Hey there. This is my first real FanFic so please forgive me if anything is bad or needs improvement. I would really appreciate any reviews you could give. The idea behind this story came from reading a bunch of other Sly Cooper stories, and I thought it would be neat to write my own. Personally I think I suck as writing, but if people like it that would really keep me motivated to write more.

I have a whole story and characters planned out and I have the basics for what I want and where I will go. If anyone would want to help me create this story and give me tips and suggestions, that would be great. Anyway, I plan to write maybe a chapter or so a week. Not all of them may be this long as it took a long time to write, re-read, and correct any mistakes I had, but if people like longer chapters then I can do that.

Also this first chapter is more of a test to see what people think. next chapter I plan to speed thing up and not linger on to much detail as I noticed I did here. Unless of course people like the detail, then I would be glad to put as much in in future chapters. Thank you for reading.

It had been one year exactly since it happened. Sly stood on the balcony and looked up at the stars. His back was slouched forwards and his elbows rested against the railing to keep him up. One year since the Cooper Vault job, where he and his friends were able to unlock and enter the secret cave network, where untold treasures and secrets lay buried for hundreds of years. One year since he faked his amnesia to the woman he loved so he could be close to her.

Sly let out a sigh and looked over the dark night of Paris. The city was illuminated by the many street lights that kicked on around 10pm, and in the distance stood the symbol of France, the Eiffel Tower. He remembered using the tower as a lookout many times in the past. From the top he could see most of the city, and it was a great way to see where most of the traffic was so Murry could avoid it when they went on heists. Sly chucked a little, remembering how reckless yet amazing Murry's driving was. Last he had heard, Murry was making a bit of a name for himself in the demolition derby field, and was Florida states undefeated champion. Sly wondered just how much Murry's van would be able to take before finally blowing up, but he knew that Murry always took care of his "Baby on Wheels", and it had saved their gangs asses more times than he could count. What Sly really wanted to know was what Bentley was up to. He hadn't seen or heard from him since the Vault job. Sly thought he saw him once watching him when he was out on the balcony was his girlfriend, but it was very dark that night and he couldn't be sure of who or what it was. Bentley may have always been a bit of a nerd, but he cared for his friends and Sly felt guilty for leaving them.

He left them. Sly looked down with a sad and heavy heart. When his parents had died fighting against the Fiendish Five, Sly was sent to an orphanage where he met his two lifelong pals. They quickly became more than friends, and together the three of them became a family. There first heist had been stealing cookies back at the orphanage. Sly had never realized it until many years later, but he had made them into thief's. Okay maybe they weren't the ones that actually stole anything, but they helped him all the same. Bentley could hack into any security system, disabling lights, motion sensors, laser grids, anything. He had a real talent for it. If he hadn't been a criminal, what would have done with his life? Sly imagined Bentley being a top government scientist that worked in Black Ops operations. He was sure Bentley could have invented some interesting new technologies that could really change the world. Instead, Bentley was unknowingly forced into a life of crime, helping to steal artifacts and trinkets from museums as well as having to help Sly fight off enemies like ClockWerk.

Sly knew Bentley and Murry were happy with the lives they lived. They all knew that, despite what they did, they were not real criminals, not the bad kind. Sure they broke the law and stole things, but they weren't bad people. Sly and his gang never stole from ordinary people, only from other criminals. That was the Copper family moto: 'There is no Challenge, no Honor, no Fun in stealing from normal people.' You don't become a master thief by stealing from people who either can't protect themselves, or who don't have anything worth stealing. The words his father had spoken to him the night before he died still echoed in his mind.

"Remember son, a Cooper only steals that which has already been stolen."

His father's words were as clear now as they were then, and it was one of the few peaceful memories he had.

