Once Murray and Diz had returned to the safe house, with General Clawfoot in hand so Bentley could interrogate him for the information that he needed, Sly, Gilda, and Derpy headed out and carefully approached the area that the boat traveled in and used that to get to the area under the Contessa's castle. The reason neither Gilda or Derpy flew over there, and carried their brother with them, was because they were sure that the Contessa realized that they might already be outside her base of operations and had commanded her guards to keep an eye out for them. Even if she didn't give them that command, and they weren't looking towards the sky, both of the sisters agreed that this time around they might want to go about things as ordinary thieves and not the magic users they had become, even though they both tucked their wings in as well so they'd act like Sly the entire time they were on this mission. While they were riding the boat over to the underside of the castle, however, both of them noticed that Sly was staring up at the Re-education Tower, his mind focused on who was trapped up there.
"Sly, we'll save Carmelita." Gilda said, to which she placed her hand on her brother's shoulder, who stood there for a moment before sighing, where he nodded his head and tried to focus on what they were doing at the moment, but they knew that he was going to be distracted for some time.
"Yeah, we'll rescue her, get the Eyes, and beat the Contessa," Sly replied, though at the same time the boat came to the wooden walkway that was beneath the castle, where he jumped over to it and started walking towards the crypt area that Bentley wanted them to head to.
Gilda and Derpy followed after their brother, worried that he was going to be distracted because of the fact that Carmelita was trapped and was being tormented by the Contessa, but at the same time they knew that they were going to do everything in their power to save Sly's girlfriend. Even with that thought crossed their minds the three of them carefully walked into the area that was in front of them, where they found that the guards that were patrolling the area didn't seem to notice that they were walking towards the crypts, which made things better for them. Once they reached the area under the mission marker, and made absolutely sure that there weren't any guards that were turning to look at them, they jumped up onto the railing that would take them to the roof of the building and landed on the area that Bentley wanted to talk to them in. At the same time they knew that it was going to be some time before Bentley contacted them, since he was likely still interrogating General Clawfoot, to which the three of them hid themselves in some areas where they wouldn't be seen as they waited for Bentley to contact them.
A few minutes later Sly noticed that his binocucom was blinking, something that both of his sisters had noticed as well, before they pulled them out and raised them to their eyes, where they found that Bentley was ready to tell them what they needed to do to harass Neyla.
"Alright Sly, there's your new objective." Bentley said, to which they found that their view was brought to the crypt that they were standing near, which made sense that he would have them stand close to their next objective, "I need the three of you to sneak inside and smash the coffin of the Evil Wolf Priestess."
"That sounds pretty harsh." Sly replied, though at the same time he had to wonder why the people that had built this castle would have kept the crypt intact, since he was sure that, in the past, people like that ended up getting burned and buried in an unmarked grave, meaning this one was special, "Does the old girl really deserve that sort of treatment?"
"Weren't you listening? She was an Evil Wolf Priestess." Bentley stated, as he couldn't believe that Sly seemed to be missing the point he was trying to make, while at the same time both Gilda and Derpy knew that they would benefit from such a thing, and maybe purify some souls while they were at it, "Once you smash the coffin it'll free all the ghosts trapped in there with her."
"Okay," Sly slowly said, as he was still wondering why they were going to do this, but when he thought back to the slideshow Bentley had set up he guessed that the plan he had in mind might be able to work, "I don't know where you're going with all this but freeing trapped ghosts sounds vaguely heroic."
The moment the connection was down the three of them put away their binocucoms and headed for the door of the crypt, pausing when a guard walked near the door, where Derpy silently landed behind the wolf guard and stole both the coins and his golden watch from his pocket, before he moved forward. The instant that happened they waited until he was some distance away before Derpy opened the door, as silently as she could, before the three of them headed inside the crypt and began their search for the coffin that the priestess had been placed in. Of course as they walked down the hallway that was in front of them they came to a part of the area that had a few swinging blades, deadly looking ones that were designed to keep people from trespassing, but at the same time the three of them took turns navigating their way through the hazards as they kept their eyes open for the coffin they were after. Fortunately just beyond the trap was an area with a few coffins, though the one in the middle, raised above the others, looked like the one they were after, to which they carefully approached it and smashed the lid into pieces.
