When we arrived in the prehistoric era, we quickly discovered that we were in a vast, snowy landscape. T-Bone brought us in for landing as quickly as possible, since he knew from experience that icy environments did a number on the Turbokat's engines, and if he stayed in the air for too long we'd be coming in much harder and without control.
Unfortunately, the van wasn't in much better shape. The brakes failing before had caused the engine to drastically overheat, and plunging into deep cold immediately after had caused some serious damage to the metal. It would need a complete retrofit if we were to get it running again...and it had to be running to get the time machine spinning. This left us pushing van and jet through the snow while trying not to draw the attention of passing pterodactyl...and hoping nothing worse showed up.
That wasn't the worst of it, unfortunately. Passing so rapidly between 1800s, modern era, and prehistoria had overloaded the communication spell linking us to Felicia, so we couldn't even get any advice from the present. This was going to be rough...especially with Le Paradox able to move freely through time with his own time machine.
As we laid out our problems, we all got a surprise...
"Solution!" Deik-Beck suddenly piped up as Bentley and Razor laid out the problems facing the Turbokat and the van.
"Oh?" Murray asked excitedly. "You have an answer?"
"Van and jet need metal!" Deik-Beck declared. "Deik-Beck metal! Use Deik-Beck!"
"What?" Coco demanded in shock. "But...but if we did that, you'd die!"
"But you live," Deik-Beck pointed out helpfully. "Deik-Beck...grateful for everything. Ready to...sacrifice."
"No Deik-Beck," Sly stated flatly before anyone else could speak. "We aren't going to sacrifice a friend to save ourselves. That's not how we do things."
Deik-Beck stared at Sly for a time, clicking oddly. "Sly...see Deik-Beck...friend? But Deik-Beck...Clockwerk-"
"You may have been made by Clockwerk," Sly interrupted, "and your purpose may have been evil originally...but you've proven yourself a loyal friend...to Coco and all of us. And you've proven yourself good."
The tiny metal crab shook violently. "Deik-Beck...no tear ducts..."
Coco pulled her little friend into a comforting hug.
After we got our emotions under control, Dad decided to scout out the area, to try and figure out where and when we were, and what resources were available. This included tracking down a couple of pieces of the Time Drive that went flying when the overheat-supercool of the engine fed back into it. Despite Uncle T-Bone's eagerness to rumble, the goal of this part of the mission was reconnaissance only. He was just to take photos of their locations...and a structure higher up the mountain that definitely did not belong in this time period.
After getting those photos, Dad also managed to get a picture of yet another criminal from modern times, a gaudily dressed black bear artist known as The Grizz. Mom was able to give us the full low down on him from her memory of his Interpol file. An art thief who had been chewed up and spat out by the art world's fads, he was one of Mom's biggest targets...but much like the other 'generals' we'd encountered on this mission, he'd vanished mysteriously before he could be arrested.
We still didn't know what his plan was...so Deik-Beck and I slipped into his 'fortress tower' through a crack in the ice to investigate.
Coco smiled as she crawled through the narrow ice tunnels that were the start of the passage Sly had found for her to investigate from. They were the perfect size for her, as she naturally walked on all fours anyway and barely had to duck. Deik-Beck followed readily along behind her, snapping pictures of anything he was able to see through cracks in the wall and recording conversations...including one from one of the Wooly Mammoths working for The Grizz regarding one of their number being 'turned into a coat for that Le Paradox guy' for messing up. Coco did her best to push that idea from her mind, not even wanting to think about it.
Seeing several guards at the other end of the tunnel, Coco reached for her needles to knock them out, only to feel Deik-Beck's claw grip her hoof. "Older metabolism," Deik-Beck whispered. "Different glands. Need different toxins for needles."
Coco blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought about that part of time travel. "Thanks for the reminder," she whispered as she left the needles where they were. "Guess we have to go around instead of through."
Thankfully the path around was relatively easy for her to reach, as it involved a great deal of rock and ice climbing...a skill she still had mastered from the Lumberjack Games with Jean Bison. While the memories of the Games themselves were fun, those that led up to and surrounded them were far less so. She quickly pushed the recollections from her mind as she found her way to a large volcanic area, with several platforms in and over the lava...with some creature strapped down to the central platform with mammoths surrounding him.
"Who's that?" Coco asked curiously, trying to get a clearer look.
Deik-Beck zoomed in with his optics. "Large body. Dark fur. Raccoon tail. Spear with...hook blade?"
"Holy missing link, Deik-Beck!" Coco gasped out. "That sounds like a prehistoric Cooper cane...which means that's a Prehistoric Cooper! We need to rescue him!"
Deik-Beck quickly scanned their surroundings to come up with a plan. "Tiger skin!" he indicated, pointing towards a distant bedroom. "Lava! Dread Pirate Roberts!"
Coco grinned, quickly catching the idea. "Hope we don't spook the Cooper too much."
A quick race over frozen walls revealed that The Grizz had the key to the bedroom, which Coco easily filched with him none the wiser. Unfortunately, by the time they made it back to the lava pool, The Grizz had already taken the cave-raccoon's spear and left with it. "We'll just have to get it back," she murmured thoughtfully. "For now..." She tossed the tiger skin over Deik-Beck. "Get to it."
Deik-Beck extended his claws into the skin to animate the arms as he turned his legs into propellers to levitate himself into the air. As he floated over towards the central panel - his optics glowing red under the tiger skin like the eyes of a hungry ghost - Coco used her magic to make the lava rise in unnatural plumes around the central platform. The guards took one look at the 'angry spirit' and bolted as fast as they could.
