Suffice to say that the gang was happy to have another member on board, even if he was going to be partaking in the missions leading up to the assault on Kaine Island, though they did take a moment to enjoy the fact that they had purified the area and driven out the miners. The Guru was happy as well, especially since the curse of the Mask of Dark Earth had been lifted at long last, and he spent some of his time conversing with the Dreamtime Spirits so he could understand what had happened and, when asked by Gilda and Derpy, revealed that the fight had been over some girl. The gang found that things apparently haven't changed since the old days, in terms of what caused friends, who apparently were as tight as brothers, to attack each other, only these days doing something like that tended to land someone in jail, though while there might be more to the story they decided to let him keep it to himself. Despite that fact the gang enjoyed the rest of the time they spent in the Outback, since now they could rest and relax for some time, before the gang headed out with their newest member and headed back to civilization.
Some of the gang worried that getting the Guru through the airports would have been hard, but in reality they were able to get him through all the obstacles that were in their way, onto the plane itself, and then deboarded the plane in the Paris airport without anything happening, to which they headed out and started the trek back to their main hideout so they could rest and continue what they had been doing before they headed out for the Outback.
When they got back to Paris, however, the gang found that Bentley and Clockwerk returned to their latest obsession, because ever since they scouted out Kaine Island they would spent a few hours every night going over the blueprints to Dr. M's fortress, looking for a way to get into the Cooper Vault. Both of them soon came to the conclusion that there was no way inside unless the gang picked up a dedicated RC Specialist: an expert who had mechanical and piloting skills far exceeding Bentley's own skills, especially since Clockwerk didn't have the skills either. Fortunately, between the two of them, it only took them a few days of searching techy chat rooms before they finally found someone who could keep up with them intellectually: a gearhead genius out of Holland named Penelope. She politely declined our invitation to join the team, saying she only works for 'the best', which apparently was her current boss, the Black Baron, a bigtime dogfighting champ up there in Holland. He's so good that he's even set up an international competition called ACES to attract worthy opponents, to which Carmelita reminded them that, when she was being fired, she heard that Muggshot was supposed to have gone into the ACES competition.
At first the decline sent Bentley and Clockwerk into finding someone, anyone, that would be able to match the skills that they had found when they discovered Penelope, but not a few days later she actually contacted them and sent them a counteroffer to what Bentley had sent her. If the gang could manage to beat the Black Baron at his own game, then she'd know were weren't just a pack of jokers and therefore worth her time, which was an interesting challenge that none of them had even considered before she made the counteroffer. So, the gang got busy the moment the counteroffer was made, as Bentley and Clockwerk oversaw the construction of two planes, as they knew that there was no way that Carmelita would let Sly fly alone, and the gang worked together to put the two planes together. They were going to prove to this Penelope that the Cooper Gang was up for the challenge, even if they were making parts of it up as they went along, and, once the planes were ready to go, the gang headed out for Holland to attend the competition.
When they arrived in Holland, and safely stored the planes in the hanger that Bentley was already installing security measures in, the gang made their way toward the hotel that they would be staying in, more accurately the large room that they would be residing in for their stay in Holland... and, not even a few minutes after their arrival, Sly and Carmelita slipped into their pilot uniforms and walked out the door, as there was information that they needed and the only way they were going to get it was by investigating the area.
"If we're going to succeed in this year's ACES Competition, we'll need to know who we're flying against." Bentley informed them, speaking to them through their binocucoms as they surveyed the teams that had gathered in the lobby area below where the rooms were located, even though Carmelita spotted Muggshot minding his own business.
"What? They keep the flight roster a secret?" Sly asked, as that sounded weird, because he thought that the teams would want to know who they were going to be flying against, but, at the same time, he had the feeling that Bentley was going to tell him why this was a thing to begin with.
"Correct." Bentley said, though he was happy to see that Sly and Carmelita, as he could see her nodding her head as she studied Muggshot, understood what he was saying, before focusing on what he was going to tell them, "In years past, competitors would go out at night and sabotage each other's planes, in preparation for the next day's dogfight."
