A Duel With A Smelly King
So continues Episode 6 of my Thieves In Time rewrite...
Last time, Penelope decided to try to redeem herself by facing the villain of her story in battle. This time, she actually fights him.
We kick things off in Le Paradox's extravagant throne room, where our villain lounges on his throne, eagerly awaiting the moment he truly becomes king of the world... except he's about to be dethroned. Little does he know that his prized blimp has an irreversible virus loaded on it.
Penelope steps inside, unseen by the would-be king at first. She takes a deep breath, then shows herself to him.
Le Paradox, expecting Sly to try and take his cane back, is very much amused that his chief engineer has come instead. She doesn't look like she wants to bow down to him or beg for mercy.
She wants to fight for control of the blimp, or so she says. (In reality, she's only doing this to subdue him and bring him to Interpol. That's because the blimp is doomed. Not that she's willing to tell him that.) She's also here to get Sly's cane back (which is true).
I should note that removing Sly's cane from the blimp's system will not stop the countdown. Once it starts, it can't stop.
Our villain, thinking a duel will be an amusing way to pass the time, agrees to her terms. He then proceeds to draw his weapon, which he'd been saving for Sly... an electric-powered rapier.
This makes Penelope a bit terrified. That thing could fry her entire nervous system if she's not careful! But no. She's not allowed to run away. If she does, she's not serious about her redemption. She summons every last bit of her courage, draws her weapons, and charges forward, making the first move before Le Paradox can start up his villainous monologue.
Phase 1 (Penelope Vs. Le Paradox)
The opening few seconds of the duel are explosive. Penelope's approach on Le Paradox is very aggressive. Understandable since she believes her very soul is on the line.
For a moment, she can almost hear the cheering crowd of people still watching Le Paradox's coronation parade. Almost as though they're cheering for him to crush this traitorous rodent under his heel.
But Penelope can't think about that right now. If she wants to truly redeem herself like the world's greatest atoners, this is how it has to be done.
Besides, the boys, Carmelita, and the ancestors would be risking their lives if they tried to join in. For a fight that isn’t their responsibility. The only person that needs to be there to fight the villain of this story is her.
Penelope claims first blood. She doesn't slow down to admire her work. She relentlessly tears into Le Paradox, hoping to take him out quickly.
Le Paradox might be a fencer, but a skilled fighter he is not. So he utilizes his words of poison...
At this early stage, the villain's just testing the waters. The first Blade Lock of the duel contains his first taunt...
As Penelope and Le Paradox trade blows, the former starts getting tired. It doesn't help that she got hurt saving Murray's life during the events of Copy Cats...
Le Paradox notices this and suddenly stops the fight. He makes Penelope an offer she can't possibly refuse. He suggests that she should rejoin him as his Queen Of The World... The gang obviously hates her. Why should she keep fighting for them?
Penelope pauses. What if he's right? What if the boys do hate her?
Then she remembers all the evidence against Le Paradox she gathered... In Feudal Japan, where guards kept getting stiffed on the regular. Cotton Mouth Bluff, where Toothpick's goons were planning a mutiny...
She also remembers the kindness the boys showed her over the course of their adventure together...
All this causes her to reject Le Paradox's "generous" offer with violence.
Enraged, Le Paradox starts dishing out even worse taunts.
The more he talks, the more our favorite mouse doubts herself...
Then Le Paradox prepares his next attack. Penelope tries to block him with her wrenches... but her heart isn't in it. He pierces through her defenses, and she goes down.
Penelope's wrenches scatter. One stays near her, while the other slides much farther away.
She stares at the ceiling, fully convinced she deserves to die here...
Meanwhile, Sly, Bentley, Murray, Carmelita, Rioichi, Tennessee, Bob, Sir Galleth, and Salim are all watching this battle unfold from outside the throne room.
A concerned Bentley watches as his girlfriend fights Le Paradox. She's using up too much of her energy too quickly.
Then Le Paradox tries his re-recruitment card... and when Penelope refuses with violence, the crowd goes wild.
It's official. Penelope's redemption attempt was genuine. The boys (especially Bentley) couldn't be more proud of her.
...Then they all watch helplessly as she starts to give up on life. Then she goes down.
Sly can't watch anymore. He dashes to the throne room to save his fallen friend.
Before long, the rest of the gang follows him.
Phase 2 (Sly Crashes The Party)
Penelope lies helpless on the floor. She could grab her remaining wrench and continue fighting. But she doesn't.
Le Paradox circles around her delivering a villainous monologue. Almost pitying the poor girl for failing at her redemption. He even kicks her wrench away to twist the knife further.
But before he can kill Penelope, Sly Cooper enters the chat, reclaiming his cane in the process.
Penelope is stunned. Why did Sly just save her? She's a traitor! She deserves to die...
...But there's no time to discuss ethics, because Le Paradox is still at large. He's ready for his next trick... A time blaster.
Le Paradox decides to test his new toy on one of his statues. Within seconds, it ages away into dust. He then grins with glee at the thought of testing it on live targets...
Imagine if he were to descend down to the streets of Paris with a weapon like that... He could erase anyone he didn't like! The masses would be too scared to do anything other than love their abusive king!
Sly and Penelope can't have that. They prepare themselves for Phase 2...
Le Paradox starts by aiming his new toy at Sly, causing Penelope to run in front of the raccoon.
Knowing full well she could get erased, she takes the blow with her wrenches... but nothing happens to her.
You see, Penelope's Morph Wrenches are made of a powerful fictional alloy. They always remember what their true form is. They can reform faster than Le Paradox's time blaster can wither things away.
Before anything else can happen, Bentley charges in. He's followed by Murray, Carmelita, and Sly's ancestors in that order.
Penelope is the only one who can counter Le Paradox's time blaster. If it manages to hit anyone, they're history.
She doesn't hesitate. She rushes to shield everyone, fully believing they deserve to survive long enough to kick her out when this is all over.
Le Paradox decides to spend this phase trying to turn the rest of the gang against Penelope. Good thing none of them are good listeners, because they don't believe him at all.
Then the villain aims his time blaster at Bentley. The turtle can't get away fast enough! He declares that Penelope is a horrible person unworthy of anyone's love.
Cue Penelope getting to her boyfriend's side just in time with her full Shield Form. She stands strong (despite being exhausted), and manages to knock Le Paradox into his own throne.
And Bentley? He's in awe.
While Le Paradox is recovering, Penelope orders the gang to retreat so she can safely face the villain alone, for she's the only one who can get close to him without turning to dust.
One by one, they all back off... until only Bentley remains.
You'd think this is the part where he begs her not to do this... but he instead gives her the tactical advice she needs to kick Le Paradox's butt. He then wheels away.
Le Paradox, fully believing he must be a god, makes the first move.
The rematch finally begins. Penelope dodges and blocks time blasts as she advances forward.
Our villain, thinking his old tricks from Phase 1 will work again, taunts our heroine... but good thing she stopped listening.
Instead, she delivers him a speech on what she learned about friendship. Even though she believes she doesn't deserve it from anyone.
Listening to Bentley's advice, she locates a weakness in Le Paradox's toy and exploits it.
She doesn't just destroy his toy; she knocks Le Paradox out cold.
Suddenly, the blimp starts violently destroying itself. The chaos from the recent fight caused Penelope's virus to activate prematurely! Meaning she can't stay and drag Le Paradox out. She has to run.
Our ten heroes run back to the van. They all escape safely. And nobody gets lost in Ancient Egypt.
And Penelope? She thinks it's only a matter of time before the boys throw her out...
Next time, Le Paradox gets exactly what he deserves, and Penelope earns a real Golden Ending.