Sly 4: What could've/should've happened
Le Paradox felt the full force of the anger of his nemesis, as the solid metal cane clouted him, squarely in the jaw. On the narrow point of his time-travelling blimp, he could feel his tired body slip away, hanging on by only one hand – the wind beneath his feet pulling him along counter to the blimps declining trajectory. "This shouldn't have happened! My plan was PERFECT!" he cried. Sly Cooper, raccoon thief extraordinaire, looked up as he proudly brandished the said metal cane "You never can count on a Cooper, Cyril". Fingers were slipping on the narrow point.
"SLY, PLEASE FOR GOD SAKE! Help me!
"Why should I?"
"I…don't want to die!"
Sly's memories of all past adventures and near death experiences rushed through his head. Funny, he could kill a guard, and a few main villains and such, but then again, this guy had already been known as a jailbird, so he's unlikely to get off lightly on the law. Even he respects the law – not just the beautiful Inspector Fox is solely requisite of that admiration of doing wrong-doers away. Sly lowered his cane to pull Le Paradox back up to the blimp. However, that skunk was a calculating mind, and as Sly was hunched over, hands were around him pulling his Paraglider off from his back, before those very hands clipped it to the smelly fur of that evil skunk. Le Paradox taunted, as he loomed over Sly with the means of escape "Like I said Cooper…so, SO predictable!" "You won't last! This isn't over!" Sly yelled at him, full of hate and anger "I will find you for all this!" "I'm afraid Mr Cooper, this is the last we will ever see of one another" With a fast release of the Paraglider, the laughing Le Paradox leaped to his freedom. In his mind, he had done it. He hadn't rid the others Coopers from history, but this victory over the latest and now last addition to the family line would cement Cyril Le Paradox as the greatest thief of all time…who cares of his family, or his father – his stupid father no less, BUSTED BY A COOPER! Suddenly, the skunk was side-swiped by a plane, experiencing the whack with just as much force as the cane dealt out to his broken face. The Paraglider was now lost from both persons as Le Paradox fell down. Ah well, he'd still succeeded, so he fell with a smile. Then a noise filled the air, much louder than the breeze that was running clean through this stenching fur…it was Sly's voice, ringing out like a horrible war cry, approaching with the speed and relentlessness of a doodlebug bomb! The racoon dived with hideous precision through the air…
CLANG!
The sabre and cane both collided in the air, and it looked as if the battle for the history of Le Paradox and of Cooper thieving glories was FAR from over. Le Paradox had spun in the air, and Sly was now forcing himself upon the skunk, using him to glide himself through the air the way a surfboarder using his board to guide himself through the waves. Gone was the fear of death in the time tunnel, but now the fear was death by falling to the doom. Le Paradox, still groggy from the plane collision, was growing very weak in his conflict. Meanwhile, from the safe ground, Murray and Bentley were watching from safe ground below…
The wheelchair-bound turtle and hippo were both sharing a Binocucom, watching as they're lifelong brother wrestled with the skunk in the air. Murray was cheering, like he was at one of those wrestling matches he loved to watch on the TV: "Go on lil' buddy! Smash and bash that sucker! DO 'THE MURRAY' PROUD!" Bentley was on edge…nearly fully paralytic with tension. He neared hyperventilation, but his friend Murray was there to hold him and reassure. "Come on ringtail! I want to be the one that busts you…in one piece. Just don't die for me!" Inspector Fox was next to Bentley, equal in fear to him, but equal in excitement to Murray. The three all huddled together as the battle raged on above them.
Back to the action, and Sly was getting a key move in on the skunk – the skunk made a poor swing with his sabre and the cane came in hard on his wrist. Le Paradox screamed like the child he was at heart. Sly was ninja fast in grabbing the fallen sword, and as Le Paradox readied his arms to defend himself, Sly performed the immobilising move: the charged the sword up Le Paradox's sleeves, leaving a very strong restraint on his arms; try as he might, the blade of the sword wouldn't bend or break. Sly had him. Then the two continued falling, and the insults started flying:
"You, Cooper! You are a maggot! An 'honourable' thief, who's more moron than oxymoron! You cheap, scum-sucking maggot!" Le Paradox spat.
Sly just seemed to laugh: "Here come the big insults from the little BOY! That's all this plan was Cyril – the work of a little boy!"
"I wouldn't have gone through with this plan if it wasn't for you…
"YOU wouldn't have gone through with it if it wasn't for YOU: you wanted to prove something to nobody. What's the point in that? My family's legacy has and will last because we're proving to the world that we are the greatest thieves of all time, and that we do have a code of honour that is everlasting and true…even criminals can have that Cyril. Your father tried to ruin mine, but he was great enough not to be fooled. You tried to do the same to me, but were arrogant enough to alert me and my gang to your plan! Your plan for YOURSELF! Just as you succeeded in elevating yourself to these great heights, we Coopers succeeded in raising everyone of us to the challenge! Bob, Riochi and Galleth among more, did everything for everyone they were a part of. That is our honour!"
Le Paradox…was dumbstruck. He was left quivering in his incorrectness. Cooper Sr. may have broken his father's reputation, but Sly had shown how broken he really was. In his attempts to win…he had lost. Sly then leaned over him…
"And you stole my ancestors canes in an attempt to steal their essence…" Sly said, with a malicious intent glowing in his eyes like diamonds "…and your pact with Penelope destroyed the heart of my brother and friend. I think it's time for you to truly feel the hurt and loss of self in the way they DIDN'T!" Le Paradox tried to utter out a defiant shout but the broken skunk was unable to, as Sly leaned over – eyes now properly glowing – as his hands wrapped around Le Paradox's thin, long-treasured moustache...
…as he pulled it out, the screams of a family lost filled the air.