Sly heard something move behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the bed sheets rustle as someone rolled over in her sleep. Sly smiled. Who would have thought that after all these years he would be living with the most beautiful, caring, and badass person in the world, Carmelita Montoya Fox. The orange-brown vixen rolled over on her side, clinging to a pillow Sly was sure she thought was him. For years the two of them had played cops and robbers. Almost every major heist Sly went on, Carmelita was there to greet him with a shock pistol and handcuffs ready to haul him off to jail. She never could catch him though, mostly because he was a master thief that never could be caught. As time went on however, Sly began to think that she was LETTING him get away, just so they could keep up their game of cat and mouse. Sly remembered how furious she would get with him whenever he turned on his 'Cooper charm'. He would say flirty and sometimes cliché things like:

"I hope it didn't hurt when you fell from heaven"

and

"The moon's light shines down on us my darling. How lucky I am to see such beauty, for I am not worthy to gaze upon an angel such as you."

and so on.

Many of these compliments would make her blush, but she would always throwback an insult to his kind words, never wanting him to realize that his words touched her heart and made it skip a beat every time. The best parts of their little games were when they worked together, which they surprisingly did quite a few times. The first was against ClockWerk, and after his defeat Sly finally got to kiss the angelic Fox. It was quick and meant to distract her, but it was one of the best moments of his life. Another amazing time was when Sly was able to have a tango dance with her. He was quite surprised at how good she had been, not expecting a hard-pressed Interpol inspector to know how to dance so gracefully and steadily as she did. There dance was something out of a fairy tale, the stable boy and the princess, Robin Hood and Maid Marian, the Hunchback and Esmeralda. They were watched by dozens of people who were in awe and jealousy of the tango duo. Of course the dance itself was simply meant to be a distraction while Murry procured the ClockWerk wings while no one was looking, but in the moment Sly cared about nothing else but looking into her Almond colored eyes, wanting the dance to last forever. These and other close moments were probably what made him fall in love with her. She was strong and independent, but she was also caring and loyal. She fought for justice, and to her, all criminals were the same, even if she didn't always live by her words. The two of them had quite a history with one another, and Sly remembered back to one very fun quick night they had together.

Despite his friend's protests, Sly was going to let himself get caught by the lovely Inspector. Bentley had made a new gadget that could break a pair of handcuffs in a matter of seconds, and Sly though of the best way to test his buddy's new device. Sly had left there safehouse and found Carmelita at work. She was working overtime to get paperwork finished that she wasn't able to do the week before because she was chasing Cooper. He snuck into her office without her knowing and 'accidently' tricked over a box and fell. The startled Fox quickly turned with her shock pistol pointed down at the intruder. He pretended to be dazed by his fall, and in that moment, Carmelita had him pinned down on the ground with his hands behind his back. He could have easily thrown her off or rolled her over to be on top of her, but he let her grab her cuffs and tightly lock them around his wrists. This was the moment she had been waiting for. She had finally caught Sly Cooper, him trying to sneak up behind her in her own office of all things. With him properly secured, she picked him up and sat him down on her chair. Hands cuffed behind him, Sly looked up at her with his usual smirk and congratulated her.

"Well done Inspector. It was just going to drop by and say hello, but it seems you finally caught me, and due to my own clumsiness no less." He gave her a quick wink with his right eye and continued his smirk.

"What?!" Her fur stood up as she took that as an insult "Don't try and turn this around, I knew you were there and I was waiting for you to walk into my little trap."

"Right. You trap for me was a box, on the ground, that I didn't see, that I tripped over. Well done Inspector." He tried clapping his hands but the cuffs were too tight to let his palms tough. "If I could move my wrists I would applaud your great thinking and ingenuity. Come on, we both know you had no idea I was there."

"Can it Ringtail, or I will add insulting an officer to your record of crimes."

"Of course of course, please forgive me officer, I meant no offense. You truly are the greatest Inspector Interpol has to offer."

