A/N: Well, hello everyone. Name's Icecane. How do you do? Anyway... This is my first major Sly Cooper fic. I word it this way because I have actually done a simple one-shot before. For those of you who remember it, I had actually mentioned I was planning on doing bigger things later on. And that was... holy damn, a while ago actually.

So, this is the first chapter. Hope everyone enjoys it and looks forward to further installments.

Crossing Lines

Chapter 1: Impressions

The night air was quiet, a deaf silence encompassed the streets, the Paris neighborhood was all but deserted. It was a seedy part of town, seemingly abandoned by any passing glance. A hotspot for back-alley crimes and a haven for criminals to avoid the long arm of the law.

The near peaceful setting was broken however as several sounds originating from one source cut a swath through the street. Heavy breathing, hard footsteps, and the flapping of a coat. Such sounds and more came from the one involuntarily creating them.

A fox, his body covered as much by the worn trench coat he wore as the sweat that soaked his fur, ran as fast as his aching legs would allow. He had to keep going, the burning in his overworked lungs and crippling exhaustion that threatened to take him down any minute was ignored as his pointed ears could only hear one thing, the quick footsteps of his distant pursuer.

He had to get away. That was all that mattered to him now. Faced with the old survival instinct, fight or flight, it was what kept him going. However, a tinge of frustration built from it. After so many years of answering the call of the natural response, he couldn't help but miss the old days back when he could choose the former.

Escaping wasn't all that was on his mind however. As he ran, the fox's face was twisted into a snarling glare, directing it mostly at himself.

"So stupid," the portion of his brain called hindsight shouted in the deep reaches of his mind, scolding himself as if he were a child. "Have I really become this cocky? Taking a stroll right in front of the Interpol station as if I owned the place! And just my luck too! The latest cop on my case just so happens to be leaving at the same time! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

Coming to a four-way intersection, the fox quickly turned on his heel and bolted down a new street, hoping it would help take his predator off of his trail. But, lady luck turned her back on him once again, the fox found a blockade of trashcans laid out by a careless citizen in his way. With a growl, the fox used his speed to jump the metallic cans.

The landing could hardly be considered graceful. Tripping forward as soon as he hit the pavement, the fox tumbled and quickly resumed his running pace. To his shock, the quickening footsteps behind him sounded closer. "God damn it! No one should be that fast."

Realizing the inevitability in his actions, the fox took a chance. Passing by an alley, he turned and ran down it, becoming blocked at both sides by the towering walls of two buildings.

It was almost like a maze. The alley broke off into several different paths, most becoming blocked off and inaccessible, it forced him through linear paths that made the fox think he was just simplifying his impending capture. But soon, the fox found himself skidding to a halt.

"Shit," he breathed, staring up at the wall that now blocked his path, trapping him in a dead end. Now, the fox wasn't one to believe in any form of higher-being, looking down on the lowly mortals of this world. But for one brief shining moment, he could have sworn someone up above was laughing at him.

Thinking quickly, the fox opted to turn around and try another path before it was too late. Turning around to do just that, his legs suddenly froze in place as a commanding voice broke through the overbearing silence.

"Freeze, criminal!"

Sighing contemptuously, the fox slowly made his full turn, immediately looking down the barrel of a shock pistol. But his eyes quickly shifted to the one holding the pistol, the voluptuous Carmelita Fox. The trapped fox couldn't help but trace the steeled vixen's form, detailing her long blue hair, the tight fitting jeans and open jacket she wore, as well as the cold gaze of justified intent in her expression.

"Well well well," the fox chuckled with an uneasy smile, "Inspector Fox, it's so wonderful to finally meet you face to face." A scoff escaped him, causing him to preform a coy act of discipline on himself with a tap of his forehead with his palm. "But how rude of me, we haven't had proper introductions, have we?" The fox then preformed a slight gentleman's bow for the lady. "I'm-"

"I know who you are," Carmelita snapped, keeping her pistol trained on her target.