"Now it makes sense." Carmelita spoke up, as she spent a few seconds thinking about it and understood why this was a thing, especially when it was clear that the Black Baron wanted this to be a fair competition, "So now they keep the line-up a secret, and no one knows who to mess with."
"Precisely." Bentley replied, showing that he was glad that he didn't have to explain everything to the two of them, before he focused on what he was going to tell them, "Look Sly, Carmelita, you both are good pilots, but we've only got two planes, and you'll be up there against dozens of bogeys!"
"You know, normally I'd makes some sarcastic remark about how overwhelmed I am by your confidence in us," Sly said, as that was what he would have done in the past, because it was fun making those type of remarks to Bentely since he had some interesting reactions to his words, before he focused on the task at hand, "but those are some grim odds, and well you know, we're always up for some sabotage!"
"Glad to hear it." Bentley replied, though at the same time he knew that Carmelita might not like the idea of sabotage, but, from the looks she was giving him, it seemed like she had fully embraced the role of a thief and understood what Sly was talking about, "Now the roster is kept secret from the pilots, but not from the event staff."
"So, do we have a mole on the inside?" Carmelita asked, because in all honesty she didn't see anyone that might be on their side, though as she said that she spotted a familiar face in the background, as one of the Klaww Gang members had come to the competition and appeared to be working here part time.
"Our 'friend' Dimitri has been hired to give 'color commentary' during the dogfights." Bentley answered, to which they both focused on the person in question, who had no customers at the moment, but that meant that they'd have an easier time talking to him if no one was nearby, "He'll know where the roster's hidden. Just casually approach him and talk to him as if you're a pair of pilots, instead of thieves, but be careful... if one of you start a fight with the other pilots, we'll be kicked out of the competition."
"Sure. We all play nice until tomorrow, than we blow each other to bits at three hundred feet." Sly commented, to which both he and Carmelita put away their binocucoms and started to walk down the path that was off on their left, as jumping down into the lobby would attract too much attention and that wasn't something they needed right now.
Fortunately Dimitri, despite working behind a bar, didn't have any patrons at the moment and the staff that he worked with had already collected the drinks he had made, though since it appeared that he was going to be alone for some time the duo approached him, where his eyes locked onto theirs as they sat down in front of him.
"Dimitri, funny seeing you here," Sly said, though at the same time Dimitri picked up a glass and proceeded to fiddle with it, like he was going to make another drink, for one of them, but did so slowly to show others that he was focused on his job and wasn't to be disturbed until the drink was complete, "I never pegged you as a fly boy."
"Like a dance floor with many lights, I have many profiles, dig?" Dimitri stated, speaking to them in the same fashion that he had used when they first encountered each other, though at the same time he didn't sound upset over them taking out his counterfeiting operation and the Clockwerk Tail Feathers that he had stolen, "Don't even try to understand the silky enigma that is Dimitri."
"Bentley seems to think that, as a member of the Black Baron's staff, that you might have a copy of the ACES flight line-up," Carmelita commented, though as she said that she stared at the wall behind Dimitri, making it look like she was interested in the drink when she really wasn't at the moment, "Is that true?"
"And why should I talk to a pair of two-bit, rooty-poot, cracker-boxes like you?" Dimitri replied, once more falling back to the same terms he had used when they had been talking earlier, as he did enjoy calling people by his own names that he had made up, "Question mark in bold... Why?!"
"Because we all know that you wouldn't have bothered to show up if you didn't intent to tell us to begin with," Sly said, as he knew that threatening Dimitri wasn't the way to go about things, nor was threatening to expose him, so going through it this way was the easiest way to get things done, "So, do you have the flight line-up?"
"I know, but to talk is like sitting on electric chair!" Dimitri stated, though at the same time the slight rise in his voice didn't seem to concern the staff around them, showing them that they were used to how he acted already, "The Baron has eyes, eyes and ears, ears and fists! Dimitri will be discovered and the jig is pinched!"
"Come on now Dimitri, a man like you can deal with this Black Baron." Sly replied, though at the same time he knew that since the iguana couldn't deal with his gang that this was pretty much a lie, but he noticed the perk of Dimitri's ears and knew that he was on the right track, "You've got the best fashion sense of anyone I know."
