I do not own the Sly Cooper franchise. Sucker Punch does, though I have the games released so far and am looking forward to Playstation Move Heroes and Sly 4. The characters not shown in the games and comics are my own, including Louie Saint Leon. Read, enjoy and review!
Paris, France. 2:43 A.M.
It was a cold winter's night in the City of Lights. Newly fallen snow and ice covered the rooftops of the tall townhouses, leaving a faint layer of frost on every window. Icicles hung everywhere in sight, as if Jack Frost himself had decided to decorate the beautiful city for the holidays with his own crystalline ornaments. All was still except for the sound of howling icy winds. No one in their right minds would want to go outside in this weather.
Well, all except one particular person.
Expertly leaping from roof to roof, a shadowy figure made his way through the freezing night. Somehow avoiding falling on the ice sheets that had formed on each roof's shingles during the last few hours, he easily skated across them. By gaining speed through this act, he jumped across the gaps formed between the homes by alleyways, making his way up to a luxurious apartment building that stood overlooking the Seine. It had a clear view of the Eiffel Tower, the romantic landmark surrounded by a warm glow of illumination against the darkness of the evening.
The structure was a construct of steel and glass, though classical elements like columns of polished marble, gold plated domes, and wide-open mosaic floored balconies also made up a part of its architecture. Above the apartment building's entrance were the words 'La Crème de la Récolte' in great silver letters. The pleasure gardens surrounding it were patrolled by dozens of large heavily armed guards. Over twenty stories high, the construct was clearly a place where those with deep pockets could show off their wealth in stylish comfort.
Which was exactly why it was the perfect place for a heist.
Stepping into the moonlight, the shadow revealed himself to be a young raccoon of over nineteen years of age. He wore blue gloves, black boots, and a dark blue sweater over a yellow shirt, with a belt that had a buckle shaped like a white raccoon head wearing a blue mask. On his grey furred head he wore an old blue cap, pulled over his masked coffee brown eyes. In his right hand he held a polished wood cane, its head a piece of gold plated metal shaped into a 'C.' If anyone from Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, were on that roof with him, they would have recognized the raccoon in an instant.
Sylvester Cooper, or Sly has he preferred to be called, was a master thief, descended from a long line of thieves dating all the way back to Ancient Egypt. Unlike most thieves, however, the Cooper Clan did not steal from hardworking ordinary folk.
There was no honor, no skill, and no fun in doing that kind of crime.
No, the Coopers only stole from other criminals, who had earned their money through wicked ends. That way, they knew they were masters at their art. Besides this code of conduct, the Cooper Clan had also been famous for writing "The Thievius Raccoonus," a book in which they recorded all of their exploits, along with all the special thieving tricks and skills they created during their careers. When Sly was eight years old, he would have gotten the book passed to him by his father, Conner, if not for a terrible tragedy. A criminal group called the Fiendish Five, who were enemies of Connor, broke into the Cooper home the very night Sly would have inherited the tome! They killed Sly's father, destroyed his house, and stole the Thievius Racoonus, leaving Sly an orphan while they separated with parts of the ancient book to commit more evil deeds around the world.
At the orphanage he was sent to, Sly met his best friends and future partners in crime: Murray and Bentley. Murray was a hippo who, though impulsive and not very bright, was loyal to his friends and served as the team's muscle and getaway driver. Bentley, a short and very geeky turtle, was the brain of their operation, gathering intelligence for Sly and designing plans for their heists. When they all turned eighteen, the friends formed a new Cooper Gang and soon became as infamous as Sly's ancestors before him. It had only been a year now since they had tracked down the members of the Fiendish Five, including their mad leader Clockwerk, and defeated the villains to retrieve the pages of Sly's family heirloom. With this recent restoration of his family's honor, Sly was back to do some more stealing in his favorite city on Earth. His current target was a priceless jade egg with a solid gold base that was once used to mark royal documents in ancient China. This Imperial Seal had been on display at the Louvre until it was stolen a few days ago, but from what Bentley found, it seemed as if the artifact was still in the city.
And Sly was getting ready to snatch it back from its thief.
The raccoon pulled a high tech pair of binoculars from a red pack strapped to his leg and looked through their powerful lenses at 'La Crème de la Récolte.' Sly examined the building, frowning with distaste at the waste of money before him. "I'm amazed they didn't go bankrupt building this place. It's got to be worth millions."
"Actually, if my research is correct, it should have taken approximately 21,542,430,000 euro to construct." A nasally voice answered through a communicator built into the raccoon's viewing device: the binocucom.
