Sly Cooper: Betrayal of the Heart

A Fan Fiction by: Emile The Watcher

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Sly Cooper, That all belongs to Sony, Sucker Punch Studios and now Sanzaru Games. The only thing I claim credit for is the Story Idea, and any original characters I put into the story.

If you like this story and wish to share it with others, please feel free to copy and paste it, or if you want you can ask me and I'll send you a copy of the Doc File, all I ask is that you credit me and Sanzaru where ever it ends up.

/-/ Sly Cooper: Betrayal of the Heart /–/ Chapter 1: What have I done? /-/

"Why does it always have to be raining for something like this?"

I sighed and looked through the windows behind me at the flashing lights, I knew what they meant. The plan had gone off without a hitch, and by now, both the tech savvy Bentley, and the kind hearted Murray would be arrested and behind bars at the most secure prison in the world. Possibly for the rest of their lives. I turned my gaze to the raccoon in front of me. The rain still pounding away on the warehouse windows.

Sly Cooper, Master Thief, was staring out the window, his tail twitching back and forth in agitation at the flashing lights. In his hand was the damning evidence of everything I had done. I was silent as I watched him, these past months have been some of the greatest times of my life, and that made all this, everything I had done to him, the hardest things I have ever done.

He turned to me then, and for once, his eyes were cold and hard. I had only ever seen him use that gaze on the thieves he stole from, to have him turn them on me.

It hurt.

When he spoke it was in a quiet voice. "Why?" the hurt that was buried in his tone was like a stab to my already aching heart.

I blinked the sudden tears out of my eyes and looked away, cursing myself. I was silent for a full minute, when I turned back to him, my eyes were dry, and he was still staring at me, it still hurt. "Its...It's my job Sly, you knew that it would have to happen some day."

I watched as a frown formed on his face, anger tightening up his muscles. He turned around and walked away from me a few steps, he said nothing for a moment. I just watched and waited, waited for his resolve to crack.

I couldn't help but study his figure while he stood there hunched over, dressed in his blue work shirt, his golden belt around his waist holding up his new addition of black slacks. Slung over his back was his backpack that held his paraglider, and around his left leg was the small holster he used to hold items that he pick pocketed.

He turned around suddenly, his voice still quiet, yet to me it sounded like the roaring of a wave about to crush my entire being. "We trusted you! We brought you into our group! I taught you everything I know!" now his voice was starting to rise. "How could you do this to me?!" he paused "To us?! We have something, and you know it!" Sly closed his eyes and glanced away from me scoffing, his next words were soft again. "I should say we had something." he brought his gaze up to mine again, his eyes hard as diamonds still. "Not anymore."

I glanced down at what I held in my paws, suddenly I wasn't sorry, I was angry, furious even, how could he dare talk to me like that. I tightened my grip on the pole, watching my knuckles turn white through my fur. I raised my gaze, and my own voice. "How could I?" I asked him, anger sharpening my tone. I took a step forward, closing the distance to us to just a meter. "How could you?!" I paused and felt my anger grow when he had the nerve to look confused. I pointed at him with what I held. "Need I remind you of your stunt not to long ago Ringtail!? I let you into my heart! I told myself that we could finally be together! We shared the same apartment, hell even the same bedroom for a time!" I jabbed him in the chest with the pole "Then you go and run off like it never happened! Right back to your criminal ways!" I jabbed him again. "Do you know how much trouble I got in over that!?"

Sly pushed the pole away from his chest, closing the distance even more between us, until we were standing less then a few inches apart. Up close I could see the hurt that he hid behind the cold eyes. I saw the slight wetness around his fur that told me I wasn't the only one fighting tears right now.

"I do know." he said softly "You have no idea how hard it was for me to do that to you. We were finally able to spend time together, I cherished every moment of it, and I still do." he paused "I watched you for days afterwords, I watched Barkley yell at you again and again for being fooled. Each time you retreated to your office I wanted to run to you and tell you how sorry I was. Ask if there was anything I could do to make it up to you."

