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// Honor: Breaking Stuff 
// Story: Sly Cooper: Family of Thieves 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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When Bentley, Gilda, Derpy, and Clockwerk returned to the safe house, and joined Sly and Carmelita, the gang assumed that Bentley would inform them of what the next stage of their plan was, so they could dismantle Octavio's operations more than they already have. Before they could actually do that, and get the show on the road, the device that Bentley had set up to monitor the communication frequencies in the area revealed an alarming message that required some of the gang to take immediate action, especially since it involved Inspector Hopps. What they discovered was that, shortly before their official arrive in Venice, Octavio had hired the Blue Viper Gondola Gang to come in and take out Inspector Hopps, and they had just recently arrived and where getting ready to head out so they could fulfill their contract. Unfortunately there was some bad news as well, Judy was last seen a few minutes ago heading out into the canals on her own gondola, to perform her patrol while her task force readied themselves, and that meant that it was unlikely that she was going to hear them calling for her attention so they could save her. The side effect to that was that the Blue Vipers were likely already right behind her, ready to catch up with her and kill her, to which Bentley, Clockwerk, Sly, and Carmelita headed out to where the police station was located and found some spare police speedboats waiting in front of them.

Sly and Bentley took the first of the two speedboats, which Bentley had to hot-wire so they could use it, before Sly took the driver spot and they sped off to to chase down the first of the Blue Vipers, while Clockwerk did the same thing and Carmelita made sure to steer them towards their targets.

As it turned out the Blue Vipers decided to take different canals to hunt down Judy, who was completely unaware that someone was hunting her at the moment, so both Sly and Carmelita nodded as Bentley and Clockwerk pulled the two speedboats apart from each other and started the search for their targets. Clockwerk primed the guns that were in front of him and prepared himself for when they found their target, though when they found the Blue Vipers both he and Carmelita discovered that two of them were right in front of them, but that didn't stop him from firing the guns at the first of their two targets. At first the Blue Viper that he was firing at didn't seem to notice that someone was firing at him, as it almost looked like he was ignoring everything around him, but when Clockwerk busted open the back of his speedboat, and caused smoke to rise all over his vehicle, that was when the Blue Viper noticed that he was under attack. A few seconds later the speedboat was history, as the barrage of bullets that the ancient owl had sent out were more than enough to take the target out, especially when he paused every now and then to make sure he didn't jam the guns up before the mission was over. The second Blue Viper, on the other hand, was more than ready for battle, as the gunner pulled out what appeared to be a rocket launcher, indicating that Octavio intended to utterly destroy whoever was in his way, and started to prime it as he turned back to face Carmelita and Clockwerk.

What Carmelita wasn't expecting was for Clockwerk to disengage himself from the gun controls and fling himself into the air the moment the rocket was fired, where she watched as the ancient owl dug into the side of the rocket, without causing it to explode, and spun around before hurling the projectile back towards the person who fired it, causing the entire speedboat to detonate when it struck the pile of rockets that the Blue Viper was carrying... though Carmelita pulled the boat to a stop as Clockwerk landed on the front of it and stared at the burning wreckage in front of them.

With two of the Blue Vipers taken care of, Sly and Bentley should be able to take out the other with ease. Clockwerk commented, though his eyes were focused on the wreckage, as it had been a long time since he had taken someone's life, the last being Sly's father, and while it was necessary to save Judy he felt that maybe he had gone a little overboard near the end, At least Inspector Hopps will be safe from them.

"There's nothing you could have done to prevent that boat from blowing up like that," Carmelita said, knowing that Clockwerk was fixated on the flames, as he was used to killing whoever got in his way and had only recently taken up the Cooper Clan's style of knocking out enemies without killing them, though this was the only time she had seen him relapse into his old ways, "besides, you helped save Judy from an untimely death, and I'm positive that the rest of the gang will be happy with you helping them out."

Except Sly. Clockwerk replied, revealing that he knew that the leader of the gang, or family as he had come to personally call the gang of thieves he was stuck with, was observing him and keeping an eye on everything he did, while at the same time knowing that, regardless of what he did, he was unlikely to ever erase the sins he had committed by hunting down the Cooper Clan and, more importantly, killing Sly's parents.

Carmelita didn't have much to say to that, because she was shocked by how defeated and sad the ancient owl actually sounded when he made his comment, as it almost sounded like he was actually trying to prove to Sly that he was changing for the better and might not actually reach that point because of one person... even though Sly had improved his own personal opinion of the owl a little over the last year. She guessed that whatever magic Derpy had used on the Hate Chip, even if it wasn't intentional, had a clear and undeniable impact on the ancient owl and how he usually lived his life, for the better she mentally reflected, and knew that most of the gang was willing to give him another chance, the only problem was that Clockwerk was seeking one person's approval and might not get it at all. It was in that moment, as they turned and headed back towards the safe house as Bentley informed them that the other Blue Viper had been taken care of, that Carmelita decided to at least try and open Sly's mind to the possibility that Clockwerk had changed for the better, as she was the only one of the gang that might have a chance at doing that... especially since it was unlikely that Sly would argue with her over something like this.





