[In my Penelope isn't actually a traitor AU]
Sly paused in his endless wandering, a familiar shape sat curled up on the hillside, their head buried in their arms and their tail curled around them.
He stepped closer, recognizing them immediately, "Penelope...?"
The mouse jumped, her head whipping back to see him, "Sly?! How- why- What are you doing here?!"
"What are you doing here?" He lifted his cane, unsure how to feel, "You're not trying to take over this time too, are you?"
"No!" She nearly yelled, practically flying to her feet, "I didn't want to do any of that! I didn't..." She fell back to the ground, "I wasn't myself, I... He said nothing would happen to you guys, that Bentley would be safe... If I just did what he asked..."
Sly almost didn't want to believe, and yet, she looked so heartbroken, he couldn't help but be reminded of Bentley. He sat down in front of her, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Penelope, what exactly happened back there?" He asked, looking serious but worried.
"I dunno... I was kidnapped, La Paradox wanted my help, really he wanted Bentley's blueprints but he was too stupid to ever make them himself. He never told me what he was planning to do, but he said he knew where you, Bentley, and Murray all were and.." She rubbed her eyes, "I was scared, I didn't want anything to happen to you guys. But the more I worked under him, the worse it got," Penelope glared at the ground, "until next thing I know! I'm in some stupid mech! In a completely different time! With no way to get back! Unless I do his dirty work!" She slammed her fist into the ground, gritting her teeth.
Sly leaned back in surprise, "After we fought your mech, where'd you go?"
"Got surrounded by his goons, he sent me here to get me out of his hair. Guess he knew that if I joined you guys, I'd be able to get my revenge." She shrugged, "Been laying low in this time ever since. Why are you here?"
"La Paradox played dirty. To no surprise." Sly rested his chin in his hand with a grumble, "His time machine blew up and I was caught in the blast, now I'm here."
For a long moment, the pair was silent, it was nice to see a friend, but they were still stuck. Both of them felt hopeless, but there was someone they wanted, no had, to get home too.
Sly shook his head, "No, we're not gonna wallow here!" He took hold of his cane and pushed himself to his feet, "We're gonna find a way to either get our friend's attention in present time, or get ourselves back there!"
Slowly Penelope stood, "Can we really?"
"Doesn't matter if we can, we have to!" Sly grabbed his shoulder, "Penelope, you're a genius, I know you can rebuild that machine, and I can get you anything you need for it. No matter how long it takes, we're getting home!"
For a second, she looked excited, but her face soon fell again, "Do I even have a place with you guys back home?"
Sly looked her dead in the eyes, "I'll make sure you do. We'll clear your name, I swear to it." He then smiled holding a fist up to her, "We're a small team, but we've got this!"
"Yeah..!" She bumped his fist with her own, "We got this!"