The raccoon almost slipped off the icy roof he was perched on in shock. "What! Bentley, where the heck did they get that much cash just for this eyesore!" he exclaimed.
"Well Sly, it seems that it was a group effort. A bunch of corporate big-shots led by some guy named Varanus Ladon got together a few years ago and pooled their resources to build their own personal playground, away from the lower classes of society. The only way to get an apartment here is if you can afford the high rental fee or if you know someone who can."
Sly had the binocucom zoom in on the structure's penthouse, a wide two story obelisk of shining bronze set with large stained glass doors and windows that opened up to a rooftop balcony, complete with a tropical garden and a swimming pool. "So I'm guessing that's where we'll find the Imperial Seal?"
Bentley, from his computer back at the gang's hideout, was able to link with the binocucom and see what Sly was looking at. "Precisely. A source of mine on Thief-Net informed me it was recently obtained by the current occupant of that penthouse. He's a world famous illusionist who calls himself, 'The Prestidigitator,' though his real name is Louie St. Leon. The guy has a suspicious habit of having his show tour in areas that get robbed of rare and valuable antiques during his stays. No one has ever caught the thieves responsible and the police, though they suspect him, have been unable to arrest St. Leon because he always performs when the crimes are taking place and is never found with the stolen goods."
Sly smirked, enjoying the thought of stealing from this rich magician more then ever. "Well, lets see if can do anything about that."
"Oh, Sly, before you go get Murray, I should tell you, Inspector Fox is on patrol tonight. Apparently Interpol noticed we were back in Paris and assigned her to track us down again."
Sly groaned in despair. "Oh that's just perfect! Not only do I have to watch out for whatever security this illusionist has around, I also have to watch out for that trigger happy vixen?"
"Unfortunately yes." Bentley stated.
Sly sighed and jumped down from the house he was on. He walked up close to 'La Crème de la Récolte,' making sure not to be seen by the security guards who were protecting the grounds. Spotting a large shape in a nearby alley, Sly ran up to it before he was seen.
The object was a big blue and purple van with orange flames painted on the side. The antennae of the van had a fake raccoon tail attached to it, while the front of the vehicle had a large metal plate shaped exactly like Sly's belt buckle.
Sly tapped the side of the van with his cane. "Hey, Murray! Wake up! I need you out here big guy!"
The van's front door opened and a hefty pink hippo got out of the driver's seat, drowsy from just being woken up from a nap. He was much taller then Sly and wore a baby blue shirt with a white scarf around his neck. Inspired by recently watching a lot of Mexican wrestling, he wore dark red gloves and boots that had tassels, along with a red goggled mask. The hippo opened his mouth wide and gave a long yawn before scratching his head and looking down at the raccoon. "Sly? Why did ya wake me up?"
Sly raised an eyebrow and pointed a thumb at the luxury apartment building in front of them. "The heist?"
"OH CUPCAKES! I FORGOT! WE WERE GOING TO STEAL THAT…" Murray began to yell out before Sly quickly covered his mouth with his gloved hand.
"Keep it down Murray!" Sly hissed. "If those goons guarding the joint hear us, we're toast!" He took his hand off of the hippo's mouth, noticed that powdered sugar had gotten on it, and wiped it on his sweater. "Have you been eating donuts before the job again? You know all that sugar knocks you out after a few minutes."
Murray blushed with embarrassment. "Gee, I'm really sorry Sly. I just was waiting here and then my stomach rumbled like an earthquake and I was afraid that the guards would hear it and I remembered this one all night bakery that was nearby and I should probably help you with the heist right now shouldn't I? He asked when he saw Sly tapping his cane against the pavement.
"That would be nice." Sly replied impatiently. He then sighed. "I'm sorry Murray. It's just that I really want to get this done with. Bentley said Carmelita is patrolling the city tonight and I don't want her to get here when we're stealing that Seal from under St. Leon's nose."
"You think she's still mad about how you kissed her back in Russia, then handcuffed her to that railing and ran away?"
"Well, let me think. The next time we met after that she tried to fry my tail with her shock pistol set on high and called me a few things in Spanish that I'm really glad I did not catch fast enough to understand. So yea I think she's still pretty ticked off."
Murray looked down at Sly, who seemed depressed after talking about Inspector Fox, and patted him on the back encouragingly. Sly almost fell over from the unintentional force of his buddy's gesture. "Cheer up chum! 'The Murray' is here for ya. So how bout we go steal that fancy stamp thingy? That'll be fun!"
