Hours had passed since Sly had bested Le Paradox in a fencing match. He was hanging on for dear life when the force of wind in his face had finally come to a halt. Sly, cringing in expectation for death, loosened up at the calm of the air, and opened one eye. It was snowing. All he saw were mountains in a blanket of snow on their sides. Sly hopped off of the blimp, which was smoking heavily, and decided to look around. "Hello?" Sly shouted, not familiar with his surroundings. "Is anyone here?" he shouted. No one replied. He looked at his visible breath in the cold weather, and finally realized he was freezing. He began treading through the snow, breathing deeply in the cold air as to keep warm. He fought through the icy weather to find shelter, only to come up short every time he turned a corner. Eventually, after about 2 ½ hours, he collapsed backwards. It was hopeless, he was finished he thought. No one was around to save him. Finally, the fridged weather put him into a coma.

Then, a big, cloaked figure about 3 times the height of sly, stumbled upon the unconscious raccoon. He picked him up and gasped in a deep voice. He tore off part of his cloak, and wrapped sly in it, and swiftly made for his shelter about a mile away, near a small village.

One day had passed. Sly was in the strangers cloak piece as a blanket. Finally, he woke up inside a small, Asian-looking home. He looked around his body to see his clothes, mask, and cane were gone, and was instead dressed in a white t-shirt and sweat-pants. Sly got up and looked around. "Hello? Does anyone live here?" Sly shout-asked. This time however, he received a response. "Ah good, you are awake." Then, from around the corner came a familiar face, a giant panda in red pants with yellow flame markings and blue sash. "I was worried that you had been taken by the frostbite."

Sly had his mouth open for a second or two and said, "Panda King?"

"Long-time, no-see, old companion." replied Panda King, who was toying with an inactive firework.

"H-How did you find me?" asked Sly, walking up to the panda.

Panda King then replied, "I was journeying to a secret hot spring inside one of the mountain caves, when I saw you half-buried in snow. Recognizing your cane, I decided to bring you here so you may recover."

Sly then contemplated with himself on how he should thank the Panda King. "Well… err… thanks."

Panda King, with an expression of focus towards the firework, then said, "So where are they?"

Sly replied, "Who?"

"Your friends: The turtle, hippo, koala, mouse, and that 'iguana on marijuana'?" he responded.

Sly said, "Oh, well it's kind of a long story. First off, the Guru went back to his home in Australia. And then…" Sly continued to tell Panda King the entire story of what happened since their last meeting.

After the story was told, Panda King then said, "I see. I knew one day that Bentley's relationship with that traitor would cease to exist in due time. I would not believe such a tale if it were not so elaborate or if Bentley was not as smart as I have known him to be."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it in a nutshell, big guy." replied Sly.

"Now your only problem is to find a way back to your home." said Panda King, sipping tea.

Sly face-palmed and said, "Oh man, Bentley and Murray must be worried sick. I'll never hear the end of it when I get back."

Panda King remained calm and said, "It all starts with one step."

Sly put on a confused face and said, "And that step is…?"

Panda King shook his head and said, "No, when I mean 'It all starts with one step', I mean the 'Journey of 1000 Miles'. If you want to reach home, it will take a long time, but it will be worth the walk."

A puzzled Sly then said, "I don't even know where to begin. I have no transportation. I have no resources. I don't even have my cane.

Panda King reached behind his back, and pulled out a polished cane; Sly's cane. "Do you mean this?" Sly grabbed the cane and was in awe of its gleaming in the sunlight. Panda King then continued, "You would not think I would leave your cane buried in the snow, would you? It is your birthright, after all."

Sly smiled and said, "Okay, but I still need to find my way back to Paris. I don't even know how to contact Bentley."

Panda King then left the room for a couple of seconds, and then returned with a pink laptop with a couple of floral designs on it. "It was the only thing Jing wanted for her birthday. I wanted to make her happy, so I decided in favor of it. However, I will not let you use it until you are recovered after that snow incident.

Sly the replied, "But I need to get back home! Bentley and Murray would want this."

Panda King sighed and said, "Do you even want to go home at all?"

Sly then said, "Uh… yeah!"

Panda King then replied, "Then it would be best if you left at full health. If you left in your condition right now, you would probably not even make it beyond the Kunlun Mountains."

Sly pondered this for a while and finally said, "Alright, I'll stay for a while, but once my skin heals, I'm out of here."

Panda King replied, "This is wise. Now, get some rest. After what has occurred last night, you will need as much as you can obtain." Sly then did what he was told, lying down on a couch.

Two weeks had passed since Sly woke up in the Panda King's home. He was back in his old clothes, now cleaned, and had finally gotten use of Jing's computer to contact Bentley and Murray. The signal started out fuzzy, but eventually smoothed out until a very familiar voice was transmitted. "Sly! Come in, Sly! Do you read me?!"

Sly smirked and said, "Yeah I read you Bentley, loud and… very loud; Just like old times, eh Bentley?"

Bentley's face finally showed up on the screen, with Murray watching from the background, and then he cut to the chase, "Where are you, buddy? We've been looking for you for weeks, and not even a calling card was found."

"It's okay Bentley, I was given shelter." replied Sly.

"By who?" asked Bentley.

Panda King then went in front of the screen, and Murray shoved Bentley out of the way to talk, making him yelp in the process. "Panda King?! RIGHTEOUS! How's your daughter?!"

Panda King then replied, "She is fine. I found Sly half-buried in snow, so I decided to hospitalize him until he was ready to leave." Sly then took the screen again and said, "It's good to see you again, buddy. Anyways, I'd like to… err… request a ride?"

Murray gained a somewhat guilty expression. "Um… err… it's all yours Bentley!"

Bentley wheeled in front of the screen and said, "Uh, you see, funny story Sly. Murray sort of got into a high-speed chase after winning a wrestling match at the Roman Coliseum in Italy, and got the van towed. Eh heh heh…"

Sly face-palmed and said, "Well, I'm not sticking around here until the van is redeemed. Guess I'm going on foot."

Bentley then said, "Okay buddy. Do you still have your Binocucom?" Sly looked at Panda King, who nodded his head, and sipped more tea. Sly then looked back at Bentley, and made a ring with his index finger and thumb. Bentley then said, "Excellent! Now that I know your location and time-zone, I can resynchronize our Binocucoms so we can keep in contact."

Sly smiled and said, "Thanks Bentley, see you when I get home." He then ended the chat, and closed the laptop. The raccoon walked up to the panda and said, "Thanks for all the help, P.K."

Panda King nodded and said, "It is dangerous to go on such a journey alone and on foot. I will accompany you as to make sure you do not stumble upon any inescapable danger."

"The help is appreciated, Panda King." Sly said. Panda King then got up, and threw open a closet door, the inner contents including his firework cannon and rocket clips. Once he donned them, he said, "We must first head north to Russia, the gateway to Europe from Asia. Only then will we be able to make our way to France."

Sly nodded and said, "Agreed, let's get going." Panda King nodded and the two left for Russia, ready to get Sly back home where he belongs."

Sly Cooper in: The Journey of 1000 Miles