"Le Fashion... style?" Dimitri said, seemly confused at first, as he wasn't expecting Sly to say something like that at all, and Carmelita only knew that he had said it so they could get moving before someone spotted them, before his mood improved instantly, "You... You're right! If I can out dress him I can certainly outsmart him. All is told through clothes. Okay, I'll talk of flight line-up is you agree to owe Dimitri a favor... which I will collect in a few months time. Oh, this is no small time favor like: 'will you water my fish or feed my plants'. This is old school mafia, blood-pact, like movies... big time."
Carmelita and Sly glanced at each other for a moment, as they weren't exactly sure that this was a good idea, as there was a number of things that Dimitri could do when he called in this favor he wanted, potentially even damage the Cooper Gang's reputation in the process if he wanted, but since they needed Penelope's help to get into the Vault they really had no choice in the matter, not if they wanted to win the ACES Competition and enlist her help.
"Okay then Dimitri," Carmelita said, as she knew that Sly was okay with this, otherwise he would have said something, to which the two of them focused on the person they were talking to as she prepared to give him what he wanted, "hook us up with the flight roster and we'll owe you one."
"The bargain, she is struck!" Dimitri replied, a look of happiness appearing on his face for a moment, showing that he was pleased to have the assistance of the Cooper Gang, even if they might not want to offer it to him, before he focused on what they wanted from him, "To find flight roster, look behind one of the tacky paintings in Black Baron's air hanger. It's hidden in a secret safe... Stand cool, here comes Big Cheese!"
Sly and Carmelita turned around in their seats, exactly at the same time as many of the other pilots turned to face the entrance area of the hotel, and found a short man, who was wearing a large dark blue coat with gold buttons, a red scarf, black breeches, black boots, red gloves, a leather aviator cap and large goggles, and that the man also had a large black mustache... but, despite the fact that they couldn't tell what species the person was, both of them realized that they were staring at the Black Baron, the person they came to beat.
"I bid you all a most flamboyant welcome, my esteemed comrades of the skies." the Black Baron said, surprising the duo with the fact that he seemed to have a British accent, though at the same time they made sure they were listening to what he said, as he might have information that was critical to their operation, "Welcome, WELCOME, to another year of the ACES Competition. We've got teams here from across the globe: Canada, Belgium, Ecuador, Iceland, Korea, and many, many more! Not the least of which is last year's deadly runner-up, Team Muggshot!"
"This time we're going to drill you jokers full of holes!" Muggshot stated, though his tone revealed that he was annoyed with having lost the previous year, but that was common since it appeared that the Black Baron won ever year since his first victory, something the gang was aiming to beat.
"Now, we all know that in years past some teams have engaged in a little good natured late night hi-jinx." the Black Baron continued, no doubt expecting that sort of reaction from Muggshot, which only showed that he had planned all this out and the speech likely included another break or two for what was coming next.
It was in that moment that Sly and Carmelita learned of the various sabotages that had been used in the previous years that this competition had been going on: one team stealing another team's parachutes, another sawed off the landing gear of a different team's planes, and even one team putting rat poison in another team's coffee machine. The both knew that Bentley already had some ideas in mind, and this might give some fuel to the ideas that he was already thinking about, but they kept silent as they waited for the Black Baron to wrap things up.
"Yes, yes, that was so VERY funny, but no more!" the Black Baron said, revealing that he let them talk for a few moments to give the other teams an idea of what happened in the past, if they were new to the competition, before moving onto the topic he wanted to talk about at last, "You know the rules, no one, absolutely NO ONE is to leave the hotel after sunset. If my guards catch you outside they will beat you to within an inch of your life. No EXCEPTIONS! This WILL BE a fair competition."