Sly smiled at the hippo. Murray and Bentley were practically the only family he had and always seemed to know how to make him feel better when he was down. "Sure, lets get to it!" The two quickly ran up to the apartment building, keeping out of range of the security guards' flashlights. Sly turned to Murray. "Okay Murray. Throw me up to that balcony on the third floor."
"Got ya." Murray whispered. He picked Sly up and with all of his vast strength threw the thief up to his target.
Sly hooked onto the terrace's marble fence with his cane and jumped onto it. Waving down at Murray, he signaled the hippo to get back to the hideout. Spotting a statue of a Roman warrior standing to his right side, Sly climbed up onto the art piece and hooked onto the balcony above it. This he kept doing for many floors, using the very wealth of the structure's occupants as a ladder. "It's a good thing the fat cats that built this place put so much stuff around I can climb. I'm already near the top and I haven't even needed to go inside!" he thought smugly to himself.After only a few minutes, Sly finally reached the penthouse.
The bronze plated walls and roof gleamed softly in the moonlight. The sound of running water could be heard coming from a small waterfall that fed the balcony pool. Palm trees and orchids were kept warm by heating lamps built around the rooftop garden.
Sly was almost sweating from the hot air around him. "Well, I guess this is a nice change from all the ice down below. That illusionist must really like it humid."
"How right you are, Mr. Cooper." An oily voice spoke from behind him. Sly quickly turned around to find a middle-aged lime green chameleon watching him from an elegantly carved chair beneath a high silk canopy. The chameleon was slim and dressed in a black and white suit sewn with a swirling pattern that was dizzying to look at. In one hand the chameleon held a crystal glass of red wine, while in the other he held a handgun. The chameleon snickered at the look of surprise on the raccoon's face. "Ah, it seems that you were expecting me to just leave my home for the night and allow you to waltz in and take my latest prize. Is that right?" The chameleon chuckled again wickedly and sipped his wine.
Sly quickly regained his calm composure. "I assume you must be Louie St. Leon. Am I right?"
The chameleon glowered at Sly with his beady eyes and threw his glass at the marble floor in front of him. It smashed into a fine powder, spraying wine on the Sly's feet as it did. "Do not call me that, you infernal raccoon! I am the Prestidigitator! One of the greatest illusionists and escape artists since Houdini himself! You will call me by my stage name or I will just have to kill you right here and now." The magician then pointed his handgun at Sly in a threatening manner.
Sly raised his hands up in front of him. "Alright, 'Prestidigitator,' so you caught me. How exactly did you know I would show up?"
"It was not so difficult, my masked friend. You're not the only one with sources on Thief-Net. When I heard that the infamous Cooper Gang was back in Paris, I decided it would be best to watch and wait in case you decided to try taking the Imperial Seal. Now my patience has paid off!"
"So what do you plan to do exactly with that Oriental paperweight? If I'm right, you've already got a lot of expensive stuff."
The Prestidigitator gave a half smile. He snapped his fingers and a puff of smoke appeared around his free hand. When the smoke dissipated, he was holding a fist sized gilded egg. It was made of a deep green jade set into a hexagonal gold stamp and covered in Chinese script. "That is for me alone to know. Now, prepare to join your forefathers, Cooper." He began the pull the gun's trigger.
"Wait!" Sly cried out.
The illusionist stopped and scowled at his victim. "What is it now?"
"Just answer me this one final question. You are such a great magician, not to mention a thief. How did you steal all those treasures from the cities you performed in?"
The Prestidigitator, as Sly suspected, could not resist gloating. " It was really quite simple. Using my illusionary talents, I created a double of myself to perform for me during my show. While he was busy, I would make myself invisible, just like this."
The chameleon disappeared into thin air for a few moments, than reappeared.
"I would sneak into wherever my prize for the evening was located, took it without being caught on camera or by any foolish guards, then came back to my show where I hid the treasure inside one of my props, which I had lined with lead to prevent them from being detected. I then had the artifacts brought back here to Paris where I kept them in a warehouse I own on the Seine. Now that that is settled, it is time for you to meet your maker. Au revoir." He prepared to fire the gun again.
Sly clapped his hands in mock appreciation. "Bravo! That was a really good show."
The illusionist hesitated with his finger on the trigger and looked at Sly with confusion. "What are you babbling about?"