The result of the lid's destruction sent out a small wave of energy that tore the other coffins apart, apparently knocking out the wolf guards that had been sleeping inside them, before the ghosts that had been trapped inside surged out of the crypt... to which the three of them headed back through the trap they had walked through and walked outside, where they found that the ghosts were currently flying all over the place, only for them to see what the next stage of Bentley's plan was.
"Before you guys left for the crypt, I modified the imagers in your binocucoms, so now they can capture ghosts." Bentley informed them, while at the same time they seemed to be following one of the ghosts that was nearby, who seemed to be minding it's own business and wasn't even haunting anyone.
"Didn't we just set these guys free?" Sly inquired, as he was beginning to wonder if it would have been simpler, not to mention easier, to just have Gilda, Derpy, and Diz do something to get the point across and force Neyla's hand, all in preparation for the heist, "Why would we want to capture them again?"
"Don't worry Sly, it's only a short-term confinement this time." Bentley said, though he found it amusing that neither of the sisters had said anything yet, but at the very least they seemed to be listening as he explained everything about the mission to their brother, "I need the three of you to gather all the ghosts by taking pictures of them, then set them free down the chimney of Neyla's headquarters."
"If we know Neyla as well as we think we do, she'll think it's a sneak attack from the Contessa." Derpy stated, as she knew what Bentley was getting at, and so did Gilda, though not a few seconds later Sly nodded his head as well, meaning that he could see what Bentley was talking about now.
"Correct." Bentley confirmed, happy that the sisters had figured out what he was saying, while at the same time a little disappointed that Sly was so slow to figure it out, but then he realized why that would be the case and decided it was best if he said something else, "If I did my math right, and I always do my math right, Neyla should respond to the assault by purchasing more firepower."
"Anything bad for the Contessa is good for us," Gilda said, though at the same time she grinned, because after everything that their target had put her brother, Murray, and Carmelita through so far, it was good to be getting some payback at long last, "and we get to really freak out Neyla in the process."
From what Bentley could tell them there were nine ghosts in total, meaning that all of them could take three apiece, though at the same time Sly insisted that his sisters take the ones that were much harder for him to get to, since they were running out of time until the Contessa smashed through Carmelita's defenses. Sure, they hadn't given her a whole lot of time to do anything, but there was no telling when she had started the process and Sly was absolutely sure that she was in pain at the moment, if that tear earlier was anything to go by. As such he wanted them to make sure they could get the ghosts that would take too long for an ordinary thief to reach, such as himself, and watched as they flew off to find their targets, while at the same time heading over to the side that their safe house was on so he could catch the ghosts that were the closest to Neyla. While he tracked down his chosen ghosts, however, he did see both of his sisters flying through the air, in a manner that would make sure they weren't seen by the Contessa's guards, before snapping pictures of the ghosts they were chasing, causing him to chuckle as he turned his own attention to the ones he was chasing.
Between the three of them it honestly took four or five minutes for all nine of the ghosts to be rounded back up, and the pictures tied to a special lantern that would release them once they had dropped it into the bank, to which they moved into position and dropped it... where not a few moments later Neyla opened the doors and ran outside, though the look on her face was priceless as she stared at the castle.
"So, the Contessa wants war, eh?" Neyla commented, staring at the castle for a few moments, as she couldn't believe that the disgraced Interpol Agent would pull such a move on her, before a thought came to mind and brought a smile to her face when she remembered the funds she had left over, "Perhaps it's time I purchased a little air power; a few bombers should put that old charlatan in her place."