Sly and Carmelita paid attention to the other pilots, some of which had scars to prove that the Black Baron wasn't kidding about his guards, but then again those same guards hadn't been trained to find any thieves like them, meaning that they still had the upper hand. The two of them waited for the Black Baron to leave the hotel, and for Bentley to tell them that he was out of the area around the hotel, before they got moving, though Carmelita put down some coins in front of Dimitri and accepted the drink that he had made, just to make sure that no one thought that anything had happened, but made sure to throw it away and leave the empty glass on a table as they walked outside. Once they were back outside the hotel building them quickly made their way back up to the room that the gang was staying in and headed inside, from the outside door that Murray opened, before they emerged a few minutes later in their thief attire and started the trek to the keep that served as the Black Baron's base of operations... making sure to avoid the hare, ram, and pig guards walking around the area, as well as the large wolf that was prowling the grounds, as they did that.
It didn't take the two of them long to reach the keep, finding that since the drawbridge was up that Bentley would have a hard time getting into the hanger, to which they followed the path that took them around the side and the exterior of the structure, pausing only when they reached the area where the Black Baron was walking around to avoid being seen, before they reached the roof area as Bentley, with a miniature Clockwerk on his shoulder, rolled into the area in front of the keep. Since it appeared that their friend was unable to get up here, as the switch they were looking for wasn't up here, Sly headed over to one of the medieval rock throwers and knocked it into the air, where it landed on the ground near him, giving him a way into the hanger, and the reason Clockwerk didn't transform was because their enemy was nearby and the sounds might attract him. From there Sly and Carmelita stood off to the side as Bentley headed into the hanger with his companion, allowing them a moment to enjoy the night sky, before they returned a few minutes later with the flight roster that they had been searching for... to which they headed back to the safe house so they could prepare for tomorrow's fight by sabotaging their opponents and increasing their chances of success.
Upon returning to the safe house, and giving Bentley a few minutes to go over the flight roster, where he discovered that Sly and Carmelita's opponents were Team Belgium and Team Iceland, both with fifteen planes as opposed to their two planes, and he already had a plan in mind. Murray and Diz were going to go through the sewers beneath town to get into the hotel and steal one of Team Iceland's viking helmets, something that they would place in Team Belgium's hanger, after they vandalized one of the second team's planes to frame them for the deed. Directly after that Murray would return to the hotel and help Gilda in retrieving one of Team Belgium's monogramed handkerchiefs, which they would place in the safe after the Guru assisted them in breaking into Team Iceland's supply truck that was carrying their lucky ice sculpture, to frame them for the deed. While they were doing that he and Clockwerk would be staying at the hanger with Derpy and Carmelita, just in the off chance that Muggshot realized that they were here and wanted to take revenge for Mesa City, which would give him the opportunity to test the hanger defenses if he was correct.
Not a few minutes after the plan was laid out in front of them Murray and Diz moved out for the sewer, though as each of them moved into position for their own missions they heard the sound of Murray being extremely happy about owing a small boat through the sewer. The reason for going through the sewer, as Bentley explained, was because if they forced the lock outside Team Iceland's room the overall plan would fail, as that would leave behind some evidence that their team was innocent of the crimes they would be accused of, and Sly agreed with his plan. While Murray and Diz were doing that, however, Bentley had the Guru grab the minds of the nearby guards and used them to ram into the back of the armored truck that held the safe that the ice sculpture was resting in, preparing it for when Murray was done with his first mission and found the time to make one of the Team Belgium flyers laugh, the perfect opportunity for Gilda to sneak away with the handkerchief that they were after. Sly, being given some time off this time around so he and Carmelita could conserve their energy for the semi-finals, observed the area as Murray and Diz came out of the sewer with the viking helmet, though as Diz hid the boat in a safe area, as he felt that they might need it later, before Murray headed into Team Belgium's hanger and vandalized the plane in question... before heading back over to the hotel, slipped into his pilot disguise, and could be heard approaching one of the Belgium flyers and attempted to get him to laugh.
Fortunately Gilda was able to get the item in question easily, as Murray decided to try and eat his fist and got his fist 'stuck' in his mouth, though once the handkerchief was claimed she headed outside as the Guru finished off the truck's defenses, opening the top of it so she could drop in from above... and, not a few seconds later, she flew off with the ice sculpture, indicating that she had placed the handkerchief in the safe and that Team Iceland would find that their prized item was gone soon enough.