"Well, while you were bragging about yourself, I had the communicator in my binocucom turned on. My pal Bentley on the other end recorded your entire speech and sent it to Interpol. They should be here to arrest you pretty soon." The two thieves both turned their heads to the sound of police sirens sounding off from the street below them. Sly looked back at St. Leon and grinned cheekily. "Well, what do you know? The cops are already here."
The chameleon's skin grew red as he shook with rage, his long pink tongue darting out of his mouth as he screamed at Sly. "YOU…YOU…VERMIN! I WILL NOT BE OUTWITTED!" He raised his handgun and pressed the trigger.
BANG!
Sly, fortunately, was ready for the attack. Using an old move from the Thievius Raccoonus, he slowed down time around him just as the gun shot a bullet. Dodging the projectile, Sly swung his cane at the Prestidigitator, knocking the gun out of his hand and hitting him hard across his green face.
"Ugh…" The criminal grunted as he fell down to the floor, unconscious from the blow. The jade egg rolled out of his limp hand and headed towards the roof's railing, about to fall over the edge…..
Sly's foot stopped it just in time. He picked up the artifact, breathed on it, and shined it on his sweater's sleeve. "Well, that was a fun trick." He chuckled.
"Freeze raccoon!" A female voice with a slight Spanish accent barked. Sly turned to find a beautiful vixen pointing a shock pistol at his chest. She was in her early twenties, had yellow and orange fur, and hair so dark it was almost blue pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a light yellow jacket with blue jeans and an orange sweater, due to the cold. The only jewelry she was a single gold hoop earring on her left ear and a gold badge with a star on it around her neck that indicated her to be an employee of Interpol.
"Ah, Miss Fox…Didn't expect to see your lovely face again so soon." Sly said, attempting to be charming. He didn't like the way her shock pistol was shooting off sparks so frequently. That usually meant he was about to get REALLY hurt.
"Yea, I bet you didn't, criminal. And it looks like I got here just in time to arrest you for stealing the Imperial Seal!"
Sly looked at her in shock. "What! No way! It was Louie St. Leon who took the Seal from the Louvre! I just got him to confess it!" He gestured to where the magician had fallen, only to gap with disbelief when he saw the chameleon had vanished!
"Duh! 'One of the greatest escape artists since Houdini himself.' That's just perfect." Sly thought to himself unhappily.
Carmelita glared at the raccoon with disgust in her eyes, not believing his story. "Don't you lie to me! As if it isn't bad enough you stole from a museum, now you're trying to pin the blame on someone else?" She fired a blast of electrical energy at Sly, who quickly back-flipped so he landed on the balcony's marble fence.
"Look, I'm sorry for cuffing you to that rail back at Clockwerk's hideout. It was nothing personal, but my gang and I didn't feel like doing time in jail." Sly apologized, hoping she would stop attacking him if he seemed regretful.
That plan didn't work out so well.
Carmelita prepared to shoot again, her eyes filled with fury. "Well, that's too bad, because now, besides the crimes you have already done, you will be charged with resisting arrest!" The Interpol inspector fired her weapon, causing Sly to fall off the balcony and land onto a terrace on the floor below it.
Sly got up, only slightly bruised from the fall, and brushed himself off. "Carm, you really need to take some anger management classes." He suggested beneath his breath. He checked to see if the Imperial Seal had been damaged and sighed with relief to see it was unscathed. "That would have been a waste of a night if you got broken. Now lets get you back home and see what you're worth."
"Cooper!" A voice whispered sharply from all directions.
Sly almost dropped the jade egg in surprise, thinking Carmelita had followed him. He looked around the dark terrace, but did not see anyone, least of all a very violent Latina. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a figure materialized next to Sly, reaching out for the Seal.
Louie St. Leon!
"Back off Lou!" Sly shouted as he swung his cane at the chameleon. The cane's 'C' shaped head went right through the illusionist, as if he were made of mist. St. Leon frowned and turned into a column of smoke that surrounded the raccoon. Sly coughed as the noxious fumes filled his lungs.
"You may have taken my prize, raccoon, but be aware! You have made a dangerous enemy this night and I will not rest until I reclaim what is MINE!"
The Prestidigitator's hand shot out of the smoke and grabbed for the Seal, only to be beaten away again by Sly with his cane.
"Very well," St. Leon hissed. "Since you have taken something that is precious to me, I will be sure to return the favor. Just you wait…" The smoke dissipated, leaving Sly alone once more.
"Well, he sure knows how to make an exit." Sly gasped as he breathed in the clean winter air.