I scoffed into his face. "There's only one thing you can do to fix this now Cooper. It starts with you turning around and putting your hands behind you back." I reached behind me to the small holster I kept my cuffs in, but something stopped me from taking them out. Instead, I just stood there and watched him, the pole still in my hand, now held vertically behind me.

We stayed that way for a full minute, and I was glad that Chief Barkley had listened to me when I asked him to keep the teams out of the Warehouse. Sly moved his hand behind me and placed his paw on the pole. I tightened my own grip in response to the gentle tug.

"Give me my cane." his quiet voice echoing into my ears and over my furiously beating heart.

I shook my head slowly. "No Ringtail, this is it. This ends tonight."

Sly frowned again and scoffed stepping back away from me. "You know, at first I wondered why you were here in your old Inspectors outfit. But now I get it, you'll never be able to take it off, you'll never let anybody in. Not really, not your partners, not your chief, not your family," he paused, and his voice dropped in volume even more "Not even me." Each of his soft words like a slap in the face, but the last three really hit home in my heart, I doubt he even realized what I said earlier. His voice was full of dejection, like he knew that there was never going to be a chance for him, for us.

I blinked again as he backed away towards the stairs that led to the side door. "I'm sorry Carmelita. I really am." he glanced out the rain slicked windows at the lights again. The red and blue hues flashing across his face as he closed his eyes. "Not about my lifestyle, I don't regret any of that. I'm sorry for all the time I spent chasing after you, I'm sorry that you'll never let me in." He tilted his head to face me, a small grin playing at his mouth, "Maybe its time I moved on eh? Find some other Inspector to torment?" he sighed and turned to face me, a full grin on his face. "We could have made a great team."

He took a step backwards towards the stairs, and I took one forward. "Don't do it Ringtail." I said softly. He just kept grinning at me, taking another few steps back. "I mean it Sly." I took my own steps forward. "Don't do it." I waited a beat, then two, "Please." he kept going, I waited until he turned around to put a foot on the first step. "We can still be a team."

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at me. "Oh? Hows that? Because the only way I see it happening is if you follow me out that door." he jerked his thumb at the side door, void of any flashing lights. I swallowed, knowing that Barkley had something planned to keep Sly from escaping. My heart beat hollowly as my mind shuffled through the possibilities.

I shook my head. "No, come back to Interpol Sly, be my Constable again. We put so many criminals away together, it can be just like that."

Sly chuckled softly "Really? After everything Interpol just went through to try and capture me? You think they'll just let me breeze into the office and tell them that I wanted to be a Constable again." he scoffed as his laughter died out "Yeah, right."

I thought quickly "I'll talk to them again, maybe I can convinc-"

Sly held up a hand. "Carmelita, just stop. Its over, now we all have to live with the consequences." he jumped up touching briefly on the stairway railing before leaping off again and landing next to the door. "You have to deal with me, or future lack there of, and I need to go rescue my friends." He placed his hand on the door knob and turned it, throwing the door open wide and letting in the wind and the rain.

"Sly! No!" I called out as I started for the stairs as well.

He glanced out into the darkness of the storm before he grinned back at me. "See you around, Inspector Fox."

I felt my eyes widen when I saw the green dot appear on his chest. Sly saw my gaze and glanced down at himself.

That was when the loud crack echoed through the air, hidden moments later by the loud thunder. My drawn out scream lasting much longer then either of them

"SLY!"

/-/Eleven Months ago, Carmelita's Apartment./-/

I sat on the edge of my bed, and stared at the empty spot on my wall, glowering, as usual. I thought that maybe taking a shower would help, but now that I was dry and dressed with my dark blue hair hanging down my back, my thoughts turned to the last week.

