This is my version of what happened after the conclusion of Sly 3. I'm considering this to be the prologue to my story- "Some Things Never Change".

Like everyone else here, I don't own Sly Cooper, though the original characters do.

Please enjoy and tell me what you think!

A chance taken, a gift given- that's what happened in the final moments before the Cooper vault collapsed on itself, burying with it both the Cooper Clan's legacy and the maddening desires of Dr. M.

"Who am I?"

Carmelita took a deep breath before she answered and realized that this would be her last chance. Would she give in to her pride and dignity or go with her heart, which seemed to be screaming at her to take the chance? She knew Cooper had feelings for her. It was obvious now that his past flirtations with her weren't just a way for him to escape the law and make her look foolish in front of her superiors, but that there was true feeling behind them. That point was made crystal clear to her the moment Cooper jumped in front of her, protecting her from that mad doctor's laser blast, risking his own life to save hers. If his flirting had been self-serving, then he wouldn't have risked his life to save the cop who had been mercilessly pursuing him for years. This revelation made her heart leap with joy- someone cared for her, really cared for her. She knew that she had the love of her family, but this was different, being a career-oriented woman left little time for socializing and one wouldn't have considered Carmelita the soft feminine type at work, so she really never felt what it was like to have someone else care about her, deeply care about her and make her feel like someone special. Granted, it was the renowned thief Sly Cooper, but still, he had real feelings for her. She finally gave in and admitted to herself that she had feelings for the ringtail: they seemed to have solidified when she saw Sly getting crushed in the jaws of that mutant abomination and acted, luckily saving him from that deadly fate. Carmelita's feelings were now getting the best of her again, as she held the head of the man who had saved her life, yet again, and pondered what course of action she should take. An idea crossed her mind, as her lips curled into a slight smile, and she decided that she would take the chance her heart so desperately wanted her to take and her inner cop so vehemently opposed: so, screwing up her courage, Carmelita said those fateful words:

"You're my partner, Constable Cooper."

It was a simple action, but a powerful one nonetheless. Carmelita never thought that she would be the one to take the first step toward ending this cat and mouse game that her and the attractive thief had played for years, but she did and now they weren't fighting each other on opposite sides of the law, but had the chance to come together and work as one. Carmelita did feel a little guilty though. Sly seemed to have amnesia due to the blow he took for her sake, and she didn't want to take advantage of him in this state. But she couldn't pass this chance up: she knew that the two of them were too stubborn to ever let their true feelings be known otherwise. The vixen just hoped beyond hope that Sly felt the same way and would agree to this gift of a new life, even if he may not know it at the time.

"Well partner, maybe we should get out of here."

Sly's answer seemed to be the result of the amnesia Carmelita thought he suffered. In fact, Sly did have a temporary lapse in memory after his heroic attempt to save his ladylove, but was blown back to his senses when he heard Carmelita's answer to his question. He was equally shocked as she was to realize that the alluring inspector before him had made the first move to end their little game of cops and robbers. Sly had some time to examine his life and the choices he made as he saw it flash before his eyes whilst in the grips of that horrible monster, and realized that the gift this brave woman was offering him now was what he desired most in the world. He had already proven himself in the Cooper vault and knew that he had made both his father and his ancestors proud of his accomplishments. Sly also had the feeling that his father's love for him was so strong that he would rather have his son take this new path that would guarantee his happiness than stay on his current one for the sake of family pride. Sly did feel guilty, realizing that he would probably have to continue to fake having amnesia and lie to his Carmelita, but he wasn't entirely sure if she would accept him if she knew that he remembered who he was. Besides, he knew that he would have to tell her the truth one day if he wanted to truly have what his heart desired.

So, with so much being said in a few little sentences, Sly and Carmelita escaped the collapsing stronghold and began the long walk back to where the Interpol ships were docked. While they were walking along a stretch of beach, Sly noticed a glimmer coming from a small crack in some rocks, realized what it was and decided to leave his friends a message and let his lady know where he really stood with her.

"I meant to ask this earlier, but I figured it could have waited until we weren't being crushed by falling rocks," Sly said, his wit still intact, Carmelita noted, "but what kind of getup am I wearing partner?"

Carmelita thought fast, not wanting to cause her new companion to lapse back to his old memories, thereby loosing him again.

"You were undercover as one of the criminals that worked here so we could bring down this operation from the inside."

Sly was impressed with Carmelita's quick thinking, one of the many assets that he had always admired in her.

"Well, since the mission seems to be a success, do you mind if I got rid of a few of these things?"

"Not at all."

Sly took his cane and stuck it straight into the ground near the crack in the rocks where he saw the Cooper family fortune glistening in the setting sun. He then placed his leg bag and one of his calling cards on the cane to both let the gang know what happened to him and that he appreciated their work and their friendship (and there was no better way to show his appreciation than paying them with his family's fortune). As the realization of what he was doing hit him, Sly felt bad that he wouldn't have a chance to let his two good friends, his brothers really, know why he had made this decision (though he felt that Bentley and probably even Murray would figure it out). The raccoon hoped that one day he could be part of their lives again, while a little part of him wondered if he was making the right decision….

"You ready to go partner?"

Sly smiled as he looked towards Inpsect…no, his partner, Carmelita and thought 'It's totally worth it!'

Carmelita looked in awe as she saw Sly leave what made him Sly Cooper on the beach and couldn't believe that he was willing to give all of that up for her. She didn't have an esteem problem, she just never experienced this kind of love before.

"I guess I'll change out of these clothes when we get back to the ships, unless you want me to just remove them now..." Sly playfully teased as the Interpol ships finally came into view in the distance.

'As tempting as that sounds, I'll have to decline,' thought Carmelita. "I'm sure you could wait until we're back onboard," she told him.

"Fine, I guess I'll go au natural some other time."

A large smile spread over Carmelita's face at the thought of that future proposition, though she hid it from Sly.

Once onboard the ship, Carmelita found Sly some new clothes and a duffel bag in which he could place his old clothes. After he had changed into nice fitting blue jeans, a white tank top and a blue jacket, Sly came above deck and stood next to Carmelita as she leaned against the ship's railing and watched Kaine island fade away into the distance. She looked at her new partner and smiled.

"Looking good."

"Yeah, I know, but I think the look will be complete when I take off this mask."

"No, leave it on, I think it suits you well." Carmelita wanted to let him keep at least one part of his old life, besides, it was true, he looked sexier with it on.

"Whatever you say, partner." Sly was humbled to know that Carmelita wanted him to keep at least one piece of his old life.

The two of them stood next to each other as the remnants of Sly's old life drifted away in the horizon as the ship carried them towards their new life together. Carmelita smiled as she watched the gorgeous South Pacific sunset with her new partner and thought to herself, 'I told you that I'd get you one day ringtail!'