"Shut your mouth before I go find a muzzle for you Ringtail." Sly was about to say more but quickly shut his mouth, making Carmelita smirk now that she was in change. "Now why don't you tell me why you thought it was a good idea to sneak into Interpol headquarters in the middle of the night. For a Master thief who has never been caught, you got caught pretty easily and in the dumbest of ways."

"Oh my dear Carmelita, how your words wound me so. I came here to put a smile on thine face, but alas, who am I but a petty thief and a fool to think I could have any chance at wooing an angelic being such as thee Carmelita Montoya Fox"

His words brought a quick blush to Carmelita's face, and her heart began to beat faster. He always had that effect on her, despite how much she hated it. She quickly reigned herself and rolled her eyes at him.

"God your hopeless Cooper. You could be so much more, hell you would even make a great Interpol detective. Instead you steal from others to get yourself rich and famous. How pathetic."

"Rich and famous? Well that really is a step up now isn't it. I had no idea I was rich, or famous, by any standards. But if I am so rich, then where is all my money?"

"You have it stored someone criminal. Most likely in offshore banks. That will make it difficult to get it back but don't worry, everything you stole will go back to those who deserve it." There was a hint of justice and victory in her voice as she put Cooper in his place, but all her words did was make him smile more.

"Well I certainly hope it does. But then again, everything I steal was already stolen, wasn't it Ms. Fox? That sapphire I took from the royal English museum belonged to the third king of Ireland I believe. I even left it in the passenger seat of your car with a note telling you who it really belonged to. I didn't keep that did I?"

Cooper made a fair point. He hadn't kept the sapphire like she expected him to. In fact, a majority of things he stole ended up in her possession later on. Most of the places he had stolen from were found out to be owned by other criminals looking to get money or power. She knew what he was saying was true, but she would never admit it to him.

"It doesn't matter Cooper. Theft is against the law. You've stolen hundreds of artifacts, jewels, paintings. The list goes on. It doesn't matter why you did it, you're still going to jail."

"You know what, I think your right. I am going to go to jail…just not tonight."

As quick as he had finished his sentence, his hands were free of the steel cuffs and he jumped forward, pouncing on Carmelita and sending them both to the ground. She was completely taken by surprise, and she landed on her back and looked up, the wind slightly knocked out of her. Sly sat on top of her, smirking down as she began to realize what had just happened. He reached to her side where her spare pair of handcuffs were and quickly grabbed them. Right as she was about to throw him off he leaped up off of her. The force she had put into throwing him off now hit air and she was flung over onto her stomach. Before she could act again she felt her arms tugged behind her and an all-to-familiar click as her wrists were locked in place. Sly made sure not to put them on to tight like she had done to him. He didn't want to hurt her. She struggled for half a second before being lifted and seated back in her own chair. Everything was turned around now. Instead of Cooper being cuffed in her seat, she was, and instead of her looking down at him with a smug face, he was. She narrowed her eyes and let out a growl before trying to lung forward, but before she could Cooper had his foot on the chair and his knee buried in her chest. Realizing she could not get up she was going to bite at his leg, but felt a cold pressure against her neck. Sly had grabbed his cane and held the metal hook to her throat. He didn't put enough pressure on it to choke her, but it was enough to hold her head back and keep her in place.

The two starred at one another for a few seconds. Sly as always kept up his smirk. He loved it when he able to trick her like he did. It proved to himself that he was still the Master Thief and he couldn't be held down. If looks could kill, Sly would be filed with daggers wounds. Carmelita glared up at him with fire in her eyes. She was furious beyond understanding. Not only did he break free with her even knowing, but she was now cuffed with her own handcuffs and trapped in her own office with no way of escape. While anger fueled her, a part of her was now terrified. She couldn't fight back, even if she wanted to. He had the upper hand, and he was a criminal. He could do whatever he wanted to her, and there was no one here to hear her or help her in she did scream. For now, the two just starred at one another until Sly broke the silence.

"I got to hand it to Bentley, his new gadget really works. I was free of those cuffs before you even sat me down."

"You no good, pompous, arrogant, little weasel!"

