Hello, friends, Venom-Dragon71 here! Hope you like Sly Cooper, cause this story is all about him and his friends. Now, this chappie is merely a tiny taste of what is coming. For a while, there will be two stories in here: Sly's and Carmelita's. You'll see why. To perform my disclaimer, here is my friend Sapphira the Renamon to speak on my behalf.

Sapphira: *mumbling* I don't see why I should have to do this when you're right here...

Me: *sighs* Please, just do it. If you do, I'll give you ice cream.

Sapphira: *smiles a bit* Venom-Dragon71 doesn't own Sly Cooper or any of its affiliated elements. If you think he does, you're stupid. There's a reason he's posting this on in the first place - it's a fanfic. He doesn't own the characters involved. This story is made simply for personal enjoyment, and no money is being made for creating it. Please read and enjoy.

Prologue, part 1

I guess the best place to start would have to be where every story starts: the beginning. Normally, you'd probably expect someone else to start off these stories. But, today, it'll have to be me. Who am I? Well, since you asked nicely…

My name is Carmelita Fox – Inspector Carmelita Fox, the best shot at Interpol, my place of business, and widely known as one of the toughest cops on the force. Some people tend to call me "Old Ironsides" – I still grind my teeth over that little numero – or "The Latino A-Bomb". Dios, I'll shove my fist into the gut of whoever thought up that one – and make him sing on the soprano scales, ha!

You might have heard of me also as the officer assigned to track down that lying, thieving, no-good, low-down idiot of a master thief raccoon known as Sly Cooper. Yeah, and for years, I've been chasing that Ringtail up and down one side of the world, around the other side, and then up and back again – and repeat and repeat! For at years I chased after that conniving little pain in the neck – and then some! Finally, after having followed him through three long bouts with his enemies – Clockwerk, that traitorous Constable Neyla, and Dr. M - I finally caught up to the annoying thief.

Only, things weren't quite how I'd expected them to be. Cooper seemed at the time to have no clue about who I was - or who he was, for that matter! Since he'd taken a shot for me to save my life, I decided maybe he wasn't as bad as I had thought – don't you dare tell anyone else at Interpol I said that! But I ultimately convinced him he was my partner and we got the heck out of there. Only the loco raccoon tricked me. He hadn't lost his memory – he only pretended he had to, according to him, get close to me.

Honestly, I was ticked, but, the more I think about it, the more touching it seems. I keep remembering all the times he had helped me despite our enmity. Here I had chased him all over the world to arrest him, and he saved me, not once, but at least four times in my life – from Clockwerk, from Interpol when Neyla spread the rumor I was a traitor when it was she who betrayed the agency, from Doctor M, and finally from that stinking runt Le Paradox. He and I had shared some, admittedly, tender moments before his temporary "retirement", and many of them I've never forgotten – though I'll never forgive him for using me during that dance in India, that blasted Ringtail!

But Cooper always treated me well enough. He never hesitated to offer me a compliment, always giving me that arrogant, confident smirk of his I'd originally grown to hate. And during his "amnesia" trick, he had been quite the gentleman. As much as the officer in me hates to admit it, I think I actually grew to like that smug grin of his, and that cocky, suave attitude was kind of sweet the way he aimed it at me. Oy, listen to me - I should be frying this stupid raccoon's sorry tail for lying to me!

But, I have to admit, I miss him. His gang and I share that much. Despite my reasons for hating him, Sly was what made my life all the more enjoyable in the end. He was the only real challenge out there – the only real master thief in the world. Without him, there was no real fun anymore. So lately I've been trying to locate Sly through private investigations into the matter, his pal Bentley doing the same through his resources and technology on the other side of the law. But there's still no sign of him.

I can only hope that Sly is still alive somewhere out there in the past, where Bentley and I both suspect he is trapped in a time he has no clue how to properly adapt too. Whatever happens, I'm not gonna rest until I get my criminal back. That is my promise to both me… and to him.

Me: Okay, short and sweet prologue for Carmelita's side. They say "Ladies first," after all.

Sapphira: *eating a bowl of ice cream as if she's starved* Mmmmm... Then why is it I always have to speak last?

Me: I thought you liked having the last laugh?

Sapphira: ...Good point. *eats more ice cream* Ooooooh! Ow! Brain freeze!

Me: *rolls eyes* Okay, readers, here's your job: read and review! Constructive criticism welcome!