-Okay, here is the crossover story I have co-written with THEEVILDOER. I recommend to read "Killer´s Instinct" first before starting with this story. Believe me it explains much questions that could arise while reading this. Actually, this is a prequel to "Killer´s Instinct". Anyway, enjoy this story :D-
He called himself the 'LoneWolf,' at least that's how he called himself in ThiefNet.
His actual name was Scratch, how they should realize later, even though that sounded like some kind of nickname too.
Bentley had found him by coincidence in ThiefNet. Some over another guy who called himself 'Nefarius' there had suggested him as an ally to the gang. And Bentley thought that this was also a strange nickname. After a little chat, LoneWolf invited them for a private meeting. He really seemed like a strange guy, but the gang needed him for the heist they were planning. He had information about their target and was also an interrogation expert.
Two things the team hadn't had. Now, after a quiet long flight from Paris to New York, Scratch, a mid-sized dog with greyish fur, square glasses and a bald head, sat in front of Bentley, Sly, Murray, Penelope and Jing and just smiled creepily at them.
He gave them a strange smile... a smile you wouldn't expect from a guy like him.
To say that in one sentence, this smile could melt an ice block. And that was exactly what made this smile so creepy.
"Uhm..." Bentley started as this guy smiled at them for about five minutes and he slowly started to get uncomfortable. "Hello?"
"Hello." Scratch replied and fell silent again.
"This guy's creeping the hell outta me, Bentley!" Penelope whispered to Bentley in his ear.
"Spex guy?" Scratch suddenly asked like someone said a keyword that made him react.
"Yes, and you are LoneWolf, isn't it?"
"Right." Grinned Scratch. "But you can also call me Scratch"
"Well, Mr. Scratch..." Bentley started and thought 'What kind of a name is that?!' before he continued. "… my name is Bentley, I'm the Brains of the team, this is Penelope, our RC specialist, this is Jing King, our demolitions expert, this is Murray, the brawn and getaway driver, and this is our master thief, Sly Cooper."
"Ohhh, that's interesting!" Scratch said and stood up from his chair. "The legendary Sly Cooper. Believe it or not, I already have heard from you."
"The real surprise would be if you hadn't." Sly said confidently.
"I was also compared with you once." Laughed Scratch
"Now that's a surprise." Sly grinned friendly.
"Yeah..." Nodded Scratch. "They called me the Sly Cooper of torturing..."
The gang froze at Scratch's words, then they all shook their heads and Sly grinned forcedly.
"Um..., could you give us a second?" Sly said with the forced grin frozen on his face while he pushed everyone out of the room.
Scratch watched in bewilderment as Sly was pushing Murray, Bentley, Penelope and Jing out of the room. He didn't quite understand what Sly and his gang were doing but a part of him had kind of expected something like that.
Once the gang was out of the room, Sly closed the door slowly and his forced smile wore off almost immediately. He had been completely flabbergasted when Scratch had said that he had been labeled as 'the Sly Cooper of torture', and for what he saw in his gang's faces, he wasn't the only one.
"Okay... I´ll speak it out. What the hell?" Bentley meant while shaking his head.
"That's exactly what I was going to say, Bentley, didn't you say that he was a perfect match for the team?!" Sly asked accusingly.
"Yeah, concerning his talents, not his psyche!" The turtle defended himself.
"Geez, I guess we should actually stop looking for help in the ThiefNet." Murray said.
"Couldn't have said it better." Penelope let out.
"Hey, I found you over ThiefNet." Bentley said to Penelope.
"But I'm not a psycho!" The Dutch mouse protested. "Not even when I turned my back on you!"
"Hey you! You know that I can hear you, right?" Scratch shouted from the other room. "The walls in this place are thin."
"Great place for a meeting, Bentley." Sly said sarcastically.
"That was my idea!" Scratch shouted again
"Even greater idea, Bentley."
"Would you all come in now or should we continue discussing through the wall?"
"Whatever..." Sly said while the gang got back inside the room.
"Okay... now that you and your team discussed everything... in private... can I offer you something? Wine, Whiskey, Scotch, Vodka?"
