of Mask and Staff like I had came with serious consequences. A massive migraine struck me, and I wound up slipping into a Dreamtime coma. Mom insisted on coming with to look after me, while Dad wanted to call off the mission until I was better. Unfortunately, Dr. M was still trying to excavate the vault through the rock. We didn’t have time to wait, so Bentley carried out the plan with me staying behind with Mom. It seemed like everything was going according to plan, and Dad found that simply inserting the cane he’d inherited from his Father opened the vault...but Dr. M caught him at it. Mom wouldn’t tell me the details, but by the time I came to, Dad was laid out beside me with a big bump on his head. I freely admit I was pissed...but I knew letting my anger drive my magic would just be asking for trouble, so I left the Mask and Staff on the boat while going to assist the others. I would have to limit my magic usage, and function as a thief instead of a mage. Unfortunately, the backup plans Uncle Bentley and Penelope were coming up with didn’t really have a place for me in them. Not that I could blame them, but I wanted to help. Still, their plans were pretty good. The biggest obstacle to overcome right at first was recovering Dad’s cane, which had gotten lost somehow during the struggle I missed. Guru’s efforts left the cane in the water, leading to Mrs. Ruby going after it. However, while in the water she wound up confronting Dr. M. Mrs. Ruby swam after the cane as fast as she could, but despite being able to simply punch through the metal obstacles, she wasn’t able to get to it before Dr. M managed to grab it with his giant piranha bot. “Do you think I’ll fail against some washed up former villainous lackey?” he demanded angrily, his voice somewhat distorted by the water. He directed the piranha in an attempt to eat Mrs. Ruby. “I think you’ll regret underestimating me!” Mrs. Ruby countered, diving straight into the bot’s mouth before discharging her magic straight through its superstructure into the power core. As the bot fell apart, Dr. M’s exoframe carried him and the cane away. “You may control the water, but I control the skies-” “No ya don’t, chile!” Mrs. Ruby shouted back. “My hubby’s on his way to see our little girl, and he brought friends!” By the time Mrs. Ruby returned to the ship, Dad was awake to see Muggshot and his fighter pilots obliterating Dr. M’s aerial defenses through sheer force of numbers. Dr. M tried to counter with more mechanical creatures, but there were just too many. Muggshot himself came to the boat to deliver the recovered cane. Muggshot grinned from ear to ear as he loped onto the boat, the cane in one hand. “Yo, Cooper!” he called out happily. “Got your cane back!” “Thanks, Muggshot,” Sly responded warmly. “I’d have hated to lose this thing.” “You should still take it easy,” Carmelita cautioned. “Both of you,” she added with a look towards Coco. “Save your energies for getting through the vault,” Bentley offered as Felicia launched herself at Muggshot, crawling eagerly all over him. “Let us get you up there.” “Alright, alright,” Sly allowed, accepting both admonishments. “I couldn’t have gotten this far without everyone, anyway. Might as well go in as a family. As a result, the entire group went into the first vault chamber. Unfortunately, we quickly discovered that the only way forward required the use of Cooper family techniques. That’s when Mom really surprised us. She’d managed to get ahold of the Thievius Raccoonus when Dad wasn’t looking, and had been training herself in the family techniques to the point she could keep up with us. Uncle Bentley and Uncle Murray were completely stupefied, but Dad seemed quite pleased. I was just happy that the three of us could go into the vault together. What we saw in there, though, was simply amazing... Sly, Carmelita, and Coco gasped as they stared at what was within the Cooper Vault. The entire inside of the mountain of Kaine Island was hollowed out, filled with mountains of gold and ancient relics the likes of which had never been seen before. The path from tiny island in the water to tiny island could only be crossed from spire to spire, swing hook to swing hook. And on each island was a portrait of one of the Cooper ancestors, detailing something about them and the techniques they developed. “There...there’s so much here...” Carmelita murmured in stunned amazement. “With how far back my family stretches in history, you’re surprised?” Sly countered, though his own voice quavered somewhat. “What are we going to do with it all?” Coco asked curiously. “There’s...there’s just so much...” “We’ll figure that out once we get to the center,” Sly insisted. “For now...I need to see it all.” Nodding in understanding, Carmelita and Coco followed Sly from island to island, Carmelita using her jetpack in places where Sly and Coco used gliders, pausing every so often to read the information from each Cooper ancestor on display. As they passed, Carmelita paused at one of the later ones. “...no way...” she murmured softly. “What is it?” Sly asked curiously. “After reading the Thievius, I looked up some of the lineage,” Carmelita explained. “It took a bit of doing, and some help from Scrooge’s resources...but several of the ancestors in the line had blood ties to some of the most powerful families throughout the world’s history. Slytenkhamen II was part of the Pharaoh's family, Rioichi Cooper’s son married one of the Emperor’s daughters, Sir Galleth Cooper was adopted into the royal family for services to the crown...” She shook her head. “If your ancestry were confirmed and made public knowledge...you’d inherit the entire world! Most of governments of those countries technically still rule in the name of those families, though as far as most know the families have all but vanished.” “But why would I want to?” Sly asked as they made their way forward. “I’m not suited to ruling the world, nor would I have interest in trying. I’m just a simple thief, seeking adventure and joy with my friends and family. Besides, it was duty that pushed the Cooper Clan so far...a duty to protect the world from its own worst people. I’d say that duty takes precedence.” The group paused at the last portrait, this one missing the top foot or so and showing a young Sly sitting in someone’s lap. “And I think my Dad would agree,” Sly confirmed before turning to the trail his Father had left him. A grid of lasers was the only thing between them and the vault, stretching far into the distance. “And what do you know...it’s my daughter who taught me how to cross this last obstacle. If she can ride magic...” Leaping forward, he braced himself on the laser beam and slid forward along it. Carmelita stared in shock. Coco, however, leapt to follow her father.