With their task complete the three of them waited until Neyla was back inside the bank that was her base of operations, where she was likely going to call in the bombers and get them started on their mission, before they headed back to the safe house and found that General Clawfoot was gone, though they didn't want to know what had happened to him. The moment they returned Bentley picked up his gear and walked outside with Diz walking behind him, as she was going to be helping him during his mission, even if part of it was flying around the castle and interpreting the information that was on his computer. As such Diz grabbed onto Bentley the moment they were outside the safe house, spread her wings, and took off towards the mission start area, once more surprising Bentley by the fact that she was able to fly with the size of her wings, while also being surprised by the fact that she hadn't shifted back into her male form yet. Generally when a switched happened it was only for a few hours, but he had to guess that the amount of energy Diz had poured into creating those golems had been more than the hyena had been expecting, because it had been some time since they left the prison and she was still in her current form... but Bentley pushed that thought aside, as Diz's chaotic energies made it impossible for him to understand anything about her and what she was able to do.
Fortunately the mission area was close to the one where Sly, Gilda, and Derpy had started their mission, to which Diz landed behind the building that was behind the crypt her family members had gone into and found the beacon that Bentley had placed for himself... to which Diz sent him down and input the code that General Clawfoot had given them, opening the door so they could enter the building, but once they were inside they came to a stop when they spotted a backpack like device on a pedestal.
"That's it!" Bentley said, though his tone indicated that he was extremely pleased with what was sitting in front of them, which told Diz that this had to be the very item that they were searching for, "It's just like Mz. Ruby said; the Contessa would have a Bad Mojo Collector to transport the overflow."
"So that's the semi-magical device that sucks up bad mojo." Diz commented, staring at the contraption for a moment, as she wasn't entirely sure that it was safe to carry around, but since Mz. Ruby had told them it was the only way to safely destroy the Mind Shuffler, and save Carmelita, she decided to roll with it.
"Yes, though I'll need it to gather the runoff from these spouts." Bentley stated, taking a moment to study the device as well, while at the same time recalling everything that he had read in the email that Sen had sent him with some additional information on what they would be doing with this, "It's also not going to be easy to do that, mostly because bad mojo is a powerfully dark force... and if someone takes any damage while carrying a collector, well, they're done for. It also presents an interesting tactical challenge... perhaps we can use the deathtraps native to these crypts against any foe that might attempt to thwart our collection of the ectoplasm."
"It definitely seems that these switches are linked to specific deathtraps," Diz said, staring that the deathtraps that were in front of them, what they could see anyway, and knew that this was going to be an interesting mission, while at the same time being glad that Bentley had asked him to come assist him.
"Once all four cylinders of the Black Mojo Collector are full we should have enough black magic to destroy the Mind Shuffler." Bentley stated, reminding Diz of why they were they, though he waited a moment for her to move into position in front of one of the switches, before slipping the collector onto his back.
The moment Bentley took the Bad Mojo Collector, and joined Diz near one of the switches, the doors on the other side of the room opened and wolf guards started to pile out one at a time, where the two of them discovered that the deathtrap that was in front of them was a simple smasher that crushed the guards when they walked onto it and one of them pressed one of the three switches in front of them. Diz moved between the switch on the left and the middle, letting Bentley stay by the right one, where they carefully timed using the switches, though at the same time the guards were relentless in their attempts to stop them from draining the spout that was above them. It took them a few minutes to deal with the guards that were coming at them, where they would pin all of this on the fact that the Contessa's guards seemed to have a death wish and kept charging at them without their own safety in mind, before the spout shattered and the guards decided to stop coming. Once that was done the two of them headed out through the door they had opened a few minutes ago, where Diz carefully picked Bentley up as she took to the skies, before he pointed out the location of the second spout... which was higher up on the castle than the first one, but easily found and entered without the guards even knowing that they were there.
The second crypt had four switches that they could use to activate the deathtraps, which included a throwing sword trap, two walls made up of blades type trap, a swinging axe trap, and a trap designed to spew fire in case the guards made it through the first three that were in front of them. As such Diz insisted that Bentley stay by the switch closest to the entrance, the fire spewing trap, so they could use it if any guards made it by her and the three traps that were in front of them, where Bentley agreed and Diz got to work stalling the guards that were charging at her. Fortunately the pattern was waiting until a guard was in front of the throwing sword trap, then use the blade walls, followed by the swinging axe, one that was so great that she was able to use to stop the guards without letting a single one reach her or Bentley, where the two of them were able to avoid taking damage until the spout was destroyed. From there they headed outside and Bentley figured out that the third crypt was located close to the crypt that Sly, Gilda, and Derpy went into to free the Evil Wolf Priestess, where Diz got them into the crypt and they found out what was in store for them.
