I'm back, everyone! This is the final chapter in the 'Finding My Love' series…not that I won't still write FanFics, 'cause I will! Anyway, it's been two years since End of the Search. Carmelita is now a Master Thief along with Sly and the gang, but when the biggest heist they ever attempted goes horribly wrong…what happens? I will not tell!
Disclaimer: I do not own Sly Cooper or related characters. Artemis is me, and I guess I own myself…I think.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What makes us who we become? What steers our destiny towards one path instead of another? Why is it we strive to live and breathe in freedom instead of slavery? What is the difference if we all are mere slaves to the tainted laws of our country? Are we free? Will we ever get to taste actual freedom? No longer bound by limits or restrictions? Is there a way to live safely and peacefully yet at the same time, no longer be bound by the chains of Law? I have tried to come up with a solution for freeing ourselves from the darkness of tainted justice, yet come up with nothing. I have searched far and wide but to no avail. I suppose we will all die without ever tasting real, true freedom.
Carmelita gingerly shut the ancient book, shaking her head. Those were dark times when Otto Van Cooper was around. She looked over at her boyfriend of two years, Sly Cooper, hoping there was a further explanation of why Otto yearned for something he had lost by becoming a thief. Sly was quiet…lost in thought. He knew why Otto Van Cooper was saying this, he just wondered how he was going to tell his love.
"Sly, run this by me again…what does this have to do with the heist you, Bentley and I have been planning?" He looked up into her troubled eyes. He could tell she was slowly piecing this all together. He started the explanation, but found he was at a loss of words. Figuring she knew how to word it better, he turned to Artemis, who had also been helping with the planning of the heist. Artemis looked up at first to Carmelita, then to Sly, then back down to the floor.
"Well…Carm…before I tell you why we're studying this for the heist, I have to tell you why Otto Van Cooper wrote this certain caption in the Thievius Raccoonus. After I tell you that…I think you'll understand better. Okay?" Carmelita nodded. They were all sitting on the floor in a triangle by the fireplace with the Thievius Raccoonus in the center. Artemis took a deep breath and watched as Carmelita understood more and more as the story unfolded…
"It's like this: Way back in 1416, during the War of the Roses, Otto Van Cooper was secretly helping the Lancastrians by stowing away on a Yorkists' ship as it sailed to England. Now, as I'm sure you're aware, The Lancastrians were the French, but Otto was English. This was why they chose him. He could blend in well due to his background. Once the ship reached England, he began to spy on the Rose Crusaders, which was the Yorkists' army at the time. He would send his most trusted friend in England, Yuria Smith, who is related to Bentley in case you didn't already know, back to France with any intelligence on the Rose Crusaders' plans of attack. However, on her final trip back from France, Yuria was captured and tortured until she ratted Otto out. She wasn't a back stabber, so she sent warning to Otto that the Yorkists were coming for him. He salvaged a boat and escaped to France, telling Prince Henry Tudor everything he had learned before he was discovered. The Lancastrians got lucky. Because of Otto's spying, they managed to hold off Yorkists' troops. Otto, however was badly injured in the fight. Yuria took care of him as best she could, but it wasn't enough. In his last will he told Yuria to bury all his worldly possessions in England, on the property where their childhood orphanage once stood, as his last request to her."
Carmelita nodded, thinking she knew where this was going. She understood that, should anything that ever belonged to a Cooper get into the wrong hands, the results would be catastrophic. Every member of the Cooper Clan in every generation had sworn on the night they received the Thievius Raccoonus that they would defend the Cooper heirlooms with their own lives, as did Sly before his father was killed.
"So, you're saying we need to go to England and get Otto's stuff before someone else does…am I right?" Sly shook his head.
"Wish it were that simple. Otto's last will was the only recorded document that ever suggested he ever even owned anything of worth…however…recent studies of his documents have shown he did in fact own very valuable things that could very well help any person…good or bad…achieve virtually anything. From robbery to murder…provided they were creative enough, the sky's the limit." He said. Carmelita rubbed her chin in thought for a moment.
"If it's not in England, where is it?" Sly was quick to answer,
"We aren't sure. Bentley managed to find where it was buried…but after Art and I did a little recon, we discovered that someone else beat us to the punch." Carmelita's eyes grew wide in horror. She had seen what had happened when a bad guy got hold of a Cooper heirloom, and it wasn't pretty.
"We have, however, pin pointed their location. This gang, or should I say… "The Darkness"…don't ask me. You should see the crappy names some of these criminals come up with." He turned to Artemis.
"And you thought "The Cooper Gang" sucked!" She shrugged, then picked up where Sly left off.
"The Darkness was last seen in the Czech Republic, if Bentley used his computer right." She looked over at Bentley, who had just come downstairs. Murray moaned from his seat on the chair.
"Does that mean we have to go to Prague again?" Artemis shook her head.
"Last known sightings were in the Czechian Underworlds. Don't worry about it, Bentley. They only call it that because it's the most barren place in the Czech Republic. There isn't any underground work involved." Bentley, claustrophobic as he was, breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his normal shade of green.
"Well, now that we know where they are, I suggest we start building a game plan." He said, re-adjusting his glasses. Artemis shook her head.
"Not quite yet. I've been to the Czechian Underworld before, but I'm not entirely familiar to this certain spot of it. Sly, Carmelita and I will have to split up around the area and do a little recon work so we know what to expect. Gee, and I thought you were the genius around here!" Bentley had to giver her that one.
"Okay. First thing tomorrow we'll set out for the Czech Republic. Given the distance between there and Paris, the time radius as about a…6 to 7 hour van ride there. It should be pretty dark by the time we get there."
"That's nice and all, but we need the cover of night to protect us. If we show up and it's still daylight out, then we'll just have to lay low." Sly concluded. Everyone agreed and said goodnight. Artemis went into her room down in the basement, Bentley and Murray went upstairs into their separate rooms, but Sly and Carmelita stayed in the living room. Carmelita sat down on the couch as Sly put away the Thievius Raccoonus as well as their plans and blueprints. He walked over and sat beside her, watching the shadows the fire cast dance across her lovely face. She noticed him doing that and smiled.
"Just can't keep your eyes off me, now can you?" She said teasingly, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smiled along with her.
"Hey, it's not my fault God made you so beautiful!" He said innocently as if he were a little kid getting caught doing something bad. She laughed, then yawned and leaned her head on his shoulder. He rested his hands on her hips gently, bringing her closer to him. She closed her eyes, her head relaxing even more on his shoulder. He said jokingly,
"Come on, Carmelita. Last time you did that my shoulder fell asleep!" She laughed, kissing him softly. Sliding her lips away from his, she said goodnight, turned and went up into her room upstairs. As soon as he heard her door click shut, Sly leaped up and walked over to a picture of the gang and himself. Smiling, he lifted the frame off the wall and turned it over so the back faced him. His eyes swept the back until he spotted the tiny square door he had put there. Opening it, he took out a beautiful gold ring with a diamond on its center. Eyeing it, he began to think out loud, but not loud enough for anyone to hear.
"Carmelita Montoya Fox…I love you so much…but how can I ask you to marry me without screwing up?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, that's chappie 1. If you don't like the way my writing is, I'm open for any suggestions in your reviews. See ya at chappie 2!