It had only been two days since I had left Interpol. I may have left under my own steam, but I knew that I would have been fired today if I hadn't already quit. It was bad enough after Sly had vanished from my apartment, only to have his calling card reappear on my desk with something else he had stolen.

But when Barkley had found out, my suspension was well and truly deserved. Sly had duped me, and I had fallen for it hook line and sinker.

I still didn't think firing me would have been fair though. I glanced at the memo one of my fellow officers had sent me, the paper still laying on my night stand.

'Barkley is going to fire you on Monday. He says he has no choice, the pressure from his own bosses is to much. You have until then to find Cooper and bring him in. Good luck. -K'

I glanced back at the empty spot on my wall. I had spent the next few days after I had woken to find the note on my apartment door trying to track down the double crossing thief, but no matter what leads I chased down, nothing came up.

After my last lead dried up, I decided to say damn it all and leave on my own terms.

The elevator doors slid open in front of me, and I stared out into the small gathering of desks on either side. Each one occupied with an officer doing their duty and tracking down criminals. Something I should have been doing these past few weeks, instead, I spent the past few days chasing after Cooper. I thought about what a waste of time that had turned out to be.

I shook my head slightly as if to clear it and marched through the room, my boots clicking on the hardwood floor and drawing the attention of those that I passed. I walked straight to the back of the office and glanced to the right at my door, locked and my own key taken from me, the red door seemed to mock me. I frowned and held my anger close to me as I turned the knob of Chief Barkley's door and stormed in.

He was on the phone when I entered and stopped before his desk. His mouth dropped open slightly and we stared at each other for a full minute. Eventually he spoke, not to me, but to whoever was on the other end of the phone. "I'm going to have to call you back, something just came up here." he paused, listening to the other end of the conversation. "No, I'll call you. Okay, bye." he hung up the corded phone and put his elbows on his desk, cradling his head in his paws, studying me. He was silent for another moment, before he leaned back in his chair, his arms now folded behind his head. "Something I can help you with Ms. Fox?"

I narrowed my eyes when he didn't use my title. It was then that I knew he had already made up his mind. I reached for my hip and he leaned forward in his chair, worried for a moment. I drew my shock pistol and slammed it down on his desk, forcing the battery to eject from the force of the impact. He stared at the pistol for a moment before he raised his gaze to my face. I leaned down and reached behind my neck for the clasp.

"I! Quit!" I said softly, but with force, the clasp coming undone underneath my nimble digits and my collar and badge falling to land on top of the shock pistol on his desk. He stared at it, his face loose and disbelief clear in his expression. Here I was, a forth generation Inspector, and I was turning in my badge and gun like they meant nothing.

Truth was, it hurt, and it was hard. But I managed it, I turned around and stormed out of his office, the usually busy officers were all standing around, watching me as I walked, a few of them shook their heads sadly, others gave me a soft wave. I passed my old partner, a blond Vixen and nodded at her. "Good luck." I said as I went by. "You'll need it." I reached the elevator right as it opened and discharged a few officers. I shouldered them out of the way and hit the switch to close the door with my fist, cracking the plastic. When I was alone in the elevator I let my breath out and sagged against the wall. I couldn't believe what I had just done, Dios Mio, what were my parents going to say?

I blinked at the empty rack where my shock pistol usually sat, and I sighed. I had no idea how I was going to afford this apartment. My pay at Interpol had been, nice, to say the least. Without it, there was no way I would be able to afford rent. I reached up to touch my neck where my badge usually rested, feeling like I was missing part of myself with out it.

Needless to say, it wasn't the best time to hear my window slide open.

I didn't even turn around. "Cooper, I swear, if you come in here, I'll beat you bloody."

Sly said nothing, so I glanced over my shoulder and watched him, one foot on my window frame, the other still out on the fire escape. He was dressed in a black shirt and pants, doubtlessly to blend in with the darkness outside. His mask was off and hanging from his paw, and his black cap was hanging off his belt. His face was one of alertness as we stared at each other.

