It was only 3 hours later when Salim came back down from the upper floor, looking very well pleased with himself and quite grateful for my 'tonic'...especially as I assured him that - despite what the others thought - it was more in the nature of a long term treatment than a short term solution, and would have an overall improvement on nerve function and blood flow...after which I then explained it in more contemporary terms. The look on Mom's face when Salim clarified that it "would make his scepter younger" was priceless!
I can hardly wait to tell Mrs. Ruby how much mileage I got out of that one recipe.
Once everyone else got over their humor or embarrassment as the case was, we got down to planning how we would deal with the situation we'd been left in here. We needed to rescue Salim's compatriots, thwart Miss Decibel's efforts, and find a way to confront Le Paradox directly. Luckily, Salim still had his Cooper Cane, which would hopefully make all of these much easier.
There were three of Salim's compatriots that we needed to rescue, so we decided to split into three groups in order to retrieve them all at once. We wanted to make sure skills were evenly divided based on what might be needed, which meant we needed someone with muscle, someone who could hack, and someone with thieving skills in each group...and some way for those not in Salim or Dad's group to identify themselves as friends, since they'd recognize the genie/thief outfit Dad would be wearing. Thankfully, Salim was able to pull through there with a special code phrase to identify members of the 40 thieves.
I found it oddly hilarious when I heard what it was.
Salim was sent to the tower where The Panther was being held, as the Cobra Climb technique he'd demonstrated would be most useful for ascending the heights. Bentley would be backing him up remotely from our hideout for any required hacking. Uncles Razor and T-Bone took the task of rescuing The Lion, as that would involve sneaking past several defensive turrets...something they were naturally skilled at from their own city. Penelope was going to back them up with an RC chopper to drop smoke bombs for cover, just in case they needed it.
Uncle Murray, Dad, and I - by process of elimination - would be rescuing The Tiger. This would all prove rather interesting...
Penelope marveled as she watched Razor and T-Bone make their way through the city streets, completely undetected to the turret sensors even without her smoke bomb cover. Their fur color was rather close to the shade of the sand of the streets and the stone of the buildings, and a pair of similar colored robes made them almost invisible when they held completely still. They simply held still in an area until a sensor wasn't pointing in their direction, then moved swiftly across an area until they were about to be detected before seeming to vanish as they froze against walls or the ground. These guys would be scarily effective as thieves, she thought to herself as she watched.
Before long, the pair reached the location where The Lion was being held. T-Bone hefted the door open, letting the pair in. After that, Penelope only had their audio report.
"Looks like the little rat's being mind controlled by some sort of mesmerizing music," T-Bone stated calmly into the comms. "I'm guessing trying to snap him out of it physically would be a bad idea?"
"Definitely," Razor confirmed. "Be patient, T-Bone. I'll have this system hacked in two shakes of this guy's tail."
"He's got a lot of tail to shake-"
"And done."
A new voice, old and querulous, broke in. "What? Who are you? What are you doing here? Where is here?"
"Chill, dude," Razor spoke up quickly. "We're friends. Salim sent us to rescue you."
"How do I know I can trust you?" the old voice - The Lion, presumably - demanded suspiciously.
"Klatu Barata Nicktoons!" T-Bone intoned dramatically. "Ow! What gives, Razor?"
"You are not allowed to hold the Necronomicon," Razor snapped angrily.
"What? I said it right!"
"No, Salim said the phrase is Nikto. Seriously, Day the Earth Stood Still is your favorite movie! How'd you get that wrong?"
"Actually, it's Niktu," The Lion corrected with a chuckle. "But none of us are able to keep that straight, not even Salim. So it's the first two words that are important."
"Well, as long as that means you trust us," T-Bone allowed in relief.
"That depends," The Lion chided. "Did you bring me any Cobra Tails? I'm starving."
Sly, Murray, Coco, and Deik-Beck carefully entered the Taxi Shop. As scans had shown, there were no guards present to prevent the trio from reaching The Tiger. The only real obstacle was a great many traps between themselves and The Tiger, who was plainly visible at the opposite end of the shop sitting on cushions beneath the mesmerizing music from the strange phonograph.
"Looks like a narrow path at the edge over there," Sly pointed out, indicating the far edge of the large chamber.
"Or Uncle Murray could just throw me over with Deik-Beck," Coco pointed out. "Deik-Beck could shut down the machine, and you could signal The Tiger from there."
"I like that plan!" Murray declared happily as he picked Coco up.
"Are you sure you can throw her that far?" Sly asked worriedly. "If she fell short..." He stared worriedly at the spinning buzzsaws and thrusting spears covering the floor.
"The Murray is nothing but muscle!" Murray insisted. "This is nothing!"