"What did you put in them?" Sly said in doubt.
"You are cautious, Mr. Cooper, I like that." Meant Scratch nodding approvingly. "But no, nothing in there yet... should I put something in?"
"No, thanks."
"Okay... and the others?"
"We say the same." The rest of the gang said in unison.
"So I´m the only one, okay." Scratch reached in a brown back nearby and pulled a glass and a bottle of Scotch out of it. "Okay guys, what do you want here?" he asked pouring the alcohol into the glass
"The usual, I'm a thief who steals from criminals, this time I want this." Sly said while he showed Scratch the image of a crown. "It was stolen by my ancestor Sir Galleth Cooper, but it was never taken to the Cooper Vault. That has to change."
"Hm... looks expensive... I think I´ve seen that before..." Scratch scratched his chin pensively.
"You might, it was a famous crown."
"No... not that... I didn´t see it in a book or something I saw it live."
"Well, it was taken to many museums around the globe." Bentley said.
"Also not there... I saw it... wait, I remember. The Duke..."
"Yes." Confirmed Sly. "He's the actual owner, he stole it from the convoy that brought it back to Paris. But it belongs to my family and I want it back."
"Hm... that comes in handy..." Scratch grinned. "How about do ut des ?"
"What?"
"Do ut des, that's latin. You give me something so I give you something. Symbiosis."
"Exactly, that's what we were trying to say. We need your help." Bentley said.
"And like it is a coincidence, the Duke has something I want too." Scratch giggled evilly.
"And that something is...?" Penelope asked.
"Just a little black book... but before I continue talking, tell me please, what do you know about me?"
"Just what you've told us, that your name is Scratch and how you can help us in this heist." Bentley said and thought again: 'Seriously, what kind of a name is that one?!'
"Well, perfect. I like to stay undercover. But what I can say you that I earn my money with... cocaine."
"You earned what with what?!" The gang asked in unison.
"Money with cocaine. You know, this white stuff that makes people nuts." Scratch explained. "Just like the Duke."
"How can you do that?! You're not a thief, you're a maniac!" Penelope said.
"Oh come on... morality, really? You steal!"
"We steal from criminals only, we have honor!" Sly said.
"Yeah but from who did these criminals steal before?" Asked Scratch. "From normal people."
"That's why we rip them off their fortunes, because they don't deserve them!" Bentley said.
"But you don't give the stuff back to their rightful owners. So it's still stealing." Scratch shrugged a bit uncomprehendingly.
"But we make sure the criminals pay for their crimes, we always send them to prison!" Murray said.
"Nevertheless... stealing... but I don´t think I should debate to long about this topic... I´m not really a role model when it comes to moral. Anyway. Cocaine. My business is quite big... I control almost the complete east coast. And I want this little black book which includes all deals the Duke makes. With that knowledge I can destroy his empire and take his place. So I help you to get this artifact and you help me to get this book, how does that sound?"
"Yeah, well we don't work with drug dealers, au revoir, Scratch." Sly said.
"As you wish Mr. Cooper." Shrugged the dog nonchalantly. "Good luck getting this thing on your own."
"What do you mean?"
"The Duke´s HQ isn't just a building... It's a castle. Armed guards with itchy trigger fingers, high-tech security system with spring guns... shall I continue?"
"Sounds like the Cooper Vault job all over again, only with armed guys instead of mutants." Sly said.
"Well, then it seems that you can handle that yourself..." Scratch said before taking a sip from his glass.
"What's the catch now? You're hiding something, I can easily tell that."
"You don't say." Sneered Scratch. "Well, you need a code and a key to crack the safe where the crown is stored... otherwise the content will be destroyed."
'Damn! I knew this couldn't be that simple.' Sly thought.
"It's never that simple, huh?" Asked Scratch like he just read his mind. "I mean you can crack the safe open when the code is typed in... but you need this code."
The gang shared worried glances amongst themselves, then they sighed and they nodded.
"So you made a decision as it seems." Scratch noted.
"I can't even believe I'm about to say this, but fine, you're in this job." Sly said with a sigh.