Eventually I turned my gaze back to the wall and sighed. A few moments later the window closed, and my ears twitched as I heard somebody breathing gently. I felt my mattress sink softly under his weight as he sat down near me. I still said nothing, we stayed that way for a few minutes before I felt his hand on my shoulder. I hugged my body tightly, shrinking from his touch, and I felt his paw withdraw.

"Carmelita, I-"

"Save it Cooper, you've done enough."

I felt him stand up and I glanced away when he stepped in front of me. He knelt down and gently took my muzzle in his paws, softly bringing my gaze to his own. We stared at each other for a moment before he spoke. "I'm sorry. I never wanted something like this to happen."

I scoffed "Are you following me or something?"

Sly shook his head "No, I had to leave town for a few weeks and I asked Bentley to keep an eye on you." he glanced away "I came back as soon as I heard." he brought his gaze up to mine once more. "Why did you do it?"

I jerked my muzzle free of his grip. "Because of you!" I said hotly, standing up and walking away from him. He looked on confused so I continued "Because of that little amnesia stunt you pulled, I was suspended, and thanks to pressure from the people who are in charge of my boss, if I didn't bring you in by today I would have been fired no matter what. Never mind my nearly spotless capture record. So I quit before they could fire me, and left with my head held high."

Sly was silent as he stood up and walked over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder again, I glared at him. "I really can't tell you how sorry I am Carmelita. I never, ever wanted anything like this to happen." he grinned softly at me. "More then half the reasons I pull my heists are because I know its an excuse to see you."

I pushed him away suddenly, sending him stumbling into the wall. I stalked forward and pinned him there with my hands. "If you wanted to spend time with me, why did you leave?!"

Sly glanced down "I had to take care of something." he said softly.

I snorted and backed away, then I slugged him in the chest. He coughed and groaned as he dropped to his knees. "Dios Mio, that felt good!" I said out loud as I turned and walked toward my door.

Sly looked up at me, wincing "I'm glad...I think." his voice was light as he tried to recover his breath. I glanced down at him before shaking my head with a frown and walking out of my room. I made my way through my apartment until I reached my kitchen, there I rummaged through my cupboards until I found what I was looking for.

I was sprinkling cinnamon into my hot chocolate when Sly walked out of the hallway that led to my room. "You spice your-" he paused and inhaled "Hot chocolate, with cinnamon?" I narrowed my eyes at him over my mug as I took a sip and sat down at my table. Normally coffee is my vice, but with it being so late, I knew drinking any now would mean I never got any sleep. Hot chocolate wasn't that much better, but still, I needed something.

Sly walked over to me, an arm still held gingerly to his chest. He stopped on the other side of the table. "Can I have some?" he asked.

I stared at him as I took another long sip. I set the mug down on the table and wrapped my paws around it. "Help yourself. You know where everything is at."

Sly walked around the table and I listened to the various sounds as he found the instant mix and set about making it. I stared straight ahead, refusing to watch him. After a few minutes he placed a paw on the chair next to me and made to pull it out. I let a low growl loose from deep in my throat, and he removed his paw. Instead he walked around and sat down across from me. I turned my head to the right to stare at a painting on the wall.

I heard him sigh then take a sip of his own drink. "So...All that time, I never saw you spice your hot chocolate with cinnamon."

I lifted the edge of my lips in a small snarl at him. "Depends on my mood, can you guess what I'm feeling right now?"

Sly sighed and glanced down at his mug, running his fingers over the cup like it was a magic lamp that could give him all the answers. When he raised his gaze, his eyes were sad and he stared at me for a moment before he started talking. "Look, I can apologize all I want. But we both know that a simple apology won't fix this. I understand that I'm the last person in the world you want to see right now, and I can't blame you for that." he paused. "But, I won't stop caring about you Carmelita, I can't. I'll leave you alone, just know one thing." he reached into a pocket on his pants and pulled out a small headset, sitting it on the table between us. "I'm here for you, and if you ever need a place to stay, you just need to call me." he pointed at the headset. "That's an untraceable link to me that Bentley set up, if you ever use it, I'll drop whatever I'm doing and come running. I promise you that."