SLY P.O.V:
"I started out on the blimp watching a defeated Le Paradox fall. Now look. Last time I was standing on a defeated enemy was Clock-La. Needless to say, I thought that was one similarity I never thought I'd make to a person again. Le Paradox was beaten, but not just that: he was truly broken. Ah well, as I said, as a former jailbird, he knows he won't be getting off so lightly with the authorities. As I hurtled towards the ground on top of him, I took one last second before my escape. One second to let him know that the Cooper ancestry is nothing to be messed with! A Police helicopter was passing overhead, and I grabbed a hold of it's underside to watch the skunk hit the water hard. If he's lucky…he'll stay down. The helicopter flew off, so I'll assume that's what happened…"
BENTLEY P.O.V:
"We saw the collision. We can only hope Sly made it out OK. We'd done it either way: saved the Cooper family past! The Thevius Raccoonus was back to the original writings and formats. The future of the great book was now in doubt. Carmelita looked to me and Murray. Never thought I'd ever seen her happy to complete a whole adventure with us. Never thought I'd seen a person – Inspector of Police no less – develop such a refined understanding for us and work. I view this as a great new friendship. And I am right to say that…I AM UTTER WRONG! Her shock pistol is now pointed directly at us, as the army of Policemen gathered behind her. I guess that even though Sly is the face of the gang, it's no secret how much of a group we are. Looks like Carmelita is back to try and imprison us. Suddenly, we got a glorious shout: "HELLO BEAUTIFUL LADY AND MORONS ALIKE!" On the Police helicopter in the distance, we saw him; our friend Sly had lived and won. Now we were truly complete. He knew how good we were for him, however, and that is why he showed up. As the Police were all faced on him, I could see a little wink. He meant it as a signal to escape. Sly was taken into custody. Carmelita was the one to handcuff him…but she wasn't getting away from the cheeky Cooper that easily. I want to know which she took more pleasure from – was it from cuffing the Raccoon after so many years? Was it slapping his smug face? Or was it the kiss she quickly gave as she cuffed him. Judging from that look in her eyes…I'd say the latter. That sneaky devil! He may be off to prison but stealing a cop's heart isn't one of the crimes on his list. It'll still be his greatest yet!"
[[Credits role, BLAH BLAH BLAH]]
Sly sat in his enclosed prison space. He was taken to Europe's highest security prison in Italy, apparently the only place able to contain him. His cane and uniform was taken. The only item from the outside thieving world he could still be allowed to possess was the moustache yanked fresh from the upper lip of the late Cyril Le Paradox. Just as a reminder of not only how stuff all the Coopers are, but also how he was capable of being an honourable thief…and that's why lawman both loved and hated him. Seriously, any other way and Sly couldn't stand it!
He etched a mark onto the wall. It was a mark showing a week since his captivity. Longest week of his life so far…or is it? Because all the guards are off ill, from food poisoning; maybe it was something to do with the fact that, Sly was being busted out, the same way he'd busted his friends from being captured on the Paris streets. There was the sparking of a fuse, running down, and then a noise…
BOOOOOM!
Murray climbed his way to the hole in the wall, and once that the opening hugged Sly as hard as he could, the raccoon not even caring about how much he was left breathless from it. The van was there too: fresh from the jets in the wheel-arches to give it the power of flight, oh joy! The gang had all turned up to bring him home.
Sly and Murray leaped into the van, to see all the happy faces of Bentley, Murray and Dimitri. "Fireworks! Bro, get some juice up in this joint! For our main man Cooper, anything sourced for you!" Sly sighed. He missed all his, during his retirement especially. But now, with everything that has happened, he was sure that the Cooper gang was back in business, and yet more adventures surely were afoot…
…but as the van flew off, not everything was as picture-esque in the night-time of Italy as you once thought. On the outer-perimeters of the prison, the Moonlight was shining down on one person, also an escapee of that prison. Also a Cooper gang member. The only problem is this one was the traitor. Penelope stood as the van sped off without her. The Moonlight fully illuminating her slender face with the blonde hair that ran down to her knees now, stylishly kept out of her eyes with her traditional red hair-tie, it was as thick as a bush but as beautiful as the Moon. Her overalls with the yellow now had a new addition to them; Penelope had developed a single piece mechanised weapon, in the form of a clasp that attached two exo-skeleton style arms over her overalls. The arms had fully functioning fingers, and were made of the same metal as her Black Knight mech suit. The arrangement made her look partially artificial, but wholly terrifying. She watched as the Cooper gang drove away…
"Hmmmmmm, run as fast as you can 'Hero'! You think you're rid of the traitor? Not likely! Traitor…to you yes, but only for Bentley does my loyalty lie. Bentley…the man who gave everything he could for you and then more, all for the wish to feel appreciated! If only he'd placed love before family. He and I could still be together, having cocktails on sunny Hawaiian beaches, finding the most outrageous of laughs in the trivial world of trigonometry and engineering…oh Bentley. I'm sorry for what I did to you, but that Raccoon led me to this! Ah well, this new attachment will put an end to you…COOPER!" Penelope spat out Sly's name like a bad taste in her mouth. Looking to her right, she saw a strong and proud oak tree. She ran at the tree with her basic legs, but then the arms kicked in – the arms were managing to transverse the tree like the average person would walk stairs. After almost no time at all, the Mouse pulled herself, standing on the top of the tall Oak. "I was wise to keep this – my greatest device – from Le Paradox. I knew he could never get Cooper himself. Let's see what happens when Sly can't keep up with me any longer! HEAR ME SLY JAMES COOPER! I'LL MAKE A RUG OF YOU YET; WAIT AND SEE!" Penelope then started manically laughing, as she with her mech-arms started swinging through the trees, ready to continue her vendetta…in what way, we'll have to see…