Fragments of a Broken Timeline [Book 3]

Ch.19 Unexpected Ties

"Sly, we need to figure out what is going on around here." Bentley informed Sly. "Do you see that crack in the wall just over there?"

"Yeah, I see it." Sly nodded.

"Well, you can probably use that as your point of entry, but just make sure you keep a low profile until we know what's going on."

"I hear ya, pal, I'm on the case." Sly said before disconnecting.

However, as Sly was getting ready to make his way toward the large crack in the wall, he paused, his ears drooping a bit. Rae... Sly quickly shook his head. No, you can't go thinking about her, not right now, I have to focus on my mission. I can worry about her later...

With that thought in mind, Sly made quick work of heading for his make-shift entrance, slipping in through the large crack. Once through, however, Sly was faced with a large pool of tar before him. He cringed a bit in disgust, especially when he saw large bubbles of tar beginning to rise, only to pop at a certain height. "Ugh... I'm getting Venice flashbacks just looking at all this tar..." He grumbled. "Well, whatever, I've gotta get past it regardless..."

After drawing in a breath, Sly began to make his way across the tar, using some stilagmytes for his footing as he made his way across before carefully slipping into a small opening in an ice wall, squeezing his way through. However, just as Sly was passing by an opening, though barred up by some old bones, he couldn't help but overhear some mammoths talking amongst themselves

"I know! I heard when Joe messed up, the boss turned him into a coat for that Le Paradox guy!"

"Yeah, that Le Paradox is bad news... I heard last time he was here, he yanked this one guy's tusks, just for fun!"

"Ouch! Yeah, good luck talking to the ladies without any tusks..."

Sly just frowned as he continued on his way. Le Paradox... Carmelita mentioned him back in the old west after Kid had rescued her... That guy just seems like bad news, especially now with time travel getting involved... We've gotta put a stop to this guy before he messes with history to the point where we can't fix it.

Once Sly had crawled out of the small opening, he stretched his body before giving the area a quick scan. He noticed the patrolling guards before be glanced up, only to find he now had a means of bypassing all the guards without getting caught, by simply taking the high road. The raccoon smirked for a moment before climbing up a nearby pole, only to leap onto a vine, which he could use to walk across. Once across, Sly hooked his cane onto a large ring, though frowned at the distance between the ring he was on and the next vine he could use to walk across. The raccoon began to use his body weight to swing himself back and forth, trying to gain as much momentum as he could before unhooking his cane and making the leap. However, Sly's heart dropped into his stomach when he found he was just barely short, realizing he was going to fall right in the line of sight of the guards. Sly knew he messed up big time, ready to go into an all-out brawl with these thugs, only to suddenly grunt when he felt a yank on the back of his shirt. Slowly, Sly turned his gaze, only for his eyes to widen a bit when he saw none other than the vixen herself, glaring down at him.

"R...Rae?" Sly questioned, though hesitantly.

The fox sighed, using her cane to toss Sly forward as he grabbed onto the nearby vine, quickly climbing on top with a sigh of relief. "Thanks for that... You seriously saved me there..."