The next crypt had two crusher traps, one fire trap near the entrance, and a gas trap that knocked out all the guards that were standing around the middle of the room, where Diz insisted that Bentley stay where the flames wouldn't get to him and went to town on smashing and burning the guards that were coming at her. Like the last two crypts Diz was able to break the guards and defeat them without letting them hit Bentley, along with the Bad Mojo Collector, to which they walked out of the third one and headed for the final one, which was in the under area of the castle, where Sly and the others had gone through earlier. Fortunately the same passage that the others used to get over to this area was the same one they could use to get to the final crypt, where Bentley input the code and opened the door... where they discovered an area that had two fire traps, a walkway that fell and drowned someone, and the final switch that Bentley was standing near, which he would use if guards got by Diz, where she would retreat and Bentley would shock the entire area and take out the guards.
Between the two of them, and the traps that were in front of them, Diz and Bentley were able to smash their way through the enemies that were coming at them until the final spout was destroyed... where they stood still for a moment as they made sure that the guards weren't coming anymore, before Bentley smiled as he looked at Diz.
"Alright, the deed is done." Bentley said, taking off the Bad Mojo Collector that was on his back and staring at it for a few moments, finding that all four of the chambers were filled, "With a mojo collector at full capacity, we'll be able to blow up the Mind Shuffler, force the Clockwerk Eyes off of it, and, more importantly, save Carmelita."
"That's good news." Diz replied, as she was sure that Sly was going to like the news that Bentley had for him, since they were more focused on rescuing Carmelita than they were retrieving the Eyes, but the Eyes happened to be another prize and they'd take them anyway.
Once they were sure that the Bad Mojo Bomb was ready, wiht the chambers full of the necessary energy, they headed outside and Diz flew them back to the safe house, so they could plan out the next stage of their plans as they waited to see what Neyla and the Contessa did.
When Bentley and Diz returned to the safe house, and carefully stored the Bad Mojo Bomb in an area where it could rest until it was time for the heist, Bentley took a few moments to study the comings and goings of the guards that the Contessa employed and the tanks that Neyla had. Eventually he gathered them together and showed them the next stage of their plan, where Sly, and whoever went with him, needed to steal a voice modulator from the castle and install it under Neyla's headquarters. If all went as planned, and he was sure that the group would succeed in their mission, such a thing would be give them the ability to give orders to Neyla's mercenaries without being detected, which would be useful in the heist, once the other objectives were finished. The unfortunate news was that Neyla's recent bomber purchase was making her army over-enthusiastic, meaning that they might strike before the gang was ready, which was where he said that Murray needed to hotwire one of the Contessa's tanks and go to town on the mercenaries. The last thing they needed to do was simple, as Bentley said that he would need to venture back into the crypts to power up the old computer in the Re-education Tower, which they needed since they were going to save Carmelita.
As the others agreed with the missions that were being given to them, and the fact that they needed to get them done fast before the Contessa managed to break Carmelita's mind spurred them into motion immediately, Bentley headed outside and was picked up by Derpy... to which she flew them over to the stone door that they needed to open, once more imputing the codes that General Clawfoot gave them, before entering the area in front of them, where they came to a stop when they saw what was in front of them.
"So, how are you going to hack the computers down there when they've got no power?" Derpy asked, because the terminal that was to their left clearly had no power to them, which meant that Bentley had to have a plan that would allow him to restore power to the computer.
"According to General Clawfoot, there's a mobile energy source that is being stored at the end of this hallway." Bentley replied, knowing that he hadn't explain everything to Sly and the others, rather they knew that he had a plan and were trusting that he could get it done without fail.