"Cooper!"
Sly looked around quickly, holding his cane high ready to fend off another attack by St. Leon. Instead he saw Inspector Fox burst through the double glass doors of the balcony's apartment, her pistol aimed and ready to fire. "There you are, you sneak! Now hand over the Imperial Seal and turn yourself in!"
"As much as I'd love to spend more time with you Inspector, I'm afraid I must be going." Sly tipped his cap at the vixen and threw a small black ball in front of her. The ball released a thick smokescreen that shielded Sly from Inspector Fox's view as he climbed down the side of 'La Crème de la Récolte' and ran off into the night.
When Carmelita finally got out of the diversion, she found her target to be long gone. "Blast you Cooper! When I find you again, I'm going to rip that smug grin off you face and…" Her cell phone suddenly rang, playing the tune of a salsa dance. She took it out of her jeans pocket and flipped it open. "Hello?" she grumbled.
"Fox, have you caught Cooper?" A gruff voice asked on the other end. It was Carmelita's boss, Lieutenant Barkley, a very irritable badger.
"No, sir. He got away along with the Seal. He also claimed that Louie St. Leon, you know, that Prestidigitator guy, was the one who stole it!"
"Well, that raccoon may be a thief, but he sure wasn't lying. An anonymous source just sent us a recording of St. Leon confessing to the robbery of the Imperial Seal, along with all the other antiques stolen during his magic acts. We're questioning his staff in the lobby right now, so you better get down here."
"Alright Barkley. I'm coming." Carmelita closed her phone with a snap and looked out at the view of Paris. "I can't believe that ringtail was telling the truth! Hmph, well that won't help him much." She turned from the balcony railing and walked back into the apartment.
"I'm going to find you Cooper."
Hong Kong, China. Unknown time.
In a huge dimly lit office, a large shadow watched a live news report from France from a small screen built into his black marble desk. The reporter was a female red squirrel in a grey dress suit.
"As of 3:11 this morning, it was revealed by an unknown source that renowned illusionist and escape artist Louie St. Leon, or 'The Prestidigitator' as he is publically known, is the one responsible for the theft of the priceless Imperial Stamp that occurred earlier this week at the Louvre. Though Saint Leon's penthouse is under surveillance and his collection of other stolen artifacts has been discovered but three blocks from this very location by Interpol, the illusionist and the Seal are still at large. This is….."
The shadow pressed a button on the table he sat at, turning off the television. He then turned to a group of plasma screens that hung on the wall next to him. "Well?" the figure asked in a soft yet sinister voice.
Louie St. Leon was cowering on one of the screens, his eyes rotating around his head in panic. "It was not my fault sir! It was that miserable Cooper who is to blame! He attacked me and stole the Seal right from my hands!"
"And why was the Imperial Seal in you're hands in the first place and not in a secure location?" A muffled female voice dryly asked from another screen. The woman who it belonged to was covered in a green silk veil, concealing her face.
"I bet he just wanted to show off. What else do you expect from a performer?" A deep male voice with a Southern accent drawled. The owner of the accent was a brown horned toad wearing a polo tie with a turquoise badge and a white ten-galleon hat. "I for one aint surprised he got caught. Like my sainted ma always said, 'the flashiest chicken is the first to be plucked!'"
"Oh, spare us your Southern fried wisdom, Winslow." A snide male voice with a British accent told his associate. The television the voice came from showed a purple serpent wearing a red button down vest with a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles perched on his nose. "It is quite obvious we have a very serious predicament. We should stop chatting and start hunting down this raccoon before the Nexus does."
"Don't you talk to me like that, you bookworm, or I'll come over to that fancy shmancy manor of yours and beat ya to a pulp!
"Oh, really? I would just like to see you try…"
"Enough!" the shadow commanded. The arguing became silent. The shadow then turned his chair to St. Leon's screen. "I am going to give you one final chance. If you do not regain possession of the Seal by the end of next week, I will see to it that your membership in this organization is…..discontinued."
The chameleon gulped in sheer terror. He knew what the shadow meant by 'discontinued.' It meant if he failed, he would disappear. Permanently.
"Of course sir." He shakily replied. "It shall be done."
"Very good. Meeting adjourned." The shadow pressed another button on his desk, shutting off the plasma screens. He turned his rotating chair to the bulletproof window behind him and looked out at the neon lit city below.
"Soon, so very soon, our goal will be realized."
What is going on here and who are these guys that want the Imperial Seal? Look out for the next chapter for some answers!