"Wow there, bringing out the big guns eh? Just admit that I beat you and you will feel a lot better about the whole thing."

"How about you let me go and I will show you a real beating Ringtail!" Her words spit into his face as he just chucked some more and wiped his face.

"Sorry love, but with your temper, I wouldn't stand a chance. Anyway, thanks for giving me the chance to try out Bentley's new toy. I am sure it will come in handy in the future. I know how much you have wanted to slap those cuffs on me, and I'm sorry it was short lived. Maybe the next time I wear handcuffs we will be playing a different kind of game."

Sly gave her a friendly wink then dashed away to the window. Carmelita quickly got up, but with her hands cuffed she really couldn't do anything. The keys to her cuffs were in her front pocket, but she couldn't reach them due to the limited reach of her arms now. She looked back and saw Cooper perched on the window sill, smiling at her before leaving.

"So what, you just dropped by so that I you could test out your new toy at my expense?! And now your going to leave be handcuffed in my own office?!"

"You have the keys on you Ms. Fox. I am sure you will find a way to reach them before your coworkers arrive. Otherwise I am sure this will be a very awkward situation for you if someone finds you. Toodle-oo mi encantadora zorra."

With that Sly hooked his cane on a pipe and leaped up onto the roof on the building. He jumped over a few roofs and landed on the edge of a building about a block from Carmelita's office. Taking out his binocucom, he focused in on her office and saw she was still struggling to reach her front pocket where the keys were. He chuckled to himself, knowing she would be fine, and leaped up into the night and vanished from sight.

They were good memory's, happy memories. They were those little things that kept their abnormal relationship fresh and exciting. But all of that was in the past now, and as far as Carmelita knew, Sly Cooper the Master Thief was gone. Instead, Constable Cooper now worked with the police instead of running from them, and instead of being met with a shock pistol in his face, he would now make up to an angel lying beside him. Sly continued looking at Carmelita as she slept. He was so lucky and so happy to finally be with her. After everything that had happened between them, he was now not only living with her, but the two of them had started dating. It had taken Sly a couple of months before he finally had the courage to ask her out. He wanted to make his amnesia as real as possible, and he was scarred at first that his emotions would get the better of him and she would learn that he was lying. After some time he finally calmed himself down, and with a heart beating as fast as a drum, he asked her one night if she would like to go see a movie then get some dinner. He remembered her face, he could tell that she had been waiting for a long time for him to ask her. She was relieved and happy and accepted his offer, but not before being blunt and asking if he was in fact asking her out on a date. She had said it so sternly and direct that he wasn't sure what to say at first, but then he cleared his throat and asked if that was okay. She had smiled and kissed him on the check, telling him out cute he looked when he was nervous. He didn't like being at a loss for words, but he composed himself quickly and the two officially became a couple. Since then they had shared a bed almost every night, but they never went to the next stage. Sly had, for some ballsy reason, ask her one night if she wanted to have sex. It had taken her a bit off guard, but she explained how she was waiting until she was married. She wanted to save herself for the right person, and while she loved Sly, it just wasn't the right time. Sly was relieved to hear her answer, as truth be told he had never actually slept with another woman before. What a shock, the infamous Sly Cooper, world known Master Thief and ladies' man, the heart stealer and wooer of dames all over, was still a virgin. Sly was the only one who knew of course, even Bentley and Murry both though he had slept with at least a few foxes in his life, but like Carmelita he wanted to make sure he was with the right person. Despite not wanting to have sex, the two of them still made out with one another and slept in the same bed. They loved each other, but both were still unsure about the future. Sly didn't know that Carmelita still had her worries about Sly. Her biggest fear would be that he would remember who he was one day and leave her. She couldn't bear the thought of him leaving, not after all they had been through. Fortunately for her Sly had no intention of leaving, but she had no idea about the internal struggle he constantly had about his current life choices.