Much to Coco's surprise, once the net was no longer anchored, the ancient Cooper leapt to his feet and...began to applaud? He then proceeded to grunt guturally in a rhythmic manner, definitely speaking some form of dialect.
"Uh...translation?" Coco asked Deik-Beck hopefully.
Deik-Beck beeped a few times, then spoke. "Thanks! Good Show! Nice Flare! Good Scare! Again?"
Coco chuckled ruefully. "Yeah, he's a Cooper alright..."
THA DWEAD PIWATE WOBERTS IS HERE FOR YOU SOOOOOUL
nicely done; also:
remember that whole "nature vs nurture" thing I keep bringing up? seems to me that "nurture" is winning...
meanwhile...
Rarity Wayne/Batmare: Richard, is something wrong?
Richard "Dick" Grayson/Nightwing: I've just got the strangest feeling that someone is ripping me off...
8404528
THA DWEAD PIWATE WOBERTS TAKES NO PRISONERS!!!
Reads the title OH GOD, I HOPE NOT! Reads the chapter, SO FAR SO GOOD!
All I could think of was Fred “ You can wear a 50lb Sledgehammer out on his head and all he gets is a small goose-egg” Flintstone.
why are there over 100 chapter?
8404586
It's a long story?
Sly was definitely getting warmer when finding his ancestor.
Guess Coco's usual needles weren't up to the mammoth task of taking out the guards this time.
8404586
Why WOULDN'T it be over a hundred chapters?
8404586
a story has no real 'limit'; it has as many chapters as it takes to be told. it is up to us to enjoy the ride.
Did he marry to the prehistoric fox also?
Always wondered what he would say when the gang came to his time period. Next chapters are going to be interesting
8404677
Plus these stories cover all the games involved, except DMC: Devil May Cry(#5) in the case of "Dante's Little Apple Surprise ".
8404677
That said, mechanically on this site, there is a hard limit of 1000 chapters. Yes, there is a story on this site that hit that mark and had to continue in a Part 2 fic.
Heehe react to the others, hehehe.
One can only wonder how this Cooper will react to the others, hehehe.
Good show Tat!
hello my name is Cooper you stole my cane prepare to die.
8404556
THERE WILL BE NOOOOO SUWVIVORS!
I saw that Batman reference.
I like the fact that Deik-Beck was literally going to say it was Clockwork but Sly thought it was just a creation of Clockwork and that it was a dear friend. Wonder if they will find Clockwork before he became all metal and insane, and meet his 'future self'.
8404997
Actually during this whole grand escapade Clockwerk has been following them the whole time Vandal Savage style and I'm not talking about the robot, I'm talking about the metal Owl himself. If I remember right, correct me if I'm wrong, in various images of the timeline if one looks they'll find Clockwerk stalking the various Cooper clan members through history. This is important because Clockwerk has been killing Cooper's for centuries possibly sense Pre-history.
Also BOB!
8405015
Didn't need the Bob but okay then.
Nice Princess Bride shout out, can't wait to see how Bob fits in with the rest of the group. Though given his size, can he do a Fastball Special with Coco to fling her to areas out of her reach???
8405015
He hasn't been following them through time. He's immortal and been tracking the family to kill them for centuries.
8404738
Huh, didn't know that.
The current longest story on the site has 931 chapters, but hasn't updated for nearly a year.
The first part with Deik-Beck was so heartwarming.
Also, that Batman reference
We need fanart of Coco wearing Joe's pelt.
That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
8405186
Hence why I said Vandal Savage style. Vandal Savage is an immortal caveman and I was making a comparison.
8405198
Someone hasn't been following Just Essay's Appledashery and Appledashery Vol. Two. Not that I blame you. AppleDash is an acquired taste, and the fic is HUGE!
8406150
I have no opposition whatsoever to AppleDash; one of the first fics I faved on this site was Those Blue Wings.
However, the sheer length of Appledashery is what would put me off reading it.
Edit: And on the subject of length, Austraeoh (the "Rainbow Dash flies east" series) is way longer, with the 9 stories adding up to over 3 million words.
Huh, the game itself never did explain how they understood Bob. I mean, his grunts did sound like words, but I still question it.
I always imagined that Bentley would've made some sort of translation device that hooks on to Bob like a necklace. I also imagined that the necklace has a fault in it that has Bob speak with a different accent and/or in a different language every time he speaks.
Tatsurou, please confirm, does DiekBeck in this story look like he does in this video of Arc the Lad:
8406534
No. He's a metal crab.
8406542
can you provide a image reference of the metal crab please?
8406544
Unfortunately not. I rarely use image references when I write. I generally come up with it in my head and then do my best to describe it.
Hmm...
You know how Clockwerk looks like an owl made of metal? Same thing, but a crab.
8406549
now that i look up how clockwerk looks in the games, he is a lot more dissapointing than the mental image given by your written description of him.
im gonna stick the visual headcanon you inspired, k?
k.
8404738
I am probably going to regret this but could you link the 1000 chapter story? I need something to kill a week... don't ask why
8407311
See this reply: 8406150
8406549
Well done I look forward to more in the future...or is it the past?
8404588
Sly: Give us the cane
Grizz: I have no cane
Coco: Bob tare his arms off
Grizz: Oh you mean this cane
8546229
Inspired much? That was beautiful.