"'Hallway' is a pretty kind term," Derpy commented, staring at the obstacles that were in front of them, ones that she was sure that she could get over with the greatest of ease with her wings, "for what looks like a complex medieval gauntlet of death."
"Yes well, while the idea of jumping down a crypt filled with whirling, razor-sharp spikes might scare me," Bentley said, revealing that he was thinking about this in the sense that he was the only one tackling the situation, but Derpy knew that he was actually thinking about how she was going to get them through this, "in fact terrorize my every fiber, it's the only way to power up that old computer in the Re-education Tower. Without that thing online we'll never be able to free Carmelita from her bindings... much less get at the Clockwerk Eyes."
"You're a good man Bentley." Derpy stated, as she knew that the gang was lucky to have such a intelligent person as one of their friends, especially since he was actually putting Carmelita, Sly's girlfriend, over the dangerous Clockwerk Eyes that the Contessa had, before she turned towards the hallway and picked Bentley up, "Shall we get started?"
"The sooner we get the battery, the sooner I can turn the computer on," Bentley replied, to which he prepared himself as Derpy stared at the traps that were in front of them, as she was already determining the best course of action she could take to get them to their destination.
Derpy opened her wings once more and flew above the spinning roller trap that was in front of them, where she landed in front of the stairs down to the next level of the crypt, which had another set of spinning roller traps and two swinging axe traps near the other set of stairs. The next room, after bypassing those traps, had two roller traps that were also easy to get around, especially since Derpy could just fly over them with ease, before they headed into the next room, which happened to have more spinning roller traps on the floor. From there they found that the final room had a pool of water between them and their target, though as Derpy moved through the air some octopus tentacles rose up and tried to swat her out of the air, but she bypassed them with ease and landed on the other side of the room... where she set Bentley down and let him survey the area that they were in.
"A-ha! This acid battery should do the trick." Bentley stated, to which he put his weapon away and set the battery on his back, where he turned towards the terminal that was near them, though at the same time Derpy watched as it turned on when Bentley approached it, "I just need to walk close to the electrode and voila! Prepare to be hacked you knave."
Derpy stood there for a moment, watching Bentley carefully hack into the terminal that was in front of him, while at the same time noticing that he was smashing his way through the defenses that were inside the terminal as he also made several comments about his skills. Derpy had to admit that just watching him hack into the computer was interesting, since he was the only one that could do something like this in the first place, though eventually Bentley pulled his hands back and cheered for his success, while also stating that there were two more they needed to hack into. As such Derpy carefully picked Bentley up once more, this time making sure to take the battery into consideration, before she made her way back towards the second terminal that they had passed by on their way towards the area that the battery had been located in. Since she could bypass the traps that lined the crypt, made for enemies that couldn't fly as it turned out, it didn't take them long to get to where the second terminal was located, though when they arrived at their destination she set Bentley down and landed as he hacked into the computer.
It took Bentley a little longer to hack into this computer than it took him to hack into the first one, mostly because it had a few more defenses for him to deal with, but eventually he claimed the computer and activated it, further empowering the main computer in the Re-education Tower. Once that was done Derpy picked him up and continued to navigate her way through the traps that she could simply fly over, making her wonder what the castle's builders would have thought about the potential that a flying person was bypassing everything they had built. A few moments later the two of them were back at the entrance, where the first computer they had seen was located, to which Derpy set Bentley down at let him get to work as the terminal came back online, while at the same time she stretched a little as her friend restored power to the computer... until he stopped tapping the controls and turned towards her with a smile on his face.
"With that old computer powered up our work here is done." Bentley said, to which Derpy nodded, as that was good news in the long run, especially since they were trying to save Carmelita from the Contessa, before the two of them headed outside and flew back to the safe house.
It was only a matter of time until the gang was ready to assault the Contessa's Re-education Tower, so they could bust Carmelita out of the tower and make off with the Clockwerk Eyes at the same time, while also showing the Contessa what happens when someone messes with the Cooper Gang... and then, once they were sure that Carmelita was okay, they would deal with Neyla and the remaining members of the Klaww Gang.