As usual, the Coopers are quite effective at completing their objectives. Clockwerk commented, as he had been sitting in the hanger with Bentley and Carmelita, who were sitting in the part of the hanger where the controls were located, only to observe what the others were doing outside the hanger and watched as they framed both Iceland and Belgium for tomorrow's fight.
"That's one thing we pride ourselves on these days." Bentley said, because at this point in time most of the gang silently recognized the fact that the ancient owl was part of the gang, even if Sly had a hard time even voicing such a thing considering his history with the owl, but he turned towards the computer he was working on, "Clockwerk, Carmelita, I do have some bad news. It appears that Penelope heard a rumor that a rival team might be coming by our hanger to do some damage to our planes, though I don't have to tell you who that team might be."
"Muggshot." Carmelita replied, as he was the only dishonorable person in the entire building, from what she had seen anyway, and knew that he would have noticed her and Sly, meaning that he was coming over here to get some revenge on them for besting him, and in her case arresting him, back in Mesa City, "Well, it's fortunate that Judy heard we were heading to Holland and came to watch us compete, and she also heard a rumor that Muggshot was here... maybe we can use that to our advantage?"
Before anyone could say anything, and reply to Carmelita's suggestion that they take the criminal out of running entirely in some manner, the door of their hanger opened and Muggshot, using his arms to hold the halves of the doors open, appeared before them, to which Carmelita turned towards him as Clockwerk sighed.
"Greetings, trogoladites!" Muggshot said, his tone revealing that he was actually pleased to have spotted Sly and Carmelita earlier, when they were talking to Dimitri, as now he could release his stress from what happened the last time they saw each other, "Didn't think I'd forget about Mesa City, didn't ya? I'd figured you jerks let me smash up your aeroplanes and we're even."
Ah Muggshot, the muscle of the Fiendish Five, we meet again. Clockwerk stated, to which he turned around and faced the person that had once been one of his underlings, as he never considered the other members of the Fiendish Five as his equals, though he could tell that the man was confused for a moment.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Muggshot asked, though at the same time he was planning on smashing the planes, beat up whoever got in his way, and then leave so he could watch as the Coopers failed when it was time for them to take to the skies.
So, you have forgotten me over these last three years. Clockwerk said, to which he engaged his systems and was glad that the planes were some distance away from where he was standing, as the hanger had more than enough room for him to transform without damaging one of the two planes, though that was followed by his form expanding as a look of fear appeared in Muggshot's eyes, something that he had seen the last time they spoke to each other, Allow me to remind you. I. AM. CLOCKWERK!
"I... I h... heard you was dead!" Muggshot stated, but this time around Carmelita and Bentley could tell that the former member of the Fiendish Five was terrified, reminding them that the ancient owl that remained in his miniature form was quite terrifying when he wanted to be and inspired fear in those that were his enemies.
You would be wrong. Clockwerk stated, to which he took a single step forward and glared at Muggshot, finding it extremely easy to return to his menacing look that he had used for many years, and knew that his foe would run if he did anything, Now get out of here... before I change from hunting the Coopers to hunting you!
Muggshot backed off and let the doors close, as if he was following Clockwerk's desire, only for enemies to appear in the sewers, thus giving Bentley and Carmelita a chance to use the defenses to take care of them as Clockwerk stood guard over the sewer entrance that was placed in their hanger, just like all the hangers in the area. The two of them, each using one of the screens in front of them, were able to deal with the foes that were coming at them until Bentley discovered that their enemy had decided to go one step further and bribe some of the Black Baron's guards to assist him in taking out the Cooper Gang before they had a chance to take to the skies. Since they appeared to be coming with their explosives, and some tanks, Bentley got on the line with Penelope, who was pissed off when she heard that some of the Black Baron's workers turned traitor and were coming to attack the gang... only for the three of them to watch as she used her own RC Chopper to fly through the air and yank the guards into the air, knocking them out in the process, as well as destroy the tanks at the same time.
When the enemy forces stopped coming the gang knew that they, with Penelope's help, had scared them off and that they wouldn't be coming back, not after those that surprised were fired by the Black Baron, providing that their identities were discovered, but Carmelita didn't focus on that... as when Sly arrived they would suit up and wait for the call to take to the field, and then they'd claim victory in the semi-final match with ease.