"Propellers extended!" Deik-Beck offered helpfully.
Growling, Murray hurled the pair across the room. Deik-Beck did end up needing to activate his propellers...to keep them from hitting the opposite wall. Once they landed, the metal crab hacked the control system for the phonograph, causing it to shut down. As The Tiger came back to his senses, Deik-Beck stashed the device to bring back to Bentley for analysis.
The little rat on the cushions slowly came back to himself, only to blink as he caught sight of Sly. "Salim? Is that you? Did you find the fountain of youth?"
Sly blinked. "Uh, no, I'm not Salim..."
"La-di?" The Tiger gasped. "But you're a young man already? How long have I been trapped in a trance?"
"...not La-di either," Sly corrected.
"Samun?"
"...my name's Sly."
The Tiger tilted his head. "But...you look so much like Salim..."
"An evil wizard is playing games with time," Coco explained. "He has a vendetta against Salim's family. We are from another part of time that he has tampered with, and are here to battle him and stop his work."
"Oh, that makes sense," The Tiger allowed. "Does that mean you can give Salim better tips on the camel races, so he can finally pay me back all the money he owes me?"
"Unlikely," Coco admitted.
"Then what good is time knowledge anyway?" he demanded before hopping down to make his way back to the hideout.
Once everyone was back at the hideout, Bentley was able to analyze and research the devices we brought back, and we were able to formulate the rest of our plans.
You would go back in time but NOT use knowledge of the future to win the lottery? THEN WHAT GOOD IS IT!
... Oh right, the one time I read a story that happened in the time traveler got caught BECAUSE they won the lottery. There goes that.
Got a good chuckle from this one, it's from The Wheel and the Butterfly right?
The Tiger has the right idea, if you can't take advantage from time travel to earn extra cash for the effort what's the point
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Yes, yes it is.
8548142
...as opposed to Back to the Future, which is my own point of reference for such a plot.
8548148
Look on the bright side. Maybe that means you are not destined to earn that cash after all.
I'm getting a very strong feeling Coco is going to get a lot of orders for that tonic when the mega crossover event starts up.
8548142
Don't forget what Biff did when he got access to a time machine in Back to the Future: Part II.
I see what you're doing with the chapter titles, and now the song is stuck in my head.
Hehehehe, quite the chapter this was, and hilarious xD Hahaha, ooooh man...
I love how these go, good work.
First off, Groovy. I agree T-Bone is a lot like Ash, both should be kept away from any eldric horrors.
I thought "Klaatu Barata Nicktu" was from The Evil Dead franchise.
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Don't you even start about destiny in regards to time travel. That way lies a headache.
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Wasn't Ash using the Necronomicon in that movie, though? I thought he was.
Shall we say that Salim has his old Scepter of power again?
Seems one of the members wasn't just Lion in plain sight.
Easy there Tiger, don't want to let that future money go to your head now do you?
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I'm not sure. I've only learned about "Army of Darkness" from playing "Poker Night at the Inventory 2."
Your a bit out of sync with bits
8548342
Your jokes are un-bear-able.
Amusing chapter, I can't wait to see how the encounter with Miss Decibel goes.
Army of Darkness reference and Back to the Future references! So Awesome!
8548851
Not as awesome as leaving the theater after seeing Thor Ragnarok, pausing to learn you can watch Casa Blanca and Back To The Future Part II in the same theatre.
8548342
Imagine if this version of Sly Cooper had some influence on Sly 4. If Jacksepticeye played it...
“Top of the morning to you La-di! My name is Jacksepticeye!”
Did you know the Peddler from the first Disney Aladdin movie was voiced by Robin William? He's actually supposed to be the Genie after being freed, telling the story of his best friend, possibly after Aladdin passed away.
8549374
I did know this, yes.
Thank you for confirming that is was Mrs. Rose who taught Coco that potion...
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The Evil Dead franchise borrowed the line from the black and white movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still".
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Really? I never saw that movie.
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If you have never seen 'The Day The Earth Stood Still', you now have homework! Go to Netflix and find that good ole piece of black & white preachy sci-fi goodness! It has a robot!
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Unfortunately, because of lousy internet area where I live and our budget is extra tight this month, we can't get Netflix.
I did see "The Day the Ed Stood Still" on Ed, Edd, n' Eddy.
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E E & E, nice. Right then, when the internet fails, TO THE LIBRARY! Seriously, if your local library has a DVD section they might have a copy you can borrow!
the first three words are said in Cutie Mark Crusaders Necromancers by Pinkie Pie
8549374
That certainly didn't stick around in the Kingdom Hearts iteration of that world... kind of doubt he'd take the form of the idiot that had the face prior.