I stared at him, saying nothing. After a few minutes he sighed and stood up, taking his mug in his hands as he did so. He walked around me and I heard him dump the remainder of his drink down the sink. Then he walked past me and towards the hallway, he stopped when he reached my bedroom door. "Just think about it." was all he said before he entered my room.

I sat at the table until my hot chocolate couldn't even be called luke warm before I stood up and dumped the rest of the drink down the sink. I headed for my room and paused when I saw the dozen roses sitting on the bedspread, and next to it, one of his calling cards. I frowned as I grabbed the roses and threw them in the trash, then I ripped the card into pieces before I shut off the light and fell onto my bed still fully dressed, waiting for sleep.

Three weeks later found me sitting at my table again, this time with papers spread out in front of me. Most of them were bills, a few detailed my shrinking bank account. I sighed as I looked at the bill for my apartments rent, comparing it to how much I had left. Another late night of trying to balance my bank account and I was still no closer to finding another job. I growled in frustration as I swept a few of the bills to the floor. My ears perked at the solid sounding thud that greeted me. I leaned down to look underneath my table and that was when I saw the headset that Sly had left when he was last here.

I had left it on the table and it had eventually vanished under my growing pile of bills. I reached out a hand to pick it up slowly. I pulled back slightly just before I grabbed it, almost as if it was going to bite me. Was I really thinking of calling Cooper for help?

I picked up the headset and set it on the table in front of me. I stared at the headset for a good while before I licked my lips and picked it up again, fitting it over my ear, I pulled the microphone down over my mouth and felt for a power button. Finding nothing I decided to just try talking.

"Uh...Sly...?"

I waited a moment and when no answer came I sighed in defeat, I reached for the headset to pull it off when I heard his voice in my ear. "Carmelita. What can I do for you?"

I frowned and glanced in the mirror at myself. I couldn't believe what I was about to say. If I did this, there would be no turning back. There was no way Interpol would ever hire me back, not to mention if I thought about joining any other law enforcement position. But I also knew that if I didn't do that, it was quite possible that I would end up on the street.

"Carmelita?"

His voice pulled me back from my thoughts. My own voice was quiet "You said if I ever needed a place to stay..." I trailed off, unable to finish the words.

His voice was quick to respond in my ear. "Give me ten minutes, then I'll be over."

There was a click and I knew he had ended the call on his end. I pulled the headset off my head and looked again into the mirror. "What have I done?"

Well, hello there, so I was reading A Thief is Born, by Kitty Petro, when I had this idea pop into my head. A few hours later, I had this chapter typed out. So, this is my first attempt at anything Sly Cooper, as such this chapter is kind of a test. I think it came out pretty good, but I'm not very sure, so if I don't get some feedback, don't expect to see the story continue.

So do me a favor, and click that little review button below and tell me what you thought of it. If you loved it let me know, if you spotted something off, also let me know. I can't improve if I don't get my mistakes pointed out to me. If you hated it...well, I guess you can flame it, but most likely I'll just ignore you.

I wrote this in Carmelita's point of view just because I thought that would give the first chapter more pop. I don't think I'll keep the rest of the story this way, unless its requested. Otherwise the next chapter is going to pick up with Sly and the Gang.

Edit 3-03-13- Wow, that got quite a bit of feedback in 24 hours. 9 reviews, each asking to continue. Right, that is good enough for me. Consider it done! For all of you reading this and liking it, head over to my profile page and hit up my facebook link there. I update that with what I'm currently working on, plus if you have any questions you can hit me up there. Or PM me, either works.

Thanks for reading!

Peace,

- Emile