Fragments of a Broken Timeline [Book 3]

Ch.25 Juggling Act

"Alright, so it seems like Galleth and Gwen are being held somewhere inside those circus tents. Sly, I've spotted a small opening at the top of that far tent, but what I don't see is how you're going to get up there." Bentley said as he contacted Sly in his binocucom.

"Ahh, the circus! I could've been the greatest trapeze artist!" Sly commented.

"Uh-huh, sure. Anyway, the tent--"

"And with your shell, you'd be a natural for the guy they shoot out of cannon every night!" Sly cut Bentley off.

"Right, cannons... Look, you better go check out that tower; it's a good vantage point, and we can assess the situation from there." Bentley said before disconnecting.

After Sly tucked his binocucom away in his pouch, he turned toward the tower he was supposed to go climb, but before he could even move, he heard a familiar voice gripe. "Ugh... God, I feel so ridiculous in this thing..."

"Huh?" Sly glanced over, only for his jaw to practically drop to the floor as he saw Rae approaching, though she wasn't dressed in her normal outfit. Rather, she looked similar to that of a genderbent Robin Hood! "Whoa, Rae?! What's up with the outfit?" Sly chuckled.

Rae frowned. "Don't mock me... And it wasn't my idea. Bentley told me to put this on, and frankly, I feel very ridiculous wearing this silly getup... I look like freaking Robin Hood..."

Sly chuckled. "I think it looks cute."

Rae rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Yeah, you would... And speaking of, why aren't you wearing yours, hm?"

"Wait, I'm supposed to wear that?" Sly pointed to Rae's outfit.

The fox sighed irritably. "Yes, you dunce... Bentley made one for you as well, and it should be contained in the device he gave to you before you left."

Sly reached for his pouch to pull out a small cube. "Oh, you mean this thing?"

"Yes." Rae gestured.

Sly pressed the button on the cube, and sure enough, his very own Robin Hood costume popped out in replacement of his thief outfit. The raccoon glanced down at himself, chuckling a bit out of amusement. "Hey, this is actually pretty cool!"

Rae sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, uh-huh..." She brushed him off, heading for the tower Sly was supposed to be climbing up.

Sly began to climb up the tower, following after Rae, and upon reaching a nearby platform, Rae paused. Just as Sly jumped up to join her, she crouched down next to a wooden bucket full of rope and arrows. Sly cautiously approached Rae, leaning over a bit just as she picked up one of the arrows in the bucket. "Something up?" Sly asked.

"Just wondering why there's a bucket full of rope and arrows is all..." Rae said aloud.

Sly glanced up, only to notice a nearby target just off to the right as he tapped Rae on the shoulder. "Hey, Rae, look there."

"Hm?" She perked up, lifting her gaze to see where Sly was pointing, only to see the target he was indicating towards, which is when the pieces suddenly fell into place. "Oh, I see now..." Rae said as she stood back up, taking the rope and one of the arrows and tying it to the end of the arrow.

With that done, Rae strapped her cane to her hip before grabbing the bow attached to her back as she pulled the wire back with the arrow at hand. Rae drew in a breath to calm herself, only to release the wire to send the arrow flying, hitting the center of the target. "Bullseye! Nice shot, Rae!" Sly praised.