After our break in Monaco, we pursued the lead we had regarding the next Clockwerk part. This led us to India, in pursuit of the Tiger Rajan. He was apparently producing illegal spice of some sort, I wasn't clear on the details. However, our first attempt at getting parts from him apparently had nothing to do with that. He apparently went to great lengths to convince those around him - and himself - of being 'royalty', up to and including the purchase of an 'ancestral palace', where he would be holding a grand ball to show off his acquisition of the Clockwerk wings. Once we reached the area, we began to scout things out to see how we could best approach things.
Of course, for me that meant hunting down the safe for anything useful. Surprisingly enough, it was incredibly useful: blueprints for a melee weapon that induced a confused berserker state in anyone struck, causing them to ignore enemies and attack allies for as long as the effect lasted. Once I brought them back, Uncle Bentley had a surprisingly easy time adapting the design to our canes, giving us an impressive new weapon in our arsenal.
While I was doing that, Dad scoped out the area and found a way into the palace ballroom to take pictures for recon. What he discovered in those pictures caught us off guard, however...
"Mom's at the party?" Coco gasped in shock as the group gathered to go over the research photos.
"Yup," Sly confirmed. "Along with her partner Neyla. And as good as Neyla looked in that gold two piece...that little black dress of Carmelita's..." His tail swished idly as he looked dreamily up at the ceiling. "Oh, what I'd give to spin her around the dance floor tonight..."
"Could we also focus on the two other Klaww Gang members there, Arpeggio and Jean Bison?" Bentley spoke up insistently, gesturing to those pictures. "That's rather significant...not to mention the Contessa, who in the case of this ongoing operation is Carmelita's boss!"
Coco looked at the pictures carefully. Rajan was orange with purple stripes, and about Murray's size. Jean Bison was the same size, though red and bulkier, a buffalo by appearance. Arpeggio was a civilized feral parrot, being the size and shape of wild animals but with the civilized stance of a sophont, riding around inside a motorized cage. The Contessa had pale blue skin on her mamallian upper body, and dark purple chitin over her spider lower body. Coco shivered at the sight, as the figure reminded her far too much of her nightmares of Seft for comfort. Still, as a high ranking Interpol prison warden, she had a great deal of authority here.
The picture of Carmelita showed where Sly's mind had been at when he snapped it, as the angle of the picture highlighted how the fox lady's little black dress molded to her figure, and the way her dark blue hair was done up atop her head before framing her face. To contrast, despite Neyla's outfit being all the more stimulating (according to Murray), the picture was purely professional.
"So what's the plan?" Murray asked curiously. "I mean, we gotta get into the ballroom, get the wings, and get out without getting arrested, right?"
"Why would they arrest us when there are so many other criminals there?" Coco asked curiously. "If we could expose some of that in the ballroom..."
"Such as making Rajan freak out over reports of our antics, leading to him giving orders that get him and his goons arrested?" Sly asked curiously. "We'd need to keep him distracted long enough that he gets all the reports at once..."
Bentley looked over other details he'd found. "If we could get Murray into the palace grounds, he could do the heavy lifting while I activated the electronic winch to get the Wings out of the ballroom...and before that, he could use the armaments already in the grounds to take out the security chopper."
"In that case, I'll go get the drawbridge open," Sly stated, standing up to go.
"Hold on a moment, Daddy!" Coco called out, pulling out a roll of measuring tape. "There's something else I need to do first. Hold still."
Sly froze as Coco started measuring him all over. "Umm...what are you doing?"
"Making you a suit!" Coco explained. "You can swipe an invitation if need be while we're getting inside...and with that and a suit made for you, you can walk right in the front door and put on an impressive dance to capture Rajan's attention. Any wanna-be royal is going to be paying close attention to anything like that."
"You mean I get to dance with Carmelita after all?" Sly asked eagerly, causing Bentley to facepalm. "You're the best, Coco!" Leaning over to ruffle her mane, he leapt out to do his part.
While Dad went to unlock the winch and lower the drawbridge, I worked on his suit. It was the first time I'd made a complete outfit from scratch, but I was confident I knew what I was doing. Having Uncle Murray help me make a raccoonequin that matched Dad's measurements helped me to visualize, and by the time Dad had the drawbridge lowered, the suit was complete and ready for him to wear.
As it turned out, swiping an invitation wasn't necessary. Dad had checked with the door guard, and they would apparently let anyone in...as long as they met the dress code. Thankfully, the suit I'd made him met that dress code, so he'd have no problems getting in once we were ready to set the last part of the plan in motion.
OOH, Spiffy
Tango anyone?
Awwwhahahawww, how nice of Coco! freaking cutie pie!~
Nicely done!
Coco called out, pulling out a role of measuring tape
1. Roll.
Certainly never a Dahl moment with Coco around.
Seems like the king certainly bought his own act.
Sly is gonna be perfectly suited for this job.
Hmmm. So skipping the whole Neyla dance scene eh? That maybe for the best. Don't need Coco throwing sewing needles at Sly.
And so, we hit the chapter whose alternate title could be the story title itself.
7868901 Props for the Dahl pun.
Now we approach the part where, if things don't change (I wouldn't bet on it) Neyla acts to help the gang, then betray them. Ending with Sly in maximum security. The only question remaining: What's going to change, and how much fun are e going to have reading it? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
If this gets up to thieves in time I cant wait to see Tennessee kid's reaction to cocoa
7868904 Yeah, I was wondering how that would work. Also, will Carmelita recognize Sly this time? Unlike how she somehow didn't in the game?
7869318
Considering she and Sly have spent more time together raising Coco, I'd say there's a good chance she'll recognize him.
7869048 Ironically, it won't be Sly who makes the steal this time.
Here's an idea. How about Carmelita actually be in on the little set up. Oh, and don't dance with Neyla. He's pushing his luck even if its just for practice.
7870512 yes, that would be funny as hell when its revealed!
7870588
And if it weren't for the fact that shit hits the fan after the heist in the game...though probably a little more subdued this time due t Carmelita probably not in another anger spell thanks to Sly...I'd even suggest she drags him to her room later. Lol
Best word I've heard all day.
7870045
Considering she's also gotten close enough to recognize him by smell at this point, never mind sight- yeah, I don't think a suit is gonna disguise much.
To be honest, I don't like Rarity's ideas most of the time. So far every pony but Rarity can score points in fashion... whenever she's competing.
Coco be good to her dadeh.