"Excellent... excellent." Scratch rubbed his hands. "Okay, then the first thing to do is getting this code I think. The Duke has a right hand... Brandon Barns. He's the only one that knows the code, aside from the Duke."
"So our first task is getting the code from Barns?" Sly asked.
"Yep, just kidnap him and I do the rest. He will sing like the bird he is."
"Sounds easy enough, let's get a plan done, Bentley." Penelope said.
"Ah okay, then speak up... Bentley..." Meant Scratch and added: "I really have to learn your names..."
"Well, from what we've found, the Duke's right hand is a woodpecker and he's kind of paranoid, we could use that to lure him into a trap." Bentley said.
"Good, paranoia is always a good weapon. A paranoid target person is always overly attentive, and if we can mix that with fear, the person will panic." Scratch explained. "How about a fleet of black vans following him through the city?"
"Unnecessarily complicated, I was thinking on using my darts with a sonic disruptor, his paranoia will make him think that something's up, so he'll either run away or go check what the sound was."
"He won't check what the sound was, that's for sure. Also, this guy has a panic room... Oh!" Scratch started grinning even more than before. "How about waiting for him in his panic room?"
"It probably has a secret passage, maybe Jing can block it with her fireworks."
"Oh! Fireworks... nice thing." The guy sounded like a child as he said that. "This sounds like a basic plan until now... "
"I'll use my sleep darts to drive the guy insane, then you and Murray could catch him while he runs away from the sounds created by my darts, however if he makes it to his panic room, then Jing will demolish the secret exit, then it'd be a matter of time until he comes out of his hiding." Bentley summarized.
"Okay... Give me just a few seconds to think all contingencies through." Said Scratch. "By the way, do you have a hideout there in Paris? We can't actually coordinate that heist from here."
"Should we take him to our hideout? I don't trust this guy." Penelope asked.
"Oh yeah... you know, why don't you just say that to my face." Scratch said rolling his eyes
"He's creepy as hell!" Penelope said.
"I think the same." Jing said.
"Hey, I can hear you, goddammit!" Scratch called out. "Stop that or I'll tell you something creepy"
"What gives, if you betray us, you'll pay." Sly said.
"Oh, I already heard that sentence..." laughed Scratch. "'You betrayed us, you pay.'... and then I shoved a grenade in his mouth."
"This time, you'll go to jail if you betray us." The raccoon stated toneless.
Scratch sighed bored. "The jail… You know I was thrown in a latrine in Africa and I kept myself alive by drinking... anyway, prison doesn't scare me. And also it would have no use betraying you, I mean I need your help just as much as you need mine."
"We prefer to be safe than sorry." Murray said.
"Well, I can't reply anything other than you´re right on that."
"Let's go." Sly grumbled.
Scratch rummaged in his backpack and got a book out of it.
"I got my flight reading matter, so let's go."
The gang and Scratch left the building and hopped inside the Cooper team van.
"Nice van..." Said Scratch slowly eying the vehicle critically.
"Any bad comments about my baby?" Murray growled.
"Uhm no... I rather read my book." Scratch quickly opened the little brown book and started reading.
"Much better." Murray said.
"Yep, Descartes beat van." mumbled the dog.
"What did you just say?" Sly asked with a smile.
"I said that Rene Descartes, the philosopher, is more awesome than this van. I'm just reading his book, 'Meditationes de prima philosophia, in qua Dei existentia et animae immortalitas demonstratur'… in latin"
Murray took that as an insult, so his eye twitched in anger and he turned his head slowly to glare at Scratch.
"What he tries to proof just by thinking the existence of god and the soul. And I think that's kind of awesome."
Murray made a gesture at Scratch that said that he'd be watching him, then he ignited the motor and sped off to the hideout.
Once they were near the coast, Murray pushed a special button in his van's wheel, then a pair of wings and a turbine erupted from the van, allowing it to fly from the US to France, and Scratch could've swore that Murray had glanced at him as if he said "How did you like that?"
'Oh yeah, this will be a long, long mission.' Scratch thought and deepened into his book.