Sly had given up everything. His mask, his cane. He left his friends, the ones who had been by his side since they were kids. He gave up his whole life, all of his thieving skills and talents so that he could be with the women of his dreams, but that was not what kept him up at night. In truth, he could live with all that. It may hurt, but he knew this was the life he wanted, and if he was given the choice, he would gladly do it all over again. No, what he really felt guilty about was abandoning his family's name and purpose. He was and always will be a Cooper, he was born a thief and he was meant to die a thief. He was meant to have kids who he could pass on his ancestor's knowledge, so that they too could continue on the Cooper legacy. Now, he had thrown it all away. Thousands of generations of Coopers, and was he to be the last Master Thief to ever live? Was it all worth it, was it worth giving up everything his ancestors had lived for, just to be with someone he loved? He went through hell and back to recover the Thievius Raccoonus, and now he just threw it away like garbage. In his heart he knew he loved Carmelita and would do anything to be with her, but he also knew that he was a disgrace to the Cooper name, and he couldn't live with that. Sly looked back over the streets of Paris, his hands becoming fists. It wasn't fair he told himself! He didn't want to be the last Cooper, and he didn't want to give up his thieving ways. He wanted to love Carmelita and have kids with her and continue the Cooper legacy. He wanted to have a son who he could teach how to walk on ropes and slide down rails. A son who he could put on his knee as his father had done and tell him about his family ancestry and the adventures he had in his youth. Instead, Sly had thrown that away as well. He threw his family away, he threw his ancestors away and he had thrown his parents murders away.

Sly opened his eyes as a tear rolled down his cheek. His parents…he could see them now. There bloodied bodies laid before him. His father's chest slashed open as blood seeped into the carpet. His mother's neck was cut to the bone, her head only on by the skin of her neck. There mangled and trashed bodies were as clear as day in his eyes. Sly began to tear up more. His parents died to protect him. His father left him his cane so that he could continue the Cooper name, and what had Sly done. He left his father's cane perched up on some rocks that lead to a part of his family's history and walked away. Everything he had been through, everything he had achieved was because of his parents sacrifice, and he just walked away from it all like a used toy that a child throws away.

Sly's eyes were red from crying and his face wet from tears. His hands had grasped onto the railing of the Balcony, and his sadness and anger made him grip the rail as tight as possible. He didn't even realize that his grip was bending the iron bar as he continued to stare blankly off into the distance. After a moment of holding his breath and again reliving his parent's death, his body forced him to breath and he calmed down almost instantly. He looked down and released his grip and saw how bent the railing had become. He closed his eyes and bit down on his tongue, then brought his hands up to cup his head. His hands slip down and wiped away the tears as he took another deep breath. He would come up with some kind of explanation in the morning as to why the rail was bent, but right now he was tired and wanted some sleep. He took a moment to stare back up at the stars, then with a sigh he turned and walked back inside. Being careful not to wake Carmelita, he slowly pulled back the sheets of the bed and climbed in. Pulling the sheets up to his chest, he starred up at the ceiling, thinking about what he was going to do. He couldn't keep lying to her, it was eating him up on the inside. To much more of this and he was going to snap or have a heart attack. Something needed to happen, and it needed to happen soon. He had to come clean with her, but he knew if he did she would not only arrest him, but her heart would be broken. He sighed one last time and closed his eyes, sleep ready to grab him and take him away. Before he fell into the land of dreams, the image of his father appeared in his mind one last time.

"I'm sorry dad…I'm so sorry."

"Sir, we received some sightings from airports in Washington, Denver, Tokyo and Berlin."

"And?"

"They were all boarding flights to Paris sir. It seems they mean to meet up somewhere in the city. Jonathan thinks it will be at least six to eight weeks before they all get there."

"Good work. Contact Alpha 6 and tell them to move to Paris. They should get there within a week and set up a base of operations. Make sure they don't act until they are all there. Once we find out who these guys are we can stop them before they even begin their search."