When the four of them got back to the dock they had taken the speedboats from, and Sly saying that he would stash one somewhere safe in case they needed it in the future, they joined the rest of the gang in the safe house and Bentley went over the next stage of their plan. According to the decrypted files, that both he and Clockwerk had worked on, Octavio was pumping tar from underneath the foundations of the buildings around Venice, allowing him to sink them into the canals on a whim, and that he was planning on demonstrating this destructive ability to the people of the city during his opera recital on the first day of Carnivale. To counter this threat, Bentley informed them that they would first destroy the balloons and sign advertising the recital, as he was positive that if no one showed up for the event, Octavio would have no reason to sink a building. He then revealed that the blueprints to the main tar vacuum had been cleverly split into three parts and hidden in local coffee houses that were, as the gang suspected, owned by Octavio, and that they were under constant guard, so someone needed to use a disguise to get a small team inside each coffee house. There was also the fact that some big Vincinetti goons had been called in as 'insurance' for the recital, who Inspector Hopps and her task force were keen on taking them, even if the Inspector knew that they would be assisting the gang in the process. The last order of business, before the main operation, was that someone was going to have to convince Murray into taking to the field, because if he had been taught the Aboriginal Ball Form, like Bentley believed he did, it would be just the thing for destroying the local tar reservoirs.

Fortunately, as they soon discovered, their first task was actually taking care of the Vincinetti goons that had been called in by Octavio, and they also found out that they were eager for battle, as Diz flew through the air and attracted the attention of one of them. Once he had his target's attention he flew back towards the police station, where Carmelita was standing outside the door, ready to unleash the waiting mercenaries that were right behind the door, and when Diz moved into position she knocked on the door and headed towards the ramp that Diz was flying towards. The moment they were both there Diz covered them with his invisibility spell and they faded into the shadows as the first of Judy's guards came outside and engaged the Vincinetti goon that told him to go home, allowing the pair to move to a safe location and watch the fireworks. Not even a few seconds later Judy, hearing the noise of the fight, charged outside with the rest of her task force, who engaged the goon that was right outside the police station and took him out before dispersing throughout the entire city that they were supposed to be working in... all while the gang watched as an Interpol Inspector and her task force cleaned up the streets by taking out each and ever goon that they came across, before Judy congratulated her men as they headed back inside the police station.

Of course Judy also sent Bentley an email, from a secure address that she used to keep in touch with them, and thanked the gang for allowing them to clean up the streets, but even though she didn't say too much in the email the gang could tell that she was happy to be working with such an honorable gang... though after that message came in Bentley, accompanied by Gilda and Derpy, headed out to where Murray would be waiting for them, as Sly had run into him and had told him that someone wanted to see him.

"Sly said you were looking for me? Murray asked, though he patiently waited for both of the girls to land before he spoke up, as he already knew that they wanted his assistance in some manner and he was slightly interested in what that something was, even if he walked a different path in life now.

"That's correct," Bentley said, though at the same time he and the girls stared at Murray's new attire for a couple of seconds, as they hadn't seen it since this was the first time they had encountered their friend since coming to Venice, before Bentley got to the matter at hand, "We need your help to destroy some tar drums."

"I'm done with all that." Murray stated, where he beckoned to himself for a moment or two, before gesturing to the area that was around him, showing that there was a new connection of sorts between him and the environment, or at least that was what Gilda and Derpy assumed, "I've found a new path... it's full of peacefulness."

"Come on, what happened to 'The Murray'?" Gilda asked, as she had enjoyed the violent persona that Murray had created, as he had been very helpful in their previous missions and heists because of all the training he had gone through to reach that point, "The guy who'd get into a fist fight with ten thugs wearing nothing but a towel? The guy who used to punch first and not bother asking questions later? Where's that guy? Where's our old friend?"

"I... I'm sorry." Murray said, though at the same time he turned his full attention towards Bentley for a few seconds, as he was the person that he knew he needed to talk to and, hopefully, put some of this behind him, "Bentley... I... I tried to save you... But, I just wasn't strong enough."

"Murray, it's not your fault this happened to me... Neyla's the one that caused this to happen," Bentley replied, as he and the others knew that Murray, despite the fact that he wasn't to blame for what happened, still blamed himself and went on this spirit quest, "We don't blame you and never have. The only thing we feel bad about is losing our pal."

"Look... I want to help you." Murray stated, where he beckoned to the water that was near them, where the trio could find the black tar stain that they had chosen to stop, especially after they figured out what Octavio's true plan was and the consequences if he wasn't stopped in the near future, "It's just that I promised I'd stay here and 'peacefully' meditate till the black water ran pure."

"Well... what if you could help us peacefully?" Derpy asked, because it seemed like the problem wasn't just the fact that Murray had been sent here by his Guru, but also because he was trying to swear off violence to the best of his abilities, even if it was hard for him to do so, "You wouldn't have to punch anyone."