The fox grimaced slightly, but much of his attention was turned toward the side of the building. A fire escape clung to the side, situated right in the center between the two foxes."Right..." He took a step forward. "There's no reason we can't be civil now, let's just start this off on the right-"

"Keep your hands up!" the vixen barked, her eyes narrowing as her trigger finger twitched.

Halting on the spot, the fox slowly raised his hands, but not all the way. He kept them just at his waist, like an old west gunslinger preparing for a showdown. Carmelita took notice to the action, her eyes watching every detail in the fox's actions.

"Can I at least congratulate you on a job well done?" the fox inquired. "I mean, after so many of your peers tried and failed at my capture, you manage it so quickly. Makes me wonder why Barkley took so long to see your advantage over them."

The Inspector's eyebrow raised curiously, "Advantage?" she questioned.

"Well," he smirked, "that it takes a fox to catch a fox of course."

Carmelita huffed, her brow furrowing back as she took a step toward her captive. "If only you were a fox."

"Ooo," the fox flinched, acting as if he had just been struck, "such a sharp tongue. Though I'd love to stand here all night and talk fractions with you, I'll just say you're technically right and leave it at that." Taking a cautious step forward, the fox's expression shifted to a serious one as he stared the cop in front of him down. "I suppose I should also apologize for ruining your moment. For you see, though you have me against a wall now, I have no intention on going quietly."

Just as he expected, Carmelita's gaze hardened even further and she pulled the trigger of her pistol, releasing a powerful blast of electrical energy at her target. With the quickest reflexes, the fox reached into his coat and withdrew two strange looking swords..

Carmelita's sights caught the weapons as her eyes widened. She had heard about them from other officers within Interpol, all of whom having been on the fox's case at one point in time. She had her doubts they even existed, but she has seen criminals use stranger weapons.

Though the identical weapons were like swords, they didn't have an actual blade. Instead, a long pole extended from the hilt and ended in a hook. The hilt itself was a simple black griped handle with a flat rectangular guard. At the very bottom of the handle, a small spike jutted out, too small to do any lethal harm to someone.

As the blast fired from the inspector's pistol rushed forward at its target, the fox stood his ground. Crossing his swords together, the blast smashed straight between them. If his feet hadn't been planted firmly, the fox would have surly been launched onto the ground with the force that struck him.

But the actual electricity of the shot never reached him. The poles of his swords crackled with an electrical charge, running up and down the length of it but never reaching the actual hilt.

Carmelita could only stare at the sight in shock. The blast should have struck him, rendering the fox unconscious for easy capture and transport. But no, instead the strange weapons he brandished absorbed it like a sponge to water.

Seeing the reaction gained, the fox smirked at the vixen. Still holding the sparking swords, he struck them both down into the pavement. Immediately, the charge in both of them was grounded, dispersing harmlessly into the earth.

"Now now," the fox taunted, "you'll have to try something new. As long as I have these," he twirled the swords in his grasp playfully, "you're standard-issue brand of enforcement won't get you anywhere." His gaze fully turned to the fire escape, his feet propelling him toward it. "Now, I must take my leave."

Regaining her wits, Carmelita's face twisted into a leering scowl. Aiming her pistol, she fired once more at the fox. But the criminal was already in motion, narrowly dodging the shot as he jumped toward the fire escape, using the hook of his sword to catch the metallic ladder and swing himself up.

Growling furiously, Carmelita fired a third shot, immediately regretting the decision. Missing her mark entirely, the shot instead struck the fire escape itself. Having quickly scaled it, the fox was already atop the roof it led to as the zig-zagging steps were destroyed. After a loud crash, all that was left of it was a heap of broken metal.

"Thank you for the assistance, Miss Fox," the escaping canine shouted down with thankful wave. "Farewell for now, Inspector. Better luck next time."

Carmelita watched as her charge disappeared, a chuckle faded away along with his hurried footsteps. The handle of her pistol nearly snapped as her grip on the weapon tightened, her knuckles nearly breaking from the force. "I'll find you, criminal!" she declared, shouting so even the heavens would hear. "I'll make sure you're behind bars where you belong! You will answer for what you've done!"