"I'm in!" Murray declared, to which he raised his fists into the air for a moment, in the style of when he was excited about something, and that brought a smile to the faces of the trio that was standing in front of him, as his tone had instantly reverted back to it's previous state, "Keep it peaceful and I'll smash up anything you'd like!"

"As a student of the Australian Dreamtime, I'm sure you've learned of 'the ball form'?" Bentley inquired, though he was going to have to thank the girls for coming out here with him once this operation was complete, as he was sure that their presence had helped Murray decide on what to do.

"Yeah, sure, like my first week." Murray replied, though at the same time both Gilda and Derpy smiled, as that fit perfectly into the plan that Bentley had created for that technique, as this meant that Murray was likely to have a decent amount of practice with the skill and would be able to use it wouldn't any problems.

"Excellent! Tuck into ball form and clog that vent pipe." Bentley said, to which he gestured to the nearby pipe in question, which they had been standing near for this very reason, before he turned towards Murray, "The pressure build up should shoot you skyward. Maintain your ball form and smash into the six tar drums around town... Gilda and Derpy will make sure you know where they're located."

Murray seemed happy to be of some help to them, even declaring that his Guru would be okay with him using his teachings in such a way, before he tucked into his ball form and rolled into the pipe, where it shot him into the air and the sisters flew around to make sure that he knew where each of the targets were located. As the two of them guided Murray to his targets, since he had left his binocucom with the rest of his gear when he left the gang, they both noticed that their friend went out of his way to avoid drawing attention to himself and avoided doing damage to the guards that were in the areas that the tar drums were located in. When the noise he was making drew too much attention he slipped out of his ball form and hid for a few moments, allowing the girls to observe their foes until it was safe for him to move again, and then he was on his way once more, bouncing off the ground and smashing the tar drums that Bentley wanted him to smash apart. It took about ten minutes for Murray and the girls to smash through the targets, even with hiding for a few seconds, but in the end he was able to fulfill the mission Bentley had asked of him and, sadly, he had to go back to his meditation while he waited for the water to be purified.

Once the two of them returned to the safe house, and informed the gang of Murray's success, Bentley had them follow him towards a store that sold fireworks, especially ones for Carnival, and revealed that it was his base of operations for the next mission, taking out all of Octavio's signs. Clockwerk flew along with them, just in case there was something that they needed help with, though both Derpy and Gilda knew that the ancient owl preferred to spend his time around Bentley, because he had to see him as a friend and not someone that was as smart as he was. When they arrived the girls found that the two geniuses had cobbled together some powerful explosives, one to take care of the nearby anchor and a second one to take care of one that was near the clock tower, and that all included a third explosive to take out the sign on the tower itself, in case neither of the girls wanted to expand their energy and smash it themselves. The instant they arrived at their destination Derpy was the first one to receive an explosive, where she opened her wings and carried it over to the anchor that was her target, which she destroyed seconds later and sent the balloon that was attached to it... to which she landed on a roof top to watch it sore into the air before tearing itself apart, though she didn't head back to the shop as Gilda flew out carrying the second charge.

Bentley's plan was to use the gases inside the balloon to burn down the sign on the clock tower, which was why he gave that one to Gilda, since she could control the wind and was able to make sure the breeze that Bentley wanted was still flowing when the balloon made contact, burning away the sign while not even harming the tower itself, which would have reflected poorly on them if Judy or the task force caught them burning a tower down. Of course that was followed by the sound of someone attacking the door of the stand that Bentley had taken over, though as the sisters flew back to help him out, however, they heard the sound of Clockwerk screeching and Octavio, apparently not liking the sound at all, was seen running away from the stand, where the sisters found that Bentley was safe and Clockwerk was staring at the door that their target had tried to break down.

"What happened here?" Gilda asked, as while she could guess what had happened here, based on the mess that was around them and the fact that Octavio had fled from the scene, she and Derpy were interested in hearing what actually occurred before they went back to the safe house.

Octavio tried to kidnap Bentley while you two were gone, as he thought it was only the three of you, Clockwerk replied, as it had been a long time since he had intentionally driven someone off like that, especially someone that had been his target, but he knew that they'd get Octavio soon enough, The screech you heard, and didn't run away from, is something I developed after watching one of Sly's ancestors, one that used an opera house as his base of operations, and intended to use to stun him during my plot to bring him down, though, as you no doubt know, his ancestor foiled me and I was sent back to the drawing board. For someone like Octavio the screech made him back off and run away, though he knows that we're here and he's waiting for us to do something... so we'll have to be extra careful when it comes time for us to pull off the operation.

Gilda and Derpy smiled, as saving one of Sly's friends from their foe was another step in the right direction, as they were definitely convinced that he was changing for the better, though at the same time they had to wonder what would have to happen for Sly to start trusting the owl... but they pushed that to the back of their minds as they headed back to the safe house, as there was one more thing they needed to do before they started the operation, and they were sure that everyone was eager to bring an end to Octavio's terrible schemes.