To the fox, the proclamations made by his badge wearing opponent were nothing but fading howls.

A relieved smile was plastered on his muzzle as he ran across the rooftops. He could still feel his heart pounding against his ribcage, still feel how taut his muscles had become in the tense situation. But he had gotten away, safe for another day to do as he pleased.

Though the fox was still exhausted from his escape, rest still wasn't something he could take just yet. He knew of the Inspector's abilities, it wouldn't take her long to scale the roof and return to the chase, he planned to be miles away by then.

Even with his own joy of victory, an unease was tugging at the back of his mind. The fox couldn't shake the feeling that he was still within the gaze of a predator.

Halting on the spot, the fox stood still as he took in the silence around him. Not even the humming engines of speeding cars were nearby, nor the cry of a random act of street violence.

But then, the fox's pointed ears twitched. His head jerked toward the left, his mind swearing he heard a soft footfall in the distance.

"No..." he whispered, trying to convince his instincts that they were wrong. "It's nothing, not even that fox would catch up to me so quickly." Once again, his ears twitched and turned on his heel to the other side. It was the same noise, like a soft footstep scratching on the rough concrete of the rooftops.

It worried him. Though only rumors, the fox had heard of Inspector Fox acquiring a new partner some time ago. Maybe he hadn't escaped the law's cold gaze just yet.

The fox was then yanked from his own inner musing, he grunted in pain as a sharp sting struck into his shoulder. On reflex, his arm reached up to feel the spot. His mind flared to shock as he felt something sticking into him.

Pulling it free, the fox examined the foreign object. It was a small needle, attached to two feathers of some miniature bird he couldn't place. Throwing the object down, the fox stumbled forward, nearly collapsing on the ground.

The roof he stood on seemed to slowly morph into wet sand as he tried moving. His vision blurred while his muscles grew weak with each passing moment. A heavy fatigue settled into his body, as though he hadn't slept for days.

"What... what is this?" the fox questioned aloud, his voice becoming just as weak as his body. The only response given to him was a shuddering quake shooting through him, making his body tremble as if he were freezing.

As the world itself began to spin, the fox collapsed onto his hands and knees. Thick grunts escaped him as he put his dwindling strength into simply moving.

Old memories then flooded through his mind, reminding him of times involving drug induced sleeps, only to wake up in a darkroom with no memory of past events. Though his latest adversary was one of the law, it was a foe nonetheless, even if he was only aware of shock pistols being their tool of choice.

He wasn't going to be captured, not like this, not like some escaped animal or test subject. With sheer willpower alone, the fox brought himself to his feet and moved toward the edge of the roof, seeing it as a way to freedom.

Only a few feet away from the end, the fox was again stopped by his own instincts as a light thud of two feet rang out behind him. As he turned around, all he was greeted with was a flash of yellow, swinging into his vision and bringing only a millisecond of pain before sending his world into darkness.

A/N: Okay then, that was chapter one. How was it? Good? Bad? Too vague to give an accurate assumption? All three? Maybe.

So yeah. Just some things to get out there as a beginning of the story detail.

In terms of story, the character being brought in here is actually from another fic I've done, Crossings to be exact. Now, don't worry. It won't be a mandatory read for anyone to understand what's going on here. There will only be a minor reference to it here and there. But otherwise, you won't be missing out on anything by not reading it, except for a few more depthy details on this particular character. Nothing to worry on.

I'm only mentioning it for those who may eventually enjoy my writing to want to see a little more, or the off chance that you're actually into the particular fandom that the fic goes into.

Hopefully I will be able to weave a good story for everyone to enjoy. I've had this one planned for a while, because... you know... (cough) Sly might be right... but I hardly ever am... (cough second time)

So, don't forget to voice your opinion as chapters are brought up, I'd love to hear about where I've done good or bad as the story progresses. I'll try to work on this often, but this will be more of a side project kind of story for a little while so it won't have my fullest attention all of the time. But I'm certain the quality won't degrade because of it.